Keitaro Urashima - Manager of the Hinata Hot Springs Girls Dormitory (or Hinata House for short).  22 years old.  Tried unsuccessfully to get into Tokyo University over a childhood promise from long ago.  Average height (5'7") and build, short brown hair, brown eyes, and wears glasses.  Tends to be clumsy but generally reliable.  Has a habit of letting others walk over him and ends up being on the receiving end of comical beatdowns.  Harem protagonist.

Naru Narusegawa - Resident at Hinata House.  20 years old.  Avid student who is also trying to get into Tokyo University.  Long brown hair, brown eyes, slender build, & modest feminine proportions.  Tends to overreact at Keitaro's antics and physically attacks him as a result.  Has feelings for Keitaro but is reluctant to show them openly.  Tsundere-like personality.  Height: 5'4"; BHW: 33-22-34

Shinobu Maehara - Resident at and recent arrival at Hinata House.  16 years old.  Has a somewhat shy and reserved personality.  Helps with housework.  Has admiration towards Keitaro which evolves into a genuine romantic crush.  Short blue hair, blue eyes, & slim build.  Height: 5'2"; BHW: 27-20-28

Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno - Older resident at Hinata House.  21 years old.  Sly and opportunistic in her nature, somewhat of a freeloader.  Easygoing in nature.  Close friend of Naru.  Regularly drinks alcohol and addicted to gambling.  Speaks with a somewhat rural accent.  Short sandy brown hair & brown eyes.  Has her eyes closed regularly, in a sort of fox-like vulpine expression.  Buxom figure.  Height: 5'4.5"; BHW: 34-23-33

Motoko Aoyama - Resident at Hinata House.  18 years old.  Kendo practitioner.  Serious demeanor.  Like Naru, she has a tsundere-like personality when it comes to Keitaro.  Regularly carries around either a kendo sword or a genuine samurai sword.  Long black hair, dark olive-colored eyes, and tall for her age; somewhat of a yamamoto nadeshiko in her overall appearance.  Dresses regularly in a red-and-white training hakama.  Height: 5'9"; BHW: 34-23-33

Kaolla Su - Younger resident at Hinata House.  16 years old.  Exotic features, similar to Indian.  Brown skin, blonde hair, rosy cheeks & green eyes.  Slim & athletic build, tends to be barefoot most of the time.  High-energy, playful and somewhat mischievous in her demeanor.  Really enjoys bananas.  Has a pet turtle named Tama.  Inventor and genius in the fields of robotics and computers.  Princess from a faraway land known as the Kingdom of Molmol.  Her dorm room is a miniature forest/jungle.  Transforms into an older, adult version of herself during a red moon.  Close friend to Shinobu.  Height: 4'11.5"; BHW: 31-22-31

Mutsumi Otohime - A kind-hearted but scatterbrained girl whose family lives near Okinawa.  Regularly visits Hinata House.  23 years old.  Prone to anemic fainting at times.  Really enjoys watermelon.  Also has a habit of kissing others on a whim from time to time, as well as sleepwalking.  Long, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a very buxom figure.  Has strong feelings for Keitaro, but suppresses them to help move things along between Keitaro and Naru.  Height: 5'3.5"; BHW: 35-22-33

Haruka Urashima - Older resident at Hinata Hot Springs.  30 years old.  Technically Keitaro's cousin, but also his aunt due to being adopted by their grandmother as her daughter.  Hates being referred to as "Aunt Haruka".  Regularly smokes.  Manages the tea house near the dormitory.  Has affections for Noriyasu Seta.  Good with a gun.  Somewhat cold and withdrawn personality, but acts as a mother figure around the Hinata House when necessary.  Short dark brown hair and brown eyes.  Height: 5'6.5"; BHW: 33-23-33

Sarah McDougal* - Adoptive daughter of Noriyasu Seta, whom she is close to.  Originally from California.  15 years old.  Somewhat mischievous in her nature.  Athletic & energetic.  Tends to hang out with the younger girls at the Hinata Hot Springs.  Is confrontational at times with older residents, especially Keitaro.  Long, blonde hair and blue eyes.  Height: 5'2"; BHW: 31-23-31

Mei Narusegawa - Naru's younger step-sister.  Tries to improve her relationship with Naru, wanting to be closer as a family.  14 years old.  Very slim figure.  Shoulder-length, auburn hair & brown eyes.  Initially distrusting of Keitaro because she felt he would be a wedge between her and Naru.  Now on friendlier terms with him, and others at the Hinata House.  Height: 5'3"; BHW: 23-20-24

Amalla Su - Kaolla's older sister.  25 years old.  Similar exotic physical features like Kaolla.  Also a princess from the Kingdom of Molmol.  Married to her adoptive brother, Prince Lamba Lu (heir apparent to the Kingdom of Molmol).  Wears exotic clothing reminiscent of her homeland.  Has a pet albino crocodile named Shiro.  Long silver hair & blue eyes.  Seductive personality.  Tall and voluptuous figure.  Height: 5'10"; BHW: 34-22-33

Tsuruko Aoyama - Motoko's older sister.  27 years old.  Master swordswoman & head of the family dojo, which specializes in the shinmei-ryu sword style.  Proficient in demon slaying.  Regularly dresses in a hakama similar to her sister.  Has a yellow crane named Shippu and a purple crane named Hayate.  Strict as an instructor but cares for her sister's well-being and happiness.  Married.  Emphasis on politeness, etiquette, and tradition in her personality and how she presents herself.  Long, black hair and olive-colored eyes.  Healthy figure.  Height: 5'10.5"; BHW: 34-22-34

Nyamo Namo - Young girl who hails from the Pararakelse Islands out in the South Pacific.  15 years old.  Similar to Shinobu in appearance, except Nyamo has dark skin like Kaolla & Amalla.  Long blue hair & blue eyes.  Inherently shy and doesn't talk much.  Develops a crush on Keitaro after meeting him on Pararakelse.  Has a sort of natural affinity for turtles, and also has a familial closeness to her grandfather.  Height: 5'2": BHW: 31-22-33

Kanako Urashima - Keitaro's adoptive younger sister.  18 years old.  Long, black hair & brown eyes.  Has a pet black cat named Kuro.  Doesn't see Keitaro as a brother, but as a lover and future husband.  Jealous of the connection Naru and Keitaro have, initially tried to have them separated.  Master of disguise and impersonation.  Prefers to wear clothing in a more elegant, gothic-themed style.  Generally reserved around everyone except for Keitaro.  Height: 5'4": BHW: 32-22-31

*For the sake of this fanfiction, I decided to accelerate Sarah's age so that the age difference between her and Keitaro would not be so great.  So her height and measurements are more in line with the younger girls (at the end of the manga series for the hardcore fans).  Didn't want there to be elements of pedophilia in this work of mine.

I know there are other characters in the Love Hina universe, but I figured that these character descriptions would be enough, as I don't intend on including literally everyone from the Love Hina franchise.  Basically, it will be Keitaro becoming surrounded by haremy goodness with all of these lovely ladies, so any other characters will be either briefly mentioned or have relatively limited interaction in this story.

It was another lovely spring day occurring in the scenic resort town of Hinata City, Japan.  The sun was shining high, there were sparse clouds throughout the skyline, the sakura trees were blooming in vibrant shades of pink, and the temperature was staying steady in the low 60s.  There was a calming breeze blowing through the area which had a lovely cooling effect for the people travelling throughout town.  All in all, the setting was quite pleasant for those who were out and about in Hinata and the surrounding area.

On this lovely day, at the Hinata Hot Springs Girls Dormitory (referred to shorthand as Hinata House), life as usual went on.  The numerous residents were going on with their daily lives, managing in the various chores that needed to be tended to on the regular basis, whether it was preparing breakfast, doing laundry, or one of the numerous day-to-day maintenance issues that needed to be addressed.  Of course, the vast majority of the maintenance issues usually fell onto the dorm's manager, one Keitaro Urashima.

Whether it was checking on the water pipes, fixing loose shingles on the roof, tending to any loose floorboards in the hallways, fixing any electrical problems, or any of the numerous tasks that needed regular observance and upkeep, Keitaro tended to have plenty on his plate, so to speak.  Whereas most people would be exhausted at the end of the day from completing so many daily chores, Mr. Urashima had a rather surprising amount of energy so as to not collapse from fatigue or exhaustion.  Don't misunderstand, Keitaro did get tired after a long day's work.  He just didn't get as tired as most people would from so much labor-intensive activity.

Currently, Keitaro was scrubbing the bath area of the well-known Hinata Hot Springs, the very landmark that made Hinata House known throughout the area.  Given that the dormitory was for girls exclusively (with Keitaro being the exception), he waited until the baths were empty before tending to them.  The hot springs were rather large in total area, able to hold upwards of twenty people at one time.  So obviously cleaning them down alone would take quite some time.  It certainly wasn't something Keitaro preferred to do all by his lonesome, but he had done it enough times by now that he could finish the task within a few hours if he paced himself and took small breaks in between to eat and rehydrate himself.

As he scrubbed and rinsed over the currently emptied onsen and surrounding area, Keitaro thought back to the past few months of his life.

After failing his entrance exams to get into the highly esteemed Tokyo University, Keitaro was somewhat down on his luck.  His parents gave him an ultimatum upon learning of his failure:  Get a regular, full-time job if he wished to keep living at home with them, or else move out and strike out on his own.  They believed it was time for him to be self-sufficient, and did not plan for their son (now in his twenties) to be staying home just to apply himself for constant studying in the hopes that he would someday be accepted into Tokyo U.  When they first suggested he try for a different university, Keitaro adamantly refused to do so.  He would only accept Tokyo U and no other.

The reason for doing so was rather silly and what most would consider an obnoxious, childish one at that.

When Keitaro was really little, he made a promise long ago to a little girl around his age who he developed something of a crush on.  They met for only one summer at the Hinata House, but that time together left an impression on him all the same.  Apparently, there was an old urban legend that if two people enrolled into Tokyo University together, they would fall in love and live happily ever after.  Such an idea seemed so wonderful for someone so young and still ignorant to the ways of the world.  Even so, that dream was what inspired Keitaro to pursue getting into Tokyo U no matter how many times he failed in the effort.

Now, all these years later, Keitaro found himself back at Hinata House, serving as the manager of the facility.  As luck would have it, given that Keitaro was in need of both a job and a new place to live, an opportunity presented itself.  His grandmother, Hina Urashima, decided to retire from the position as dormitory manager and travel the world.  The matriarch of the Urashima family decided to call on her grandson and run the facility in her stead.  Given that Keitaro had no other real options, he took the position all too eagerly.

Of course, given Keitaro's overall luck, he ended up walking into something he didn't fully prepare for.  For starters, the Hinata House he recalled from his childhood years was once a simple hotel that allowed for both male and female residents.  But when Keitaro arrived to take over as manager of the place, he was surprised to learn that the place had been converted into a girls-only dormitory.  Not only that, but Keitaro had an unfortunate run-in with one of the residents of the place in the hot springs on his first day there.  None other than Naru Narusegawa ended up meeting face-to-face with Keitaro, the two of them wearing nothing more than towels in the hot springs.  Fearing he was a creeper and a sick pervert, Naru was ready to give Keitaro a serious physical thrashing and turn him over to the police.  After running through a series of hijinks his first day, Keitaro ended up being saved by another member of his family, none other than his aunt, Haruka Urashima.

Keitaro also remembered that day that Haruka despised being referred to as "Aunt Haruka," as she would give him a sizable walloping every time he referred to her as such.

After clearing the air with several of the dorm's residents as to who Keitaro was and what he was at Hinata House for, Haruka managed to help smooth things over with Naru and the other girls living there.  While initially distrusting towards Keitaro, Naru slowly over time managed to soften up somewhat to him.  Of course, she would give him a solid punch or kick to his head or torso whenever she felt he was doing something perverted.  But over time, her thrashings became less and less as she learned to make peace with Keitaro's nature.  He might have acted as a pervert now and then through his actions, but they were all practically freak occurrences and out of his control when they happened.  In time, Naru began to see Keitaro in a different light, going from disapproval to acceptance to friendship, until feelings of romance began forming.

Alongside Naru, the other residents of Hinata House warmed up to their new manager the more they got to know him.  There was Mitsune Konno, known better by her nickname "Kitsune".  The older girl had a somewhat foxy attitude in that she wasn't afraid to flirt with Keitaro much of the time, usually in trying to delay a rent payment when possible, as well as how her facial features were somewhat foxlike, especially with her eyes closed to the point where she was looking through narrow slits.  While somewhat of a prankster and lazy in her overall nature, Kitsune had warmed up to Keitaro fairly quickly.

Then there was Kaolla Su.  The foreigner was a little ball of energy in how hyper she could be at times.  Generally playful in her nature, Kaolla had a tendency to desire testing out inventions of hers on Keitaro, which sometimes ended up with him being physically injured afterwards.  The girl took an almost automatic liking to Keitaro not long after his arrival, seeing him as a sort of "big brother" for her to play with on-and-off whenever she had free time.

There was also Shinobu Maehara.  A recent arrival at the Hinata House, Shinobu was a rather timid girl who was going through drama at home with her parents who at the time were undergoing a rather messy divorce.  When the dilemma came up of who she would end up living with, Shinobu tried a third option and ended up staying at the Hinata House.  She saw something in Keitaro's character that started out as admiration, but not long after evolved into a schoolgirl crush, followed by genuine romantic feelings.  However, she was too timid to ever fully admit her feelings to anybody else or confess directly to Keitaro as to how he made her feel.  She simply was content that she got to live in the same building as her crush and help around where she could, usually with laundry, cooking, or doing the dishes.

Probably the most combative resident to Keitaro's arrival would have been Motoko Aoyama.  The kendo practitioner had a rather low opinion of men in general, and the thought of one being the dormitory manager was unacceptable and far as she was concerned.  Initially trying to get Keitaro booted out of the Hinata House, Motoko eventually made a begrudging concession and accepted him as her manager.  At times she would physically attack him like Naru would, usually using a wooden sword or bamboo sword in the process and send Keitaro flying.  But over time, Motoko began to see Keitaro's reliability, his continuous drive and his overall kind nature and began developing feelings for him.  Of course, given her previous thoughts on men, such feelings were uncharted territory for Motoko, and the stern kendo girl wasn't sure how to act upon them.

As the months passed, the residents at Hinata House began to warm up to Keitaro overall.  He was a good worker.  He put the effort in so long as his body was physically willing.  That little tidbit helped to convince Naru and Motoko to let up on the beatings, for if they regularly thrashed their manager, then the daily and weekly chores would suffer as a result and someone else would need to tend to them in Keitaro's place.  Since Haruka was busy enough managing the nearby teahouse just down the road from the dorms, it would most likely fall onto one the the residents to substitute in place of their injured manager.  Even though Keitaro could bounce back and recover from his injuries (far more than the average man), it was prudent to avoid hurting him if they wanted the facilities to remain in peak condition.

Speaking of facilities, that takes us back to Mr. Urashima tending to the baths.  He was nearly done with scrubbing and rinsing out the baths, and so the girls could enjoy a soak that night if they so desired.  The one thing that everyone at Hinata House valued the most out of all the perks of living in the dorms was the famous hot springs there.  A good soak for an hour or so seemed to make one's physical stress and mental strains just melt away.  The pleasure of relaxing in the hot spring's waters was at times borderline orgasmic.  Everyone who tried them agreed that the experience brought forth nirvana at times.  So it was that Keitaro would make a mental note to make sure they were cleaned on a regular basis, given how often the girls used them.

As for Keitaro himself, whenever he desired to sit and relax in a hot spring, a sort of halfway solution was made for him so as to not make things awkward between the sexes.  Chances were good that someone of the female sex would end up being in the hot springs during most hours of the day, whether that was one person, a small group, or every resident in the dorms.  To avoid awkward run-ins and unintentional mingling between the manager and the other dorm residents, Keitaro was given his own private hot tub on the upper balcony of the dormitory.  While it was just big enough for one (or perhaps two if they were pressed up against each other), Keitaro was content that he had his own personal bath to relax in when he desired without the worry of running into one of his tenants in the nude.  He saw it as a minor perk of being manager, and was glad to enjoy the small creature comfort.

As he finished up with cleaning the hot springs, Keitaro gathered up his equipment and returned it to the nearby shed.  Once the mop, bucket, scrubbing brush, sponge, and liquid soap were returned, he made his way inside Hinata House.  He figured he would check the fridge and grab a quick bite before moving onto the next task.  If he was lucky, maybe Shinobu made sandwiches or something early in the day before heading off to school.  She had a tendency to make her senpai something he could enjoy during the day while she was away.  That was one of the numerous things Keitaro liked about the girl.

‘If she ever marries, I hope whoever ends up with her realizes how fortunate they are to have her.' thought Keitaro.  In his opinion, Shinobu was ideal wife material.  Kind, caring, helpful with housework where possible.  If she were a bit older or he a bit younger, Keitaro might have considered asking her out.  The thought brought a slight blush to his cheeks.  He didn't want to go too far down the rabbit hole and start having naughty thoughts about one of his tenants.  In his view, Shinobu was something more akin to a younger sister than a girlfriend.  Best to keep it that way, he thought.

As he rummaged through the fridge for something to eat, another person entered the kitchen.

"Hey there, Keitaro!  How are things?" said the cheerful, country girl voice belonging to Kitsune.  Turning around, Keitaro responded.

"Oh, Kitsune.  Hi there.  Just finished up with cleaning the hot springs.  Figured I would grab a quick bite is all."

"Well well well, you're just full of energy, aintcha Keitaro?" said the girl with a sly grin.

"Just doing my job Kitsune," responded her manager, "By the way, are you going to have this month's rent ready?"

"Well now, by chance could I ask for a small extension?" inquired the fox-like girl.

"How long of an extension?" groaned Keitaro.

"Oh, I dunno...a few days, maybe a week?" she asked.

"A week?  Really, Kitsune...I can only give you so long in time.  This has been...what the fifth time this year?  Sixth?  I can only cover your rent payments out of my pocket for so long.  I'm not rich, you know."  The exasperation in Keitaro's voice was clear enough.

"Okay then, Keitaro.  I'll try really hard to have the money for ya before week's end.  If by chance I can't, then maybe I can make it up to ya in another way."  The insinuation in Kitsune's voice was all too apparent.

"What other way?" asked Keitaro, pretty sure he knew what she was implying.

At this point, Kitsune sauntered over towards her manager, swaying her hips in just the right way as her bosom gently bounced.  With the way she moved, it was as if she was auditioning to be a runway model.  Keitaro had to admit, Kitsune had curves in all the right places, and he knew that she knew it too.  Coming straight up to Keitaro, pressing her generous bosom against his chest and draping her arms around his neck as if they were lovers, Kitsune leaned in and whispered seductively into Keitaro's ear.

"I could give ya a massage...a private one in my room or your room.  Just the two of us, alone and undisturbed.  I promise ya'll will feel like a million yen when I'm done with you."  If Kitsune was trying to seduce Keitaro, she was doing a pretty good job at it.  At the moment, Keitaro's heart rate was picking up and his breathing was intensifying.  Again, he knew that Kitsune knew this too, given her body's proximity to his.

Placing his hands against her shoulders and gently pushing her away, Keitaro responded to her offer.

"Kitsune, I appreciate the offer, even though I'm pretty sure you're just teasing.  That being said, I'll just take the money, plain and simple.  And I'll give you a week to have it ready.  That reasonable?"

"Well, ain't you just the sweetest thing, Keitaro?" Kitsune's face lit up, glad that she got some leeway from her manager.  She was aware that if it were anyone else, including Haruka, that Kitsune would be in a bit of a tighter situation.  Maybe Grandma Hina would be as sympathetic to her as Keitaro was, but that was no sure guarantee.

"One more thing, Kitsune," responded Keitaro, "I wish you would be a little more self-respecting and treat yourself right."

"Whadda ya mean by that?" asked Kitsune, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"While most guys would jump at the chance to get intimate with you and do...well, you know, things...with you, I wish you'd be a bit more reserved at times.  And also maybe let up on the drinking from time to time."  His tone was serious, but measured.

"You think I'm tryin' ta be easy?"  inquired Kitsune.

"No, I know it's an act, at least where I'm concerned.  I just wish you'd reserve that kind of behavior for someone who you're close with.  Really, actually close with, that's all."  Keitaro was trying to walk a fine line between being direct and being helpful.  He knew Kitsune would use her feminine charms to try to get out of rent payments or to get something out of Keitaro that she wouldn't ordinarily get out of most other men.

There was a momentary pause as Kitsune stood still and stared at Keitaro with a somewhat blank look on her face.  In the time that she had come to know him, he was more perceptive than she gave him credit for.  He would let her take advantage of him (all but sexually) and still not hold a grudge over it.  He had a big enough heart that he could grant her more leeway than most would.  If another person was the dorm manager in Keitaro's place, then Kitsune would most likely have been evicted from the dorms by now for all the payments she was either late on or couldn't come up with.  It gave her a moment to reflect on how good she had it and how fortunate she was to have Keitaro as her manager.

"Alright, Keitaro," responded Kitsune, "I'll try not to be too flirty from now on.  And I promise I'll have the rent money, or at least most of it before the week's out."  With that, she went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of iced tea and closed the door, getting ready to leave.  However, she decided to surprise Keitaro and catch him off guard.

In the span of a heartbeat, Kitsune spun around quickly and placed her hands upon Keitaro's shoulders and once more pressed her breasts into his chest yet again.  In his momentary state of being caught unaware, Kitsune dove in for the kill, so to speak.  She planted a quick kiss on Keitaro's lips, lasting only a second, but leaving quite an impression on the young man.  She then proceeded to lean into his ear to whisper once more.

"Who says it's all an act where you're concerned?  If you wanted to, we could be close, you an' me.  Just something to think about, in case things with Naru don't pan out."  The huskiness in her voice was making itself all too apparent.

Before Keitaro could respond, Kitsune had pushed herself away from him, satisfied that she caught him unaware and brought forth a blush to his cheeks.  It was roughly the same shade of red that was on Kitsune's cheeks if a third person was in the room to observe.  If Kitsune was still acting, she was putting on a hell of a performance.

As she turned around, she sauntered off once again, making her way towards her dorm room.  Her hips swayed in all the right places as Keitaro momentarily glanced at the defined rounded features of her buttocks as she left the room.  He was pretty sure she was doing it on purpose, expecting him to take in the view, so to speak.

While the act of getting flirty with him was enough of a shocker for Keitaro, a more serious thought was racing through his mind in that moment:

‘Does Kitsune like me?  Like, really like me?  As in "more than friends" kind of like me?'

The thought of it all was too much, too quickly.  Keitaro felt his face getting warm and his heartbeat still pounding somewhat from the physical contact, especially that kiss that came without warning.  During that momentary meeting of the lips, Keitaro could smell Kitsune's scent.  It was that female scent that girls seemed to automatically give off.  Were those pheromones they were talking about in his classes on human health from his highschool days?  What was it about young women that made them so darn appealing?  Their scent certainly played a role.  While Kitsune at times gave off the scent of strong alcohol (usually sake), she had her own unique scent that could drive Keitaro a little crazy deep down inside, especially in his loins.  He was a young, red-blooded virile man after all.  He had physical wants and desires like most guys his age.  He just made the effort of not acting on them automatically and coming off as a guy who only wanted one thing exclusively from the opposite sex.

Before his mind wandered off into whether or not Kitsune was basically proposing being his girlfriend, Keitaro felt it best to keep his mind busy.  As the saying goes, "Gotta make hay while the sun shines," and there were still other tasks around the Hinata House that needed tending too.  After grabbing some rice cakes to snack on and downing them with some grape juice in the fridge, Keitaro made his way off towards the "To Do" list in the common room area of the dorms.  There were still a few chores he could finish before sundown and he needed something to keep his mind wandering into the realm of romance.

With that, Keitaro vacated the kitchen, off to manage the next assignment.

While Keitaro was busy with the various tasks that needed tending to back at the Hinata House, several of the other residents were out and about going on with their everyday lives.  Several of them were away at school at that moment.  While Motoko was attending her senior year in high school, the younger residents were finishing up their freshman year.  At the moment, there was Kaolla Su, Shinobu Maehara, Sarah McDougal, Mei Narusegawa, and Nyamo Namo all sitting together at a table during their lunch period.

Kaolla and Shinobu had been classmates for over a year at this point, while Sarah and Mei were recent additions to their clique.  While Mei was younger, she proved to be a rather quick study and was moved up ahead in her grade so that she would end up being a freshman in secondary school rather than a senior in middle school.  Nyamo was also a recent addition to the group, and while she was the newest and shyest of the bunch, she was familiar enough with Japanese that she picked up on basics of the language, having been exposed to Japanese explorers back on her homeland of the Pararakelse Islands.  She was closest to Shinobu and Kaolla, having formed a fast friendship with the two of them during their visit to her homeland several months ago.

Like Nyamo, Sarah was also a foreigner.  While the sight of an American in Japan wasn't too surprising given relations between both countries, Sarah did come off as a standout from her appearance alone.  Some figured her blonde hair was merely dyed that way, and would be shocked to find out it was her natural hair color.  Sarah was also a quick study on picking up on the Japanese language as well, having visited Japan on and off regularly since the age of 9.  Now at 15 years old, she could manage a conversation well enough with virtually anyone her age and even adults for the most part.

As the close-knit clique of friends sat around eating their lunches, small talk ended up occurring, as was the case with people in general and especially school-age girls.

"So, Shinobu, what did you think of that video in health class?" inquired Kaolla.

"Umm...it was informative.  I certainly learned some things.  But it's really not the sort of thing we should be discussing out in the open, Kaolla." replied the meek, blue-haired girl.

"Oh come on," interjected Sarah, "learning about puberty is pretty much a given in public schools.  Some places probably show videos when kids are in middle school or even earlier, but I guess this school wanted to play it safe and have us learn about it when we're older so as not to have a bad PTA meeting or something."  The girl had a habit of speaking her mind bluntly.

"Well, I get that kids should learn about growing up physically and all," responded Shinobu, "but talking about getting older and certain...things getting bigger and also...you know...bleeding.  That sort of stuff should be kept private or between doctors and patients, you know?"

"What's wrong, Shinobu?" asked Sarah in a leering tone of voice, "Don't want to talk about getting periods?  Or maybe you're a little self-conscious about your boobs?"  The American girl cracked a toothy grin as she teased Shinobu.

"Come on now, Sarah," interceded Mei, "don't go making Shinobu feel uncomfortable about that sort of thing.  Everybody matures at different rates.  Some of us are just faster bloomers than others.  No need to go prodding and teasing like that."  Sarah turned to Mei, still wanting to mess with her friends a little bit.

"Well now, that's amusing coming from you, Mei.  I mean if anybody is in need of some serious development and maturing, it would certainly be you out of everyone here." said the blonde girl with that mischievous, toothy grin once more.

At this statement, Mei grumbled and instinctively covered her arms over her chest, blushing in her embarrassment.  While she was the youngest in age out of everybody in their group, she did feel a little self-conscious about her figure.  Out of the five girls there, Mei's figure was skinny and stick-like; to say that she lacked curves would be like saying that water is usually wet or that fire was kind of hot.

"Come on now, Sarah," said Kaolla, "don't be mean.  Like Mei said, everybody matures differently.  She may be skinny now, but who knows?  In a few years she could have bigger breasts and nicer curves than you for all we know.  Best not to be so mean now, for as the saying goes, ‘Karma is a female dog.'"  The Molmolian girl decided to help give some perspective and gently put Sarah in her place.

Looking around the table at Su's declaration, Sarah could tell that she was the odd woman out.  Everyone else seemed in agreement with Kaolla, including Nyamo (who nodded her head in approval at Kaolla's words), so Sarah decided to knock off with the teasing.

"Alright, I'm sorry," muttered Sarah, "I was just teasing a little is all.  I'm sorry I joked about your figure, Mei.  We still friends?"  While Sarah had a hard time showing it, she appreciated the few people she had grown close with over the past year or so.  Before getting familiar with the Hinata House and its residents, the only person Sarah truly cared for was her adoptive father, the archaeologist Noriyasu Seta.  Over time, with Seta's encouragement, Sarah began to open up with other girls her age.  While it was still hard for her to be genuinely friendly with people who were significantly older than her, especially those like Keitaro, she was making an attempt to not be so withdrawn and confrontational.

"It's okay," responded Mei, "all water under the bridge as they say.  Come here."  At this point, Mei had outstretched her arms, signalling Sarah to come in for a hug.  A moment later, the two embraced, holding each other for a few seconds as Mei gently patted Sarah on the back (and feeling envious of the breasts that were poking against her chest).

During the remainder of the girls' lunch period, they discussed a myriad of topics.  Some were about school and which classes were more stressful or more boring than others.  Some were about fashion trends like trying on new beauty products or new bras.  Others were about what to do when summer came around, like any sites to visit on vacation or plans to make for a faraway trip somewhere.  Locations like the west coast of the United States, the Pararakelse Islands, the island of Okinawa, and the Kingdom of Molmol were brought up as potential tourist destinations for the girls to consider.  While it might have seemed impractical for them to seriously ponder taking a far off trip to one of those places, it was handy to remember that they had Kaolla Su in their clique.  The girl could create a sturdy enough mid-sized aircraft that could get them to any of those places, as she had demonstrated the first time they ventured off to the Pararakelse Islands from the Hinata House and ended up meeting Nyamo in the process.

As the lunch period ended, the everyday humdrum of school continued.  Lectures, tests, walking through hallways between classes, and all the other typical everyday activities that were part of public school life.  As the day was nearing its end and the final bell sounded off for the students to go home, the girls walked together towards the Hinata House.

While Kaolla and Shinobu were regular residents at the Hinata House, Sarah, Mei, and Nyamo had become recent new arrivals at the Hinata residency as well.  In Sarah's case, her father was off on another one of his long adventures to some faraway place, so Sarah was handed over to Keitaro and Haruka to be watched after while he was away.  Given that Mei was Naru's sister (step-sister technically), she was more than welcome to stay for at least a few weeks if not months and room with Naru.  As for Nyamo, she had grown close to the members of the Hinata House ever since their visit to the Pararakelse Islands and would visit them on-and-off, staying for weeks at a time.  She tended to bunk with either Kaolla or Shinobu, given how close and trusting she had become to the both of them.

As the girls walked along the sidewalk towards Hinata House, they were greeted by another tenant and schoolgirl as well.

"Hey, Motoko!" hollered Kaolla, waving her arm to get the kendo girl's attention.

The tall, dark-haired senior soon enough spotted the clique of girls and joined up with them soon after.  They all walked together towards Hinata as the sun was starting to dim over the horizon.  The younger girls recalled their daily events with Motoko while she in turn shared her daily experiences as a highschool senior with them.

"Honestly, with the year wrapping up, I'm still trying to make up my mind on where to go after highschool." said Motoko to her junior classmates, "Part of me is considering taking up the mantle of being head of the family dojo, and yet another part of me is wondering if I should pursue higher education.  I know there's still time, but it creeps up on you before you know it."

"So, you're thinking about being a sword master like your sister then?" asked Shinobu.

"I'm considering it," responded Motoko, "It's a lot of responsibility.  I would have to regularly hone my skills in the shinmei-ryu sword style.  Even experts can get sloppy if they don't commit themselves to training and refining their techniques regularly.  Then there is the process of taking on new students and teaching them how to take up the mantle for the future.  I don't want to bore you with too many details, but trust me when I say it's a lot of work and commitment if one wants to pursue that kind of thing."

"So you would be slaying demons and stuff like that?" asked Sarah.

"Exorcism is one part of it, yes," responded Motoko, "sometimes through swordplay, but other times it is done through purification rituals, usually to ward off bad spirits or help them cross over to the other side and find inner peace.  While there may not be much of a demand for samurais and swordsmen in this modern era, the Aoyama family has prided itself on maintaining tradition and honoring the old ways, at least in Japan if nowhere else in the world."

"And what about the other option you mentioned," asked Mei, "something about pursuing higher education?"

At this question, a minor blush came to Motoko's cheeks.

"Umm...yes.  I've been considering that for some time now.  I would like a fallback option in case the first path doesn't work out for me."  Motoko's voice was more reserved, with minor hints of embarrassment in her tone.

"Really?  What would you want to major in?  Any school in particular you would like to enroll in?" asked Shinobu.

"To be honest, I'm not yet sure what major I would pick just yet," responded the tall swordswoman, "and as for which school to pick, I was considering...maybe...Tokyo U."  At this point, Motoko was speaking at just over a whisper.  The blush on her cheeks was spreading to the rest of her face, turning redder by the second.

"Huh?" inquired Kaolla, "Tokyo U?  Isn't that the school that Keitaro and Naru are trying to get into?"  The Molmolian girl had that habit of speaking her mind and stating the obvious without warning or much forethought.

By now, Motoko was pretty red in the face from embarrassment.  To those who knew her well, this wasn't too much of a surprise.  In the time she had gotten to know Keitaro, she had done a practical 180 degrees on the love-hate spectrum with her dorm manager.  Whereas initially she despised his very presence and would let it be known - usually using her sword in the process - she had softened up to him in the last year or so and was now crushing pretty hard for him.  While she did her best to hide her affections for the man, those who spent enough time with her could discern that she had at least some level of affection for the man.  After getting to know her and helping her when she was at her lowest emotionally (from an episode that occurred between her and her older sister), Keitaro had ended up stealing her heart in the process.  The somewhat clumsy dorm manager had proven an unknowing casanova who had won over the formerly stern swordswoman.

While Motoko might have initially pursued romance with Keitaro outright, she wanted to be considerate of others who had similar feelings for him.  She knew there was chemistry between him and Naru for over the last year at this point.  Both were pursuing to get into Tokyo University after all, in the hopes of enacting the old urban legend of getting married if they did so.  It was the same reason she wanted to get into Tokyo U after all, in the hopes of maybe getting her chance with Keitaro.

There were other girls to factor in as well.  Motoko was aware of Shinobu's crush on the guy, and was torn as to whether or not she should try to tell her that she was pursuing the same man, or step aside to see if the younger girl had a chance for romantic happiness with him.  There was also the case of Mutsumi Otohime, the kind-hearted, ditzy-minded girl from Okinawa who had strong feelings for Keitaro for a while now, possibly even longer than Naru.  While Mutsumi could be overly friendly with practically everyone she came across (to the point of kissing them without warning), Motoko was aware enough that she could tell that the Okinawan girl had genuine romantic feelings for the man as well.  The last thing Motoko wanted to do was turn a potential love triangle into a square and throw herself into the mix as well.  If Shinobu was a factor, that would turn it into a pentagon, with all the potential heartbreak that could come with it.

"Uhh...yeah, I suppose that is the place that Naru and Keitaro are trying to get into.  I just figured I would ‘go big or go home' as they say."  Motoko was trying to find a legitimate excuse for wanting to get into that particular university.

Given the girl's physical reaction, the other members of the group could tell that something was not what it seemed.  A girl blushing that hard at the thought of going to college?  Was studying really something that gets that sort of a response?  Already, the other girls were coming to their own conclusions.

‘Oh my goodness, she's in love with Keitaro too!' thought Shinobu.

‘Wow, is she crushing on the dork?' thought Sarah.

‘Does she have feelings for Keitaro?' thought Mei.

‘She...likes...no...loves Keitaro.' thought Nyamo.

"Motoko, are you in love with Keitaro?"  asked Kaolla, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

‘Way to go, Su!  Put her on the spot right there and then why don't you?' This was the general thought shared among Shinobu, Sarah, and Mei, while Nyamo simply stared with a blank look on her face, not too thrown off by what the Molmolian princess just uttered.

Stuttering in response, her face now red as a tomato, Motoko was caught between stuttering and choking at the bluntness of Kaolla's question.

"I...uh...I mean...that is...uh...I...he's...um..." the normally stoic swordswomen was at a loss for words.  How could Kaolla ask something like that so bluntly to her, and in front of the other girls too boot!?

"It's okay if you do," responded Kaolla, "I love Keitaro too."

"S-sure Su, I know you like the guy, in a sort of big brother kind of way, but what you're talking about is..." before she could get another word in, Su cut her off.

"No, I'm in love with him too, just like you are.  I want to marry him.  I want him to be my husband, not my big brother.  I want to make babies with him and rule Molmol together with him.  I want to make a big, happy family with him.  And just know that I don't mind in the slightest if you're in love with him too.  That's all."  The Molmolian girl finished with a big smile on her face.

By now, Motoko was a deer in the headlights.  Kaolla just confessed her love for Keitaro in front of her and the other girls.  She probably would have no problem confessing to everyone at Hinata House, scratch that, to everyone on the planet.  She was simply too honest and open when it came to the topic of romance.  When it came to matters of love, if Kaolla wanted something, she simply went after it.

Just like Motoko, everyone else in the group was staring wide-eyed at the semi-aloof foreigner.  If Kaolla could be relied on for one thing, it was her bluntness.  Shinobu stared at her with her eyes as wide as they could go.  Sarah's mouth was ajar in her shock at hearing that confession.  Mei's eyebrows looked as if they were about to disappear into her hairline, such was her surprise.  Even Nyamo had a slightly bewildered look on her face, surprised at how open Kaolla could be with her feelings.

"K-Kaolla," said Shinobu, "maybe we can talk about this particular subject some other time.  Stuff like that is rather intimate and should best be said behind closed doors between close friends after all and..." Once again, Kaolla couldn't help but cut off her best friend.

"It's okay, Shinobu, I know you are in love with Keitaro too.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that everyone here has feelings for him.  Some might be a little stronger than others, but everyone here really, really likes Keitaro and likes being with him.  Even you, Sarah."  Once more, the girl finished her statement with a calm grin on her face.

The other five girls were now all carrying heavy blushes on their faces.  The two heaviest blushes were awarded to Shinobu and Motoko, now being made aware that they were both in fact in love with the same man.  Mei, Sarah, and Nyamo had somewhat lesser blushes on their faces.  

In Sarah's case, given her demeanor, her face was contorted into a sort of grumbling mix of embarrassment and anger.  Sure she liked the guy, even if he was a dork.  He did listen to her and was patient with her.  In some ways, his character was similar to that of her adoptive father.  Like Seta, Keitaro was kind, open, and had more patience with her than most people would be willing to give her, given the angst of her early childhood years.  She supposed that the dork wasn't the worst pick as far as hanging out with someone, but dating?  Romance?  Getting...intimate?  That was quite a leap from being friendly with someone.  Even so, the young girl was caught in an internal whirlwind of emotions, trying to figure out if she felt something deeper with Keitaro Urashima or not.

In Mei's case, she was at a crossroads for reasons regarding family.  Whereas she initially tried to separate Keitaro from Naru upon first meeting him, she soon after softened up to the guy.  Upon learning that Mei feared that Naru despised her and wanted nothing to do with her, Keitaro helped to reconcile whatever misunderstanding had occurred between the siblings.  His kindness and willingness to see the sisters form a closer bond brought Mei to tears, with her actually hugging the guy on instinct in her moment of emotional weakness.  Soon after, they became good friends, with Mei doing what she could to help move things along romantically between Keitaro and Naru.  However, a part of her wondered that if things didn't work out between them, then could she fill the hole in Keitaro's heart.  If for whatever reason that the relationship between her sister and her potential crush ended badly, could she see herself with the guy who was patient and considerate with her?  Would he even be interested in her, especially if she had a stick-like figure and no real feminine charm?  No curves or breasts whatsoever?

As for Nyamo, she was calmer in her reaction compared to the others.  What Kaolla said was true:  She was in love with Keitaro.  In the brief time he had spent with her on the Pararakelse Islands, she had grown attached to him at a surprisingly quick rate.  Was it love at first sight?  Who can say?  Keitaro's helpful disposition and supportive nature was enough to get the girl to develop feelings for him.  While she didn't talk as much as the other girls in getting her feelings across, it was in her body language that everything that needed saying was said.  Her propensity to embrace Keitaro the way lovers would, whether up front or from behind, was all that needed to be conveyed.  Whether Keitaro had romantic feelings for Nyamo was unknown, but in Nyamo's case, she loved him, and was content with having an unrequited love, at least up to that point anyway.

"Kaolla, could we please end this topic of discussion?" pleaded Motoko, the blush on her face now starting to fade as she collected herself.  She couldn't help but notice that none of the other girls denied having strong feelings of attachment - if not outright romantic love - for Keitaro.  Forget a love pentagon, this was fast turning into a love octagon!  Or a love dodecahedron!  Or some shape with a LOT of sides and corners with the way things were turning out.

"Alright then, I'll let it go...for now.," said Kaolla with absolute calmness in her voice, "On a different note, how are things with your sister, Motoko?"  With romance and intimacy no longer being the subject, things were now less awkward.

"Tsuruko?  She's fine.  Well...actually, she's going through a rough patch right now?" said Motoko.

"Why?  What's wrong?"  asked Shinobu, her voice laden with concern.

"Well, to try and make things short and not too complicated, she has recently undergone a divorce," responded Motoko.  The other girls enquired further for more details, curious as to what made things come apart.

"There's not too much to say," elaborated Motoko, "from what little Tsuruko was willing to share with me over the phone and in letters, things between her and her husband...sorry, ex-husband  were on the decline over the last few months.  It was mainly about chemistry between them.  He simply found her too odd for him, and didn't care for her taking up being a sword practitioner.  He also didn't find her...fun...in the bedroom, from what I understand."  At this last part, the blush returns to Motoko's cheeks.  She always had a habit of being a purehearted maiden when it came to talking about matters of intimacy.

"Well, that guy's a jerk if you ask me," responded Sarah, "I've seen photos of your sister and she's a knockout beauty.  She could be model material as far as I'm concerned.  Maybe it's for the best that she dumps that loser."

"Sarah, please," interceded Mei, "even if you think the guy didn't deserve being with Tsuruko, you don't have to push and prod too much on that topic.  Going through divorce is not something fun or entertaining.  Believe me, Naru and I can tell you that much."  Feeling embarrassed by Mei's words of wisdom, Sarah found herself apologizing once more.

"I'm...sorry.  I didn't mean to come off as insensitive or snarky in the way I said things.  And I've been through that sort of stuff too when I was little.  You all know that Seta isn't my real...my biological father.  He's more of a father to me than old ‘whatshisname' ever was, and he's all I need as far as parenting goes.  I just think guys who are jerks and don't appreciate a good woman don't deserve a good woman, that's all."

At that moment, both Mei and Shinobu hugged Sarah, trying to console the girl.  As kindred spirits who had gone through the process of divorce in their younger years, they shared a sort of bond that others couldn't quite understand.  Seconds later Nyamo had joined in on the action, piling onto the hug.  She always believed that comfort through physical touch was most important when it came to human understanding and bonding.

"Come on, Motoko, group hug!" declared Kaolla as she snatched the older girl's wrist and dragged her over to the growing hugfest that was occurring.  While Motoko was hesitant at Kaolla's directness and ready to say something in response, she ended up relenting and joining in the piling on.  Content that everyone was together for a moment of emotional healing and being there for each other, Kaolla was happy that she did what she did.

‘Now if we could just recreate this with everyone from Hinata House, including Keitaro of course.'  That was her thought as she enjoyed the moment for its own sake.  If there was one thing Kaolla Su was known for, it was her desire to create one big, happy family.

"Well, I hope things work out for your sister, Motoko," said Shinobu, once the hug had come to its end, "If there's anything we can do to help her, feel free to let me know."

"Funny you should mention that," responded Motoko, "Tsuruko is actually coming down to Hinata House tonight.  I was conversing with her this morning and decided it would be good for her to come down and relax here.  Get her mind off of dramatic things like what happened over the last few months.  Hopefully, some time in the hot springs will do her mind and body some good for her."

"Wow!  That's amazing, Motoko!," said Shinobu, "I'll be so glad to see her again.  I should really make something special to commemorate her arrival.  Do you know how long she'll be staying?"

"At least a week, maybe a few more if she needs it," responded the swordswoman, "She'll be bunking with me for the duration of her stay."

"Oh yeah!" declared Kaolla, "I forgot to mention that my sister will be coming here tonight as well.  Didn't know if I should keep it a surprise or not.  Figured that since Motoko's sister is coming to Hinata, then I might as well let you know the same is happening with me."

"Really?" responded Sarah with skepticism, "and why's your sister coming down here too?  She's not also having relationship problems is she?"

"Oh no!  None at all!  She's very happy with her husband!  They have been hitting it off ever since the wedding and honeymoon.  If anything, I'm more worried about big brother Lamba than Amalla."

"Why is that?"  asked Mei.

"Well, Big Sister Amalla tends to get very...hungry...in the bedroom," said Kaolla.

"What?  You mean she needs to like...eat a lot, when she's doing the nasty." asked Sarah, confusion in her voice.

"Oh no, Amalla doesn't starve or anything like that.  Poor choice of words.  Let me put it in numbers instead.  Some nights, Big Brother Lamba can go four or five rounds in bed before he gets too tired, but the problem is that Amalla can go a good eight or nine rounds before she gets tuckered out.  Lamba is more than willing to satisfy her, but his body can only take so much compared to hers.  He's lucky if they end up breaking even."  At this elaboration on Molmolian bedroom arts, the other five girls were rather red in the face with embarrassment, even Nyamo.  How could Kaolla be so open when it came to matters involving intercourse?  The girl apparently wasn't big into the concept of subtlety when it came to describing things.

"Well...um...that must be problematic for your sister, I suppose," said Motoko, trying to steer the conversation along, hopefully towards a conclusion.

"No need to worry, Motoko.  Amalla is very understanding, and she can make due with other members of the royal harem.  She has to be patient, after all.  While she may be first in the pecking order, she has to allow her sister-wives to have their share of the fun too."  Once more, Kaolla described everything succinctly without missing a beat, with no embarrassment in her voice whatsoever.

"S-s-sister wives?" said Motoko, Shinobu, Sarah, and Mei at the same time.

"Oh yes," continued Kaolla, "in Molmolian culture, it's perfectly natural for royalty and the upper class to take on multiple partners in a marriage.  And given that Lamba is going to be the next king and Amalla his queen, they get a fairly big harem at that.  I'm not sure what the exact number is right now.  Last I checked it was at least ten other women, I think.  It's part of the reason that Big Brother Lamba is so tired.  He has to have enough stamina to make everyone happy."

Yet again, the other girls simply stood like deer in the headlights at Kaolla's explanation on Molmolian marital customs.  Maybe that was why she had such a nonchalant view on matters involving sex and intimacy.  The world she grew up in certainly seemed to be one of "free love" in its own ways.

"That's...certainly a lot of partners involved," said Mei, "and they're able to keep things friendly among each other?  No jealousy or tension between any of the um...sisters?"

"No, not really," responded Kaolla, "I mean there might be the occasional tiff now and then, like in a lot of relationships, but they usually make up in a day or two.  Everyone who enters into it is expected to be open-minded.  Nobody is forced into it against their will.  If they don't want to be part of it, the other members are expected to honor that person's wishes.  Big Sister Amalla loves Lamba; she also loves her sister wives too.  She just has such a big appetite for pleasure that she'll alternate between Lamba and the others until she has had her fill, that's all."

"Okay, well I think I've heard enough bedroom stuff for one night," said Sarah, trying to bring the topic of discussion to a close, "We should really be heading back now, don't you think?"  The other girls minus Kaolla nodded in agreement.  A second later, they all proceeded back towards Hinata House, which was just a few minutes away by foot at this point.

"So, Kaolla," started Shinobu, "why was your sister coming to visit again?  I think the answer to that got lost in the conversation."

"She just wanted to visit and see how I'm doing, along with everyone else.  That's all.  Amalla likes to stay in touch with me for a few different reasons.  Partly it has to do with me being part of the royal family, I suppose, but really it's mainly because we're sisters and we care about each other."

"Yeah, sisters but not sister-wives." muttered Sarah, her words barely perceptible to everyone else.

"I heard that, Sarah," responded Kaolla, "We could very well be sister-wives if I so decided, but like I told you all earlier, I love Amalla and Lamba, but more so as siblings than as lovers.  I wouldn't be against being with them completely, but I already have feelings for Keitaro.  I want to marry him, not my big brother.  Maybe I'd share him with Amalla if she really wants him like I want him.  He does have that resemblance to Lamba after all."  Su finished her statement with a giggle.

‘Why do I get the feeling this girl is not joking about that?' This thought was collectively shared by Motoko, Shinobu, Sarah, and Mei once more.

‘Su can be really...kinky...at times,' thought Nyamo.

As the group of girls headed towards the Hinata House, there was bound to be more intermingling among the residents at the girls dormitory, with some very interesting developments about to occur, and sooner than anyone was expecting.

As the day was winding down at the Hinata House, Haruka Urashima was enjoying a long, smooth drag from her cigarette.  After a busy enough day servicing customers at the Hinata cafe and teahouse, she really needed a break to unwind.  Though she had a few seasonal helpers (including that chauvinistic wannabe playboy, Kentaro Sakata) to assist her in the day-to-day tasks, the inflow of customers proved to be enough of a challenge in and of itself.  The workload was the main reason as to why she didn't stop by the Hinata House more often.  Sometimes she would end up sleeping in the miniature housing unit built right next to the teahouse.  While she was no stranger to sleeping there, she preferred the rooms at the Hinata House just up the hill.

Why would Haruka prefer the Hinata House dorms to living at the cafe/teahouse?  There were a few reasons.

For one, the rooms and hallways at Hinata House were generally more spacious compared to the teahouse.  Her regular living accommodations were something akin to a very modest, very small apartment at the teahouse.  While Haruka could manage that, given her general lifestyle, she preferred living in a place that felt less cramped overall.

Another reason was that she had fond memories of the Hinata House throughout her childhood.  Back when her parents were still alive, Haruka visited the Hinata House several times a year, one time spending an entire summer there.  There was much she adored about the place: how vibrant the sakura trees could be when in full bloom, how cozy and quaint the town in the surrounding area was compared to major cities, how intoxicatingly pleasurable the hot springs could be at times, her moments of bonding with her grandmother (later made legal mother) Hina Urashima, and several other fond memories throughout the years.

The last major reason was one that she hasn't shared with anyone in the whole wide world.  Not a single person knows of the well-kept secret that Haruka Urashima has kept guarded in her thirty years on this planet.  As for why she kept this reason such a secret was due to a mix of embarrassment and an understanding of what was considered taboo.

For you see, Haruka had very, very strong feelings of affection for one Keitaro Urashima, her own cousin.

While she knew that society frowned upon relations between cousins, Haruka couldn't help but feel the way she did for the young man.  His nature was somewhat dopey and he lacked the means to stand up for himself and show backbone at times.  But even so, Haruka couldn't help but be drawn to him given his nature.  Keitaro was kind, patient, open-minded, and put forth effort to both understand and to persevere.  Despite the hardships thrown at him throughout his life, whether it was failing to get into Tokyo U more than once  or getting a genuine whalloping by Naru or Motoko during his first few months as dorm manager, Keitaro put forth the effort and pushed onward.  It was a trait that Haruka could not help but admire, and over time she developed a sense of affection towards Keitaro because of it.  She had a thing for men who either couldn't or wouldn't quit.

As for when her feelings of love for Keitaro began, it would most likely have been when they were both very young.  Around the time Keitaro was around five or six years old, Haruka had developed a sense of attachment towards her younger cousin.  Being that she was eight years his senior, she felt a familial sense of looking after him, guiding him, and protecting him when necessary.  But that sense evolved into something more intense over time.  Haruka wanted to look after Keitaro, to see him smile, and to help him find genuine bliss, peace, and happiness while he was on this earth.  By the time Haruka was in her late teens, she was crushing on her cousin pretty hard, though she never told a single soul about just how much Keitaro meant to her, or how at times the thought of Keitaro brought a blush to her cheeks or a tingle and increased warmth between her legs when she thought about him for extended periods of time.

In order to scratch her itch, so to speak, Haruka tried to pursue romantic interests elsewhere.  Perhaps finding love from another man might get those confusing feelings she had towards Keitaro out of her head.  Surely, she was simply going through a phase of sorts and simply needed to grow out of it.

By the time she was out of highschool, Haruka had indeed found interest in another man: None other than the renowned archaeologist Noriyasu Seta.

The two had hit it off fairly well during Haruka's senior year in high school, when Seta was serving as a guest instructor for one of Haruka's classes.  The man had characteristics similar to Keitaro in some ways.  His hairstyle and eye color, his happy-go-lucky attitude, his drive to not give up on something when he was committed to it, his patience and calming demeanor...these characteristics of his were what Haruka couldn't help but admire.  Of course, Seta had his own traits that made him stand out from Keitaro as well.  His build was taller, leaner, and had more defined muscle than Haruka's cousin.  Seta also came off as more energetic and at times even more air-headed than Keitaro.  He had a sort of "loveable goofball" demeanor to how he presented himself overall.  Even so, the man had captured Haruka's interest enough so that she started to mingle with him outside of class and spend more and more time with him as the months passed.

As the months turned into years, Haruka started spending more of her free time with Seta, who she learned had developed a strong interest in archaeology and overseas travel.  Given her propensity to desire his company more and more, Haruka asked Grandma Hina (who at this point was her legal guardian after Haruka's parents passed away from a car crash during Haruka's highschool years) for permission to accompany Seta on his journeys.  Hina was only too happy to help Haruka find love and gave her both permission and financial assistance for her journeys with Seta, only asking Haruka to come visit often and also to jokingly inform her of when the wedding would be, much to Haruka's blushing embarrassment.

Initially, Haruka and Seta bonded deeper and deeper over time during their explorative adventures travelling much of the world together.  However, Haruka soon found herself in a genuine rivalry for Seta's attention and affection with another woman:  Julia McDougal, the mother of Sarah McDougal and a woman who had spent a considerable amount of time with Seta as well, just like Haruka.  Initially each woman saw the other as an obstacle towards the path of gaining Seta's love.  However, after momentary squabbling between the women, they surprisingly became fast friends with one another.  They had similar interests and hobbies.  Their personalities tended to compliment each other, to the point where they could finish each other's thoughts and sentences in mid-conversation.  And of course, their one truly shared interest - Seta's love and affection - evolved into a sort of friendly rivalry.

The emotional zenith of it all arrived when the two women decided to gang up on Seta and proposition him into a threeway during one of their excavations.  Seta was initially taken back by how bold the women were being with him, not expecting them to offer something like this in a million years.  How could they flip in their relationship so quickly as to go from heated exchanges to getting extremely intimate in the span of a few months, let alone practically demanding that they give him an experience in the bedroom that many men could only dream of having?

After some initial hesitation and reluctance from Seta, Haruka and Julia ganged up on the man and let him know that they weren't taking no for an answer.  Once Sarah was safely tucked away into bed and it was made certainly clear that she would sleep like a rock for the night, all three of them got quite kinky and intimate for several hours right up until sunrise.  The experience was among the most memorable for Haruka, for in that moment she realized something about herself:

While Haruka hid it fairly well in her disposition, it turned out that she was bisexual.

In her moments of intimacy with both Seta and Julia, Haruka had found that she had fallen in love with both of them with a raging intensity that surprised even Haruka at times.  When Seta had to momentarily rest during their bouts of intimacy, Haruka turned to Julia and engaged in all manner of kissing, caressing, groping, fingering, and any other descriptors associated with the acts of love-making.  It ended up turning into a sort of competition between them to see which one could make the other climax first, with the winner getting to be intimate with Seta the moment he recovered.  To her credit during those competitions, Julia could give as good as she got and made Haruka's knees shake, her heart rate pound like a jackhammer, and her moans rage well into the night.  It was difficult to remember every fine detail after so many years, but Haruka figured that between the three of them, each member of their little ménage à trois had climaxed at least five times.  At that moment, Haruka felt as though she were in heaven.  The way things were looking, she was about to enter a very exotic relationship with these two individuals and spend many pleasant years with them well into old age.  It would be awkward having to explain it to Sarah in a way that wouldn't make her freak out, but all three of them thought that with time, they could help Sarah see Haruka as a second mother who loved her just as much as Julia did, and who would do everything in her power to help the little girl grow and be nurtured into a fine young woman.

Then things changed when Julia got ill.

After a good six months or so since meeting Julia on Seta's wayward archaeological digs, Julia's health had taken an unexpected turn for the worse.  What started out as fever-like symptoms and perpetual coffing turned much worse in the span of a few days.  At the time, Haruka, Seta, and the dig crew weren't sure if the sickness was brought forth by contact with an insect, tainted drinking water, or an unidentified bacteria or virus.  Only Julia appeared to show symptoms of the sickness.  Even so, everyone else among the dig crew was given a thorough physical to see if there were any abnormalities in their bodies, on the off chance they carried the same sickness that plagued Julia McDougal.

After a week passed and Julia's symptoms showed no signs of improving, the call was made to have her transferred to a fully staffed hospital where a professional medical team could tend to her well-being.  Seta and Haruka would have sent Julia away ASAP, but the woman was stubborn in staying to continue examining the dig site.  It was only when Seta brought Sarah's well-being into the argument that Julia wavered in her stubbornness.  What was a little girl supposed to do growing up without a mother?  She had already lost her biological father when the man showed that he didn't want to be involved in his daughter's life.  Sure she had Seta to help fill that void, but how was she to have a healthy and supportive childhood without her mother?

"Haruka can fill the gap if necessary," was Julia's response, "I trust her unconditionally to look after Sarah as if she were her own daughter."  She said these words with a smile on her face, looking directly into Haruka's eyes as she did so, not missing a beat in her response.  The action brought Haruka to tears.  Such a level of trust that was allotted to her in such a short amount of time moved the normally stoic woman.  She couldn't help but throw her arms around her bedridden companion and convulse in tears as she sobbed while muttering "thank you," in Julia's ear.

Of course, when word got out about her mother's condition, Sarah was worried beyond belief.  The very thought that her mother could die at any day brought the girl to a sobbing, choking wreck who could barely hold it together.  She spent numerous nights by her mother's bedside, holding hands and begging her to "please don't die," numerous times well into the night.

As fate would have it, a minor miracle had taken place to keep things from totally coming apart.

After spending two weeks at a hospital in California, the doctors managed to give an accurate diagnosis on Julia's condition and how to treat it.  The procedure involved taking a myriad of medications on a very regular basis, so as to help keep Julia's immune system at peak performance.  However, it was highly advised that Julia abstain from any strenuous physical activity aside from the most basic of chores, lest her health suffer as a result.  They explained that while they helped Julia's health stabilize to the point where she was not going to die anytime soon, there was going to be some long-term (if not permanent) damage done to her from her exposure to the mystery sickness she came into contact with.  Julia's overall physical state was a very anemic one.  She tired easily after a few hours of basic movement.  Any type of profession beyond a typical desk job would potentially endanger her overall constitution and put her immune system at risk, thus resulting in another trip to the emergency room or the ICU.

When Julia was told that she was to stop engaging in Seta's overseas archaeology trips for her own physical well-being, she was crestfallen.  Travelling the world and exploring secrets of the past was a passionate undertaking for Julia.  To be told that she was either to abstain from her passion or risk serious medical harm was the biggest dilemma the woman had faced.  Again, Haruka and Seta had  to help convince her to not risk her health for the sake of her daughter.  It was enough to get Julia to (begrudgingly) acquiesce, stating that she could work from the desk side of things where Seta's digs and discoveries were underway.

When the topic of intercourse came up regarding Julia's physical state, the question was asked to the doctors:  Was Julia's body strong enough to engage in the act without fear of severe strain?

The doctor's answer was partially satisfactory:  Julia would most likely not die or reach a near-death state from the act of intercourse, as long as she took her medications regularly and engaged in the act no more than once a week at the most.  Her body would need adequate amounts of time to heal in between episodes of sex.  Too much strain during the act could potentially have serious long-term consequences and result in Julia being rehospitalized.

When Julia was told this information, she grumbled at her predicament.  The way she saw it, Haruka now had an edge over her in their competition, as Haruka could be ready for another round in the bed in two or three days, assuming nothing too extreme or kinky had occurred the night before.

"Better maximize my time in the bedroom then," was Julia's comical response to the conundrum "Quality over quantity and all that."  It was uplifting to see that the woman still kept a sense of humor, even after a brush with death just a few weeks ago from that point.

Of course, Julia's sickness had affected more than just her.  Sarah became more alert to her mother's medical condition more and more, dreading the moment she might hear that Julia's state of health might take a turn for the worse.  She even started committing to getting her hands on whatever medical materials she could read and understand, in the hopes that she might learn a way to make her mother better again.  The fear of losing another parent at so young an age was a strong motivating factor for the little girl.

Then there was Seta.

The man had never really lost anyone who he was so close to in life.  He had distant acquaintances and family pass away before him, but most of those tended to be from old age and not something sudden like sickness or a vehicular-based accident.  When Sarah's sickness came on, Seta was something of a nervous wreck.  When you pour your heart out to someone and get to know them on such a personal level, the thought of suddenly losing that person can feel overwhelming at times.  That sense of worry showed in Seta's work, whether it was forgetting dig site notes or poorly written progress reports, or any of a number of daily tasks that the archaeologist either performed half-done or in pisspoor execution.  Seta's mind was simply too scattered and distracted at the idea of losing a woman who he saw as practically his wife at that point.  Even though the two of them weren't married, Seta and Julia saw the other as their soulmate, with Haruka added in as a second wife to complement their trio.  Even so, the very thought of losing someone so precious to him with no warning drove Seta to emotional lows at times.  He was drinking heavily in the late hours of night at times and smoking cigarettes more often throughout the day, sometimes smoking a whole pack within 24 hours.

It was this series of emotional dips in Seta's personality that began to put strain on his relationship with Haruka.  While the two still stayed close and intimate in the bedroom when possible, Haruka could tell that Seta was becoming more withdrawn ever since the experience with Julia's sickness.  After a few months of things going on in that state of emotional limbo, Seta finally broke things off, or at the very least put the relationship on emotional hiatus.

"I just need some time alone," he said, "I can't be the man you deserve right now."

That statement was the proverbial knife through the heart for Haruka.  Was he breaking up with her?  Did he no longer love her, or Julia?  Deep down, Haruka believed that Seta did still carry strong feelings for the both of them, but after Julia's sickness, he had become somewhat emotionally crippled by the experience.  The fear of loss had left an impact on the man and so he kept himself distracted and buried in his work to avoid having to go through that kind of pain once more.  

While Haruka was somewhat crestfallen at Seta's decision, she couldn't bring herself to hold a grudge with him over it.  She was still in love with Seta...and with Julia for that matter.  She still wanted to make things work between them.  Even if Seta chose Julia as his wife, Haruka would be content with being his second wife or mistress (though she frowned on the title of ‘mistress' as it implied cheating and unfaithfulness in her view).  All three loved each other, so there was nothing to hide, no secrets to keep from one another.  But after Julia's prognosis and her adjusted lifestyle, the relationship suffered and each of the three started to drive apart.  Julia stayed in America while Seta ventured the world on his weeklong or month-long excavation digs, buried deep in his work.

Haruka ended up moving back to Hinata and running the dormitory alongside Grandma Hina.  She had spent many a night with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of sake in the other recounting all her adventures and experiences with her grandmother turned adoptive mother, sometimes crying into the night over Seta's semi-rejection in the process.  Hina was the supportive figure she needed at the time, the proverbial (and literal) shoulder to cry into.  

Over time, the pain started to fade and dim as Haruka busied herself with work around the dormitories, assisting Hina in the everyday run of the place.  Given that Hina was nearing her twilight years, Haruka found herself stepping in her place to run the more labor-intensive and physically strenuous tasks, still being a woman in her late twenties at that time.  For a time, Haruka was able to distract herself working at the Hinata apartments, watching as the building transitioned from a mixed-sex apartment complex into an all-girls dormitory.  In that time, she became acquainted with the incoming tenants one by one.  First came Kitsune, followed by Naru, then Motoko and Kaolla within a few days of each other.  While the girls could frustrate her significantly with their teenage/preteen drama as they grew up over the years, Haruka still saw them as a sort of family; a somewhat dysfunctional family at times, but still a family.

And then there was Keitaro.

When Haruka was notified by Hina that Keitaro would be coming to the Hinata House to serve as Hina's replacement as head manager, Haruka couldn't help but instinctively blush.  While at least a part of her heart was now with Seta and Julia, Haruka would always have lingering attraction for Keitaro.  The flame that was her hidden love for him never went out; at best it simply turned into glowing embers beneath the ashes of a campfire, not burning intensely but simply lingering with a pulsing glow just underneath the surface.

Again, the feelings of yearning began to emanate within Haruka's core, blushing at the idea of spending long periods of time with her cousin while feeling faint heat between her legs.  Hopefully, he was still the same loveable dorky goofball she recalled from their childhood years.  Haruka had grown particularly closer to Keitaro in the immediate aftermath of her parents' sudden death.  He was there for her as much as possible for her to bury her face into his chest and cry her heart out whenever she needed to do so.  It was that willingness to be there for her that sparked her affections for him in the years that followed.

Upon Keitaro's arrival at Hinata House and the misunderstandings that nearly got him thrown out on his first day, Haruka stepped in to help smoothen things out between the incoming manager and his new tenants.  She felt the need at times to give him the occasional bonk on the head whenever he referred to her as "Aunt Haruka," as the term made her feel like some old spinster of sorts.  She was only 30 years old by that time and believed she was still fairly good in the looks department.

Whenever Keitaro beseeched her for advice, Haruka gave whatever pearls of wisdom she felt she could impart that would honestly help out her cousin.  Whether it was learning the ropes in managing the dorms or figuring out how to better get into Tokyo U or the finer points of dating and courting a woman, Haruka helped and advised where she could.  Though on that last particular topic, there were times where Haruka almost blurted out her innermost feelings to Keitaro when nobody else was around:

‘If you're looking for a woman to love you and stay by your side, then just be with me, silly.'

It seemed the years had only temporarily dulled Haruka's love for Keitaro, particularly when she had Seta and Julia to fill up the emptiness in her heart when the three of them were away on adventures.  Now that Keitaro was back and a more regular part of Haruka's life, the old feelings from long ago were coming back with renewed intensity.  Of course, there were two obstacles in Haruka's desire to confess romantic affection to Keitaro.

The first obstacle was that Keitaro was apparently set on getting into Tokyo University over a promise he made to a girl around his age.  Legend says that if two people successfully apply to Tokyo U in the same year, they will fall in love, be married, and live happily ever after.  While most adults would chalk up such a legend to nothing more than cutesy wishful thinking, Keitaro was dead set on that goal, and had been for many years up to the present.  He felt driven to see that promise he made long ago turned into reality so that he could live happily ever after with his ‘promise girl.'

The second obstacle was the deeper, more societal one that Haruka felt might cause problems if she ever pursued love with Keitaro.  Given that the two of them were blood cousins, many in society might frown upon the idea of them being together and intimate.  While such an idea was not as taboo as relations between direct siblings, the thought of first cousins being close in that way was still considered incest.  And while Haruka didn't really care too much of what broader society thought of her, she wasn't sure if Keitaro would share that same sentiment.  Would he be disgusted if Haruka propositioned him?  Would he never want to speak with her or even see her face again if she confessed to him?  The very idea of him doing so left a bad feeling in the pit of Haruka's stomach.  The thought of one of the people she loved the most in the world rejecting her and detesting her afterwards might be more than she could emotionally bear.  It would be like Seta saying "I never loved you," straight to Haruka's face.

All these thoughts and recollections occupied the woman's mind as she finished her cigarette all the way to the filter.  Taking one last good draw, Haruka rubbed out the remnants of it in the ashtray before getting ready to close up shop.  The cafe was nearing its closing hour and most of the patrons had left the establishment.  Perhaps she would make her way up to the dorms and have a nice soak in the hot springs to get her mind off of unpleasant memories.  That usually did the trick.

As closing time was nearing, a yellow taxicab pulled up just outside the teahouse, and out stepped a young woman.  She had a somewhat refined look about her, though not of royalty.  With her little black cat, she made her way towards the entranceway of the tea house, suitcase in hand as she crossed the threshold.  At that moment, as the teahouse manager was turning around towards the front of the building, the newcomer made her presence known there and then.

"Long time, no see, Aunt Haruka," said the girl with a smirk on her face as well as in the tone of her voice.

Recognizing that voice and the appearance of this new visitor, Haruka grumbled at the title thrown at her by the young lady.  Keeping her composure, the older woman simply responded in the briefest of retorts:

"Hello there, Kanako.  It's been a while."

The young woman waited in the taxi cab patiently and stoically for well over an hour at this point.  She had made it clear to the driver that she wished for all conversation to be kept to a minimum.  Where some might have seen such an announcement as a show of rudeness, the young lady merely considered it prudent to be honest with whatever company she was in.  If she was in the presence of a close friend, she was more than willing to be quite the conversationalist.  But in the presence of strangers, she felt that the bare minimum was adequate, as long as she wasn't demanding or insulting during conversation.  As far as she was concerned, the young woman found faking pleasantries to be quite the chore.  Better for honesty, even if it might be a bit blunt and crass at times, than to pretend genuine interest only for people to learn later that it was all disingenuous.

It had been a good long while since she had set foot in the quaint little town of Hinata City.  Why the locals had formally chosen to refer to this place as a ‘city' was beyond her.  It may not have been the most rural of places in Japan, but it certainly was a far cry compared to Tokyo, Kyoto,  or Osaka as far as what constituted a city.  Not that the place bothered her, of course.  She preferred more quaint, semi-isolated parts of the country compared to the gigantic urban metropolises that dotted throughout Japan.  Being surrounded in an ocean of strangers in the downtown parts of whichever major city always brought some mild amount of emotional discomfort to her.  Better one genuine person than a thousand fakes and imitators as far as she was concerned.

Speaking of genuine people, it was actually the most genuine person the girl knew as to why she was making this trip out to this quaint little resort town.  More than anyone else in the whole world, this person made the girl's heart flutter in a state of both excitement and serene inner peace at the same time.  He was everything to her.  From the moment they were very small children up to the present, no other person touched her heart more than this individual did.  This boy...no...this man had won her heart outright from now until the end of time, and she could only hope that she would win his heart and help him to love her as much as she loves him.  Though that might be a tall order to fulfill, as she earnestly believed she would love him several magnitudes more than he could show in terms of affection and doting for her.  Even so, she was content if he could show even a fraction of love and interest in her, as her love for him was like an ocean greater than all the oceans on the planet in terms of depth and magnitude.

Who is this man who has this young woman so smitten, you may ask?  Well, the most basic way of putting it is...they are brother and sister.

Now upon hearing that, some would be so tempted to  say "Eww that's f***ing gross!  What the hell is wrong with this girl?!"  Perhaps a bit of backstory is in order, so that there is some better context to this whole thing and people do not become so quick to judge.

For starters, the two are not biological siblings.  The young lady was adopted into the young man's family when she was still in her infant years.  To this day, the young woman knows nothing of her biological parents and does not wish to know of them.  Were they good people who could not afford to raise her on their own?  Were they people who had no business being parents and simply abandoned her shortly after giving birth?  Were they people who tried to look after her, but the state deemed them unfit parents and forced them to relinquish custody of her?  The possibilities as to who her biological parents could be were numerous, yet the young woman felt that such things were best left to be mysteries forever.  She could care less for such things.  Rather her attention was almost entirely dedicated to the family that raised her from infancy to the present, especially the young boy who was for all intents and purposes her older brother, but someone who she hoped would be her husband one day.

From her earliest memories, young Kanako had clung to her older brother Keitaro at every chance she had.  He was always there to help fix whatever scrapes, cuts, and bruises she ended up getting.  He was there to give her piggyback rides home whenever she became too tired to continue walking.  He was the one who sat to listen to her problems, no matter how long she took in explaining them, and he would always give her a hug to help calm her whenever she started crying, usually doing so without warning.  From childhood into their teenage years, Keitaro doted on his little sister regularly, helping her out whenever he had free time.  It was that kind of attention, patience, and above all kindness that made her fall for the young man.

She didn't give a damn whether they were considered siblings by societal standards.  Keitaro made her happy, and that was all that mattered to her.  They may have shared the surname Urashima, but Kanako hoped that with time it would be as husband and wife, not brother and sister.

When Keitaro started applying to get into Tokyo University, Kanako was supportive of his dream at first.  She wanted him to be happy and pursue his passion in life, whatever it would end up being.  When news came that he had failed his entrance exam, and then failed the second time after, Kanako became distraught for Keitaro's sake.  While Keitaro still had the drive to get into that school no matter what, Kanako fretted on her brother's behalf.  How long would it be before disappointment settled in and Keitaro would have to admit defeat?  He could be stubborn at times, but sooner or later the grim realization that he wasn't deemed worthy to be enrolled at Tokyo U would crush his spirit.  It was only a matter of time.

After Keitaro left home and struck out on his own, Kanako became somewhat distraught.  The fact that she wouldn't be able to interact in person with her big brother as often depressed her.  She tried to fill the hole in her heart by distracting herself with other things and the presence of other people.  While she wasn't on bad terms with her adoptive parents, Kanako could never quite bond with them in the familial sense as would be hoped for.  She kept interactions with them brief and as polite as she could, but there was always a sort of emotional rift she had with them.  They weren't strangers to her, but she simply couldn't bring herself to open up to them emotionally as she would with Keitaro.

As for friends and classmates in school, Kanako was the same with them as she was with her parents.  She came off as a withdrawn girl who didn't share much about herself when in school.  At best, the few students she interacted with were acquaintances who she might engage in conversation for a few minutes with.  She tried to keep the tone of her voice polite when speaking and not be confrontational or insulting whenever the dialogue became boring to her.  To Kanako, there was only one person she could truly be herself around and completely open with, and that was Keitaro.

Of course, there was her pet cat, Kuro.  The female feline was the fallback option for Kanako's emotional wellbeing, for though it wasn't the same as talking to a human being, Kanako felt genuine inner peace whenever she embraced and petted her cat in her free time when she was feeling lonely.   Having found her when the cat was a stray and Kanako was entering high school, the two hit it off instantly.  There was an unspoken sense of kinship between them, for Kanako could rely on Kuro for minor tasks like tracking, snatching small items, and even physical assistance in a fight if ever her life was in danger.

There was one instance in her sophomore year when a bully decided that she didn't like Kanako when she perceived Kanako's reticence as being stuck-up and would give her a good beating after school.  Even though Kanako tried to tell the girl to simply leave her alone, the older student wasn't having any of it.  She continually pestered Kanako in school whenever she had the chance, though not to the point of physical violence with the guarantee of reprimand and punishment by the teachers or staff.  She would wait until they were off school grounds and away from any potential witnesses, and then would give little miss ‘goody two shoes' a thrashing she wouldn't soon forget.  

When the older girl cornered Kanako on her walk back home and ready to give her a beatdown, Kuro flew out of nowhere and gave the girl a good scratch on the forehead, making blood run down over her eyes and across her face, partially blinding her in the process.  Kanako and Kuro tagteamed the brute and between a mix of martial arts and catbites and scratches, the older girl ended up being on the receiving end of the beatdown.  Though Kanako was somewhat bruised and heavily winded, she was clearly the victor of the duel.  Afterwards, nobody in school messed with her ever again.  So long as they weren't looking for trouble, they would get none from Kanako in return.

As Kanako was entering her senior year in high school, she learned that Keitaro had filled in for Grandma Hina as manager of the Hinata Hot Springs Inn.  She was certainly glad that he had found both employment and a place to live after being given the boot by their parents.  After a few days of him being away from his former home, Keitaro had left messages on the answering machine and sent the occasional letter home, letting the rest of his family know how things were going.  News of another letter would make Kanako's heart flutter, like a kid waiting for Christmas presents to appear underneath the tree the previous night.

From what could be discerned from the letters Keitaro would send, he seemed to be doing well overall.  While he was still struggling on getting enrolled into Tokyo U, it appeared that he was in good spirits overall.  However, what gravely concerned Kanako was learning that the Hinata Inn was converted into an all-girls dormitory, and that the other tenants were quite young, around Keitaro's age or just a few years below.  That alone made Kanako highly concerned as to what exactly Keitaro had gotten himself into.

As far as Kanako was concerned, she would be damned if she allowed some hussy or trollop to throw herself all over her man.  Keitaro was hers, and she would throw down the gauntlet if that's what it took to make that point clear to any woman who wanted to challenge her for Keitaro's love and affection.

So it was after learning the specifics of Keitaro's new job and residency that Kanako was committed to visit Hinata and claim Keitaro there and then.  Fortunately for her, she was on her way to finishing highschool and would have nothing back home holding her down.  The day of her graduation, Kanako had packed her bags and made off with Kuro towards Hinata, determined to stake her claim on Keitaro and prevent any would-be succubus from sinking her claws into the one man she loved above all others.

Upon her arrival at Hinata House, Kanako's worst fears were confirmed.  Keitaro was in the presence of several lovely young ladies.  However, it appeared that his main affections were directed towards one Naru Narusegawa, a young lady who was also committed to getting into Tokyo U.  That face alone put Kanako even more or her guard.    She was aware of Keitaro's reasoning for getting into that very university.  On the off chance both he and Naru happened to get enrolled together, there was the chance that the urban legend might be more than mere legend.  Kanako didn't want to chance that possibility at all, however remote it may be.

After spending several days at Hinata House and getting to know all the residents of the dorms, as well as the frequent visitor Mutsumi Otohime, Kanako had somewhat changed in her view of the ladies.  None of them were shallow harpies who were out to manipulate or take advantage of Keitaro.  Well, there was that one girl Kitsune who tried to either mooch money out of Keitaro or weasel her way out of rent payments now and then, but beyond that she wasn't such a bad girl.  After getting to know the girls at Hinata House (as well as a series of paranormal events at the Hinata House annex near the dorms), Kanako had somewhat softened in her disposition towards the other tenants, even Naru.  While she was still somewhat obsessive over Keitaro and still wanted to remain by his side, she no longer held wickedness or spite towards the other girls.  They were still potential love rivals in her eyes (especially Naru), but she could at least be somewhat friendly and honest with them.

After the events at the annex and a bonding kiss occurred between Keitaro and Naru, Kanako was momentarily crestfallen by the experience.  She still loved Keitaro, and far more than just as a sister caring for her brother.  While she knew he genuinely loved Naru and wanted to have romantic, intimate relations with her, Kanako still wanted Keitaro to see her the same way as he saw Naru.  She was even willing to go so far as to have a three-way relationship between all of them.  If that was what it took for her to be with the man she loved, then so be it.

These were the thoughts and memories going through Kanako's head as she rode in the taxicab on the way to Hinata House.  Her mind was made up.  She would find a way to convince Keitaro to see her as a woman, as a lover, and even as a future wife (or at least a mistress if he was set on being with Naru as well).  If there was one thing the young girl could be counted on, it was her resolve when it came to matters of the heart.

As the taxi pulled up towards the Hinata cafe & teahouse, Kanako paid the fare and politely went on her way.  With Kuro walking alongside her, she made her way towards the entrance of the building.  Noticing the time of day - by this point the sun was making its way past the horizon and nightfall would soon be approaching - she walked through the entrance and was greeted by the sight of another member of the Urashima family.

"Long time, no see, Aunt Haruka." said Kanako, knowing the title grinded her older cousin's gears everytime she was referred to as such.

The older woman faced Kanako, mild annoyance written clear enough on her face as she responded as politely as she could.

"Hello there, Kanako.  It's been a while."

"Still smoking, dear auntie?" asked the younger girl, "You know those things are likely to kill you in the long run."  Kanako always had a habit of trying to get under Haruka's skin when the opportunity presented itself.  The two of them never did quite get along.

"Your concern is touching, Kana-chan," countered Haruka, "It must be nice to be so care-free and without worries in everyday life that one need not indulge in minor vices just to keep their sanity.  And just ‘Haruka' will do, okay?"

"Alright then, Haruka," retorted the young girl, "Closing up the shop then?"

"Why yes I am.  Care to help out a little bit?  It won't take long."

"Why would I do that?" asked Kanako, still tempted to get on Haruka's nerves for just a little longer.

"Well, for one thing, because families who love and care for each other help each other out with those sorts of things.  And also, because if you don't, I'll be tempted to tell embarrassing stories about you when you were little to the other girls."  Haruka made a habit of keeping an ace up her sleeve when somebody wanted to push her buttons.

Grumbling that her cousin did have a little dirt on her from when she was very little, Kanako decided to play ball.  While it wasn't anything too embarrassing, she would rather not have Haruka recount stories of when Kanako wet the bed when she was little or how often she clung to Keitaro when she was in elementary school, especially during lightning storms during the night.  She would rather not have the other girls, especially Kitsune, Kaolla, or Naru poking fun at her during her stay at the dorms.

"Alright then, Haruka.  What do you need me to do?"

"Just help with locking up the doors and windows.  Also make sure the safe in the back office is locked.  Check to make sure all the light switches are turned off, and help move all the used cups and plates from the sink to the washing machine.  Assist me with that, and we'll be done for the night."

It was more than Kanako desired to take part in.  All the same, she would abide by her cousin's request.  While she and Haruka didn't see eye to eye most of the time, Kanako understood that so long as you didn't cross Haruka, she could be honorable.  If she promised not to gossip about Kanako behind her back so long as her cousin assisted in a chore here or there, then she could be taken at her word.  The same was true in the opposite:  Push Haruka's buttons and she would find a way to make you pay for doing so.

"Very well then.  Let's finish up here.  I'm dying to head up towards the inn and unpack my things.  Maybe even take a soak before it gets too late."  Kanako started earnestly doing as Haruka requested, hoping to finish up as quickly as possible and spend some quality time with Keitaro (ideally just the two of them in either the baths or in his bedroom).

Once the tasks were completed and the cafe was closed for the night, the two women made their way up the steps towards Hinata House.  They didn't engage in much small talk on the way up, for while they were family and even knew each other fairly closely over the years, each woman had a mainly ‘get to the point' attitude where the other woman was concerned.  In a way, Haruka and Kanako were mirror images of each other when it came to bluntness and being brief.  It became a sort of mutual understanding between the two of them, and thus no words needed to pass between them unless it was urgent and required clarification of some sort.

Was such a trait common in Urashima women?  Who can say?  Supposedly, Grandma Hina was somewhat pig-headed and ‘to the point' in her interactions with others, particularly women within the Urashima family.  Maybe it was hereditary in nature, but again, such a concept was fairly speculative at that point.

As they neared the top of the steps, the two women were in turn greeted by three other women.  One of them was rather familiar to Hinata House, though the other two were not as much by comparison.  The latter two had made themselves known at the dormitory in months passed, though their visits were rather brief.  Even so, each of the three women left their own impression upon Hinata House and those who resided in it.

The more commonly known woman was of a motherly nature, at least when it came to her body.  With her seductively wide hips, slim waistline, and of course her profound bosom, she was a walking sex symbol if ever there was one in the entirety of Hinata City.  Her figure gave even Kitsune a run for her money, and that was saying something.  Along with her long, dark chocolate colored hair (at this time tied up in a long braid going down her back), calming facial features, and carefree attitude, she was practically wife material right off the bat.  It was this combination of traits that made Kanako grumble, as she was aware that the woman had some degree of affection for Keitaro and could prove to be another love rival in the near future.

This humble, somewhat airheaded woman was none other than the girl from Okinawa who loved watermelon and kissing people she cared for at random:  the one and only Mutsumi Otohime.

As for the other two women, both of them were rather tall - at least Motoko's height if not taller (somewhere just under six feet tall by both Haruka and Kanako's estimation).  One of them had dark skin, around the same in complexion as Kaolla Su or Nyamo.  Her figure had just as much seductive allure as did Mutsumi's, even if her bosom wasn't as big as the Okinawan girl's is.  Most likely, her breasts were around the same size as Motoko's or Kitsune's, at least that's what Haruka guessed would be the case if she had to make a determination.  Her figure was rather toned, showing an impressive eight pack along the center of her stomach.  The girl had muscle, but not so much that she looked like a hulked-out bodybuilder type of person.  She had just enough to convey raw strength and power to compliment her overall sexual appeal.  Along with her silver hair, blue eyes, statuesque figure, flared hips, long legs, slender neck, and her form of dress (something akin to an exotic belly dancer from India or perhaps somewhere in the Middle East), the woman was Mutsumi's equal in overall charm and seduction.

For the last woman, she was more conservatively dressed than Miss Tall, Dark, and Sexy, though she was by no means unattractive.  Like the previous woman, she was tall as well (perhaps slightly taller than her, though it was difficult to tell at this time), and her height commanded authority in its own regard, especially in how she carried herself.  Dressed in the traditional hakama (in this case, a white hakamashita kimono complimenting the lower deep red andon bakama), the woman's appearance emphasized heritage and honoring the old ways.  Whereas she might at times wear a simple straw hat to cover her face, at this moment she wore no such hat, allowing her face to be shown to the world.  And what a face it was.  Long, silky dark hair cascading around the refined features of her chin, cheekbones, nose, olive-colored eyes, supple lips, and slender neck.  Her face and figure made her appear to be an outright yamamoto nadeshiko.  The air of refinement that emanated from her made both Haruka and Kanako take a momentary pause.  To say that she exuded natural elegance by her very presence would be like saying that Antarctica is a little cold.

In summation of these three newcomers, Haruka and Kanako came to the same realization:  Great, here come three knockout beauties.

"Well, well, well...I've forgotten how this place seems to attract beautiful women," said the tall, dark-skinned woman who was dripping with seduction.  She took in the sight of Haruka and Kanako with a look on her face that exuded both delight and a sort of primal hunger.  Her blue eyes darted between them as well as the two other women she had joined alongside on her way up towards Hinata House.  The exotic foreigner seemed to be delighting in the sight around her, as if she was in a dilemma of sorts between which pretty girl she would ravish into the night and the early hours of dawn.

"Like the most beautiful flowers in bloom attract hummingbirds, this place has a tendency to bring forth lovely ladies and fair maidens quite regularly."  The woman continued with a smile on her face, taking in the presence of all the other women around her.

‘Geez, this girl isn't shy about being open with her desires,' thought Haruka.  There was a nagging notion in the back of her mind that she had seen this girl before, some months back at Hinata, but who she was just happened to be on the periphery of memory.  Her name was on the tip of Haruka's tongue, but just out of recollection.

Kanako meanwhile just stared somewhat incredulously at this foreigner.  Her disposition became more guarded as she took in the sight of this new arrival.  Kanako was not so vain and aloof that she couldn't recognize feminine beauty when she saw it, and this woman was certainly a knockout in the looks department.  She was certain that most red-blooded straight men would go through damn near anything just to get a chance to spend a night in bed with her.  If this woman happened to come to Hinata looking for Keitaro by chance, then Kanako would have to be on her guard even more than usual.  She was not in the mood to have to deal with yet another love rival; it was bad enough that she had to contend with Naru, Mutsumi, and a few other potential girls at the dorms.  Add this girl to the mix, and who knows how things would turn out.

"Welcome to Hinata House, miss," responded Haruka, "I don't know if you're just passing through or visiting.  I feel as though we've met before, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Oh, indeed we have, Miss Haruka Urashima," said the tall, dark stranger, "It has been some months now, but I remember you well enough.  I do my best to remember women who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside."  She finished that statement with a glint in her eyes and a subtle licking of her lips.

The action brought a blush to Haruka's cheeks.  Was this woman hitting on her on the spot?  While Haruka thought this woman was a walking sex symbol in her mannerisms as well as her dress, she was somewhat flustered internally that this woman seemed interested in her.  Was Haruka really pretty enough to have the attention of this exotic stranger.  Such thoughts made her head spin a bit, as it seemed a bit much to take in.

"Well," countered Haruka, "I feel at a disadvantage here, for you know my name and yet sadly I don't know yours.  Though by your appearance, you remind me of one of the tenants who lives here at the moment."

"Why yes indeed!  You must be referring to my little sister, Kaolla!  I'm Amalla, and it is more than a pleasure to make your acquaintance...both of your acquaintances."  At this adjustment to her introduction, Amalla decided to show just how forward she could be with people she really, really liked.

In one swift motion, the Molmolian woman brought her arms out towards Haruka and Kanako, looping one around each woman's neck and bringing them both in for a hug.  Each woman's face made contact with Amalla's breast, being all but shoved against the generous swell of this woman's bosom.  This in turn brought forth the heaviest of blushes from each woman at just how brazen this newcomer could be.

‘Dear god, she's big!' thought Kanako as her face took in the softness, buoyancy, and aroma wafting off of the Molmolian woman.  Similar thoughts were going through Haruka's mind as she inhaled the exotic scent being exuded off of Amalla, being so close to her.  The scent brought forth memories of ripe fruits like pineapple, oranges, apples, and numerous types of melons.  How ironic that this woman's ‘melons' would give off the scent of melons!

Motioning to push the girl away and give her some distance, Haruka gently used her hands and pressed against Amallas torso (and appreciating the mix of muscle with smoothe, supple flesh as she did so).  The Molmolian girl relented and released both Urashima women, content that she had her dose of physical intimacy for the time being.

"Well...Miss Amalla," said Haruka recomposing herself, "while I appreciate the friendliness, I would like a little warning before you do something so...direct like that the next time."  Whereas normally Haruka would be livid and giving a physical beatdown, she was bewildered at the suddenness of Amalla's embrace and also just a little turned on at the physical contact she had just experienced.  Haruka was bisexual, after all.

Kanako was equally bewildered, if not more so than Haruka.  Still blushing heavily, she had a somewhat irritated look on her face at what just occurred.  Here comes this woman who decides to get fresh with people she had just run into and is apparently visiting Hinata House as a family member to one of the tenants.  If she tried to pull a stunt like what she just did now onto Keitaro, chances were good that Kanako would take a jab at her, and not a verbal jab to be clear.  She was in no mood to have to deal with a potential hussy during her stay at the dorms.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable with that embrace," elaborated Amalla, "We Molmolians have a tendency to be very forward in our affections towards others.  Whether it's family, close friends, or even regular acquaintances, we usually feel that openness and compassion are natural when greeting others.  Surely, Kaolla has acted similarly at times for as long as she's been a resident here."

‘She's got a point there,' thought Haruka.  Kaolla had a tendency to hang off of others backs like a koala bear at times, usually Keitaro, Motoko, or Kitsune for the most part.  Haruka figured it was just an individual character quirk of hers, though with Amalla's explanation of Molmolian culture, it seemed to make sense how such a girl could be so clingy and so intimate with others at the drop of a hat.

"No harm, no foul, I suppose," responded Haruka as she motioned to her younger cousin, "Right, Kanako?"

The younger Urashima managed to get her flustered state under control enough to verbally respond at this point, though there was still a faint blush on her cheeks from the experience.

"Agreed...though please warn me the next time you're going to do something so...forward."  The young lady had trouble maintaining eye contact with Amalla in her response.

"Well, now that we know each other, perhaps some introductions among the others are in order," continued Amalla, "I wouldn't want to be the only one who gets to say ‘hello' after all."  She motioned towards her equally tall companion who stoically stood by while all this was going on.

The older woman gave the humblest of bows, leaning forward towards both Urashima women before introducing herself.

"Hello and good evening, ladies.  My name is Tsuruko Aoyama and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance on this lovely spring day.  I believe you know of my younger sister, Motoko, as she has spent the last few years at this establishment.  I believe we met once previously during another visit of mine some months back if I recall."  At this point, Tsuruko turns to Haruka specifically upon finishing the last sentence, as she was not familiar with Kanako up to this point.

"Ah yes...Motoko's older sister.  I remember you.  You visited briefly and stayed a few nights with us.  Something about Motoko inheriting stewardship of the family dojo or something like that, am I right?" said Haruka.  Tsuruko responded with a warm smile.

"Indeed, I was checking up on Motoko to see how she was progressing in her swordplay, and whether or not she was ready to take up being the head of the shinmei-ryu style of swordsmanship.  It ended up turning into a rather...interesting experience from what I recall."

Recollections of fighting Motoko in the hot springs and later inadvertently fighting Naru when she was possessed by a demonic sword came to mind.  There was also an agreement that Motoko would forgo her swordplay and marry Keitaro if she failed to defeat Tsuruko in their second duel.  After besting Tsuruko in their last duel (thanks at least in some small part to Keitaro), Motoko was allowed to continue studying the shinmei-ryu sword style.  Though afterwards, it appeared that she had plans on inheriting the Aoyama family dojo AND marrying Keitaro, at least if the blush on Motoko's face was any indicator after spending a little one-on-one sister talk with Tsuruko before the elder Aoyama sibling departed back home.  That recollection brought a chuckle and a smirk to Tsuruko's face as she revisited that fond memory from not so long ago.

"So then, Miss Tsuruko," responded Haruka, "you're here to visit Motoko once more then, correct."

"Indeed, Miss Urashima," said Tsuruko.

"Please, just Haruka is fine," said Haruka.

"Alright then, Haruka...then I would appreciate just Tsuruko in turn then, if I may be so bold in my request." said Tsuruko

"Alright then, Tsuruko it is then," said Haruka with a calm smile on her face.  She had a feeling that she was going to get along well with this woman during her stay.  She had a presence of maturity and natural grace about her that Haruka could really connect with on some level.  After all, Haruka preferred the company of people with calmer, less energetic dispositions in general.  That's not to say that she detested high-energy types of people like Kaolla or Sarah; she simply felt that as she was getting on in years that she was becoming more accustomed to taking things easy and acting more in line with her age.  She wagered that with Grandma Hina off venturing to see the world that Haruka was most likely the oldest resident at Hinata House now.  That little tidbit of information made her the sort of go-to "big sister" of the bunch, whether she embraced it or not.

"Well then," chimed in Amalla, "that just leaves our last visitor.  Though from what I recall, I doubt that much introduction is necessary as she is apparently something of a regular visitor to this place...perhaps even a semi-resident of sorts if I were to guess."  The Molmolian woman motioned to the humble, carefree beauty from Okinawa that was Mutusmi Otohime.  With a calming smile that could bring happiness to a crying baby's face within seconds, Mutsumi came forward to Haruka in loving embrace, pressing her rather large bosom against Haruka's slightly smaller breasts (making the older Urashima woman blush somewhat in the process).

"It's so good to see you again, Haruka!" exclaimed Mutsumi as she brought her lips in for a long, passionate smooch on Haruka's lips.  The girl had a propensity to be affectionate with anyone from family to close friends.  It was one of her defining traits after all, as she was known to kiss EVERYONE at the Hinata House, including the youngest girls who lived there.  Such an act was as endearing as it was at times a bit unsettling, given how often she would do so, and usually with no warning.

A moment later, Mutsumi turned to Kanako, wrapping one of her arms around the younger woman while still keeping an arm latched around Haruka's waistline.  A moment later, Kanako was lovingly assaulted yet again, with her lips pressed against Mutsumi's lips and her modest bosom pressed against the prodigious swell of the Okinawan girl's chest.  Blushing furiously, Kanako tried to pry the older woman away, but Mutsumi had a surprisingly strong grip for someone whose appearance was so seductively feminine.  It took a few seconds before Mutsumi relented and softened her embrace just enough for the younger Urashima to get loose.

"So glad to see you again, Kanako!  I didn't know you would be here too.  Are you staying for the night?  We really must take a dip in the hot springs together and catch up!"  Mutsumi was as jovial as ever in her introductory conversation.

"Oh, I'm going to like her very, very much." muttered Amalla with a lick of her lips.  She had found a kindred spirit when it came to matters of love and affection.  The chance to find someone so in tune with her tastes made her want to get in on the action...and also made her a bit warm and moist in the spot between her legs.

"Mutsumi...I'm going to ask that you please don't do something like that to me again," stated Kanako, the blush from her episode with Amalla returning with a vengeance after what she had just gone through with Mutsumi.  While Kanako didn't mind Mutusmi's presence too much (even if she was a tad bit airheaded), she was aware that the girl had strong feelings for Keitaro just like her.  Alongside Naru, Mutsumi was one of Kanako's chief love rivals for her adoptive brother's affection, and she really didn't like the idea of having to keep an eye on her to make sure the girl didn't get too fresh with Keitaro behind Kanako's back.

"I'm sorry, Kanako," said Mutsumi with an adorable pout, "It's just been so long since we've last spoken or seen each other.  I enjoyed your time at Hinata with us and just wanted to catch up, that's all."

"So, Miss Otohime," interjected Tsuruko, "I take it you're staying at Hinata House for the time being then?"

"Please, call me Mutsumi," said the girl with earnest friendliness in her voice, "and yes, I am staying here for a few days at least.  Maybe a week or more depending on how things turn out.  By the way, would you prefer I call you Miss Aoyama?"

"I want to address that to everyone present:  Feel free to just call me Tsuruko during my time here," said the tall, dark-haired beauty.

"I'm guessing that everyone here is okay with being referred to by a first-name basis, unless I'm mistaken," chimed in Amalla, deciding to address the situation regarding honorifics and who should call whom by what name or title.

"I would agree with that assessment," seconded Haruka as she turned to her cousin once more, "Is that fine with you, Kanako?"  The younger Urashima took a deep breath before responding.

"Kanako is fine."  she stated in a direct but polite tone of voice.  Leave it to Kanako to be brief and blunt in her conversation with everyone other than Keitaro.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, shall we head for the inn and get ourselves properly situated then," said Amalla, "It will be getting dark soon and we should see to rooming arrangements for ourselves, am I right?"

"No need to worry on my behalf," responded Tsuruko, "I'll be rooming with my sister during my stay here, and I promise to help cover any difference in funds my stay may incur during my time at this place.  From what I remember, the dorm rooms are adequate for two to dwell in as far as sleeping arrangements go."

"Well now, great minds think alike!" chimed in Amalla, "I'll be rooming with MY sister during my time here.  And promise to also cover any increased cost that my stay brings during my time here.  What about you, Mutsumi?"

"Hmm...I'm not sure just yet on where to stay, assuming there's room for me as well.  If there's a room that isn't occupied, I suppose I could make do with that.  Otherwise I'll see if Keitaro or Naru are okay with me bunking with either of them." elaborated the Okinawan with a cheerful look on her face and an increased blush on her cheeks.

‘You are NOT rooming with Keitaro if I have anything to do with it,' thought Kanako upon hearing Mutsumi's potential dilemma.  Already having to be on her guard with any and all love rivals, and she had just stepped out of the taxi.

"I'm sure we can have something arranged for you," said Haruka, enjoying the sight of mild irritation showing on Kanako's face.  "There should be enough room for all three of you during your stay at Hinata."

"You'll be joining us, won't you Haruka?" asked Mutsumi, "I wouldn't want you to have to stay alone here at the teahouse just because there aren't enough beds up at the inn.  If need be, I'll find a nearby hotel or sleep in the teahouse myself."

‘There she goes again,' thought Haruka, ‘always being so darn selfless and putting others' concerns and happiness before her own.'

"Relax, Mutsumi, there are enough rooms at the dorms for everyone here.  It wouldn't be much of a dormitory if it couldn't house a few dozen people or thereabouts now, would it?"  The older Urashima gave a playful rubbing of the head to Mutsumi's scalp, reassuring her that nobody needed to vacate the premises or be denied entry.

"I suppose I could stay at least for tonight," said Haruka, "I've just been so busy with the teahouse that I don't have as much time as I'd like to spend up at the dorms, that's all."

"Oh good!  I'm so happy to hear that!" exclaimed Mutusmi, reaching out to embrace Haruka in another hug, their bosoms pressing tightly against each other yet again.  The act brought another smirk of sheer elation onto Amalla's face as she watched.

Once Haruka gently pried herself loose of Mutsumi, she motioned to all the women present to make their way up the hill towards the dorms.  Grabbing their respective bits of luggage, the five women made their way up the steps towards the Hinata House.

"Say," inquired Amalla, "any chance the hot springs will be open and available to use when we get up there?  I remember bathing in them the last time I visited and the experience was downright delightful from what I recall."

"If Keitaro has finished cleaning them, then I would say yes to that," responded Haruka,  "Normally he cleans them around the middle of the day when most of the tenants are out.  So they should be ready to use by the time we get there.  You're all free to take a dip in them once we get you settled in."

"Wonderful," chimed in Tsuruko.

"Glad to hear it!  I could use a nice, long soak." said Mutsumi.

Kanako simply gave a polite, quiet nod in agreement.

"Any chance Keitaro will be joining us in the baths?" asked Amalla as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.

The other four women blushed with blank stares on their faces.  While there was a degree in intensity among them (least intense being Mutsumi, followed by Tsuruko, then Haruka, and then Kanako who was blushing furiously), each woman was caught off guard by the very suggestion that the male manager of the dorms bathe with all of them together in the baths with no sense of things getting awkward or extra steamy in the process.

‘That girl really is a free spirit when it comes to intimacy,' thought Haruka, ‘She really IS Kaolla's sister.'

"I don't think that's going to happen," said Haruka, "not on purpose anyways.  Unless Keitaro accidentally stumbles into the baths while we're in them, there's not a high likelihood of him being in the baths when we are in the baths."

"I suppose that's something I'll have to remedy then," muttered Amalla with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What was that?" asked Kanako, knowing damn well what she heard from the Molmolian seductress.

"Oh nothing," answered Amalla, playfully sticking out her tongue and winking one eye in Kanako's direction.

At that moment, both of those girls knew just what had occurred.  Kanako knew what Amalla had said under her breath, and Amalla knew that Kanako knew it too.  To avoid any unpleasantness on their way up, they acted as if Amalla said nothing at all.  But now each of them was aware of the other's disposition.  Amalla was a naughty girl in some regards, and her taste for kinkiness and ‘heat of the moment' passion was clear enough.  As for Kanako, she was protective of Keitaro and knew there and then that she had yet ANOTHER love rival for his affection.  She wasn't sure if Amalla was out for a one-night-stand or if she was pursuing something more real and long term with Kanako's brother.  Whichever the case ended up being, Kanako would have to keep an eye on Amalla whenever she decided to get fresh with Keitaro during their stay at Hinata.

‘So, you're into MY Keitaro are you?  I've got my eye on you, woman.' thought Kanako as she stared down Amalla.

‘Oh...struck a nerve, did I?  So it seems this girl's got a thing for Mr. Manager.  Things are about to get a whole lot more entertaining here.' thought Amalla as she playfully batted an eye back at Kanako.

As the women proceeded towards the front entrance of the dorms, they were also greeted by some more animalistic guests upon their approach.

Amalla had brought along her albino white crocodile, Shiro, whom Haruka vaguely recalled during Amalla's previous visit to the dorms.  While his size and red eyes gave off a rather menacing appearance, Amalla assured them all that Shiro was harmless so long as nobody attacked him or Amalla.

"Just think of him as a big, leathery dog," joked Amalla.

Tsuruko had brought along two cranes with her, both of which had a propensity to land and rest on her shoulders now and then.  The yellow crane, Shippu, was female (and arrived with Tsuruko during her first visit to Hinata) while the purple crane, Hayate, was male.  Apparently the two birds were also lovebirds for one another, as they had a propensity to embrace each other regularly.

As for Mutsumi, she brought along the turtle that was well-known at the Hinata House:  the one and only Tama.  Known for her gravity-defying ability to float around for long periods, the turtle had become acquainted with everyone at Hinata.  For a time, Motoko was deathly afraid of Tama from a childhood trauma, but over time had lessened her discomfort around the loveable reptile.  On and off, Tama was passed over between Mutsumi and Kaolla as her owner, alternating every few weeks as to who would have guardianship over her.  While Kaolla teased at the idea of turning her into turtle soup (much to Shinobu's concern), people realized soon enough that it was just the young Molmolese girl's way of pranking.

Alongside Kanako's cat, Kuro, the gathered assembly of animals made for quite an interesting troupe.  With Shiro crawling along behind the women, Shippu, Hayate, and Tama all rested perched upon his back as he moved.  Kuro stayed by her master's side, such was both her  and Kanako's proclivities to stay near one another and somewhat distanced from all others.

As the gathering of women and their pets made their way into Hinata House, events would soon unfold that would have rather tremendous consequences that nobody would be aware of until they had already occurred.

While Keitaro was busying himself with everyday chores throughout the dorms, Kitsune decided she needed to have a little one-on-one with her dearest friend, someone she cared for like a little sister.  It was important enough that it needed to be addressed sooner or later, and while Kitsune was known for procrastination when it came to certain topics (usually paying her share of the rent and doing her share of house chores), this was important enough that she couldn't bring herself to sit on it any longer.

It was time to have a chat with Naru.

Making her way upstairs and down the hallway, she came upon Naru Narusegawa's bedroom door.  Taking a deep breath, Kitsune made a fist and gently knocked upon the door three times before pausing for a reaction.

"Who is it?" asked Naru from behind the door.

"It's me, Sugar," responded Kitsune in her country girl accent, "Do ya have a minute?"

A moment later, the door opened and before Kitsune stood Naru.  Dressed in her pajamas and wearing her large-framed circular glasses, Naru was rocking the typical "bookworm" look.  When she was at the dorms, she preferred to wear basic loungewear types of clothing, especially when she was busy in her studies and trying to get into Tokyo U like Keitaro was.

"What's up, Kitsune?  Is something wrong?" asked Naru with inherent curiosity.

"Hey Naru, if you're not busy, I need to talk to ya ‘bout something."  Kitsune was trying to be both direct and gentle at the same time.  This was important, but she didn't want to come off as too pushy with Naru on this subject.

"Umm...sure, I guess we can talk for a little bit if you need to.  Do you want me to get us something to drink or maybe a snack or something..." Naru was thrown off by the tone of Kitsune's voice.  It wasn't harsh or unpleasant, but she could tell it was a serious topic the older girl was planning on discussing.

"Nah, I'm good Naru.  If you wanna get something for ya'self, that's fine, but I'm good where I'm at.  I don't need anything, Sugar."  It was typical of Kitsune to give people she was close with cute little nicknames.  Such a thing was her way of showing that she cared in her own "countryfied" way of speaking.

"Uhh...okay then.  Let me just go downstairs and get a drink and some snacks real quick.  Just in case you change your mind." said Naru, curious as to what this conversation would entail.

"Alright then, Naru," said Kitsune with a distant, faraway smile on her face, "I'll be wait'n here for ya."

With that, Naru made her way downstairs and towards the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it from a pitcher of ice water.  She then proceeded to grab a wrapped package of puffed rice cakes and a box of cookies.  While Naru usually emphasized eating healthy foods (especially to Keitaro in an almost lecture-like way of speaking), she did indulge once in a while in her guilty pleasures, and she was no stranger to snack foods.  Tucking the snacks in one arm and holding the glass in the hand of her opposite arm, Naru made her way back upstairs and towards her bedroom.

Upon arriving back at her room, Naru placed the snacks by her bedside and held the glass in her hands.  She took a seat on her bed, taking a good, solid gulp of water in the process.  After clearing her throat, she proceeded with being cordial to her guest.

"Sure you don't want anything?" asked Naru, offering one of the snacks she brought up.

"I'm good, Naru.  If I change my mind, I'll ask ya for one, okay?" responded Kitsune.

"Don't even want to go grab the sake bottle?" joked Naru, "I know you usually have a drink in your hand whenever we have talks like these."

"Nah, Sugar, I want to be sober for what we're gonna talk about.  Maybe I'll have a drink later, possibly in the baths tonight if I'm up for a soak.  But right now I want to speak clearly and not be under the influence, that's all."  Kitsune was being very forward right now, which was somewhat out of character for anyone who knew the girl well enough.

The tension in the air was starting to concern Naru.  Whenever the two of them would have talks like this, it was usually Naru who would initiate them.  Normally, she would come to Kitsune's room and Kitsune would be the one to offer snacks or drinks to her fellow dorm neighbor.  After spending hours into the night, the older girl would offer whatever advice she could to help Naru out with her problems, whether it involved school, family life, her love life, or any other topic that ended up coming to mind.

However, this time around, it was Kitsune coming to Naru for something.  That sort of thing has never happened in all the time that Naru had known Kitsune, and what made it all the stranger was that Kitsune was being the serious one between the two of them.  The role reversal had Naru in a somewhat awkward state.  If the older girl was asking her friend for advice, then Naru felt she was going to be grabbing at straws for some answer or solution that would prove satisfactory and truly helpful to her fox-eyed friend.

"So then..."started Naru, trying to break the ice and the awkward silence, "what did you want to talk about, Kitsune?"

There was a momentary silence between the two of them after the question was asked.  Kitsune was taking deep breaths, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say.  While a part of her was telling her to break this off now before things got weird, or worse.  Still, a mix of both her head and her heart were telling her that this needed to be addressed.  While the reasoning behind it was emotionally based, it was also logical to bring forth this issue with one of the two people who were the central pillars of the whole topic which was about to be discussed.  After a good ten seconds of awkward silence and deep breathing, Kitsune did something she very rarely did:

She opened her eyes.

Granted, her eyes weren't wide open in shock or rage as one might expect.  Given that Kitsune usually had her eyes closed to the point where they looked like narrow slits (similar to that of a cartoon fox), it was rare to be able to see the color of her irises, which at that moment shined a lovely light brown as her eyelids parted open.  Focusing her gaze squarely on Naru, Kitsune asked her a question.

"Naru, how are things between you and Keitaro?"

At the utterance of this question, Naru was taken aback, blushing immediately and seizing up as if she was being accused of cheating on an exam or shoplifting at the mall.  This was a rather odd topic to be bringing up out of the blue.

‘Where is this coming from?' thought Naru before responding.

"Uh...things are...good between us.  We haven't had any ‘pervert episodes' or anything bad like them recently."  By this, Naru meant that Keitaro had not accidentally seen her or someone at Hinata House naked or in a state of semi-nudity, or had accidentally groped, caressed, disrobed, kissed, fondled, or engaged in any untoward physical contact that would warrant a high-powered physical response and send Keitaro through the roof (literally), usually by either Naru or Motoko.

"That ain't what I'm referring to," responded Kitsune, "but on that note, I don't want ya doin' that kind of stuff to him anymore, got me?"  Kitsune had a note of displeasure in her voice at that last part of that statement.

She regretted her part in not doing something to lessen the beatdowns that Keitaro got during his first year or so at Hinata House.  Even moreso, she was thinking back to all the times she blackmailed him into inadvertently groping her bosom of buttocks and threatening to tell Naru or Motoko what just occurred if he didn't give her a pass on rent payments.  The recollection of those memories made Kitsune loathe herself as much as she loathed Naru and Motoko for their overreactions to honest mistakes the poor guy had made in the past.

"Uhhh," said Naru, her mouth slightly ajar at Kitsune's rather blunt request, "o-okay, I mean I try not to hit the guy too much over things like that.  It's just that I don't want him taking advantage of us or any of the other girls who live here so..." Naru felt she had to give some justification for the times she would land a punch to Keitaro's face or a kick to his abdomen and send him either spiraling down the steps of the hill towards the teahouse or high into the sky.

"Take advantage?" interrupted Kitsune, "Keitaro ain't got a lecherous bone in his body!  The fella walks on eggshells ‘round here, especially when it concerns you and Motoko.  I get that he's occasionally seen you, me, or the others in a state of undress every once in a while.  But that ain't no reason to clobber the guy for gettin' a quick eyeful now and then."  Kitsune had apparently found some inner courage to say these things to her best friend, after all these years.

"W-what's gotten into you, Kitsune?" asked Naru with one of her eyebrows cocked in confusion.

"I...I'm sorry, Naru.  I didn't mean to snap at ya like that.  It's just somethin' that's been at the back of my mind now for a while and I felt like I had to get it off my chest."  Kitsune was looking down at her lap, taking a few more deep breaths to calm herself.

"Uhh...it's okay," said Naru, "I mean, like I said, I don't go clocking the guy as much as I used to when he first got here.  He's gotten better at being aware of his surroundings, so he doesn't accidentally walk in on us changing when we head into the baths, and he doesn't grope or caress as much as he used to.  I mean, wouldn't it bother you if you found Keitaro catching a peek of you in your undies or even stark naked?"  Surely Kitsune would agree with her on that sensible point.

"Not in the slightest," responded Kitsune without missing a beat, looking back into Naru's eyes.

"What!?" said Naru with alarm written on her face.

"You heard me," said Kitsune with renewed gusto in her followup, "I wouldn't mind Keitaro catchin' a glimpse of me from time ta time, ‘specially if it made him happy or excited."

"You're saying that the idea of a guy leering at you with a perverted look on his face, or undressing you with his eyes wouldn't bother you in the slightest?"  Naru was both bewildered and confused by Kitsune's declaration.

"I said I wouldn't mind KEITARO lookin' at me like that.  If the guy finds me attractive, I'd be downright flattered, to be honest."  Kitsune wasn't backing down from her declaration.

"Besides," continued Kitsune, "aren't you and Keitaro supposed to be hookin' up by this point?  I remember that you guys smooched after that whole thing with Kanako and the old annex buildin' that happened not so long ago."  Kitsune was referring to the love confession and the kiss that Naru initiated with Keitaro after resolving a love-related curse that Kanako helped spur to break up Keitaro and Naru, with the hopes of Kanako claiming Keitaro for herself.

"Ya land a big ole smooch on the fella, so I figure ya basically are committed to him.  Am I wrong?" inquired Kitsune, now having Naru on the defensive.

‘She's got a point there,' thought Naru in embarrassed self-reflection.  She DID smooch Keitaro after a confession where she was blushing like a fully ripened tomato.  They even briefly caressed one another in the process; Keitaro's hands on her back and hips while Naru combed her fingers through his hair and along his neck and upper back.  The moment certainly was a jump forward in their relationship, and by most standards of dating, that should have made it clear right there and then that Keitaro belonged to Naru.

However, given Naru's tsundere-like nature, while she did love Keitaro very, very much, she still had difficulty proclaiming her love, both to him and in the presence of others.  Beyond the occasional kiss, the two had hardly been intimate in any other way.  They would study together, watch movies together, go out on walks when the weather was nice or go out for dinner together when it was convenient, but aside from spending extra time bonding, the two of them had yet to get intimate when it came to matters of the bedroom and lovemaking.  Naru wasn't sure if Keitaro simply wasn't emotionally ready to take their relationship to the next level or if he was just shy, but it made Naru ponder why they haven't taken things to that next level by now.  Was she going to have to make the first move, just like that time she kissed him?  Was she brave enough to take that kind of initiative?

"Look, Kitsune," responded Naru, "Keitaro and I ARE a couple now.  It's just that...these kinds of things shouldn't be rushed, you know?"  Naru was trying to make her case while fighting that blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.  Despite having kissed a man, she was still very innocent when it came to matters of intimacy and lovemaking.

There was another pause from Kitsune, followed by a deep breath and another question:

"Naru...are you still in love with Keitaro?"  The tone in Kitsune's voice was dead serious now.

Staring wide-eyed at her best friend, Naru looked long and hard into the windows of the woman's soul.  Where was this line of questioning coming from?  What had spurred Kitsune to talk about something like this?  And why was she so interested in Naru's lovelife all of a sudden?  It was so out of the blue for the easygoing party girl that was Mitsune Konno.

"I...I do love him," said Naru trying to keep it together emotionally, "I'm smitten with that dummy.  I just wish he would be more...I don't know...assertive with me from time to time.  He's so cautious around me whenever I'm just trying to kiss him or snuggle with him in the bedroom or on the couch.  He acts like a frightened deer sometimes when he's around me, and I don't like that."

"And where do you think that kind of behavior came from, Naru?" inquired Kitsune, once more putting the younger girl against the wall with her questioning.  "Keitaro's a shy guy to begin with.  He ain't the type of fella who's gonna get fresh with a girl and try to get into her pants at the first opportunity, ya know.  That's one of the things I li-"  Kitsune briefly cut herself off before she divulged any more than need be said.

"One of the things you what?" asked Naru, confusion and curiosity in her voice and on her face as she caught Kitsune's potential verbal blunder.

"Nevermind," muttered Kitsune, "What I'm talkin' about is that whenever Keitaro would accidentally - and I do mean ACCIDENTALLY - snatch a quick peek at one of us wearin' little or nothin' or mistakenly cop a handful of someone's boob or tushy, then either you or Motoko would lay in on him and give him a whoopin' that most fellas wouldn't recover from as quickly.  I mean, if I were Keitaro, I'd probably be frightened that you'd send me to the moon with an uppercut if I said or did somethin' that would set ya off.  It's a small wonder he tries to stay in a relationship with ya, given how ya've treated the guy in the past."  It wasn't in Kitsune's nature to give a lecture, but as far as she was concerned, this needed saying.

Hearing all this from one of her closest friends caught Naru off guard.  While she was studying to get into a university, she wasn't expecting a lecture this evening.  It upset her as much as it did surprise and confuse her.  While Naru was tempted to lay into it with Kitsune and have a verbal back-and-forth with the older girl, something was nagging at the back of her mind:

What was Kitsune about to say before cutting herself off mid-sentence?

There was another momentary pause of awkward silence before Naru picked up the conversation once more:

"Kitsune?" she asked.

"Yes, Naru?" responded Kitsune.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you bringing this up with me now?"

"What do ya mean?"
"You know what I mean.  What made you feel the need to come to my room and have this conversation?  Why did you want to talk about Keitaro?  And lastly, what were about to say before you cut yourself short?"  At the end of this line of questioning, Naru takes off her glasses and stares Kitsune directly in the eye.

Kitsune figured that this moment was going to come out sooner or later.  Naru was always a very studious type, which is part of the reason she was trying to get into a university after all.  She wasn't looking forward to this happening, but the band-aid had to get ripped off sooner or later.  Taking another deep breath, Kitsune responded.

"I need sake." she said bluntly.

"Huh?" said Naru, caught off guard by the verbal pivot.

"Just wait right here, Naru.  I'll be right back.  Don't go nowhere," said Kitsune as she stood up and made her way out the room.  She darted quickly to her own bedroom and broke out a fresh bottle of sake and a whiskey glass.  Normally she would drink sake out of an ochoko or in a shot glass, but for this occasion, she needed a larger glass in this emotionally charged moment.  She was going to need a healthy dose of ‘liquid courage' for what she was about to do.

Making her way back into Naru's bedroom, Kitsune sat back down, placed the sake bottle at her side, and uncorked the bottle.  In one swift motion, she poured herself two shots' worth of sake into the glass, corked the bottle, grabbed the glass, and downed the liquid in two seconds flat.  After a very pronounced sigh of exhalation, Kitsune regained her composure and stared directly at Naru once more.

"Naru, do you feel...regret...for what you've done to Keitaro?" asked Kitsune with rosiness on her cheeks from fresh alcohol consumption.

Once again, Naru was taken back by the somewhat accusatory nature of Kitsune's questioning.

"For what I've done to him?"  she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"For the punches, kicks, blows, slaps, body throws, wrestlin' moves, and other physical attacks you've thrown at him over the months?  I've seen the bruises that he's nursed from them.  I've seen the blood runnin' down his nose or outta his mouth from them attacks.  The black eyes, the casts on his arm or legs, the arm in the sling, the crutches he would use, the bandages wrapped around his head or torso...I've seen plenty.  And over time I...I...I just couldn't turn a blind eye to it no more.  I know that Keitaro can bounce back from pretty much anythin' you or Motoko would throw at time, but that ain't the point!  He...he deserves better than that!  He's a human bein' and he shouldn't hafta worry regularly over whether he's gonna get a whoopin' or not for things that ain't his fault!"  Kitsune found herself getting winded from all the grievance she had bottled up at this point.  It wasn't in Keitaro's nature to stand up for himself when it came to physical abuse, so Kitsune decided to do so on his behalf.  When the opportunity presented itself, she would have some words for Motoko as well.

From this outburst, Naru was certainly taken aback.  Though she felt that the verbal barrage felt a bit one-sided at this point and decided to return the favor.

"I've abused him?" countered Naru, "I know that you would swindle him out of money when the opportunity presented itself.  Either that or you would try to bribe and blackmail him into not collecting your share of the rent.  You think I don't know the tricks you'd pull on him when it comes to money?  All the times you'd ‘borrow' money from him for sake or gambling and never paying him back, even when you won?  All the moments you'd grab his hand and place it on your breast or ass and strongarm him into rent forgiveness or else you'd declare sexual harassment?  You think you're so innocent in all of this?  Maybe you don't raise a fist against him, but I know that you'd resort to conniving trickery to get something out of him!  So don't try to take the moral high road on me, Kitsune!"

By now, both women were panting after letting out their opinions on the other woman's faults regarding Keitaro.  While both were red in the face from ranting in each other's direction, there was a double meaning behind the redness in their faces.

In the obvious sense of the word, each woman felt that she was justified in pointing out the other one's character flaws.  Naru was violent at times; Kitsune was manipulative at times.  Naru hit Keitaro; Kitsune swindled him out of money.  Naru belittled Keitaro for his supposed perverted nature; Kitsune blackmailed him with false claims of sexual harassment.  Each woman had felt it only just to belittle the other in the heat of the moment.

But then the other meaning set in for each woman as well.  A sense of regret for how the two of them mistreated their dorm manager.  When the fires of passion began to die down after the ranting was through, a moment of self reflection had set it for the two of them.

‘She's right,' thought Naru, ‘I've been violent with him.  I've hit him several times ever since his arrival at Hinata House.  I've punched and kicked more times than I can count.  If it was anyone else who was on the receiving end, would they still be alive?  Would they still be as physically fit as Keitaro would turn out after healing from it all?  Why couldn't I just control myself and not hit him so much?  Why am I so quick to jump to conclusions and take it out on him?  Why am I so...so...messed up?'

‘She's gotta point,' thought Kitsune, ‘I've been a huckster with the poor guy.  I've weaseled him outta money plenty of times by now, sometimes just to scratch that gamblin' itch of mine.  If it were anyone else, would they have put up with that kinda behavior?  I'd probably be out on my ass after the second time tryin' ta bail outta rent payments and house chores.  And yet he never did anythin' like that.  He'd groan and whine about how I was bein' about it all, but he never took action against me.  He's too kind and gentle for his own good.'

At this point, both women were starting to tear up, feeling at their emotional lowest in a long time.  And it just so happened to be over the same man in the process.  At the end of their period of self-reflection, each woman came to the same personal conclusion:

‘He deserves better than me, and I'm going to make it up to him.'

Both Naru and Kitsune faced each other once more, now with tears in their eyes.  The verbal throwdown had done its job and each woman felt like a real piece of crap in her moment of self-reflection.  Each girl silently swore to herself that she would start to do right by Keitaro and make his life less difficult as manager at Hinata House.

"Kitsune?" asked Naru, wiping the snot from her nose.

"Yeah, Naru?" responded Kitsune, wiping tears from the edge of her eyes.

"What are your feelings towards Keitaro?"

It was Kitsune's turn to be on the defensive.  After another momentary pause, she reached for the sake bottle, poured another shot's worth of liquor, downed it instantly, then put aside the bottle and took another deep breath before responding.

"Do you really wanna know, Naru?"

Naru's eyes widened at this response.  Could it really be what she was surmising?  After that little cutoff in Kitsune's conversation earlier, Naru had strong suspicions as to what this conversation was alluding to.

"Do you...I mean...are..." Naru clears her throat and downs the entire glass of water, her throat feeling particularly dry after this very emotionally testing round of Q and A with Kitsune.  After finishing the glass, Naru resumes with her question.

"Kitsune, are you in love with Keitaro?"

There was a moment's pause as Kitsune looked down into her lap, fresh tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  After another deep breath, the older girl decided it was ‘put up or shut up' time.

‘Now or never, I suppose,' thought the fox-eyed woman.

"I...I...I think I'm fallin' for him, yeah."

That statement made Naru's eyes - still red and puffy from her temporary bout of crying - renew themselves with fresh tears as they widened.  The admission from her best friend threw Naru's emotional state for a loop, as if it were riding a bucking bronco and had just been tossed a solid ten feet through the air in the process.

"Why?" asked Naru.

"I...I think it's a few reasons, Naru," responded Kitsune.

"What are they?"

"For one, I feel bad for how I've treated the guy.  I hate myself for usin' him to get ahead when it came ta money.  At the time, I didn't think too much about it.  But as I saw how he treated me despite it all, I...I dunno...I felt a crisis of conscience, I guess you could call it.  I felt regret for all the times I took advantage of him, knowin' I'd get away with it.  It made me feel...dirty.  Like a bad girl.  And I saw that in myself and I wanted to change it...to make it up to him an' let him know I'm sorry for what I did."  Kitsune was calm in her vocal delivery, but still the tears were gently strolling down her cheeks.

"And the other reason?" continued Naru.

"The other reason is simpler, to be honest," responded Kitsune, "Keitaro's a nice guy.  He ain't some macho, bullheaded type who tries to control a woman.  He also ain't some playboy type like that Kentaro fella who tried to hit on ya back in the day, rememba?"

At this recollection, Naru nodded her head in agreement.  Kentaro wasn't the most chauvinistic of men she had ever met, but he certainly tried to lay on the whole ‘Casanova' vibe about himself a little thick, usually resorting to using his money in the process.

"Keitaro is sweet, understandin', goofy, patient, reliable, and kind.  Sometimes, his kindness is too much for a girl to bear, ya know?"  Kitsune had loosened up somewhat after getting things off her chest and a little boost of courage from the sake.

"I know what you mean," chuckled Naru in agreement, "The poor guy just needs to have a little more confidence in himself.  I wish he'd stop apologizing so much and grow a little backbone from time to time.  Don't get me wrong, I love that goofy, helpful personality of his.  I just want him to be a little more firm in how he responds to things sometimes, you know?"

"I do, Sugar, I do," chuckled Kitsune in response before continuing, "Ya know, it's kinda funny, ain't it?"

"What is?" asked Naru.

"Fallin' for the same guy, again?"

At this point, Kitsune was referencing Noriyasu Seta - a man who Naru and Kitsune met during their highschool years and developed a strong schoolgirl crush for.  While Naru revealed to Kitsune that she had strong feelings for Seta, Kitsune decided to keep her feelings for the man hidden from everyone, Naru included.  She wanted the younger girl to have a chance to find romance, even if it was with a significantly older man.

After Seta gently turned down Naru, stating plainly but sincerely that he didn't see her in a romantic light, but more as a little sister or perhaps a daughter even.  To Seta, Naru was someone to protect and nurture into a fine young woman, but she would never be someone he would see as a lover.  By that point, he was going through his emotional roller coaster with Haruka and Julia, and had hit his emotional low during and after Julia's sickness episode.  It was after Seta turned down Naru that Kitsune admitted to Naru that she had strong feelings of romance for the man too.

After Keitaro's arrival as manager of Hinata House, both of the girls ended up finding a new target for their affections.  While Keitaro had some traits similar to Seta, he was still his own man, and each woman loved him - and fell IN love with him - for it.

"I guess it is, in a way." responded Naru, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes before continuing, "So where does that leave us?"  She was referring to herself and Kitsune at this point.

"Friends," responded the older woman, "and rivals, I suppose."

"Rivals?" asked Naru, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Don't get me wrong, Naru," elaborated Kitsune, "I don't intend on playin' dirty or actin' mean to get what I want.  If Keitaro ends up stayin' with ya and want'n for ya two to be exclusive, then I'll respect that.  I want him to be happy, and I also want you to find happiness too.  But if things don't work out in the end between ya two, then I think I'll take a shot and bein' there for the guy.  I owe it to him to make up for all the times I've deceived him or taken advantage of his kindness and generosity.  I want to be there for him to pick him up when times are hard, ya know?  Help ease the burden and all that."

"Well," responded Naru, "I think I get your meaning behind it all.  That being said, I don't intend to give up without a fight.  I'm going to do better by him too.  I'm gonna stop jumping to conclusions and assume the wrong thing whenever one of his...you know...'accidents' occur from now on.  I'll help him around the dorms more often and try to get him to notice me more...as a woman...scratch that, as a woman in love.  I DO love him, I really, really do...and I want him to know how much I care about him.  I just need to ease him into things.  It's like you said, Keitaro's reluctant to take the first step and initiate the more...romantic parts of the relationship.  So it's probably gonna fall onto me to take things further."

So it was that these two women had reconciled their personal shortcomings when it came to the manager of the Hinata House.  Amazingly, they ended up staying close friends, even though they were now also love rivals as well.

"You know," said Kitsune, "we're not the only ones who've crushed pretty hard on the guy."

"Shinobu?" inquired Naru.

"Her...and Motoko, I'm pretty sure."

"Motoko?" asked Naru with some skepticism.

"She tries to hide it, but I've noticed that she's turned into soft butter around the fella over time.  Especially after that whole incident with her older sister.  She blushes and stutters pretty bad at times whenever she spends more than a few minutes with Keitaro.  It's kinda cute to see ‘Little Miss Stoic' get all girly and delicate whenever she's with him.  But jokin' aside, I'm pretty sure she's got love sickness for him as well."

"So that makes two other love rivals for us then." said Naru.

"Don't forget Mutsumi and Kanako either.  You personally know how bad Kanako has it for Keitaro.  And Mutsumi certainly acts like a wife around the guy half the time as it is."

Naru nodded deep in agreement at that little add-on to the conversation.  She had spent enough time with both Mutsumi and Kanako to know that each woman had the hots for Keitaro.  There were enough bedtime talks between Naru and Mutsumi alone to confirm Naru's suspicions about the airheaded Okinawan girl, especially over talks about Keitaro's ‘promise girl' from his early childhood days.  And as for Kanako, even though she was technically Keitaro's sister, that little tidbit of information seemed to do nothing to curb Kanako's outright admiration for Keitaro.  Upon learning that the two of them weren't blood relatives, that only spurred on Kanako to pursue Keitaro with even more passion and gusto than before.

"So that makes six of us then?  Great." said Naru with comical sarcasm on the last word.

"There's also a few other gals I've considered."  followed up Kitsune with more potential rivals.

"Really?" said Naru with incredulity, "Who else would be interested in Keitaro?"

"Well," began Kitsune once more, "I'm not sure if Kaolla has feelin's or not for Keitaro.  She certainly is friendly with him.  But after that whole ‘red moon' thing with her, I'm not so sure she just likes the guy.  She was gettin' really close with him at times.  Even tried to get a smooch outta him from what I heard."

"It could just be a phase," replied Naru, "Kaolla is still pretty young and discovering herself during her puberty years.  She could just be experiencing a schoolgirl crush which she could grow out of in a year or two."

"I wish I shared your optimism on that, Naru.  I get the feelin' that Kaolla just hides how she really feels about Keitaro behind that childish look she gives off.  And besides, she ain't that much younger than Keitaro.  By the time she's 18, Keitaro would be...what, 23 or 24 years old by then?  It wouldn't be too big an age gap if she was serious about pursuin' him."  Kitsune might have had a valid point, however odd it may have sounded at first.

"I guess we'll see in due time.  But I really hope you're wrong about Su.  I really don't like the idea of more love rivals.  But who else were you considering?"

"Su's sister." stated Kitsune plainly.

"Amalla?" asked Naru in disbelief.

"When she showed up here when Kaolla was goin' through that whole red moon stuff and that Lamba guy showin' up as well, Amalla seemed to take an interest in Keitaro for a while.  She even tried to elope with Keitaro at one point to keep Kaolla from nabbin' him up and doin' who knows what if they were alone."  Again, Kitsune was making at least somewhat valid points.

"Even if Amalla did have interest in Keitaro, she's now a married woman.  She and Lamba hooked up last I heard, so she wouldn't have a reason to chase after Keitaro now, right?"  Naru was trying to convince herself as much as Kitsune with her counterpoints.  The last thing she wanted was to have to contend with two energetic and seductively exotic girls like the Su sisters, especially Amalla in particular.

There was another pause of reflection after the back and forth of wondering if any other girls had the hots for Keitaro.  It was then broken when Kitsune made a rather surprising proposition.

"Ya know," started Kitsune, "if we wanna keep things...civil...between us girls..."

"Yes?" responded Naru, "What are you thinking about, Kitsune?"  There was a hint of unease in Naru's voice, figuring that the older girl was planning some kind of scheme in the works.

"You know how I feel about the guy, and I know how you feel about him too.  If the other girls really like him...and don't mind sharin'..."

"You can't be serious," countered Naru, "You think that would really work out?  That everyone, myself included, would be okay with that?"

Kitsune merely looked at Naru with raised eyebrows, open eyes, and a slight grin.  Her expression on her face was a silent way of implying ‘yes.'  The act was something that threw Naru for a loop.  Here was her best friend suggesting a multi-partner relationship with the same man as if it were a viable option.  She found herself in a whirlwind of emotions from the very suggestion of such a ‘solution' to the love dilemma they found themselves in.

"You really think polygamy is the answer here?" asked Naru bluntly.

"Technically, polygamy involves marriage.  I'm not includin' marriage in this potential arrangement.  It would be more along the lines of polyamory, or maybe polyfidelity is a more accurate word in this case?"  Kitsune closed her eyes to the usual state she kept them in, still keeping that little fox-like smirk on her face.

"Aren't you splitting grammatical hairs?" asked Naru, "It still involves everyone involved getting...you know...intimate."  At this point, Naru has a blush on her cheeks imagining the idea of multiple people in the same bed, buck naked and embracing one another.  The idea of it made her tingle just a little bit between her legs as she dwelled on the notion.  Before she went down the sexual rabbit hole and entertained the possibility any further, she resumed her line of questioning.

"Wait...so who would be in this ‘solution' you're cooking up?" asked Naru.

"You and me, obviously," began Kitsune, who started uncurling her fingers one by one as she was counting off names, "There'd also be Motoko, Shinobu, Su, Mutsumi, and maybe that Nyamo girl who's stayin' with us right now.  Oh, and of course Kanako."

"Eight women!?" asked Naru with wide eyes and high eyebrows at the final count.

"Yeah," responded Kitsune, "I know that Nyamo's got a crush on Keitaro ever since that visit to them islands we all ended up goin' to.  She don't talk a whole lot, but I can tell by her movements.  She clings to the guy and hugs him like a lover would.  She's got it pretty bad for him.  And of course, if we were to pursue this, Kanako would almost definitely barrel in and make herself a part of it too.  She loves Keitaro bad enough that she would join in on the action whether we were okay with it or not."  Again, Kitsune was making points that had at least some degree of validity.

"Ughh..." groaned Naru, "Mind if I have a swig of that sake?"  The request made Kitsune raise an eyebrow in both surprise and delight.

"Well well well," said the fox-eyed girl with mischievous delight in her tone, "seems that Little Ole Naru has got a partygirl side to her as well."  She handed over the bottle to Naru, who took it and held it up to her lips, taking a good swig from it before setting the bottle back down.  In one motion, she made a distinctively loud gulp as she swallowed a shot's worth of sake, scrunching her eyes tight in the process and exhaling deeply in relief after finishing the shot.

"Thanks," said Naru, "I needed that."

"No problem, Sugar," responded Kitsune, "I think we both needed that."  In Kitsune's case, she was referring to both the sake and the broader talk the two girls just had over the past several minutes.  Both of them needed to address their own personal demons about their past treatment of Keitaro.  After the tears were shed, they both decided to reconcile with themselves and help move forward together as better people.  They would make it up to Keitaro, both out of a sense of redeeming themselves and as young women in love.

In a surprise moment, Naru walked towards Kitsune and embraced the older girl in a very firm hug, their bosoms pressing hard against one another.  The act caught Kitsune off guard, though she returned the act soon after, wrapping her arms firmly around Naru.  The two simply stood there in silence, enjoying the momentary peace of each other's company.

"I'm sorry about the things I said," muttered Kitsune into Naru's ear, "the things about you."

"Don't be," responded Naru, "You were right about me...what I did to him...how I acted...but I'm going to do right by him.  I'm going to be better.  I want him to be happy.  I want to...to...shower him in happiness and make him see me differently, as his...his..." Naru was blushing once more, still innocent on matters of love.
"Girlfriend?" inquired Kitsune with humor in her voice.

"Yeah," responded Naru with her face red like a strawberry, "And I'm sorry for trying to turn things around and lay into you about-"

"Don't," interrupted Kitsune, "I know what I did and I despise myself for it.  But I intend to do right by him too.  I want to be there for him when things get tough.  I want to hold him in my arms and let him cry it out if he's gotta.  I want to be...to be...his woman."  At the very end of that statement, Kitsune found her cheeks warming up from embarrassment.  Even she could be surprised at how bold she could be in her declarations at times.

"So...what does that make us?" asked Naru, wondering where they go from here.

"Friends, rivals, and maybe...partners in crime?" responded Kitsune with a smirk on that last part.

"Partners?" inquired Naru.

"Like I said, dependin' on how things work out between him, us, and the other girls, then maybe we could come to an understandin' on how to make...everyone happy."  Kitsune kept that smirk of hers on her face the entire time.

"Please tell me you are joking about that," pleaded Naru, hoping Kitsune was merely pulling her leg on that suggestion.

This time, Kitsune was the one to surprise Naru.  While they were still embracing in their hug, the older girl tossed the both of them on Naru's bed, with Kitsune on top of Naru.  Pinned underneath her, Naru had a ‘deer in the headlights' look on her face and a raging blush at what had just occurred.  Kitsune hovered over her, her arms propping her up as she loomed over her.  Her whole body was a canopy over the younger woman, her beautiful facial features staring down at Naru's equally impressive ones.  Kitsune's bosom hung pendulosly over Naru, just a few inches from making contact against Naru's slightly smaller bustline.  Those mammaries certainly were quite lovely in their shape, boh firm and delicate as was the case of a woman who was in her early twenties.  Naru had to admit that Kitsune certainly was an outright killer in the looks department.  She could probably turn a straight girl over to play for the other team with a body as seductive as she had at her disposal, or at least make her bisexual.  It was a small wonder Keitaro would only end up with a minor nosebleed whenever Kitsune would force him to grab one of her breasts or her ass cheeks during her prankish moves to blackmail him or get money out of him somehow.

"Kitsune, what are you do-" said Naru, before she was cut off by none other than Kitsune's lips.

It was a mid-length kiss in terms of time.  Perhaps ten seconds or so had passed before Kitsune removed her lips from Naru's.  Both women simply laid there, Kitsune on top of Naru, staring down at her with a sort of enchanted look in her eyes, now open once more.

"Naru..." whispered Kitsune.

"Yeah?" responded Naru.

"You're a very cute girl, Naru-chan," teased the older woman, "If I had to share in order to be with Keitaro, I wouldn't mind if it was with you."  Both girls had blushes on their cheeks from this statement being made, though Naru's was far deeper than Kitsune's by a good amount.  The younger woman couldn't help but notice that even though she was taken back by the faux tacke onto her bed and the kiss that followed after, she didn't physically object to it.  She could have screamed or fought back in some way, but she didn't.  She simply laid back and let it happen.  In that moment, she couldn't help but think back to the line of a song by the musician Katy Perry:

‘I kissed a girl and I liked it.'

"Umm, Kitsune...could you please get off of me now?" requested Naru, still blushing and somewhat stammering over what had just happened.  The older girl relented and got up and off the bed.  Collecting her sake bottle and drinking glass, she turned towards Naru with a declaration.

"Ya know what we could use?  A nice, long soak in the hot springs!" said Kitsune with the usual cheer in her voice.

"I don't know," said Naru, "It's going to be getting late soon and we don't want to stay out for too long."

"Aww come on," interjected Kitsune, "It's a Friday night, so you can't hide behind school or studyin' to get out of this one.  Come on, we're gonna have ourselves a nice, long soak and let our troubles wash offa us.  Goodness knows we both need it after that little tiff we just had!"  Kitsune wasn't taking no for an answer.  She proceeded to gently tug Naru by the arm and bring her towards the door.

"Ahhh!  Alright then!  I give, I give!  Just let me put my things away and then we can get changed and sit out for a little bit, okay."  Naru was somewhat exasperated by Kitsune's insistence that they go out to the hot springs right away, but felt that there was no real harm in having a brief soak with her best friend for a little bit.  A temporary dip in the baths would do her mind some good along with her body.

"Alright then, Naru," said Kitsune with a big smile on her face, "I'm gonna head over to my room and get my things, then we're off to the springs, Sugar!  I'm gonna bring another bottle, just in case!"

"Please, let's keep the drinking to a minimum out there!" insisted Naru with a groan, hoping Kitsune would manage to keep her liquor intake to a moderate level tonight.

With that, the two women were soon enough heading off towards the hot springs for some more girl time.

As the clique that was composed of Kaolla Su, Motoko Aoyama, Shinobu Maehara, Sarah McDougal, Mei Narusegawa, and Nyamo Namo made their way down the street from school towards the Hinata House, the sun began to set, bringing the temperature down comfortably into the low 50s and dimming the skyline from vibrant blue to a serene, golden glow over the skyline of Hinata City.  Evening was now setting in and the nightlife throughout the town would soon be underway, especially since it was a Friday night.  While the residents of the Hinata dorms and the surrounding village didn't have as rowdy a nightlife scene as compared to major cities throughout Japan, it was still lively enough to be memorable in its own regard.  Generally speaking, Hinata was a more quaint and quiet place to live compared to the rustle and bustle of places like Tokyo.

The group of five soon enough were in the vicinity of Hinata House, having passed the cafe and tea shop run by Haruka.  By this time, the shop was already closed, so Haruka would either be resting in the backroom area of the place or up at Hinata House.  Making their way up the steps, the girls would soon enough come into contact with Haruka, as well as a few other acquaintances.

"Big Sis!" shouted Kaolla in joy as she leapt towards Amalla, hugging her in a more-than-friendly and very energetic embrace.  Ever the lively one, Kaolla was only too happy to embrace the older Su sister, pecking her cheeks with kisses and even planting one on the older girl's lips.

"Alright, Kaolla," giggled Amalla at her younger sibling's assault of affection onto her, "It's certainly nice to see you again and see that you're doing well.  I trust that things here have been good since the last time we've spoken face to face?"

"Why of course, Big Sis!" chimed Kaolla, "Things here have been very good.  I'm doing well enough in school and made friends over the last few months.  In fact, here they all are!"  At this point, Su was motioning to Shinobu, Mei, Sarah, and Nyamo.  While Su definitely considered Motoko a close friend of hers too, the other girls were in the same grade as Kaolla, so she had far more regular interaction with them compared with Motoko.

"My my my," said Amalla with allure in her voice, "what pretty girls you've gotten close with, Kaolla.  I can only imagine what they'll look like in a few years time.  I would certainly like to get to know all of them very closely, one by one."  Amalla finished this statement with a playful smirk and a quick licking of her upper lip like some sort of cat eyeing a fresh mouse.

Amalla's piqued interest in Kaolla's compatriots had them all blushing.  The one with the least intense blush was Nyamo, but even hers was rather noticeable.  As for Shinobu, Sarah, and Mei, all three of them were like fully ripened tomatoes at the moment.  From their perspective, here was this knockout of a woman giving playful commentary to these younger women and finding all of them interesting, if not outright desirable in the strongest sense of the word.

Turning towards Motoko, Amalla gave the swordswoman her attention afterwards, "It's good to see you again, Miss Aoyama.  I hope your sword training has been going well since we last met."  Motoko humbly bowed in response before speaking.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Princess Amalla.  I like to think I've made some improvement in the time that has passed since your last visit.  And I would prefer it if you just called me ‘Motoko,' else there might be some confusion as to who you're referring to between me and my sister."

"Well then, let me return the gesture in kind," responded Amalla, "Please just call me Amalla.  I'd rather not stand on ceremony or rely on my title when in the company of close friends.  I hope that you'll treat me just like any of the other girls here during my stay."

As was the case between Haruka, Tsuruko, Amalla, Kanako, and Mutsumi, there was a clearing of the air about titles between the now larger party of women gathered in the common area of Hinata House.  After introductions between the various women gathered, everyone was in agreement to simply refer to each other by first name, as would be the case with good friends.

"It's good to see you again, Motoko," said Tsuruko as she embraced her younger sister in a long, comforting hug.

"Big sister," sighed Motoko, calmly breathing in her older sibling's scent as they held each other firmly, "How have you been?"

"I'm getting by," responded Tsuruko, "Been keeping myself busy tending to the dojo.  It helps me keep my mind off of...other things."  This generalized answer was well understood between the Aoyama sisters.  When Motoko told her junior classmates about Tsuruko's divorce, she asked and insisted that none of them bring it up during Tsuruko's stay at Hinata House.  She was especially worried that either Sarah or Kaolla would broach the topic out of the blue, making things quite awkward to say the least.  Fortunately, each of the five younger girls swore that they would do no such thing and put Tsuruko on the spot like that.  As far as they were concerned, what happened between Tsuruko and her ex-husband was between the two of them exclusively and nobody else.

"And how are you, Motoko?" asked Tsuruko, changing the topic and taking on a more cheerful disposition in the process, "Have you been doing well in school?"

"I'm doing fine," responded Motoko, "Classes are winding down and graduation will be here soon enough.  I shouldn't have to worry about failing anything substantial.  All that is really left are final exams, and unless I completely blow it when taking them, I should have enough credits to pass and attend graduation."

"That's good to hear, Motoko," said Tsuruko with a calm, pleased look on her face, "What about your personal life?  And I mean things besides your sword training.  Have you found anyone you...you know...like?"  The insinuation that Tsuruko was making was understood well enough, as Motoko found herself beginning to blush in response.

"Sister!" exclaimed Motoko in a fierce but hushed tone of voice, "That sort of thing is...you know...private.  It's not the kind of topic you discuss in public, especially in front of so many people."

"Oh, but I just can't help but be curious, dear little sister," giggled Tsuruko in total amusement, "If I understand it right, you've shown some interest in a certain potential college enrollee, so to speak.  I believe I've even met the man now that I think about it.  What was his name again?  Kantaro?  Kenshiro?"

"Keitaro." said several women in the room at the same time, minus Motoko, who was now furiously blushing in embarrassment.

"Ah yes!" declared Tsuruko with grounded certainty, "Keitaro.  If I remember correctly, we first met when I ended up saving him from a swerving vehicle on the way to the dorms.  Fortunately, nobody ended up getting hurt in the process.  I found it rather amusing that he mistook me for you, dear Motoko."  At this point Tsuruko was smirking and giggling at the recollection of the memory.

A part of the memory which Tsuruko never told a soul about was that she recalled what Keitaro said when he got a good look at her face from underneath the straw hat that she was wearing on that day:

"Wow...she's so beautiful."  Those were the exact words he said upon seeing her.

Even now, the memory of the declaration of Tsuruko's appearance brought inner comfort to her very being.  While she did not obsess too much over appearance or trying to look as good as women who model in magazines, it gave her comfort and joy to know that there were men who thought that she was attractive when it came to her looks.

‘I suppose that's at least part of the reason my ex married me back then," thought Tsuruko in a moment of self-reflection, ‘Still, I was very happy when that young man commented on my looks that day.  I could tell that he was being sincere in both his tone of voice and his facial expression.  It was rather adorable, I dare say."  Tsuruko couldn't help but chuckle at this recollection from that day.

"What's so funny, Tsuruko?" asked Amalla with heightened curiosity.

"Oh nothing, Princess Ama-...I mean Amalla.  Just thinking back of a rather cherished memory of mine, that is all."  Tsuruko usually wasn't the type to share personal stories about her life or experiences she had.  She tended to limit gossip, as was part of her upbringing of what she considered to be of a proper lady.

After several minutes of dialogue between the large group of females within the common room, Haruka decided to break the ice and have rooming arrangements set up.

"So," began Haruka, "if I understand it right, both Amalla and Tsuruko will be rooming with their respective sisters?"

"Yes," said both Tsuruko and Amalla simultaneously.

"And I assume Mei will most likely be rooming with her sister during her time at Hinata?"

"Why yes," responded Mei, "I felt like that would be the best scenario as far as sleeping arrangements went."

"Now then," continued Haruka, "that just leaves Kanako, Mutsumi, Nyamo, and Sarah as far as sleeping arrangements go..."

"Don't forget yourself, Haruka," chimed Mutsumi.  Ever the loveable semi-air headed girl, the Okinawan wasn't going to forget factoring the older Urashima into the equation.  While Haruka appreciated Mutsumi's concern on finding a place for her to crash for the night, she wished the girl had a little subtlety and not told everyone in the room that Haruka would be staying the night with everyone else.  That was the kind of thing that made Haruka want to light up a fresh cigarette, just to take the edge off from the embarrassment of the experience.

"Well then, let me think," said Haruka, "if I remember, Nyamo, you appear to be on good terms with Shinobu from what I recall.  Would you be okay with rooming with her then?"

At this recommendation, Nyamo simply nodded with a smile on her face, hugging Shinobu from behind.  Shinobu giggled at the friendly embrace.  The two girls had become close ever since the visit to the Pararakelse Islands several months ago.

"Mutsumi," continued Haruka, "you and Kitsune hit it off pretty good, so would you be okay rooming with her then?  I imagine Kitsune wouldn't have qualms over the proposition."

"Why of course, Haruka!" responded Mutsumi with her usual happy-go-lucky cheerfulness, "I would love to catch up with Kitsune!  I'm sure she would enjoy having a drinking buddy over the weekend."  Ever the optimist, Mutsumi Otohime was quick to catch onto other people's hobbies and embrace them whenever possible.

"Now, for Kanako," said Haruka, mindful of her cousin's machinations.

"If it's alright with everyone else," state Kanako, "if it's not too much of an imposition, I'll room with Kei-"

"Kanako will room with me," interrupted Haruka, quick to catch on with Kanako's intentions.

"What?  Why would you want to room with me, dear auntie?" asked the younger Urashima with venom hidden in her questioning.  Sure enough, she knew as to why Haruka was running interference on Kanako's plans regarding the rooming situation.

"Because, dearest niece," responded Haruka with similar venom in her voice, "we have SO much catching up to do since you were away.  I figured a little one-on-one time between family members would be in order."

"Well, if that's the case," countered Kanako, "then I could room with Keita-"

"Out of the question," said Haruka, cutting off her niece/cousin once more.  She knew well enough that if Kanako were in the same room as Keitaro, it would only be a matter of time before she tried to get into his pants.  It was a mix of protecting Keitaro from his adoptive sister's sexually-charged intentions and out of some degree of jealousy over having similar feelings for Keitaro that Haruka decided to run interference.  If she could keep an eye on Kanako for at least some of the time, then Haruka could protect Kanako from trying to jump Keitaro's bones and further secure Keitaro's relationship with Naru.  Though admittedly, a part of her was tempted to serve as a barrier between Kanako and Keitaro so that Haruka might have her shot with him instead, if things between Keitaro and Naru ended up going belly-up, so to speak.

"Hmpf, well if that's truly what you want, dearest Haruka," said Kanako with barely hidden frustration on her face, "then I suppose I could room with you...for now at least."  The younger Urashima would relent for the time being, but she loved Keitaro with a fiery hot passion, and would be damned if she didn't take the opportunity to make a move on him when the chance presented itself.

"So I guess that just leaves me then," said Sarah, who happened to be the odd woman out, "Any ideas on where to put me then, Aunt Haruka?"  As was her mischievous nature, Sarah liked to reiterate Haruka's title of ‘Aunt Haruka' whenever the opportunity presented itself.

"Well then, Sarah," countered Haruka with a clenched jaw and a smile, "since you were so kind as to ask, I've decided that you'll be rooming alongside Kanako and myself then."  Haruka figured if the girl was going to have fun by taunting the older Urashima woman, then Haruka would turn the tables on her.  Her reasoning was twofold.

First off, from her time with Seta and Julia, Haruka was made the unofficial second mother to Sarah whenever the girl was placed within her care.  After all, Julia herself said that if anything serious ever happened to her, then Haruka would serve as a good enough replacement to fill the role of mother for Sarah in Julia's stead.  She figured it was the least she could do to help out Sarah, Julia, and Seta.  Haruka felt that the girl could use some elder femine guidance during her time at Hinata, and some firm corrections whenever her brattier, snarkier instincts took hold.  While it would test Haruka's patience at times, she felt it was a welcome enough challenge for her.  Goodness knows that Sarah could use a little course correction whenever she decided to give excess attitude to others, especially her elders.

The other reason was that given the soft spot Haruka had for Keitaro, she felt that she would do him a favor and spare him the mischievous behavior of a young girl like Sarah.  She was aware that the younger girl would give Keitaro a hard enough time during her visits to Hinata, and with Keitaro already having his hands full between managing the dorms, putting up with the antics of the many female tenants within the dorms, and his plans to try getting into Tokyo U, Haruka believed she could do him a small courtesy and take the likes of Sarah McDougal off of his hands.  After all, she did still have strong lingering feelings for the man, even if she was reluctant to show them.

While Sarah was initially reluctant to be rooming with Haruka, she knew well enough when to pick her fights so as to not push her luck.  She tried to mediate and suggest that maybe she could room with one of the younger girls, like Shinobu, Kaolla, or Mei.  However, Haruka snuffed out whatever wiggle room the American girl tried to use to get out of rooming with the Urashima women.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," countered Haruka, "Besides, we could use a little bonding time, you and I...at least until Seta returns."

Realizing it was a futile endeavor to press on any further, Sarah acquiesced to Haruka's command disguised as a suggestion.  If it was any consolation, she was at least relieved that she wasn't the only one not looking forward to the arrangement, if Kanako's reaction to being in the same boat was any indicator.  She only hoped that the younger Urashima woman wouldn't give her any grief either while they were roommates.  Sarah hadn't made Kanako's acquaintance very well during the girl's stay, so she didn't really have much of an opinion to form about her.  She only hoped that the reluctance they both shared in rooming with Haruka might be a commonality that they could use to each other's benefit in avoiding the older Urashima woman whenever the opportunity presented itself.

After rooming arrangements were settled between all the women present, they proceeded to go to their respective rooms to get the new arrivals acquainted with their current lodgings.  Before breaking up however, a question came up among the ladies.

"So, by chance will the hot springs be open tonight?" asked Amalla.  "I could really use a good soak after travelling all this way."

"I am in agreement with that sentiment," added Tsuruko.  "It's been some time since I've been able to properly wash myself after coming so far, and I remember my last time in the baths to be quite heavenly."

"Well, I believe that the baths should be ready by now," responded Haruka, "Keitaro usually works on cleaning them around the middle of the day, so I'd wager that he's done and probably managing some other task in the dorms."

"My my," said Amalla with wonder and allure in her voice, "Mr. Urashima works very, very hard.  It must be rather demanding work for him to complete several tasks like that on a regular basis, especially if he's doing it all by himself."  The older Molmolian girl was clearly impressed with the dorm manager's work ethic.

"Keitaro IS a hard worker, big sis," chimed Kaolla, "All the girls here would agree with that statement, wouldn't you girls?"

"Yes, absolutely," said Shinobu, "Urashima-senpai is a very hard worker.  Sometimes I think he puts too much on his shoulders, so I try to help him where and when I can, usually with laundry or cooking."

"I'm in agreement" said Motoko, "Keitaro is very earnest in his duties.  Sometimes he ends up inadvertently doing himself harm or engaging in a rather...embarrassing incident with one of us, but he has a good heart and puts forth the effort."  At this point, Motoko was blushing.  For when she mentioned ‘embarrassing incidents,' it tended to involve any of the residents (including her) getting accidentally groped or disrobed by Keitaro's instinctive clumsiness.

"From what I've seen, Keitaro does work very hard," said Mei, "Naru has spoken nothing but praise as to how hard he works."

Nyamo simply nodded in agreement, given how she wasn't much of one for words.

"I've known Keitaro since my childhood years, and I would say I know better than most everyone here that he always puts the work in, even if it is backbreaking and puts a toll on his body," said Kanako, "My big brother is the hardest working man I know, and I only wish I could help him more with his duties here.  That's the main reason I've come to Hinata House: I want to help Keitaro in any way I can, to help shoulder the burden that this job takes upon him."  As Kanako said this, there was a growing blush on her cheeks and a shine in her eyes.  She truly adored Keitaro and hoped that one day the two of them might manage Hinata House together as husband and wife.

"Kei-kun is a good worker," said Mutsumi with a smile, "Though I don't stay at the dorms year-round compared to the other girls, from what I've seen, Keitaro is usually quite busy with whatever chore he is working on.  The guy rarely has a moment to himself, even on weekends."

"The dork is a hard worker," grumbled Sarah, "He might have the occasional goofball moment when he's busy with something, but that doesn't stop him from trying again.  It's...kinda cool...in a way." At the end of this statement, Sarah was sporting a faint blush and looking down at the ground, trying not to come off as some stammering schoolgirl with a crush.

"Keitaro does work hard around here," said Haruka, "When I left as interim manager and gave the job to him, I wasn't sure if he would be up to the task.  But after a few weeks here, he started to get the hang of things.  He still has the occasional mess-up moment, and he's more soft-handed with the girls than I would be, but he does give his all to any task laid before him."

After the round of glowing reviews from the gathered assembly of girls, the group began to part ways.  Each girl made her way back to her respective room with her fellow roommate (or roommates in the case of Haruka, Kanako, and Sarah).  Before taking their final leave, a proposal was made to give the hot springs a visit to commemorate the new arrivals that were visiting for the night.   And so it was that within an hour's time, all of the women gathered would meet for a nice, long soak at the Hinata House hot springs.

As Amalla and Kaolla made their way down towards Kaolla's room with Shiro and Tama in tow, the sisters began catching up with one another in various topics.  Kaolla updated Amalla on how school was going, what new experiments she was dabbling in, what new adventures and shenanigans were underway at Hinata House, and if she had found a potential love interest yet.  On that last topic, Kaolla gave an answer without a moment's pause or any hesitation.

"Keitaro, of course," said Kaolla, matter-of-factly.

"The dorm manager?" inquired Amalla, "As far as I understand it, is he not already coupled with that Naru girl?  I thought the two of them were exclusive."

"Yeah, Keitaro is dating Naru, though Naru is still shy when it comes to openly showing love to Keitaro.  They haven't made a lot of progress since that time Naru confessed and kissed Keitaro."  As always, Kaolla was succinct in analyzing a situation; such was her nature as a part-time scientist.

"So if Keitaro's already called for, then why do you still pursue him?" continued Amalla, "Do you plan on claiming him and giving Naru the boot?"

"Of course not, big sister," replied Kaolla, "I love Keitaro, just like I love Naru and everyone else at Hinata.  I don't want to break them up.  If anything, I want to help them get along better...help them make progress in their love for each other and in making love.  I want the two of them to be happily together forever."

"Okay," said Amalla with some confusion in her voice, "but you say you are IN love with Keitaro.  Are you also in love with Naru and others here?"

"I could be," answered Kaolla with high certainty, "I only want happiness for the two of them, just like I want happiness for everyone here at the dorms, myself included.  And I'm in love with Keitaro.  I want to marry him one day and have a big happy family with him."

There was a moment's pause for Amalla to figure out what Kaolla was trying to convey, until the most logical conclusion presented itself.
"Three-way relationship?" surmised the older Su sister.

"No, dear sister," said Su with a playful smirk, "Multi-way relationship."

"Beg your pardon?" said Amalla with a cocked eyebrow.

"You heard me, big sis," answered Kaolla, "I know that there are several people here who have feelings for Keitaro.  I've seen them blush from time to time whenever they bump into him or his name comes up.  I'm guessing that they all have strong feelings for him; some just take a bit more persuasion to admit that they're in love with him, that's all.  I noticed it when we were talking in the common room downstairs.  When everyone was talking about how hard Keitaro works, I could tell in their tones of voice and the looks on their faces that they really, REALLy like him.  Even Sarah, though the girl is stubborn to admit that kind of stuff.  I already know for a fact that Shinobu, Motoko, Mutsumi, Kanako and Nyamo are in love with him.  I have my suspicions about Mei, Haruka, and that Tsuruko woman, but I know that none of them dislike Keitaro.  I just need more time and data to find out if my theory is correct."

"What about me?" asked Amalla.

"What do you mean, big sister?" responded Kaolla.

"Don't I factor into this at all?" elaborated the older Su sibling with a pout on her face and a playful tone in her voice.

"Do you WANT to get in on this, Amalla?  I thought you were content with big brother Lamba and the others in the royal harem," inquired Kaolla, "Are you saying you find Keitaro..."

"Attractive?  Desirable?  Cute?"  listed Amalla in her playful tone of voice.

"Well now," said Kaolla, "you really DO have quite the appetite for love, Amalla.  But I will warn you of one thing."

"Oh?  And what would that be, little sister?"

"If you really are interested in Keitaro, then I'll allow you in on this.  But if you are just after a quick roll in the hay only to cast aside Keitaro when you've had your fun, I'll never forgive you."  The tone in Kaolla's voice had changed from playful to dead serious by this point.

There was a momentary pause between the sisters.  Amalla knew when Kaolla wasn't joking around.  She had spent enough time with her back in their homeland to know Kaolla's mood and mannerisms.  If Kaolla said she was going to punish you for hurting those close to her, then that was what she would do.  In this case, Kaolla had been drawn very, very, VERY close to Keitaro and saw enough to like in him that she desired to be his mate.  That simple fact alone made Amalla quite aware that this warning was not an empty one being thrown her way.  Kaolla really did yearn for Keitaro's love and wish for his happiness, and would do damn near anything to protect the latter.

"Very well, Kaolla," said Amalla, "I will heed your warning.  But something you should know about me in turn."

"And what is that, big sister?" countered Kaolla.

"I may come off as something of a floozy to some people, given how I dress, or how I talk, or how I act, or from simply the fact that I am part of a royal harem back home.  But I do not consider myself ‘easy' or disloyal.  I am deeply committed to those I care about.  If anyone tried to harm my loved ones back home, I'd hunt them down no matter where they hid.  If anybody tried to deliberately bring them pain, grief, or sadness, I'd make them deeply regret doing so.  I may be married to a LOT of people, but I love all of those people equally.  They are all my number-one cherished person.  It's true that I initially only loved Lamba, but once I got to know the others in the royal harem, I began to love them more and more each day.  They were both my sisters AND my wives in marriage, and I yearned to please them and maximize their happiness to the fullest extent of my power.  I know such a concept seems impossible or illogical to outsiders and foreigners, but I don't expect such people to understand something like that unless they are in it.  So to summarize in response to your warning Kaolla:  If I end up truly falling in love with Keitaro during my time here, he will be JUST as important to me and my heart as Lamba and the others back home.  And the same goes for the other members of this little harem you're cooking up.  They will end up becoming MY wives as much as they will be Keitaro's wives, and I will shower them all with love and affection until they drown in an ocean of blissful nirvana."

There was another momentary pause as each Su sister sized up the other after Amalla's lengthy declaration of her intentions.

"Well," started Kaolla, "I'm glad to know you're still the same sister of mine even after heading back home and getting hitched, Amalla."  The younger Su sibling cracked a smile after hearing the conviction in her sister's response.

"I'm a little hurt that you'd think of me as a woman after only one thing, Kaolla," responded Amalla with a pout, "Like I told you, I may be in a harem, but I'm always overflowing with love for those who are in it.  And if this plan of yours ends up working out like you want it to, I'll simply have an even BIGGER harem when all is said and done.  But my love for all involved will not waver or shrink in the slightest.  I like to think I have a big enough heart for it."

"I certainly hope so," said Kaolla, "We Su sisters really are of a like mind when it comes to desiring love.  We want the love and affection of others, and we also want to maximize their love and happiness.  I love Keitaro, and I also love Shinobu, Naru, Kitsune, Motoko, Sarah, Nyamo, and Mutsumi as well in the same way.  And in due time, I'm hoping to be able to add Mei, Haruka, Kanako, and even Tsuruko into the fold too, though Tsuruko might take a bit of extra work as she was recently just divorced."

"A broken heart, eh?  That will take some extra effort," deducted Amalla, "But once again, little sister, you left something out once more."

"And what is that, Amalla?"

"Me, you silly-head!"

"Of course, and you too, Amalla, if you're really interested in being close with everyone I just mentioned."

"They're all pretty girls with good hearts.  That's usually enough for me, dear sister.  I have something of a knack for these things.  If a person has a kind soul, they already have my attention.  While some like Sarah and Kanako are a little rough around the edges, I can tell that they aren't bad girls.  Sarah just has a hard time opening up, and Kanako is devoted solely to Keitaro from what I could piece together.  With a little coaxing and some heavy level bombardment of affection, I think I can bring them into the fold.  And as for Keitaro..."

"Yes, Amalla?"

"I was already interested in him from the get go.  He shares similar facial features with Lamba, so that made things easy from the start.  But when I got to know him from the first time I arrived here, I could already figure out what kind of man he was."

"And what kind of man is he, big sister?"

"A kind man with a strong will and work ethic, but who is somewhat shy around women.  I'm guessing he never takes the first step when it comes to getting intimate, right?"

"You would be correct on that, dear sister," said Kaolla with a chuckle, "Keitaro gets so nervous about trying to figure out how to be romantic with Naru.  He's afraid that he'll mess things up and Naru will reject him, so he stays still like a turtle taking a really long nap."

"When I tried to kidnap and seduce him the first time I arrived here," continued Amalla, "he was extremely reluctant to give into his desires.  At first I thought that maybe he wasn't into women, if you get my meaning."

Kaolla responded to that theory with a chuckle.

"If Keitaro is into guys," she said, "I've yet to see any evidence to back up that claim.  I've seen him blush like crazy whenever he'd see one of us in the nude or whenever he accidentally groped someone here, so I'm highly certain that Keitaro likes girls."

"I figured as much," said Amalla with her own chuckle, "anyways, I could tell that while he was certainly...excited from the affection I was laying on him, he was trying his hardest to resist my feminine charm.  I've known men who would jump at the chance to lay with me without a second thought, but there was Keitaro trying his hardest to be chaste and not give into temptation.  I couldn't help but admire that trait about him.  In hindsight, it made me think, ‘This one here is a keeper.'  Even after leaving, I thought about maybe bringing him back home and making him an honorary member of the royal harem.  I'm not sure if he'd be into doing bedroom arts with Lamba, unless they were working the same woman in the process, but I thought that with enough coaxing and affection I might have been able to turn him around to things.  Get him to have an ‘open mind' so to speak."

"That would certainly be an interesting thing to witness," joked Kaolla.

As the sisters laughed throughout the night, they proceeded to unpack Amalla's luggage and situate her within Kaolla's bedroom.  Once everything was set up for the older Su sister, Kaolla proceeded with offering Amalla a tour of Hinata House, minus the other dorm rooms.

"Sure, why not," responded Amalla, "If I'm going to be staying here for some time, I might as well get the lay of the land, right?  Besides, I could use a trip to the kitchen and get something to drink.  All this conversation has left me rather parched."

"Alright then," said Kaolla with her usual cheerfulness, "I'll give you the grand tour before we have our big ‘girl time' party in the hot springs.  I'm really looking forward to it!"

And with that, the Su sisters made their way out the door and left Kaolla's dorm room momentarily abandoned.

"This way," said Motoko as she led her older sister towards her room, "Hopefully things will be to your liking during your stay here."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, dear Motoko," responded Tsuruko with a smile, "I know that you try to keep things orderly most of the time."

‘She knows me too well sometimes,' thought Motoko in self-reflection.  The two of them really were sisters after all.

As the Aoyama girls settled into Motoko's room, Tsuruko took in the view all around her.  True to form, Motoko's room was very organized.  In a way, her accommodations were practically Spartan by some people's standards.  The room was more akin to what one might find in a soldiers barracks, particular one from the era when samurais were commonplace among the populace as opposed to nowadays in the modern world.

"You know, Motoko," said Tsuruko as she set her luggage down and began petting her cranes in affection, "you can spoil yourself from time to time."

"What do you mean, big sister?" asked Motoko in response.

"Perhaps add a television or a radio to your accommodations, maybe a poster on the wall here or there.  I mean, I notice the sword stand over there is a nice accessory, and the samurai gear in the far corner is admirable to behold.  I just mean...be more in-tune with the world as it is is all I'm saying."

"Weren't you the one who prided herself on embracing and honoring the old ways, dear sister?" asked Motoko with some confusion in her voice.

"I suppose I did back when we were younger, dear Motoko," said Tsuruko with some minor sadness in her voice, "I regret that I was at times a bit...rough, in your instruction.  Perhaps I should have lessened up a bit in your training regiment.  Maybe then you would have embraced things that young women are more into these days.  After all, most people aren't really that concerned with swordsmanship nowadays.  It's a lifestyle that appears rather antiquated and-"

"Please, don't apologize for how you instructed me, big sister!" interrupted Motoko, "You've only had my best of interests at heart when you trained me.  I don't begrudge you at all for your firmness during our time as student and teacher, nor would I want you to blame yourself for your teaching methods.  They might have been hard at times, but it helped me to grow as both a swordswoman and as a person in general.  So please, don't be hard on yourself for your tutelage.  I don't hate or detest you in the slightest for it."

Motoko's insistence to blunt her sister's minor self-loathing shocked Tsuruko briefly, and was then followed by minor tears forming at the edges of Tsuruko's eyes.  The older Aoyama woman was thankful and happy that her younger sibling didn't hate her for the harshness of her training regiment.  Even so, a part of Tsuruko couldn't help but feel at least partly responsible for her younger sister's disposition.  If she were more moderate, dare she say even more...nurturing...in her approach with Motoko, would her little sister be so guarded and direct in her disposition?  Would Motoko have become more easygoing and less reserved in the company of others?  Would she have been able to be more open with her affections and feelings, capable of showing tenderness with any potential love interests she met down the line, like that Keitaro fellow she became acquainted with?  The hypotheticals bombarded Tsuruko's mind as she dwelled on such things.

"Even so, Motoko," continued Tsuruko, "while I am glad that you don't hold a grudge over events from the past, I only hope that what I've instilled in you doesn't ruin your chances of finding companionship and love.  I wouldn't want your devotion to tradition to...sour things and turn others away from you as a result."

Motoko could tell what Tsuruko was implying with that last statement.
"Sister," said Motoko as she carefully pondered over her choice of words, "if you wish to talk about...that...it is alright.  I told the others only a general brief of what occurred, and I beseeched them not to bring it up with you upon your arrival, as I didn't want to bring any emotional discomfort from the get-go.  Now that we've some privacy to ourselves, if you want to talk about it, I am here for you."

Motoko's sincerity touched Tsuruko deeply.  While they had their differences, the two were sisters who only wanted the other to find as much happiness as possible.

"Thank you, dear Motoko," replied Tsuruko, "I suppose I might as well get it off my chest.  Dwelling upon it certainly won't do me any good."

"So," started Motoko, feeling a sense of awkwardness discussing her sister's recent divore, "what exactly happened?  You only told me that things between the two of you were on the decline and that you decided to finally end it."

Tsuruko pondered on how to best describe the events between her and her now ex-husband over the past few months.  After a minute or so of dwelling, the older Aoyama took a deep breath, then began.

"To put it as simply as I can," said Tsuruko, "we simply became incompatible with each other over time.  While I was smitten with him from the beginning and he with me, it seemed as though a myriad of small inconveniences and scuffles simply piled on top of one another.  The first few years were wonderful.  We were so in tune with one another and spent as much of our free time as possible in each other's company.  Then, during the last year of our marriage, things started to take a turn."

"How so?" asked Motoko.

"It was small things at first," explained Tsuruko, "Minor arguments over housework...things like dishes, laundry, paying this bill or that bill, maintaining the gardens, tidying up this room or that room.  While we had our differences here and there, there was still love between us.  I was hoping that in time, we could work things out."

"So...what happened next?" asked Motoko.

"Arguments over housework soon spilled over into other areas," said Tsuruko, "What started over housework then got compounded into what to do over weekends and vacation plans.   Things like ‘Where should we go out for dinner?' or ‘What do you want to watch tonight on the television?' turned into back-and-forth arguments.  While I tried to acquiesce and let him have his way at times, other times I simply had enough and held my ground.  When that happened, he would become rather furious and end up storming out of the room at times.  It felt as though he was only too happy to be free of me some nights."

"I'm...sorry that things ended up becoming that way," said Motoko with deep sadness in her voice.

"Please, don't apologize, Motoko," countered Tsuruko, "you are not responsible for what occurred between my ex-husband and I."

"Still," responded Motoko, "I can't help but feel bad for how things were spiraling out of control for you.  Perhaps if I paid more attention, I could have-"

"Motoko," said Tsuruko, cutting off her sister right then and there, "do not place any of this burden on your shoulders whatsoever.  You are not responsible in any way for the events between myself and my ex.  So I beseech you, please do not feel any guilt for whatever hypothetical intervention you think you could have staged to change things around, understand?"

"Yes, Tsuruko," responded Motoko after a moment's pause, "Please just know that I only wish I could have been of more help to you, given the circumstances."

"You are your own woman, Motoko," countered Tsuruko, "with your own life to live.  Given that I am your older sister, it falls onto me to handle the personal affairs in my life.  While I certainly appreciate your concern, little sister, I again must emphasize that what happened during my years of marriage was for me and my husb-...ex-husband to work out."

The sentiment each sister had for the other was quite something.  Motoko only wanted for Tsurukos' happiness in light of her divorce and felt the need to apologize in an act of penance for what she perceived as not doing enough to help.  In turn, Tsuruko wanted to shield Motoko from any guilt she might feel whatsoever for her own divorce, and thus snuffed out any chance for her younger sister to feel guilt or shame over the failed marriage that was for Tsuruko alone to own up to.

"So," said Motoko, continuing the conversation, "what happened afterwards?  Did you two try to see an expert?  Some type of psychologist or therapist to help resolve things?"

"As a matter of fact, we did try just that," said Tsuruko, "After perusing various specialists over a few weeks, we settled on a marriage counselor.  We sat in on several sessions over the span of a month and tried any suggestions he presented.  I was hopeful that we might have a ‘breakthrough moment' as they say, but it seemed that no matter what we tried, things never improved.  I tried my best to engage with my ex, but it seemed that no matter what we tried, we just couldn't get that chemistry from the start of our marriage to spring forward once more.  Over time, we ended up drifting farther apart from one another.  We rarely engaged in conversation for more than a few minutes, and our time in the bedroom was...nearly nonexistent, to put it gently."  By this point, Tsuruko had a crestfallen look upon her face.

"Did you..."ask Motoko, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Did you suspect him of having...an affair?"

"Honestly," said Tsuruko, "I do not know for certain.  I suspected that at times he might have been...unfaithful, but I didn't push him on that subject.  I can only hope that he was an honorable man when it came to that particular part of our union.  Because if I ever found out that he was unfaithful...I'm not sure what I would do."  Tsuruko's temperament was a mix of both sadness and anger.  The very idea that her former spouse would commit an act of infidelity on her would bring out the warrior within her.  Motoko figured that if Tsuruko confirmed it, then Tsuruko's ex-husband would end up being eviscerated and reduced to a pile of human gore.  If there was one thing that Tsuruko had little mercy for, it was deception and dishonesty.

"In any case," said Tsuruko regaining her composure, "after a month or so of unsuccessful therapy sessions and exercises, we decided to annul our marriage.  We didn't want to drag things out any further, as neither of us desired being in a union where we were both becoming increasingly miserable.  So, after a few weeks of legal arguments over who got possession of what, we finally ended our marriage and parted on the best of terms, or as good as we could make them."

"Have you kept in touch since then?" asked Motoko.

"No," answered Tsuruko, "He has gone his way just as I have gone my way.  I don't bear any animosity towards him, even now.  At the time when we first met, I was truly in love with him, and I like to think that he was in love with me, at least for a while.  But I believe that with time, we simply became incompatible with one another, primarily because of our lifestyles.  He was a shrewd businessman, whereas I was a devout sword practitioner.  He felt the need to be in command of the marriage, whereas I was too strong-willed to simply roll over to his wants and needs at a moment's notice.  He was of a more traditional mindset of being the ‘man of the house,' whereas I was too much of a warrior to submit to his wants within the household and subordinate myself to him.  Over time, our marriage became like two tidal waves crashing into one another - neither one of us was willing to bow to the other.  Perhaps we were both simply too proud to take the knee before the other...always that need to be the dominant one in the relationship."

Another momentary pause occurred between the sisters, before Motoko continued the conversation.

"Tsuruko," she said.

"Yes, Motoko?" replied Tsuruko.

"Would...would you like a hug?"

There was another long pause before Tsuruko's answer.

"Yes," Tsuruko practically whispered.

The Aoyama sisters embraced one another.  Tsuruko ended up burying her face into Motoko's bosom, quietly whimpering at having spilled the beans about the failed relationship between her and her ex-husband.  While Tsuruko maintained a strong exterior during her time explaining the details of her now-dead marriage, Motoko was cognizant enough to tell that her older sister was weeping on the inside from having to recall the downward spiral of her former relationship.  Perhaps it was simply because they were sisters, for the two of them seemed to pick up on each other's emotional state when in close proximity to one another.  All she was sure of at that moment was that Tsuruko needed someone to cry her heart out towards, and Motoko felt that she was the one to shoulder that task above all others.  During that time, the younger Aoyama sister embraced her older sibling tightly, rubbing her head gently and stroking her back as she embraced her sister, letting Tsuruko's grief and tears spill out into her chest and dampening her clothes.

"Please, Motoko," said Tsuruko upon regaining her composure and wiping the tears from her eyes after giving Motoko the rundown of her failed marriage, "don't let your devotion to the ways of the shinmei-ryu school of swordsmanship ruin any chance of finding love in your life.  I cannot help but feel that at least part of the reason my marriage ended the way it did was because my former husband simply couldn't embrace my lifestyle as a sword practitioner.  At first, he tolerated it, but over time I think that he simply couldn't see himself paired with a woman who was glued to the ‘old ways' as he would put it.  And whatever feelings and beliefs in our sword style I imparted unto you, I can only hope that they have not hardened you so much as to keep you from finding romance during your time in this world."

"Sister," said Motoko, "please do not do this to yourself.  Please do not shoulder yourself with this sense of blame for how you raised me, as both a sister and an instructor.  In my opinion, your ex-husband didn't deserve you in the end.  I can only hope that he refrained from committing an act of infidelity, otherwise I'm not sure what I would have done to him in response.  And as for the incompatibility that was forming between the two of you, I can only hope that you see that it simply was something that was fated to be, and that you did everything within your power to stop it from being so.  As for my love life, Tsuruko, you need not worry on that issue, for I am my own woman with my own choices to make...and I believe there is someone out there who I could find genuine happiness with, depending on how things turn out."  At the last part of this statement, Motoko ended up breaking eye contact and beginning to blush.

"Oh?" inquired Tsuruko, "It wouldn't happen to be a certain dormitory manager by chance, would it?"  The smirk on Tsuruko's face was all too evident as she finished her question, taking in the blush on Motoko's face with joyful delight.

"S-sister!" said Motoko with an increasingly redder hue on her cheeks as her blush intensified.
"Oh, come now, Motoko.  I know that you've had feelings for Mr. Urashima now for quite some time.  I had my suspicions after my first visit here.  While you were hiding behind the declaration of marriage to him, I could tell after the duels we had that your faux relationship with Mr. Urashima had in fact evolved into something quite genuine.  I am not sure as to whether he shares the same feelings you have for him, but I've known you long enough to realize when my little sister has fallen in love."  Tsuruko finished her analysis with a giggle.

"E-even so," said Motoko, not refuting a word Tsuruko had just said, "Keitaro is with Naru now.  The two have been an official couple ever since that episode involving Kanako and the old annex building.  I saw them kiss.  Naru confessed her love for him.  So...that makes whatever I feel for him a moot point.  And I wouldn't want to engage in an affair behind Naru's back...that's a rather dishonorable act in and of itself.  Besides..." Motoko trailed off in her explanation as she broke eye contact with Tsuruko once again.

"Besides what?" inquired Tsuruko.

"I've been a terrible person to Keitaro in the past."  The sadness in Motoko's voice was making itself apparent.
"How so?"

"I...I've...I've attacked him...physically."  Tears began forming in the corners of Motoko's eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Tsuruko with a cocked eyebrow.

"When he first arrived at Hinata, I was highly mistrustful of Keitaro.  I thought him to be some kind of pervert with ulterior motives.  I acted on the assumption that he would try to take advantage of one or more of the girls here.  I was particularly concerned for the younger tenants like Shinobu or Su, feeling the need to look out for their well-being whenever Keitaro was near.  While he might occasionally fall over by accident and end up disrobing someone or catching someone in a moment of undress, I didn't stop to consider that such events were genuine accidents.  No...instead I acted on assumption and ended up using my sword to punish what I thought was genuinely lewd behavior.  The sword strikes I inflicted on him...what I did...would have been more severe on other men I am sure."  By this point, the tears were starting to run down Motoko's cheeks and drip from her face into her lap.

"Motoko," said Tsuruko, "did you ever unsheath your sword when you attacked Keitaro?"

"No, sister," responded Motoko, "I never felt the need to go so far as to bare my blade before him.  My sword was always sheathed when I...when I...hurt him."  Motoko was choking up in her explanation by this point.  Having to admit to her guilt for how she treated Keitaro was chewing her up deep inside, and she was doing everything she could to keep herself together emotionally.

"I...I wrongly harmed that wonderful man.  He...he never did anything malicious or with wicked intent at any time.  Never raised a hand with intent to strike out at any of us.  Never threatened anyone here with expulsion or by calling the authorities to file charges and have us arrested.  He has been something of a goofball at times, but beyond that, Keitaro has been too kind of a soul.  And the fact that I...that I...attacked him for misunderstandings, I...I..."  Motoko couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence as she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing heavily.  The tears were coming on hard now, as well as mucus running down her nose.  The normally stoic Aoyama girl was now crying like a child who had just witnessed her pet die in front of her.  It took everything in her power to not cry as loudly as a small child would.

With the tables turned at this point, Tsuruko switched things around and tightly embraced Motoko, not even bothering to ask if her sister wanted a hug.  The older sister simply held Motoko in her arms and let her cry her heart out for as long as need be.  Motoko responded by bringing her arms up to return the hug, her fingers digging somewhat into Tsuruko's back as she cried and wailed into her older sister's chest.

"I'm a terrible woman!" cried Motoko, her voice muffled into the fabric of Tsuruko's top, "I've hurt him with terrible injuries and he just brushed them off like they were nothing!  How could he forgive me!?  How can he keep smiling at me with that dopey grin on his face after what I put him through!?  I deserve punishment for what I did!  I WANT to be punished!  I don't deserve his compassion or mercy!"

"Motoko," said Tsuruko in a soft tone.

"Yes...sister?" replied Motoko once her crying had died down.

"What you did to Mr. Urashima is of grave seriousness.  I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  Under normal circumstances, Mr. Urashima could have suffered a far more serious injury from his encounters with your sword, even if it were sheathed.  The man might have been inflicted with permanent damage to some part of his body.  It's a minor miracle that he didn't have you expelled from the dorms or press assault charges against you.  If it's really as you say about his character, then Mr. Urashima has a saint-like degree of patience that would humble the most devout of monks.  He really does seem to be a wonderful person."

Upon finishing her statement, Tsuruko couldn't help but ponder something in a moment of self-reflection: ‘If he were just a few years older, or I a few years younger, or if I had simply met him before I met my ex, how different things could have been.  Perhaps, even now, could I...maybe I...?'  After some blushing in the cheeks, Tsuruko shook her head quickly to quiet down any thoughts of rekindling her love life.  She needed to be there for her little sister in a moment of emotional turbulence.

"If you wish to show penance for what you've done, Motoko, might I make a suggestion?"  continued Tsuruko.

"Please, whatever advice you have I would be more than willing to hear it." responded Motoko urgently.

"If you really wish to show Mr. Urashima that you are sorry for your past transgressions, simply apologize as one from our school would do so.  Prostrate yourself before him and beseech mercy and forgiveness from him.  Then, if you are truly committed to righting your wrongs, offer your services in any way you can to help Mr. Urashima in his daily tasks.  Help out with house chores more often.  Do small favors for him when the opportunity presents itself.  If he seems to be in a genuinely poor state emotionally, hear him out and offer whatever help you can to make him smile once more.  Do these kinds of things for him, and if you believe that he has genuinely forgiven you for what you did to him in the past, then consider the matter resolved."

There was a moment's pause between the sisters before Motoko's response.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay...I'll do just that.  I'll beg for forgiveness.  I'll help him whenever and wherever possible, for as long as he asks of me.  It's the least I can do for him.  Honestly, I wish he would yell at me or punish me in a more severe fashion.  Punishment I can take.  It's the kindness he shows that feels like a knife through the chest at times.  The fact that he cannot bring himself to inflict a punishment that would be more swift and brutal tears at my heart, even now."

"Consider the guilt you feel as your punishment, Motoko.  And perhaps take this as a learning experience in the grand scheme of things."

"What do you mean, big sister?"

"Perhaps this ordeal that occurred between Mr. Urashima and yourself will give you perspective.  Let it serve as a sort of fuel to keep the fire of regret burning within you, at least for a time.  The fact that you feel shame for your past transgressions gives me some degree of comfort, dear sister.  While I am certainly not happy to know of your assaults against Mr. Urashima, I am at least content to know that you have regrets for what you have done to him in the past.  It proves that you still have a conscience, Motoko, and that you wish to make recompense for what you have done.  That in and of itself shows me that you are not too far gone to amend the situation as it stands."

Another momentary pause as Motoko takes in everything Tsuruko had just told her.

"Thank you, sister," said Motoko, "It brings me some small comfort to know that I can make things right with Keitaro...and I will make things right by him.  Not just because of what I have done to him in the past, but because I've fallen in lo-"  By this point, Motoko cuts herself off, lest she confess the innermost yearnings of her heart.

Tsuruko can only smile at this response from her younger sister.  Even if Motoko had not uttered what she had just said, Tsuruko could easily deduce what Motoko's intentions were regarding Keitaro Urashima.  It was clear enough that her younger sister had fallen in love with the manager of Hinata House and was trying to make amends for all the times she had attacked the poor man, not just to show that she was truly sorry, but also in the hopes of winning Mr. Urashima's affections and see her as a lovely young maiden who had fallen madly in love with him over time.

"You need say no more on this topic, Motoko," said Tsuruko who was trying to calm her younger sister's nerves and lessen the blush which was still apparent and easy enough to spot on Motoko's face, "I believe I know enough of your intentions, and if it is possible, I will gladly assist whenever I am able to help you reconcile things with Mr. Urashima.  Like I said earlier, I cannot help but feel somewhat responsible for how you turned out with regards to both your attitude and your swordplay.  Therefore, I will help you amend things between you and the victim of your numerous episodes of assault, as both an instructor and as a sister."

"Oh, thank you, Sister, thank you!" declared Motoko as the two hugged once more in the firmest of embraces.

After drying their tears, the Aoyoma sisters decided to prepare themselves for the big group meet in the hot springs.  Motoko proceeded to help her sister with unpacking whatever belongings the elder Aoyama sister brought along with her.  In the midst of it all, Motoko could not help but notice that the two cranes Tsuruko had brought along with her were not within the room.

"Oh, don't mind them," answered Tsuruko, "Hayate and Shippo have a tendency to wander off now and then.  But don't concern yourself over it.  They are well-behaved enough.  Chances are they are just enjoying some ‘alone time' together."  The notion of two cranes getting intimate with each other brought yet another minor blush to Motoko's face, an act which Tsuruko could not help but chuckle at.

"Come on, we might as well catch up before this big ‘get-together' at the springs," hollered Sarah.  The girl couldn't help but find relief at being temporarily free of Haruka and Kanako for at least a little while.  She was certainly less than enthusiastic about rooming with either of the Urashima women, so the fact that she would end up being stuck with both of them felt like a sort of psychological overkill to her.  If only she didn't refer to Haruka as ‘auntie', then perhaps things would be very different.

Alongside Sarah were Shinobu, Mei, and Nyamo, walking alongside her down the halls of the dorms towards Kaolla's room.  Ever the one to take the initiative, Sarah decided to goad the other members of the younger girls' clique towards Kaolla's room and mingle with the Molmolian girl.  If her older sister happened to be in the room as well, then the girls would simply pick a different time to drop by.  While Amalla was certainly an interesting character in her own right, Sarah felt that she was too much of a wild card to engage in personal conversations with at this point.  Once the girls got to understand Amalla a little better, perhaps they could mingle with her more often without the fear of anything untoward or potentially ‘R-rated' occurring when in the presence of the older Su sister.

"Alright, Sarah," responded Shinobu, "we're coming, just please don't do anything hasty or reckless."  Shinobu was always the overly cautious one out of the bunch.  Such was her nature.  In her mind, she wasn't as adventurous as Kaolla or Sarah, nor as brave as Mei, nor as composed and calm as Nyamo.  She was simply the worrywart of the bunch, always being mindful of things which could potentially go wrong.

"Aw, come on, don't be such a stick in the mud, Shinobu," replied Sarah, "We're just going to stop by for a moment and check in on Su.  If her sister is there, we'll keep it polite and short.  I mean, she seems like a nice enough lady, if a little...well...frisky from what I make of her."

"She's certainly an interesting one, however you choose to label her, that's for sure," said Mei giving her own two cents on the topic.  Nyamo nodded in agreement.

Upon arriving at Kaolla's dorm, Sarah briefly rapped upon the door before making her presence known.

"Hey, Kaolla, you in there?  It's us!" hollered Sarah.  No response.

"Maybe she stepped out for a bit," said Su, "We should probably come back later."

"Hello?  Anybody home?" said Sarah as she knocked on the door once more.  Still no answer.

"Shinobu's probably right," said Mei, "We should just wait until she returns, or just talk to her when we're all in the hot springs."

Instead of responding to the others' commentary, Sarah simply opened the door and poked her head in.

"Sarah!" said Shinobu, "you know it's rude to enter another person's room without their permission."

"Aww come on," replied Sarah, "we'll just peruse around the place briefly.  If we happen to bump into Su or her big sister, we'll just say that we were worried about them when we heard no response.  They should buy that, right?"

"While it's a plausible excuse, I am in agreement with Shinobu," commented Mei, "It's still a violation of another's privacy to intrude upon their room without permission."  Sarah could not help but roll her eyes at Mei's rationale.

"Don't be such a spoilsport," said Sarah, "we're just being neighborly and checking up on our friend.  If she were unconscious or something serious, then she'd certainly be glad that we were there to check up on her now, wouldn't she?"  By this point, all four girls were within Kaolla's bedroom and making their way throughout it looking for the young Molmolian girl.

Kaolla's bedroom was certainly something to behold.  If anything, it had become more akin to a jungle than a traditional Japanese dorm-style bedroom.  There were a myriad of tropical palm trees throughout the bedroom, along with the occasional parrot, monkey, turtle, or insect venturing through the place.  It was as if the girls were really within a real-life jungle, much akin to their time on the Pararakelse Islands.  Nyamo herself felt right at home, if the blissful look on her face was any indicator.

After a minute or so of exploring Kaolla's room, the girls found no sign of the Molmolian girl or her sister.  At this point, Shinobu decided to voice her thoughts.

"Alright now, Kaolla is clearly not in her room right now.  We should get going before she returns, or else we're going to be in a rather awkward situation trying to explain ourselves as to why we are here."  Given how close Shinobu was with Kaolla, the last thing she wanted to do was betray her friend's trust.

However, given Sarah's inquisitive nature, she basically kept a deaf ear to Shinobu's suggestions.  It was at this point, she found her way towards a particular part of Kaolla's room - a workbench with various scientific instruments and objects.  Among them were numerous beakers, flasks, vials of different colored liquids, bowls and jars of powders, science books, exotic types of flora, lab notes, USB drives, laptops, and numerous other science-based items lying about.

"Whoa," muttered Sarah, " I knew that Su was something of a science nerd, but I didn't think that she was THIS into it."

"Kaolla's passion is generally science-based," responded Shinobu, "From what I've gathered, she generally focuses on robotics and computer science.  She's told me that she wishes to use what she's learned in those fields to help her country advance technologically.  Something about wanting the Kingdom of Molmol to become the most technologically advanced country on the planet if I recall."

"She wants her nation to surpass all other countries in the field of computers and robotics?" said Mei incredulously, "Even Japan or the United States?"

"I believe so, yes," responded Shinobu.

"You think other countries are going to just let that happen?" asked Sarah with great skepticism.

"If Kaolla is as much of a super genius as I think she is," responded Shinobu, "I think that the opinions of other nations would be something of a moot point.  In a few years, her dream may very well come true, and the Kingdom of Molmol could surpass all other nations in computational power, perhaps even all other nations combined."

"Wouldn't other countries see Molmol as a threat if that were to happen?" inquired Mei.

"Fortunately, Molmol has never shown expansionist desires over the last few decades," answered Shinobu, "Their foreign policy is something along the lines of ‘Leave us alone and we'll leave you alone,' from what Kaolla has told me in past conversations.  The Molmolians simply want to be left in peace, and if they have the kind of power I think they have, they could deal with any high-tech threat that comes their way at present."

"They're that powerful?" asked Sarah.

"If another country were to engage in some type of cyberattack on the Molmolians, or launch some kind of high-tech cruise missile at the kingdom," elaborated Shinobu, "the Molmolians have countermeasures in place to shoot down any projectile coming their way, and they have firewalls and cyberdefense systems that can obliterate any computer virus that a nation or a group of hackers would try to throw at them.  If anything, I would worry for the rest of the world if the Kingdom of Molmol or Su herself decided to get serious and wage cyberwarfare against another superpower."

"Su is...kinda scary, in a way," commented Nyamo on the capabilities of the Molmolian supergenius.  Shinobu nodded in agreement at this.

"Fortunately," continued Shinobu, "Kaolla doesn't have a malicious bone in her body, as far as I'm aware.  She's too much of an airhead at heart to want to dominate the planet or wage war with another country.  If she ever does want to engage in world domination, it would be largely behind-the-scenes and with a lot of benevolence to boot, given her nature."

"Well, while all that is certainly interesting and all," said Sarah, "why is Su working on stuff like this then?  This looks more along the lines of biology and chemistry from what I can tell."

"Maybe it's a sort of side project of hers?" commented Mei, "Something she engages in her free time when she's not busy with computers or robotics?"

"It's possible, I suppose," added Shinobu.

As the girls scanned the workbench and closely examined the numerous items lying about it, one of the girls spotted something that seemed to stand out over all the other items.

"Hmmm..." muttered Nyamo, her eyes fixated on one bottle in particular.

"What is it, Nyamo?" asked Mei as she and the others came closer to examine what caught the dark-skinned girl's attention.

What Nyamo was looking at was a bottle roughly the size of a 12 ounce can of soda.  It was corked properly, the liquid itself was clear like water, and on it was a label reading the following: ‘Experimental Growth Hormone Batch No. 3'

"Well, well, well," said Sarah as she stared with eyes like a hawk upon the bottle, "now this is certainly interesting."

"Sarah," declared Shinobu, "what do you think you are doing?"  At this point, the group of four girls had left Kaolla Su's dorm room and made their way down the hallway.  Ever the voice of reason, Shinobu could not help but point out the obvious and point out that what Sarah McDougal was doing was wrong in more than one way.

"Oh calm down, Shinobu," responded Sarah, "it's not like I've done anything dangerous.  I'm just observing something, that's it."

"Sarah, I'm sure you're aware that taking something from someone's room without their permission is highly inappropriate," Shinobu answered back, "Please tell me you agree with me on that."  By this point, she was motioning towards both Mei and Nyamo to help back up her point.

"Shinobu does have a valid point," commented Mei, "taking something from another person's room is frowned upon to say the least.  I certainly wouldn't appreciate it if you took something from my room, Sarah."

"Stealing is...wrong." commented Nyamo.

"Aww come on, I'm not stealing," responded Sarah, "I'm just...borrowing.  Yeah, that's it.  I'm borrowing.  I'll give it back to Kaolla, spick and span.  It'll be like nothing ever happened."  Leave it to Sarah to try to weasel her way out of something whenever she was in trouble, or on the verge of trouble.

"Whatever your intentions, it's still wrong to take something from another person's room without their express consent," reiterated Shinobu, "You should have asked Kaolla first before snatching something like that from her room.  And besides, what if it turned out to be a dangerous biological agent, huh?"

"Look," responded Sarah, "I'm holding it really delicate-like and all.  I'm not gonna drop it or do something reckless with it, okay?  I'm just curious as to whether or not it can do what it apparently claims to do, that's all."

"Then you should have just waited until you came into contact with Kaolla.  I'm sure she could answer whatever questions you have about it." responded Mei, serving as the backup voice of reason alongside Shinobu.

The quartet of girls were proceeding down the hallway from Kaolla's room, with Sarah leading the bunch.  In her arms was a small jar containing an experimental sample of growth hormone which Kaolla had sitting in her bedroom.  The very idea of trying something labelled ‘Experimental Growth Hormone' was simply too good for Sarah to ignore.  The only questions that came to her mind were among the following:

How much of the stuff should she take to try it out?  A tablespoon?  A teaspoon?  Half the bottle?

How should she use it?  Should she down the stuff like a glass of water?  Should she rub it on herself like a container of suntan lotion? Did it need to be injected directly with a syringe?  It did say ‘growth hormone' on the label after all, so it was fairly logical to guess that it had to get directly into the bloodstream somehow.

"Come one," responded Sarah to Mei, "aren't you just dying to see what this here is capable of.  You read the label, same as the rest of us.  Don't you want to get bigger in ‘certain areas', Mei?"  The American girl was flashing her eyebrows on that last part while sporting a toothy grin.  Her insinuation was clear enough, if Mei's blush was any indicator.

While she was still young, Mei Narusegawa was self-conscious about her figure.  She hoped that she was just a late bloomer, but even so, the sight of the other girls around her age developing a more feminine physique did spark some small amount of envy from her.  She couldn't help but feel a mix of depression and mild jealousy at having to be in the presence of so many developed women.  Her sister Naru told her to just be patient on that topic, that time will catch up with her and that she would blossom into a lovely young lady.  But now in her teenage years, Mei felt that time was being particularly slow when it came to blessing her with a more mature-looking female body.

"L-look," countered Mei, who was still blushing at this point, "I get the appeal of wanting to use something like that to...help...with growth in...certain places, but we aren't sure what that formula is capable of.  What if it has adverse side effects?"

"Such as?" responded Sarah.

"Maybe if you take too big a dosage, your body could grow out of control.  Or maybe it could cause irregular growth patterns throughout your body...say one arm grows longer than the other, or some of your toes grow bigger than your other toes on the same foot, or your head grows too big for your neck to support the weight.  The risks are too great to just take something like that on a whim."  Ever the logical one, Mei was making valid points.

"I agree with Mei," added Shinobu, "We don't even know if Kaolla has fully tested that batch or not.  If she's the one who created it, we should leave it back in her room for her to study it.  She probably knows the capabilities of that formula better than any of us."

Even with all the reasonable counter arguments made against Sarah's ‘heat-of-the-moment' decision to snatch the experimental growth hormone from Kaolla's bedroom, the young blonde girl was simply too proud to acquiesce and agree with the others.  The possibility of having bigger boobs or a nicer butt or an all around knockout figure was simply too tantalizingly appealing to the girl.  Given her impulsivity, Sarah simply trudged on, bottle in hand, as the other girls followed behind her.

It was at this point that some animal-based shenanigans occurred.

As the quartet of girls were rounding the corner, Amalla's pet crocodile Shiro decided to say hello.  While his demeanor was menacing to the casual observer, he was generally tame around those he had regular contact with at Hinata House.  His usual way of saying ‘hello' was to simply open his jaw as wide as he could and give a friendly reptilian growl.  This of course, had rather the opposite effect from the perspective of the assembled girls.

"Ahhh!" hollered Sarah, "Gator!"  In her haste and alarm, Sarah had thrown up the bottle containing the experimental growth hormone when her arms instinctively flew up in a somewhat cartoonish fashion.  Out flew the bottle as it bounced along the floorboards, miraculously not breaking in the process.

The commotion that Sarah's outburst apparently drew the attention of a pair of birds, one of them dark purple, the other one a golden yellow.  The pair had flown along through the hallway towards the crocodile, which resulted in a sort of animalistic scuffle.  Perhaps the birds were simply trying to protect the girls from the big lizard, figuring that Sarah's scream of alarm meant that the young ladies were in danger.  Whatever the reasoning of the situation as it stood, the two birds ganged up on the crocodile as a distraction.

"Wait, aren't those the cranes that Miss Tsuruko brought along with her?" asked Shinobu.

"Yeah, I think you're right," answered Mei.  Nyamo nodded along in agreement.

As Hayate and Shippu did their sort of ‘play-fighting' style of battle with Shiro, the bottle that Sarah lost bounced its way down the hall, rolling alongside the floorboards at times as it gained momentum.  Most of the girls were too distracted by the scene going on between the cranes and the crocodile to notice, all except for Nyamo.

"Bottle," said the dark-skinned girl, pointing towards said item as it rolled away.

"What was that, Nyamo?" asked Shinobu as she took her eyes of the play fighting going on between the birds and the big lizard.

"Bottle," repeated Nyamo a bit louder, motioning towards the fast disappearing item.

"Oh crap!" hollered Sarah.  "Don't let it get away!"

The girls proceeded to chase after the bottle while Hayate and Shippu continued to tangle with Shiro.  Their ruckus soon drew the attention of others within the dorms who were curious as to what all the fuss was about.

"I say, what is going on out here?" asked Tsuruko with Motoko in tow.

"That sounds familiar," commented Amalla with Kaolla right behind her.

Each pair of sisters had stumbled upon the shenanigans between their respective pets and quickly intervened.

"Hayate!  Shippu!  Come here at once!" commanded Tsuruko.

"Shiro!  Heel boy!  Now!"  barked Amalla.

Within a heartbeat, the pets had obeyed and returned to their respective owners.

"I do apologize for Shiro's outburst," said Amalla, "normally he keeps to the bedroom or out in the backyard or the hot spring.  He must have gotten bored and decided to wander about."

"No harm, no foul I suppose," responded Tsuruko, "I'm just glad nobody got hurt.  Perhaps we should both do well to keep our respective pets within our rooms during our stay here.  And if they leave for whatever reason, either we ourselves or our sisters look after them closely so as not to alarm or frighten anybody."

"I agree," said Amalla, "It's only fair and reasonable."

Kaolla and Motoko could only sigh in relief that nothing serious had happened from the brief scuffle.  However, when passing through the hallways, Kaolla could not help but notice something.

"What were the girls doing near my room like that?  And what were they chasing after, I wonder."  Kaolla said this to herself, keeping her voice low so that nobody else would hear her.

Back to said girls, the quartet of young teens pursued the bottle as it made its way down the steps and onto the next floor below.  For such a small item, it was moving remarkably quickly.  Even more surprising was the fact that given the bottle was made out of glass, it should have shattered by now, or at the very least cracked.  Apparently, Kaolla had made sure she was working with sturdy materials in her laboratory.

"Come on, we can't let it get away!" hollered Sarah.

"Yeah, you more than any of us, given that you planned to just waltz out of Kaolla's room with it," responded Mei.

"Save the lecturing for AFTER we have it," responded Sarah, "I promise I'll put it back or give it to Su directly and apologize, but only after we've gotten it back."

"Quick, we need to get it before somebody finds out what we're up to!" said Shinobu with worry in her voice.  She was usually the first to break down whenever she felt she was in serious trouble, and given what Sarah (and by extension the others in the group) had done over the last few minutes, Shinobu didn't want them to be in any more trouble than they already were in.

As the girls pursued the large vial through the common room, it appeared as if the vial almost had a mind of its own, insofar as it did everything it could to avoid being recaptured by any member of the quartet chasing after it.  By the most defying odds, the vial rolled out the front door, down the steps, and into the dark of night.

"Crap!" shouted Sarah at the predicament.

The four girls rushed out the front door, looking through the night for any sign of the bottle.  Unfortunately, it was too dark to make out anything at that point, so after a few minutes, the girls resigned themselves to being unable to find it and headed back inside.

"Well," commented Mei, "it could be worse, I suppose."

"How do you figure that?" responded Sarah.

"That bottle could have cracked or spilled out onto something or someone.  It may say ‘growth hormone' on the label, but we don't know how powerful a substance it is.  Hopefully, the bottle is simply lying somewhere in the dark away from prying eyes and undisturbed." said Mei.

"Let's hope you're right," added Shinobu, "We can try to look for it in the morning.  With luck, it didn't venture too far down.  I'm more concerned with how we're going to explain this to Kaolla when she finds out."

"You think she'll notice right away?" asked Sarah.

"Kaolla is a scientific genius.  She'll realize that something is off when she examines her lab.  Eventually, she's going to realize that the bottle went missing and that someone here had something to do with it.  And knowing Kaolla, she'll probably deduce - correctly I may add - that Sarah would be the most likely culprit." explained Shinobu.

"Aww, come on," replied Sarah, "aren't you on my side?  Why are you making me out to be the bad guy in this?"

"It WAS you who decided to snatch that bottle on a whim in the first place," commented Mei.

"Stealing is wrong," quietly added Nyamo.

"Alright, alright," responded Sarah with exhausted resignation, "I'm SORRY, okay?  I messed up big time.  I just thought the idea of having a sexy bod was too good to pass up, alright?  And I was gonna share it with you guys if you were interested.  I was just trying to do something nice for us."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, Sarah," said Shinobu, "I just wish you wouldn't act so impulsively at times.  Look, let's head in and get ready for the big soak in the hot springs.  Tomorrow morning, we'll try to find the bottle without arousing suspicion.  If we find it, we return it to Kaolla and apologize for taking it in the first place.  Hopefully, she'll forgive us and it'll all be water under the bridge."

"Sounds like a plan," said Mei.

"Good idea," added Nyamo.

"Alright, you've got a point," replied Sarah, "and again, I really am sorry that things turned out the way they did."

The group of girls went back inside Hinata House and towards their respective rooms.  Soon enough, they would be in the hot springs and take their minds off of the shenanigans that had just occurred.

Some time after the four girls had returned inside the building, the turtle known as Tama was making her rounds floating about the premises.  Ever the bubbly, airheaded animal that she was, Tama always floated along with a joyful aloofness that was similar to Mutsumi or Kaolla in character.  She usually had a habit of floating into another person's room with no warning and landing either on their head or shoulder, usually to just say hello and lovingly embrace them in whatever way she could.  Tama was particularly fond of kisses (which was another trait she shared with Mutsumi and Kaolla), given her propensity to gain affection from others.

At this time, the turtle was venturing around the exterior of the building, taking in the lovely view of Hinata City and the surrounding countryside.  As the sun was setting, the turtle gazed at the natural wonder of the bright glowing orb slowly disappearing over the horizon, enjoying the warmth and glow of it all.

As dusk was transitioning into night, Tama once more floated along throughout Hinata House, hoping to come into contact with someone soon enough.  She was on good terms with all the residents at Hinata, though she could tell that her presence was a little unsettling for Motoko, who apparently had a phobia towards turtles from her early childhood years.  While Motoko had lessened that fear in the months she had gotten to know Tama, there was still that lingering unease which remained in the normally stoic swordswoman.  Still, she was making progress and no longer attacking Tama on sight as was originally the case between the two.

While she was venturing along, Tama heard commotion from part of the dorm room buildings, so given her natural curiosity, she floated along towards the source of the commotion, curious to see what was going on.  Lo and behold, she saw four of the younger girls of Hinata House running off after a temporary altercation between the albino crocodile and the pair of birds that arrived alongside her and the black cat.  While she was initially planning on joining in on the fun between the animals, she decided to pursue the girls instead, who seemed to be chasing after some small item bouncing and rolling ahead of them.

Tama floated alongside the windows to keep an eye on the girls, listening to them holler and converse with each other as they pursued the mysterious little trinket.  Eventually, the girls came to a stop just outside the entrance of the dorm house, talking to each other with what sounded like frustration and worry in their voices from what Tama could discern.  When the four decided to eventually turn around and head back inside, Tama floated downwards, landing softly along the ground just outside the doorway.

It was at this point that the Turtle was considering whether to continue following the girls or not when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

Peering at some of the nearby bushes, Tama spotted the faintest glint from underneath the nearby shrubbery.  Curiosity being inherent in her nature, Tama waddled closer towards the source of the shine, eager to find out what it was.  Sure enough, the turtle had located the very object which she would have guessed was what the girls were chasing after in the dorm halls.

The object appeared to be some type of container with liquid inside it, along with a piece of tape with scribbles on it, as well as a chunk of cork closing off the one end to keep the liquid inside.  Tama wondered if this item was very important to the girls, given how eagerly they were chasing it.  Perhaps if she returned it to them, they would be very happy and reward her with a large bowl of food for supper and some love-filled patting and stroking upon her head and neck.  These were the basic thoughts going through the reptile's head as she prepared to get a hold of the item and return it to the girls.

The turtle proceeded to chomp down on the piece of cork at the one end of the bottle, as it was the only part she could hook her mouth over.  The rest of the bottle seemed to be made of glass and would be near impossible to bite down upon.  Once she got a good hold of it, Tama started to trudge forward, bottle in mouth, as she slowly made her way back towards Hinata House.  After several tugs and getting only a few feet towards the door, Tama decided to rethink her strategy.  As things currently were, it was taking too much effort and time for the turtle to bring the bottle back inside the dorms.

So, Tama decided to try something else.  Given that she was certainly no ordinary turtle, she relied on her one special ability that made her stand out from most other turtles: flight.  Perhaps it was because she hailed from the Pararakelse Islands (same as Nyamo), for turtles there appeared to be rather unique in a number of ways, with flight being one of their most standout abilities.  It was a talent that boggled people's minds, but given that Tama's limbs were something akin to that of sea turtles as opposed to the more stumpy, claw-like ones found on tortoises, flight for Tama was as natural as swimming was for sea turtles.

Trudging down the staircase to build up speed and momentum, Tama eventually managed to move fast enough that she was able to take off like a small form of aircraft.  Though, with the bottle hanging from her mouth, her movements were somewhat sloppy and wayward.  Navigating while hauling the extra weight was proving to be more difficult than she anticipated.  Still, if she could just get within the grounds of Hinata House, eventually she would find someone to hand the bottle off to.  Surely, they would know who it belongs to and things would be okay afterwards.

As the turtle was floating towards Hinata House, she made her way over the walls of the nearby hot springs.  A nearby fresh gust of wind had given her enough lift to help propel her over the walls and glide directly over the hot springs, which were now fully cleaned and topped off to their capacity, ready to be enjoyed.

As Tama was hovering over the hot springs like a sort of spy aircraft, the cork which she had her mouth over was under intense strain.  Being held as it was between the flying turtle and the mouth of the bottle in which it was placed, it was only a matter of time before something was going to give.  Sure enough, as Tama was floating over the hot spring, the cork came loose, which in turn caused the bottle to fall straight downward and splash in the very center of the hot spring.  The experimental growth hormone had been unleashed and mixed with the hot spring baths, contaminating the entire pool of pristine bath water, though there was no change in color, aroma, or any discernible way whatsoever to show that the waters had been tampered with.

Since Tama noticed her cargo had become significantly lighter, she glanced downward just in time to see and hear the bottle hit the water.  Sure enough, she was significantly alarmed at the suddenness of what had transpired, though she was more so saddened to realize that she could not return the bottle to someone at Hinata House now.  Perhaps she could dive into the water to recover the bottle, though by now it would be an empty bottle.  Would an empty bottle be an adequate gift to hand over to someone at Hinata House?  Maybe Su, given her cheerful nature and the fact that she had a sort of soft spot for Tama.

Deciding to forgo searching for the bottle in the hot springs waters, Tama simply spit out the cork, as it no longer served a purpose.  She then proceeded to search for the nearest open window to find someone to interact and play with.  Maybe Mutsumi or the Aoyama girl, as Tama liked the reactions of the both of them when playing with either.  Even Keitaro would do, given his somewhat goofy, happy-go-lucky demeanor.

Speaking of Keitaro, the dorm manager had finished up the last of his daily tasks and was proceeding to relieve himself with some comfort food.  Earlier in the day, he made a phone call for an order of Chinese takeout.  Figuring that it was a Friday night and he didn't want to bother Shinobu by asking if she could make him something for dinner (knowing that the girl gladly would if he only asked), Keitaro decided to take the easy way out and order in for the night.

As he was finishing up the last of his chores, the bell rang to signal that his food delivery had arrived.  After paying the delivery driver (and tipping him to boot), Keitaro proceeded to consume his meal with great vigor, given how hungry he was from the daily activities he had to perform as dormhouse manager.  Between cleaning the hot springs, tending to the laundry, washing the dishes, waxing the hallway floors, paying the utility bills, checking the water heater, checking the main circuit breaker, and numerous other tasks which kept the poor guy busy, it was a wonder that Keitaro didn't fall over from exhaustion or lack of nutrition, given how much the day-to-day tasks kept him occupied.

As the sun began to disappear over the horizon, Keitaro took in the view of Hinata City from his bedroom window as he chowed down on a combination of sesame chicken, pork-fried rice, lo-mein noodles, and a shrimp egg roll.  The meal was certainly satisfying, especially after all the hard work he had to go through that day.  While munching on his dinner, Keitaro figured that the girls would be relaxing in the hot springs from what he guessed.  He could only hope that they appreciated how much work he put into making the hot springs as pristine in condition as possible.  At the very least, he hoped that Naru would appreciate it, given how smitten he was with the girl, even if he was reluctant to show his feelings towards her whenever in the company of others.

Keitaro was finishing up his meal, becoming well-satisfied from the overload of calories and carbohydrates which were settling in his stomach.  Deciding to treat himself, Keitaro reached out for the fortune cookie that came with his meal.  Popping open the plastic wrapping which contained the treat, Keitaro then cracked open the fortune cookie, taking pieces of it into his mouth and munching with satisfied delight as he unfolded the fortune.  Figuring it would be something vague or not related in anyway to his everyday life, Keitaro was mildly intrigued at what he saw as he read his fortune:

"Big changes are coming your way."

"Well, Naru, are ya ready yet?" hollered Kitsune as she waited outside the changing room for her best friend to appear.  The fox-eyed girl had nothing more than a towel secured around her body, hugging her impressive curves and lifting up her bosom somewhat, given how snug it clung to her body.

"Yeah, yeah, just give me a moment, Kitsune," responded Naru, "I just don't want my towel falling off on my way to the hot springs."

"Afraid Keitaro might catch a sight of the goods?" giggled Kitsune, ever the one to tease Naru.

"Oh, ha-ha," replied Naru, rolling her eyes as she responded, "That's cute."

"Well, he IS a guy and you ARE his girl, aintcha?  Figure you could give him a little strip tease now and then if you guys are really an item, dontcha think?"  Kitsune knew how to make a point when the moment presented itself.

"Well" said Naru with a blush, "you're not wrong.  It's just...I don't know...I wouldn't want something playful to...turn into something...embarrassing, you know?"

"There's nothin' wrong with showing someone ya care about a little lovin' here and there.  If it were me, I'd have no problem with showin' Keitaro a peek of the goods."

"And I'm guessing you don't mean as a way to con him out of something or to get an upper hand on him?" inquired Naru.

"It's like I told ya," responded Kitsune, opening her eyes somewhat to make her point, "I'm done with usin' my body to pull one over on him.  If I do such a thing like that to Keitaro, it's cause I wanna do it.  It makes me happy if I...excite him with somethin' like that.  If I can give him a lil' joy by given' him a show now and then, I'd gladly do it."  The tone in Kitsune's voice revealed that she was being dead serious at this point.

"I'm wondering if a little striptease is the furthest you'd go when it comes to Keitaro." said Naru.

"Wouldn't YOU like to know, Sugar," giggled Kitsune, "Careful, Naru, if things between Keitaro and ya end up goin' sideways, I might just take my chance and be his ‘promise girl.'"

The back-and-forth conversation continued as the two girls made their way towards the hot springs.  As they neared the entranceway, they were greeted by a larger crowd consisting of Amalla, Kaolla, Motoko, Tsuruko, Haruka, Mutsumi, and Kanako, all of whom were also wearing towels to cover their figures.

"Well now, this is more like it," chimed in Amalla, "as they say, the more the merrier!"

"Huh?  Aren't you Kaolla's sister?" asked Naru before continuing, "And you're Motoko's sister, if I remember correctly."

"Yes indeed, Miss Narusegawa," responded Tsuruko, "It's a pleasure to meet you once more.  And yes, you are correct as to who Lady Amalla is as well.  I hope our visitation hasn't troubled you this fine evening."

"Oh...no, not at all," replied Naru, "I just didn't know that the two of you were arriving is all.  I'm certainly glad to see both of you, and you as well, Mutsumi."

"I'm happy to hear that, Naru." replied the Okinawan girl with a rosy smile on her face.

"Sorry, Naru," interjected Haruka, "I forgot to inform you and the other girls that we were having guests coming by to visit us for the next few days.  I've been pretty busy with work at the cafe, so it slipped my mind at the time.  I figured it wouldn't be too big of a shocker since you're already familiar with everyone here from previous times."

Naru and Kitsune took in the sight of all four newcomers, with their eyes settling on Kanako at the end.

"It's...good to see you again, Kanako," said Naru, trying to break the ice.  The younger Urashima woman looked back at her with a somewhat neutral look upon her face.

"Hello, Naru...it's been a while." said Kanako in her ‘to-the-point' tone of voice.  While the two girls tried to resolve things between them after the annex incident, Kanako had never really given up on winning Keitaro's heart.  Even after watching Naru and Keitaro lock lips, there was still a burning fire that lingered within Kanako's very being.  She would rather replace Naru and become Keitaro's one and only true love, but if she had to settle with being a mistress in order to be by Keitaro's side, then as far as Kanako was concerned, so be it.

Naru could only sigh at Kanako's response.  She had hoped that the two had resolved their issues, at least somewhat since the annex incident.  Still, she could tell that Kanako had not given up on Keitaro, and thus there would be some degree of friction between the two of them.  Perhaps with time, they might become good friends, or at the very least mutual acquaintances with no hostility between them.

"Well now," chimed in Kitsune, trying to break the ice, "it looks like most everyone's here.  I've brought the sake, so what say we get this show on the road?"  True to form, Kitsune was carrying two unopened bottles of sake in one of her arms, ready to pop them open in celebration of the arrival of the new tenants.

"That sounds lovely," responded Tsuruko.

"Sounds good to me," added Amalla.

"Sure thing, but not too much for me please," said Mutsumi.

"I'll keep the drinking to a minimum," responded Kanako.

"Same here on that," seconded Naru.

As the group prepared to enter the hot springs, they realized that the full company was not yet assembled.

"Hmm...I wonder what's taking Shinobu and the others so long?" pondered Motoko, "I could have sworn we were all going to enter the hot springs together."

"I'm sure they're fine," responded Haruka, "I remember what it was like being a teenager.  Sometimes you get sidetracked in the puberty years that you end up forgetting what time it is and all.  Maybe they're just running a little bit late."

"I don't mind waiting another minute or two for them," said Tsuruko.

"Me neither," added Naru.

"I could go find them really quick if you'd all like," suggested Kaolla, "though I believe I did pass them not too long ago in the hallways if I remember right."  While she might have come off as slightly air-headed, Kaolla Su was more cognizant of her surroundings than others might assume of her.

Before the question of whether to find the other girls or wait for them could be discussed further, the situation was resolved when said girls appeared just a few seconds later.  Like the other ladies, Shinobu, Sarah, Mei, and Nyamo were all wearing nothing but towels and carrying small plastic bins which held their respective toiletries (shampoo, soap, body wash, etc.).

"Sorry we were running late," said Shinobu, "Something came up and we got a little sidetracked."

"Yeah," added Mei, "it was a tiny little incident we had, but nothing too severe."

"Really?" asked Haruka, suspecting that something was up, "Sarah, anything you'd like to help clarify on?"  The blonde girl started blushing and slightly perspiring in response to Haruka's questioning.

"N-no nothing big, I swear." responded Sarah.

"Nyamo, is Sarah telling the truth?" asked Haruka, focusing her eyes on the quiet dark-skinned islander.  Nyamo simply stared back with a calm expression on her face before nodding quietly with a smile.

"Everything is fine." replied Nyamo.  Ever the one for words, the girl knew how to get to the point.  Haruka still had an inkling that the girls were up to something mischievous, Sarah in particular; but she didn't want to push the topic in front of everybody else and so decided to drop it so that the assembled party could enjoy their time in the hot springs.

"Alright then," said Haruka, "Well then, shall we, ladies?" she declared to everyone present.

The thirteen women proceeded to enter the onsen area of the hot springs, placing their tubs of their respective washing materials around the edge of the hot springs.  Each tub was laid under each lady's respective towel as they all disrobed, so as to not confuse whose tub whas whose.  All the women then proceeded to fill the complementary buckets for guests and residents with water from the nearby faucet so as to proceed with washing their bodies before entering the hot springs.  After a few minutes of the girls washing both their own bodies and each others' backs, they then proceeded to enter the hot springs.

"Ahhh..." sighed Kitsune, "I've DEFINITELY needed something like this."

"This certainly is a lovely experience from what I recall," commented Tsuruko.

"I second that opinion," added Amalla.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you all approve of the Hinata Hot Springs experience, so to speak," replied Haruka, "You should thank the manager of the dorms when you get the chance, given how hard he works to maintain the baths on a regular basis."

"Are you referring to Mr. Urashima?" inquired Tsuruko.

"Indeed." replied Haruka.

"Yeah, Keitaro is a hard worker alright," chimed in Kitsune, "As manager of the dorms, he puts a heck of a lotta effort into keepin' this place runnin' like clockwork."  As she talked, Kitsune uncorked the sake bottle and began pouring herself a shot.

"Yes, Keitaro-senpai works very hard for all of us." added Shinobu, "If it weren't for all the work he puts in regularly, I don't know if Hinata House would be the place that it is."

"Yeah, Keitaro definitely puts his all into whatever he does around here," said Kaolla.

"I must concur with the others," said Motoko, "Keitaro is certainly earnest in every task he works at, even if at times he hits a roadblock or ends up inadvertently causing a minor disturbance in the process."

"In all the time I've known Kei-kun," said Mutsumi, "I've never seen him waver or give up on a task.  To be honest, I'm surprised he has the energy to keep this place running while trying to get into Tokyo U at the same time."

"That's just the kind of person my big brother is," said Kanako, "Even if the task is hard or difficult, Keitaro gives it his all."  The admiration in Kanako's voice was all too apparent.

Sarah, Mei, and Nyamo were all of a similar mindset in their responses.  It seemed that the sentiment towards Keitaro was more-or-less universal in that all the women present thought rather highly of the man in his capacity as dorm manager.  The unanimous consent among the gathered assembly made Amalla whistle in surprise and Tsuruko stare with raised eyebrows.  All the women gathered appeared to revere Keitaro in both his work ethic and his drive.

"By chance, will Mr. Urashima be joining us tonight?" asked Amalla, bringing a blush to several womens' faces as a result.

"I...uh...don't believe that is going to happen, nor should it to be honest." said Naru, trying to keep her composure together.

"And why is that the case?" countered Amalla without missing a beat.

"Well...he's...a man, and we're all women here, so..." Naru's blush was all too apparent at this point.  The same could be said for Shinobu, Motoko, and Kanako.  Kitsune, Mutsumi, Mei, Sarah, Haruka, and Tsuruko had comparatively lighter blushes on their faces at the brazenness of Amalla's questioning.  Only Nyamo, Kaolla, and Amalla had no noticeable blushes upon their cheeks at this point.

"Isn't Keitaro your romantic partner, Naru?" asked Amalla, "Because if so, then I would only imagine that you would WANT to spend some time with him in the hot springs.  If he were mine, I would certainly want that to be the case."

"Well...sure, but bringing him here along with everyone else?  That sort of thing is rather...odd, to say the least, wouldn't you agree, Amalla?" countered Naru.

"I suppose that some would frown upon the idea of that sort of thing, sure," said Amalla, cool as a cucumber, "But among Molmolians, we have what some might call a more ‘liberal' point of view when it comes to intimacy among partners.  I like to think Kaolla would agree with me on that point."  Kaolla merely nodded in agreement with Amalla in response.

"Well, differences in culture aside," continued Naru, "the notion of a man bathing among a group of women like this would be rather risque, and I like to think that most everyone here would agree, right?"  By this point, Naru was scanning the group, seeing who would make eye contact with her and agree either verbally or through their body language.

The result was rather telling in its own way.

While nobody else was as calm as Amalla, Kaolla, or Nyamo in response to Naru's questioning, not a word came up in defiance of the idea of Keitaro joining the women in the hot springs.  Even Sarah - the one who would most likely be the most defiant to that type of suggestion - simply stared downward with a rather distinct blush on her cheeks.  Naru looked towards Haruka and Tsuruko, figuring they would back her up on the point she was trying to make, but surprisingly, neither woman chimed in on agreeing with Naru.  Both of them seemed to be sporting rather faint blushes on their cheeks while breaking eye contact, an act that caused Naru's eyes to widen at the realization of such an act.

‘Well, now,' thought Amalla at the group reaction, ‘this is a rather interesting development.'  She turned her sights towards Kaolla, who was sporting a rather distinct grin on her face in response.

"Perhaps I should go fetch Mr. Urashima then," said Amalla, "if nobody here has any objections to him joining us."  That statement drew Kanako's attention, with her staring daggers at the older Molmolian seductress trying to tempt her beloved with the idea of spending bath time with her out of the blue.

"I don't believe that is likely to be the case," responded Haruka, "Keitaro has had a long day with the regular chores and maintenance work that his job demands of him.  So he probably doesn't have the energy to come to the baths at this moment.  Most likely, he'll be heading to bed soon if he hasn't already called it a night."

"Besides," added Motoko, "Mr. Urashima has his own private bath on the upper level, so it wouldn't be necessary for him to come down here."

‘Well, that's something I'll simply have to rectify,' thought Amalla.  Any excuse to keep Keitaro away from the hot springs with the girls simply wouldn't do as far as Amalla was concerned.

"So..." said Kitsune, trying to change the subject, "who here wants a drink?"  She proceeded to pour herself another shot of sake before finding out who was willing to take up her offer.

It ended up being Amalla, Tsuruko, Haruka, Mutsumi, Naru, Kanako, and Kitsune being the ones who ended up drinking throughout the night.  While Sarah made an attempt to have a shot or two of sake, Haruka did a hard interception reminding the girl that she was a minor and not allowed to have alcohol.  Given that Haruka could have a very firm hand when she needed to, Sarah decided to take the path of least resistance and acquiesce.  No need to incur the older woman's wrath, especially since she would be rooming with her for the foreseeable future.

"But wait, why does Kanako get to drink?" asked Sarah, "She's only...what 18? 19?  Isn't she considered a minor too?"

"Kanako is an exception because (1) she's family and (2) she's mature enough to hold her drink." responded Haruka, "Besides, she normally doesn't drink so much compared to Kitsune."  Haruka's response made Sarah grumble at what she considered to be an act of hypocrisy.  Still, the blonde girl would relent all the same and simply enjoy the bath water.

As the assembled party chatted the night away and enjoyed the soothing waters of the hot springs, time moved past the group.  Like the old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun."  While most of the residents would relax in the hot springs for anywhere between a half hour and a full hour, in this case, an hour had already passed, then another hour, and another hour after that.  What nobody was really aware of was that on a cellular level, the hot spring waters were performing something astounding upon all thirteen women who sat and bathed in them.  Kaolla's experimental growth hormone was working its magic as it seeped into the pores and skin of the gathered party, with none of them being aware of the changes that were occurring.  The only thing anyone there could catch onto was the fact that the bathwater was particularly pleasant that night, more so than usual.  While the hot springs of Hinata House were always something to take delight in, tonight the experience was borderline orgasmic - in the most literal sense of the word.

After several rounds of drinking, the mood had loosened up among the older women now that they had some ‘liquid courage' in their stomachs and bloodstreams.  The conversation entailed stories told between both the regular Hinata residents and the newcomers.  Some of them were funny.  Others were more reflective and serious.  Still others were insightful and intriguing tales.  Whether it was where Amalla, Tsuruko, and Mutsumi had been on their travels, or what Haruka, Motoko, Naru, and Kitsune were up to in their day to day lives, all elements of girl talk were had.  All except for discussion regarding Tsuruko's recent divorce.  There was a sort of silent understanding that if Tsuruko wanted to talk about it, then it would be talked about.  Until then, best to leave such a matter for another day.

While conversations were had, Naru could not help but notice that her younger sister was particularly quiet and not maintaining eye contact with anyone.  Her mood seemed somewhat deflated as well.

"Mei?" asked Naru, "What's wrong?  You seem kind of down."

"Huh," responded Mei, knocked out of her wayward look, "Oh, it's nothing Naru.  Nothing you need to worry about."

"Oh come on, Mei," said Naru as she made her way over to her younger sibling, "I've known you for too long.  I can tell when something is off.  Now what is it?"  Naru wasn't giving her sister an inch.  Perhaps the alcohol had made her more bold than she would be otherwise.

"Really, it's nothing," responded Mei, trying to end the conversation as gently as she could.  By now, Naru had made her way over and took a seat next to Mei, rubbing shoulders against the younger girl.  Mei simply sighed through her nostrils, knowing that Naru wasn't going to let it go.  After inhaling deeply, Mei relented and told Naru what was on her mind.

"It's just...sitting here...in front of everyone...I feel a little...inadequate."  Mei was sullenly holding her hands over her chest as she took in the sight of everyone else, Naru included.  She was quite certain that she had the smallest bust size out of everyone assembled.  Even Sarah, Shiobu, and Kaolla had some degree of breast development going on.  Yet Mei was the only A-cup among the group, which made her feel like less of a woman by comparison.  All of this, she conveyed to Naru at just over a whisper, as she didn't want to air out her perceived inadequacies in front of everyone else.

"Oh, Mei," said Naru, "you're still in your pubescent years.  I'm sure in time that your body will develop more by the time you're in your late teens.  I don't know if you'll have a figure like Kitsune, Mutsumi, or Amalla, but you'll most likely have at least some curves here and there, if a bit on the modest side."

"I don't know, Naru.  I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel better about this, but I'm 14.  How many years do I have left to really develop physically?  Four?  Maybe five?  The way things are looking, I'll be lucky if I end up with a body like Shinobu's or Kaolla's by the time I'm 20."  The depression in Mei's voice was all too apparent.  Naru could only hug her little sister in comfort to try and alleviate her worries.

"I just wish there was something good coming my way," muttered Mei as Naru embraced her, "some kind of sign to let me know that I was turning into a young lady, that's all."

As if in response to Mei's wish, a signal of sorts let itself be known, both to her and the other twelve women in the hot springs.

After the words left Mei's lips, a sudden orgasmic wave of sorts was felt by all the women present in the bath water.  The intensity of it was rather remarkable, with every woman blushing rather intensely and sensual moans escaping their lips.  Several tried to stifle their sudden outbursts, either covering their mouths with their hands or biting their lower lips to muffle the moans as best as they could.  Whether it was those of the more sultry nature like Kitsune and Amalla, the more reserved like Motoko, Tsuruko, Haruka, and Kanako, or the more passive like Shinobu, Mei, and Nyamo, all women were feeling the same waves of pleasure bombarding their central nervous system.  After a few minutes of torturous bliss assaulting their senses, the women came down from their climax and regained their composure, several of them panting in response.

"Well...that was...weird." said Naru, panting between words.

"Tell me about it," responded Kitsune, "what was that exactly?"
"Not...sure," said Motoko, "I'm tempted...to guess...an evil...spirit.  Or perhaps...an apparition...of some kind."  Like Naru, Motoko was also panting heavily.  "Your thoughts, sister?" asked Motoko to Tsuruko.

"I didn't sense anything demonic or otherworldly in nature from that event.  My chi didn't feel disturbed in any way by it, so I'm inclined to believe that what just occurred wasn't spiritual or supernatural."  While Tsuruko wasn't panting, she still sported a fierce blush on her face just like all the others.

"Whatever it was...it felt...nice." commented Nyamo.

"After something like that, I think I need a smoke to calm down," said Haruka.

"Or another drink." added Kitsune.

"Or both." added Amalla.

"Well, nobody's hurt or anything, right?" asked Mutsumi, checking to see if anybody was experiencing any negative side effects.  After a round of confirmation, she was happy to see that everybody was okay.  Nobody was feeling any pain or physical discomfort from the sudden ‘pleasure wave' which had just occurred.

"Alright, well how about some music or something?" said Sarah, trying to take everyone's mind off the subject.  She proceeded to head off to her smartphone which she brought along with her toiletries.  Lucky for her, the device was waterproof, so there was no need to worry about getting water on the phone, or even if it were to fall into the hot springs.

As Sarah took out her smartphone and laid it against the edge of the hot springs, she looked through her playlist and set the playmode to shuffle, so that even she wouldn't know what song was going to play.  She always found it more amusing to be surprised as to what song was going to come up.  From Sarah's perspective, life was always more amusing when surprises were involved.

The smartphone lit up and songs began to play, but Sarah found the first few to not be to her liking given the mood.  She kept skipping through the first few tracks until she came across something that she felt matched the energy of the room (or hot spring in this case).  The song she chose ended up being "I Feel it Coming" by The Weeknd (featuring Daft Punk).  In that moment she felt that the tempo, baseline, and overall synth-pop feel seemed to compliment the mood of the place.  However, she couldn't help but blush at the line referring to "the heat between your legs," given the group orgasm that had occurred not so long ago.

"You've been scared of love and what it did to you."  At this part in the song, some of the girls couldn't help but sneak a sideways glance at Tsuruko when she wasn't looking.  While they weren't going to bring up her divorce, they couldn't help but feel slightly sad on her behalf at whatever pain her failed marriage brought her.

When the chorus line came up with the repetitive "I feel it coming," some of the younger ladies couldn't help but blush at the recollection of the pleasure wave that hit them in the hot springs.  It seemed sort of ironic in a way that this song would be the one playing after what had occurred.  Out of the younger girls, Sarah and Shinobu were sporting the brightest blushes when that line came up.

Finally, the song came to an end and the next track came up, at a time when the conversation had taken a rather interesting turn.

After a few shots of sake, Amalla decided to bring something up which several of the women preferred she wouldn't.

"So," began Amalla, "about Mr. Urashima..."

"What about him?" responded Kanako, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"I think I'd like to get to know him better," replied Amalla with a sultry grin towards the younger Urashima woman.  "He appears to have only praise thrown his way from what I've been hearing.  I haven't engaged with the man as much as most of you here have, but from what I remember of him, he was something of a loveable, dopey oaf who wears his heart on his sleeve, so to speak."

"Yes," responded Haruka, "Keitaro is...a very earnest and well-intentioned man, if a bit clumsy at times."  As Haruka's eyes glanced sideways and her cheeks slightly lit up, Amalla decided to have a little fun.

"Haruka, why are you blushing?" said Amalla with a grin.

"Huh?  Whatever do you mean, Amalla?"

"I couldn't help but notice your reaction when I brought up Keitaro.  It was rather adorable, in my opinion."

"Oh...I was blushing?" By this point, Haruka's voice was starting to waver somewhat.  The embarrassment was easy enough to pick up on, though Amalla wouldn't push too hard on the crack in the older Urashima woman's emotional armor.

"It...must be the sake, I suppose." said Haruka, trying to keep it together.  However, her reaction was picked up on by Kanako as well as Amalla.  The younger Urashima woman couldn't help but ponder what such a reaction would entail.

‘Wait...don't tell me that she's...another one?!' thought Kanako.  The last thing that Kankao wanted in this world was another love rival for Keitaro.  If her aunt/cousin happened to be in that category, that would just make courting Keitaro all the more difficult.  After all, she came all this way to Hinata House with the chief objective of trying to woo Keitaro and see her as something beyond a little sister.

"Okay, if you say so, Haruka," said Amalla with a playful grin.  She decided to not push too much on Haruka's emotional state, at least for now.  Better to get a feel for the field of women in front of her and figure out each one's quirks, which buttons to push, and which to avoid pushing.  She already had a sense that Kanako was of a very defensive nature when it came to discussing Keitaro, like that of a mother lion protecting her cub.

"All I'm saying is that I want to get to know the manager of these dorms a little better, that's all," continued Amalla.  "After all, my little sister lives here, so I'd like to make sure that the man who acts as her guardian and advocate while she is here has her best intentions, that is all."  Amalla glanced at Kaolla with a somewhat playful look on her face.  The younger Su sister returned the gesture.  It was as if the two of them were quite literally of the same mind.  There was much that need not be said aloud between the sisters; it was as if they could telepathically communicate their intentions to one another.

"Wouldn't you agree with that sentiment, Tsuruko?" Amalla gestured to the older Aoyama sister, hoping she would back up her point.

"It's a fair point you make, Amalla," replied Tsuruko as she prepared to down another shot of sake alongside Kitsune and Mutsumi.  "I've also come to Hinata just to see how everyone here is doing, especially my little sister, and to take my mind off of...certain things."  On that last part, Tsuruko's tone became more quiet and subdued.  She could not help dwelling on her divorce, given that it was still relatively recent.  The emotional wound was still fresh and needed time to heal over.

"Well, while I'm sure that Keitaro wouldn't mind you getting to know him better," said Haruka who decided to clarify the situation, "given his managerial duties, I'm not sure how much free time he'll have to spare with either of you, beyond making sure you're well situated her during your stay at Hinata House."

"Oh, you don't need to worry on my account," said Amalla.  "If anything, I'll do what I can to help Mr. Urashima with his daily tasks whenever possible.  Given what the man seems to go through, I think it's only right to help lighten the load a little for the poor guy."

"That really won't be necessary," chimed in Naru.  "You're our guest, so we wouldn't want to foist work duties onto you, especially right after your arrival at Hinata.  You should make yourself comfortable and spend time with your sister."

‘Interesting,' thought Amalla.  ‘Is she running interference to keep me away from Keitaro?  She IS his girlfriend, after all, so it makes sense that she would try to step between me and him.  Well then, challenge accepted, Miss Narusegawa.'

"Oh, but I insist, Naru," replied Amalla.  "While I may be a guest here, I don't want to be perceived as a freeloader around here.  I'm not saying that I'll be doing everything that needs doing, but if Mr. Urashima needs help with laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, or any other task like that, I certainly don't mind giving him a hand."  The older Molmolian girl wasn't going to give up so easily.

"I'm in agreement," added Tsuruko.  "During my stay here, I'd be happy to give Mr. Urashima assistance in the day-to-day activities here at the dorms.  Beyond practicing my swordplay in my free time and spending time with Motoko, there isn't too much for me to focus on at the moment.  So wherever Mr. Urashima is having difficulty in his managerial duties, I would be happy to assist."  In Tsuruko's case, her intention to help had two key points.  The first was to help keep her distracted with work so as to not dwell on her ex-husband and the divorce.  The second was indeed to get to know the dorm manager who was watching over her little sister (and perhaps for more personal reasons as well).

"Well...uh, that's mighty neighborly of y'all," said Kitsune, topping off another shot of sake in the process.  While the fox-eyed girl was happy for the extra help with house chores, she was on the fence between Naru on one side and Tsuruko and Amalla on the other.  In her case, she was pulled between her loyalty to her friend in helping her stay with Keitaro and her own personal desires to make it up to the same man who she was having rather confusing feelings for - feelings that might very well end up turning into genuine romance.

‘Is this how Mutsumi feels, I wonder?' pondered Kitsune as she stared at the Okinawan girl across from her in the hot springs.  By this point, the residents of Hinata House were aware that Mutsumi had strong romantic feelings towards Keitaro, but decided to suppress them for Naru's sake.  In fact, it was Mutsumi who was one of the two ‘promise girls' from Keitaro's childhood - the promise girls who swore alongside Keitaro to get into Tokyo U together.  Kitsune figured that if Mutsumi were serious, she could win over Keitaro and get him to dump Naru in no time.  Then it would be Keitaro and Mutsumi as boyfriend and girlfriend instead.  But the ditzy, busty Okinawan girl had simply too big a heart to try and steal away Naru's boyfriend; it simply wasn't in her nature to be deceptive and act in an underhanded way.  However, that didn't mean that Mutsumi had necessarily ‘given up' on Keitaro when it came to love; she simply suppressed her feelings the best she could and settled for having an unrequited love instead.  It was a feeling that Kitsune pondered if she herself was starting to experience.

"Don't mention it," chimed Amalla at Kitsune's statement, a smile present on her face the entire time.

"You seem awfully interested in my older brother for someone who hasn't spent a lot of time with him," said Kanako, who by this point was becoming rather irked by this foreign seductress who just wouldn't let up on talking about Keitaro.  "Why are you so interested in him?  You have a sibling of your own, why not spend more time with her?"

"Oh dear," responded Amalla with a playful smirk on her face, "I'm sorry if I've struck a nerve, Kanako.  Rest assured, I'll be spending time with both Kaolla AND Keitaro, as well as the rest of you all, yourself included if you'd like."  This response made Kanako raise one eyebrow in alarm.

‘Is she hitting on me as well as Keitaro?' thought Kanako.  ‘She was certainly very intimate when we first met on the way up here.  What's this woman's end game?  Is she here to bang EVERYONE here at Hinata?  I need to keep an eye on this one.'  Kanako figured that as long as Amalla was staying at Hinata House, then pretty much NOBODY was safe from whatever sexual advance she might make upon them, with Keitaro at the top of her list.

"In fact, I'm sorry to do this, but I'm just too curious to let it go," said Amalla, making an announcement for everyone present.  "Might as well clear the air and bring up something for everyone here:  When it comes to Keitaro Urashima, what are everyone's thoughts on him as a man?"

"As a man?" asked Naru with confusion, cocking an eyebrow.

"You know," elaborated Amalla, "As a man who a girl could see herself with, in an intimate kind of way."  The insinuation was clear enough in Amalla's voice.  It was at this point that a certain song kicked up on Sarah's smartphone.  In a rather odd case of irony, the song "Fallin' for You" by Colbie Callait was playing in the background.

When it came to reading a person's body language, both of the Su sisters were experts at deducing when a person was being open or hiding something.  Subtle things like a sideways glance or lack of eye contact, a stutter in one's speech, a blush on one's cheeks, fresh sweat appearing on a person's face, a nervous gulping in one's throat, change in breathing patterns, and other little signals that give away a person's intentions and desires on a topic.  It was that trait that both Amalla and Kaolla used to scan the bath and eye each woman right after Amalla popped the question as to who "likes" Keitaro in a certain way.  As they quickly observed the bath from woman to woman, they both came up with the same assumption regarding each woman.

• Naru: blushing, openly confirmed herself as Keitaro's girlfriend - strong feelings of love

• Kitsune: nervous blushing, eyes slightly open, downed another shot to calm her nerves - likely strong feelings of love, but hiding them

• Kanako: grumbling blush, defensive posture in her body as a reaction - very strong feelings of love

• Shinobu: nervous blushing, trembling eyes, slight tearing up, quiet muttering - strong feelings of love

• Mutsumi: slight blush but calm demeanor, straight eye contact with a slight smile, steady breathing - strong feelings of love, but suppressing them

• Motoko: strong blush, alarm on face at suddenness of the question, wavering eye contact - likely strong feelings of love, but hiding them

• Haruka: noticeable blushing, downed a shot to calm her nerves, slightly adrift eye contact, deep breath - likely strong feelings of love, but hiding them

• Nyamo: calm breathing, slight blush, reaction similar to Mutsumi's - likely has strong feelings, but quiet about them, given her reserved nature

• Mei: slight blush and alarmed look on her face, sudden fluttery blinking, mouth slightly ajar at the question - possible feelings of love, but might be suppressing them for Naru's sake out of family loyalty

• Tsuruko: faint blush, raised eyebrows at suddenness of the question, calm breathing, eye contact mostly steady - possible feelings of love, but might need coaxing to proceed further, also suppressing them out of family loyalty to Motoko

• Sarah: large blush, shocked expression, excessive eyebrow movement, somewhat defensive posturing - possible feelings of attraction, but not sure how to act on them, given her defensive and somewhat combative nature; possible tsundere tendencies, but further analysis required

As the song played in the background, the lyrics sort of formed an ironic ambiance to the whole situation, making the mood a mix of both calm and awkward:

"I've been spending all my time just thinking ‘bout you.  I don't know what to do.  I think I'm fallin' for you.  I've been waitin' all my life and now I've found you.  I don't know what to do.  I think I'm fallin' for you."  The song played on, sort of speaking the minds of several girls who were lacking in both speech and eye contact.

"Oh I just can't take it.  My heart is racing.  Emotions keep spillin' out."  The lyrics were rather fitting given the situation, saying the quiet part out loud for everyone.  While this was playing for everyone to hear, not a single girl responded to Amalla's questioning.  The silence was rather telling.  Amalla simply looked at Kaolla and gave a playful smirk, which Kaolla returned in kind towards her older sister.

‘This is a very interesting development,' thought both Su sisters to themselves.  With this little revelation of affection among the gathered women, their harem plan could proceed accordingly.  The only one who might pose a serious obstacle to it would be Keitaro himself.  As for the assembled girls, it would take some emotional cultivating to get them to come around to the notion of a fourteen-way relationship, but that was all part of the fun.  Managing an all-girls flower garden with Keitaro at the center was going to have its challenges (with Naru and Kanako probably proving to be the biggest hurdles), but Amalla loved a good challenge, and Kaolla was of a similar mindset.

As the song came to an end, someone decided to put an end to the awkward silence.

"Well," said Haruka, "I think I could use a smoke right about now.  I'm going to call it a night.  It is getting late after all."

"Yes, I think we should all wrap it up here," Naru chimed in.  "We've been here for much longer than we normally would be."

"Well we had to commemorate our new arrivals after all," said Kitsune in response.  "Gotta enjoy these kinds of moments now and then, right?"  She downed another shot of sake, her bottle becoming dangerously empty at this point.

"Even so, I think we should call it a night," said Kanako.  "It is getting late and even if it is a weekend, there'll be plenty enough work to do."

"I concur," added Tsuruko.  "Besides, I should tend to Hayate and Shippu; see if they need food or water before I see myself to bed.  Are you coming, Motoko?"

"Yes, big sister," replied the younger Aoyama.

"I suppose I should also check up on Shiro and make sure he's behaving himself" said Amalla, reluctant to leave the comforting bathwater.

"And I with Tama," added Kaolla.

"Alright then, well I suppose we'll all call it a night then?" inquired Shinobu, getting a read of the room, so to speak.

There was unanimous consent among all present that they should retire to their respective quarters and prepare for whatever tomorrow would bring.  As they were getting ready to leave the baths, another powerful euphoric wave washed over all the women in the baths, this one just as powerful as the first one (if not even more so).  The pleasure was almost paralyzing as it brought all the women present to orgasm once more, with heavy panting, pronounced blushes on all their faces, and minor shaking.

During this episode of orgasmic bliss, all the ladies present could feel the faintest of stretching and swelling in their bodies.  Bosoms began to gently enlarge and swell.  Buttocks became slightly plumper and more defined.  Arms, legs, torsos, and thighs began to stretch ever so slightly, gaining muscle and just the right amount of fat to give it that perfect ratio of plumpness while maintaining seductive feminine form.  The transformation was subtle, and nobody was yet aware of it at the time, but everyone in the assembled party had stretched up in height by an inch or two, while their bodies began to beautify ever so slightly.

When everyone came down from the experience and regained their composure, they proceeded to begin leaving the baths, commenting how odd it was that the same phenomenon had occurred twice.  As they began drying themselves off and collecting their baskets, several of the women were commenting at how their towels felt extra snug as they were wrapping and securing them around their torsos.

"Maybe they've shrunk in the wash?" suggested Shinobu, given that she normally handled laundry duty.

"They didn't feel that tight when we walked in." commented Kitsune, noticing that her bust was pushing extra hard against her towel as she wrapped it around her body.

"Look, we'll worry about this later," said Naru.  "We've had a long night in the baths and a lot of us are a bit tipsy.  Let's just sleep it off and figure it out in the morning."  The rest of the women were in agreement at this statement.  So they gathered their items and headed towards the door, fiddling with their towels in the process as they tugged them down lower so as not to show so much thigh while trying to keep their breasts covered.

As Kaolla and Amalla were the last to leave the hot springs, the younger Su sister motioned towards her sibling to get her attention.

"Amalla," whispered Kaolla.

"Yes, little sister?" responded Amalla.

At this point, Kaolla held up a bottle with a faded label on it, no doubt washed away from its time in the hot springs.  The writing on it was almost completely gone, but the Molmolian genius knew this bottle well enough to know where it came from and what was originally in it.

"I think I found the source of what caused those reactions in all of us," stated Kaolla with a calm smirk on her face.  "And I think this could be an opportunity for something...very interesting."  Amalla raised her eyebrows in intrigue at what Kaolla was insinuating.

"Well, little sister," responded Amalla, "do tell.  I'm all ears."

"Let's discuss this inside," Kaolla said with a big smile.  "I have a feeling that GREAT changes are underway, and this could help us with our little project with Keitaro and everyone else.  Call it a hunch, but I've got a good feeling about this."

"Grghh...umpfh...urgh...awww come on...you little...mmrf." grunted Naru.

"No luck, big sis?" asked Mei.

"These things are...mmfph...really...urgh...tight today.  And I really don't know why."  The older Narusegawa sibling was struggling extra hard trying to fit her stockings on the morning after the big sit down in the hot springs.  She was somewhat light-headed after partaking in her share of drinking.  While she couldn't put it away as much as Kitsune, Amalla, or the other older women, Naru was no stranger to letting her hair down and having the occasional shot of sake...or five.  She couldn't quite recall how many she had that night, but she was fairly certain it was less than ten.  In any case, her slightly drunken state didn't explain how her clothing ended up being rather tight and constricting.  And it wasn't just her leggings which she was struggling with.  Every article of clothing she tried on was particularly snug - her shirt, her skirt, her bra and panties, everything felt as if it had been superdried in the laundry and shrunk as a result.  It all felt so darn...small.

"Any luck on your end, Mei?" asked Naru as she struggled with putting on her clothing to the best of her ability, grunting in the process.

"Not...grrh...really...urgh...Naru." responded Mei.  Apparently, her clothing was faring no better on her body than Naru's clothing was on Naru.  Just like her older sister, Mei was struggling to get what she had always worn to fit her properly, which was ridiculous as she had never had fitting problems like this before.

What really surprised Mei the most out of everything was that there was a particularly distinct tightness in her chest.  It was enough to somewhat alarm the girl.  Up until now, Mei had always been flat chested.  And now, after her time in the Hinata hot springs, she could have sworn that her bosom had felt somewhat...swollen?  Inflated?  Enlarged?  It was difficult to pin an exact word at the moment, but sure as the phases of the moon, Mei could have sworn that her breasts had enlarged somewhat during the time she was asleep.  She was pretty sure that she was no longer an A-cup in bra size now.  Probably a B-cup now...maybe even a modest C-cup, but she wasn't sure at that moment.  Some measuring tape would be in order.

"Say, Naru?" Mei asked her sister with a nervous tone of voice.

"Yes, Mei?"

"By any chance, could I maybe..." Mei was trailing off, pondering if she should really ask her older sister what she was about to ask.

"Could you what?" said Naru, trying to get a straight answer out of her sister.

"Could I...try on...one of your bras, by chance?"  Mei was seriously blushing as the words left her lips.

"..."  Naru was momentarily lost for words, staring at her little sister, trying to register what she just heard.

"You..." began Naru, regaining her composure, "You want to try on one of my bras?"  The nervousness and embarrassment on Mei's face was all too apparent at this question being asked.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kinda crazy to ask out of the blue like that, but...I'd like to see something  for myself, if you don't mind."  Naru's face wasn't letting up in how confused she was at this answer, but still she decided to play along.

"Uhh...yeah, sure...no problem.  Here, let me fetch one of them for you."  After rummaging through one of her dresser drawers, Naru presented a plain, tan-colored bra of hers to Mei.  It was a C-cup bra, much like the one she was wearing now (rather tightly too...perhaps it was time to go bra shopping?).  "Here ya go, Mei," Naru said as she handed her somewhat undersized brassiere to her sister.

"Thanks, Naru," replied Mei, examining the item in her hands.  "Umm...by any chance, could you turn around briefly while I try this on?"  The embarrassment in Mei's voice was still going strong at this point.

"Sure, sis," said Naru, walking over to the far corner of her room and stopping with her back turned to Mei.  "Just let me know when you're ready."

"Appreciate it." said Mei.  As she examined the item in her hands, she couldn't help but feel a slight tingle running down both her spine and just a tiny little bit in her loins (much to her embarrassment on the latter).  If what she thought was going to be the case turned out to be true, she was going to be quite alarmed.

After taking off her own shirt - which she noticed was rather snug on her form - Mei proceeded to take the bra that was handed to her and place it around her torso.  After resting the straps upon her shoulders and fastening the back end after some mild difficulty, Mei's suspicions were indeed confirmed.

"Oh my god," whispered Mei, "it's...unbelievable."

"You okay, Mei?" asked Naru, back still turned.  "You need help getting it on?"

"N-no, Naru, I'm fine.  I got it on just fine.  It's just...I can't believe it."  Mei's voice was a mix of alarm and delight at the realization of what she was witnessing.

"You can turn around now, Naru." said Mei.

"Well then, what is it you were..."  Naru failed to finish her statement as she finished turning around.  Before her, Naru's younger sister had miraculously bloomed in her proportions before Naru's eyes.  While her bosom wasn't as large as Kitsune's or Mutsumi's, it was certainly larger than the previous night.  If Naru were to guess, Mei was sporting something between a large B-cup and a modest C-cup in terms of bra size.  Perhaps there was a little spare room within the cups of Naru's bra, but not so much that it hung comically off of Mei's figure.  The revelation was as amazing as it was alarming.  How does a woman whose chest was flat as a board less than twenty-four hours ago end up growing a cup size or two?

As a matter of fact, just how large was Naru's chest, now that she thought about it?

It was only logical to ponder on such a question.  If Naru's bra now fit her younger sister (or came pretty damn close to doing so), and said bra was on the small end for Naru, then just how big were Naru's breasts?  Had hers grown just like Mei's had?  She had after all felt snugness and tightness throughout all her articles of clothing since waking up, so it was only natural for her to have her suspicions.  Just how big were both the Narusegawa sisters now?  And what was the cause of such growth?  Did it have something to do with last night?

As Naru stared at her little sister and her little sister's not-so-little bosom, Naru couldn't help but glance down at her own, taking her hands and slowly caressing her own bosom.  Even with the fabric of her shirt covering them, Naru felt that her breasts were more pronounced than she would have previously noted.  Were they still a C-cup?  Given how snug Naru's bra felt at the moment, she was inclined to think that was no longer the case.  If so, then was Naru a D-cup now?  A E-cup?  The notion was alarming.  What woman grows a cup size or two overnight?  It must have had something to do with that group sit-in at the hot springs.  But what exactly caused it?  And was it a one-time deal, or was it going to continue?  The possibilities were as fascinating to consider as they were alarming.

"So then, Mei," inquired Naru as to her brassiere on her younger sister, "how does it feel?"

"It's...amazing," answered Mei, at little more than a whisper.  "I'm bigger, Naru...I have breasts...real breasts, Naru!"  The alarm in Mei's voice was replaced with joy and delight at this point.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I was disappointed at this," replied Mei.  "After all, you know how much I've wanted to develop a more mature figure over the last few years.  And it's like my wish has come true now, big sister.  I have boobs...real boobs now!"  The delight in Mei's voice was all too apparent by now.

"Mei," replied Naru, trying to balance the joy in her sister's mood with the alarming reality of the situation, "while I'm happy that you're getting what you want when it comes to your body, aren't you concerned at just how fast you ended up getting it?  I mean, I know that puberty is a time when your body goes through serious changes - trust me, I've lived through them when I was your age.  But this kind of thing takes months if not years to happen...not less than twenty-four hours.  I figured you would be more alarmed than overjoyed by this kind of thing."

There was a momentary pause lasting several seconds between the sisters.  After a good thirty seconds or so had passed, Mei decided to respond to Naru's logical statement.

"Naru," she said, "I admit that this kind of thing is alarming in a way.  From what I remember of my times sitting in health class having to listen to talks about puberty and growing up, I know that this kind of thing takes years to happen.  But even so...I'm happy.  I've finally gotten breasts.  I mean, I know they aren't huge compared to some of the girls I've seen around here, but even so, I actually have breasts!  I've waited so long to have even just a little bit of development in my chest, and now I finally have it!    I only wish you could understand what it was like to have to go through year after year without having even the slightest sign of growth in my bosom or my...well...other parts of my figure."  By this point, Mei was blushing at the idea of having to mention her rear end, which had also shown signs of development along with her bosom.

After hearing of his confession, Naru found herself torn.  On the one hand, her little sister was developing a more physically alluring body in several ways in a rather rapid fashion (the same could be said for Naru herself for that matter).  Such a transformation was rather concerning to say the least.  In all her years of study, Naru has never heard of such a rapid blooming of one's overall growth in such a short time period.  Even infants in the womb don't develop THAT fast.

On the other hand, Naru couldn't help but feel some degree of happiness on her little sister's behalf.  After Mei's confession in the hot springs, Naru couldn't help but shed a minor tear for Mei's predicament (now a former predicament).  At last, her younger sibling would be able to experience puberty and maturing into a young lady, even if it did seem quite rushed.  If nothing else, Naru wouldn't have to worry about Mei pouting and sobbing over having a lack of breasts and curves now.

Even so, what would the other girls think and say at the sight of the two of them.  They would be hard pressed to explain themselves as to how their bodies had become noticeably enhanced overnight after the little pow-wow in the baths.  It must have had something to do with that very sudden euphoric sensation that occurred when they were all sitting in the water.  There was clearly some kind of link.

Another thought just then occurred:  If Naru and Mei had enhanced bodies after sitting in the hot springs - along with all the other girls - then did similar effects happen to all the others?  The idea was as amazing as it was concerning.  Would the other eleven females who lounged in the hot spring waters wake up to find similar results like the Narusegawa sisters?  Would there be changes in their figures just like Naru and Mei - things like their bosoms, bottoms, physique, height?

‘Wait a second,' thought Naru, pondering on that last word.

"Say, Mei," said Naru with minor trepidation in her voice.

"Yes, Naru," responded the younger Narusegawa sister with curiosity.

"Do me a favor.  Could you fetch the measuring tape for me?  There's something I want to look into."

"Uhh...sure thing, Naru.  Where do you keep it?"

"Over there on my desk," elaborated Naru, "upper right drawer if I remember it right."

Sure enough, Mei had found the measuring tape and provided it to Naru.  As she held it in her hands, Naru instinctively gulped at what she was about to do.  While it was nothing harmful in any such way, she simply needed to confirm something that was nagging at the back of her mind ever since she woke up.  From what she could tell, it appeared that Mei was more or less the same height she recalled, being just an inch or so shorter than her.  Yet, her figure as well as Naru's became enhanced, which would explain why their clothes were suddenly so tight and generally uncomfortable, but was it just their curves which had changed?  Was their height also a changing variable?  Only one way to find out.

"Now Mei," began Naru, "I need you to stand perfectly still while I mark your height."  The younger Narusegawa sister complied, standing straight up and looking forward while Naru made a notch along the wall with a pencil.  She then proceeded to use the measuring tape to carefully gauge the distance between the pencil mark and the floor.  From what Naru recalled, Mei should be around a height of 5'3" or so.  As she stretched out the measuring tape, she laid it flush against the wall, expecting the tape to max out somewhere between 5'3" and 5'4".  A moment later, Naru took a momentary gasp as her eyes widened from her discovery.

"Naru," asked Mei with slight worry, "is something wrong?"

"5 foot...6 inches." said Naru at little more than a whisper.

"Wait...what?" asked Mei with widened eyes.

"Your height...it's 5 foot, 6 inches."  Naru was staring at her sibling with wide eyes and a serious tone of voice.

"But...that's just not possible," said Mei, trying to keep her composure, "nobody just grows three inches overnight.  Maybe you measured wrong."

Naru had Mei stand up against the wall once more and made another notch with the pencil.  Sure enough, it was level with the first notch from before.

"Mei," said Naru, "I wouldn't do this to play a trick on you.  You're now five-and-a-half feet tall."

"But...but...that's just not possible," said Mei as emotions started welling up in her, mostly shock and alarm.  "That would make me around your height, maybe even an inch or two taller.  And yet I'm looking up at you.  So...that means..." Mei's eyes widened alongside Naru's at what this train of logic implied.

This time, it was Naru's turn for height measurement.  Up until now, her height had been 5'4", around three inches shorter than Keitaro from what she recalled.  Now that Mei was just an inch less than Keitaro in height, and Naru was taller than Mei, what did that make Naru's height then?  The anticipation made Naru more anxious and worried than curious.  After making her own pencil mark with a different colored pencil, Naru took a deep breath and stretched out the measuring tape to see the result.  Sure enough, she gasped at what the measurement came out to be.

"5 foot 9 inches."  Just saying those words was hard enough for Naru to do.  She was now taller than Keitaro by a good two inches.  She had grown 4 inches in height in less than twenty-four hours!  Now both Narusegawa sisters were shocked and alarmed, with the revelation at what changes were occurring even at that very moment.

"I wonder if the others are experiencing anything like this," said Mei.

"Holy crap!" hollered a 5'5" Sarah McDougal, upon learning of both her height and the sudden development of her body.  In that very moment of discovery, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl was feeling up her own bosom, taking in the very weight of her enlarged breasts.  Whereas she was somewhere in the B-cup range the night before, she was now easily in the C-cup range, maybe even a modest D-cup, though that wouldn't be confirmed until she tried on some bras at the clothing shop at the next opportunity.  The sudden three-inch height increase and the swelling of her bosom and tushy would explain as to why her clothes were suddenly more constricting than they were the night before.

"I've got boobs, real freakin' boobs!" declared the boisterous American girl with glee.  "Wait until Shinobu and the others get a look at these."

"I'd wager that given last night, they'll be both impressed and unimpressed at the same time," said a 5'10" Haruka Urashima as she looked for where she placed her cigarettes.  Given the circumstances, she felt a particularly strong nicotine craving after discovering that her clothes were exceptionally tight everywhere, though the bosom was the most problematic of all.  If she were to guess, her bra size was now either a large D-cup or an E-cup by now.  If Kitsune or Mutsumi could see her now, they would probably whistle with surprise, though they most likely would be whistling at whatever changes their own bodies had experienced overnight.

"I'd have to agree with Haruka on this one," said a 5'7" Kanako Urashima, who was petting her cat in order to help emotionally relieve herself at discovering her sudden growth spurt.  While her bosom wasn't anything particularly impressive, Kanako took some measure of pride in her figure.  She knew that prior to the little episode in the hot springs the other night that her figure was more developed than that of Sarah's, Shinobu's, Mei's, Kaolla's, and probably even Nyamo's.  She couldn't help but size up any potential competition for Keitaro's feelings.  The more challengers who matched or surpassed her in physical attraction, the worse things were likely to get.

However, after the incident in the baths, things might get even more troublesome than before.  For while Kanako did appreciate the enhancements that seemed to take place in her body overnight, it appeared that most likely ALL of the women experienced some degree of enhancement from their time in the baths.  After all, everyone was lingering in them for roughly the same amount of time, so chances were good that everyone was exposed to whatever was in the water that brought about such changes.  The sight of Haruka and Sarah were enough to help support Kanako's theory.

"Yeah, well...even so," countered Sarah, "I can't believe how much I've...well...we've all changed.  It's freakin' amazing!"  Sarah would be damned if she was going to let the Urashima women ruin her good time.

"While I'm glad you're taking this well at the moment," cautioned Haruka, "I'd like you to consider a few things."

"Oh yeah?" asked Sarah, "Like what?"

"Clothes for one thing," began Haruka.  "At our current size, our clothing at present hardly fits at all.  As big as we all are now, it'll be near impossible to wear anything that doesn't feel a size or two too small.  And if we happen to continue growing, that problem is going to exacerbate drastically.  Are you okay with wandering around the dorms naked or wearing only a sheet or blanket?"  The point started to sink in, given the reaction on Sarah's face.

"There's food too," added Kanako.  "At our current size, we'll probably need more nutrients and calories than the previous night, given our enhanced metabolism from that little overnight growth spurt.  If we continue to enlarge, chances are good that we're going to need even more calories and nutrients to continue surviving.  Eating the same portions at larger sizes will fail to suffice in warding off whatever hunger pangs we'll most assuredly encounter."  Once again, Sarah's reaction revealed that she was appreciating the seriousness of the situation.

"And then of course, there is shelter," continued Haruka.  "At our current size, sleeping arrangements aren't a problem.  But if we continue to grow in height and overall size, that could be a very different story, especially if the growth comes on fast.  How do you think this room is going to look if we all end up over seven feet tall?  Or eight feet?  Or even taller than that?  And that's with all three of us in one room, mind you."  As was the case, Haruka was an expert in getting her point across when necessary.

"Well...I mean...umm...fine, I guess you've got a point," muttered Sarah, acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.  "Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little happy about this.  And I figured that you guys would be the same way too.  Don't you guys want a knockout body?"

"While your concern for my physical well-being is admirable," replied Haruka, "I'm content with my previous size, thank you very much.  Finding clothes that fit is going to be something of a chore, especially bras now, as mine is practically killing me."  The weight of Haruka's now enlarged bosom was of concern to her, though she pondered if the sight of such a thing would be enticing to Seta if the two of them were to meet now, and then of course there was Keitaro...

"No, stop thinking like that!  Bad Haruka!' thought the older woman to herself, shaking her head and trying to blot out the notion of potentially seducing her younger cousin (technically nephew).

As far as Kanako was concerned, she simply stared at her own enlarged bosom while stroking Kuro in her lap.  She couldn't help but stare solemnly as her pet cat had become noticeably smaller now relative to her.  While that would certainly make carrying her around much easier if necessary, she also worried for her cat's safety.  What if she became so large that handling Kuro was a risky thing to do?  Would Kuro fear her as a result?  The very idea was enough to concern the younger Urashima woman.

Then of course, there was Keitaro to consider.

‘I'm now as tall as Big Brother,' thought Kanako.  The very notion of being able to look her older sibling in the eye was as titillating as it was concerning.  While she was somewhat happy for her enhanced figure, especially her enlarged bosom that was now either a heavy C-cup or a modest D-cup, she was worried what would happen in the days to come if this wasn't a one-time growth spurt.  What if she grew again?  What if she towered over Keitaro?  Would he fear her?  Would he avoid her as much as possible?  As she went down the rabbit hole of hypothetical scenarios, the worry on Kanako's face became more pronounced.  The very idea of the one person she loved above all others fleeing from her was the emotional equivalent to a knife in the heart.

"Well," said Haruka, picking up on Kanako's deflated emotional state, "we had best check up and see how the others are doing.  If it's anything like us, I can only imagine their reactions and how they're going to fare when it comes to their wardrobes."  The other two concurred with her reasoning as they went through whatever clothing was available to fit their enlarged frames.

"Well, sister," said a 6 foot tall, E-cup Motoko Aoyama, "it's as bad as I've feared."

"What's the verdict, little sister?" replied Tsuruko, who couldn't help but note the irony of what she had just referred to her younger sister as.  By this point, there was nothing ‘little' about either of the Aoyama women.

"Six foot, two inches," declared Motoko with worry in her voice.  As far as Tsuruko's breast size was concerned, she was at least an E-cup if not an F-cup.  Such a revelation was shocking enough as it was, though it certainly explained the tightness in both sisters' clothing that morning.

"I must say, I wasn't expecting the morning to turn out like this," commented Tsuruko.  "It's not everyday that a person shoots up several inches after sleeping off a night of merriment."

"You can say that again," commented Motoko, still shocked at her own height increase.  Being 5'9" was tall enough as far as standards in Japan were concerned.  Now at 6 feet even, Motoko would only stand out even more so than before.  Though she felt that she shouldn't declare "woe is me" too much as her older sister was even taller than her.  In any case, both Aoyama women, already tall enough before last night, were now even taller and more developed.  It was as alarming as it was amazing.

"Thankfully much of our clothing is relatively loose," commented Motoko regarding the traditional hakamas the sisters regularly wore.  "Though our arms and legs will unfortunately stick out somewhat."

"That's assuming we don't grow more, dear sister," responded Tsuruko.  "I certainly consider myself tall enough as it is, though if we end up becoming even larger than we are now, then our clothing selection is bound to become quite limited.  Even a hakama won't suffice if we enlarge much more than we have now."

"You have a point," muttered Motoko.  She was trying to wrap her mind around just how this sudden change had occurred.  It obviously had something to do with last night in the baths, that much was clear.  Probably connected with that sudden blissful, euphoric wave that affected all the other girls alongside the two of them.  If that was the case, then there was a high likelihood that the other girls had experienced similar effects as well.  Both sisters only hoped that the other girls were taking this sudden change as well as they were.

"Uhhh...my head," muttered Kitsune.  Clearly she had done more drinking than she should have last night.  Though she was no stranger to hangovers, she wasn't one to learn her lesson when it came to alcohol and letting loose.  While she swore that she would let up on her drinking somewhat and put aside money to help out with her share of the rent, Kitsune felt that it was only proper to commemorate the arrival of four new tenants at the Hinata House.  That was why she brought out two bottles of sake that night, hoping there would be enough to go around for the older women gathered there.   It may have been a smart move on her part, as the bottles ended up being exhausted by the end of the night, but the hangover that lingered served as a hard reminder for the fox-eyed girl to mind her overall alcohol intake.

"You too, Kitsune?" replied Mutsumi, holding her own head.  While the Okinawan girl couldn't pound shots as much as Kitsune could by comparison, she had her fair share of shots during the night - a good six or seven from what she could remember.

"Afraid so, honey." muttered Kitsune in response.  "I figured I was gonna pay for it in the mornin' alright, but I just wanted to cut loose and have some fun with all my girlfriends, ya know?"  By this point, Kitsune was heading over to the mini-fridge in her room for a bottle of water.  Upon opening the door and reaching in, she held two bottles in one hand.  While she was still under the lingering effects of the hangover, she couldn't help but feel that something was slightly off.  Did the bottles feel a bit...smaller?

"You want one, Mu-chan?" asked Kitsune, motioning to the water bottles in her hand.

"Sure," responded Mutsumi, "thank you, Ki-chan.  Goodness knows I need the hydration."

Upon cracking open the water bottles, both women downed them in seconds, emptying the plastic bottles of all their water like it was nothing.

"Hmm...that hardly felt like much," commented Kitsune, "I'm gonna have one more.  Want another?"

"Yes, please." replied Mutsumi.  "I'm still rather parched.  My throat still feels pretty dry."

After downing another pair of water bottles in the same amount of time, both women were temporarily satisfied that their bodies were momentarily hydrated after the amount of drinking each of them had partaken in.  They then proceeded to find something to wear, when sure enough, the same problem that was befalling all the other women in Hinata House had made itself known to them.

"Rgh...umf...dammit.  It's lookin' like...mphf...nothin'...wants to...fit." grunted Kitsune.  Sure enough, the act of putting on ANY article of clothing was becoming something of a chore.  Whether it was her bras, her panties, her shirts, socks, or pants, every piece of clothing felt as though it was a size or two smaller than it should be.  That in itself was odd enough, given that her clothing had fit her just fine the day before.  It's not like everything just magically shrunk after a run through the washer and dryer.  What made things even more shocking was that Mutsumi appeared to be in the same boat as Kitsune.

"How are you faring, Mu-chan?" asked Kitsune.

"Afraid to say, no better, Ki-chan." responded the soft-hearted Okinawan.  Sure enough, not a single article of clothing Mutsumi brought along with her had fit her as well.

"I don't understand," said Mutsumi as she struggled with her bra and panties, which were digging into her tremendous bosom and the supple flesh all around her waist.  "I could have sworn these clothes fit me perfectly.  I've had them for years.  What could have caused them to shrink, I wonder."

"Mutsumi," said Kitsune with a more serious tone in her voice, "I get the feeling our clothes haven't shrunken."

"Well, they must have, Ki-chan," Mutsumi answered back, "how else could it be that they don't fit?"

"If the clothing hasn't shrunken' one lil' bit, which I'm thinkin' is the case, then there's only one other alternative explanation," said Kitsune.

"You don't mean..." the trepidation in Mutsumi's voice was all too apparent.

"Only one way to find out." responded Kitsune.  "Let's head over to Naru's room.  If I remember right, she's got a measurin' tape.  Figure we might as well set the record straight on my hunch."

After taking some clean bedsheets which were available in Kitsune's room to serve as makeshit togas, both girls made their way from Kitsune's dorm room over towards Naru's.  They were fortunate enough not to bump into anyone else, especially Keitaro as they figured he would be rather flabbergasted at the sight of two buxom young women wearing nothing but white bedsheets for clothing.

A moment later, both girls arrived at Naru's bedroom, hoping that she would be in as they didn't want to have to explain why they were standing in the hallways wearing nothing but bedsheets.  Fortunately for them, there was a response a moment later.

"Who is it?" said Naru on the other side.

"It's me, Sugar," answered Kitsune.  "Mutsumi and I need a moment, if you can spare."  Kitsune could only hope that Naru wouldn't freak out too much at the sight of the two of them wearing nothing but sheets as she opened her bedroom door.

"Uhh...sure thing, just give me a second.  Mei's in here with me, just so you know."  There seemed to be some degree of trepidation within Naru's voice from what Mutsumi and Kitsune could discern.

After a momentary pause, the door cracked open and lo and behold were the sight of both Naru and her younger sister standing before Kitsune and Mutsumi.  The sight of each pair upon the other was quite something.  Before Naru and Mei were Kitsune and Mutsumi wearing nothing but white bedsheets which hugged their rather ample curves, particularly their generous bosoms, which appeared to be larger than Naru recalled from the few times she took a good peak at them.  Likewise, before Mutsumi and Kitsune were Mei and Naru, wearing clothing that was clearly undersized for their figures, hugging them to the point that their clothing looked as if it was practically painted on them.  Each girl couldn't help but stare and even admire how the other girl's choice of clothing hugged her body so very tightly, accentuating her curves, cleavage, the swell of her bosom, the mix of plumpness and muscle in her hips, thighs, abdomen, shoulders, and other parts of her body.  It was a sort of gathering of impromptu models standing right outside the entrance of Naru's bedroom.

"You too, huh?" said Naru and Kitsune to one another at the same time.  After a momentary pause at the gravity of the situation, Naru beckoned Kitsune and Mutsumi into her room.

The incoming pair gave the rundown on their clothing situation, to which Naru and Mei echoed similar similarities regarding their wardrobe malfunctions.  It was then that Kitsune asked Naru for her measuring tape, to which Naru complied with her best friend's request.  Upon fetching it, Naru made pencil marks for both Kitsune and Mutsumi to gauge what their heights were currently.

Sure enough, Kitsune's hypothesis was correct:  5'9" for Kitsune, 5'8" for Mutsumi.  Little wonder their clothing was straining to fit them.

"Well, while we're here," said Kitsune with a sober mindset after learning of her sudden height increase, "might as well take our other measurements, if ya don't mind."  The meaning wasn't lost upon Naru or Mei.  After some fiddling with the measuring tape, the new breast sizes were in as well:  Kitsune was sporting either a heavy E-cup or an F-cup while Mutsumi was definitely in F-cup territory.  That revelation alone certainly brought a momentary silence of shock upon all the women standing in Naru's room.

"Well," said Naru, "hopefully the others are taking this sudden change as well as can be."  In that moment, she pondered how someone delicate like Shinobu would take such a dramatic size increase, given that EVERYONE was in the baths from that episode last night.

"Oh no," said Shinobu in a very worried tone of voice, "this is bad, Nyamo.  This is really, really bad."

The dainty little girl had come to find that her body was not quite as dainty as it was the previous night.  While Shinobu was blossoming into a lovely young lady, her curves and bosom had shown modest gains compared to other girls.  Before last night, Shinobu was sporting B-cup breasts and was a mere 5'2" in height.  Now after the events of last night, those stats on her figure were highly outdated.

The 5'6" girl sporting C-cup breasts was now on the verge of tears as she talked to her roommate.  Given how none of her clothing had fit her comfortably, Shinobu had deduced that something was terribly wrong.

Nyamo, also standing at 5'6" and sporting either heavy C-cups or modest D-cups, simply stood there as Shinobu fretted over their current situation, especially their lack of a proper wardrobe.

"What are we going to do?" said Shinobu, worry growing in her face and in her voice.  If someone were to come across the two of them, clearly something would be off.  If it wasn't the serious wardrobe malfunction, then it would be the increase in height and the amplified breasts and waistlines that the girls were sporting.  At that moment, Shinobu was racked with worry over how she was going to explain her sudden sprouting up to others, especially Keitaro.  The last thing she wanted to do was alarm him or make him panic at realizing that she was practically eye-level with her crush.  The very idea of such a thing felt emotionally suffocating to Shinobu.

"Sooner or later, someone is going to either run into us or ask if we're okay if we don't come out of here.  And when that happens, they'll see us and then we'll have to explain ourselves.  And what are we gonna say?  What'll we do?  They'll probably call the police or maybe some scientists and have us taken away to be studied.  And what if we keep growing like this?  What are we gonna do?  How are we gonna explain all of this?"  The worry in Shinobu's voice was reaching a fever pitch, and the tears in her eyes were all too apparent.  The poor girl was nearing a complete emotional breakdown over this morning's discovery, so Nyamo simply decided to take action.

As Shinobu was rambling over their predicament, Nyamo walked over to her roommate and tightly embraced her, wrapping her arms around Shinobu's torso and holding her firmly, yet gently in the process.  Shinobu was temporarily taken back by the gesture, but she quickly returned the hug, squeezing Nyamo tightly and sobbing into her shoulder as the tears began running down her cheeks

"It'll be okay," whispered Nyamo into Shinobu's ear.  "We'll figure it out.  Please don't cry."  Nyamo always had a way with words, getting to the point in a very humble and soothing way.

Once Shinobu calmed down, she wiped her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and composed herself before continuing.

"Thank you, Nyamo," Shinobu said with a smile.  "You always seem to have just the right thing to say when needed."  Nyamo simply returned the smile with one of her own.

"In any case," resumed Shinobu, "we're going to have to come out of here eventually, so we might as well do it sooner than later.  And as far as what happened to us, I think I have an idea as to what caused all of this.  It must have something to do with what we...well, Sarah...took out of Kaolla's room.  I just don't know how it ended up getting into the baths.  But it MUST have made it in there somehow, right?"

Nyamo merely nodded her head in agreement.  Both girls figured that the bottle taken from Kaolla's dorm room somehow made its way into the hot springs and affected the two of them, and probably the other girls as well if their reactions in the baths last night was any indicator.  In order to get to the bottom of what occurred, they figured that the best way was to bring it up with the one who created the contents of that bottle.

"So," said a 6'2", E-cup Amalla Su, "an experimental growth hormone, huh?"

"That's correct," responded a 5'5", C-cup Kaolla Su.  "It's something I've been dabbling with in my free time between making advancements in robotics, electrical engineering, and computer sciences.  While biology isn't necessarily my forte, I thought I'd tinker with it whenever I had free time."

"To what end?" inquired Amalla.

"A few applications came to mind," elaborated Su.  "My first intention was to increase the overall size of livestock, wildlife, and other animals which serve as food sources.  The idea was that if I could increase the size of cattle, fish, poultry, and whatever else is part of the human diet, then I could do my part to curve or even eliminate hunger outbreaks, starvation, and famine in a few years.  I also considered tweaking the formula to allow for it to affect plant life and vegetation, thus resulting in larger crop yields."

"Interesting," muttered Amalla, marveling at the genius of her younger sister.  "And you say this was your third batch?"

"Indeed," continued Kaolla.  "The first two batches had less than satisfactory results.  I experimented on small animals, mainly guinea pigs, lizards, and insects to see how the formula would work.  Needless to say, there was no significant increase in size, and thus I came up with batch number 3.  I suppose the old saying holds true:  ‘Third time's the charm' and all that."

"I suppose so," said Amalla with a grin.  Even though her clothing had been rather tight since waking up, she wasn't particularly upset with the notion of being without it.  Given Amalla's free spirit, she had no real qualms about walking around the house naked, at least when she was back home in Molmol.  Given that Hinata House was her home for the time being, she carried the same mindset with her here.

"So how did your formula end up in the baths?" asked Amalla.

"I have a theory, but it's not quite complete," responded Kaolla.  "I'm guessing that Sarah, Shinobu, Mei, and Nyamo were here in my room exploring while we were away.  Then one of them - most likely Sarah - came upon the formula and then the group of them left.  Sometime between them leaving and all of us entering the baths, the bottle of formula somehow made its way into the bath water.  The rest is pretty self explanatory."

"About your formula," inquired Amalla, "can it enter the body in a number of ways?"

"Yes.  Injected, ingested, absorbed through the skin, inhaled in a gaseous form.  I designed it to be easy to interact with whatever organism came into contact with it.  That was my intention anyway, and I must say, it worked even better than I anticipated.  I was expecting modest results over the course of several days, not...well, this."

On those last three words, Kaolla was gesturing to her own body alongside her sisters.  By this point, the younger Su sister had a form similar to her ‘adult form' whenever the red moon showed up.  Her face was more matured looking, her bosom was enhanced, her hips were wider, her muscles more defined (especially along her abdomen, thighs, and buttocks), her lips more pronounced, her neck longer and more slender.  In short, Kaolla looked as though she had accelerated in age by two or three years, having the form of a girl who looked around 18 or 19 years old.  And all of this was in the span of one night.

For her part, Amalla was certainly enjoying the enhancements in her body as well.  She was no stranger to being tall, and now that she was more than 6 feet in height, the very notion brought a minor tingle to both her spine and her loins.  She couldn't wait to see Keitaro's reaction to the new Amalla the next time she saw him.  Beforehand, she had about a three inch difference in height the last time they met.  Now that she was more than half a foot in height compared to him, she was just dying to see how he'd respond to the larger, more seductive Amalla.

"In any case, I'd better get to work on some things," said Kaolla.

"What kind of things?" asked Amalla.

"Clothing for one.  Given our increase in size, I'll need to start making some clothing that wel can all wear.  Fortunately, I have a machine that can do the job for us.  Basically, I just need to input the right dimensions and it'll print out whatever article of clothing desired.  Skirts, shirts, pants, you name it.  I figure with thirteen women having an overnight growth spurt, we'll need to make adjustments soon before we start bursting out of our clothes."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you, Kaolla?" said Amalla with a smirk.

"Well...not everything, big sister," responded Kaolla with her own smirk.  "There's also the matter of food.  With all of us getting bigger, we're going to need more calories at our larger sizes.  We can shop for more groceries, but that's only a temporary measure, especially if our rate of growth is in line with my calculations."

"I think I can help relieve some of that," responded Amalla.  "Let me make a quick call back home.  I can have some food special-ordered from Molmol and have it shipped here right away.  Think of it as my way of chipping in around here.  As a matter of fact, I'll have some servants brought in as well."

"For food preparation?" asked Kaolla.

"Among other things, yes," said Amalla.  "I can think of a number of tasks for them to aid in so as to take the weight off of Mr. Urashima's shoulders and make life easier for him.  And given that I'm royalty, they'll only be too happy to serve me during my time here."

"When do you think the food and servants would arrive?"

"If I make the call right now, I'd say a day from now.  Two at the most.  It's all thanks to your mecha-Tama transportation craft, remember?  Molmol now sports a good sized fleet of your flying mecha-Tamas, so delivering supplies and people is but a minor chore now."

"Oh right, I nearly forgot about those.  I haven't tinkered with the mecha-Tamas for some time, so it must have slipped my mind."  Even if she was a genius, Kaolla did tend to forget the occasional project she was working on from time to time.

"Well then, shall we be off?" asked Amalla.

"What do you mean?" asked Kaolla with unsure curiosity.

"Well, I figure we're going to have to leave your room eventually and get something to eat.  So what say we head downstairs and make some breakfast?  As a matter of fact, I'm going to go and round up everyone else so we can all eat together like one big, happy family."

"When you say ‘everyone else,' you mean all the other girls, right?"

"When I say ‘everyone else,' I mean ‘everyone else,' so that means all the other girls AND Keitaro."  By this point, Amalla had a mischievous grin on her face.  Kaolla knew that her older sister was up to something.

"Amalla," warned Kaolla, "I get being up front with all the other women about last night and helping to ease them into what's happening to them, but you need to take things easy with Keitaro.  He's obviously going to be alarmed by what's happening to us the moment he sees any one of us.  So I insist that you don't alarm him or make him uncomfortable."

"Oh Kaolla," sighed Amalla, "have a little faith in me.  I'm not planning to make Keitaro uncomfortable in any way whatsoever.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  If you want this little harem of yours to take flight, then we'll need to get the central pillar to get used to being surrounded by a flower garden of female beauties.  Trust me, I plan to drown Keitaro in an ocean of love, affection and female companionship when all is said and done, and the sooner I make contact with him, the sooner we can get this show on the road."

With that, Amalla left the bedroom, making her way towards her fellow dorm neighbors with the intent to get the ‘harem plan' she and Kaolla talked about under way.

As the sun rose to signal the beginning of the day, Keitaro sat up in his bed and took a good, long stretch.  He twisted his neck from side to side, held his arms out straight for several seconds, twisted his back in a back-and-forth motion, and brought his legs up against his torso, holding them in place for ten-second intervals at a time.  After he had gotten his stretches in, he got out of bed and proceeded to change his pajamas into regular, everyday attire.  Wearing the typical blue jeans and green sweater that he normally wore, Keitaro proceeded to wash his face at the faucet of his own personal bathroom (one of the few perks he had as dorm manager).  He then combed his hair and put on his glasses before heading out the door.

Keitaro headed down the hall towards the kitchen, figuring he would pour himself a bowl of cereal and maybe make some toast.  He was certainly famished from yesterday's work, especially scrubbing the hot spring baths.  From what little he remembered of the last few days, he thought that Haruka mentioned something about incoming arrivals, but he was so caught up in both his work and studies that he didn't fully recall specifically who it was that was arriving.  Hopefully it was someone he was on good terms with, as he didn't desire to be on the receiving end of another physical assault as had been the case in the past with Naru or Motoko.  While neither girl had attacked him in recent memory (the last few weeks), Keitaro had always kept a somewhat guarded disposition in the presence of either woman.  He didn't hold a grudge against either of them; he just wished that they wouldn't be so quick to pass judgement on him and strike without asking what was going on whenever he got himself into a spur-of-the-moment accident.

As he neared the kitchen, Keitaro proceeded to open the fridge and grab some milk and orange juice.  After perusing the cupboards, he found a cereal that he was content with and a loaf of sliced bread.  While looking through the contents of the shelves and cupboards, Keitaro noticed that the dorms were running low on a lot of key items, so a grocery run would be in order.  While he hoped that maybe Kitsune or Motoko could make the trip (given that it was a weekend), he felt that deep down in the end it would end up being him to do the task.

‘Oh well,' thought Keitaro to himself, ‘nothing that I'm not used to anyway.  It'll at least give me some time out of the dorms.  Get to see things in town and take in the sights.  Though I'll probably have to call a taxi to have that much food brought back here, especially if we're getting more tenants.  Guess the food budget is going to take a big hit.'

Keitaro proceeded to pour himself the cereal he chose along with some milk while also pouring himself a glass of orange juice.  As he placed the sliced bread in the nearby toaster on the counter, Keitaro also grabbed a large tin of coffee from one of the high cupboards.

"Figure with the amount of people living here now, best to make a big pot.  Especially if Kitsune had too much to drink last night."  Keitaro was always cognizant of every tenant's little quirks and character features, even if he didn't pry too much into such things.  After dumping a few healthy scoops of coffee into the filter of the coffee brewer, he then added water, filling up the brewer to its maximum capacity.  As the coffee began brewing, the toaster ejected the bread slices, which Keitaro grabbed shortly after and began slathering butter he also pulled from the fridge.  Once his toast was buttered, Keitaro sat himself at the table with his cereal, orange juice, and toast at the ready.

The meal was satisfying enough, and Keitaro knew that even though it was the weekend, there would be little free time for him if any.  Such was the life of a dormitory manager: always busy.  There was always some part of the building that needed some upkeep attention - a light bulb here, a water pipe there, some tiling on the roof, a creaky floorboard, some extra high grass out around the perimeter.  It was always something that needed Keitaro's attention at Hinata House.

While he was no stranger to hard work, he would have liked it if the tenants provided a little extra help from time to time.  Well, Shinobu would help with preparing meals and doing the dishes, and Naru and Motoko might assist from time to time with laundry or bringing in the groceries.  Kitsune left some things to be desired, but so long as she paid her rent, then perhaps that was the height of expectation Keitaro could reserve for her.  Haruka would help out with manual labor tasks when she was available, but given her job at the cafe/teahouse, Keitaro couldn't expect her to come to his rescue very often.  That left Kaolla, who seemed to be either tinkering with something in her room or playing games with either someone in the dorms or Tama whenever she came to visit.  It was harmless enough, but Keitaro figured it was generally best to leave her to her devices, lest he end up being on the receiving end of some new invention the Molmolian girl had cooked up in her lab.

After a few minutes of eating, Keitaro could hear the coffee pot filling up, with the brewer finishing the last of its bubbling and gurgling as the water container had emptied through and filled up the pot.  The smell of fresh coffee soon enough brought Keitaro into a more alert state, and he was looking forward to a cup after finishing his orange juice.  He could definitely use a little ‘pick me up' for what the day would bring.

As Keitaro finished his cereal and orange juice, he proceeded to scarf down his second piece of toast before heading over to fill himself a cup of coffee.  As he filled up a mug with both coffee and liquid creamer, he made note to get some more creamer the next time he did a run out to the grocery store or convenience store, given how many of the girls had a sweet tooth when it came to enjoying their morning coffee.

Little did Keitaro know, he was in for a myriad of surprises that morning, with more to come.

The shuffling of several footsteps alerted Keitaro that more than one of Hinata's tenants were up and on the move.  In fact, it seemed that most if not all of the residents of Hinata House were moving about and heading towards the kitchen.

"Guess I better brew more coffee," said Keitaro to himself.  With the sound of so many footsteps, he figured that an entire pot would be emptied in the span of minutes.  Hell, probably two entire pots of coffee would be emptied, especially if these recent arrivals were avid coffee drinkers.  Just one more thing to make note of.  Feeding an entire dorm complex was certainly an exhausting venture at times, but Keitaro felt duty bound to provide for his tenants to the best of his ability.  Such was his nature as a natural-born softy.

The footsteps grew increasingly louder, signaling that whoever was approaching was close.  From Keitaro's perspective, it seemed as though the footsteps were more pronounced...dare he say even...heavy?

As Keitaro was bringing the spoon to his mouth holding the last bit of cereal, the sight he beheld made him practically choke.

Entering the kitchen was in fact the entirety of all the Hinata House residency.  What stood out upon this particular grand entrance was the fact that ALL of the women entering were wearing nothing but bed sheets covering their bodies, hugging them rather snuggly at that.  While Keitaro was no stranger to the occasional peek at the female body during his time as manager at Hinata House, the sight before him was quite stimulating to say the least.  It was as if a sort of pantheon of greco-roman goddesses had entered the kitchen for the manager to feast his eyes upon.  After successfully swallowing his cereal (blushing madly in the process), Keitaro averted his eyes and glanced down and to the side.  Even for all the times he had caught a glimpse at Naru or the other girls wearing little or nothing, he was still shy and modest when it came to looking at womens' bodies.

"Uhh...good uhm...morning, everyone," said Keitaro trying to keep his composure.  The first to respond was none other than Amalla Su who walked forward and directly towards him.

"Why, good morning, Mr. Urashima.  How are you on this fine day?"  Amalla placed her hands upon the table near where Keitaro sat, hovering over him and presenting her bosom near his face like freshly ripened, low-hanging fruit.  It was only the start of the day and the older Molmolian princess couldn't help but have a little fun with the landlord.

"Umm...I'm good...err...Miss Su, right?  Kaolla's sister?"  Keitaro had recalled when said woman pinned him against the ground in Kaolla's bedroom and attempted to seduce him during the episode regarding Kaolla transforming into her ‘adult form' when the red moon appeared.  From what he remembered, she ended up getting hitched with their ‘big brother' and was now a married woman.  At least, that's what he remembered from those days and in conversations with Kaolla regarding her family.

"Please, call me Amalla," replied Amalla with a sultry grin.  "I'm happy you remember me, Mr. Urashima.  If it's okay, may I call you Keitaro?"

"Uhh...sure, I don't see a problem with that," said Keitaro with minor trembling still in his voice.  Amalla's proximity to him was making him rather tense (and also making Kanako rather irked at the sight of this exotic foreigner getting flirty with her big brother).

"Sorry to spring this on you out of the blue, Keitaro," said Haruka.  "I thought I told you a few days back that we were expecting temporary new tenants, but I might not have elaborated on how many or who exactly.  You've already met Amalla.  There's also Kanako and Mutsumi, and of course Motoko's older sister, Miss Tsuruko."

"A pleasure to see you once again, Mr. Urashima," chimed Tsuruko with a smile.  "Please, feel free to simply call me Tsuruko."

"S-sure thing, Tsuruko," said Keitaro.  From what he recalled, on their first meeting Tsuruko had saved Keitaro from being hit by a swerving car.  Her visit was followed by a duel with Motoko, Motoko leaning on Keitaro for emotional support, and the Aoyama sisters reconciling after an impromptu fight involving Naru and a cursed sword.  While she could at times be frightening when engaged in combat, Tsuruko was a rather elegant and refined young woman from what Keitaro remembered of her.  If he recalled, she was also a married woman like Amalla.

"So..." began Keitaro once more, "if you don't mind my asking, ladies, why are you all...umm...dressed like that?"  Aside from the quick glancing at their figures, Keitaro largely averted his eyes, lest he incur a strike from Naru or Motoko for looking at them with a perverted gaze.  Amazingly, neither Naru or Motoko had scowls on their faces or looked like they were ready to attack Keitaro.  If anything, they seemed slightly embarrassed, if the blushes on their faces and their lack of eye contact with him was any indicator.

"Well...you see, Keitaro," said Haruka once more, "there's been a little problem involving everyone's...wardrobes, so to speak.  Apparently, when we all awoke from last night, we came to find out that none of our clothing fit properly.  Everything felt too...well...small, to put it bluntly."  Even though she tended to keep her composure most of the time, Haruka was sporting a decent enough blush on her cheeks like most of the other ladies.  After all, she was wearing nothing but a white sheet in front of a man who she still had strong (but well-hidden) feelings for.  The experience was making her feel somewhat exposed and vulnerable.

"You're saying that ALL of your clothes no longer fit?" asked Keitaro with incredulity laden in his voice.

"Yes...that's the long and short of it, Keitaro," muttered Shinobu who was sporting one of the deepest blushes out of the group.

"But how would that be the case?" continued Keitaro.  "The only way to explain that would be that your clothes somehow shrunk overnight, or else..."  The logical conclusion hit Keitaro a second later, and his eyes slowly went wide as he momentarily held his breath.

‘No...no it can't be,' he thought to himself at the sight of the gathered assembly of women.  ‘There's just no way.'

As if reading Keitaro's mind as she stared at him, Amalla decided that a little ‘show and tell' was in order to get the point across to the loveable goofball of a manager.

"Oh Naru," chimed Amalla, "could you come over here please?"

"Why?" asked Naru in response, curious what Amalla was up to.

"Just want you to help with showing a little demonstration, that's all.  You are Keitaro's girlfriend after all, so it'll be best if you are the first to do this."

After a momentary pause, Naru slowly made her way forward, standing next to Amalla and staring at Keitaro, embarrassment still strongly written all over her face.

"Now, Keitaro, how tall are you?" asked Amalla.

"Oh, um I'm around 5'7" or so," he answered

"And how tall would you say Naru is?" she continued with a smirk.

"Well...um last I checked she was 5'4", maybe 5'5".  I've never taken her height, but I figured she'd be around that height."

"Alrighty then," replied Amalla.  "Now, could you please stand up for a moment, Keitaro?"

While initially hesitant at doing so, Keitaro obliged Amalla's request.  Pushing back his chair, Keitaro stood straight up before looking at both Amalla and Naru.  As he focused on Naru in particular, the realization hit him like a freight train.  Sensing Keitaro's epiphany and wanting to have a little fun, Amalla gave a playful push onto Naru's back and made her jump forward - right directly into Keitaro.

"Eeep!" hollered Naru as she bumped into Keitaro, her generous bosom pressing hard into his chest.  Keitaro's reaction to this was to turn as red as a tomato from the neck up.  The embarrassment on his face was priceless in Amalla's opinion, if her giggling was anything to go by.

As the two stood there pressed up against each other, Keitaro looked into Naru's eyes...and realized that he was slightly tilting his head up to look into them.

"So, what would you guess Naru's height is now, Keitaro?" asked Amalla with a big, toothy grin.

"Uhhh..." said Keitaro, still processing what he was seeing in front of him.

"Would you like to answer for him, Naru?" said Amalla.

"5 foot 9 inches." answered Naru as she looked into Keitaro's eyes, her own eyes trembling somewhat as she worried over how he was going to handle this breaking news.  She only hoped that he wouldn't freak out and bolt out of the kitchen in panic.

Keitaro simply took a deep gulp upon hearing Naru's new height.  While there seemed to be some degree of alarm in his reaction, he was handling this news better than Naru expected of him.

"And as I'm sure you can deduce, Keitaro," continued Amalla, "it's not just Naru who has grown in size.  Given that we're ALL wearing bedsheets for the time being, I'm sure you can deduce what that means."

Keitaro scanned the group of women assembled in the kitchen, taking in the view and really looking them up and down.  From what he recalled, he had a few inches over most of them in terms of height.  The only ones he recalled being taller than him were Amalla, Motoko, and Tsuruko...at least previously before the events of last night.  He knew that Haruka was roughly eye level with him, if a smidgen shorter than him.  However, that didn't appear to be the case anymore.  One by one, each woman stepped up towards Keitaro as he took in their newly amplified size (regarding both their height and their enhanced proportions regarding their curves between breast and hips).  After going through the whole lot of them, Keitaro deduced that only Shinobu, Kaolla, Sarah, Mei, and Nyamo were shorter than him, and not by much.  The shortest of the girls were around 5'5" - a mere two inch difference between them and Keitaro.  Only Kanako was eye level with Keitaro.  His "little sister" was apparently not so little anymore.  Everyone else was now taller than him, with the tallest among the bunch (Amalla and Tsuruko) having a good seven inch difference over him.  That fact alone made Keitaro feel...small.

"So then..." responded Keitaro, "is this growth spurt a one-time deal, or are you expecting another one?"  The worry in his voice was increasing as the words left his lips.

"We're not sure yet," answered Kaolla.  "I need to wait and see how the formula affects us.  It's still too early to tell."

"Formula?  What formula?" Keitaro further inquired.

"An experimental growth hormone formula I've been working on in the lab.  Apparently, it somehow made its way into the hot springs where we were all relaxing and spending the night.  I found the bottle in which it was contained when we were leaving the baths."  All the while, Kaolla was as cool as a cucumber, not feeling the slightest bit concerned or guilty over the events of last night.

Upon hearing Kaolla's explanation, the eyes of Sarah, Shinobu, and Mei widened, while Nyamo's eyebrows merely raised up somewhat.  This didn't go unnoticed by Kaolla as she talked, though she decided to keep that bit of information to herself and not rat out any of the four girls.  She figured she would have a talk with them about the bottle incident later, especially Sarah since she was ‘Suspect Number 1' in Kaolla's estimation.

"Well then," continued Keitaro, "can you make some kind of antidote to stop any further growth, or maybe even something to help shrink you guys back down to your original sizes?"

"I might be able to concoct something to stop the growth," elaborated Kaolla, "but that will take time...a few days at least.  As for shrinking, that's gonna be trickier.  Trying to induce shrinking is a lot harder than inducing growth.  After all, growth is natural in most organic species.  Plants, animals, insects, people...most forms of life start out small and then grow until they reach their natural size."

"But we WERE at our natural size before this whole thing began," countered Naru.

"Yes, and then the formula did it's magic when our bodies came into contact with it," replied Kaolla.  "After sitting in the waters of the hot springs for a few hours, the compound must have been absorbed through the skin and gotten into our bloodstreams.  And now it is doing what it was intended to, which is to tell the pituitary glands in our brains to induce further growth.  I guess you could think of it as a second puberty of sorts."

"Wow, thanks for the science lesson, Professor," said Sarah in a very sarcastic tone of voice.

"In any case," continued Kaolla, "I don't see a reason to worry or obsess over this now.  I'm sure that in time, I can come up with an antidote to negate the effects of the compound.  As for shrinking us to our original sizes, I'm probably better off making some kind of shrink ray to make that sort of thing happen."

"But the question is how much will we grow until then?" said Motoko.  "How large will we be before you can make an antidote?"

"Not sure yet to be honest," responded Kaolla, "that's kind of the fun in finding out."  She finished with a smile on her face.

"You think THIS is fun?" asked Kanako with irritation in her voice.  "None of our clothes fit.  Do you expect us to wear nothing but sheets and blankets to cover ourselves until you fix this?  It's either that or we have to make a trip down to the ‘Big and Tall' clothing store or have our clothes specially made to fit us, especially if we end up getting REALLy big."

"Don't worry," Amalla chimed in.  "Kaolla's got a remedy for the clothing dilemma.  If you find that what you're wearing is too snug, simply come up to Kaolla's room and we'll quickly take your measurements.  Once that's done, Kaolla will create an article of clothing to fit your body just right.  It'll serve as a temporary patchwork solution until we get our sizes stabilized out."

"You guys have enough fabric to fit everyone?" asked Shinobu in a skeptical tone of voice.

"Indeed, Shinobu," answered Kaolla.  I have quite the selection of fabrics and materials to make many types of clothing.  Another little side project I finished up some months back.  I won't bore you with the details, but it's essentially a sort of 3D printer designed to make clothing tailor made to match the recipient.  I just enter your sizes and dimensions and the machine will print out what you want.  And again, don't worry about materials...I have plenty stashed away.  And anything that no longer fits can simply be recycled and repurposed to make new, larger clothing."

"That's my sister for you," Amalla chimed in.  "She's usually got some kind of minor miracle in her back pocket when a problem arises.

"Well now," said Kitsune, "if we're done frettin' over what to do regardin' clothes and the like, then what say we get some grub in us?  I'm starvin'!"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," added Mutsumi, trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject.

"Alright, so then would you guys like me to make you all something?" asked Keitaro.  "I'm no chef, but I'll see what we have available for all of you."

"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest thing!" responded Amalla as she hugged Keitaro, smothering his face deep into her substantially increased bosom.  "You're willing to make breakfast for ALL of us.  You really are a dedicated manager."

"Hey, hands off of him, Princess," growled Kanako.  If there was one thing that set her off, it was a woman (other than her) putting the moves on Keitaro, and the last woman she wanted doing so was Amalla.

"Now, now," interjected Haruka, "no fighting at the table, especially so early in the day.  Amalla, would you be so kind as to let Keitaro breathe, please?"

"Oh pooh," said Amalla, doing a mock pout, "alright then, but only because you asked nicely."  A moment later, Keitaro was released from the E-cup bosom of the older Molmolian princess.  Thankfully not a moment too soon either, for between the rich, exotic scent that Amalla was giving off mixed with the softness and buoyancy of her breasts, Keitaro wasn't sure how much longer he would last before he passed out, either from lack of oxygen, blood loss via nosebleed, or sheer blissful overload.

"In any case, I don't want you to exert yourself on this task, as it involves thirteen other people and only one of you, Keitaro," said Amalla.  "So I'll make breakfast.  You just take it easy and relax, Mr. Manager."

"I can help," Shinobu spoke up.  "I'm familiar with cooking and meal preparation, so it's no trouble."

"I'm willing to help," added Mei.

"Me too," said Mutsumi.

"I'll help as well," said Naru.

"I'm happy to assist where possible," said Tsuruko.

"Well now," responded Amalla, "I'm surprised to have so many volunteers.  In any case, I'm happy for the assistance.  And with more people on the task, the sooner it'll be complete, so I'll gladly accept the help."

"Well then, shall we begin?" said Naru.

"Yes, here let me grab the ingredients.  What are you all in the mood for?"  said Shinobu.

"Pancakes!" hollered Sarah.

"Eggs and bacon, preferably," said Haruka.

"That all sounds good!" chimed Kitsune.

"Alright then," said Amalla, "then the girls willing to help can stay in here with me and the rest of you can wait in the common room.  With this many people working the kitchen, this shouldn't take more than thirty minutes or so if we start right now."

"Why the common room?" asked Motoko.  "Shouldn't we eat at the kitchen table?"

"I'd like for us all to have a nice big, family-style meal together, and there simply isn't enough room at the kitchen table for all of us to sit.  The common room is a lot bigger, so there's plenty of space for everyone to lay about and have breakfast together."

"Fair point," said Haruka.

Once the tasks were assigned on who was preparing what for breakfast, the assembled troop of girls in the kitchen got underway with preparing the meal, exhausting several eggs, boxes of pancake mix, cups of coffee, slices of toast, pounds of bacon, an entire unopened gallon of milk, the rest of the orange juice, and some interim pieces of fruit here and there (mainly apple slices, banana slices, tangerines, and grapes).  Once the meal was prepared, the group assembled and ate breakfast together, like a family - just like Amalla and Kaolla desired.

Upon finishing the meal, to which everyone was highly satisfied, another dilemma popped up in the form of a question.

"Well that was delicious," said Keitaro, "but given how many people there are here now - and that little ‘growing problem' you all are going through for the time being, what are we going to do about food?"
"No need to worry on that end, Keitaro," said Amalla, "I made a phone call back home to Molmol and we'll have a rather large shipment of food coming our way within the next two days.  It should be enough to last us all for a month, and I do mean ALL fourteen of us."

"Two days?" said Keitaro with alarm.  "You can have that much food here in two days?"

"You can thank Kaolla in part for that," continued Amalla.  "Her flying mecha-Tama transport aircraft can haul large amounts of cargo over long distances.  We're talking on the order of several tons if so desired.  I had a pretty extensive shopping list sent back to Molmol and our royal servants are preparing it for packaging and delivery as we speak."

"Royal servants?" asked Kanako.

"Yes, didn't you know I'm technically royalty?" responded Amalla, "Both myself and Kaolla."

"Princesses of the Kingdom of Molmol" Kaolla chimed in, keeping her sunny disposition.

"I...didn't know that." muttered Kanako.

"Although, technically Amalla is now Queen of Molmol, ever since she cemented her marriage to Big Brother Lamba," elaborated Kaolla.

"You married your brother?" asked Sarah with mild shock on her face.

"Technically, he's our distant cousin," elaborated Amalla, "but we've known him from childhood so we always called him ‘Big Brother.'  Such a thing is simply natural to us."

"Anyways," interjected Kaolla, trying to change course in the conversation, "Amalla made a call back home and ordered both supplies and servants to help out around here."

"You're having people flown in here?" asked Naru.

"Indeed," responded Amalla.  "I figured that with this many people residing at Hinata, that you could use some extra help with things around here.  After all, Keitaro may be the dorm manager, but he's only one man.  You can't expect him to do EVERYTHING at all hours of the day.  He may be durable, but he's only human."  Upon finishing this statement, Amalla looked right at Keitaro before giving him a wink that was as playful as it was seductive (which was very).  That action got a sideways glance and a fresh blush on Keitaro's cheeks.

"Well, we certainly appreciate the help," said Haruka, "but I'm not sure if we'll have enough room and board for them all, depending on how many servants you're having brought over."

"Oh, no need to worry about that," explained Amalla.  "Royal Molmolian servants are trained to survive on their own out in the wild if need be.  They can set up in tents out near the dorms as far as sleeping arrangements go, and they can scavenge for food to feed themselves.  Guards and servants of the Molmolian royal family are trained to be VERY self-sufficient from a young age.  It's part of their training regimen in order to toughen them up."
"That's a rather admirable trait among your people," commented Tsuruko.  "It's that kind of work ethic that makes practitioners of the shinmei-ryu sword school humble."

"You flatter me with your praise, Tsuruko," replied Amalla.

As the meal was finishing up and the dishes were being collected to be placed in the washing machine, another little surprise was on its way.

Before plans for the day were about to be announced among everyone assembled, an old familiar feeling from last night decided to make itself known once more.

In the common room, everyone minus Keitaro started panting and sweating profusely.  Their reactions were somewhat erotic from Keitaro's perspective, as it sounded like they were all engaged in ‘bedroom activities,' so to speak.  Every single girl started shaking, shivering, trembling, sweating, panting, and engaging in other somewhat erotic acts involving sounds of both pleasure and exhaustion.  Yet in the midst of it all, another sound made itself known through all the moans of pleasure - the sound of tearing fabric.

From Keitaro's perspective, it was the most surreal thing he had witnessed up to that point in his life.  Nothing will prepare you for the sight of thirteen women wearing nothing but bed sheets slowly enlarging and gaining increased mass in their bosoms and buttcheeks.  It was like a sort of super-perverted dream come true for a specific kind of fetishist.  In that moment, Keitaro was torn between taking in the sight before him and looking away out of a sense of courtesy and chivalry.  After all, while he was a straight, red-blooded man who could appreciate the beauty of the female form, he didn't want to come off as a pig-headed super pervert who only saw women as pieces of meat to be ogled at.

In the span of a minute or so, the wave of pleasure that had washed over the group of thirteen women had passed.  When they came down from their climax of bliss, the assembled group of females got their bearings and realized what had just occurred...and what its occurrence implied.

"Oh no no," moaned Naru, "not again!"

As all the women stood up, they could tell sure enough that the experimental growth hormone had done its job once more.  Kaolla simply told everybody to wait in the common room while she hurried to her room to go fetch something.  After a minute or two of waiting (in which Keitaro averted his gaze by looking down at the floor), Kaolla returned with a device in her hands.

"If everyone could stand in a line while I scan you all, one by one."  she said.

While the request sounded odd, the other women all complied.  The younger Su sister then proceeded to hold up the device to each woman to scan their height and bosom size (as apparently the growth hormone appeared to amplify those two traits the most out of its test subjects).  One by one, each woman had a scanning light go back and forth over her newly enlarged body, before a ‘ping' sound was made which apparently logged her data into the device.  After all thirteen women were scanned, Kaolla tabulated the results and read them aloud for everyone to hear:

• Naru - 6'2", E-cup breasts

• Kitsune - 6'3", F-cup breasts

• Shinobu - 5'10", D-cup breasts

• Kaolla - 5'9", D-cup breasts

• Motoko - 6'6", E-cup breasts

• Mutsumi - 6'1", G-cup breasts

• Haruka - 6'4", E-cup breasts

• Nyamo - 5'11", D-cup breasts

• Sarah - 5'10", D-cup breasts

• Mei - 5'10", D-cup breasts

• Kanako - 6'1", E-cup breasts

• Amalla - 6'9", F-cup breasts

• Tsuruko - 6'10, F-cup breasts

It was official:  Keitaro Urashima was now the shortest resident at Hinata House; a manager whose tenants were starting to tower over him, and if Kaolla's predictions regarding her formula were accurate, that gap in height and overall size would (like the girls themselves) continue to grow and grow and grow.

"Well now, that was surely a rather BIG development, if I may say so," said Amalla upon learning of her newly enlarged size, as well as the size of the other women at Hinata House.

"Amalla, you're not exactly taking this as seriously as I think you should," responded Naru.  "I mean, just LOOK at us!"

Naru was obviously referring to what had just occurred over the past sixty seconds or so.  In that time frame, all of the present female company had just shot up several inches.  And all of said female company were wearing nothing but bedsheets, which had started to tear in various locations as they enlarged.  This in turn left all of them wearing woefully inadequate makeshift clothing in the presence of the dorm manager (along with being the lone male in Hinata House), much to the embarrassment of both said manager and most of the assembled women present.

"Oh come now, Naru," responded Amalla.  "As the old saying goes, ‘No use crying over spilled milk.'  What's done is done.  Besides, I'm sure we can use Kaolla's fancy fabric machine to recycle these bed sheets so that they don't end up going to waste.  So what's the problem?"

"The problem, Amalla, is that we've just grown by several inches and that we're approaching close to naked in the presence of my boyfriend, thank you very much!" responded Naru.

‘Your boyfriend for now, yes,' thought Amalla with her playful smirk, ‘though in due time, it'll be OUR boyfriend...scratch that, our husband, if I have anything to say about that.'

"Yes, yes," responded Amalla, conceding to Naru for the time being.  "I suppose a change in wardrobe is in order, lest Keitaro here ends up getting a serious nosebleed in the process."  Upon this declaration, several of the women nodded in agreement, as they would rather not bear their naked forms on the spot in front of Keitaro and cause the young man to faint from too much visual stimulation.  In particular, most of the younger women were sporting very distinct blushes at the sensation of shooting upwards and straining the sheets which were now at the breaking point of becoming shredded tatters (Motoko, Shinobu, Mei, and Sarah were showing the deepest and reddest of blushes at this point).

"Well then," chimed Kaolla, "if everyone will follow me to my room, I can whip up some clothing for you all so that we're not prancing around in nothing but torn sheets for the rest of the day."

"Can Keitaro come along?" teased Amalla, only half-joking.

"You REALLY want to go there, princess?" asked Kanako with a somewhat subtle growl.

"If it's all the same to you ladies," said Keitaro with his eyes planted downward towards the floor, "I think it's best I leave you all to change and get yourselves situated."  Out of everyone there, Keitaro had the biggest and most pronounced blush out of everyone present.  Being in the presence of so many women who were towering over him more and more was as embarrassing as it was exhilarating.  He wasn't sure whether to scurry off in apology or to take in the sight of so much feminine beauty.

"Oh, alright, Keitaro," responded Amalla, "we'll head off to get a change of clothes, but please don't scurry off or anything.  We should be right back."

"We best be moving," insisted Haruka.  "I'd really like to not be lounging around in strained sheets anymore for today."

With that, all thirteen women made their way out of the common room and towards Kaolla's bedroom for a change of clothes, leaving Keitaro alone once more.  As he made his way towards the kitchen to begin cleaning up the remnants of breakfast, he found himself still breathing heavily and trying to kill the blush on his face and the stimulation he was experiencing below his waistline.  During the whole time of standing in the presence of growing amazons who were all his tenants, Keitaro was doing his best to hide the growing erection which he was experiencing.  He didn't want the ladies to think of him as some base, shallow pervert - especially Naru or Shinobu - but he simply couldn't fight his own biology.  He was a heterosexual male after all, and he could appreciate the female form, much as he tried not to openly show such appreciation.

‘Best keep your mind on other things,' thought Keitaro to himself.  ‘Focus on your daily chores.  There's always something that needs to be done around here.  And with the new tenants along with everyone's...condition, there would be greater need for food now than ever before, especially if the ladies keep increasing in size.

While Keitaro busied himself with cleaning and putting away the dishes, the ladies were all gathered in Kaolla's bedroom.  While it was by no means particularly large, it was adequate enough in size to accommodate the lot of them, at least for the time being.

"So then," began Kaolla, "if you'll simply let me take your measurements, I can proceed with tailoring you an outfit that should hold over for a little while, at least until the next growth spurt comes."

"And when exactly will that be?" asked Kanako with mild irritation at the idea of growing larger and larger.

"Not sure," responded Kaolla, "probably in the span of a few hours by my calculations.  Most likely by the end of the day at the latest."

"Kaolla," insisted Shinobu with worry, "you really need to have an antidote or something for this made as soon as possible.  I mean, look at us.  We're already taller than Keitaro-sempai.  If this keeps up, we're all going to be well over six feet tall."

"Most of us already are," Haruka stated.  "Heck, Amalla and Tsuruko are closer to seven feet tall than six feet, and if the next growth spurt is anything like the last one, I'm pretty sure they'll both shoot past seven feet tall by a significant amount."

"What if we all end up over seven feet tall?" asked Motoko.

"Or eight?" asked Kitsune.

"Or nine?" asked Mei.

"Or even more than that?" asked Tsuruko.

"Please no more talk of height and growing," pleaded Naru as she brought her hands to her head.  "It's gonna be hard enough having to adapt at our current size.  The last thing I want to think about is being too tall to stand upright indoors."

"I don't know," muttered Sarah, "I think that sort of thing sounds cool in a way.  We'd be the biggest girls in town...heck, the biggest girls in the country."

"More like the biggest girls on the planet if we keep growing more and more," replied Kanako with more irritation in her voice.  The idea of towering over Keitaro brought discomfort to her as she didn't want her size to drive him away or make him fear being near her.  As far as she was concerned, it was bad enough that she was now over six feet tall.  While she didn't mind the increase in bust size (a sentiment shared among many of the women present), she really didn't want to be any taller than she already was.  After all, six-foot-tall women were something of an outlier across the female specimen of the human species, especially in Japan.

"I'm sure things will work out in the end," said Mutsumi, trying to bring some positivity to the conversation.  "I have faith that Kaolla will work something out in the end."

"Thank you, Mutsumi" responded Kaolla with a cheer.  ‘I always did like Mutsumi,' thought the younger Su sister.  ‘She always did have that calming sense of positivity that could make things less tense.  She'll definitely be a great addition to the harem.'

Kaolla's sentiments were echoed alongside Amalla.  The Su sisters did after all appear to be on a similar mental-emotional wavelength.  It was as if they could read each other's minds when it came to what they were thinking or feeling.  This was all conveyed as Kaolla and Amalla gave each other a playful wink and a knowing glance, as if they had both thought the same thing about Mutsumi in that moment.

"Now then," if you'll allow me to take your current measurements, we can get things underway and get out of here," said Kaolla.  "After all, there's plenty to do today and I'm sure we don't want to be cooped up in my room all day long."

After a good half hour of taking BHW measurements among the females assembled, Kaolla then entered their data one by one into her 3d printer designed for clothing.  Fortunately, the Molmolian princess did indeed have an abundance of clothing materials to provide ample garments and different articles of clothing for the gathered assembly.  Once the measurements for each woman was taken and catalogued into the computer, Kaolla's clothing machine began to work its magic and before long, every woman was clothed in her normal attire that she would have worn prior to the growth spurts.

"Ahh," sighed Naru in relief, "now that's MUCH better.  It's good to wear something that fits."

"Indeed," seconded Tsuruko, "especially when you've grown a foot in height within the last twenty-four hours."

"You can say that again," chuckled Kitsune.  "I'm sure I ain't alone in sayin' that it was rather annoyin' wearin' somethin' that I was practically burstin' out of."

"Well then, shall we get going?" asked Haruka to everyone else.  "Like Kaolla said, there's plenty to do today.  I for one need to head on down to the teahouse and get ready for the weekend clientele.  Though I'm probably going to keep in the back of the shop as much as possible, given what's occurred since last night.  I'd rather not alarm the customers at the sudden elevation in my stature, and I'll have enough on my plate trying to keep Kentaro and the others from freaking out when they get a look at me."

As the women vacated Kaolla's bedroom, Amalla and Tsuruko could not help but notice that their heads were not far from the door frame, which was exactly seven feet in height.  Whenever the next growth spurt hit, it would certainly be a brand new experience having to bend down in order to pass through the doorways.

"Say," said Amalla, "by chance does anybody know how high the ceilings are around here?"

"If I remember right, I believe they're around nine feet or so," answered Haruka.

"I see," responded Amalla with a smile.

"Please, let's not get into anything regarding height for a while," begged Naru.  "I don't like the idea of what you're implying, Amalla."

"And what am I implying, Naru?" asked Amalla with an even bigger smile.

"The notion of us growing so much that our heads bump into the ceiling.  I'd rather not have to dwell on that for a while."

"You won't have to," responded Kaolla, "for a while anyway.  It'll be some time before we get to that size, so I wouldn't worry too much if I were you."

"The question is how much time are we talking?" inquired Motoko.

"A few days is my guess, given the data I have to work with." responded Kaolla.

"Oh please, Kaolla," begged Shinobu, "I really don't want to be nine feet tall.  I'd feel so out of place.  You've got to get working on an antidote to reverse this as soon as possible, or at the very least stop the growth.  I'm big enough as it is."

"I'm in agreement with Shinobu on this," said Mei.

"As am I," added Kanako.

"Like I said, it'll take some time," replied Kaolla, "but don't worry, I'll have something ready by then.  It's like the old saying goes, ‘Rome was not built in a day.'  But rest assured, I'll have something cooking up in the lab to make the proper adjustments so that we don't end up growing into fifty foot women."

"Yeah," Amalla chimed in, "and like Kaolla and I explained to all of you guys, there'll be enough resources to provide for all of us, especially food and clothing for when we end up getting bigger.  So we shouldn't worry so much over this and just enjoy what the day brings.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see what Keitaro is up to."

At the mention of the dorm manager, the cheeks of Naru, Shinobu, Motoko, Kanako, Kitsune, and Mutsumi gained strong blushes at the very idea of the older Su sister looking for him in order to have her way with him.  This in turn led to to the lot of them following after Amalla to keep her from getting frisky and too friendly with Keitaro, under the assumption that if she were left to her own devices, Amalla would probably engage in an act of ‘hanky panky' with Keitaro when nobody else was around.

"Oh Keitaro," said Amalla in a sing-song tone of voice, "where are you?"

"Don't get any ideas, girly," said Kanako who was right on Amalla's heels.  "You try getting fresh with my big brother and you'll regret it."

"That's kind of funny and cute now, hearing you say that," responded Amalla without turning around.

"What do you mean?" asked Kanako.

"Between you and Keitaro, you're the bigger of the two.  So hearing you refer to him as your ‘big brother' is kind of ironic in a way, don't you think?"  Amalla said with joy in her voice.

The question brought Kanako to a standstill as she pondered on what Amalla had just said.  Blushing profusely, the normally stoic girl was like a deer in headlights as she couldn't bring herself to disagree with the Molmolian girl.  If anything, Keitaro was now the ‘little brother' from Kanako's perspective when it came to size, especially when she had a good six inches over him in height.  That realization made her rather self-conscious and flustered as a result.  Perhaps she would have to refer to him simply as her ‘older brother' from now on, especially if Kaolla couldn't undo the effects of her experimental growth hormone that all of the Hinata women had become subjected to.

"You know, Kanako," said Amalla as she turned around to face the younger Urashima sibling, "you're rather cute when you blush."

"Excuse me?" asked Kanako with shock on her face and in her voice.

"You heard me.  You're really cute whenever you are blushing and taken back by something you weren't expecting to hear.  I like that about you."  Upon declaring this, Amalla had cornered Kanako and had her up against the wall.  Looking down upon Kanako as she utilized her seven inch height difference to her advantage, Amalla leaned in and took a long, sultry look into the Urashima woman's eyes, which by this point were both wide with shock and somewhat trembling at her newfound sense of vulnerability.

"It's that part about you that I find really...attractive." said Amalla with a tone of seduction in her voice.  This declaration threw Kanako off, with the girl's face now as red as a freshly picked strawberry.  Was this woman really hitting on her?  She did get a bit friendly early on yesterday when they bumped into each other outside Hinata House, but this was pushing things even further than that.  Was Amalla playing games with her?  Or was she genuinely interested in Kanako?

"Why are you getting so chummy with me, Miss Su?" asked Kanako, trying to regain her composure.  "I thought you had the hots for my brother."

"What's to say that I can't have the hots for both of you?" responded Amalla with a smirk.  "What if I wanted you and Keitaro all for myself in the bedroom?"

"I'd say ‘hands off of my man,' in response," interrupted Naru, who decided to draw a line in the sand when it came to Keitaro and other potential love rivals.

"That's quite a claim, Naru," responded Amalla as she turned to eye the long-haired brunette woman standing just a foot or so away from her.  "However, I do love a challenge."

Upon this declaration, Amalla had reached out and made a firm yet gracious grab for Naru, looping her arm around the small of Naru's back and pulling her in towards Amalla.  A moment later, both Naru and Kanako were up against the wall with Amalla filling their view, an arm planted on each side of them to deter fleeing.  Once again, Amalla decided to use her height to her advantage to keep each of her faux captives within her clutches.

"Naru, Kanako," said Amalla as she looked down upon both of them, "what I have to say is for the two of you as well as the entirety of the female residency here at Hinata House:  I like Keitaro.  I like him A LOT.  And I also like both of you...A LOT.  And I also like all the other women here...A WHOLE WHOPPING LOT.  I like him.  I like the two of you.  I like Kaolla.  I also like Shinobu, Kitsune, Motoko, Haruka, Mei, Mutsumi, Sarah, Nyamo, and Tsuruko.  I like ALL of you, and I intend to make ALL of you mine."

"What are you getting at, you sex-crazed woman?" asked Kanako with alarm as she looked back at Amalla.

"It's pretty self-explanatory," elaborated Amalla, "I want a harem.  I want a harem for myself, and I also want a harem for Keitaro.  I want to throw him into a flower garden of beautiful women who will love him and smother him in affection, tenderness, and pleasure to the point that he'll want for nothing when it comes to companionship.  I've been planning this for some time since my arrival, and I've simply decided to be open about it with all of you."

Amalla's declaration brought a blush to all of the other women assembled in the hallway (which at this point consisted of Naru, Kanako, Shinobu, Kitsune, Mutsumi, and Motoko; the remaining women had gone off in different directions upon leaving Kaolla's bedroom and were thus out of earshot of this rather bold statement made by the older Su sister).  The very idea that she would be so open about her intentions regarding not just Keitaro, but EVERYONE at Hinata House was as brave as it was assumptive.

"Listen, Amalla," said Naru trying to hold her ground, "I'm somewhat flattered at your statement, but I don't swing that way.  And besides, there are two reasons we can't engage in what you're suggesting."

"Oh?" said Amalla, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.  "And what would they be?"

"First off," responded Naru, "Keitaro is MY boyfriend.  He and I are a couple.  I even kissed him the night I confessed to him, so we're exclusive, so to speak.  All the other girls here can attest to that, even Kanako here."  Sure enough, there were nods among all of the other women gathered in the hallway at Naru's explanation, even from Kanako who resented having to acknowledge what she saw during the night of the annex episode and watch the man she loves lock lips with the Narusegawa woman.

"And secondly," continued Naru, "you're a married woman if I remember right.  What would your husband, Prince Lamba, have to say if he found out you were committing an infidelity while you were away from home?  Do you think he'd really be okay with you bedding another man behind his back?"

There was a momentary pause from Amalla as she took in what Naru threw her way, before responding in kind.

"Interesting points, Naru," said Amalla with a grin.  "To your fist point, while I acknowledge that you and Keitaro have become a couple, I'm not doing this to separate you two.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I want to strengthen the bond you two share.  All I'm simply doing is adding other women into the picture, that is all.  And mind you, these are women whom you've known for years now...women you've shared experiences with and spent cherished memories with.  I just want you to become closer with them alongside Keitaro as one big, happy family."

"Spending time with family and spending time with a lover are different things," responded Kanako, trying to find a hole in Amalla's logic.

"Which is why I plan on doing my best to upgrade everyone else from family to lover for Keitaro's sake," Amalla elaborated without missing a beat.  "I have a pretty good feeling that everyone I met here has feelings for Keitaro.  Some might be a bit stronger than others right now, but it's my intention to turn things around so that EVERYONE ends up head-over-heels in love with him.  I just want everybody to be open and honest with their feelings when it comes to Keitaro, and I simply want for that wonderful little man's happiness to grow and grow as we all spend time with him."  Upon the words ‘grow and grow' being uttered, a subtle tingling went up each woman's spine at the idea of creating an ever-growing harem that was growing in more ways than one.

"And as for the second point," continued Amalla, "my husband has a harem back home, so it would be somewhat hypocritical on his part to get mad at the idea of me bedding another man while he beds multiple women back in Molmol.  And mind you, those women back home are MY wives as well as my husband's wives.  I like to think that I have a big enough heart to love several people equally, so I've come to love and cherish them all to the point that I know every nook and cranny on their bodies, every like and dislike they hold, every kind of kink that gets them into the mood.  I've grown so close with them that I love them just as much as I love my dear Lamba.  We've all entered into an open and understanding relationship where there's no animosity or bitterness directed at anybody, beyond the occasional play-fighting over who gets to bed Lamba.  While some may consider such a relationship to be unfeasible, we've made it work for years now.  I don't expect somebody who isn't in it to understand it, but we really do all love each other in the deepest ways you can conceive."

"Even so," countered Naru, "what would your husband say about you bedding Keitaro behind his back?"

"Lamba has come to know Keitaro rather well from the few times they've met," countered Amalla.  "He knows that Keitaro has a kind soul and puts others before himself.  In Lamba's eyes, Keitaro is already a brother, whom he would be perfectly content if he bedded either myself or Kaolla.  If you'd like confirmation on where Lamba stands on my getting intimate with Keitaro, I'd be happy to put through a livestream call with him right now, assuming that he's not too busy with the harem as we speak.  Though Lamba knows me well, and he knows that I'm a good judge of character when it comes to picking mates and partners on matters of intimacy.  He implicitly trusts that I would only pair up with someone who is genuinely good at heart and he knows for a fact that Keitaro Urashima is a good man.  I'm highly certain that if he were in this room right now, Lamba wouldn't have the slightest objection to me wanting to make Keitaro part of my harem, which again I intend to do."

There was a long pause while the other girls in the hallway soaked in all of this info which Amalla was laying out before them.

"You...you've really thought this thing out, haven't you?" asked Shinobu with a rather intense blush.

"Why of course, my dear sweet Shinobu." said Amalla with a wink and a teasing lick of the lips.  "I'm not teasing or pulling anybody's leg here.  I want ALL of you, and I also want Keitaro as well.  And given that I'm a princess...sorry, a queen now...I'm pretty much used to getting what I want, and I want a big, happy family in the form of a harem."

"Well now, that's...umm..." Kitsune was struggling to find what to say in response to this sudden declaration.  The blush on her cheeks certainly wasn't helping with her keeping composure.  The very idea that she could be with Keitaro without stealing him from Naru was an entertaining proposition, one which she couldn't fully toss aside no matter how much she desired to do so for Naru.

‘Everyone together with Keitaro-sempai,' though Shinobu as her own blush intensified.  She soon after started imagining everyone in a really big bed, wearing absolutely nothing as they surrounded Keitaro, hovering over him as they began caressing and kissing him before moving over into R-rated territory.  The very notion of getting THAT intimate with the man she was crushing hard for practically made steam come out of her ears, such was her embarrassment at how innocent she was when it came to matters of romance and love-making.

"Oh my," whispered Mutsumi at the boldness of Amalla's suggestion.  Even though she decided to forego her own happiness and let Naru have her chance with Keitaro, she would always carry a torch for him, no matter how much time had passed.  But now, with Amalla's suggestion for a way that EVERYBODY could be happy when it came to matters of love and romance, the Okinawan girl was suddenly allured to this idea of ‘sharing the love' as it were.  While she would have ideally preferred to have Keitaro all to herself, Mutsumi found herself willing to compromise if it meant getting to be wedded (and bedded) with Keitaro.  Such was the love that she held for him that she would be willing to have multiple wives alongside the man she loved.

‘Married to Keitaro,' thought Motoko.  ‘This could be my chance.  I admit, I would have been fine being his mistress under Naru if she was okay with such a thing.  I can finally make up for all the times I attacked him.  But it's not just that...that goofball truly did steal my heart with his kindness and patience.  When he was prepared to marry me during that episode with my sister...I was happy.  Motoko Urashima.  The very idea of that name brought butterflies to my stomach.  Even now, with the possibility of things.  I know it would be weird being in a marriage with SO many people (especially one that includes her sister), but would things really be so different from what they are now?  It might be odd at first, but I like to think that we could make it work...in time.'

As the other girls in the hallway were getting lost in their thoughts, Amalla grinned at the facial reactions they were conveying.  Not a single one of them seemed outright against the idea of forming a harem with Keitaro at the center.  All it would take would be a little bit of coaxing and soon enough the harem would be underway.  If anything, the biggest obstacle might be Keitaro himself, but Amalla felt that she could address that  in due time.  For now, things were looking good as her ‘harem plan' was moving forward.

"I'm sorry, but no," interrupted Kanako.  "This fantasy idea of yours is just that...a fantasy.  There's no way that Keitaro would be okay with being in this kind of a relationship.  And besides, I don't want to share him with anybody else."

"Not even Naru here?" asked Amalla with a fake pout.  "After all, didn't she already call dibs on Keitaro?  Wouldn't that force you out of any plans to get together with him, given how committed Keitaro is to Naru?  Or would you be okay with a three-way relationship if it meant being with Keitaro?"  Once more, Amalla was looking for cracks in her opponent's defenses, trying to exploit some kind of logical fallacy that she could use against whoever she was locked in combative conversation with.

"W-well...I mean...that's...different..." muttered Kanako.  While she hated to admit it, she acknowledged that Naru was a good girl, or at least on her way to being one after she swore not to physically attack Keitaro anymore or lash out at him for honest mistakes and misunderstandings.  Did she really want to get between Naru and Keitaro, knowing that Keitaro loved Naru and Naru was honestly making amends for past transgressions?  Would Keitaro hate her for such an attempt?  The last thing she wanted was for him to hate her over it.  In that moment, Kanako found herself in a whirlwind of emotions as she pondered her options on how to proceed with all of this harem talk that Amalla was laying out.

"Well, for now let's shelve this topic for another time," said Amalla as she stood back and relinquished cornering Naru and Kanako.  I simply wish to find out where Keitaro has gone and to see if he needs any help with chores and tasks here at the dorms, that is all.  You're all welcome to come along with me, as I'm sure he could use some assistance.  And I promise not to disrobe either Keitaro or myself and claim him right there on the spot, so you can all relax, ladies."  Amalla figured that she should pace herself with implementing the harem plan.  Best to take things step by step.  She had already dropped something of a bomb in revealing her intentions to a good chunk of the girls of Hinata House, and there were still other girls to reveal her master plan to as well, but they could wait in good time.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me," said Amalla as she sauntered off to locate the dorm manager, her hips sashaying ever so seductively as she walked.  She was immediately followed by Naru, Kanako, Motoko, Kitsune, Shinobu, and Mutsumi.  Even if the Molmolian girl was honest in her intentions regarding finding Keitaro, they figured it was best to follow her so as to find Keitaro and see what the manager needed assistance with.

"What is it about women?" Keitaro asked himself.  "They are just so darn...ugh...I can't even sum them up with one word.  Seductive?  Confusing?  Scary?  I suppose they're all those things at one point or another.  They certainly confuse the heck out of me most of the time, that's for sure."

At this point, Keitaro was finishing up with cleaning the dishes from this morning's breakfast.  Given that he was in the company of more than a dozen women, there were certainly enough plates, glasses, mugs, and utensils to go around.  In that moment, he wished that he had a small army of kitchen staffers to assist him with all of the dishwashing that such a large meal would inevitably lead to.  Even having just one or two of the tenants nearby would have been appreciated.  His first pick would have been Shinobu, given that she was no stranger to both preparing meals as well as cleaning and putting away dishes.  However, given that she was currently occupied with finding clothing that would fit her enlarged frame (along with all the other females at Hinata House), that left Keitaro all by his lonesome until someone else came along.  He figured that Shinobu - as well as all the other girls and women - had enough on their plates (pardon the pun) with having to make adjustments to their new, larger sizes since last night, so it was best to leave them be for now.  No need to make things more difficult by bothering them while they were processing their taller heights and newly enhanced figures.  From what Keitaro could discern, it seemed that all of them were gaining more hourglass-like figures as their bodies continued to grow, making them appear all the more seductive in the process.

‘No!  Bad Keitaro!  Don't think of them like that, especially Shinobu and the younger girls!  You don't want to be some kind of sick pervert chasing after little girls!  Besides, you have Naru!  How would she feel if you were pining after young ladies like Shinobu, Kaolla, or Mei!?  Especially Mei!?  Don't go getting any ideas like that!'  Keitaro's conscience was rattling on, instructing him not to act on base impulses and lust after any of the other tenants.  He would consider such thoughts and behavior to be an outright betrayal to Naru, which was the last thing he would ever want to do to her.

Even if she had a history of occasionally clobbering him on a whim over a misunderstanding, Keitaro simply couldn't bring himself to hate or resent Naru over it.  Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment, but he just didn't have it in him to feel victimized or vengeful over the times Naru would give him a clenched fist to the face or stomach, even if it was an overreaction over a genuine accident.  The same could be said for Motoko.  Though both she and Naru would physically attack him from time to time (Naru with her punches or kicks and Motoko with her sword, which thankfully was sheathed everytime she used it), Keitaro simply couldn't bring himself to hate them over said attacks.  Some part of him was simply too forgiving to hold a grudge over it.  Usually, he just ended up being fearful of them at times and avoiding them until they were in a generally better mood.  In Keitaro's view, sometimes it was best to simply take the path of least resistance when it came to either one of those two women.

As for the other girls, Keitaro was on generally better terms with the majority of them.  Kitsune had a habit of teasing him with her body, usually to either get money out of him or to delay rent payments, but aside from that, she wasn't a bad girl.  Sarah had a habit of being against him given her dislike of authority figures in general (aside from her adoptive father, Seta), but she could be friendly with him at least some of the time.  Kaolla was playful, sometimes to the point of being mischievous (at least when Keitaro first met her), but over time she had become more serious with her inventions and eventually stopped making anything that proved harmful to Keitaro or anyone else for that matter.  It was a step towards maturity that Keitaro greatly appreciated.

Shinobu and Mutsumi were friendly with Keitaro virtually all of the time, with each of them doting on him like a supportive sister (or in Mutsumi's case something more akin to a mother, given her instinctively maternal nature).  Haruka was supportive most of the time with Keitaro, even if she was a bit withdrawn most of the time.  He just needed to remember to avoid referring to her as ‘Aunt Haruka,' lest he get a karate chop or an elbow to the head, given how Haruka resented that title which was given to her.  Nyamo was quiet, but friendly with Keitaro all the same, much like Shinobu.

As for Kanako, Keitaro knew that she saw him as an emotional pillar of sorts - someone to lean on for support during her formative childhood years.  It was that kind of support that made Kanako practically joined at Keitaro's hip during much of their childhood, all the way into Keitaro's late highschool years.  While Keitaro certainly appreciated the doting that Kanako showered onto him as a result, he did find her fondness for him to be a bit much at times, bordering on outright clinginess.

Mei was something of a catchall in terms of personality.  When they first met, her disposition was something akin to that of Naru's, Motoko's, or Sarah's when they all first met Keitaro - distrustful and somewhat combative.  Yet after helping to patch things over between Mei and Naru, Mei began to look more favorably towards Keitaro over time.  Soon enough, Mei's disposition was more in line with that of Shinobu's, Kaolla's, or Nyamo's - polite, considerate, and easygoing overall.

Amalla and Tsuruko were interesting in their own ways, given what Keitaro remembered of them.  Since they weren't regular tenants at Hinata House up until this point, Keitaro only had the brief times they stopped by to go on.

Amalla seemed to be raw seduction given form.  Given how she dressed and acted, Keitaro got the sense that she could be rather kinky in her free time.  That attitude seemed to stay the same, more or less, even after getting hitched with the next king of the Molmol Kingdom, His Majesty Prince Lamba Lu.  Amalla also seemed somewhat hotheaded from what Keitaro could recall of their first meeting, though her attitude appeared to have leveled off somewhat.  While she still oozed seduction, Amalla had a more mature mood to her character (but no less seductive in any way).

Tsuruko was more refined compared to Amalla, with an attitude that was similar to that of Motoko, given that they were both swordswomen who took the family tradition rather seriously.  From what Keitaro remembered of her, Tsuruko was married like Amalla, though her attitude was definitely more conservative by comparison.  She had a sort of natural grace like that of a proper lady, which was something that Keitaro noticed right off the bat from the first time they met in the street.  While her warrior-like attitude in the heat of battle could be rather frightening, Tsuruko was polite, elegant, calm, and mature for her age.  If Keitaro had met her before he met Naru, he wondered whether or not he would have asked to date her, assuming he had the courage to do so back then.

All things considered, the ladies of Hinata House were a lot of things when it came to their characteristics and personalities.  Some of those things were bad, or definitely left much to be desired, but in the big picture, Keitaro saw more good than bad in the group.  He certainly never considered booting them out of the dorms or calling the cops to press charges against them (even if he would have been within his rights to do so where it concerned Naru, Motoko, Kitsune, and perhaps even Kaolla at times).  Keitaro was simply too soft-hearted to take such action against them, whereas others would have kicked them to the curb a long time ago.

These were Keitaro's thoughts as he worked on the dishes in the kitchen.  He was making decent progress and was about halfway through with the overall pile of dishes by this point.  Once he was done with the dishes, he would then make the rounds to see what else needed addressing in the dorms.  If the weather was nice enough, maybe he would check for loose tiling on the roof or tend to the gutters for any excess leaves.

At this point, Keitaro was finishing with scrubbing a pan which was used to cook both eggs and pancakes from the morning's breakfast.  As he was finishing with rinsing and drying the pan, he opened up the cabinet above where the pan was usually placed.  He stretched as far as he could, but the shelf was just a little bit out of his reach, even with Keitaro on his tiptoes.

"Guess I'll need a step ladder or a chair to stand on," grumbled Keitaro.  While he didn't consider his 5'7" height to be particularly on the short side when it came to the height of the human male, he wouldn't have minded being just a few inches taller, something more akin to 5'9" or 5'10" instead.  He figured that he most likely would never reach Seta's 6'1", but just another inch or two would make a noticeable difference.

As Keitaro turned around to fetch something to stand on, he was greeted by something big and soft colliding directly into his face.  In an instant, everything went dark as he was smothered by what felt like large round marshmallows surrounding his face.  In fact, it seemed as though most of his head was buried within the giant, plump objects that he had suddenly become acquainted with.  In that moment, Keitaro could only freeze as the breath seized within his throat, though even though he held his breath, he could detect the lovely scent of tropical fruits invading his nostrils as his face was pressed into supple, vibrant dark skin.

‘Oh god, here comes the thrashing,' thought Keitaro.  ‘Better brace for impact.'  Keitaro proceeded to shut his eyes tight, expecting to make impact from either getting punched, kicked, or shoved hard into a wall and making a particularly nasty crunching sound from said impact.  However, after a few seconds of nothing happening, Keitaro inhaled gently as he slowly opened his eyes to see what was in store for him.

"Hey there, cutie," said a familiar voice.  "You know, that kind of tickles...not that I'm complaining, of course."  The voice finished with giggle, which caused the giant marshmallow-like objects to jiggle somewhat.

Keitaro pulled back as much as he could, though his back was propped up against the countertop, so he could only pull back a few inches at the most.  His movement was immediately halted as something held him in place just a few seconds later.  As Keitaro got his bearings, he realized what had just occurred.

As he turned around, Keitaro went face first into a rather large set of breasts.  Upon pulling back from said breasts, he was immediately halted by a pair of arms which had held him in place firmly yet gently.  As he looked up, down, and all around, he saw the lovely visage of one Amalla Su - all 6 feet, 10 inches of her - smiling down at Keitaro as she held him against her the way someone would hold their spouse or romantic partner.

Keitaro could only stare up at Amalla with a blank stare on his face as he looked upon the ultra-sexy amazon who held him in her embrace.  If Amalla was weirded out or annoyed by what had just happened, she certainly didn't show any outward sign of irritation, annoyance, or disgust; quite the opposite, in fact.  Amalla simply stared down with a sort of lovey-dovey expression on her face as she held Keitaro against her body, gently pressing him against her chest, abdomen and thighs as she pinned him between herself and the countertop behind him.

"Uhh...hello, Amalla," said Keitaro.  "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?"  He made sure to keep his tone of voice as respectful as he could muster, especially since he was in the embrace of a woman who had more than a foot in height over him and was almost assuredly MUCH stronger than him.

Amalla simply stared down at Keitaro with that same lovey-dovey smile of hers, breathing in his own aroma as he breathed in hers.  She took her time to feel his heartbeat against hers as she held him against her body.

‘His heart is pounding right now,' thought Amalla to herself, ‘and I can feel something getting really, REALLY tense down below his waistline.  I'm glad to know that my body excites him.  That will make things easier.  I just need to help coax him out of his nervousness.'

"I happened to see you were putting away the dishes and thought you could use some help." replied Amalla to Keitaro's question.

"Well, I appreciate your willingness to help, Amalla, but that really isn't necessary.  You're a guest here at Hinata House, so you don't need to worry about tending to the dishes.  I'm the dorm manager, so it's my responsibility to tend to that sort of thing."  Keitaro was struggling to keep a straight face and not lose his composure as he remained in the firm yet tender grip of the Molmolian amazon.  Amalla simply exhaled through the nose as she smiled at Keitaro's response.

"Oh, Keitaro," she said as she playfully rubbed the top of his head and smothered him once more into her bosom, "you're such a sweety!  There's really no need to worry about that sort of thing.  I don't mind helping out with house chores at all.  Besides, I couldn't help but notice that you were having a little difficulty putting away some of the pans and utensils."  Upon finishing her statement, Amalla loosened her grip on Keitaro and let him pull his head from the pleasure prison that was her bosom.

"It's not necessary for you to worry about that sort of thing, Amalla," responded Keitaro, who was blushing furiously at having his head sandwiched between her breasts twice in less than a minute.  "I can manage that sort of thing."

"Nonsense," responded Amalla.  "Let me help you out.  It's no trouble at all.  And for the record, I'm not taking no for an answer.  I'm gonna give you a hand, so just relax and go take a load off.  You do enough as it is."

Before Keitaro could get a word in, Amalla grabbed the pan he was struggling with and placed it on the top shelf with the greatest of ease.  She didn't need to stretch or strain herself in any way whatsoever as she completed the task.  Afterwards, she did something which Keitaro was not expecting:  she picked him up.

It was all without warning, but it wasn't malicious or harmful in any way whatsoever.  After putting away the pan into the upper cupboard, Amalla then bent down and swept Keitaro's feet out from under him.  A second later, Keitaro found himself being cradled "bridal style" by Amalla, with one arm underneath the back of his knees while the other arm supported his back.  The whole feeling of being carried like this felt surreal to Keitaro, as it was typically the other way around, with the man carrying the woman in this position.  While it was somewhat embarrassing from Keitaro's perspective, he didn't find it bad.  In fact, he found the experience to be both calming and a little bit sexually stimulating (much to his embarrassment).

Amalla proceeded to carry Keitaro from the kitchen to the common room, where she then gently laid him upon the couch and hovered over him in all of her beauty, grace, and raw seductive power.

"Now," said Amalla in a tone of voice that was both commanding and calming, "I want you to relax and take a load off, Keitaro.  You work hard enough as it is and deserve a break from time to time.  So I just want you to take a few minutes and let your mind decompress.  I'll take care of the remaining dishes.  In fact, I might not be alone in completing that task."  Upon this statement, Amalla looked up to see that other women had joined the two of them in the common room.

Keitaro looked over and saw Naru, Kitsune, Mutsumi, Shinobu, Motoko, and Kanako all standing before him in their raw seductive beauty.  While they were now wearing clothing that regularly fit them (compared to the bed sheets they wore earlier this morning), the clothes hugged them firmly in a way that accentuated every curve of their bodies - their hips, legs, waists, stomachs, asses, and especially their breasts.

Before the second growth spurt resulting in their wardrobe malfunction, these women were very pretty.  Now, after the growth spurt they were downright beautiful, even with more form-fitting clothing on their bodies.  Keitaro found himself instinctively gulping as he took in the sight of these lovely ladies.

"There you are, Amalla," said Naru.  "I told you to wait up, so of course you decide to do the opposite and try to lose us in the hallway at the first opportunity."

"Hey, I told you guys I was looking for Keitaro.  I figured he would be finishing with tidying up the kitchen, and lo and behold, I was right.  I just wanted to give him a hand so he didn't have to do all this work all by himself."

"Well in that case," responded Naru, "I'll take care of it then.  Keitaro, you just sit here, relax, and let me handle the dishes."  She was looking down at Keitaro as she stood on high, using her 6 foot, 2 inch height to her advantage in order to get her point across.

"But Naru, I-" Keitaro was cut off by two different index fingers making contact with his lips.

"Keitaro, please," said Naru as she gently held her finger against his lips, "I WANT to do this for you, so please just let me help you...please."  Naru's voice had taken a more gentle tone.  Right now, the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl was a mix between commanding and pleading with her boyfriend to let her take the load off of his shoulder in some small way.
"We got this, Keitaro," said Kitsune, who was the owner of the other index finger placed over Keitaro's lips alongside Naru's.  While she was normally not this bold or forthcoming in her physical behavior, the fox-eyed girl decided to take some initiative and gently put Keitaro in his place.  Given that she now had several inches on him, Kitsune figured that she was now physically stronger than Keitaro.  Even so, while she had a physical advantage over the loveable little goofball, Kitsune didn't want to alarm or scare him in any way whatsoever, especially given how she was coming to terms with newfound feelings of genuine romantic love she was feeling for him.

"Please," continued Kitsune, "let us help ya out.  We WANT to help ya.  Wontcha let us lift the burden offa ya, just a lil' bit here and there?"  Kitsune proceeded to bat her eyelashes at Keitaro as she slightly opened her eyes, revealing her irises and pupils to him.

The act appeared to serve its purpose, as Keitaro lost the will to put up any type of verbal resistance.  He merely nodded at the request, deciding to acquiesce to make the ladies happy.

"Okay then," he said, "you guys can get the dishes.  Just let me know if you need assistance."

"Don't worry, sempai," said Shinobu.  "We've got this.  I've done my share of kitchen work before, so this will be no problem for me whatsoever."  Even with her new elevated size, Shinobu was still the same sweet, soft-hearted girl Keitaro had come to know over the last few years.

"She's right, Kei-kun," added Mutsumi as she cast him in her shadow alongside all the other girls.  From her elevated height, her bosom looked even larger than it normally would have.  Of course, given the readings that came out from Kaolla's device from earlier when she was taking everybody's measurements, the Okinawan girl probably did go up a cup size or two in the breast department (alongside all the other women).

"I'm in agreement with Naru and the others on this one," said Motoko as she looked down upon Keitaro.  Being the second tallest person in the presently assembled group (and having almost a full foot in height over Keitaro), her word carried even more weight than it would under normal circumstances.  As Keitaro eyed her up and down, her long black hair looked even more radiant than it normally would have, with an increased shine upon it.  Motoko truly was becoming the visual ideal of the nadeshiko yamamoto among Japanese culture, much like her sister.

"I'm just gonna settle things and make this unanimous," Kanako chimed in.  "Just go ahead and lay down on the couch for a bit while we take care of the dishes.  You've certainly deserved a rest, at the very least for a few minutes."  She then proceeded to take a seat upon the couch before gently hoisting up Keitaro so that his head was resting upon the soft, supple upper thighs of her lap.  While taken back by his younger sister's forwardness, Keitaro soon after began to lull into a sense of relaxation bordering on deep sleep as the tension and stiffness in his body began to melt away.

"There you go," said Amalla with a smile.  "That's a good Keitaro.  You just relax and let Kanako give you a nice head rub and maybe even a massage while we finish up here in the kitchen."  Amalla then took her leave towards the kitchen, followed by Naru, Motoko, Kitsune, Mutsumi, and Shinobu.  Kanako proceeded to gently stroke Keitaro's scalp, running her fingers ever so delicately through his hair as she proceeded to gently massage the muscles along his neck and shoulders.

While Kanako spent some quality one-on-one time with Keitaro, the other girls proceeded with finishing up on putting away the plates, pans, and other items used in breakfast.  With their newfound strength and height from the growth spurts, reaching the highest cabinet doors and cupboards no longer was an issue for anybody, not even Shinobu.  With the five of them working together, the task was completed in the span of a few minutes.  Of course, Keitaro had already initiated the task, so there wasn't a whole lot of work left to do.  That only spurred the girls to find something else that needed done from start to finish.

From the perspectives of Naru, Kitsune, and Motoko, it was their way of starting to make things up to Keitaro for their past behavior.  Whether it was Naru's and Motoko's rushes to violence or Kitsune's inherent trickery and underhanded motives, each woman vowed to do her part to help ease Keitaro's burden from here on out.  And given that all three women were in love with the same man, that only strengthened each woman's resolve to do her part in assisting the Hinata House dorm manager.

Once the dishes were done, the women returned to the common room, where sure enough, Keitaro was resting on Kanako's lap (which at that point served as a pillow).  In the time that Amalla and the other ladies were tending to the dishes, Keitaro had nodded off from Kanako's delicate touch to the point that he ended up napping.  His breathing had slowed to a gentle, back-and-forth pace as his eyelids had inevitably closed shut and he fell into deep slumber.  The look on Kanako's face was one of pure, blissful contentment as she watched over her beloved resting on her thighs.

"Awww..." cooed Amalla at the sight before her, "isn't he just adorable right now?"

"Yes indeed he is," commented Mutsumi.  "I'd certainly like him to be in my lap right about now."

"Well, maybe when Kanako's finished with ‘im, you can have your turn with the fella," said Kitsune, "after I have my fun with the guy."  The last part she muttered to herself as her cheeks blushed lightly at the thought of getting intimate with him.  Such a thing wasn't missed upon by Naru who stood right next to Kitsune.

‘She really is falling in love with him, isn't she?' thought Naru in self-reflection.  ‘So then how many women does that make now?  There's myself, Mutsumi, Amalla, and Kitsune.  Shinobu has a pretty big crush on Keitaro.  Kanako is head over heels for him, that much is certain.  I'm pretty sure that Motoko feels something for the guy as well, and maybe that one girl Nyamo does as well, though she's usually quiet so it's hard to tell with her.  So that makes what...eight women?  How did this loveable little dork end up becoming such a casanova?  Did I not notice it up until now?  Then there's what Amalla told us all in the hallway: A harem?  Thirteen women in total?  Is that even possible?  Do I have it in me to accept that kind of thing?  Do the other women?  Amalla seems pretty sure of pulling something like that off, that's for certain.  Ugh...this is all too much to take in at once.  Why can't it just be me and Keitaro?  Why do all these other girls have to fall hard for the guy too?  And why is it that I can't bring myself to get mad at them for doing so?  Is it because I feel guilty for what I've done to him in the past...all those beatings?'

On this last mental note of self-reflection, a lone tear had made its way down Naru's cheek as she gently stroked Keitaro's hair.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice little more than a whisper.  "I'll be better, I promise."  This whisper was picked up on by Motoko, Kitsune and Mutsumi, who all in turn were able to parse out the meaning behind the elder Narusegawa sibling's statement.  It was a promise to herself to make it up to Keitaro, out of a mix of genuine guilt for past transgressions as well as an increasing growth in her love and affection for the guy.

After a few minutes of being quietly stroked by seven lovely ladies, the manager of Hinata House had stirred awake, lifting his head from Kanako's lap pillow and realizing he was surrounded by amazons all around him, taking in their rich, heavenly scent given their proximity to him.  It was stirring something within his libido, and he needed to busy himself with a task before his baser urges got the better of him.

"Well," said Keitaro as he lifted his head off of Kanako's lap and got up from the couch, "I do appreciate the help with the dishes, ladies, but I've got to get going.  There's other chores that need tending to."

"Oh, and what would those be, Keitaro?" asked Amalla, cornering the Hinata House manager before he could make an escape.

"Well," he said as he stared up at the exotic amazon before him, "there are the basic house chores that need looking into.  I usually have a checklist posted on the hallway as a reminder of what needs doing.  I know that most importantly, I need to go get some groceries, given how low we are on a lot of items.  Figured that it was best to stock up on supplies with all the new arrivals coming in."

"That's a fair enough point you make, Keitaro," responded Amalla.  "In that case, I think I'll join you on that then."

"That really won't be necessary, Amalla," said Keitaro as he looked up high at Amalla, tilting his head far back to make eye contact with the Molmolian seductress.  It was a gesture which Amalla liked to use to her advantage.  Given her newly increased size, she liked to use her proximity to Keitaro to get him to acquiesce and surrender his position towards seeing things her way.

"Nonsense," replied Amalla as she draped her arms around Keitaro's shoulders and brought him against her body once more, pressing her flesh to his flesh (much to Kanako's annoyance).  "With the amount of groceries you'll be needing, I figured you're going to need assistance with bringing them back to the dorms.  And besides, do you not want my company?"  Amalla was setting Keitaro up, especially with a cute little pout she was making as she finished her question.

Sure enough, Keitaro's defenses melted down and he folded before Amalla like a seven-deuce hand before a royal flush at a poker table.

"Well...okay...I suppose I could use some assistance with getting the groceries in."  Keitaro said this with a strong blush once more, given that Amalla still had not lessened her embrace of the man and he was finding her rich scent to be intoxicating once more.

"Excellent," said Amalla.  "In that case, let me contact Kaolla about something quickly before we head off."

As an old saying goes, ‘Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.'

Kaolla Su was making her way down the stairs alongside Tsuruko, Nyamo, and Mei towards the rest of the assembled party.

"Hello there, everyone," chimed the happy-go-lucky younger Su sister towards Keitaro's group as her group convened with his group.  "How are all of you guys today?"

"Fine, fine dear little sister," responded Amalla.  "We were just finishing up with the dishes when Keitaro and I decided to do a little shopping."  On this statement, Amalla increased her hold on Keitaro, bringing his head into her bosom once more to have a little teasing fun, both with Mr. Urashima and the other ladies within their group.

"Has Haruka already left?" asked Naru.  "She's the only one I haven't seen this morning."

"I believe she has parted for the cafe down the steps, yes," said Tsuruko.

"Now what was this thing you said about shopping?" inquired Kaolla.

"Exactly what it sounds like, dear sister," replied Amalla.  "Keitaro said he needed to shop for groceries, given that we're apparently low on a lot of different food items.  And besides, we're all growing girls, so we need to eat to keep our strength up, am I right?"  The pun wasn't lost upon the rest of the women, most of whom scoffed or giggled at Amalla's sense of humor regarding the ‘growing' part of her statement.

"Well, in that case," replied Kaolla, "I'll have one of my mecha-Tamas ready for you when you've finished your shopping.  Simply call me and I'll have your geolocation so that I can send it your way.  Figured you'll need something big to haul as many groceries as you'll be buying.  And it'll also save you guys on the trip back, as I can just have it fly back towards Hinata once you've loaded it up."

"Seems like you really HAVE thought of everything, haven't you, Kaolla?" asked Naru incredulously.

"Well, some have referred to me as a mad scientist or evil genius in my younger years," teased Kaolla in response.

"That's my sister for you, always has some gadget or device to help make things easier," chimed Amalla.

"Except for an antidote for an experimental growth hormone," muttered Kanako.

"I heard that, Kana-chan," responded Amalla.  "Don't you go fretting over that thing now, okay?"

"Kana-chan?" asked all the other women at Amalla's cute little nickname for Keitaro's younger sister.

"If I remember Japanese terms, I know that the suffixes ‘-kun' and ‘-chan' are used when referring to someone in endearment, correct?"  Amalla showed no embarrassment whatsoever at this point.

"Well, while that is certainly true, people tend to reserve those terms for those whom they are really close with," explained Naru with a modest blush at Amalla's forwardness.

"Exactly," responded Amalla, "so then in this case, everyone here would be," Amalla began listing off everyone in the common room one by one as she pointed from person to person, "Kana-chan [Kanako], Naru-chan, Ki-chan [Kitsune], Mu-chan [Mutsumi], Shinobu-chan, Sarah-chan, Mei-chan, Kaolla-chan, Mo-chan [Motoko], Tsu-chan [Tsuruko], Nyamo-chan, and Haru-chan [Haruka] who is currently not with us at the moment.  Oh, and of course our darling little Kei-kun here."

"And you yourself would be Ama-chan, dear sister," responded Kaolla, completing the set of cutesy nicknames.

All of this nickname talk was getting several of the people rather flustered at how forward and intimate Amalla and Kaolla were both getting on the topic of endearment-related terminology.  Keitaro himself was keeping a steady blush, both at being referred to as ‘Kei-kun' and the fact that Amalla still held him against her side during the entire conversation.  Even now, standing as the shortest person among a group of women who towered above him made Keitaro feel a bit hot under the collar, and he had to keep himself busy before his libido got the better of him.

"Well then, if you all don't mind, I've got to be heading out now," said Keitaro as he loosened himself from Amalla's grip.  "Gotta make hay while the sun shines and all that."

"I'm coming with you," replied Amalla.  "You're gonna need the extra support to haul so many groceries between the store and Kaolla's mecha-Tama when it arrives.  And a little company never hurt anything, am I right?"

"I think I'll join you as well," declared Tsuruko.  "I'd like to see the town during my time here, and I'd like to think that you'd appreciate the assistance with hauling the groceries."

"In that case, I'm coming along too," said Motoko.  "I believe that with the more people heading into town, the quicker things will go and we'll make it back here in good time."

"I'm coming as well," said Kanako.  "I haven't seen the town much during my time here at Hinata, so it'll be good for me to take in the sights.  And a little exercise is certainly appreciated."  In all honesty, Kanako didn't need the exercise one little bit and she could care less about the local scenery.  She was just getting weary of Amalla trying to glomp onto Keitaro at every chance she got, so Kanako felt it was up to her to keep an eye on the older Molmolian girl and prevent her from getting extra chummy or super physically intimate with the one man she loved and cherished above all others.

"Well, in that case, I think the rest of us can hold down the fort here while you guys are out," said Naru.

"Oh that's not necessary," said Keitaro.  "I'll get to those things when I return, so you guys don't have to worry about that sort of thi-"  Before he could get another word in edgewise, Keitaro once more had the soft tip of Naru's index finger covering his mouth, cutting him off on the spot.

"Keitaro," said Naru in an extra delicate tone of voice, "what did I say earlier to you?"

"Umm..." Keitaro was rummaging through his recent short-term memory to recall the exact words Naru had said.  "I believe it was something like ‘Please let me help' or some such thing."

"Exactly," said Naru with a smile, "so let me do that.  I want to help you out with things around here.  In fact, I'm going to make it a more common thing from now on."  Upon this statement, Naru was flanked by Mutsumi and Kitsune on her sides as the other girls joined her and looked down upon Keitaro.

"Naru's right, Kei-kun," said Mutsumi with that warm smile of hers.  "Please let us help you.  You don't have to do everything here alone."

"Yeah, Keitaro," added Kitsune, "Dontcha worry ‘bout things around here.  We'll manage just fine on our own while you're out and about.  I promise."

While initially reluctant to agree with them, Keitaro simply shrugged his shoulders and let the girls have their way.  After putting his shoes on and making his way out the front door (noticing that Amalla and Tsuruko had to bend over to pass underneath it, with Motoko not far from doing so herself), Keitaro and the four women who volunteered to go shopping with them had made their way out the door.

"Well then, shall we be off?" asked Tsuruko to the others in their party.

"Yeah," said Keitaro.  "I'd like to take a bus if possible, but I'm concerned if you guys will...um...well..." By this point, Keitaro was trailing off and failing to keep eye contact with the other ladies.

"If we will...what, Keitaro?" asked Amalla with curiosity.

"Umm...fit?" he replied.

"Well then," said Amalla with a somewhat coy attitude about herself, "what say we find out then shall we?"  The idea of struggling a bit to get on public transportation was a rather titillating idea in Amalla's opinion.  At their nearly seven foot height, she figured that both she and Tsuruko would certainly be the centers of attention in any crowded setting.  Just thinking of that alone was making her somewhat hot under the collar and putting a tingle in the space between her legs.  Heck, even Motoko and Kanako would catch people's eyes with each of them being over six feet tall.

"Let's get going," said Amalla with a smirk as the group made their way down the steps and towards the nearby bus stop down below.

"Well now," said Keitaro as he tried not to sound flabbergasted at the awkwardness of the situation, "we're certainly the center of attention right now."

At the moment, Keitaro Urashima was sitting on the local bus which made its round throughout Hinata City.  Upon arriving at the usual stop just outside of Hinata House, Keitaro made his way on board the bus, finding a seat once he had paid his bus fare.  The difference was that in this case, he was accompanied by four lovely ladies who were joining him on this bus ride.

And of course the fact that all four ladies towered over him and everybody else on board the bus.

While there might have been the occasional passenger who was around 5'9" or 5'10" seated among various spots on the bus, not a single one of them could match Keitaro's "little" sister Kanako in height...and she was the shortest woman in the group.  The sights of Motoko, Amalla, and Tsuruko made several of the passengers stare in wonder at the sight of the lovely ladies before them as they entered the bus.  Their figures alone (particularly their enlarged bosoms) caught the eyes of several men on board the bus, but it was their heights that truly made everyone minus Keitaro stare in wonder at them, especially those of Amalla and Tsuruko.

‘How can such a lovely woman be so BIG and so TALL?'  This was the thought that was on several of the passengers' minds as they watched these towering beauties make their way through the bus to find either an open seat or a place to stand and grab onto one of the hand rails once the bus began moving.

What really made everyone stare in wonder was the fact that both Amalla and Tsuruko's heads were brushing up against the ceiling of the bus, which had a maximum height of 6'6".  This left the two of them bending at either the neck, waistline, or knees to keep from pressing their head into the roof as they chose to stand, since finding a bus seat at their current size would be difficult to say the least.  Motoko herself found her hair brushing up against the ceiling, a reminder to the woman who was already self-conscious about her height before these growth spurts just how much she had grown in the last twenty-four hours.

After a quiet bus ride into town, Keitaro and his female companions got off at their stop and proceeded to make their way to the nearby open-air market in town.  As they left the bus, there were a series of whistles from the men remaining on the bus as they watched the quartet of tall beauties saunter off the bus, some of them ogling at their asses as they made their way out of the vehicle.

"Freakin' supermodels, I swear," muttered one man.

"Was that guy their agent or something?" asked another.

"Maybe he's their gay friend or something.  I'm tellin' you, if he's banging ANY of them, he's the luckiest bastard I've ever come across.  I mean, did you see the size of the melons on those chicks?  I bet the smallest among them was a D-cup if I had to guess."

Amalla couldn't help but chuckle overhearing the gossip among the random strangers aboard the bus as the group took their leave.

‘If only you fellas knew,' thought Amalla with her trademark smirk, ‘how lucky our little fella is gonna be in the coming days, at least if I have anything to do with that.'

While Keitaro and the girls who went with him were off to market, the other ladies of Hinata House were busy with their everyday tasks in the dorms.  While the dorm manager was away fetching groceries for the dorm's growing number of growing ladies (pun intended), Naru and the others decided to do their part and assist where possible.  After the one-on-one session between Naru and Kitsune, each woman swore that she would do her part to help, both for the sake of the dorms as well as penance for their past actions against Keitaro.

Naru and Shinobu were currently gathering clothing from the hampers and baskets with the intent to bring it to the washing machine, while Kitsune was gathering trash from both the disposable bins and the recycling.  Mei was busy giving the windows a thorough cleaning as she worked with a bottle of glass cleaner in one hand and a cloth rag in the other.  Mutsumi was out sweeping the front porch for any excess leaves and twigs, clearing the stone steps as she did so.  While initially reluctant to help, Sarah ended up waxing the floors in the dorm hallways to give them a new shine and luster, since it had been a while since their last waxing.  Nyamo offered assistance for Sarah, partly to help her finish the task and to help keep her company, even if she wasn't particularly chatty.  Haruka was busy enough tending to the teahouse, and Kaolla was tinkering in her lab on a potential antidote of sorts to counter her growth hormone.  However, every hour or so, Kaolla would leave her room and make for the kitchen to grab a snack or to check on the others to both keep them company and to assist wherever possible in the day-to-day house chores.  All in all, things were running surprisingly well, given the circumstances.

As Kaolla strolled through the dorm hallways, she was taking in the changes that had occurred over the last day or so since the big group pow-wow among all the women of Hinata House.  It was rather surreal, to say the least.  While she was somewhat disappointed in having her experimental growth hormone snatched out from under her, she was glad that the tincture had shown positive results, if perhaps a bit more than what Kaolla was expecting or hoping for.  Being the test subject for one of her own experiments wasn't something that the Molmolian girl usually engaged in, though she certainly wasn't complaining about the end results.  She just needed to be mindful of the amount of time between growth spurts, so that she may better understand the rate of growth that both she and the other ladies would experience over time.

‘In any case, no point in worrying about things for now,' thought Kaolla as she made her rounds.  ‘Might as well see how the others are faring while Keitaro is away.  I just hope Amalla isn't getting too frisky with him, given how she is.'  Kaolla knew her sister well enough to know that the older Su sister would make some kind of play for Keitaro's attention, given her nature.  The only consolation was that Kanako would serve to help keep her in check, given how obsessive she was for her adoptive brother's attention.  It was a silver lining of sorts, in its own odd way.  Kaolla also deduced that with the Aoyama sisters nearby that Amalla wouldn't try anything too brazen when it came to making a move on Keitaro, at least not in public anyway.

Kaolla was rounding a corner down the halls when she came across Naru and Shinobu, who were at that moment tending to laundry.

"Hiya there, guys!" chirped Kaolla in her usual, upbeat tone of voice.

"Kaolla," responded Shinobu, "hello there.  And how are you?"

"I'm well," answered Kaolla.  "How are you and Naru getting on?"

"Well," replied Naru, "while we are finishing up the laundry, I must confess that it feels like a pointless endeavour."

"How so?" asked Kaolla.

"Well...look at us," responded Naru, gesturing to herself along with Shinobu and Kaolla.  "At our current size, all of our clothing will be inadequately small for any of us to wear.  It's as if we're washing and drying clothing meant for toddlers or small children.  You agree with me, right Shinobu?"  Naru turned her head to the blue-haired, blue eyed girl to make her point.

"Naru does have a point, Kaolla," responded Shinobu.  "While I'm certainly happy to help out with the laundry, it feels like a pointless endeavor if none of our clothes end up fitting.  Maybe we're just better off donating them to charity if we can't ever wear them again."

"Silly Shinobu," replied Kaolla.  "What did I tell you earlier this morning?  Whatever clothes we can't wear we can simply recycle into my 3D clothing printer.  It'll modify the color, fabric type, and any other accessories so that you'll have something to wear that fits you when I print it out.  So you don't have to worry about having clothes to wear in the future.  And like my sister said before she left, she's having a massive shipment of cloth and fabric coming in by tomorrow, so you won't have to worry about clothing that fits you if you end up getting bigger."

"Don't you mean WHEN we end up getting bigger?" responded Naru, figuring that Kaolla was not being entirely open in her explanations.  Kaolla simply responded by giggling, realizing that Naru was more perceptive and deductive than Kaolla assumed of her.

"In any case," Kaolla continued, "you can just take whatever clothes you've finished washing and drying and hand them over to me.  I'll have them recycled into my machine so that you'll have new clothing ready for you whenever you end up having another growth spurt."

After hearing this explanation regarding wardrobe considerations, Shinobu sighed in relief, grateful that she wouldn't have to worry about bursting out of whatever clothes she was wearing, at least for a few hours at a time anyway.

"Well then, if you guys are finishing up, I'll leave you to it and go check on one of the others," said Kaolla in her usual cheery tone.

"Wait a minute," said Naru, trying to intercept Kaolla before she strolled off.

"Yes, Naru?"

"Have you made any progress with creating an antidote or serum of some kind for your little ‘growth hormone' since we last spoke?"

"It's too soon to tell yet, Naru," responded Kaolla.  "I've taken blood samples from everybody  the first time we entered my bedroom and begun analyzing them in my lab.  Even so, this will take several hours if not a few days to properly isolate and reverse engineer the chemical compounds of my growth hormone formula.  Like I told you earlier, I never tested this batch on a living organism up until that night in the baths."  Kaolla momentarily paused in her explanation before chuckling and resuming her talk.

"Well, that is, I didn't test this batch on a living organism, right Shinobu?" asked Kaolla with a chuckling smirk as she eyed her close friend.  The ordinarily timid, blue-haired girl became greatly embarrassed as her face lit up like a freshly reddened chili pepper.

"What is she talking about, Shinobu?" asked Naru with suspicion in her voice.

At this point, Shinobu figured that the game was up, so she ended up spilling the beans as to how Kaolla's growth hormone ended up leaving her bedroom.  While Shinobu elaborated that it was Sarah who actually made off with the bottle containing the growth hormone, she considered herself at least somewhat guilty for not intervening and insisting that the semi-rebellious American girl return the bottle to Kaolla's room.  During the explanation, Kaolla simply smirked as her best friend explained how the bottle ended up journeying across the hallways of the Hinata dorms before making its way out front.

"But I don't know how it ended up making its way into the baths, I swear," cried Shinobu as tears started welling up in her eyes, reliving the events of that night and feeling guilty in the process.  Kaolla simply responded to this explanation-turned-confession by walking over and embracing Shinobu in a hug.

"Shinobu, I'm not mad at you one little bit," whispered Kaolla into Shinobu's ear.  "So please don't cry anymore, okay?"

"But...but..." replied Shinobu, sniffling in the process, "because of what Sarah and I did that night, we're now all turning into giants.  If I just stopped her by force, or called for someone nearby, or made a grab for the bottle, or something else...then maybe things would be different.  Maybe we wouldn't be getting bigger and taller and scaring Keitaro-sempai in the process.  I should have done more.  I should have-"

By this point, Shinobu becomes embraced by both Kaolla and now Naru in a sort of ‘hug sandwich,' with Kaolla hugging her from the front while Naru hugs her from behind.  Shinobu ends up being momentarily shocked before turning around to face Naru.

"Shinobu," said Naru, "I'm basically in agreement with Kaolla.  Don't beat yourself up over this.  What's done is done and so far, Kaolla seems to have certain countermeasures in place to help us out during this transformation.  So please don't go tearing up and blaming yourself for what has happened.  If anything, I'd say that Sarah is mostly to blame for this, given how mischievous she can be at times.  But even so, I'm not going to thrash her over this.  Maybe give her a stern talking to, but that would be the extent of it."

‘Though I imagine that if Haruka finds out Sarah was behind this, then SHE might give the girl a little taste of corporal punishment...at the very least a karate chop to the top of her skull.' thought Naru in self-reflection.

"Naru's right, Shinobu," responded Kaolla.  "I don't want you feeling like this is all your fault, because it isn't.  I'm sure you insisted that Sarah return the formula and that the whole lot of you made an effort to retrieve the bottle that night.  The only thing I cannot quite figure out is how the bottle ended up making its way from the front porch area of the dorms to the hot springs all the way in the back.  Well, however it did so, it's like Naru said: ‘What's done is done,' so best not to worry about how we got here and simply make the best of things as they are now."

After getting the necessary pep talk from the two girls hugging her from each side, Shinobu calmed down and wiped her eyes of whatever tears had accumulated during her minor emotional breakdown.

"Thanks, you guys," said Shinobu.  "You know just how to get me to calm down when I go to pieces like that."

"Anytime," Naru responded with a smile.

"Of course," said Shinobu, "after all, we're practically like family, aren't we?"

Shinobu chuckled at Kaolla's forwardness in describing their relationship as she thought to herself on that declaration. ‘I suppose in a way that we're all kind of like sisters...in a way of looking at things.  We certainly have been there for each other when we've been at our low points or going through difficult times.'

Then, upon Kaolla's mentioning of the word family, Shinobu briefly seized up in alarm, with her eyes wide open.

"What's wrong, Shinobu?" asked Naru.

"I just realized something," responded Shinobu.

"What is that?" inquired Kaolla.

"What are we going to tell our families about this whole ‘growth hormone' situation we're going through?"  The question was followed by a momentary pause in silence as the girls weren't quite sure how they were going to explain to their relatives as to how they've all shot up in height by several inches in less than a day.  Deciding to break the ice, Kaolla tried a touch of sarcastic comedy.

"Well, we could just tell them that we're just getting a super dose of puberty, I suppose.  After all, we are all young and GROWING girls, you know." joked Kaolla.

While Kaolla was catching up with Naru and Shinobu, Mei decided to take a momentary break from window cleaning and grab a quick drink from the kitchen.  As she poured herself a rather tall glass of water, she paused for a moment to take in the difference in scale of everything around her.  The glass she held looked smaller and felt lighter.  The refrigerator appeared less imposing than previously.  The cabinets were all well within her reach now as opposed to twenty-four hours ago, even the highest among them.  The whole experience felt surreal.  It was as if she had fast-forwarded in maturity into a fully grown adult woman, only the transformation had occurred over the span of one night and the early hours of the morning.

And if Kaolla's calculations and predictions were accurate, which Mei had no reason to assume that they were not so, then everything would be even shorter, lighter, and smaller in perspective in the days to come.  The thought of it all was as exhilarating as it was worrisome.

After all, while Mei certainly didn't mind being taller and having a more developed figure, she didn't want things to go overboard in terms of her overall size.  She wouldn't mind being on the high end of the five foot range, even into the low-to-mid six foot range.  But going beyond that would make her stand out like a freshly swollen sore thumb, and daily life for her would be full of inconveniences, if not outright difficult to live in an ever-shrinking world, surrounded by people resembling children to her relative in size and buildings that would slowly become akin to playhouses relative to her increasing stature.

These were the thoughts that troubled Mei's mind as she toured the hallways of Hinata House, when soon enough she ended up bumping (quite literally) into Sarah as the girl was focused on her task of waxing the floors.

"Oomph...hey, what gives!?" bellowed Sarah at suddenly colliding with someone while she was in the middle of her house chore.

"Ugh," grunted Mei in response, "Sarah?"

"Oh!  Uh...sorry about that, Mei.  I didn't see you there."  By this point, Sarah had lost her edge and was apologizing for the surprise encounter, her face lighting up with a blush signaling her embarrassment.

"N-no trouble there, Sarah," responded Mei as she rubbed her noggin from the impact.  "How are you getting on with your work?"

"Uhg" groaned Sarah, "it's sooo boring.  I can't believe I actually said 'okay' to doing this kind of stuff.  It's only because Haruka told me that if I didn't do something during the day, that she would make me pay for it in one way or another, and since I didn't feel like pushing my luck with her, I figured that I'd take a crack at doing the floors so that she can't say I was lazy the whole time."

"Well," said Mei with a chuckle in response, "I'm glad that you're doing something productive during the day, and I'm sure that Haruka and the others will appreciate it the next time they take a stroll through the halls."

"Yeah, yeah," groaned Sarah as she rolled her eyes.  "I'm just glad that Nyamo offered to help me out with this stuff.  Otherwise, it would have probably taken me twice as long to get the job done."

"More help makes the work go faster," responded Nyamo, getting to the point in her usual fashion.

"Well, I can give you guys a hand soon," replied Mei.  "I'm nearly finished with the interior of the windows by this point, so if you guys still have a lot of floor left to cover, then I can assist you in the next half hour or so."

"Hey, I'm not gonna turn down any extra help," chuckled Sarah.  "But since you're here, I thought I'd ask you something."

"What's that?" asked Mei.

"How are you feeling about all of this?"

"About what?"

"You know, the growth spurts.  Isn't it freakin' amazing?!"  Sarah's eyes lit up at this point, as if there were twinkling stars emanating from her pupils.  Mei paused for a moment before responding.

"I don't know.  I mean, I'm certainly glad that my body is filling out, as I'm sure that you're just as happy if not more so that your body is doing the same thing.  And it also doesn't hurt having a few extra inches in height as well.  But..."

"But?" said Sarah with a cocked eyebrow.

"But how much bigger will we end up getting?" continued Mei.  "We are now all well past five and a half feet in height, and I'm just referring to you, me, Shinobu, Nyamo, and Kaolla.  The other girls are even taller than that by a good amount; heck, Amalla and Tsuruko are closing in on seven feet tall as it stands.  If Kaolla's formula is as strong as she believes it is, and we keep having these growth spurts at a regular pace, then how big are we going to be by tonight?  Or by tomorrow night?  Or a week from now?  The thought of such a thing has me concerned.  What if we all end up over ten feet tall?  How are we going to function in day-to-day life?  Everything would be far too small for us to use, and I'm not just talking about things like clothing or cups and dishes.  I'm talking about sleeping arrangements, vehicles, and even buildings"

"You think it'll get that bad?" asked Sarah with some caution in her voice.

"Do you think you could fit into most rooms around here without bumping your head into the ceiling if you tried to stand up straight?  I'm not talking about right this minute, but in the coming days, on the off chance you end up a good ten feet tall or higher.  So much of your everyday life would change drastically.  You probably would be barred from any public school out of fear for the safety of other students and the teachers."

"That's ridiculous," replied Sarah, "I wouldn't hurt anyone, unless they attacked me first or were hurting someone else."

"Your size alone would be reason enough in their eyes," countered Mei.  "If you were so big that you couldn't stand upright indoors, then that alone would be of concern to everyone else in school.  In their minds, they might wonder what would happen if you had a full-blown temper tantrum and started attacking students or the teachers and faculty members.  Would they be able to stop you at such a size?  Maybe if they all teamed up on you, and even then that might not be enough, especially if you continue growing bigger and bigger.  Now imagine that times five if you factor in Shinobu, Nyamo, Kaolla, and myself alongside you.  The idea of five girls who towered over everyone else in school could very well be frightening in their eyes, even if we all meant well and were as peaceful as we could possibly be."

"I...I guess I never looked at it like that..." muttered Sarah in a moment of self-reflection, her tone rather deflated by this point.

"Then of course, there's the situation with your personal life," continued Mei.

"What are you getting at?" replied Sarah.

"Sarah..." said Mei, pausing for a moment so that she could choose her next words carefully, "do you believe your dad would be okay if you ended up towering over him?"

At this question, Sarah was taken aback somewhat.  Her adoptive father, Noriyasu Seta, was a solid 6'1" in height, so at the moment, he was still taller than her.  But if Sarah kept at it with the growth spurts, that height difference would soon shift in Sarah's favor.  She would end up towering over her dad, first by a few inches, then several inches, then several feet depending on the effects of Kaolla's experimental growth hormone.  The thought of such a thing left her bewildered and just a tad bit frightened the more she dwelled on it.  Would her dad be afraid of her if she was 8 feet tall?  Or 9 feet?  Or 10 feet?  Or more than double Seta's height?  As her mind went down the hypothetical rabbit hole, Sarah started to tear up and her lips began to tremble at the thought of such a thing.

"W-w-what have I done?" said Sarah, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Sarah?" asked Nyamo with concern, picking up on the blonde haired girl's sudden change in mood.

A moment later, Sarah fell to her knees and started sobbing, burying her face into her hands to hide the tears that were now trailing down her face.  She didn't want the others to see how pathetic she must have looked by that point.  Of course, Mei and Nyamo knelt down and placed their hands upon her back and shoulders to console her, trying to calm the girl down.

"I...I didn't think...that...something...like that...could happen..." said Sarah between sobs, barely able to get the words out as she instinctively choked up from her sudden breakdown after hearing Mei's logic-based concerns.

"Hey, Sarah, it'll be okay," said Mei in a soothing tone of voice.  "I know I said I was concerned about what might happen, but I'm sure Kaolla will think of something to fix things before then."

"B-but...but what if you're right?" asked Sarah.

"Right about what?" asked Mei.

"Everything...you said...just earlier.  What if...we get...so big...that we can't...sleep in...our rooms...anymore?" Sarah choked out between bouts of sobbing.  "What if...my dad...doesn't...love me...anymore?  What if...we all...end up...being...taken...away...by the...government...or military...and studied...like lab rats?"  Even with the consolation from the other two girls, Sarah could barely keep her composure as the tears were now streaming like waterfalls from her eyes, while snot was dribbling down her nose.

At this point, Nyamo instinctively wrapped her arms around Sarah in a tight embrace.  Whenever someone was at an emotional low point, the dark-skinned islander girl resorted to the simplest act of human contact to help relieve them of their inner pain and worries.  It was an act that Mei followed soon after, wrapping her arms around Sara from the opposite side.  For a minute or so, Sarah was flanked on each side in a firm, warm embrace from the other two girls.

"Please don't cry, Sarah," whispered Nyamo.  "I don't like seeing people sad."

"Yeah," added Mei.  "I'm sorry that I worried you with my concerns.  I didn't mean to upset you or make you feel responsible for this in any way."

"But I AM," replied Sarah.  "I'm the one who snatched that bottle.  I'm the one who took it outside of Kaolla's room.  If I had left damn well enough alone, then none of this would be happening.  I...I just wanted to be a little taller...and have a nicer figure, that's all.  I didn't think this might get out of control, honestly."  Sarah had begun to descend from her emotional climax, as the tears and snot began to wane somewhat from her breakdown point.

"Sarah, I know you didn't mean to do any harm in what you did," replied Mei as she continued embracing the free-spirited American girl, "you were just acting in the spur of the moment, and things simply got out of hand, that's all.  I'm not mad at you, and I like to think that most if not all of the other girls don't hold a grudge against you either.  Right, Nyamo?"  Nyamo nodded her head in response before speaking up.

"I'm not mad at you, Sarah.  And I don't think Shinobu or Kaolla will be mad at you either.  It was an accident, and if you apologize to everyone, I think they will forgive you.  Maybe Haruka will be a little mad at what you did, but I don't think she'll hate you for it."  Nyamo always had a way of checking off all the boxes in getting her points across.

"You...you really think nobody's gonna hold a grudge against me for this?" asked Sarah.  If there was one thing she truly feared in life, it was being completely alone, with nobody there for her to turn to for support.  The very thought of both her father and everyone at Hinata hating her for what she did put her in a very fragile emotional state.

"I truly believe that everyone at Hinata will forgive you for what happened," answered Mei.  "Maybe they'll be a little upset with you for running off with the bottle, but if you truly show that you're sorry, I think that they will let it go, especially if Kaolla comes up with a way to fix this little ‘growth problem' of ours.  In time, it'll simply be ‘water under the bridge,' as the old saying goes."  There was another momentary pause until Sarah responded, now in a much more stable emotional state.

"Thanks, guys," she said.  "I really needed that."

"Hey, what are friends for?" replied Mei with a grin.

"Want to take a break?" asked Nyamo.  "Maybe grab something to eat real quick?"

"Sure, I'm game," replied Sarah.  "I could use some comfort food right about now...maybe some chocolate or some cookies if we have any."

"No harm in checking," said Mei.  "But please don't gorge yourself on those kinds of things too much.  You'll spoil your appetite for dinner otherwise."

"Geez, Mei," said Sarah with an eyeroll, "you really know how to be somebody's mother sometimes, you know?"

"I'm just looking out for my friends," Mei retorted.  "What's so wrong about that?"

"Oh nothing," said Sarah with a chuckle.  "I know that's just your way of showing you care."

Soon after, all three girls made their way down the hallway towards the kitchen to grab a quick snack during their break from house chores.

"So then, how are things ‘round here so far?" asked Kitsune with a grin.

"About as well as can be hoped for, given the current circumstances," replied Haruka.

At the moment, Kitsune and Mutsumi (both of whom had finished their house chores) had joined Haruka on her smoke break outside the cafe/teahouse.  All three women were standing behind the cafe to avoid the number of eyes on them.

Sure enough, when Haruka entered the teahouse to begin her managerial duties, her presence raised several eyebrows and brought forth even more questions than that.  While Haruka wasn't exactly short in stature, the fact that she had shot up by nearly a foot in height made people instinctively curious as to just how she had grown so much in so short a time, especially given that she was a woman who was 30 years old at that, and thus well past her pubescent years.  Haruka tried her best to answer these questions without drawing too much suspicion and a myriad of follow-up questions.

"Basically, one of our tenants up at the dorms had a science experiment go bad and what you see is the end result."  Those were Haruka's words to any of the regulars who asked just how she had shot up in height along with breast size.  Given that Haruka was usually easy to get along with, people around the cafe wouldn't ask too much into the sudden size change that the woman had gone through.  Aside from the regulars who visited the teahouse from time to time, not many people were familiar with the older Urashima woman, so while the sight of a 6 foot 4 inch beauty was certainly eye-catching, most of the customers there didn't seem too alarmed by it.

"So, other than the occasional stares and the regulars lookin' real shocked at the change, are things okay otherwise?" asked Kitsune.

"Well," continued Haruka, "the staff are obviously taken aback by the new me, especially Kentaro.  I've noticed him doing a sideways glance at me, probably checking out my chest or my rear when he thinks I don't notice."  Haruka rolled her eyes at this announcement.

"You want me to find him an' set him straight?" asked Kitsune.  She figured with her new elevation, she could put the semi-perverted little playboy-wannabe in his place.

"No, he's harmless enough," replied Haruka.  "So long as he keeps to his work and doesn't make any over-the-top sexual comments or physical advances - which I seriously doubt he would try -  then I say it's just best to leave him be.  I don't mind if he takes a quick peak for a second or two.  It's like an old saying I once heard:  ‘Checking out someone's body is like staring at the sun - a small glance for a second or two is harmless, but keep staring and you'll be in trouble.'  Figured the same logic applies in this case."

"Well, you're certainly more restrained than I would be on that topic," replied Kitsune.

"Would you like some extra help around here?" asked Mutsumi.  "Kitsune and I are finished with our chores, so we figured you could use some company.  I certainly don't mind helping around the shop wherever you need assistance."  The Okinawan girl kept her warm, matronly disposition as she spoke, radiating a softness that others would instinctively find charming and welcoming.

"I won't say no to any help you wish to offer," replied Haruka as she finished the last draw of her cigarette.  "You can help out with waiting on tables if you like or with cleaning cups and dishes in the back.  With the nice weather we've been having, we're getting more customers than average, so that'll certainly have this place pretty busy throughout the day."

"What do you say, Kitsune?" asked Mutsumi with a smile.

"Well, sure I suppose I can stick around for a bit an' help with the little things.  I'm not sure how good I'll be at waitin' tables, but I'll give it a shot.  If need be, you an' me can go back n' forth between tendin' customers and doin' dishes.  Sound good?"

"Oh, you'll do fine, Kitsune," replied Haruka.  "All you really need to worry about is getting the right orders to the right customers.  I'll have Kentaro work the dishes in the back, so the two of you can focus on waitressing throughout the cafe.  I figure with two tall towering beauties walking throughout the shop that word will spread and we'll get some increased foot traffic coming along here."  Haruka finished this statement with a coy grin.

"Well then, why don't YOU join in on bein' the eye candy as well, Haruka?" asked Kitsune with a minor blush upon hearing Haruka's suggestion.

"I need to manage the counter and work the register.  If need be I can assist you two if things get really busy, but for now the two of you should suffice.  I also have others in the back assisting Kentaro with dishes and other maintenance-related tasks, so I can call out one of them if you need further assistance."

"Alright then, well shall we get started then?" asked Mutsumi.

"Sure thing," replied Haruka as she put out the butt of her cigarette and tossed it into a nearby ashtray.

With that, the three women made their way back inside the teahouse, with Haruka managing the counter and working the register, while Kitsune and Mutsumi waitressed tables, and getting a few perverted stares from among the male clientele.  After all, it isn't everyday that a man is greeted by a woman in the six foot range who has a model-like figure, especially when it comes to the breast department.  Ogling aside, neither Kitsune nor Mutsumi were subjected to any groping or out-of-line catcalls.  The customer base figured that between the three towering beauties working in the shop, that the likelihood of being thrown out on one's ass was fairly high if they acted out of place.

Meanwhile, back with Keitaro and company in the shopping district.

"So Keitaro, what do you think about these melons, huh?" asked Amalla.  The girl was standing just inches away from Keitaro as she held a pair of watermelons in her arms.  Of course, given her proximity to the man, she was standing so that when he turned around, he was greeted by the sight of her bosom hovering proudly within his field of vision, her mammaries hanging spectacularly in front of him.  When he turned around, Keitaro instinctively gulped, his breath seizing in his throat.

"Umm...why uh...they look quite nice, Amalla," said Keitaro as he glanced down at the watermelons underneath Amalla's ‘melons'.  Of course, this is what Amalla had planned to happen, hoping to get a rise out of Keitaro and loving every second of it.

"So then, should we add them to the cart then?" asked Amalla with a smile.

"S-sure thing," responded Keitaro with a heavy blush on his face.  "I'm sure that the other girls will enjoy it as a snack.  If I remember right, I believe Mutsumi is particularly fond of watermelon, so I know she'll be really happy we got some."

"Now, now, Amalla," replied Tsuruko as she walked over towards the two of them, "I'm sure Mr. Urashima would rather you not tease him so much, right sir?"  She turned her lovely gaze towards Keitaro at the end of her statement-turned-question.

From Keitaro's viewpoint, the experience he was having was really quite something.  All the women of Hinata House were tall, but Amalla and Tsuruko were the twin towers of the bunch.  Standing between the two of them, Keitaro felt like a child standing between older siblings or parents.  Their proximity was as charming as it was intimidating.  And aside from the closeness of their bodies (and their bosoms basically level with Keitaro's face), there was also one other thing that was driving Keitaro wild deep inside: the smell.

At that moment, Keitaro couldn't help but think back to that one movie starring Al Pacino.  What was it called again?  "Scent of a Woman," right?  That seemed to match what he was experiencing perfectly.  Being in the presence of so many women who were both tall and physically alluring was tempting enough, but it was the scent that they gave off that REALLY made Keitaro fight his primal urges.  The numerous smells that emanated from them made Keitaro try his damndest to stave off wanting to inhale deeply and take in the richness of their scents.  While it varied from woman to woman, the smells were all equally enticing.  Sometimes it was the smell of tropical fruits like watermelon, oranges, pineapple, or mangoes.  Other times it was the soothing smell of incense sticks and scented candles.  Still other times it would be plants like mint, juniper, or lavender.  Each scent would bring out something base within Keitaro's being, and alongside the curves that ALL of these women were sporting alongside their dominating heights, it took everything within Keitaro's will to not want to jump on them like a dog in heat.  He could never live with himself if he resorted to acting on impulse, and he was sure that the women would all resent him for trying such a thing, which he believed that they would be in the right to think such of him.

This is what was going through Keitaro's mind as he stood in close proximity between Amalla and Tsuruko.

"Mr. Urashima?  Mr. Urashima, are you okay, sir?" asked Tsuruko as she stared down at Keitaro with concern on her face.  This made both her and Amalla instinctively lean in closer to examine him, which in turn made Keitaro's face light up redder than a burning hot piece of coal.

"Uhh...yes, I'm okay, Miss Tsuruko," stammered Keitaro, whose face was now inches away from both towering beauties who stared at him with laser-like focus, worry apparent in their features.

"Alright then," replied Tsuruko, "if you are sure.  You just spaced out while I was speaking to you, so I wasn't sure if you were physically well or not.  And please, feel free to simply call me Tsuruko."

"Uhm...sure," replied Keitaro.  "And if you like, you can just call me by my first name instead of ‘Mr. Urashima.'  I figured it's only fair if I'm allowed to call you ‘Tsuruko,' after all."

"Why then, I shall gladly take you up on your offer, Mr. Ura-...I mean, Keitaro."  Tsuruko's cheeks had increased with a rosy hue upon her lovely features - a sight that Amalla was cognizant of as she glanced sideways at the swordswoman.

‘Well now,' thought Amalla with a smirk, ‘this is helping things move in the right direction.  With a little more nudging, I can get her into the harem in practically no time.  So long as this chemistry keeps up its pacing, she'll be nicely folded into the group in just a few days at most.  I couldn't hope for a better outcome.'

"So then, what else shall we purchase while we're here?" asked Amalla.

"Well, given that we have a larger group at the dorms compared to a few days ago, I'd say that it would be best to stock up on pretty much everything." said Keitaro.

"Should we contact Kaolla soon so that she may send her mechanical turtle to airlift our goods out of here?" asked Tsuruko.

"In a little bit," responded Keitaro.  "Let's take a look over at the vegetable stands and see what's available.  I'm also thinking of getting some more meat, as I know we're running low on those as well.  Maybe we can make a big pot of something, like stew or some kind of hot pot dish."

"That sounds delightful, Keitaro," replied Amalla.  "In any case, I'll add these watermelons to the cart.  I'm sure they'll make a nice snack between meals."

Keitaro, Amalla, and Tsuruko proceeded their way through the market stalls, grabbing people's attention as they made their way through the crowd.  It was obvious enough as to why: the sight of Amalla and Tsuruko was something almost otherworldly.  Here were two women with supermodel figures and nearly seven feet tall walking through the marketplace as if nothing was out of place.  The only times their heights served as an inconvenience was whenever they had to bend over somewhat to get a better look at the various food items on display, which in turn presented their prodigious bosoms to the vendors and a sight of their rear ends to anybody who happened to be behind them.  Once more, the presence of these two sexy amazons near Keitaro made him rather red in the face with embarrassment and repressed sexual tension.

The trio proceeded to make their way towards Motoko and Kanako, who were looking at the different loaves of bread on display, along with numerous types of cheeses and dairy products in the neighboring stands.

"How are you two making out over here?" asked Tsuruko.

"These cheeses appear to be of a fine enough quality," replied Motoko.

"And there's a wide enough selection of breads over here," answered Kanako.

"Well then, let's take a look at them, shall we?" replied Amalla.

As the ladies proceeded to sample the different breads, cheeses, meats, and vegetables, Keitaro was once more in awe of the sight before him.  Standing before both Amalla and Tsuruko made him feel small; now that Motoko and Kanako had joined the group amidst the shopping trip, he felt even more so.  While Kanako was the shortest of the bunch, she was still over six feet tall now, which made Keitaro feel like the runt of the group.  In the presence of these four amazons, Keitaro was as humbled as he was cautious.  He figured that if any one of them were to launch an attack at him, that he would be in serious trouble, and if all four ganged up on him, he'd be in really, REALLY deep trouble, especially since two of them were trained swordswomen and Amalla had sufficient training in hand-to-hand combat.  Even Kanako would easily be a match for Keitaro in a fight, if not his superior, as she had proven herself a capable enough brawler in her early highschool years.

After an hour or so of shopping, the group figured that they had a big enough haul of groceries, and so the word was put out.  After a brief phone call with Kaolla, she had dispatched one of her giant mecha-Tama transportation craft to Keitaro's position, so that the groceries could be loaded onto it and then simply airlifted straight to Hinata House where everyone else could begin the unloading process.

By this point, the sun was beginning its descent over the horizon and Keitaro decided that the group had accumulated enough groceries for the time being.  It was at this point that Amalla decided to spring the news to Keitaro.

"Oh, from now on, you won't have to worry about another shopping trip like this, Keitaro," said Amalla.  "I have a special delivery on its way.  It should be arriving at Hinata House sometime tomorrow, judging by its trajectory and current weather conditions."

"Huh?" responded Keitaro, shock written all over his face as he stared up at Amalla.

"I figured that it was the least I could do for you, given that you have new tenants and our GROWING predicament.  Consider this your last shopping trip for quite some time, though it was certainly nice to get out of the dorms and take in the surrounding area for a while.  And there will also be incoming staff from Molmol alongside the food and other supplies arriving, so you won't need to worry about dormitory chores either for quite some time."

Upon hearing all of this, Keitaro was taken aback.  Here, Amalla had just decided to unleash a bounty of assistance unto Hinata House and Keitaro was at a loss for words.  Apparently, given his reaction, Amalla couldn't help but chuckle at it, finding it rather adorable.

"B-b-but Amalla," said Keitaro, "how are we going to be able to store all this food you're bringing in?  The refrigerator is only so big and there's not a lot of space in the downstairs food pantry.  If you brought too much, it would be a pity to see it go to waste, especially if it needs refrigeration."

"No need to worry on that front, Keitaro," replied Amalla.  "Once again you can thank Kaolla for the solution to that little problem.  My sister really does think ahead by multiple steps, just like a grand wizard playing chess.  Alongside the foodstuffs and servants, Kaolla has had portable refrigeration technology placed on board the mecha-Tama, so any and all food that requires refrigeration or freezing can simply be stored aboard it until it's ready to be prepared and eaten.  I'd wager that around half of the food being transported from Molmol requires refrigeration, so the other half will simply need storage space without worries over refrigeration requirements."

Amalla's explanation of Kaolla's genius was an outright deus ex machina of sorts.  Whatever concerns Keitaro had regarding supplies, it was as if Kaolla had read his thoughts and had countermeasures prepared well before the concerns even crossed his mind.  All Keitaro could do was stare at Amalla with a deer-in-the-headlights look as he was blown away by the minor miracle she had just laid before him.

"W-well then, Amalla, I suppose that all I can say to both you and Kaolla is ‘thank you.' Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank you enough for your assistance in this.  It'll certainly help out the Hinata House regarding our food budget with the aid you've brought us, and so once again, thank you."   Keitaro finished with a customary bow, as was tradition in much of Japanese society.

Amalla simply responded by glomping onto Keitaro as he lifted his head.

"Oh, you little cutie," replied Amalla as she buried Keitaro's head into her bosom, "there's no need to thank me for such a thing.  I'm more than happy to assist you in whatever way possible.  After all, you are my caretaker during my stay here, so I feel it's only right to reward such hospitality in whatever way I can."

Keitaro would have responded, had his face not been buried in the boobflesh of Amalla's generous bosom.  All he could do in that moment was muffle a response, which ended up tickling Amalla's skin, much to her delight.  A moment later, Keitaro was yanked free from Amalla's grasp, only to find his face being buried into another bosom.

"Hey!  Hands off, queenie!" replied Kanako.  "You may be royalty and all, but don't go getting too chummy with MY Keitaro!"  Upon this declaration, Kanako had ended up smothering her adoptive brother into her bosom, which while it wasn't as large as Amalla's was still quite generous and pleasing, at least from Keitaro's perspective, limited as it was being smothered in the soft darkness of her breasts.

"Oh?" responded Amalla with a grin.  "YOUR Keitaro, you say?  Are you now engaged to him, my dear sweet Kanako?"

Amalla's question made Kanako turn a deep crimson, such was the power of her blush.  It would seem that Amalla was only all too keen to try and flush out Kanako's true feelings for Keitaro right there and then.  The younger Urashima girl simply stood there on the spot, frozen in place while Keitaro's head was sandwiched in between her E-cup sized breasts.

"Now, now," Tsuruko declared, deciding to intervene, coming forward, gently grabbing Keitaro's right arm, and inadvertently pressing her bosom against the right side of Keitaro's head, "I believe that's enough teasing, as Keitaro is clearly being flustered by all of this."  Whether she meant to or not, Tsuruko was only exacerbating Keitaro's sexual angst, now making contact with two sets of breasts.  Unfortunately for him, his time in marshmallow hell was not quite over just yet.

"I agree with Tsuruko," said Motoko, making her way closer towards the group.  In the process, she had flanked Kanako's right side and placed her arms upon Keitaro's left side, which placed her bosom up against the left side of Keitaro's head.

"We should let up on Keitaro," said Motoko, inadvertently doing the opposite as her breasts ended up joining the others in pressing up against three sides of Keitaro's head now.  "I'm sure he's been teased enough already for today."

Amalla saw all of this unfold and couldn't help but join in the fray, deciding it was simply too much fun to pass up.  Right after Tsuruko and Motoko flanked Keitaro and pressed their own bosoms into his head, which left him being smothered from three sides now, Amalla decided to turn the triangle of boobs into a square and flank Keitaro from behind, pressing her bosom into the back of Keitaro's head and completely trapping the hapless dorm manager.  Now he was pressed up against four amazons, with their breasts pressed up against all sides of his head and his body pinned against theirs, feeling their soft skin mixed with the firm musculature of their torso and legs.

To say that Keitaro was in a torture chamber of pleasure would have been an understatement.  In that moment, it took every fiber of his being to not pass out from sensory overload from all of the pleasure he was experiencing.  The feeling of so many female bodies pressed up against him was temptation enough, but the mix of all their scents now bombarding him was bringing him close to the edge.  In a few more seconds, Keitaro would either pass out from a nose bleed or the simple shock of so much pleasure from being sandwiched on four sides by the amazons who currently had him pinned.

"Mphf lds mf m mmm" said Keitaro through the muffled breasts he currently found himself in, with his face pinned in between Kanako's breasts specifically (much to both her pleasure and embarrassment).

"What was that Keitaro/Keitaro/Keitaro/Big Brother?" said all four women at the same time as they eased up their grip on him and gave him room to breathe while still holding him firm against their bodies (all four of them).

"I said ‘Ladies, if I may,' or was trying to anyway," said Keitaro, still red in the face from embarrassment, but now thankful that he could breathe now that his head wasn't being squished from all sides by boobflesh.

Before he could elaborate any further on the situation, there was a sudden disturbance within the marketplace, which drew everyone's attention to the source of said disturbance.

"I told you, old man, pay up now or there's gonna be trouble, YOU HEAR ME!?"

These words came from the lips of a rather unsavory individual, a man over six feet tall wearing biker clothing and who didn't care much for bathing.  He had a spiked mohawk, piercings and tattoos across his face and arms, wore a black leather vest with torn blue jeans and black leather boots.  On his fingers were numerous rings and around his neck were numerous chains, some of them gold plated.  His demeanor was rather nasty and he was apparently in no mood to be trifled with.

"I told you, I don't want your so-called ‘protection' anymore," said an older gentleman.  His appearance was rather frail looking, given his age.  The man had gray hair, wrinkled features, and wore a black long-sleeve shirt with matching black pants, a white apron, and a simple straw hat.  His stall was sporting numerous kinds of fish and seafood, so clearly he worked the stand where he sold his catches.

"I've told you for weeks now," the old man continued, "I don't want to pay you thugs anymore!  I've paid enough already, now leave me be!"

At the moment, the old man's stall was surrounded by a dozen or so thugs like the one who shouted at him.  Some were dressed up in similar biker attire like the big, mohawk-haired brute, while others wore business suits in shades of black, blue, or gray.  Clearly, this was some kind of local criminal gang who decided to strong-arm this fish vendor into accepting their "protection" for a hefty fee, and apparently, the vendor had enough of their intimidating him.

"I don't think you get it, old man," said the mohawk-haired biker, "you're out when we SAY you're out.  You're in no position to be making demands of any kind.  So either pay what you owe, or else, we're gonna help ourselves to your stand.  What do you say fellas?  In the mood for some fish for dinner tonight?"  The thug gestured to his comrades, who in turn hollered in approval at the idea of robbing the old man of all the seafood at his stand.

"This is bad," said Keitaro.  "We should call the police if someone hasn't done so already, but I don't know if they'll get here in time before something really bad happens."  Before he could say another word, Amalla, Tsuruko, and Motoko had already broken off from their embrace of Keitaro and were making their way towards the group of thugs.

"Say, what's going on here, fellas?" asked Amalla with a grin on her face as she led the other two towards the gang of ruffians.  "You wouldn't happen to be the ones causing a ruckus around here now, are you?"  The presence of these three towering women brought a collective hush among the gang members, as they stared up in awe at the sight of these towering beauties.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?  Haven't seen somebody like YOU around here in all my days.  You certainly are an exotic one, aren't ya?  What are you?  Indian?"  The biker thug couldn't help but notice that this woman towered over him by several inches, which made him a bit worrisome on the inside, though he did his darndest not to show it.

"Never you mind where I'm from," replied Amalla.  "All you need to know now is that I'm here, as well as my friends," she said, gesturing to Motoko and Tsuruko, "and the whole lot of YOU were just leaving."  Amalla's message was received well enough, though the thugs weren't in any mood to back down from such a statement.

"Say babe," replied the mohawk-haired ruffian, "how about I show you a good time?  Ain't everyday that I meet a chick that I have to look UP to, ya know.  Me and my boys can show you and your girlfriends a good ole time out on the town, really liven things up for ya, you know?"

The brute's attempt at flirting amused Amalla, thinking to herself ‘As if you EVER had a chance with me.'  Motoko and Tsuruko simply stood by, disgust clearly written on their faces at the notion of spending time with this bunch of brutes, ruffians, and hooligans.

"Thanks for the offer," said Amalla, sarcasm laden in her voice, "but I'm already spoken for."

"Oh really?  Who then?  Certainly not that little twerp over there, you mean?" asked the brute as he pointed towards Keitaro.

At this gesture, Kanako was ready to shout something in return.  ‘How dare he insult Big Brother's honor!' she thought to herself.  Yet before Kanako could shout in response to the ruffian's statement, Amalla had beaten her to the punch.

"Don't you DARE belittle that man in my presence ever again, you hear me!?" Amalla bellowed as she got right up in the ruffian's face as she stared straight down at him.  "He is ten times...no...a hundred times the man you will ever hope to be!  And he knows how to treat a lady, I'll let you know.  Between you and him, I'd choose him every single time without a second thought, so don't waste your breath trying to hit it off with me.  I'd sooner be torn apart by wolves or bears than spend a night in bed with the likes of you or your goons."  Amalla's point was made clear enough, only the thug didn't take too kindly to the insult.

"So..." said the thug, "you'd rather be torn apart by wild animals than have a good time with us, huh?  Well, I ain't got no wolves or bears at the ready, but maybe WE can do instead.  You think you're too good for us?  Too good for ME!?"  The rage in his voice and face was all too apparent by this point.

"I don't THINK we're too good for the likes of you; I KNOW we're too good for the likes of you." declared Amalla, as Motoko and Tsuruko nodded in agreement with her declaration.

"Well that does it then," hollered the thug.  "You know, growing up, I was told not to hit girls...but in your case, I'll make an exception!"  Upon this statement, the thug cocked his right arm back and prepared to slug Amalla with a fist right to the face.

"Amalla, look out!" shouted Keitaro as he witnessed the biker thug ready to clobber the tall Molmolian woman.

‘He worries about me even though I tower over him by more than a foot.  He really is such a sweetie-pie.'  These were Amalla's thoughts as she easily intercepted the brute's fist in her hand, wrapping her fingers around it as she did so, before starting to twist his whole arm back against him to show the clear dominance in raw strength between the two of them.  He grunted in response, clearly not expecting this tall, dark beautiful stranger to overpower him in a show of strength.

"You...bitch!" he grunted as Amalla twisted his arm as far back as it could go.

"Now, now," Amalla replied, "is that any way to talk to a lady?"  She followed up on her question with a solid strike to the thug's stomach, knocking the wind out of him as well as pushing him back a few feet in the process.  The move surprised the entire crowd of thugs and gangsters, as well as everybody else in the vicinity of the market.

"Oh that does it!" hollered another of the gangsters.  "This overgrown chick wants to rumble?  I say let's give her something to rumble over!"  The declaration was followed by a collective roar from the other thugs and brutes within the group, some of whom started pulling out knives, tonfas, and brass knuckles to prepare for combat.  All this did was elicit a grin from Amalla, who turned towards Motoko and Tsuruko in the process.

"Care to join in on the fun, ladies?" she asked the Aoyama sisters.

"I certainly don't mind showing ruffians and vagabonds the error of their ways," replied Tsuruko as she stepped forward, brandishing her katana and unsheathing it from its scabbard before flipping it over in her grip, which reversed the sharpened blade and the duller backside, allowing her to strike without cutting through a human body.

"Yes, I will join you in this lesson on manners," answered Motoko.  "These scoundrels could certainly use a little education in humility and proper etiquette, and who better than us to educate them in such things right here and now?"  The younger Aoyama sister did the same as her sibling, unsheathing her sword and flipping it in her hand to place the dull side forward so as to avoid fatal sword strikes.

A moment later, the whole group of thugs charged the three towering beauties with intent to harm (if not outright kill).  However, it was all for naught on the thugs' part.  Amalla began with a series of roundhouse kicks, knocking back a thug here and there as her foot made contact with their bodies.  She then proceeded with a series of karate chops and elbow strikes, moving from one target to the next.  Her movements were as graceful as a ballet dancer, flittering among the ruffians with a natural dexterity and poise that left nearby spectators in awe.

While Amalla was showing what her fists and legs were capable of, Motoko and Tsuruko were putting their sword skills to the test, striking any nearby opponents with the backside of their blades.  One after another, a thug here or there received a devastating blow to the arm, leg, or torso as Japanese steel collided against flesh, bone, muscle, and sinew.  There were the occasional sickening crunches from the sound of the Aoyama sisters' swords colliding hard against the thugs' bodies, making bones crack and/or pop out of sockets from the sudden impact.

Keitaro and Kanako merely stood by in awe as the three amazons made short work out of the gang of ruffians, with none of them taking any hits in the process as they devastated their opponents.  It was like something straight out of a Bruce Lee action thriller.  Most of the henchmen had either been knocked out cold, unable to continue fighting, or brought to their knees panting hard from the fight, while Motoko, Tsuruko, and Amalla had barely broken a sweat in comparison.

Realizing that the fight was not going in favor of the gang of thugs, one of them decided to play particularly dirty.  As the Aoyama sisters and Tsuruko were engaging in serving hard blows to the band of ruffians and brutes, one of them reached his hand behind his coat suit, brandishing a revolver and taking aim at Tsuruko, figuring that bringing down the tallest of the group would have the psychological impact of demoralizing the others.  As he took the gun in both hands and aimed at Tsuruko's torso, he cocked back the hammer before preparing to fire.

"Take this, you overgrown bitch!" he growled as he slowly squeezed the trigger.

At that moment, Keitaro saw what was unfolding and acted on pure instinct.  The very thought of someone close to him getting seriously hurt, even killed, was simply unacceptable to him, especially if it was a woman.  Perhaps it was some old sense of chivalry that was pounded into his head from his early childhood years, but whatever the reason for doing so, Keitaro's body simply lunged forward at the thug holding the gun.  When that occurred, the thug turned towards Keitaro, who made a grab for the man's gun.

"Don't you dare do it!" hollered Keitaro, wrestling the revolver out of the gangster's hands.

"Let go, you little worm!" the man shouted in response.

A moment later, a shot rang out and all eyes were focused on Keitaro and the other man.  Within a few seconds, Keitaro had slumped down, holding his left side with both hands as blood began pouring out from his abdomen, drenching his fingers in the crimson fluid.

"KEITARO!" screamed Kanako as she lunged forward, her fist colliding with the shooter's face hard, cracking his jaw and knocking one of his teeth loose.

Amalla, Tsuruko, and Motoko stared wide eyed at what had just occurred, as their manager and the man they held affection for had fallen to his knees, doing his best to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound he had just sustained.

"You bastards!" yelled Motoko as she brought her sword forth in a wide sweeping arc upon the remaining goons who were still standing.  The impact from her attack knocked all who came into contact with her sword back by a good four or five feet.  Tsuruko joined in the fray, using a mix of both her sword's backside and the handle to bludgeon all enemies who still remained standing.  In that moment, the bloodlust within her urged her to flip her sword back so that the blade was facing forward, allowing her to slice through these vermin who had dared to harm Keitaro.  But her cool-headedness won out in the end, making her stick to non-lethal retaliation instead.  She was only too thankful that Motoko had shown the same level of restraint and refrained from flipping her sword as well, otherwise there would indeed be a bloodbath throughout the marketplace.

Within a few seconds, the remaining goons and thugs were decimated, all of them lying on the ground nursing broken bones, bloodied faces, and fresh bruises.  The ones who got the worst of it were the mohawk-haired biker and the one in a matching suit who shot Keitaro.  Each of them had a face swollen from getting struck so many times that it began to inflate somewhat from all of the bruising.

While the thugs were licking their wounds, all four women had gathered around Keitaro, kneeling by his side as they stared at him with worry on their faces.

"Keitaro!  Keitaro!  Big Brother!  Please don't die!  PLEASE!" weeped Kanako as the tears began streaming down her face.

"Keitaro!  Hang in there!  You can't die on us!"  declared Motoko as her eyes began tearing up.

Tsuruko could only stare down at the small man who was bleeding out of his side as he lay there on the ground before them.

‘He saved me,' thought Tsuruko as she stared long and hard at Keitaro.  ‘That bullet was meant for me, and he jumped in to save me from being shot.  He's so much smaller than me, but that didn't stop him from jumping in to save me.  This man, this SAINT of a man, jumped into the fray to save me.' Tsuruko's thoughts were jumbled somewhat at this revelation of what had just occurred.  A moment later, she had a thought of ironclad resolution, which ironically enough, Amalla had the same thought at the same time:

‘I refuse to let this man die.'  These words echoed in the minds of both Amalla and Tsuruko.

It was at that particular moment that an old familiar sensation decided to return right there and then.

Back at Hinata House, all of the other girls were gathered at the teahouse/cafe.  They had all finished their house chores and decided to mingle among one another in the teahouse.  The sight of so many women, all of whom were either over six feet tall or close to it, was certainly eye-opening for the few male patrons who remained amidst the tables scattered throughout the cafe.

The topic of conversation shifted from one thing to the next.  Whether it was how everyone was faring with their house chores, or how things were at either school or their personal lives, or moments of self-reflection about the last day or so since the hot spring incident, the conversation kept all members occupied for quite some time.  The mood was good all around, even Haruka was cracking a smile and chuckling alongside everyone else.  Things seemed rather jovial for a time.

Until an old familiar sensation decided to return.

Within seconds of one another, all nine women began to feel light-headed and increasingly warm as waves of pleasure began crashing down upon their minds, drowning them in euphoria.  Even Kaolla and Nyamo weren't faring particularly well, given that each of them managed to keep a cool head in dire circumstances for the most part.

"Oh no!" moaned Shinobu.  "It's happening already?"

"Dammit, not now." muttered Haruka.

"Oh my goodness!" declared Mutsumi.

"This is bad!  This is really, really bad!" said Naru.

"Ya know, that's kinda funny," responded Kitsune.  "For somethin' that's supposedly so bad, it certainly feels like quite the opposite."  She finished that statement with a lightly suppressed moan as she could feel her body expanding.

Sure enough, before all the other patrons and staff in the teahouse, the group of nine Hinata women began to ascend in height while their clothing began to make tearing noises in various spots.  The growth spurt unleashed its fury, bringing the women higher and higher as orgasmic waves of euphoria drowned their minds, making it so that they could barely think straight.

After a minute or so of unrelenting, pleasurable growth, the sensation began to die down and the group of nine Hinata women regained their composure.  Breathing and panting heavily, the whole lot of them looked around the cafe as they saw all the patrons and staff stare at them with wide eyes and dropped jaws.  They had never seen anything like this after all.  It wasn't everyday that you saw a group of drop-dead gorgeous women ascend in height and further amplify their already spectacular figures.  Before the growth spurt, they were all towering lovelies.  Now, after this latest growth spurt had run its course, they were living goddesses, both in height and beauty.

"So, Kaolla," asked Shinobu as she panted heavily from the pleasure she had just experienced, "any news on an antidote?"

"Sorry, Shinobu," responded Kaolla, "but I do have the latest size data if any of you here are curious."

"I'm not sure I want to know right now," replied Haruka.

"Well, we're gonna find out about it sooner or later, so might as well be now," said Kitsune.

"Does that happen to include Motoko, Tsuruko, Kanako, and Amalla too?" asked Mei.

"Yes it does," responded Kaolla.  "After taking blood samples from everyone, I made a device that kept track of everybody's size data in real time.  That way, I wouldn't have to measure everybody each time we have a growth spurt.  Plus I figured that it would be more fun to find out in advance and all."

"I'm glad you're in such a good mood about this, Su," grumbled Naru with obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"Well Naru," responded Su, "you know what they say: ‘No use crying over spilt milk.'  What's done is done, so the best thing we can do is move forward and make adjustments where and when necessary."

After hitting a few buttons on Su's measurement device, she scrolled through and revealed the updated size data for all of the Hinata House ladies:

• Naru - 6'10", F-cup breasts

• Kitsune - 7'0", G-cup breasts

• Shinobu - 6'7", E-cup breasts

• Kaolla - 6'7", E-cup breasts

• Mutsumi - 6'10", H-cup breasts

• Haruka - 7'0", F-cup breasts

• Nyamo - 6'8", E-cup breasts

• Sarah - 6'7", E-cup breasts

• Mei - 6'6", E-cup breasts

• Kanako - 6'9", F-cup breasts

• Motoko - 7'2", F-cup breasts

• Amalla - 7'6", G-cup breasts

• Tsuruko - 7'7", G-cup breasts

As the data was read to all the girls in the teahouse, Haruka decided to address the issue regarding the group of nine ladies suddenly growing out of their clothing in front of all the staff and patrons and shooting up towards the ceiling in the span of one or two minutes with a few simple words:

"We're closing early today.  Everybody out."

Sure enough, all the customers and staff began leaving the premises.  After all, who wants to get into an argument with a seven foot tall woman?

Meanwhile, back at the marketplace...

As the larger group of ladies were experiencing their growth spurt at the Hinata teahouse/cafe, the remaining four ladies were experiencing the same feeling in the presence of everyone at the market stalls, including the thugs they were fighting, the various street vendors, and the general public.

Even while resting on the ground and tending to his wound, Keitaro could tell from his position that the four women who joined him on this little shopping trip were beginning to enlarge, and significantly at that.  As their clothing began to tatter and shred, and their bosoms and buttocks began inflating once more at a slightly accelerated rate, Keitaro laid there in awe at what he was witnessing.  Witnessing a living being increase in size so rapidly was always considered the stuff of fantasy from what Keitaro understood.  Even an embryo in the human womb can only grow so fast, but THIS type of growth he was witnessing blew that kind of growth rate out of the water in terms of speed.  From Keitaro's pont of view, it was as exhilarating and erotic as it was alarming and frightening.

From the perspective of the thugs who were fighting against Motoko, Tsuruko, and Amalla just moments before, the sight of growth was equal parts amazing and terrifying.  Before the fight, these women were big; now, with this growth spurt they were all having, they were downright huge.  Their height alone could make them sports stars on any basketball team or volleyball team in the world.  Hell, three of these women were over seven feet tall by the looks of things, and the fourth one was just a few inches shy of seven feet.

While under normal circumstances, the gang of thugs would have scurried off and ran for their lives, by this point, they were all immobilized from the beating they received.  The ones who remained conscious from the thrashing they got simply looked on as they watched these four amazons become even bigger than they were before.  When the growth spurt finally settled, the four lovely ladies stood about the market stands, towering over practically everything and everyone nearby.

‘No time to reflect on growth right now,' thought Amalla as she leaned in and scooped up Keitaro in her arms, noticing that he felt much lighter than the last time she carried him.  ‘Must save Keitaro.'

"Wait," declared Tsuruko as she made her way over towards Keitaro, holding up her hands and making fast-paced hand gestures.  It was as if she was casting some kind of spell or something related to magic from what Amalla could discern.

"Motoko, please help me," said Tsuruko as she focused her hands onto Keitaro's bullet wound.

"Of course," replied Motoko as she made her way over and did the same hand gestures before placing her palms over Keitaro's wound, same as Tsuruko.  Within seconds, a light green aura began emanating from the Aoyama sisters' hands over Keitaro's wound, and within seconds, the blood flow began to die down to the point that it was little more than a trickle.

"Minor healing incantation," explained Tsuruko.  "Our school uses it for whenever we incur injuries in battle.  It won't heal him completely, but it'll stop the bleeding for a while, maybe an hour at the most."

"I appreciate that," said Amalla with a grin.  She then proceeded to stand up and look towards the Hinata House dorms up the hill in the distance, just a mile or two from their current position.

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Kanako with grave seriousness in her voice.  "Where are you taking him?"

"I'm taking Keitaro back to Hinata House to properly heal," said Amalla.

"Shouldn't we take him to a hospital?" asked Motoko.  "Surely, the doctors there would be able to treat a bullet wound, no?"

"I don't know where the hospital is off the top of my head," replied Amalla.  "And besides, Kaolla's lab should have technology and equipment equal to if not better than most hospitals in the world.  That's why I'm making my way back with Keitaro.  I figure that if anyone can save his life, it's my sister."

"Very well then," said Tsuruko.  "Let's make our way out of here.  I'm right behind you."

"As am I," said Motoko.

"I'm coming with, obviously," declared Kanako.

"Wait here," responded Amalla.

"What?  Why!?"  replied Kanako.

"You're not fast enough to keep pace with me and the Aoyama sisters.  Besides, you need to wait here for the mecha-Tama to arrive so you can load the groceries onto it.  Otherwise, all the food we purchased today will either be stolen or go bad in the open air."

"I am NOT leaving my brother behind while he's seriously injured," declared Kanako with tears in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Amalla stepped forward and looked down upon the Urashima girl, using her height to her advantage like usual.

"Kanako," said Amalla with a stern voice, "I PROMISE you that I will bring Keitaro back home safe and sound.  I know you care about him, more than as just a sister.  The thing is that I care about him that way too, and I'm pretty sure that nearly everyone cares about him that same way, which is all part of my plan.  The point I'm making is that Keitaro is MY cherished person just as he is YOUR cherished person, so I'll be damned if I let him die, understand?"

Kanako stared up at the older Su sister's eyes, trying to look through the windows of her soul to see if there was any deception or wavering of any kind during Amalla's declaration about preserving Keitaro's physical well-being.  Much to Kanako's surprise, she found none.  Amalla was as resolute as it came when the issue was matters of love.

‘She really IS in love with Keitaro,' thought Kanako.  ‘It's not just some game to her.  She loves him the same way I love him, so I can't bring myself to fully despise her.  I know she's telling the truth when she says she'll protect Keitaro and keep him alive.  In a way, that makes me a little bit happy...to know that he has someone other than just me to look out for him.'

"Alright, Amalla," said Kanako.  "I yield.  Go get him back to Hinata and make sure he's safe."  Kanako proceeded to stroke Keitaro's hair as Amalla held him in her arms.  Both women looked at the smaller man with a sort of soft-hearted longing, as if the expression on their faces said, "Oh, my love, don't worry.  I'll make everything better, I swear to you."

"Thank you, Kanako," replied Amalla.  "Just hitch a ride back on the mecha-Tama once you've loaded it up.  Kaolla should have the coordinates for Hinata House on the unit's GPS, so just punch that in once you've loaded up everything.  I'll see you back at the dorms.  Ready, ladies?"  On this last part, Amalla was gesturing to Motoko and Tsuruko.

Both Aoyama sisters nodded their heads in agreement, ready to head out and make tracks.

"Alright then, let's go!" shouted Amalla as she suddenly leapt into the air and onto a nearby rooftop before going into a full sprint, hopping from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of Hinata House just up the hill.  Both the Aoyama sisters flanked Amalla as they matched their pace and proceeded to sprint along the rooftops toward Hinata House, eager to get Keitaro back home as soon as possible.

"Hang on, Keitaro my love," whispered Amalla to the small man cradled in her arms.  "We'll be home soon.  And I promise you, I'll make sure that you're both well-rested and want for nothing during your time of recovery.  Just leave everything to me."  She finished her statement with gentle kiss on Keitaro's lips before focusing back on her path towards Hinata House, picking up the pace once more.

"Ugh, wha-...where am I?" groaned Keitaro as he tried to get his bearings.  In that moment, he felt himself go weightless at times as his whole body ascended and descended every few seconds.  He also noticed that he was being securely held by something that was both soft and firm at the same time.  He could only deduce that he was being held by a pair of arms underneath his legs and upper back while his torso was pressed against another human torso, one which he wagered was rippling with muscle yet very soft to the touch at the same time.  Then of course, there was the sensation of having two large globe-like objects brushing up against his face and chest, which he assumed to be breasts.

So, in conclusion, Keitaro was currently being carried bridal-style by a woman, who was clearly strong enough to do so while making hops as she was running at a rather breakneck speed.

Before Keitaro could move around and ask any further questions, he was immediately silenced by a pair of very soft, very luscious lips which had encased his entire mouth.  Apparently, the one who was carrying him had no problems with getting VERY intimate with him on the spot.

"Please...save your strength, darling," said the one carrying him.  "We're getting you back home, so just rest and breathe deeply.  You'll be home soon, my little prince."

‘That voice, I know that voice,' thought Keitaro.

"A-Amalla?" muttered Keitaro.

"Yes, dear," replied the tall dark-skinned Molmolian girl as she made her way across the rooftops.  "Now please, Keitaro, rest and don't speak anymore for now.  We'll get you back home and make you all better.  You have my word on that."

The rest of the trip was one in silence, with Amalla taking the lead as she hopped from roof to roof, carrying her precious cargo firm against her breasts and torso.  Flanking her on each side were the Aoyama sisters, who were matching Amalla's pace on the way to Hinata House just up the hill.

"At this rate, we should be making our way back to the dorms in the next minute or two," said Motoko.  "What do we do then?"

"Once we're there, I'll bring him to Kaolla," replied Amalla.  "She'll know what to do.  With the technology she has in her lab, she should have Keitaro stabilized and healthy within a few hours.  It'll take him a few days to fully heal from the gunshot, but otherwise he'll be okay."

"I certainly hope so," said Tsuruko, who was somewhat lost in her thoughts at that moment.  She couldn't help but reflect on how Keitaro ended up getting shot and feeling largely responsible for it in the process.

‘If only I wasn't sloppy,' thought Tsuruko.  ‘If I had just turned around in time to counter that scoundrel, then Keitaro wouldn't have needed to intervene.  If he suffers any long-term  or permanent damage from that wound, I swear I'll hunt down that gang and put them all in wheelchairs.  I'd like to do so right now, but Keitaro's safety comes first.'

Motoko's thoughts were on a similar wavelength as her sister's.

‘He stepped in to help,' thought Motoko.  ‘Him.  A simple dorm manager and college entry failure.  He stepped in to help, against a gang of thugs, some of them armed with blades and even guns.  Even so, he jumped in to save Tsuruko.  Why is he so damn kind and selfless at times?  Why is he so thoughtful and considerate?  Just thinking about it makes my chest swell.  Now I owe him twice over, both for my sake and for my sister's sake, and it's not even out of a sense of duty or honor, but of lo-...'  At this last part, Motoko choked up, struggling with the realization of her own feelings, before taking a deep breath and facing the truth of her emotional state.

‘No point in denying it any longer,' thought Motoko, ‘I really am madly in love with Keitaro Urashima.  And I want to be with him, no matter what.  And if that means having to be in this harem that Amalla is concocting, then so be it.'

Soon enough the trio of ladies and their wounded love interest had arrive at Hinata House and were greeted by the sight of the other nine women who had hurried their way inside the common room up from the teahouse in order to avoid giving the general public any more of a titillating wardrobe malfunction from the latest growth spurt.  Under normal circumstances, Amalla would have stopped to really take in the few of all these lovely young ladies and how their bodies had developed in beauty and seduction as they grew, but given the current situation, her priorities lay elsewhere, and within seconds, that sentiment was shared among all twelve women present at Hinata House.

"Oh my god!  Keitaro!" shouted Naru with wide eyes.

"What happened to him!?" asked Shinobu with tears in her eyes at his state.

"There was a scuffle in town," answered Amalla.  "I don't have time to explain it all right now.  We need to focus on making sure Keitaro's health is stable, understand?"

The sentiment was shared among the women at the Hinata House at that moment, with several of them nodding in agreement.  While some like Naru, Shinobu, Mei, and Mutsumi were looking VERY distraught at seeing Keitaro's injury, even they knew that right now was the time to keep a cool, level head.  Crying and demanding answers would do no good for Keitaro's sake.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Haruka as her focus stayed on Keitaro the entire time.

"Kaolla," said Amalla, "do you have space in your lab?"

"Already on it, sister," said the younger Molmolian girl as she rushed her way towards the staircase and dashed for her room.  Amalla was in tow behind her, cradling Keitaro in the process.  The Su sisters cleared a space on one of Kaolla's workbenches and laid Keitaro down on it with the utmost delicacy, as if his body was made of fine glass.

As Keitaro started to come to, he realized that he was now stationary and no longer outside.  He blinked his eyes open and was greeted at the sight of the Su sisters staring down at him from on high.  While his head was somewhat spinning from the gunshot and the ride in Amalla's arms, he could have sworn that the two of them looked even bigger than what he remembered just a few hours ago.

‘Did they grow again?' thought Keitaro.  ‘And if they did, does that mean everyone else grew too?  Does it happen at the same time or something?  And just how big are they now?  Gotta be seven feet by now, or really close to it.'

Before Keitaro could ponder on these thoughts anymore, he was alarmed by the sudden softness of female lips meeting his lips in a very passionate kiss.  While he initially thought it would be Amalla once more, he was surprised to find out that this time around it was Kaolla.

"Don't you worry, Keitaro," said Kaolla with upturned eyebrows and tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  "You're home now, and you're safe.  I'm gonna make it all better, so you just relax and get some rest."  She proceeded to take his sweater off in order to examine the gunshot wound.

As Keitaro looked up at the normally high-energy, free-spirited Molmolian girl, he couldn't help but notice a difference in her from the Su he knew in earlier days.  When they first met, Kaolla was a spunky, energetic little tinkerer who had a habit of hanging off of Keitaro's back like a koala bear or a sloth.  Her build was lean and athletic, with a bust that was virtually nonexistent (a B-cup at best he would have wagered).  Yet now before him was a Kaolla Su who was even more refined and ladylike than her "grown-up" form whenever the red moon would appear and she would transform into a more adult-like body.  The Kaolla he saw now examining him was well over six feet tall and had a figure much like that of Amalla Su from before this whole growth spurt escapade began from that night in the hot springs.  Though there was clear worry and concern showing in her face, Kaolla had an air of refinement and ladylike composure as well, with a tone of maturity of someone who was in either her late teens or early twenties as opposed to her middle teen years.

‘Does the growth hormone accelerate aging?' thought Keitaro.  ‘Su looks like she's either 18 or 19 years old now instead of 16.  Is that a feature in all of the others?  Haven't gotten a good look, so I won't know until later, I guess.'

"Keitaro, please drink this," said Kaolla as she held a bottle towards his lips.  He obliged her, slowly partaking of the mystery liquid emanating from it, hoping he wouldn't be sick in the process.  Surprisingly, it tasted rather sweet, sort of fruity in a way.  After taking a few good sips, Keitaro rested his head back down and resumed slow, deep breathing.

"What did that do?" asked Amalla.

"It's an all-natural pain reliever I've concocted, mixed from various plants from back home.  Now Keitaro shouldn't be burdened with the pain from his injury," responded Kaolla.  "And now, onto the wound itself."

Kaolla proceeded with examining the bullet wound located on Keitaro's lower torso.  Fortunately, by the look of things, it was a small caliber bullet that hit him, most likely a .22 or .38 from what Kaolla could discern, and the bullet had gone clean through at that.  After using a portable, non-radioactive x-ray scanner to further examine the wound, Kaolla breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is it?" asked Amalla.

"No damage to anything vital from what I've seen.  The bullet hit no major organs.  Some damage to his muscle fibers and skin of course, but otherwise nothing too serious.  Give me an hour or so and I'll have him patched up and resting."

"Is there anything you need from me then?" asked Amalla.  "I wouldn't want to stand around and be useless if it'll just end up with me being in your way."

"I'll be able to manage it from here.  Thank you for bringing him here as fast as you did.  Please head outside and go assure the others, as I'm certain that they are dreading with worry on how our Keitaro is doing."

"Will do," replied Amalla as she took her leave.

Kaolla returned her attention to the man lying on her table.  She proceeded to prepare an IV drip, sticking the needle into Keitaro's arm.  Fortunately for the Hinata House dorm manager, Kaolla kept a record on his blood type, along with the blood type of everyone else who lived in the dorms.  Ever the scientist at heart, she felt the need to have the personal information of all her fellow dorm mates, if ever something serious arose like in this case.

As she fastened the blood pack and began funneling the blood into Keitaro's artery, she soothingly rubbed her hand across Keitaro's head in a slow, repetitive motion.

"Oh Keitaro," sighed Kaolla as she looked upon her comparatively smaller dorm manager, "whatever are we going to do with you?  How am I supposed to give you a harem if you end up getting yourself hurt and making us all worry about you?  You should know that it's simply bad form for a husband to make his wives worry so much.  I suppose if there's a silver lining to all of this, it's that you'll be staying here at the dorms for quite some time while you heal...a few days at the very least."  If Keitaro was listening to Kaolla's gentle admonishment, he showed no signs of reaction, as his chest slowly rose and fell while he nodded off into deep sleep.

Kaolla proceeded with washing his wounds with antiseptics and healing ointment before dressing his wounds with clean bandages, wrapping them around his torso as she sat him upright to fasten them around his lower torso.  Once the bandages were secure, Kaolla stitched him tight to hold them in place.  By the time she was finishing up with the bandages, the blood pack had nearly emptied.

‘Good,' thought Kaolla, ‘he should have regained whatever blood he lost and his wound will start to heal over.  There will no doubt be some scarring from the bullet, but I can address that later with some more healing ointments to repair the skin.  For now, he's safe, and that's all that matters.'

Kaolla then lifted up Keitaro the same way as Amalla did (bridal style) and carried him over to her bed.  Now that the worst was behind them all, Kaolla decided to have him rest comfortably in her bed.  Laying him gently onto her plush mattress with his head upon her biggest, comfiest pillow, Kaolla proceeded to bring the covers over and all the way up to the base of Keitaro's neck.

"Get some rest now, Keitaro," said Kaolla before leaning over and planting another long, gentle kiss upon his lips, which lasted for several seconds before she came up for air.

"I love you to pieces," she whispered before making for the door and leaving her room.

"What exactly happened?" asked Haruka with a voice that was stern yet measured.

"We were making our way through the shopping district, picking out various groceries from the stalls.  Things were going okay until a bunch of ruffians started harassing one of the vendors.  From what I could tell, they were some petty street gang trying to intimidate him into accepting their ‘protection,' for a hefty fee of course,"  answered Amalla.

"That's just downright despicable," grumbled Sarah, "I hate thugs and bullies who do that sort of thing.  It makes me sick!"

"So then what happened after that?" said Naru, wanting more details.  "How did that end with Keitaro getting hurt like that?"

"After some unpleasant words were exchanged between Amalla and the thugs, they decided to resort to violence and tried to attack us," answered Motoko.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you're all okay," replied Mutsumi.  "It's bad enough that Kei-kun got injured in the middle of all that."

"Anyways, after a few minutes of brawling and putting the bastards in their place, one of them decided to play dirty and pulled a gun out in the middle of the fight," continued Amalla.

"And Keitaro ended up getting shot as a result, didn't he?" asked Naru.  There was a lingering silence before Tsuruko spoke up.

"It's my fault," said Tsuruko with tears in her eyes.  "From what I understand, the thug tried to shoot me, but Keitaro jumped in the way and tried to wrestle the gun from him.  They briefly scuffle and that was when the gun went off and Keitaro...he..." Tsuruko couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence as she buried her head into her hands and started sobbing.

Motoko instinctively made her way over to her sister and embraced her tightly, at which point Tsuruko started crying loudly, her voice muffled into Motoko's shoulder.

"Please, sister," said Motoko in as soothing a voice as she could muster, "it's not your fault for what happened.  The only one at fault was that scoundrel with the gun.  Keitaro was simply trying to help you, that's all.  It's just the kind of guy that he is."

"Yeah, you can say that again," added Kitsune.  "Keitaro's too selfless for his own good sometimes.  I guess it's just part of who he is deep down.  He'd run into a burning buildin' to save somebody if there was nobody else around."

"Keitaro-senpai is the type to put others before himself, even if it puts his own safety in danger," said Shinobu, backing up Kitsune's statement.

"So what happened to the guy with the gun?" asked Mei.

"Kanako clobbered him good with one punch," replied Amalla.  "I'm pretty sure she cracked his jaw and knocked a tooth or two of his loose when she did so.  That girl has spunk, I'll give her that."

"Speaking of which, where is Kanako now?" asked Haruka.

"She's coming back with the groceries aboard Kaolla's giant turtle robot," replied Motoko.  "I'm guessing she'll be here any minute, given how worried she must be about Keitaro."

"She willingly stayed behind with Keitaro seriously wounded?" asked Naru incredulously.  "That doesn't seem like the Kanako I know."

"At first, she was adamant about coming along with the rest of us," explained Amalla.  "But I told her that she wouldn't have been able to keep up with us in terms of speed, as I could carry Keitaro back here in relatively good time. So I told her to wait for the mecha-Tama to land so she could load the groceries we purchased, then hitch a ride aboard it on the way back.  Didn't want the food we purchased to end up getting stolen or going bad in the middle of all that.  And besides..."

"Besides what?"  asked Naru, Mei, and Shinobu at the same time.

"I figured I'd let her have a little moment of payback with those brutes before the police showed up.  Knowing Kanako, she'll probably be kicking the living crap out of those thugs for what they tried to pull, especially with what happened to Keitaro," said Amalla.  "Honestly, I wish I could have stuck around to join in on the ass-whooping that I imagine she's administering to them.  After all, nobody - and I mean NOBODY hurts our Keitaro and gets away with it."

"I agree with you there," replied Naru before reflecting on the exact words she just heard.  "Wait, our Keitaro?"

Amalla simply glanced at Naru with a sad smile, letting the Narusegawa girl know that she wasn't backing down from her statement.  The tall Molmolian girl was one to hold her ground when it came to declarations of love, after all.  Naru was somewhat torn at hearing this statement.  After all, while Amalla declared her intentions to her (and several of the other girls as well) that she intended to pursue Keitaro Urashima, she also made her intentions clear that she was pursuing EVERYONE ELSE as well.  While Amalla may act with ulterior, underhanded motives at times, she appeared to be dead serious on this topic.

‘Is she REALLY trying to build a harem?' Thought Naru to herself.  ‘I thought that was just some prank or weird joke she was pitching.  But now...I'm pretty sure she's being completely genuine about what she said.  She wants to be in some big, massive relationship with ALL of us?  I just don't get this woman sometimes, I swear.'

Before the conversation could continue further, the door to Kaolla's bedroom opened and the younger Su sister walked on out through the entrance, her head just a few inches below the door frame.  It was quite a sight for all the women to witness - another reminder as to just how large they had become over the last day or so.  Pretty soon, if they kept up the rate of growth they were having, then ALL of them would need to bend down in order to pass through doorways.  And if they kept up their growth, soon enough they would have to kneel down to fit indoors, lest they try standing up and punching their heads through the ceiling.

"Keitaro's condition has stabilized," declared Kaolla.  "Now he just needs to rest for a while, a few hours at least."

"Will he heal properly?  Any potential long-term or permanent damage?" asked Naru with dread and worry in her voice over the fate of her boyfriend.

"I don't believe so," replied Kaolla.  "The bullet went clean through and didn't hit anything vital.  So I'd say that Keitaro will make a full recovery after a few weeks recovery.  Knowing him, it could even be a few days, what with all the hits he's taken in the past here."

While Kaolla was trying to lighten the mood, her statement made both Naru and Motoko feel utter shame at what she was mentioning.  Though they knew that she meant no insult in the reference, both them couldn't help but think back to all the times that either of them physically attacked Keitaro at the dorms, wincing at the very memory of assaulting him over a misunderstanding or an honest mistake on his part.  Kaolla in turn saw this and felt the same degree of inner shame on her part, for all the times her inventions would do any bodily harm to Keitaro in months past, even if she had no ill intent in testing them out on him.  It was a sense of guilt that all three women felt on their part, and which in turn strengthened their resolve to aid Keitaro with life around the Hinata House and in more...intimate ways, both as a way of atonement as well as pursuing one's desires as a maiden in love.

"Well now," said Amalla, who tried to lift up everyone's spirits, "what say we all head to the hot springs and wash away our concerns?  I'm sure that everyone would like to sit and relax in the waters to get our minds off of what had just occurred, am I right?"

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that," replied Haruka, who was feeling the urge to light up another cigarette after witnessing Keitaro's injury upon his arrival back at Hinata.

"I second that suggestion," declared Kitsune.  "I'll bring the sake in case anybody needs some to help take the edge off."  If there was a god above, he certainly knew how much Kitsune needed a strong drink to lessen the shock of witnessing Keitaro in a severely wounded state at the end of the day.

After similar responses of agreement among all the ladies at Hinata, it was agreed upon that they would all enter the hot springs upon Kanako's arrival, as they still had to unload the groceries that Keitaro and the others had picked up earlier that day.

Ironically enough, Kanako had just arrived with said groceries not a minute after the conversation had ended, if the sound outside the dorms was any indication.  As the other women assembled out front, with those seven feet tall or more (Kitsune, Haruka, Motoko, Amalla, and Tsuruko...currently) ducking through the doorway in the process, Kanako had rushed straight ahead towards the group, with questions about Keitaro pouring out of her.

"Where is he?  How is he?  How bad is it?  Is he awake?  Has he..."  before she could continue her line of questioning, Amalla simply walked up to the girl and hugged her firmly yet gently.

"He's okay, Kanako," said Amalla in a soothing voice.  "Keitaro is alright.  Kaolla saw to his injuries and he's in a stable condition.  Right now, he's resting in Kaolla's room, so we should let him recover for now.  Does that answer your questions?"

Kanako's response was to simply break down in tears of joy upon hearing this.  Her legs gave out from hearing the good news, and she collapsed onto her knees, with Amalla leaning down to continue her embrace of the shorter girl.

"Thank goodness," said Kanako through choked words and tears running down her face.  "If I lost him...I...I don't know what I'd do.  I...I..."

"Shhh...it's okay, Kanako.  I promise you, it's okay.  Keitaro is fine.  Everything is fine, okay?"  Amalla proceeded to rub her hand soothingly up and down Kanako's back to help ease her troubled mind.  She could tell that the younger Urashima woman was still emotionally shaken by the fight that occurred just an hour or so earlier, and right now she needed reassurances that the one man she loved above all others was physically okay.

"Is...is it alright if I see him?" asked Kanako.  "I just want to see his face briefly.  I promise that I won't wake him.  I know he'll need his rest.  I just need to see that he's okay."

"Sure thing," replied Amalla.  "Let's go see him, and I promise you, Keitaro should make a full recovery.  Kaolla told us just before you arrived, and I trust my sister's word on that sort of thing wholeheartedly."  Kaolla simply smiled in response at Amalla's praise of her skills in the medical field.

With that, all thirteen women proceeded up to Kaolla's room to briefly check up on their precious dorm manager.  The groceries were secured within the mecha-Tama unit out front, which had built-in refrigeration technology, so there was no need to worry about the food spoiling for quite some time.  It also had an auto lock feature so that nobody without an access pass (in this case via a thumb print registered to all thirteen women plus Keitaro) could open up the compartments to try and steal any groceries from out of the mecha-Tama.  Leave it to Kaolla to virtually think of damn near EVERYTHING.

A moment later, all thirteen women were gathered in Kaolla's bedroom looking down upon Keitaro's sleeping form in her bed, his eyes closed, his glasses removed and placed at the nearby nightstand, and his chest gently rising and falling as he slumbered.

Mei, Sarah, Shinobu, Kaolla, Nyamo (being the shorter ones among the group of amazons) kneeled in front as they hovered over Keitaro's bedside, while Naru, Kitsune, Mutsumi, Haruka, Motoko, Amalla, Tsuruko, and Kanako stood behind them looking down upon Keitaro's sleeping form.  As the group watched their sleeping prince recover in Kaolla's bed, one of them couldn't help but make a quiet observation as they took a good, long look at him.

"He seems so much...smaller," said Naru as she looked at his form.  This statement was agreed upon by all the other women, who realized at this point that nearly ALL of them had a foot difference in height or more over Keitaro by this point.  The only one not yet in that category was Mei, who was just one inch away from being part of the club.  If Kaolla's growth hormone worked its magic, that would be remedied soon enough in the coming hours.

"Remember, Naru," replied Kitsune at a near whisper, "it's not Keitaro that's gotten smaller.  It's us who have gotten bigger."  Hearing these words brought a tingle down all the womens' spines.  The very notion of continuing to grow and grow and grow was as exhilarating as it was worrisome.  Their minds were mixed between the sexually-charged elation of growing bigger, taller, and sexier while worrying over how to go about their day-to-day lives within the dorms - even life outside the dorms would be rather difficult if all of them continued with this growth escapade.  The sight of women who were over six-and-a-half feet or more in height would be eye-catching enough as things were.  If suddenly all of them were seven, eight, or nine feet tall (or taller), that would DEFINITELY catch people's attention to the point of being harassed by the press for questions or being taken away by government agents either in the name of public safety or to be examined like lab rats.

Back to the situation regarding Keitaro, all thirteen women were feeling something else as they stood or knelt by his bedside.  While none of them would dare bring it up in front of the others, the feeling they all felt was exactly the same: the need to caress or embrace him.  It was somewhat tricky to define - perhaps maternal instincts fit it best, that subconscious desire to nurture, coddle, and soothe something or someone perceived as weak, frail, and small (especially in this particular case).  At the moment, the desire was easy enough to bury, lest a scene ended up getting caused and Keitaro was startled awake in the process, but all thirteen towerting beauties felt that sort of itch to simply reach out and bury Keitaro's face against their bosoms, to press his delicate body against their larger bodies and hold him firm against their torsos as they breathed in his scent and he breathe in theirs.  The thought of it all started bringing blushes to their cheeks as they got lost in the collective euphoric fantasy of it all.

What was causing this subconscious desire in all of these women?  Why, none other than Kaolla's growth hormone of course.  None of them were aware of it at that time, not even Kaolla herself yet, but the experimental compound was having one more effect on them on top of all the more obvious ones.  As their bodies grew and developed into walking wet dreams, the Hinata women were becoming more ‘matronly' in a way of speaking, thanks to what the growth hormone was doing to them with regards to brain chemistry.  There was a strengthened yearning to cuddle, embrace, and dote on anything that they found appealing, cute, or attractive, and given that most (if not all) of the women gathered were currently looking at Keitaro Urashima - a man who everyone present viewed in a very positive light - that instinctive desire to reach out and embrace him was growing within them just as their bodies continued to grow upward and outward.  It was taking a lot of effort within most of the women to not break character and lift Keitaro out of bed to hold him soothingly against their bodies, pressing his flesh against their flesh and engaging in more R-rated content out of a lustful desire to smother him with affection.

"Well then," said Naru trying to break the ice and motivate everyone from leaving before she gave into the urge to disrobe and hop into bed with Keitaro, "shall we get going then?  Keitaro needs his rest, after all, and we should let him have some time to sleep undisturbed."

"Y-yeah," agreed Kitsune, "we should mosey on outta here and let the poor fella get his strength back.  Let's make like a tree and all that, yeah?"

Mutsumi, fighting the urge to pick Keitaro up out of bed and lock lips with him at that moment simply resolved herself to gently stroking his hair as she bent down to touch him, her gigantic bosom hovering just inches over his body.  Were Keitaro awake at that moment, his face would probably go deep red with embarrassment at being in such proximity with Mutsumi's massive mammaries.

"Alright then," pouted Mutsumi with apparent sadness in her voice as she finished stroking Keitaro's brown hair.  It was apparent enough that she probably wanted to spend the whole night by his bedside.  The question was, would it be in bed with him or not.

To be fair to Mutsumi, the same sentiment of yearning and desiring to be by Keitaro's side was nearly universal among all the women gathered.  The only ones who weren't feeling the same sentiment (of feeling it as strongly as the other women, to be more accurate) were Sarah and Mei.  While they weren't having particularly strong feelings of attraction towards the man, the two of them certainly looked upon Keitaro favorably over the time they got to know him.  At the moment, how much they liked him was somewhere between "reliable big brother" and "potential boyfriend material."  Of course, given enough time (and with some gentle nudging from Amalla), all that would change in due course.

As for the eleven other women, the urge to disrobe and embrace Keitaro's sleeping form was becoming difficult to fight against, making all of them increasingly warm with the temptation of initiating such an act, as well as moist in the crotch area at the lustful implications of what doing such a thing would almost inevitably lead to.

"A-hem," coughed Motoko gently, trying to get everyone out of their collective wet dream in the making, "shall we be off then?  I believe we were heading for the hot springs, correct?"

"S-sure," said Kanako, "but what if Keitaro awakens while we're in the baths?  Who will check up on him?  I don't want him stumbling about all confused whenever he stirs awake, especially when his wound is still relatively fresh.  He'll need someone nearby to make sure he's okay."

Before most of the women were about to volunteer and say "I'll stay with him," Kaolla presented one of her inventions to solve this little dilemma.

"Here," she said.  "This is a scanner that will monitor Keitaro's biometric data, including when he's asleep and when he's awake.  I'll lay this device facing towards Keitaro, so that when he does wake up, it'll activate and let me know."

"Will it go off like an alarm clock then?" asked Haruka.  Kaolla responded by holding up what appeared to be a small, square-shaped item, roughly the size of a rubix cube, before explaining what it was.

"This here is a transmitter that is attuned to the scanner.  It will go off and make a noise whenever the scanner registers Keitaro as awake.  I'll bring the transmitter into the hot springs with us, so that if Keitaro wakes up while we're in the baths, I'll know exactly when.  And don't worry, the transmitter is waterproof."

"You really DO think of everything, don't you, Kaolla?" responded Shinobu with surprise.  The Molmolian girl seemed to be a genuine deus ex machina of sorts when it came to having science-based solutions for even the slightest or oddest of problems.

"Well then, let's be off," continued Kaolla.  "But before we go, let's dump our clothing - or what's left of it - into the clothing printer.  I figured we should also print out some larger towels for us, as the regular ones might be a little bit snug on us."

"Good point," said Mei in agreement.

The ladies then deposited their tattered remnants of clothing into the printer, shedding off everything, including their underwear.  If Keitaro had woken up at that moment, the sight of thirteen women with supermodel bodies in nothing but their birthday suits would have probably given him a nosebleed so powerful that he would have conked out and fallen back into bed, having passed out from such a stimulating sight before him.

After disrobing and printing out both bigger sets of clothing that would fit their newly enlarged frames as well as bigger towels to cover them upon entering and leaving the hot springs, the Hinata ladies proceeded to leave Kaolla's room.  Several of them gave a longing glance towards Keitaro before departing, with a combination of genuine romantic passion mixed with lustful desire written on their faces as they glanced at the man resting in Kaolla's bed.  Amalla noticed all of this and was somewhat thankful deep down at what it entailed and could lead to.

‘The harem plan seems to be moving well at this pace,' thought the older Su sister.  ‘It won't be long now before everyone here wants to get with Keitaro and be his woman.  I just need to resolve whatever resistance Keitaro himself might put up, as well as Naru's reluctance to the plan.  I guess I should lay things out at this point, once we're all in the baths.'

And so it was that the ladies finally departed Kaolla's bedroom as they made their way towards the hot springs, leaving Keitaro to peacefully rest and heal his wound.

As the sun set and the darkness of night descended upon the Hinata House, the current female residents made their way into the hot springs.  The mood was more quiet, with a sort of sadness lingering in the air.  After all, the dorm manager had just recently been shot and was currently recovering in the bedroom of one of the tenants.  Everyone was largely silent as they proceeded to scrub their bodies by the cleaning stations before dipping into the hot calming waters of the hot springs.  Within minutes, the waters worked their magic and the group began letting out sighs of relief as their muscles relaxed and the stiffness in their joints began to fade away.

From an outsider's perspective, the sight was an outright feast of feminine beauty for any red-blooded straight man (or woman sexually attracted to other women) to behold.  In that moment, the ladies of Hinata were sporting large, perky bosoms, shapely thighs, noticeable pectoral muscles, plump rear ends, incredibly smooth skin, and an extra shine in the hairs of each one of them.  By this point, they had become outright supermodels when it came to their bodies.  Kaolla's little concoction had worked a miracle on their figures, transforming women who were either cute or beautiful before into something that was a mix of seductive, sultry, intoxicating, tempting, and downright hot.  In this case, with regards to the little bottle that helped cause all of this to begin with, the old saying that "Big things come in small packages" certainly held true.  And these women certainly were big, in both their proportions and in their size all around.

It was this view that Amalla feasted her eyes upon while she relaxed in the waters of the hot spring.  While earlier she was just as concerned as the rest of them regarding Keitaro's physical condition and safety, now that he was recuperating in Kaolla's bedroom she could breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the bath waters in peace, even with the lingering tension hovering in the air.

‘This really is a sight to behold,' thought Amalla as she looked upon all the female flesh laid bare before her eyes.  The sight of so many generous bosoms, shapely thighs, slender necks, and legs that seemed to stretch on forever was making Amalla percolate harder than a coffee pot working overtime.

‘If I was just a few years younger, I'd probably be surrendering to the urge to ravish them here and now.  The sight of so many sexy naked female bodies just lounging about me and I'd lose all inhibitions.  Even now, I want to ravish the whole lot of them, and have an orgy lasting well into the morning and perhaps all the way into the next night.  If only Keitaro were here in the baths with us, then this truly would be PERFECT.  Hopefully, that'll be rectified in a few days.'

Sure enough, as was the case in crowded situations, conversation was bound to kick up sooner or later.

"I hope Keitaro-senpai is okay," said Shinobu as she stared downwards into the steamy waters of the hot springs.  The worry in her voice was all too apparent, given her delicate nature.

"He'll be fine, Shinobu, I promise," responded Kaolla as she wrapped an arm around her closest friend.  "I made sure to look over his body very closely as I examined him, and I swear to you, Keitaro will be up and at it in a few days."  Upon finishing this reassurance, Kaolla encircled Shinobu from one side while Nyamo encircled her from the other.  And so there was Shinobu, sandwiched between the two dark-skinned girls who consoled her with their warm embrace.  The sight of it brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to several of the women present, knowing that the girls looked after one another in times of emotional duress.

"Yeah," said Sarah, "the dork has taken his lumps in the past.  Even with a measly little old bullet to the guy, he'll come out swingin'.  He always seems to bounce back no matter what comes his way."  While that was not Sarah's best attempt at uplifting reassurances - since it referenced all the times Keitaro received physical punishment from either Naru or Motoko - the sentiment was generally appreciated, since the ladies knew that Sarah meant well enough.

"Indeed," added Motoko, "though it may not be obvious in his appearance, Keitaro has a stronger constitution that one may expect of him.  It can be...quite remarkable, at times."

"I'd have to agree with ya on that one," commented Kitsune.  "Keitaro is made of sturdier stuff than he looks.  It's rather somethin', to say the least."  She proceeded to down her third shot of sake upon finishing this statement, yearning to drown her worries in Japanese liquor after enduring the worries over Keitaro's survival.

Kitsune wasn't the only one partaking of generous amounts of liquor that night.  Haruka, Tsuruko, Amalla, Mutusmi, Kanako, Motoko, and Naru all helped themselves to shots here and there throughout the night, in order to calm their nerves after enduring the fright of Keitaro not surviving the ordeal in the marketplace earlier that day.  While Kitsune was glad that she brought out three bottles of sake that night, it became apparent that even that might not be enough to sate the thirsts and worries of the assembled women.  For with their increased sizes came a higher tolerance for alcohol, so chances were good that all three bottles would be finished before long.  Kitsune made a mental note to get the largest bottles of booze she could find on the next shopping trip, as she figured that it would be safest to simply give each girl her own bottle to drink from, especially if they kept up their rate of growth.

After several minutes of drinking and smalltalk, Amalla decided to lay her cards on the table.  While it was all well and good to keep up pleasantries, she figured that it was best to address ‘the elephant in the room' as the term went.  She had already laid out her intentions among several of the women at Hinata House already, so this wouldn't come as much of a surprise among those she spoke with earlier.  After taking a deep breath (and downing her share of sake as well), Amalla decided to lay out her cards on the table before all.

"Listen, everyone," said Amalla, "what I have to say is for all of you to hear, as it pertains to all of you.  Well, actually, it pertains to all of you and one other person, but unfortunately, that person cannot be with us right now as he needs his bedrest."  The not-so-subtle implication as to who Amalla was referring to was clear enough, and the other twelve women looked upon her with bated breath as they waited for what she was about to announce to them all.

"I don't want to beat around the bush on this topic any further, and I figured it would come to a head sooner or later, so I felt it best to simply let you all know what my intentions are and what all of you should expect."  Amalla really had a way with being blunt, especially when it was about something she had her eyes set on.

"I'm in love with Keitaro Urashima," said Amalla, pausing to watch for even the slightest of reactions to her statement.  Sure enough, there were plenty to go around.

Naru was wide-eyed and her breath caught in her throat.  Even though Amalla had let out her intentions earlier to her and several other girls, it was still something of a shock to hear Amalla say the words.  Given how emotional a woman's heart could be (especially a woman in love), it was certainly something from Naru's perspective to hear this tall Molmolian seductress confess her feelings for Naru's boyfriend in front of everyone so casually, with no sign of embarrassment on her face whatsoever.

Shinobu blushed upon hearing this.  It was mostly as a result of knowing that there was yet ANOTHER love rival for Keitaro's feelings, which made Shinobu in turn feel inadequate.  Her body may have grown and developed significantly over the last several hours, but she still felt out of her league compared to someone with Amalla who showed natural grace and firm resolve.

Mutsumi simply smiled with a blush on her cheeks.  While the Okinawan girl would always have strong feelings for Keitaro and yearn for him to return her love for him, she held no grudge at hearing another woman confess her love for the man in front of others.  Mutusmi was simply too kind and compassionate to feel threatened or embittered by the prospect of another woman vying for Keitaro's affections.

Kitsune briefly choked on her shot of sake, not expecting Amalla to be so forward at that particular moment.  The burning sensation hit the back of her throat monetarily before she briefly inhaled and exhaled through her nostrils to relieve herself of the sensation.  Maybe it was the ‘liquid courage' in Amalla's system that helped propel this confession, but even so, the Molmolian girl was more confident and to-the-point than Kitsune gave her credit.

Motoko was alarmed the same way as was Naru and Kitsune, blinking rapidly in surprise at Amalla giving away her intentions before everyone assembled.  While she had heard this talk earlier in the hallway, the shock was still enough that it made her heart flutter a tad at hearing it once more.  Her emotions regarding Amalla were a mix of concern over another love rival on top of the growing number of contenders so far as well as a touch of envy for being brave enough to spill her heart out and cast the proverbial die, as it were.

Sarah and Mei simply blushed in shock upon hearing this, being younger women who were still rather pure of heart and innocent when it came to matters of love and romance, while Nyamo's reaction was more akin to Mutsumi's reaction by comparison.  The dark-skinned islander girl's smiling face was practically saying, "I know you are, and I'm not mad at you for being so."  It was a sentiment that Amalla appreciated in turn, returning it with a grin of her own.  Apparently, Nyamo was far more mature than would be assumed for a woman her age.

As for the Urashima women, Haruka's reaction was somewhat alarmed while Kanako's was more subdued.  Whereas the older Urashima woman was blushing with wide eyes and suddenly craving a cigarette to help calm her down, Kanako was staring downward, the blush on her face not as pronounced as Haruka's.  Having heard this talk before (and being intimately cornered in the hallway by Amalla while hearing it), Kanako wasn't nearly as shocked as her older cousin, though the ache in her heart was still pronounced enough that she couldn't maintain eye contact with Amalla after hearing the confession.

‘It's not fair,' thought Kanako as she submerged her body as much as she could in the bath waters.  ‘She's in love with a man I've known my entire life.  I've been by his side since childhood and I've come to love him so much that it makes my head spin whenever I'm with him.  I should be raging over this, but I'm not.  Why is that?  Is it because I sense she's being completely honest?  She's not a bad person...a little mischievous, sure, but not a malicious person in the big picture.  And then of course, there's the other stuff she said afterwards...wait is she going to bring that up here as well?'

Tsuruko's reaction was somewhat confused upon hearing Amalla's declaration.  After all, she was still wallowing in the guilt she placed upon herself for Keitaro's injury, even though everyone else beseeched her not to blame herself for it.  But even there and then, the feelings of shame and responsibility for what Keitaro went through in the market weighed on her conscience, and Tsuruko was certain it would take time for her to forgive herself and let go of whatever blame she imposed upon herself over the incident.

Upon hearing Amalla's confession, Tsuruko stared wide-eyed with tears streaming down her face at the older Su sibling.  ‘She's...in love with Keitaro?  Dear me, that seems to make a growing number of contenders for that man's affection.  I mean there's Naru, of course, and also Motoko and Kanako obviously, but from what I understand, it seems that several of the women here are also smitten with him.  I'd wager that Mutsumi, Kaolla, Nyamo and Shinobu seem to hold feelings for him, and as for Haruka and Kitsune, I've sensed a sort of natural attraction they hold towards the man as well, given the state of their chi.  If it happens to be of an intimate or even romantic nature, that will simply grow the number of rivals for Keitaro's love.  The only ones I'm not really sure of yet are Sarah and Mei, but I know they look at Mr. Urashima in a positive light at the very least.  Whether that evolves into feelings of romance or not, I do not yet know.'

Whether or not Amalla was a mind reader or simply good at reading people's facial expressions is a mystery that the world may never know, unless Amalla decides to openly declare which it is.  But in that moment of gauging Tsuruko's reaction to Amalla's words, the Molmolian monarch cracked a smile as she made an educated guess as to what Tsuruko was thinking.

‘You're probably wondering who is already in love with Keitaro aside from myself and a few others you already know about,' thought Amalla as she gazed upon Tsuruko's countenance and read the woman's facial expression closely, especially her eyes.  ‘By the time my plan comes to fruition, that group of Keitaro's lovers will entail EVERYONE, my dear Tsuruko...which includes you.'  Just the thought of such a pervy dream come true was starting to make Amalla increasingly hot and "in the mood" as the term goes.

Kaolla simply sat in the baths with a smile on her face, her cheeks lighting up with a rosy hue.  Her mindset was similar to Amalla's after all, so there was absolutely no sign of shock  to find whatsoever on the young Molmolian girl's face.  She simply sat there with contentment, looking upon her older sister with a smiling face and a nod, as if she were saying "Go on ahead.  Everything's moving according to plan."

"I tell you this now so that you all can prepare yourselves for what is to come," said Amalla with a calm voice and a deep breath afterwards, resting her arms against the rim of the hot springs pool and sexily crossing one long leg over the other.  Whether she was pushing out her bosom to emphasize her enlarged mammaries on purpose or by sheer instinct was anyone's guess, though it certainly was making all the other women blush to varying degrees in response (as well as feeling hot under the collar and moist between the legs).

"And...what is it exactly that you're speaking of, Amalla?" asked Haruka with a blush that refused to leave her cheeks...and it wasn't from the sake.

"Well now, my dear Haru-chan," replied Amalla who cracked a grin at her statement making the Urashima woman's blush deepen even further, "while I have my eyes set on Keitaro, he's not the only one I'm after."

"What do you mean?" asked Tsuruko, curious as to what Amalla was getting at.

"Here we go..." muttered Naru, Kanako, Kitsune, and Kanako at the exact same time, knowing what was coming.

"I've also taken a fancy to another person, or more accurately other people here since my arrival," said Amalla with a toothy grin akin to that of the Cheshire Cat from the story of "Alice in Wonderland".

"And...who exactly would those people be?" asked Haruka with a cocked eyebrow, with a gut feeling that she knew what the exotic foreigner was about to say.

"Well, simply put," said Amalla, "the other people I'm talking about are all in these baths with me...all twelve of them."  The finished with that iconic, sultry "come over here" look on her face.

"You can't possibly mean..." said Mei with wide eyes.

"Oh indeed I do, my sweet little Mei-chan," replied Amalla, before moving her eyes over to the young blonde girl seated near her.  "And don't think I'm leaving YOU out of this either, my feisty little Sarah-chan.  I'm hungry for companionship, and I've just found thirteen wonderful additions to add to my family of lovers,"  The American girl was caught off guard by this remark, her entire face turning red with the greatest of embarrassment at having just been hit on right there on the spot.

"L-listen, Miss Amalla..." began Sarah before she was cut off.

"Just Amalla will do, or preferably ‘Ama-chan' if possible," replied Amalla.

"W-whatever," grumbled Sarah in response, "I don't swing that way, no offense.  So I'd rather you not include me in this little...thing you've got going on, okay?"

Amalla responded by walking over towards Sarah and stopping just a foot or so before her, standing tall before all the women gathered, her body glistening and dripping with water as her figure stood immaculate, oozing, emanating, and practically dripping with sexual temptation.  The dark-skinned woman showed no qualms whatsoever with baring her naked body before all to see, which gave everyone varying degrees of blushes (even Kaolla and Nyamo whose blushes were among the tamest of the bunch).

"Sarah-chan?" asked Amalla.

"Y-yes?" replied Sarah with a startled voice and wide eyes.

Amalla proceeded to bend at the waist, placing her hands upon her smooth round hips, and letting her breasts hang and dangle like gigantic ripened fruits for Sarah to feast her eyes upon.  Kaolla could tell that this was all part of her sister's strategy: to win over someone with the overbearing power of Amalla's natural-born seduction.

‘Amalla could turn the straightest woman in the world into a raging lesbian with enough charm and enticement,' thought Kaolla with a smirk.  ‘And with the powers of my growth hormone, that charm has been amplified to levels that border on the divine.  Poor Sarah-chan won't stand much of a chance against her, if there even was a chance to begin with.'

"Do you not like me, Sarah-chan?" asked Amalla with big, puppy eyes and her trademark pout.

"Uhh...I uh...well..." Sarah was at a loss for words, barely keeping her composure together with this dark-skinned amazon casting her shadow over her.  Amalla was definitely utilizing all 7 feet 6 inches of her height to disarm and overwhelm Sarah in that moment.  It was as if Amalla was a hungry lioness and Sarah was a weakened gazelle, just waiting for the killing blow to be felled upon her.

"It's not that I don't like you, Amalla," said Sarah with a raging blush and bated breath.

"Do you not think I'm pretty?" asked Amalla, pressing her offensive.

"What the...of course you're pretty!  For cryin' out loud, you're smokin' hot!  Why would you even ask a thing like that?"  Sarah wasn't sure what Amalla was getting at, but before she could say anything more, her lips were automatically assaulted upon by Amalla's lips as Amalla encircled her arms around Sarah's waistline, forcing the younger girl to stand as the two women's torso's and bosoms pressed into each other, with Amalla bending her head down as much as needed to maintain the kiss.  The taller woman had ensnared the younger woman's mouth, soft lips mashing against soft lips which threw Sarah over the edge and she could barely register what was going on as the Molmolian sex goddess began assautling her in a pleasure-based offensive.

The other women sitting in the baths stared at what was unfolding with wide eyes and heavy blushes, even Kaolla and Nyamo at this point.  While Kaolla knew that Amalla tended to be feisty, she at least would engage in a little bit more foreplay before going in for the kill, so to speak.  Yet here and now, Kaolla witnessed her sister going to town on Sarah's mouth, pressing her tongue as far as she could to taste every inch of the cavern of the young girl's mouth, tongue, and throat.

‘What the hell!?' thought Sarah as this tall, dark-skinned, silver-haired, blue-eyed enchantress pushed her advantage and shoved her tongue as far down as she could into Sarah's mouth.  While she was initially shocked and a bit offended by this woman's brazenness, those feelings were soon taken over by calmness, elation, and pleasure bordering on...what was the word...ecstasy?  After a few seconds of Amalla's offensive, Sarah found herself inadvertently returning the favor and playing a brief tongue war with Amalla as  result, which made Amalla VERY happy in return.

‘Oh yes, she'll do nicely,' thought Amalla.  ‘Still young and needs a little more maturing and guidance, but she'll make a fine addition to the family, no doubt.'  Eventually Amalla let up and removed her mouth from Sarah's, with both women panting heavily for air after the French kiss they ended up giving everybody a front row seat to.

"So then," replied Amalla as she licked her lips, "do you REALLY not want to be together with me then, Sarah-chan?" asked Amalla.  The Molmolian queen maintained her hold on Sarah's back and waistline, holding the young lady against her own body as if they were long-time lovers.  Amalla scanned the vicinity of the baths, taking in the sight of all the other beautiful women who were witnesses to the steamy scene that had just occurred.

"Let me revise that statement:  Does anybody here not want to be together with me and Keitaro and form one big, happy family?"  She scanned the assembled women who were seated in the hot springs, most of them looking up at her with stupor and at a loss for words.  "If anyone here has any qualms or shows reluctance at joining the family, I can try to convince you otherwise.  My wives and husband back home tell me that I'm quite the charmer and a really good kisser."  She finished that statement with a super sexy smile and a seductive licking of her lips, implying she had another deep-throated tongue kiss ready for any potential naysayers in the group.

"W-well, Amalla," said Haruka, "that's a rather odd proposition you're putting out there.  I mean, you decide to spring this on everyone here that you want to make some kind of a...a"  The notion of saying the word ‘harem' made Haruka flutter her eyes, before Amalla did it for her.

"A harem, Haru-chan, yes," Amalla replied with a smile.

"I'd have to agree with Haruka on this, Amalla," replied Tsuruko.  "You can't seriously expect to just say that you want to have everyone in some big group marriage and have us acting like husband and wives right off the bat like that, right?  Love is something that shouldn't be rushed, after all.  Otherwise, it's almost doomed to fail."

"Oh, I'm not trying to rush anything, Tsu-chan," replied Amalla.  "I simply want everyone to be honest and open with their feelings, that's all.  I understand that this is something that can't be brought about to happen in just one night.  As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day."  I just want to bring out something that I'm pretty sure exists in every woman here already.  I like to think of it as cultivating a flower garden of sorts, only the flowers in this case are the lovely ladies I see before me, that's all."  Once more, Amalla finished her explanation with a smile that was dripping with both confidence and downright sexiness.

"And how exactly do you think this proposal of yours would work, Miss Amalla?" asked Mei, who was somewhat flabbergasted by it all.

"Please, just Amalla or Ama-chan, my darling Mei-chan," replied Amalla, which made Mei blush as a result.  "And as the question you posed, I know it's going to sound rather corny and somewhat oversimplified, but my answer to that is this:  I'm a fairly good judge of character.  I see before me twelve fair maidens who have good hearts and increasingly beautiful bodies that grow in beauty as they do in size.  The sight of such a thing alone gets me hot under the collar, and even now I wish to ravish the whole lot of you in one massive free-for-all of passionate love making.  But I don't want to rush things or make anyone uncomfortable with the suddenness of it all, so that's why I'm trying to be considerate and let you all know in advance of what I intend, as a show of love and respect among wives-to-be, as it were."

"Now hold on there, your majesty," replied Kankao with sarcasm in her voice upon that title she used to refer to Amalla.  "We aren't your wives or anything even close to it.  I get that you're trying to be extra friendly and maybe you even mean well, but it's a little presumptive of you to think that you can simply pull off something like having the whole lot of us roped into becoming your marriage partners.  And how exactly would you get Keitaro to go along with this little hair-brained scheme you've got going on anyway?"

During Kanako's rebuttal, Amalla kept her ground, not backing down for an instant while the younger Urashima woman presented her retort to Amalla's love proposal.  She also kept Sarah firmly secure in her arms, sensually holding the girl in her embrace like a lover of many years (which was making Sarah very red in the face out of embarrassment from such intimacy).

"Well now, my dear sweet little Kana-chan," replied Amalla, "I'm going to rope Keitaro into this as much as all of you.  After all, I did say at the beginning of this that this topic involved him as much as it did all of you.  And something I wish to address with everyone, but with you specifically?"

"And what would that be?" asked Kanako with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm gonna wager that everyone here is either madly in love with Keitaro or on the periphery of falling in love with him.  Am I wrong?"  Amalla scanned the hot springs for everyone's reactions to that question.

Sure enough, there were strong (even raging) blushes on the faces of Naru, Kanako, Motoko, Kitsune, Shinobu, Mutsumi, Haruka, Kaolla, and Nyamo, while the three remaining girls - Sarah, Mei, and Tsuruko - had lesser blushes on their faces, which still stood out enough for Amalla to spot easily.

"As I thought," said Amalla with glee.  "And another thing I'd like to bring up, my dear Kana-chan.  While I understand that you're in love with Keitaro, do you intend to try and snatch him away from Naru, who I'm told is his official girlfriend?  Do any of you for that matter want to break up Keitaro and Naru so that you can be Keitaro's lover in her stead?"

The reactions around the hot springs were rather telling.  Naru herself quickly eyed the group, trying to figure out if any of them were plotting to make Keitaro break up with Naru so that one of them could swoop right in and take her place.

"I'd never do anything to hurt Naru-chan or Kei-kun," replied Mutsumi with calmness and maturity.  "I do love Keitaro, with all of my heart, but I wouldn't make a move on him if that meant breaking up him and Naru in the process."

"I'm the same way," said Shinobu.  "I love Keitaro-senpai so much that my heart hurts, and I'd be so happy that I could faint if he wanted to be my boyfriend.  But if that meant betraying Naru, then I'd gladly let the chance pass so that the two of them could be together."

"Naru's my closest friend," replied Kitsune, "so I know I'd be a complete piece of crap if I tried to seduce Keitaro behind her back and act like nothin' was wrong.   I'm pretty sure I couldn't look her in the eye anymore if I sunk to something like that."  She finished her statement with another shot of sake.

"Naru is Keitaro's partner," responded Motoko.  "So sacred honor forbids me from resorting to nefarious means to try and make him my lover and divide the two of them.  It would be outright shameful for me to try something so underhanded as a hidden affair with Keitaro behind her back.  That being said, if Naru was okay with me being Keitaro's mistress, I'd happily..." Motoko's face reddened at the end of her response, the embarrassment on her face all too apparent (which made Naru's eyes widen and her eyebrows instinctively raise up as high as they could go at hearing this revelation).

"You know where I stand on that, dear sister," said Kaolla with a calm grin.  "I love Keitaro just as much as you do, and I don't intend on hurting Naru or anyone else in the process of pursuing that love.  In fact, my response is for the group in general:  I'm basically in league with Amalla's proposal.  I don't mind if all of you are in love with Keitaro.  Quite the opposite, I'd be outright ecstatic to hear that.  It simply means that we can all love each other and be one very big happy family as a result."  Upon hearing the word "big," the other women felt a tingle in between their legs and up their spines.  After all, this ever-growing harem that seemed to be forming was growing in more ways than one.

"So then, Kanako," resumed Amalla, "do you want Keitaro bad enough that you'd drive a wedge between him and Naru so you could have him all to yourself?"

Kanako simply sat there with a blank look on her face.  Could she be cold and self-serving enough to try and outright split up Keitaro and Naru or even have Keitaro cheat on Naru with her?  What would Keitaro think of her for trying to pull off such a stunt?

Deep down, Kanako felt that she already knew the answer to those questions, especially the second one.  Keitaro would despise her for trying to do such a thing.  He was in love with Naru, Kanako knew that, even if he was a little too embarrassed at times to openly show his affections.  And she also knew that Naru loved Keitaro back in just the same way, and that she was even turning over a new leaf in not hitting him anymore over misunderstandings like back in the bad old days when they first met.  Could Kanako really be so vindictive as to try and tear the two of them apart, knowing that they were starting to turn their relationship around for the better?

Right there and then, in that moment, Kanako looked towards Naru, who stared back at her in turn.  And with tears running down her face and a sad smile adorning it, Kanako gave her response:

"No...I can't do that.  I'm in love with Keitaro too, and I want to grow old with him and have a family with him, but I just can't bring myself down to such a level and do something so...wrong.  I want him to fall in love and find genuine happiness, even if it...if it..." Kanako started choking up at this point, with the tears now pouring down her face.

"If it can't be with me," whimpered Kanako as she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing hard.  Upon seeing this breakdown, Amalla was ready to walk over to Kanako and embrace her tightly, to help soothe her and bring her back from her emotional low point.  However, someone else ended up beating her to it.

A moment later, Kanako was indeed embraced...by none other than Naru Narusegawa, who held her firmly yet softly and let the younger Urashima girl cry her heart out into Naru's bosom.  The sight was rather moving to all the other women, many of whom were starting to tear up at Naru's act of compassion towards Kanako's turmoil over snuffing out her own desire for romantic love in order to let Naru have a chance to grow and develop her own.

"I'm sorry," whispered Naru as she hugged Kanako.  "I'm sorry how things turned out and that I ended up falling in love with your brother.  I didn't know up until that point how much you loved him, and I really didn't mean to hurt you in the process."

"That's just it," sobbed Kanako as she returned the gesture and instinctively wrapped her arms around Naru and hugged her back.  "You have nothing to apologize for.  If anything, it's my own damn fault for not being brave enough back then.  If I just told him how I felt about him before he came here and took the job of dorm manager...If I just followed my heart back then, then maybe...maybe...things could have been so different.  And now that ship has sailed and he loves you instead.  And I know it's genuine love, and I just...I just...I just can't be the one to take that away from him.  I'd sooner die than do that to him."  Kanako finished by screaming her heart out into Naru's chest, while Naru in turn tightened her embrace of Kanako and brought her hand around the crying girl's head, holding her as close as she could and crying in turn while she did so (but not nearly as strongly as Kanako by comparison).

"Well then," chimed in Amalla, "this is where my plan comes into play then, ladies."

Both Kanako and Naru turned to her with confused looks on their faces at what she had just said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Naru.

"My harem plan, dear silly Naru-chan.  Have you been asleep the entire time we've been in the hot springs?  I know the bath water can be quite soothing, but please take care not to nod off and go under the water now."  Amalla cracked a grin upon finishing her attempt at light-hearted comedy.

"We're back at that thing again?" asked Kanako.

"Don't you see?" said Amalla as she finally let go of Sarah and made her way over to Naru and Kanako, placing a hand on each of their shoulders and leaning in with a big smile on her face.

"This is a way for both of you - for EVERYONE - to find love and happiness.  The way I see it, every single woman here deserves a chance at finding that special someone who makes her head spin with joy and her heart burst with happiness.  What I'm offering is a way to make that happen, and much of the groundwork has already been done.  We already have our special someone at the center of it all, our collective "prince charming" in a way of putting it.  Now we just need to let everyone here have some quality time with Keitaro and things will take off the way they should soon enough."  Amalla really had a way of waxing poetic at times like these.

"You really think we're going to be able to manage a 14-way relationship without things falling apart in the end?" asked Kanako.  "It's practically guaranteed to come undone."

"Do you love Keitaro?" asked Amalla.

"Yes, I do," responded Naru.

"Of course," said Kanako.

"Are you willing to share Keitaro?" asked Amalla.

There was a pause lasting a few seconds before their answers.

"Yes," said Kanako.

"Huh?" said Naru as she stared wide-eyed at Kanako.

"You heard me, Naru," replied Kanako.  "If I have to share Keitaro so that I can be by his side, whether as a wife, mistress, lover, or whatever other title gets used, then so be it.  It's not my dream scenario, but I'm willing to compromise."

"Well, well, well," said Amalla, "look who's grown up in more ways than one, eh Kanako?"  Amalla's playful jab made Kanako blush in embarrassment at getting the girl to jump aboard with the harem plan.

"Alright, miss Queen of Molmol, you've had your fun and got me to do something I didn't expect myself to do.  Happy now?" replied Kanako.

"Indeed I am, Kana-chan," replied Amalla before turning back to Naru.  "Well then Naru-chan, how about it?  I'm not doing this to separate anybody; quite the opposite in fact.  I'm just trying to strengthen the bonds between Keitaro and all of us.  Is that really so wrong a desire?  I don't want to come between you and Keitaro.  If anything, I'd want Keitaro to come between you and I, preferably in a big, plush bed with some scented candles."  Amalla finished with a smirk and a sexy wink.

Now it was Naru's turn to be taken aback and stare with a shocked expression.

‘This girl is dead serious about forming a harem, and putting EVERYONE HERE into it!  This is insanity!  Like Kanako said, how exactly would this work in the big picture?  Won't there be infighting sooner or later?  Are we ALL really going to be okay with Keitaro being our community husband?  Would Keitaro be okay with that?  Ugh, my head is spinning just thinking about all of this craziness...argh!'  These were Naru's thoughts as she pondered just what she was going to say to Amalla in response.

Before Naru could get a word in, there was a distinctive loud, high-pitched beeping going off within the hot springs.  A moment later, everyone turned towards the source of the noise and saw what it was:  Kaolla's transmitter had activated, meaning Keitaro had stirred awake.

What happened next was quite surprising, given the circumstances.  Amalla was about to volunteer to go inside and upstairs to check on Keitaro so everyone else could continue relaxing in the hot springs, but apparently somebody else wouldn't even stick around to hear her speak.

In a flash, Tsuruko Aoyama had darted from the hot springs, not even bothering to grab a towel in the process.  The 7 foot 7 inch tall beauty had immediately made for exit, bending significantly to pass underneath the doorway as she opened it and rushed further inside.

"Whoa, she's certainly in a hurry," declared Kitsune as she saw what just happened.

"You can say that again," added Haruka with a shocked expression at what she just witnessed.

Before another word was said, several women decided to take Tsuruko's lead and follow her inside, knowing what she was probably up to.  The women in this case consisted of Naru, Kanako, Motoko, Kaolla, and Amalla (naturally), and as a kicker, not a single one of them grabbed a towel either, desperate as they were to pick up the pace and intercept Tsuruko as soon as possible.

And so it was that a half-dozen amazons stormed their way into the Hinata House, their footsteps pound the floors with such force that if one closed their eyes and simply listened, they would have sworn a herd of buffalo was stampeding its way through the building, and straight towards Kaolla's bedroom. 

As Keitaro laid in Kaolla's bed, breathing calmly underneath the blankets and sheets, his mind wandered and drifted at the recollection of the past twenty-four hours or so.

‘First we get new arrivals at the dorms, then the incident at the baths where all the ladies start growing, then that little "wardrobe malfunction" at breakfast, and finally a fight in the marketplace.  Is there ever a time around here where things don't end up getting crazy?'  The pacing of it all really was quite something from Keitaro's point of view.

Being the manager of a female-only dormitory was surprising enough as it was (and a position that many men would envy in Keitaro, especially the more perverted ones...Kentaro was one who came to mind).  How the fates made it that Keitaro ended up in such a position was beyond his understanding.  Of course, Grandma Hina was the one who vouched for him, with backing from Haruka as well, so he was eternally in their debt as far as he saw things.

And even though the first few months as dorm manager were rocky to say the least, especially with the physical punishment he'd receive at times from Naru and Motoko (and occasionally Kaolla as well), Keitaro was still glad that he had a place to call home after being kicked out of his parents' house over his stubbornness of getting into Tokyo U.  In a way, his dorm tenants had become like family to him, and with all of their flaws and odd quirks that each of them carried, he was thankful that they had become part of his life (and hopeful that they felt the same way about him to some extent).

"Ugh...where am I anyway?" muttered Keitaro as he slowly bent forward until he was in a seated position.

"I remember being carried by someone while bouncing up and down.  Was it Amalla?  I think it was...at least, it sounded like her at the time."  Keitaro blushed at the recollection of hearing Amalla's voice, which had a sultriness like that of a professional lounge singer who could melt anybody's heart with just one performance.  He also could recall the softness of her lips as she delicately smooched him during his journey back to what he assumed was the Hinata House, his blush intensifying while at the same time he felt guilty for what he considered a betrayal of Naru's trust in him during their relationship.  Never mind that he was wounded and it was Amalla who initiated the kiss while she was carrying him back to the dorms; Keitaro would always consider any romantic advance that a woman other than Naru made on him to somehow be his fault.  Perhaps that was simply his misguided sense of chivalry acting up.

"Then," mumbled Keitaro as he tried to pick up the story from that point on, "I ended up back in the dorms, still in Amalla's arms and was carried upstairs, to this room I'm guessing."  Keitaro looked around the dwellings, trying to get an understanding of his current location.  Judging by the jungle foliage that appeared to encompass much of the room, he discerned that it must be Kaolla's room.

"I guess that would make sense," said Keitaro.  "Amalla is rooming with Kaolla during her stay here, so I suppose it's understandable that I'd be brought here.  But then what?  I remember hearing Kaolla's voice for a little bit while I was in pain."  Upon this statement, Keitaro instinctively placed his hands over his lower torso, feeling for where he recalled being shot during the brawl at the marketplace earlier.  As his fingers made their way towards his wound, he was surprised to notice two things:

The first was that while there was still some soreness from the impact of the bullet that went through him, Keitaro was surprised to find that the wound was not as painful and tender as he would have thought it to be.  Given that he was shot less than twenty-four hours ago, he figured that he would wake up with tremendous soreness from his injury, if not outright agonizing pain.  Maybe some of it could be attributed to his above-average healing factor (given all the beatings he had taken in past months from Motoko and/or Naru), but even so, the pain from his wound was MUCH less than what should have been expected the moment he woke up.  Most people would probably be on a prescription of pain medication for the first few days after getting shot, yet in Keitaro's case, he probably wouldn't need anything beyond some extra-strength aspirin or generic anti-pain medication you could buy at a convenience store.

The second was that his lower torso had been bandaged while he was recovering and nodding off at Hinata House.  So somebody had taken the time to examine his bullet wound and treat it accordingly by putting pressure on the wound, swabbing with rubbing alcohol or something to keep infection from setting in, and then dressing his wound securely.

"Was it Kaolla?" asked Keitaro as he pondered who his saviour was.  "I'm in her room after all, so I guess it's possible.  Well, if it's her who did it, I gotta be sure to thank her and make it up to her somehow, along with Amalla.   I just hope I didn't worry the others too much, and I hope that this injury won't take too long to heal.  Don't want my duties to be too impacted by a bullet wound.  Hopefully after two or three days, it'll heal over well enough and then I can get back to business as usual."

As Keitaro looked around, he saw on the nightstand by Kaolla's bed some kind of monitoring device that seemed to be pointed at him.  As he leaned in closer to examine it, he could detect a tiny ringing noise emanating from it.

"What is this thing?" asked Keitaro in total curiosity.  "Some kind of baby monitor, maybe?  I guess the girls left this thing here to keep an eye on me while I recover.  Well, that's thoughtful of them I suppose."  He finished his thinking out loud with a smile.  It was nice to know that he was being looked after between being carried back, the bandaging, and the monitoring while he slept.

"Anyways, I could use a glass of water or something.  I'm feeling a little parched after that bedrest.  Maybe I'll make some tea or something.  And we did get honey at the market, so that'll be nice to add with it."  Keitaro slowly stood up and started making his way towards Kaolla's bedroom door, but he got no further than a foot from her bed before he noticed something.

Just outside the door, Keitaro thought he could hear a series of footsteps - and very loud ones at that.  With the series of thumps hitting the floor at different intervals, he deduced that there was more than one person running through the dorm halls at a rather brisk pace.  In fact, there seemed to be a small group of people storming their way closer and closer towards Kaolla's bedroom, if the proximity and volume of the footsteps was anything to go by.  As it were, it was both the sounds of the footsteps and the vibrations through the floor that Keitaro noticed that there was a group of very BIG visitors coming nearer and nearer towards the door.

‘Ah, that's right,' thought Keitaro, ‘The girls have been going through this little growing problem of theirs in the middle of things.  I just hope they don't end up getting too big. After all, fitting in the dorms is gonna be a real challenge if not downright impossible if they keep growing bigger and taller.'  While Keitaro was somewhat nervous at being in the presence of so many beautiful women who were increasing the size and height gap between himself and themselves every few hours, he was also doing his darndest to not let the allure of their enlarging frames push him into the realm of uninhibited sexual desire.  After all, Keitaro WAS a straight, red-blooded man with an appreciation for the female form, but he tried with all his might to not stare and ogle at women the way a sex-obsessed pig or sick pervert might do so.  He liked to think that his family raised him better than to view women like pieces of meat to be sized up and given a 1-10 score like one would give at a dog show or a talent competition.

As Kaolla's bedroom door slid open suddenly, Keitaro was visited by something that he had not prepared mentally for.  But then again, how many people WOULD be prepared for such a thing?

There before him stood a female body wearing absolutely nothing.  Keitaro could only see the more-than-generous bosom between strong shoulders, the sculpted torso (showing some definition of a fine six-pack set of abs just underneath the skin), the rounded well defined hips of a waistline, a well-trimmed patch of black pubic hair on display, strong sculpted thighs that were as sexy as they were powerful, and equally enticing lower legs that could go on forever, displaying perfectly curved calves and elegant feet that were perfectly proportioned in length and width, ending in well managed toes looking as if they had just been through a pedicure at the spa.  Above the perfect teardrop-shaped breasts, Keitaro could make out a slender (almost swan-like) neck and long dark strands of hair adorning said neck and draping around the bosom, adding an illustrious shine that radiated so beautifully as if bathed in the moonlight.

Beyond the neck, Keitaro couldn't see the head and therefore identify the person's face...because it was currently out of his view...high above the seven foot tall door frame.  The sight of such a body in his presence made Keitaro instinctively gulp as his breath caught in his throat and his face went beet red.

Of course, the question as to who the person standing tall and majestically at the doorway was quickly remedied as the naked amazon bent at the waist, knees, and neck and crossed the threshold, her beautiful silky black hair brushing against the doorframe as she passed.  As she stood upright once more, the towering beauty stood tall and powerful before Keitaro, looking down at him and making him feel absolutely diminutive.  This woman was huge.  She must have had a solid foot and a half - scratch that, a good two feet or more - on Keitaro in height, and if her body was anything to go by on appearance alone, she could snap Keitaro in two the way a man of average size and strength could snap a branch with just his arms, should she so desire.

Upon taking in the sight of this colossal beauty that stood before him, Keitaro could finally place a name to her as he looked up, and up, and UP into her eyes and gazed upon her lovely face.  Standing before him with trembling eyes that were tearing up before him with a trembling lip and shaking breaths was the lovely Tsuruko Aoyama, looking upon him with a mix of worry and elation.

"Th-thank goodness," whispered Tsuruko as she stood tall before Keitaro, casting him in her shadow.  He looked so darn small before her, but her mind was only focused on his well-being and not his smaller size relative to her.  Before Keitaro could open his mouth to say something to her, Tsuruko acted in a moment of surprise (more for Keitaro than for her).

Within a split second, Keitaro's world went momentarily black as Tsuruko crossed the distance between the two of them easily and brought her slender but powerful arms around Keitaro's body, scooping him up and bringing his entire head into the warm softness of her G-cup breasts, smothering him in pristine creamy buoyant titflesh as her arms secured his body.

To maintain her balance, Tsuruko had taken a kneeling position so that she wouldn't fall over and on top of Keitaro.  As she secured the freshly awoken manager, she started sobbing as she buried her face into the top of his scalp while she stroked his neck and entire back with her fingers the whole time.

"Thank goodness...you're okay...I'm...so...glad...that you're...not hurt...I..." Tsuruko was struggling to keep her composure together as the tears kept streaming down, though the tears by this point were of elation as much as they were of sadness and guilt.  For all of the raw power she possessed given her enlarged size, Tsuruko was more akin to a lamb in her behavior, cradling Keitaro's body against her own with such tenderness as if he were a small animal in her care.

From Keitaro's perspective, the experience of suddenly being embraced by this ultra-sexy amazon of a woman was a whole whopping lot to take in at once.  In the span of a few seconds, Keitaro was greeted with the more-than-generous swell of Tsuruko's breasts smothering his face and encompassing much of his entire head as he took in the intoxicatingly pleasant smell of her lovely female scent.  He could also feel the smoothness of her skin along her torso and thighs as she pressed his body against hers in an embrace that was as powerful as it was gentle, which was to say a whole lot of both.  Her arms trapped him against her torso, with no way for him to possibly escape from her grasp (especially with his recent bullet wound), yet Tsuruko was not crushing him against her impressive form, but merely holding him firmly against her bosom and supermodel-like torso, holding him with a tenderness akin to that of what one might witness between star-crossed lovers.

"I'm...so sorry...it's...all...my fault...for what...happened...back there..." said Tsuruko through her sobbing.  "Please...forgive me...I...shouldn't...have let...that...happened...back there...I'm...so sorry...I...I..."  By this point, Tsuruko could barely hold her emotions together, so great was her sense of guilt and responsibility for Keitaro's injury from the fight in the markets.

By the time Tsuruko had ensnared Keitaro into her gentle grasp, the other five women (also completely in the nude) had made their way to the entrance of Kaolla's room.  The sight they saw before them was surprising enough, to say the least.  There before them was a warrior of a woman, who had trained for years in the mastery of her sword school, bent over and embracing a man in an act of utter sorrow and defenestration as she embraced him and begged for his forgiveness for the incident which occurred just a few hours ago.  While Kanako and Naru had somewhat alarmed looks on their faces at the sight before them (feeling somewhat jealous that Tsuruko was getting so intimate with Keitaro with no warning and glomping him right after he got out of bed), they both instinctively chose not to interfere or pry him loose from her, sensing that Tsuruko was at a very critical state of emotional vulnerability in that very moment.

Trying to get a hold on the situation after finding himself in a very stimulating set of circumstances, Keitaro used his arms to try and push against Tsuruko's much stronger body, muffling into her breasts as he did so.  The sensation of his mouth mumbling something into Tsuruko's breast flesh was enough to make her pause in her breakdown and pull back just enough to let Keitaro breathe and speak his response more clearly.  She stared far, far down upon the much smaller man (relative to her own size, of course) as he tried to get a word in edgewise while being held in her powerful yet caring embrace.

"P-please, Tsuruko," said Keitaro as he craned his head up to look into her tear-filled eyes, "please don't cry and don't blame yourself for what happened back there at the market."  He maintained his eyeline and his composure the best he could, given that he was in the embrace of a tall, powerful woman who was completely in the buff and holding him against her as if the two of them were lovers.

‘B-but..." replied Tsuruko as she still choked up with tears, "because of the fight, that...that bastard drew a gun and planned to shoot one of us...no...shoot me...in the middle of that scuffle.  And then you...you had to come in there and rescue me.   I should have...I should have been better prepared.  If I had simply turned around in time...if I had defeated the others sooner...if I had knocked him out first...then you...you wouldn't have...you wouldn't have had to...to..." Tsuruko was on the verge of tears once more, ready to have a complete emotional breakdown.

Sensing that this towering beauty was about to go to pieces and cry her heart out, Keitaro acted instinctively and tried to help calm her down somewhat (or at least he hoped it would).  Having just enough strength to break free from Tsuruko's embrace, Keitaro reached his arms out and placed his hands upon her cheeks, gently moving her face towards his so that they were looking directly into each other's eyes (though Tsuruko was looking down into Keitaro's from her rather higher elevation point, given her size increase).

"Please, Tsuruko," said Keitaro as he looked deeply into her eyes, "please, I beg of you, don't place the blame for this on yourself.  I don't want you beating yourself up over this and believing that what happened there is your fault.  You weren't the one who shot me.  The only one to blame for what happened was that jerk with the gun and his friends for causing trouble in the first place.  And as for my stepping in, I know I was out of my league trying to take that guy on, but when I saw him pull that gun out and take aim...I don't know...I just couldn't take the risk of one of you getting shot when I had a chance to do something about it.  I just don't like the idea of someone getting hurt like that, especially a woman.  Silly sense of chivalry I guess.  So please...please don't cry anymore."

As Tsuruko looked down into Keitaro's eyes, she found herself  in a whirlwind of emotion right there and then.  Here was this man she towered over who put her safety above his own.  The very act of his selflessness was crashing upon her psyche like a tidal wave, overwhelming her at the realization of just how inherently and instinctively kind he could be.  It was simply too much for her to bear.

"You...you wonderful little man, you," said Tsuruko as she slowly and gently placed her large hands along the sides of Keitaro's face.  "W-why are you so kind?  How can you be so selfless in moments like that?  And you say such sweet things after getting yourself hurt from all of that...and what is a girl to do?"  Tsuruko's voice still trembled, but no longer with fear or guilt but instead something more akin to...affection.

Keitaro simply blushed upon feeling Tsuruko's palms gently caress the sides of his head.  While she was a warrior and spent many hours handling swords, her hands were surprisingly more smooth and supple than Keitaro would have expected from someone who dedicated her life to her family's sword school.  Once again, his breath caught in his throat as he stared deep into Tsuruko's eyes, taking in all the affection this woman was emanating as she looked downwards upon him.

"If..." began Tsuruko once more, "if only I had met you sooner...before him.  Things could have ended so much differently."  She finished her statement at little more than a whisper as she closed her eyes and brought her blushing face closer and closer towards Keitaro's, before finally seizing his lips within hers and giving him a French kiss that was as powerful and seductive as it was tender and loving.

Keitaro's eyes widened upon this sudden show of love that Tsuruko had decided to initiate upon him with practically no warning at all.  He found himself breathing through his nostrils at this point, since Tsuruko's tongue was now probing every square inch of Keitaro's mouth and even protruding into his throat on occasion.  As she held his head in her hands and proceeded to deepen the kiss as much as possible, Keitaro instinctively flailed his arms about in comical alarm, not sure what to do right there and then.  Tsuruko decided to take the initiative and quickly seized his arms by the wrist, holding them firmly but not harming him whatsoever, all the while never breaking the kiss and inhaling more and more deeply so as to maintain her oxygen intake as she continued locking lips and tasting Keitaro's mouth all the while.

In one smooth motion, Tsuruko had taken Keitaro's hands and guided them towards her bosom, pressing his palms deep against the center of her breasts and deftly guiding his thumbs and forefingers so that they were placed around the growing nubs that were Tsuruko's nipples.  Tsuruko took only a second to pull away from the kiss before instructing Keitaro in a surprisingly sultry voice one simple command: "Squeeze."

"B-but Tsuruko," said Keitaro as he tried his damndest to resist Tsuruko's command, though her intoxicatingly pleasant aroma was making resisting her harder by the second.

"Squeeze," said Tsuruko once again with more insistence than before.  Keitaro decided not to risk angering the sexy amazon who was probing his mouth with her tongue and honor her request, at least for a brief few seconds.  After a few seconds of hesitating, Keitaro slowly brought his thumbs and forefingers together, squeezing the extra soft, extra sensitive nipples in his fingers and unleashing something he wasn't quite ready for.

Automatically, Tsuruko moaned her approval with a moan while she continued kissing Keitaro, her heavenly voice vibrating her moans into his mouth as she continued kissing him, transitioning between Keitaro's mouth and moving along his face and neck with a mix of kisses and seductive licks here and there.  Her sense of pleasure was as great as it had been in years, at least as powerful as her first year of marriage if not more so.

‘Is this an effect of Kaolla's growth hormone?' thought Tsuruko as she continued her bombardment of love and affection upon Keitaro, ‘Or is this simply something that I've repressed for such a long time, only to have it spring forth now?  Could this man - Keitaro Urashima - help me to find and feel true love once more?  Oh, it's all so confusing right now.  All I know right here and now...is that this man...this man...he drives me crazy...and I'm loving every second of it.'

Tsuruko moved her arms once more, releasing Keitaro's face from within her hands but soon after proceeding to encircle Keitaro's torso at the lower end of his back...with one of her hands cupping his buttocks and giving a rather playful squeeze in the process.  That in turn got a high-pitched "yip!" from Keitaro at the suddenness of such a flirtatious move.  Clearly, Tsuruko was dropping pretenses of refinement and moving straight into things that were definitely more kinky right now.

All of this kissing, caressing, nipple-pinching, and ass-grabbing went on for perhaps another thirty seconds or so before a different voice made itself known within the room with the exaggerated clearing of one's throat before speaking.

"A-hem," said the visitor, "I hope I'm not intruding on anything too...important right now."

Tsuruko ended her tongue's invasion of Keitaro's mouth and turned around, still holding Keitaro's body firmly but gently against her large and mighty form.

Standing there alongside the doorway with her hands clasped together, fingers laced, over her womanhood and lounging against the doorframe was Amalla Su - all 7 feet 6 inches of her in all of her beauty and radiance.  With one leg casually crossed over the other, Amalla stared at Keitaro and Tsuruko with a big, playful grin as she took in the sight before her.   Keitaro looked upon the dark-skinned amazon beauty and noted two things about Amalla as he stared back at her in turn: The first was that Amalla had a body that was just as alluring as Tsuruko's body, with similar defining features with regards to her breasts, neck, shoulders, waist, hips, and legs.  The only noticeable difference between the two was that the six pack (possibly an eight pack in the making?) was more defined on Amalla's torso, but no less sexually appealing whatsoever.  Amalla was a perfect hybrid of strength and beauty wrapped in one tall, dominating package.  And as for the second thing about Amalla, the woman seemed to have no qualms about standing naked before Keitaro or others for that matter.  To her, being in the buff was as natural as breathing or blinking, which made Keitaro blush a bit wondering if there was ANYTHING that made Amalla nervous or embarrassed in any way whatsoever.

"Well now," Amalla continued with that big grin on her face, "you two seem to be getting along rather nicely.  Please, don't let me intrude on the show of gratitude, Tsuruko.  I was certainly enjoying the show."  Tsuruko started blushing at this coy statement of Amalla's, feeling embarrassed that this seductress of a woman had caught her in a moment of emotional vulnerability and witnessed Tsuruko's wild side come out for a moment.

"H-how long have you been there watching?" asked Tsuruko.

"Since the moment you barged in and introduced Keitaro to your impressive bosom, my dear Tsu-chan," replied Amalla with a grin.  "I must say, I wasn't expecting you to wage tongue war on our darling little Kei-kun right after, but I'm certainly not dissatisfied at all with such a development.  It certainly helps move the plan in the right direction, after all."

"W-what plan?" asked Keitaro.

"Oh, nothing you need fret over right now, darling Kei-kun," replied Amalla as she began making her way towards the two of them, bending down so that her head was more level with Keitaro's in the process.  As she cleared the gap between the doorway and Keitaro, he couldn't help but catch a glimpse of Amalla's womanhood in the process.  Just like Tsuruko, Amalla had a rather well-trimmed patch of hair at the spot where her super sexy legs converged.  Apparently, the carpet did indeed match the curtains, so to speak, since this patch was a lovely shining silver, just like Amalla's glowing silver locks up top.  If Amalla was embarrassed at showing Keitaro her womanhood as she neared towards him, she didn't show any sign of it whatsoever.

As she knelt down so that her head was level with Keitaro's, Amalla proceeded to lovingly embrace Keitaro, wrapping her arms around his neck and torso, and also planting a kiss on his lips in the process.  While there was no tongue involved in this kiss, it was certainly no less enticing or stimulating of a kiss compared to Tsuruko's (at least from Keitaro's perspective).  The softness of Amalla's lips and the heavenly aroma of her own womanly musk was driving Keitaro's brain into overdrive.  Being in the presence of these two towering nude beauties was making Keitaro's heart pound like a sledgehammer with the pacing of a jackhammer; this wasn't lost upon either Amalla or Tsuruko, who could feel his heartbeat through their skin-to-skin contact, and who were both smiling at knowing that the touch of their bodies excited this little man who was locked in their embrace.

"Like Tsuruko here, I'm also relieved that you're alive and doing well," said Amalla as she broke the kiss, "I was planning on coming up here alone, but apparently Tsu-chan wasn't taking ‘no' for an answer when it came to seeing you the moment you woke up."  Amalla glanced at Tsuruko with that catlike grin of hers while Tsuruko blushed and ended up puffing her cheeks in embarrassment.

‘Is she actually pouting?' thought Amalla, ‘That is just too adorable!'

"And apparently, it seems that Tsuruko and I aren't the only ones who were only too insistent on making sure that you were safe and in good health upon your awakening...isn't that right, ladies?" said Amalla as she looked over her shoulder back towards the doorway.

Sure enough, standing at the entrance were Naru, Kanako, Kaolla and Motoko, also nude, also standing in equally appeasing sexual allure, also focusing their eyes upon Keitaro as he laid within the embrace of both Amalla and Tsuruko.  To say that all of them were beautiful in Keitaro's eyes would be like saying that rain is kind of wet.  Upon Amalla's announcement of the presence of the remaining women of the group, all four ladies entered Kaolla's bedroom, and oddly enough, all of them were in the nude and apparently not so embarrassed as to shriek and run off upon presenting their glorious female forms before Keitaro's vision.  Aside from heavy blushes upon the faces of all four of them, they entered the room as if nothing else was out of the ordinary (aside from them ranging around seven feet in height and standing in their birthday suits of course).

As the four of them crossed the threshold of Kaolla's bedroom, Naru and Kanako immediately made a beeline for Keitaro, kneeling downward and joining in on the group hug of the now four women who had embraced the manager of the Hinata House dorms.

From Keitaro's perspective, it was torture enough that he be embraced by the twin towers that were Amalla and Tsuruko who were hugging his form, what with the feel of their supple and smooth skin pressed against his body (especially their breasts) while inhaling the scent of their seductively over-the-top female essence.  Now with Naru and Kanako joining the fray, Keitaro's mental/emotional fortitude was getting a full-blown workout as he tried with all his might not to pass out via nosebleed from so much female contact, especially when it was four women and one of them was the woman he was officially going steady with.  The fact that all four women were also naked made the challenge all the more difficult, as he was trying his damndest to hide the raging erection that was stirring in his pants in that very moment as he was being cornered from four different directions by these towering, hot-as-hell, naked amazons who were clinging onto him in that very moment.

"Oh, Keitaro," said Naru, "I'm so glad that you're okay!  I should have been there with you at the marketplace, then I could have protected you from those bastards!  I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch over you!  I'm not going to make the same mistake again!  From now on, I'm going to be there whenever you need me, no matter how small a task it may seem.  I'm not letting you out of my sight again, especially after what happened back there in town."  Naru was pretty damn adamant about looking after Keitaro's well-being, as an impulsive obligation to being his girlfriend and protector, but also out of a genuine need to show him how much she cared about him as someone who was truly in love with him.

"Keitaro...Big Brother," said Kanako, "It's all my fault for what happened back there!  I should have stepped in the moment that brawl started back in town.  If I had, then you wouldn't have had to jump in to try and stop things from getting worse.  And because I didn't act in time, you ended up getting hurt because of it...because of me!  Because of my hesitance in not wanting to get tangled up in all of that roughhousing!  Well no more!  I'm going to make it up to you.  From now on, I'm going to look after you and care for your every want and need.  Whatever it is you desire, just call on me and I'll see to it that you have it at a moment's notice.  Please, whatever you want or need, you can rely on me to see to it that you're well looked after.  Nothing would make me happier than your happiness, Big Brother."

Both Naru and Kanako were making their statements to Keitaro at the exact same time, so from Keitaro's perspective, he was being bombarded by apologies and oaths of loyalty and servitude at the exact same time from both Naru and Kanako.  As a result, making out the exact words from both women was rather difficult for him to pull off, given that they were making their apologies and oaths to him at the exact same time.  Imagine two people going off with lengthy speeches without any breaks or hesitations in their deliveries.  From Keitaro's point of view, that was what was happening to him as Naru and Kanako poured their hearts out and vowed to look after him as they joined in on the four-way pile up onto Keitaro between themselves along with Amalla and Tsuruko.

"P-please ladies," responded Keitaro as he looked up into their lovely, goddess-like features, "I'm certainly happy that you're both concerned about my well-being and safety, but this is simply too much to take in at once.  I can only make out so much when the two of you are trying to talk over one another."  Keitaro's response made both Kanako and Naru blush on instinct, feeling a little silly at the sudden insistence of their loving boasts towards the man they cherished in equal measure.

"I understand, Keitaro," said Naru, "I'm just so happy that you're okay.  Actually, I'm not sure if there's a word strong enough to describe just how much I'm glad that you're safe right at this moment."  Naru's embrace of Keitaro was matching that of Amalla's and Tsuruko's, with Kanako more-or-less matching Naru's embrace in both strength and affection as she followed up with her reply.

"I'm in agreement with Naru on that, Big Brother," said Kanako with elation in her voice.  "You have no idea how worried I was when you got shot by that horrible little man.  If I ended up losing you...I...I...I don't know what I'd do."  Kanako paused in her response before continuing at little more than a whisper as she sported a growing blush, "You don't know just how crazy I am about you, honestly."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't make out that last part, Kanako," replied Keitaro.  "Could you repeat that, please?"

"N-nothing, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Keitaro," Kanako stammered with the blush still going strong on her lovely features.  Of course, the other three girls DID understand what Kanako had just said and all glanced at her with a look that told her just that.  Amalla in particular was sporting that trademark grin of hers as she made eye contact with Kanako.  Clearly, the older Molmolian girl was really enjoying Kanako's borderline love confession to Keitaro, given that she was playing matchmaker for literally EVERYONE at Hinata.

"A-hem," said Kaolla lounging near the doorway entrance of her own bedroom just like Amalla had done just a moment ago, "while I'm sure that Keitaro enjoys everybody's company, I believe that the four of you are smothering him a touch at the present moment."  The other four girls who were huddled around Keitaro turned to see Kaolla standing by with a grin on her face much like that of her older sister's.

"Besides," continued Kaolla, "I get the feeling that you're all about to overload Keitaro with a little too much stimulation from so much...exposure."  She finished her statement with a grin, given that the other girls had caught on to her implication.

After all, the collective realization of their group nudity had suddenly registered among them, though in the cases of Amalla and Kaolla, neither of the Su sisters were really panicking with embarrassment at all from the revelation of it.  As far as they were concerned, being nude in the privacy of one's home was as natural as breathing.

Deciding that Keitaro had enough seductive stimulation for one night, the other girls proceeded to take their leave of the room so as to get themselves dressed and ready to call it a night.  As they were preparing to leave Kaolla's bedroom, Tsuruko placed a hand on Amalla's shoulder and said something that surprised the older Su sister.

"I'm in," said Tsuruko with a stern look on her face.

"Come again?"  replied Amalla with a cocked eyebrow.

"This little...harem plan of yours, or whatever you wish to refer to it as...I'm in."  Tsuruko's response made Amalla raise both eyebrows in genuine surprise before responding.

"Well, well, well...I must confess I'm a bit shocked that you'd jump on board with my little proposition back in the baths.  I'm sorry if I'm pressing you on this, but I simply must know:  What brought about this sudden willingness?"

"I'm drawn to him," replied Tsuruko.  "His kindness, his easygoing attitude, his selflessness...I find it soothing to my very being.  Whenever I'm near him, I find myself wanting to be in his presence.  I want to help him, to embrace him, to cuddle and snuggle with him.  I could see myself growing old with him.  He just has this habit of making me feel...I don't know...at peace, if that makes any kind of sense."  Tsuruko finished her explanation with a blush, which in turn got a grin from Amalla.

"I think I get your meaning," replied Amalla.  "And what about you, my dear Motoko-chan?"  She said this as she turned to the other Aoyama sister, who was sporting her own strong blush upon hearing that both she and her sister now harbored romantic love for the same man.

"W-w-well...I mean...I...I just...t-this is a bit too much to take in right now..."  Clearly, Motoko was at a loss for words at this revelation from Tsuruko.

"Well, would you look at that, Tsu-chan," said Amalla with a giggle, "it seems that Mo-chan here is practically rendered speechless at what she's just heard."  Tsuruko found herself giggling in concert with Amalla at the sight of her younger sister's reaction.

"I'd have to concur with you, Ama-chan," replied Tsuruko.  "Come now, my dear Motoko, we should get back to our room and dress ourselves before heading to bed.  Now that Keitaro is physically well and safe, my mind is more at ease than it was upon arriving here.  Besides, we wouldn't want to catch a cold now, would we?"

"Y-yes, dear sister," said Motoko as the Aoyama sisters made their way towards Motoko's room.

That left Amalla, Naru, and Kanako standing outside Kaolla's room (all of them still in the nude as well), and left to process the dialogue which had just occurred both in said bedroom and outside of it.

"Well," began Amalla, "I'm going to go and let the others in the baths know that there's nothing to worry about regarding Keitaro.  I figure you two should either join me or else dry yourselves off and get dressed, otherwise you might end up coming down with something come morning.  And also...I hope you two are on board with my proposal, as I would just LOVE to get to know you lovely ladies alongside our little Kei-kun, particularly in the bedroom."  Amalla's closing statement left both Naru and Kanako with heavy blushes at just how open and inviting the woman could be when it came to romance and intimacy.

"So..." said Naru, at a bit of a loss for words, "that just happened."

"Y-yeah," responded Kanako.

"That stuff...you said back in the baths," said Naru.

"What of it?" replied Kanako.

"D-did you mean it?"

"Of course I did.  I love Keitaro with all my heart and soul.  I want to be by his side.  I want the title of ‘Mrs. Urashima' to be one of marriage and not simply because I was adopted into his family.  I want to form a family with him and spend every waking hour I possibly can with him.  To be blunt and as ‘to-the-point' as I can possibly be, I'm madly in love with him, plain and simple.  And I'm willing to compromise a little bit if I can stay with him forever.  If that means sharing him with you...hell, sharing him with ALL of you, then I can accept it.  THAT is how much I love that man."

Naru  simply stood there in shock upon hearing all of this from the Urashima woman.  Even though she had heard this stuff in the baths just moments earlier, it was still enough of a surprise to hear how much conviction that Kanako held in her love for Keitaro.  The girl was willing to share him when it came to loving him...share him not just with Naru but potentially EVERYONE at Hinata House.  Was Naru willing to do the same?  Was she a big enough woman (pun intended) to not let selfishness and greed rule her when it came to Keitaro's affection and love?  At the moment, her head was in a whirlwind of emotion as she was trying to process everything that had just occurred over the past hour or so.

"I...I...I need time to think," responded Naru, "to get my head together.  I'm gonna head back to the baths...to go check on Mei and the others.  I'll see you later, Kanako."

"I couldn't help but notice that you didn't say ‘no' to Amalla's proposal," said Kanako.

"I didn't say ‘yes' to it either," responded Naru with a blush.

"Look," replied Kanako, "I'm not going to force an answer out of you right now.  I know you love Keitaro, and you have a good heart.  You deserve him, much as it pains me to admit it, but know that I love him to the point that my chest swells whenever I think about him.  I just can't stop loving him, so if you really want to snuff out this little harem plan that Amalla's got cooking up, then you'll need to put your foot down and crush it while it's still in the works.  Just know that it won't stop me from loving Keitaro, no matter what."
"I...uhh...I need to go now," replied Naru, trying to find a way out of the conversation.  She simply couldn't bring herself to be cold enough to do what Kanako had just suggested to her.  Was she having considerations about letting a harem form around Keitaro?  For the time being, Naru needed to clear her head, so she made her way off and back towards the baths, as she took a heavy breath and considered her options.

Meanwhile, back in Kaolla's bedroom...

With the other four women now vacating the premises, Keitaro now found himself with just Kaolla for company...in her bedroom...completely naked...and standing proudly and without shame or embarrassment whatsoever.  Even with fewer towering female bodies in his presence, Keitaro was still sporting a strong blush and the warning signs of a raging erection at the sight of so much bare female skin in his presence.

"Well then," said Kaolla as she looked down at Keitaro from her greater height with the same childlike charm in her smile and demeanor, "now that things have calmed down somewhat, let's take a look at you then, Keitaro."  Kaolla proceeded to close the distance between the two of them, kneeling downward in the process as she stood just inches away from Keitaro.

For his part, Keitaro was blushing furiously as the Molmolian princess got right up into his personal space without a care as if nothing was wrong.  Like the other women, it was her scent - her heavenly female musk that was really getting to Keitaro just as much as the sight of her youthful female skin on full display before him.

"K-Kaolla," stuttered Keitaro as he averted his eyes, "c-could you please put some clothes on?"

"Why's that, Keitaro?" she responded with a smile.  "We're in my room, so shouldn't I be allowed to lounge around comfortably if I want to do so."

"I-it's a matter of public decency," replied Keitaro, "At the very least, could you put on some underwear or something so as to cover up your...well, you know."  Kaolla was giggling on the inside at how flustered Keitaro was at the sight of her body.  A part of her wished to keep teasing him, but she decided to relent and play along so as to not give him a raging nosebleed  (along with his boner, which she was close to licking her lips at the sight of).

"Oh, alright then, Keitaro," said Kaolla as she sauntered off towards her dresser, making sure to sway her hips just the right way so as to continuously tempt Keitaro with the sight of her curves and the perky plumpness of her tush as she made her way over.

After placing a sleek pair of panties and a matching bra that hugged her enhanced chest, Kaolla resumed with getting up in Keitaro's personal space, standing tall and proud over him as she cast him in her shadow once more.

‘He's so adorable at this size,' thought Kaolla, ‘I just want to scoop him up right now and cuddle with him in bed.  I wonder if this is a potential side effect of the growth hormone.  Further study is required, I suppose.  In either case, I need to make sure I did a good job patching him up.  Won't do the harem plan any good if the central pillar's well-being is in jeopardy.'

"K-Kaolla, what are you doing?" Keitaro asked as she once more stood before him as she knelt down in front of him.

"Just hold still for a moment, Keitaro," she responded as she reached for his waistline, tugging his sweater upwards gently as she took a knee.  "I need to check and make sure your wound is healing properly."  As she folded the lower portion of Keitaro's sweater upwards, she examined the bandages around his torso closely and methodically, all while Keitaro was continuously blushing at being in such close proximity to a towering young lady who was now only wearing rather alluring lingerie as she inspected his wound.

"S-so, it was you who bandaged me up then, Kaolla?" asked Keitaro trying to break the awkward silence.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed with a smile.  "Lucky for us, the bullet went clear through and didn't hit any of your vital organs.  After applying some disinfectant and ointments, I proceeded to bandage you up.  We should probably switch out your bandages within a few hours, by noon tomorrow at the latest.  There might be some mild scarring, but I can fix that with some ointments to help your skin repair itself."

"It wasn't you who carried me back here was it?" asked Keitaro.  "I could have sworn it was..."

"Amalla, yes," replied Kaolla finishing Keitaro's open train of thought.  "After you were wounded, she carried you in her arms and hopped across the rooftops in town to bring you back to us.  My sister certainly knows how to cover ground when the moment demands it.  It's one of the few traits she has an advantage over me.  I usually pride myself on brains, whereas Amalla prides herself on physical ability."

"I must remember to thank her the next time I see her," mused Keitaro, "and you as well, Kaolla.  Thank you...you saved my life.  I owe you, big time."

Kaolla responded by looking Keitaro in the eyes with a smile that emanated both genuine joy and something more seductive in its nature.  With big dreamy eyes she leaned forward and planted a soft, loving kiss on Keitaro's lips, which in turn made Keitaro freeze up at the suddenness of Kaolla's show of intimacy.

"No need to thank me Keitaro," she said after ending the long, passionate smooch.  "You're very precious to me, to all of us here at Hinata.  It simply wouldn't do for you to be out of our lives.  I wouldn't accept any other outcome.  After all, things cannot proceed without you.  Everyone's happiness depends on it."  Kaolla stood tall once more after her examination, placing a hand on her hip as she lovingly glanced down at Keitaro with a smile so warm that it could melt refrigerated butter within seconds.

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment, Kaolla," said Keitaro, "I guess I should go let the others know that I'm okay.  Don't want them to worry needlessly after all."

"That's okay, Keitaro," replied Kaolla.  "Everyone is relaxing in the hot springs right now, and Amalla is heading back to let them know that your recovery is going well.  So all you need to do is relax and heal yourself."

"Oh, alright then.  Well I suppose I'll retire to my room then."  Keitaro slowly made his way towards Kaolla's door, but was intercepted by none other than Kaolla herself, who stood with her hands on her hips and looking down at Keitaro with a smile.

"Now, now Keitaro," said Kaolla with some playful mischief in her voice, "you've just gotten up a moment ago and you shouldn't be moving around too much.  Given your injury and the fact that it's getting late in the evening, you should be back in bed resting."

"W-well, Kaolla," Keitaro said looking up into her eyes (which was still surreal in and of itself, given that this girl was under 5 feet tall not so long ago and now she towered over him just like everyone else), "I was just making my way to my room to do just that, so if you'll please excuse me."

After a playful glance at her manager, Kaolla proceeded to do something that her sister would engage in: she swooped in and carried Keitaro bridal style in her arms (which elicited a yelp from Keitaro in response, much to Kaolla's delight).

"I have an idea," said Kaolla as she walked over to her bed, "I have a nice big bed for us right here.  Why don't I just tuck you in and you can get some shuteye while you recover?"  Though Kaolla was technically asking a question, her tone of voice and the ambiance she exuded in her questioning made it clear that she wasn't taking "no" as an answer to her offer.

"B-but it wouldn't be proper," muttered Keitaro, "you're my tenant and I'm your manager.  What would the others say if they heard we were sleeping in the same bed together?  What would Naru say?  I can't do that to her.  It wouldn't be right."

‘Oh, you're such a sweety,' thought Kaolla, ‘Naru's really lucky to have you, but she's going to have to learn to share, as I think we ALL deserve you.'

"Now don't you go off worrying about such things, Kei-kun," replied Kaolla with a smile as she made her way to her bed and proceeded to lay Keitaro into it.  "In time, everything is going to work out here, not just between you and Naru, but for EVERYONE here at Hinata.  Trust me, before long, everyone here is going to be open and honest with their feelings."

"B-but Kaolla, I don't understand what you're getting at.  What are you talking about?  And what does everyone else have to do with...wait...Kei-kun?"  Keitaro's face lit up, flustered with embarrassment once more at the cute little nickname Kaolla had thrown his way.

"Yes, indeed Kei-kun," said Kaolla with a smile, "I believe that's what people who have feelings for one another use, correct?  The suffixes ‘-chan' for girls and ‘-kun' for boys, yes?"

"Y-yes, that's true Kaolla, but why did you use that term with me?"  asked Keitaro, sensing where this conversation was going.

Kaolla simply responded to his questioning by leaning in and planting another kiss on Keitaro, this time much deeper as she probed his lips with her tongue, demanding entrance.  The shock of the act took Keitaro by surprise, so when he instinctively opened his mouth in response, Kaolla seized her opportunity and invaded his mouth with all the gusto she had at her disposal.  For a solid minute or two, the pair of them simply embraced in the entanglement of tongues and saliva passing between them, though Kaolla was certainly taking the lead in this case.  Just like Amalla, Kaolla had a knack for getting feisty when she was in the mood.  And right now, she wanted to let Keitaro know just how she felt about him through her actions.

Upon pulling away and panting in response, Koala looked lovingly into Keitaro's eyes with a not-so-subtle afterglow as she asked him in a rather sultry tone of voice:  "Does that explain why I called you ‘Kei-kun', my sweet little Kei-kun?"

"K-Kaolla...I...you...we...I can't...Naru..." Keitaro was at a loss for words, having just experienced a taste of nirvana from the Molmolian girl who basically confessed her feelings to him through the act of kissing.  While the experience was certainly exhilarating, a part of him felt guilty engaging in an act of intimacy with someone other than Naru.  It felt like an act of betrayal in his mind.

Sensing his hesitation and sense of guilt for what had just happened, Kaolla decided to assuage any such feelings from Keitaro right there and then.

"Now Keitaro," said Kaolla in a surprisingly calming tone, "don't worry about how Naru will feel about this.  We're going to have a nice little talk with her about things moving forward.  For now, just rest and get your strength back.  We'll talk more in the morning, my little prince."

Before Keitaro could respond, he found himself coming down with a strong wave of fatigue.  Curious as to why this suddenly came over him he looked and noticed that his right forearm had felt a pinprick sensation.  Upon inspection, Keitaro learned that he had been given some kind of injection via a syringe which Kaolla held in her hand.  As he looked up at her, Keitaro tried his darndest to speak.

"K-Kaolla," said Keitaro with a slurred tone of voice, "what did you stick me with?"

"Just a minor sedative that will give you pleasant dreams while you spend the night here with us, that's all.  I knew you were going to insist on leaving, so I decided to veto your decision.  Please forgive me, Keitaro."  While she was mischievous in her nature at times, Kaolla was sincere in feeling a bit guilty over pulling a fast one on Keitaro during that little kiss of hers.

"W-wait...us?" asked Keitaro as his world started to go black.

"Myself and Amalla, silly," answered Kaolla, "She is my roommate after all."

"Oh...right..." muttered Keitaro as he finally drifted off to sleep in Kaolla's bed, resigning to the hard truth that he would be spending the night recovering with the Su sisters and that there was nothing he could do to change that outcome otherwise.

"Goodnight, my little Kei-kun," whispered Kaolla as she planted one more kiss upon his lips.

A moment later, Amalla entered the bedroom, ducking her head under Kaolla's doorframe as she crossed the threshold.

"Well then," asked the older Su sibling, "how is he faring?"

"He'll recover just fine.  Should get his strength back in a few days."

"Glad to hear it.  I told the others in the baths how he was doing and they seemed content with my explanation of things.  They wanted to visit him, but I told him that he needed his rest for the time being, and eventually they relented.  So then, Kei-kun is spending the night with us then?"

"You're against that idea?" asked Kaolla with a cocked eyebrow.

"Not at all," replied Amalla with a grin.  "Just surprised you ended up having him stay the night is all.  I figured that he would try to politely turn down the offer."

"He tried alright.  That's why I ended up using a little medical persuasion to try and change that outcome."  Kaolla held up the syringe in her hand to help get the point across.

"You little trickster, you," said Amalla with a grin.

"I've learned from the best," replied Kaolla with her own grin.

The Su sisters proceeded to get into Kaolla's bed together, with Keitaro's sleeping form nestled between them.  Under the circumstances, the bed was feeling rather cramped with the presence of three people now resting in it.  As the Su sisters began nodding off to sleep, they positioned their bodies so that their breasts were gently nudged up against Keitaro's cheeks while they draped their arms over his torso and their legs over his legs.  If any man saw Keitaro in his current state, they most likely would have cursed him for being in such an envious position as to be sandwiched between these two towering dark-skinned beauties.  Eventually, as nightfall descended, the Su sisters began nodding off to sleep, with their prospective husband-to-be nestled between them, glad that he was safe and in their custody for the night.

Dawn had arisen over the sleepy little town of Hinata City, cresting over the horizon and waking the residents of the humble little resort town.  As the sun slowly made its way up and over the landscape, bringing its golden glow to the world and warming the landscape, the increasing glow of the sun's light began stirring the numerous inhabitants of the town awake and ready to face the day.  Among those residents, of course, were the inhabitants of the Hinata House dormitory, which had increased in size (and number) over the past day-and-a-half, roughly speaking.

Of those residents of the Hinata House dorms was its manager, one Keitaro Urashima, currently sleeping in the bed of one of his tenants, one Kaolla Su and her older sister, Amalla Su.  All three were sleeping within the same bed, Keitaro in the center with each of the Su sisters flanking him in a very intimate embrace as the morning came.

As Keitaro awoke, he became aware of such an embrace as he blinked his eyes open and took in the sight before him.  From what he could recall, he had fallen asleep in Kaolla's bedroom after having a brief one-on-one with her over a number of issues, one of them being the state of affairs between the two of them exclusively.  After all, he and Naru were dating, and he didn't want to commit an act of infidelity against her, given how the two of them were trying to make things work with regards to their relationship over the last few months.

In any case, as Keitaro stirred awake, he found himself in the embrace of both of the Su sisters and couldn't help but blush at the level of intimacy he was experiencing.  Most of Keitaro's mornings would simply be of him waking up alone in his bed in his own room, as he and Naru still slept in separate rooms up to this point.  So the fact that he had awoken in the presence of not one but two beautiful women was almost more than his mind could fathom.

Upon stirring awake, Keitaro was puzzled as to how he was going to get out of bed without waking either woman who was clutching his side quite securely.  Given his nature of being as considerate as he could towards others, Keitaro tried his best to avoid giving discomfort or hardship in any way whatsoever.

"Well," gruned Keitaro quietly, "here goes something."  He had a pretty good idea how this attempt at escape was going to go, but he figured that he couldn't stay in bed all day long, not with his managerial duties to tend to.

As he started to push himself up to get into a seated position, Keitaro was surprised to find out that the Su sisters' arms had let up and plopped down on the bed as Keitaro freed himself from their embrace.  He was rather surprised that they had loosened their hold on him easily enough, as he figured that they would wish to keep him in bed for quite a while longer.

Just as he was getting ready to slowly extricate himself from their entanglement of legs, Keitaro suddenly found an arm from each side draping across his chest and playfully pulling him back down flat onto the bed.

"Why, good morning, Keitaro," said Amalla with a giggle.  "How did you sleep?"

Keitaro was somewhat surprised by how forward Amalla was at that moment.  He glanced briefly at Amalla's smiling face for a few seconds before turning to see if Kaolla was also awake.  Sure enough, Kaolla's smiling face greeted Keitaro alongside her sister's.  Both Su sisters were wide awake.

"I...uhh...I slept well," replied Keitaro.  "Did I wake the two of you?"

"Not at all," answered Kaolla with a grin.  "We were already awake before you woke up.  We just decided to pretend we were sleeping to see what you would do when you stirred awake."

"Oh...I see," said Keitaro.  Even if the Su sisters were actually sleeping, chances were slim that Keitaro could have left the bed without stirring either of them awake, given how entangled his body was within their arms and legs.  It would have been a minor miracle for him to sneak out of their bedroom under those circumstances.

"How does your wound feel?" asked Amalla.

"About the same as yesterday," answered Keitaro.  "A bit sore, but not too tender.  I just need to avoid any heavy labor or anything too physically demanding and I should be back to full strength within a few days."

"If anything, you should avoid doing ANY work at all, given how recent that wound is," replied Amalla.  "Wouldn't you agree, Kaolla?"

"Indeed," Kaolla chimed in.  "You should be on a strict regimen of bedrest and lounging for at least a week if not longer.  I can provide you with some mild painkillers while you heal, but it'll still take several days for your skin and muscles to repair themselves.  During that time, you are barred from doing any strenuous physical activity, especially heavy lifting."

"I'm barred?" asked Keitaro with a cocked eyebrow.  "Forgive my reaction, Kaolla, but I'm not sure you have the authority to keep me from doing my job.  I am the manager of the dorms and there are daily chores and tasks that need tending to.  So while I appreciate your concern, I'm  afraid that I'm going to have to insist on letting me do my job as manager."

"Oh?" asked both Amalla and Kaolla with an amused tone of voice.

"Are you sure you could even get out of this bed right now?" asked Amalla.  "Forgive me my bluntness, Keitaro, but I doubt you could remove yourself from this bed unless Kaolla and I both ALLOWED you to leave.  We are big girls after all," Amalla finished with a chuckle.  The look on Kaolla's face basically read agreement with her sister on that statement.

"Besides," followed up Kaolla, "I seriously doubt that just the two of us are against you doing any hard work whatsoever.  I imagine that if we were to put it to a vote, then everyone in the dorms would be against you doing any type of physical activity that would risk endangering your health or opening up your wound.  Shall I go get the others and we can see for ourselves?"  Kaolla's tone of voice basically spelled it out for Keitaro: If he insisted on doing his managerial duties, then all the women (all of whom were bigger and stronger than him) would overrule his decision.

"Ughhh," sighed Keitaro, "look, ladies, even if you have a point on me avoiding doing any strenuous or hard work, the work still needs doing.  If not me, then who is going to check on the day-to-day maintenance issues?  We can't just leave things stagnant, otherwise problems will start building up over time."

"We can handle several of the daily chores and tasks around the dorms," replied Amalla.  "Things like cooking, dishes, laundry, taking out the garbage...I'm sure us girls can handle the little things like that.  And as for the more ‘hands-on' tasks that are more physically demanding, I have just the thing to help out with those sorts of chores."

"W-what is that?" asked Keitaro with genuine curiosity.

"Well, by around this time, we should be getting a ‘special delivery' of sorts.  A small contingent of servants from our homeland are making their way directly to Hinata House as we speak.  I imagine that they should be here within an hour or so, given their last status check.  They must have crossed over into Japanese airspace by now."

"H-how do you know this?" asked Keitaro with surprise upon hearing this.

"They're riding on one of my mecha-Tamas," answered Kaolla, "like the one that I had sent to pick up the groceries in town.  I've had some of them constructed or sent to Molmol to help out with transportation services and hauling heavy cargo loads.  So Amalla and I had one arranged to deliver both supplies and personnel to help assist with the day-to-day tasks around the dorms.  So whatever jobs need doing - changing light bulbs, fixing the plumbing, tending the gardens, fixing roof tiling, cleaning the baths, etc. - just leave it to them.  All they need is a little instruction and they'll be tending to those jobs as if they've worked here for years.  So there's no need to worry on that topic."  Kaolla finished her explanation with a cheerful grin.

"Well...I...uhh...that's..." Keitaro was at a loss for words regarding this boon of good fortune that had landed in his lap.  It was basically a deus ex machina of sorts that had just descended upon Hinata House and provided a solution to problems regarding labor, especially when it came to Keitaro's current physical condition.  This reaction brought forth a giggle from both the Su sisters, who couldn't help but find Keitaro's state of being tongue-tied to be rather adorable.

"While I appreciate the assistance, ladies," said Keitaro as he got his thoughts together, "I really can't impose this upon your people.  I don't want to have to make others do the work that I should be doing, so I..."  Before he could get another word in, Amalla decided to put her foot down in the midst of this conversation.

"Oh, Keitaro," she said, "you REALLY are such a ‘goody-two-shoes' sometimes.  It's really no imposition whatsoever.  Our servants are used to everyday tasks that need tending to, whether it would be back home in Molmol or overseas.  To deny them the means to be of use would be a minor insult to them, especially since they came all the way over here.  And rest assured, we don't treat our workers like slaves.  They won't be run ragged or working without breaks in between their tasks.  So please, stop being so darn considerate and just let them be of assistance here at the dorms.  It's like Kaolla said, you really shouldn't be exerting yourself right now while you're recovering, so our servants can pick up the slack in house chores while you get some much needed rest and relaxation."

"And if you're concerned about compensation for their work," said Kaolla picking up where Amalla left off, "you need not worry yourself over that either.  The royal family makes sure that our servants are adequately compensated for their work.  In fact, being a servant for a member of the royal family is a somewhat coveted position among Molmolian culture.  The reason is because the pay and benefits allotted are higher than most other jobs in Molmol.  So you see, our servants will not be inconvenienced during their time here at Hinata, so please don't worry yourself over them, sweet though that it is for you to do so."

Sensing that the Su sisters weren't taking ‘no' for an answer when it came to Keitaro continuing his managerial duties, he decided to take the path of least resistance and relent.  ‘No point in arguing any further, I guess,' he thought, ‘especially in the presence of women who are much bigger and undoubtedly stronger than you.'

"Well now," said Amalla, "since we've resolved that little issue regarding chores and labor, what say we head downstairs and get something to eat?  I for one certainly have an appetite."

"Sure thing," agreed Kaolla, "I've got a hankering for some bananas right now.  What say we make fruit smoothies when we get downstairs?  After that little shopping trip, we should have enough fruit to go around.  I'm sure everyone will appreciate that."

"Sounds like a plan," said Amalla with a smile.  "Let's get out of bed and get dressed then.  I figure by this point that someone else will probably be up by now."

As the Su sisters got upright and out of bed, Keitaro couldn't help but notice a few things.

For one thing, when their feet hit the floorboards of Kaolla's room, they made a particularly strong ‘thud' of a sound.  The thing was that they didn't seem to be stomping the floor by their movements; it simply appeared that their weight was so great - given their larger size - that it was only reasonable to deduce that the floor would groan in response to change in their weight (not that Keitaro would ever point this out of course; he knew enough to not comment on a woman's weight under any circumstances).

Another thing he noticed was that the bed appeared to creak particularly loudly as Amalla and Kaolla made their way off of it.  While it could have been somewhat reasonable to understand such a thing, given that there were currently three occupants within it, Keitaro recalled that the beds at Hinata House were rather sturdy overall.  So even if there were three people laying within it (rather close up to one another at that), the bedframe should not protest too loudly in response to their movements...which it was doing just that.

Yet another thing that caught Keitaro's eye:  When he was seated upright and attempting to get out of bed earlier, he couldn't help but notice that both Amalla and Kaolla's legs appeared to extend well past the foot end of the bed frame.  Whereas their feet (or at least Kaolla's feet, given that she was the shorter of the two) should have ended somewhere near the edge of the bed frame, each of the sisters had their feet well past that point, hanging off the edge around their ankles...and that was with their legs bent while they rested in bed.  If they had straightened out their legs, then how far would they extend over the edge?  At the shin?  At the knee?  It was difficult to tell at this point, but things definitely seemed off.

The last thing he noticed was the sight of the two towering Molmolians who stood before him, once they got out of bed and stood upright.  As the sisters got out of bed, Keitaro couldn't help but notice that neither of them was wearing anything at all.  The realization that he was sleeping in the same bed as two nude women made him flustered (along with being aroused, much to his embarrassment - damn you, evolutionary biology!).  Upon the sight of their naked bodies, Keitaro diverted his eyes and spoke up once more.

"Uhh...ladies, you currently aren't...uhm...wearing anything right now," he said with a growing blush on his cheeks.

"Oh, I usually sleep in the nude, Keitaro," replied Amalla with a sultry grin.  "I hope that doesn't upset you too much.  I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable in any way over that little tidbit.  I just tend to be more comfortable not wearing anything when I'm ready to fall asleep."

"Uhhh...okay then," said Keitaro, who was currently flustered upon hearing about Amalla's preferred sleeping arrangements.  ‘This woman is going to give me a heart attack with the way she tempts me, I swear,' thought Keitaro in self-reflection upon this tall, dark-skinned, silver-haired beauty.

"B-but Kaolla," continued Keitaro, "weren't you at least wearing some underwear before going to bed?  Why are you naked too?"

"I am?" asked Kaolla in genuine surprise.  Upon glancing down at herself, sure enough, Kaolla wasn't wearing anything at all.  She was just like Amalla at this point, standing tall and proud, her body brimming with both muscle and ultra-sexy refinement for Keitaro to feast his eyes upon (though he currently was diverting them out of a sense of gentlemanly behavior).

"Huh...I could have sworn I was wearing them before going to bed," stated Kaolla in confusion.  "I wonder, if by chance did they..." Kaolla proceeded to check the bed, scanning the sheets for any sign of her bra or panties.  Sure enough, she found them...or what was left of them, as they were now tattered remains.  Apparently, the straps on both garments had snapped apart sometime during the night, which explained why they had fallen off of Kaolla's body and rendered her nude by morning.  If that was the case, then that meant...

"Well, well, well," said Amalla with that trademark grin of hers, "it looks like my little sister is becoming my ‘not so little' sister now, wouldn't you agree Keitaro?"  Keitaro's response was to simply keep avoiding eye contact while blushing furiously at the sight of these two amazons who towered high above him while he sat in bed.
"I suppose I should check on the latest figures," sighed Kaolla as she reached out for her tracking device which monitored all of the ladies of Hinata whenever a shift in their size occurred.  She couldn't help but notice that the device appeared significantly smaller as she held it, given that she had to be careful with pushing the buttons on it so as to not hit two keys at the same time.  It was just a reminder of how much larger she was becoming, along with everyone else at Hinata House, and how the world appeared to be rapidly shrinking around them all as the days wore on.

‘I guess I really SHOULD try to get working on an antidote soon, or at least something to either slow or stop the growth,' thought Kaolla in reflection.  ‘Otherwise, navigating through the dorms is going to become something of a chore in and of itself in the next few days at this rate.  I just hope the other girls are handling this okay.'

"Oh, dear..." sighed Shinobu as she struggled with her latest bit of clothing.  Despite all of her physical exertions and her wishes for some compliance, none of her clothes would fit her body at all...not without straining against her and most likely tearing apart within minutes after forcing them on.

"Why does this have to keep happening?" moaned Shinobu at her predicament.  From her viewpoint, the experience of continued growth was more frightening than enjoyable.  The realization that her body would swell in size and stretch ever more in length by several inches every few hours...well, it was a lot to emotionally process from Shinobu's perspective.  While girls like Sarah might find the experience to be the coolest thing to ever happen to them, Shinobu was of the more worried sort.  The idea of living in a world that appeared to be regularly shrinking around her made her instinctively concerned and filled with worries and fears.

Getting dressed was becoming difficult enough in and of itself.  It was only by the grace of Kaolla's 3D clothing printer that the ladies of Hinata weren't forced to cover themselves with bedsheets or large towels by this point.  There was also the matter of food.  If the growth rate continued, then pretty soon every girl and woman at Hinata House would be consuming several thousands of calories every day...even ten thousand calories or more if they kept getting larger and larger over the coming days.  Such a caloric intake would be necessary if the ladies found themselves standing at what...ten feet tall or more?

Speaking of height, there was also the issue of living arrangements within the dorms themselves.  Given that the bedroom ceilings were nine feet high, what would happen once all of the girls reached that height or surpassed it?  They would be reduced to either sitting or crouching when inside the building, lest they strain their heads and necks against the ceiling.  The common room's ceiling was a bit higher, given the room's total area (around 12 feet high, Shinobu guessed), but if the girls surpassed that height, then there would be virtually NO room in which any of them could stand upright.  Such a notion brought a tingle of worry up and down Shinobu's spine.

And as for sleeping arrangements, the beds were becoming increasingly smaller - and thus more cramped - for all of the ladies at Hinata House, especially when they were being shared between two or more women.  It would only be a matter of time before the enlarging mass of the evergrowing ladies ended up demolishing the beds, which would be particularly unpleasant if it happened in the middle of the night (which was quite possible, since growth episodes tended to occur during night hours as well as during the daytime).

Then of course, there was interaction with the general public to consider.  What were people going to say or do when they came within the presence of a group of women who towered over everyone else by several feet?  What would happen when that group of women were all ten feet tall?  Or twelve feet?  Or fifteen feet?  Or even more?  How would Shinobu's parents react at the sight of their daughter towering over them so much that their heads would be no higher than her bosom?  Or her waist?  Or her knees?  Or lower even?  How would the families and close friends of the other Hinata ladies react at the sight of their enlarged bodies?

What would Shinobu's classmates say if they saw her the next time in school, assuming she even planned on returning to class once the weekend had passed?  Would they stare in shock and fear?  Would they call her a giant freak?  Would they run to notify the cops or the authorities and have her locked up in the interest of public safety?

All of these thoughts and considerations were swimming through Shinobu's head as she pondered the long-term ramifications of growing into a towering amazon.  It was why she was so insistent with Kaolla on producing a vaccine of sorts to reverse the growth (or at least stop it) as soon as possible.

There was also one other consideration Shinobu was pondering regarding this whole slow growth process in which she and the other women in the dorms were experiencing:  Keitaro Urashima.

It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret as to what Shinobu Maehara felt about Keitaro Urashima.  The girl was outright smitten with the man who was her dormitory manager.  While initially this was considered something akin to a classic schoolgirl crush in which Shinobu would probably grow out of, over time all of the regular tenants at Hinata became aware that the young woman had fallen head-over-heels in love for Keitaro.  The only obstacle to Shinobu confessing her feelings for Keitaro was really Shinobu herself, given that she knew that Keitaro and Naru had now become an item at this point and she didn't want to come between them.

Ever the pure-hearted maiden that she was, Shinobu's philosophy regarding romantic love could be summarized in one statement:  "I want my beloved to be happy, even if that meant that happiness couldn't be shared with me."

Yet now, with Kaolla's little growth hormone having affected all of the Hinata ladies, Shinobu was reconsidering her options regarding her romantic pursuit for Keitaro.  While she was alarmed at the rate in which she was growing, she also saw the potential benefits laid before her.  Prior to the growth spurt, Shinobu had a very modest figure for a girl of her age.  Her curves weren't nonexistent, yet still very humble in appearance, and her bra size was no greater than a B-cup, so she figured she would be doomed to catch Keitaro's eye with feminine charm and alluring sexuality compared to girls like Kitsune, Mutsumi, or Motoko.  Even Naru had a more impressive bosom than hers (before the incident in the hot springs), so Shinobu's personal epiphany in light of all of that was something akin to "How could I even HOPE to compete against that?".

However, that was then, and things had changed significantly since then.  Whereas Shinobu was at the lower end of the five foot range less than two days ago, she was now well over six-and-a-half feet tall (if not seven feet tall by now, given the overnight growth spurt she had along with all the other women).  And her body had certainly developed from that of a young schoolgirl into something more along the lines of a supermodel.  Her hips, her waist, her legs, her rear end, and most profoundly (in Shinobu's opinion) her breasts had all become refined and reshaped to evoke lust and raw animalistic desire.

‘Will Keitaro-senpai find me attractive now?' thought Shinobu as she examined her body, heaving her substantial bosom in her hands - which she noticed had become QUITE sensitive to touch the more her body grew.  ‘Will he see me more as a woman than just a young lady?  Could he finally return the feelings I have for him?  Oh, if only he knew how hard he makes my heart pound just thinking about him.  Sometimes I get dizzy if I think about him for too long, especially...if we were in a bedroom...lying together...underneath the sheets...'  As Shinobu daydreamed about getting into some rather "steamy" content with the man she loved unconditionally (and getting red in the face in the process), a tap on her shoulder pulled her out of her pubescent fantasy.

"Shinobu," asked Nyamo, "are you okay?"

The blue-haired, blue-eyed girl turned around to face her counterpart, who was practically a mirror reflection of Shinobu except for the darker complexion which Nyamo had (around the same shade of tanned brown skin similar to the Su sisters).  And also like Shinobu, Nyamo was sporting an equally seductive body, with the same enhanced bosom and other lovely feminine features as well - all of them enhanced even more so after another overnight growth spurt which had also rendered her too big for her clothes.

"I...I'm fine, Nyamo," replied Shinobu.  "I've just had a lot on my mind, given the last day or so.  It's been a lot to take in, what with this growth spurt we've been having as well as Keitaro getting himself hurt."  Nyamo nodded in agreement, given her generally quiet behavior.

"Do you think Keitaro will be okay?" Shinobu asked as she turned to her roommate with worry in her eyes.  "I really wanted to see him when he was brought back to the dorms, but Amalla insisted that he was okay and needed to rest.  A part of me feels that I should have persisted and at least have gone to see him.  Maybe I should have run off with the others last night, before anybody could have stopped me."

"I trust Amalla," replied Nyamo.  "She's...a trickster sometimes, but she has a good heart.  If she says that Keitaro is okay, then I believe her.  I think if something really bad happened to Keitaro, then Amalla would have told us so, so I'm not going to worry about it until something new happens.  Besides..."

"Besides what?" asked Shinobu with innate curiosity.  It was rare for Nyamo to speak for more than a sentence worth of words, so Shinobu wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to hear more from the girl.

"I...I don't think Amalla would lie to her future wives about something like that..." said Nyamo with a faint blush.  "If she really wants for everyone to get married, then trust and honesty are very important for that to work."

Shinobu went wide-eyed upon hearing Nyamo say such a thing.  It was getting her quite flustered reliving Amalla's proposal in the hot springs to all of the women present.  The very idea of her trying to get married to literally EVERYONE at Hinata House was making Shinobu dizzy.  Was she dead serious about that plan?  Forging a harem between one man and thirteen women?  How would that work?  Could it work?  Apparently from Amalla's perspective it already had, given her marriage situation back home in Molmol with King Lamba Lu and however many women were part of his royal harem.  And now Amalla wanted even more people to call husband and wife (er...wives)?

Shinobu took a moment to get her thoughts together before addressing Nyamo once more.

"Say...Nyamo?" said Shinobu.

"Yes, Shinobu?"

"Do you...are you...uhh...I mean...ugh, why is this so hard to say? [deep breath] Do you like Keitaro?"

There was a pause lasting for perhaps five seconds or so, before Nyamo responded.

"No," said Nyamo with a calm tone of voice.

"N-no?" asked Shinobu in shock, not expecting that answer.  "D-do you hate him then?"

"Of course not," said Nyamo with a grin.

"But you said you didn't like him either," replied Shinobu.  "So I don't get it.  You don't hate him, but you don't like him either?"

"I could never hate Keitaro," Nyamo clarified.  "And I don't like Keitaro...I love Keitaro."

"So..." replied Shinobu, "when you say ‘love', do you mean..."

"I'm IN LOVE with Keitaro, yes," answered Nyamo, "and I know that you are in love with him too.  And I think that's wonderful."  Nyamo finished with a calming grin.

"B-but how can that be wonderful?" declared Shinobu with skepticism dripping in her voice.  "How could you be okay with falling in love with the same man that I am in love with...that other women are in love with?  How could such a thing be ‘wonderful' in your eyes?  I just don't understand..."

"When Keitaro gets married to everybody, or when all of us get married to each other, I think we'll find a way to work things out so that everybody can be happy."  In her explanation, Nyamo didn't skip a beat or falter at all in the confidence she had in her answer.

The Pararakelse islander girl simply left Shinobu befuddled.  It would seem that Nyamo was perfectly fine with Amalla's (and Kaolla's) harem plan that was pitched last night.  Hell, Shinobu wondered if Nyamo happened to be more talkative if she would have voiced joining in on the plan on the spot in front of everyone.

"Nyamo..." said Shinobu as she pondered how to word her response correctly, "are you honestly okay with the idea of having to share Keitaro with twelve other women?  Wouldn't you get...you know...jealous...of not having him all to yourself?"

"I'd want to spend as much time as I could with him, that is true.  But I would have you and the others to keep me company while I waited my turn.  In time, I think I can learn to love you and the others like I love Keitaro.  Of course, I'd expect to have quality time with Keitaro, whether one-on-one or as a small group, but I'm not so mean as to keep anybody else from finding happiness with him too.  Especially none of you.  You're all good people, and I just want all of you to be happy and find love...and I think we could make that work between all of us and Keitaro."  Once again, Nyamo was succinct in her explanation and Shinobu was taken back by how open-minded and big-hearted the dark-skinned girl could be.

"N-Nyamo...how can you...be so...open...to such an idea?" Shinobu asked with incredulity.

"I am simply a young woman in love, Shinobu," replied Nyamo with that calming smile of hers.  "I love Keitaro enough that I'm okay with being in a harem.  If I get to be with him for the rest of my life, then that's fine by me.  Besides, I'd get twelve very pretty...no, beautiful wives to spend time with as well.  I like to think that's not a bad deal all around as far as marriages go."  She finished her justification with a giggle.

"Nyamo...you certainly surprise me sometimes.  Make no mistake about that," replied Shinobu.

"And what about you, Shinobu?" replied Nyamo.  "What do you think about joining in on the harem that Amalla and Kaolla suggested?"

Once again, Shinobu was caught off guard by Nyamo.  The notion of being married to both one man and several other women did cross Shinobu's mind, if she were being honest with herself.  Hell, even before Amalla's little proposition in the baths, Shinobu would have been more than content with being Keitaro's mistress with Naru as his legal wife.  She was smitten with the man after all, so what was another woman but a minor inconvenience in the worst case scenario?  While Amalla's proposition would just extend that scenario to include SEVERAL women, Shinobu wasn't outright against the idea upon hearing it.  Would it seem odd?  Sure.  To outsiders, such a custom would seem like something that occurred on another planet.  Yet Shinobu knew enough of history and other cultures to know that polygamy wasn't THAT farfetched of a notion.

Polygamous relationships were somewhat common in large parts of the African continent, as well as the broader Arab-Muslim world.  Then there was polyandry within the Himalayan nation of Nepal.  Even in the United States, the Mormon religion practiced polygamy in its infant years until Utah applied for statehood and was forced to give up the practice.  And supposedly, the bible figure King Solomon supposedly had 700 wives and 300 concubines (look it up!).  What was one man married to 13 women compared to that?

After pondering Nyamo's question, Shinobu gave her answer.

"I...I admit it seems a little...odd, the idea of all of us being married to Keitaro.  But...when you think about it, would much really change in the big picture?  All of us already live together here at Hinata House, and we're all close with one another like sisters, more or less.  The only thing that would really change is that we'd all be in bed with one another, with Keitaro in the center of it all.  While I would rather be exclusive with Keitaro, I'm not so cruel and selfish as to deny others who are good people to find love as well...and not one of you here is a bad person.  Everyone here has their quirks and their faults, but I wouldn't consider anybody here to be a bad person.  Even Sarah, for all of her mischief-making, is a good person, and Naru and Motoko are trying to turn over a new leaf and abstain from any violence against Keitaro.  So...I guess what I'm trying to say in summary is...while I'm not crazy about the idea of a big group marriage, I'm not necessarily against it either, if that makes any sense."

Nyamo replied with a big smile and an equally big hug, pressing her bosom against Shinobu's as she did so (and making Shinobu blush at the nipple-on-nipple contact that resulted from the act).

"You know what, Shinobu," said Nyamo as she embraced her light-skinned mirror image, "as far as deals go, I'll take it."

Meanwhile, in another dorm room within Hinata House...

"Well, it's official," said Kitsune, "I'm pretty sure that none of our clothes are gonna fit, which most likely means what I think it means."

"You believe we've grown again?" inquired Mutsumi.

"I'd bet a hundred trillion yen that we've all grown overnight," replied Kitsune with outright assurance in her voice.

"Oh goodness," Mutsumi responded with a troubled voice.  "What are we going to do?  At this rate, we'll keep growing and growing until we can no longer fit inside Hinata House.  Then what will happen?"

"Well...hopefully Kaolla will have somethin' figured out before long.  If anybody can fix this lil' problem, it'd be her."

"I hope so," muttered Mutsumi.  There was a momentary pause before she decided to take the conversation elsewhere.

"Do you think Kei-kun is doing alright?  I really wanted to go check on him last night, but I felt that crowding around him might have caused a problem."

"I trust that Amalla and the others had things under control," replied Kitsune.  "I figure that she and Kaolla would take good care of Keitaro after that dustup in the marketplace.  I was a lil' surprised that all them other girls went and tagged along, but I can understand to a point on why that was."

"Oh?" Mutsumi inquired with a raised eyebrow.  "How so?"

"Well, Naru is Keitaro's girlfriend, so it's only natural that she would storm off to check on him when that lil' beepin' device went off.  And Kanako's got it bad for Keitaro when it comes to love, and I don't mean love of the familial kind either.  So between the two of them, it was only natural for them to act the way they did that night."

"What about the other girls?" asked Mutsumi.

"Well," continued Kitsune, "given that Amalla and Tsuruko were with Keitaro in the marketplace during that scuffle, I suppose they wanted to go check on him the moment he recovered, maybe outta a sense of responsibility for him gettin' hurt back there.  And given that he was in Kaolla's room recoverin' up to that point, it makes sense for Kaolla to join in and see how he was doin' the moment he woke up."

"And Motoko?" asked Mutsumi.  "What about her?"

"Well..." Kitsune paused for a moment before choosing her next words.  "Motoko was also with Keitaro at the marketplace, so I suppose she went alongside the others to see how he was doin'.  From what I recall, she looked real concerned about her sister when Tsuruko bolted towards the dorms, so I guess she wanted to make sure her sister was okay as well as Keitaro.  And besides..."

"Yes?" Mutsumi asked, curious to see what Kitsune was getting at.

"Motoko...she's got it bad for Keitaro as well."

"It?" inquired Mutsumi with confusion.

"Love sickness."

"Motoko...is in love with Keitaro?"

"I would bet so," explained Kitsune.  "She tends to hide it pretty well now and then, but I'd wager that she's had strong feelings for the guy for some time now, probably the last few months at least.  I can tell by the way she blushes sometimes whenever she's real close to Keitaro or his name is brought up in conversation.  I hear that she's also thinkin' of enrollin' into Tokyo U, which happens to be the same college that Keitaro has been tryin' to get into.  Quite a coincidence, dontcha think?"

"I suppose you have a point there, Kitsune," replied Mutsumi.  "I honestly just hope Kei-kun is going to be okay with so many women practically throwing themselves at him.  Who knows?  He may very well end up with everyone wanting to be with him at the way things are going."

"E-everyone?" replied Kitsune.  "I don't know about that now, that would be a lotta girls to manage."

"Well, let's go through it then real quick, shall we?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, for starters, Naru is in love with Keitaro, obviously.  There's also Shinobu who has a crush on him, as well as Motoko who seems to harbor strong feelings for him as well, given what you just told me."

"Right," said Kitsune in a sort of ‘Go on, I'm following your logic' tone of voice.

"Then there's Amalla and Kaolla, who both are in love with Keitaro too, especially after hearing it straight from them in the hot springs last night."

"Yeah, so that makes five so far."

"I have a feeling that Nyamo seems drawn to him as well.  I've no solid proof of it, just a woman's intuition on that one."

"Okay, well let's say the girl DOES have feelings for Keitaro.  That still makes six women, which while I would say is certainly a lot, that's not everybody at Hinata."

"Don't forget Kanako as well.  She may be Keitaro's sister - well, adoptive sister anyway - but that hasn't stopped her from loving him as more than a brother."  Kitsune had to admit that Mutsumi had a point there.  Siblings or not, Kanako would always be smitten with Keitaro, no matter what.

"Alright, so that brings us up to seven so far, but seven ain't thirteen," said Kitsune trying to state the obvious.

"Well, I'm not sure yet about Haruka, Tsuruko, Sarah, or Mei at this point.  I don't really know any of them very well and haven't spent time with them closely, so I can't tell as to whether they harbor feelings of love for Keitaro or not.  At the very least, they all seem to be on good terms with him."

"Okay, so leaving them in the ‘maybe' category, that's at least four women who aren't necessarily in love with Keitaro," replied Kitsune.

"Then there's us..." said Mutsumi with a blush, figuring that she would have to bring up the two of them into the equation sooner or later.

"Whoa there, girl," said Kitsune sporting a blush in response, "How do we factor into all of this?"

"Well...I'm pretty sure you know of my feelings for Keitaro, dear Kitsune," replied Mutsumi with a blush and a smile.  "You know that I care deeply about Keitaro, and I always will, no matter what."

Kitsune knew exactly what Mutsumi was getting at.  The woman was one of Keitaro's two ‘promise girls' from their childhood years, alongside Naru; the two little girls who pledged to get into Tokyo U alongside Keitaro so that one of them could marry him and live happily ever after.  Kitsune had gotten to know Mutsumi's character well enough to realize that the Okinawan woman was content to hold an unrequited love for Keitaro, giving up her chance for romance in order for Keitaro and Naru to have their ‘happily ever after' together.  It was a selfless and touching trait which Kitsune deeply respected Mutsumi for, seeing such an act as almost saint-like in its nature.  She knew that if Mutsumi were serious in pursuing a relationship with Keitaro, she could probably get him to fall in love with her and dump Naru in the process.  Yet Mutsumi simply had too big a heart to initiate such an act.  She wanted the man she loved to be happy, and she also wanted the woman she had come to love as a sister to also be happy.  So it was that she put their happiness before her own.

"W-well, I know that you have strong feelings for Keitaro and all, but how do I factor into this?" asked Kitsune.

"It's the little things I've picked up on," replied Mutsumi.  "The way you blush in his presence.  The way you stare at him longingly when you think nobody else is looking.  I saw how you put your finger to his lips when we were in the common room together.  The way you wanted to be of help to him, and especially your tone of voice when you told him so.  I'm pretty sure you have strong feelings for Keitaro; you just don't want to act on them outright, probably for the same reason as me."

"T-the same reason as you?" asked Kitsune, with mild confusion in her voice.

"You don't want to hurt Naru by trying to take Keitaro away from her." Mutsumi elaborated in a calm tone of voice.

Much to Kitsune's surprise, Mutsumi had more-or-less figured out her emotional state regarding Keitaro Urashima.  The Okinawan girl might come off as ditzy sometimes, but she was more astute than she let on.  It was almost frightening in a way how observant she could be at times.

"Well...I...I don't...I mean...I like Keitaro and all, but..." Kitsune was at something of a loss for words, blushing and feeling the need for a shot of sake to calm her nerves.  Mutsumi seemed to catch onto this and decided to press the issue and address things right now.  She cleared the gap of distance between the two of them, her footsteps thundering gently as she walked across Kitsune's room and stood directly in front of her.  A moment later, Mutsumi had wrapped her arms around the small of Kitsune's back, bringing the woman into an embrace and pressing her H-cup breasts against Kitsune's G-cup breasts.  The act caught Kitsune off guard, yet she didn't holler or try to remove herself from Mutsumi's warm, comforting embrace.

"M-Mutsumi," said Kitsune with a startled tone of voice, "what are ya doing?"

"Getting to the bottom of this, dear Kitsune," she replied with inherent calmness in her voice.  "I just want to know one thing right here and now while we're alone:  Are you in love with Keitaro Urashima?"

To say that Kitsune was taken aback by Mutsumi's question would have been an understatement.  The normally fox-eyed girl had her eyes wide open by the abruptness of the question thrown at her, with her face sporting a rather distinct blush at that moment.  It normally wasn't within Mutsumi's nature to be so inquisitive with the others, especially when it came to matters of love and romance.  However, after a moment of deep eye contact between both girls, Kitsune took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then reopened them halfway of their original opened state.

‘No more putting it off, I suppose,' thought Kitsune as she exhaled.

"Yes," replied Kitsune with a straight face and less intense blush on her cheeks.

"Really?" asked Mutsumi with a slight tone of surprise in her voice.

"I am in love with Keitaro," responded Kitsune.  "I've fallen in love with the little goofball, alright?  I can't say exactly when it started, and I doubt he knows how I feel about him, but I've started thinkin' about him more and more over time.  I didn't wanna be open about it, cause he's with Naru now and Naru's my best friend.  How would she feel about me tellin' her that I've got my eye on her man?  How would Keitaro react to me spillin' my heart out to him?  I don't wanna make things weird between us.  I don't wanna ruin the relationship we have by putin' all that out on the guy.  So I decided that I'd snuff out those feelings the best I could, hopin' that they would die out over time and that I'd move on from fallin' in and out of love.  I figured it was for the best in the long run, since I didn't want to hurt Naru by competin' with her for the same fella, okay?"

Mutsumi took it all in, knowing that Kitsune was being dead serious at this point.  After all, it wasn't within the sake-drinking girl to spill her guts in such detail like this.  Such a thing was a rarity, and so Mutsumi would provide her full attention as she listened to Kitsune lay it all out for her to hear.

"Kitsune, thank you for telling me all of that," replied Mutsumi, still holding the girl in her embrace.  "But there's something you should know in light of all of this."

"And what's that?" Kitsune replied back, tearing at the eyes a little and sniffling from opening up her heart to another about her romantic pursuits.

"There's a way for you, me, and everyone else to be happy," Mutsumi said with a smile.

"You can't be serious," Kitsune replied with skepticism.  "You're REALLY thinkin' about Amalla's little plan she was pitchin' in the baths the other night?  Ya wanna form some kinda group marriage or whatever with Keitaro?"

"Is it really such an outrageous proposal?" insisted Mutsumi.  "We already have come to know and love Keitaro over the last few years.  Would things be so different if we all were married to him, or at least his mates and partners for the rest of our lives.  After all, marriage is mainly just the state recognizing the joining of two people together as partners.  While I would certainly love to get married to Keitaro and have a big, beautiful wedding, I'm happy enough just getting to be with him and grow old with him, having children with him and spending as much time with him as I can while I'm on this earth.  And I also wouldn't mind you, Naru, and all the others getting to do the same with him as well, figuring that most if not all of you are in love with him as of now.  Think about it.  We're already one big family as it stands.  The only real difference that would occur would be that Keitaro would be EVERYONE'S lover/husband and not just Naru's, and I like to think that with just a little persuasion, Naru could come around to accepting things that way."

"You REALLY think that Naru would be okay with no longer being Keitaro's exclusive lover?" asked Kitsune.

"Oh, she'd certainly be hesitant.  I don't doubt that at all," replied Mutsumi.  "But over time, if we get her to see that everyone here at Hinata is of a good heart and willing to share as one, then I like to think that Naru will be accepting of a Keitaro-centered harem.  I imagine that Amalla will certainly do her darndest to make that happen, given that she wants to be married to everyone here and not just Keitaro."  Mutsumi finished her explanation with a chuckle, just imagining the idea of her, Amalla, and Keitaro in bed together engaging in numerous three-way sexcapades.

"I...I dunno," replied Kitsune.  "It all sounds a lil' too good to be true.  I mean, even if I were to join in on this harem plan of Amalla's, I have my doubts that everyone who's got the hots for Keitaro is gonna truly be okay with one big, group marriage of sorts.  One fella with two or three women would be one thing, but in this case we're talkin' one fella with as many as thirteen women.  That sounds like a bit much, dontcha think?"

"I don't know," replied Mutsumi with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "I can't help but think of it as a sort of ‘Shangri-La' of sorts - one man in an all-girls flower garden.  The thought of it...kinda makes me a little hot just thinking about it.  And it wouldn't be just Keitaro, mind you.  We'd all have each other to keep company while we waited our turn to have Keitaro to ourselves."  Mutsumi finished with a rosy grin as she looked Kitsune deep into her eyes, letting the fox-eyed girl know just what she was implying.

Mutsumi's implication was clear enough for Kitsune to understand, though it certainly made her eyes go wide and her eyebrows rise up instinctively, such was her surprise at hearing Mutsumi's two cents on the topic.

"M-Mutsumi," replied Kitsune, "you honestly can't be serious about what you're gettin' at.  Are you talkin' about..."

"Yes, indeed, my dear sweet Ki-chan," the Okinawan girl interrupted with a grin.  Her response got a heavy blush upon the fox-eyed girl's cheeks as a reward.

"Mutsumi...are you serious about this?" asked Kitsune.  "You're talkin' about you, me, and ALL the other girls gettin' intimate with each other as well as Keitaro.  I seriously doubt that they would ALL be into that sort of thing.  Amalla sure, and maybe Kaolla and one or two others come to mind, but THIRTEEN women who are willin' to get freaky with one another as well as Keitaro.  That just sounds too good to be true."

"What's wrong, Ki-chan?" responded Mutsumi with a cutesy little pout, "Don't you like me?"

"I never said that."

"Do you think I'm not pretty?"

"O-of course not...you're a knockout in the looks department if ever there was one, especially when it comes to your curves and the ‘heavy artillery' you're packin', so to speak."

"Do you think I'm a bad person at heart then?"  Mutsumi wasn't letting up with her line of questioning.

"N-no, you're as sweet as they come.  You've got this air of maturity and patience about ya that I find admirable.  It's like ya've got this super motherly vibe about ya that calms folks, ya know?  It's one of those features about ya that I admire."  Judging by her tone of voice, Kitsune was wavering in her responses to Mutsumi's line of questioning, which was just what the brown-haired, large-bosomed Okinawan girl was hoping for.

"Hearing you say all of that makes me VERY happy, Ki-chan," replied Mutsumi.  "And just so you know, I think you're very pretty too.  You've got a great figure and pretty big boobs too, though I'm sure you're probably aware of that.  And while you might go a tiny bit overboard with the drinking and partying now and then, I certainly find you both fun to be around and very sweet in how you carry yourself.  I know that you don't want to hurt Naru's feelings and to be there for her as a friend, and frankly, I don't think that being in love with the same person is a betrayal against Naru.  If you, me, Naru, and everyone else are all in an understanding and open relationship with Keitaro and with each other, then I don't believe that there should be any real animosity between one another...aside from a little play-fighting and some occasional jealousy over wanting some one-on-one time with Keitaro maybe.  But other than that, I think we can make it work out between all of us, and like I said earlier, I know that Amalla is going to do everything in her power to make that very outcome happen.  She's the type of woman who once her mind is set on something, it's probably impossible to make her give up on it...and in her case, she wants EVERYONE here - Keitaro and the rest of us as well.  And if I'm being honest, I'm perfectly okay with that outcome."

After hearing all of this, Kitsune was at a loss for words.  Normally, Mutsumi Otohime wasn't one for long speeches and explanations.  But given that the topic was about romantic love and resolving matters of the heart between essentially EVERYONE at Hinata House, the woman apparently decided to lay her cards on the table with her current roommate.  After taking in everything she just heard, Kitsune responded with one simple statement.

"I...I think I need a drink right now," she said as she made her way towards her mini-fridge for another bottle of sake.

As dawn alerted the residents of Hinata to awaken and begin the day, Haruka Urashima was doing something she didn't normally do on most days: she was taking a long drag from her cigarette the first thing in the morning.

Usually, whenever she engaged in such an act as smoking at the crack of dawn, it was because her mind was somewhat rattled at the start of her day, and thus she needed something to take the edge off and calm her nerves.  Given the events of the past twenty-four hours, it would be understandable as to why Haruka would feel the need to light up in order to lighten up her mood (pun intended).

After all, her cousin-made-nephew Keitaro just had a brush with death in the marketplace only a few hours ago and was awarded a gunshot wound to the torso for his troubles.  Given how much he meant to her (and not just in the familial sense), Haruka was rattled upon seeing his condition when Amalla and the others brought him back from their shopping trip.  While a part of her wanted to stay by his bedside and watch over him during his recovery period, Haruka trusted that Amalla and Kaolla would do well enough in her place, given the seriousness of the situation at the time.

So Haruka settled for a consolation prize of drinking a generous amount of sake alongside Kitsune and several of the other women in the baths while Keitaro recuperated in Kaolla's bedroom.  While the liquor served a decent enough job of easing Haruka's mood (after several shots worth of it), she wouldn't be quite appeased until she saw Keitaro for herself, just to know that he was alive and in good health and spirits.

But while all of that was certainly lingering in Haruka's mind, the main reason that she was engaging in her nicotine-based vice was something more pressing - something of a more "growing concern" as it were.

Upon waking up and getting out of bed (which Haruka noted felt much smaller than the night before), Haruka could tell that her surroundings had become noticeably smaller in scale.  That confirmed what Haruka had suspicions of since waking up: She had enlarged once more, by several inches overnight.

‘It was bad enough being seven feet tall,' thought Haruka.  ‘Hopefully I'm still under eight feet right now, but until I get exact measurements, I can't be certain.'  Haruka looked up towards the nine-foot-high ceiling, glad that she had not yet grown to the point that her head would bump against it if she stood upright.  Yet given the rate of growth that she was going through (along with all the other women at Hinata House), Haruka figured that it would only be a few more days at most before that hypothetical scenario became a reality.

That realization drew a shiver down her spine, a combination of worrisome concern mixed with absolute awe at such a thing becoming real.  Haruka instinctively took another long drag from her smoke as a result which she noted felt much, MUCH smaller as she held it between her fingers.

‘Another fun little inconvenience,' pondered Haruka as she looked at her cigarette.  She figured that as her body continued to grow, she would have to use up more cigarettes than she normally would otherwise.  Just like with food, clothing, alcohol, and other resources, Haruka's physical needs (alongside the other ladies at Hinata) would grow alongside her body.  If she ended up being ten feet tall or more, chances were good that Haruka would end up using an entire pack in one day, just so that she could satisfy her nicotine craving.  And if she kept growing, chances were good that she would end up smoking multiple packs a day, depending on how big she ended up getting.  That realization was enough to make her sigh, hoping that things wouldn't get to that point and that Kaolla would have some kind of antidote to help stop the growth spurts occurring among all the female tenants (if not outright reverse it and shrink them back to their original sizes).

"Well," muttered Haruka to herself, "best enjoy it while you can, girl.  Especially if things keep up at this rate."  Haruka followed through with another drag, finishing off the cigarette down to the filter, before rubbing it out in the ashtray.  She then had to proceed with an immediate, more pressing concern of hers.

With her latest round of growth, all of her clothing was inadequately undersized for her now.  She initially tried to put on her bra and panties, but they were rather constricting upon her enlarged frame, squeezing tight against her substantially swollen bosom and giving her quite the wedgie, nearly disappearing into her buttcrack and becoming something closer to a thong.

"Guess it's back to bedsheets and towels for now, at least until Kaolla makes us all a new round of clothing for the day," Haruka thought out loud.  "I should probably bring up the idea of having her make clothing in even larger sizes, as a back-up plan for whenever the next growth spurt occurs."

As Haruka finished her cigarette, she looked about her bedroom, taking in the sight of how everything around her appeared to be much smaller than it was the night before.  Of course, that wasn't really the case.  It wasn't the world that was shrinking, just the opposite.  It was Haruka and all the other girls who were enlarging, day by day, every few hours it seemed, all because of Kaolla's little experimental concoction.

Of course, Kaolla wouldn't be so brazen as to simply dump her little bottle of growth hormone into the baths and turn everyone (including herself) into human guinea pigs.  Most likely one of the younger girls was behind the bottle somehow making its way into the baths, and Haruka had a pretty good idea as to who would be the most likely culprit behind such an act.  Out of everyone currently staying at Hinata House, Sarah McDougal was the first one to come to mind when it came to mischievous behavior and underhanded actions.  While Haruka wasn't sure as to why the young girl would empty the bottle into the baths, she had a pretty good hunch that Sarah was somehow behind the bottle making its way into the baths in the first place.

"Might as well hammer the nail while she's here," thought Haruka out loud.  "Figured that we'd have to have this little talk sooner or later anyway."

As the old saying goes, "Speak of the Devil, and He shall appear."  Just as Haruka was finishing her cigarette, the younger of her two fellow roommates was making her way out of the bathroom after getting her morning shower.

Under normal circumstances, if Haruka were her original height, the sight of a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman having to bend to clear a bathroom doorway would have made Haruka stop dead in her tracks and drop her cigarette out of pure shock.  Of course, the circumstances being anything OTHER than normal, Haruka merely sighed upon witnessing Sarah enter the bedroom from the adjacent guest bathroom.  Given that Sarah was among the shorter of the Hinata women, the fact that even SHE was now too tall to walk under a seven-foot-tall doorway standing upright most likely meant that now ALL of the Hinata women were over seven feet tall now.

Until Kaolla had updated information as to EXACTLY how large each woman was, Haruka only had rough estimates to go by.  She figured that information would be revealed soon enough once everyone was out of their dorm rooms and properly dressed once more.

"Enjoy your shower, Sarah?" asked Haruka.

"Well, the water was certainly warm enough," replied Sarah.  "It's just a pain having to bend down so much to get my hair wet, you know.  How high are those faucet heads again?"

"I've never taken exact measurements, so I can't give you an accurate answer," answered Haruka.  "If I were to guess, I'd say that they're around six-and-a-half feet from the floor, give or take an inch."

"Well, when I was standing upright, the water was only able to hit my chest.  I also had to watch how high I raised my arms when I was in the shower.  While I was shampooing my hair, I ended up stretching out one of my arms and bumped my knuckles into the ceiling for a moment."

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, not really," replied Sarah.  "It was just kinda ‘out of this world' to actually have that kind of thing happen, you know?"

"Sad to say that I do," muttered Haruka, given that she was looking down at Sarah when the two women stood upright.  If she were to make an educated guess, Haruka had a good six inches or more in height over Sarah, so showering was an even bigger hindrance from Haruka's point of view.

‘I suppose I could try taking a bath instead, but other than the hot springs, there wouldn't be a tub big enough for me to stretch herself out and relax in,' thought Haruka in self-reflection.  Haruka would have to bend significantly at the knees, hips, and neck in order to fit in any of the bathroom tubs; otherwise, her arms and legs would be lying far out over the edge, probably resting her hands and feet on the floor while she lay in the tub.

‘Hell, even my torso would start to feel constrained lying in the tub,' Haruka continued her line of thought. ‘Bathing and showering have started to become more of a chore than something to relax to.  Hopefully Kaolla gets an antidote made soon, or else that problem is only going to get worse.'

"Ugh," groaned Sarah as she fiddled with the towel - or in this case, PAIR of towels that she had wrapped around her torso.  Whereas one towel would have been enough to cover her torso prior to the growth spurts, Sarah now had to use two towels to manage the job - one to cover her top from the collarbone to her belly button, and another to cover her waistline down to her knees.  Of particular difficulty were the enhancements Sarah had to both her breasts and her buttocks.  While the gentle swelling of both certainly made Sarah happy for the seductive properties they gave her, their increase in size made wearing even towels somewhat bothersome as a result.

Of course, your average run-of-the-mill pervert would be drooling at the sight of a towering, 7 foot plus teenager with a body that elicited lust (along with twelve other women with equally alluring bodies).  Aside from the increased elevation over the past few hours, Sarah's body was indeed a sight to behold, same as the other Hinata women.  Even Haruka had to admit that she was becoming a striking sight to behold, something of a mix between her mother Julia and the cartoon character Jessica Rabbit in terms of charm and sex appeal.

"Well," said Haruka, "you better find something to change into.  Though to be fair, it's probably going to be bedsheets again until Kaolla makes us new sets of clothing."

"Ugh" groaned Sarah once more upon hearing Haruka's statement.  Truth be told, she already figured as much even before Haruka opened her mouth.  It was abundantly clear that every bit of clothing she had made for her was already undersized for her newly enlarged frame, as was the case when she awoke that morning to find her pajamas and underwear reduced to tattered shreds.  Such a sight was as amazing as it was alarming to Sarah.  She wasn't sure whether to be in awe of just how big (and developed) she was getting, or if she should feel nervous at the idea of growing too big, too fast.

After all, she had yet to encounter anyone aside from the residents of Hinata House.  Assuming she decided to return to school after the weekend was over, she could only imagine the looks that would come her way when people saw her, and that was still a good twenty-four hours from now.  If Sarah kept growing at the rate she was, she figured she'd be a good eight or nine feet in height by then, and what would the students and teachers say when they saw her?  Would they say anything or simply stare in awe at such a towering young lady (alongside four other towering young ladies if Shinobu and the others also joined her on the way back to school).  Would someone call the cops the moment they laid eyes on her, simply out of fear?  What Mei told Sarah yesterday in the hallway was playing over in her head, with all of the guilt and worry that came with the reminiscence of that little chat of theirs.

And there was another topic that Sarah considered in her moment of self-reflection: ‘What is Dad gonna think the next time he sees me?'

Given Sarah's early childhood experience, she didn't have much in the way of father figures.  Her own biological father ditching her and her mother early on, Sarah held a strong sense of distrust of older men, figuring that they were mostly self-serving pigs who only viewed women as something to screw before they ended up getting bored and leaving.  So when Noriyasu Seta came into her life, Sarah ended up having her worldview altered greatly after a few weeks of getting to know the man.  In a relatively short amount of time, Sarah went from giving Seta the cold shoulder to glomping onto him in joy and genuine childish glee, calling him "Daddy" on numerous occasions up until she entered high school.  Alongside her mother, Seta was one of the two main pillars of Sarah's emotional support, and Sarah grew even more emotionally dependent upon Seta after her mother's near brush with death years back.

In short, if Seta ended up rejecting Sarah or fearing her because of her newly enlarged size, then Sarah's emotional well-being would most likely go to pieces as a result.  The thought of such an outcome put an unpleasant feeling in the pit of Sarah's stomach, like a stone that was making itself at home in her lower bowels and not planning to leave anytime soon.

Of course, there was one other man who Sarah had started to rely on more and more over time: Hinata House's dorm manager Keitaro Urashima.

While Sarah initially held a negative view of Keitaro, as the weeks turned into months, she started to see him in a different light.  Whereas Sarah first thought of him as something of a mix between a weakling and a closeted pervert, she afterwards began to see Keitaro as generally reliable, good-hearted, earnest, and good-intentioned.  She might have been highly reluctant to show gratitude for all the hard work that Keitaro put into his duties as dorm manager, but Sarah wasn't so thick-headed and stubborn as to not acknowledge that Keitaro was a hard worker and wasn't deterred so easily from either seeing a task completed or helping out someone in need when it was within his power to do so.

Such character traits were somewhat similar to Seta's in some ways, and this little comparison between Keitaro and Seta wasn't lost upon Sarah, who found herself blushing a bit at the realization of such a comparison.  While Keitaro was shorter and somewhat doughier than Seta in physical comparison, his drive and the earnestness of his character was charming in and of itself.  The way he threw himself into the marketplace scuffle to protect Tsuruko from being harmed was proof enough to confirm that.  Of course, even before that occurred, Sarah knew that Keitaro was more-or-less reliable when it came to helping others, so long as it was within his power.

"Sarah," said Haruka as she watched the blonde-haired girl lost in a sort of trance from her point of view, "Hello...Earth to Sarah.  Please come in.  Can you hear me, Sarah?"

After blinking rapidly in response, Sarah shook her head side to side before turning back to Haruka.

"Uhhh...yeah, I'm fine.  Umm...what were you saying, Haruka?" replied Sarah with mild confusion in her voice.

"I was telling you that you should find something to cover yourself for when you leave the bedroom," replied Haruka.  "Of course, it'll most likely end up being bedsheets for the time being until Kaolla has larger clothing prepared for us.  That's what I'm going with anyway, though I suppose you could use the towels you're wearing at the moment if you prefer.  But I imagine that you'd want something more dry to wear while you wait."

"Uhh...y-yeah, good point there," replied Sarah, her head not fully focused on what Haruka was saying.  This got Haruka's attention in turn.

"Sarah, are you alright?  You seem a little...off.  Something on your mind?" asked Haruka.

Upon hearing this line of questioning, Sarah found herself at a crossroads of sorts, with her conscience deciding on where to go on this fork in the road she found herself.  Down one path, Sarah considered keeping her part in what happened with the bottle of growth hormone that night a secret, at least from Haruka.  She figured that the older Urashima woman would be somewhere between upset and furious with Sarah for the part she played in this series of growth spurts that had befallen the lovely ladies of Hinata House.  Who knows what Haruka would do to Sarah if she ended up confessing what she did which ended up with all of them turning into evergrowing amazons day after day?

On the other hand, there was the option of confessing to Haruka what Sarah did that night.  From what Mei told her that time they were in the hallway, Sarah pondered as to whether the old saying that "honesty is the best policy" held true in this case.  While Sarah usually didn't like having to lie (either outright or via omission), there were times she felt that in order to avoid serious punitive consequences on her part, it was best to do so from time to time.  However, under the current circumstances (which were far from what would be considered normal), Sarah's conscience was nagging at her rather fiercely into trying to own up on her actions and do the right thing.

"Ugh...I hate having to be the bigger person when it comes to these kinds of things," muttered Sarah as she prepared to spill the beans on herself.

"What was that?" asked Haruka, not fully catching what Sarah was muttering.

"Umm...Haruka," began Sarah, "I know this is a kinda weird thing to ask, but can I tell you something on one condition?"

"Ohh?" replied Haruka with a raised eyebrow, "And what exactly would that condition be?"

"W-well," Sarah continued as she struggled to maintain eye contact with Haruka, "if I tell you something about what's been happening to us, do you promise that you won't be too angry with me...or hit me?"

Haruka's eyes fluttered in surprise at this question.  It was rare for Sarah to open up to someone like this other than her mother or Seta, so the fact that she was doing so in front of Haruka was surprising enough.  Haruka was also curious as to what Sarah would confess so long as her terms were honored, since it pertained to the growth spurts that all the Hinata women had been experiencing since that night in the hot springs.  After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Haruka responded.

"Alright then, Sarah," began Haruka, "I promise not to hit you or get too angry with what you have to tell me, okay?  But I cannot promise you that I'll like what I hear or that I'll approve of what you did either, understand?"

Sarah merely nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay then, well why don't you tell me whatever it is that's on your mind, and I'll simply hear you out until you're done and I promise not to yell or hit you while you're explaining things.  Deal?"

"D-deal," replied Sarah.

"Very well then.  So why don't you start at the beginning with your explanation then?"

So it was that Sarah told Haruka everything that happened that night, from the moment she eyed the bottle of growth hormone in Kaolla's room to the scare she had in the hallways from Amalla's pet alligator, right up to the chasing after said bottle as it made its way out the front door and into the dark of the night.  During the entire explanation, Haruka simply sat on the bed and quietly took in everything she heard.  Beyond the simple "Go on" or "Please continue" from Haruka, the Urashima woman remained silent while Sarah recalled the events of that night to the best of her memory.  During that time, Sarah was somewhat emotionally shaken, expecting Haruka to lash out or make a particularly angry-looking face as Sarah told what occurred that night.  And yet, not once did Haruka show visible anger, either in her facial features or in her tone of voice during the whole time she sat there.  She simply sat there, pensively taking it all in from the young lady.

"And that's what happened," finished Sarah.  "The bottle bounced out the front door and into the darkness.  The other girls and I tried to look for it, but none of us could find it.  I SWEAR to you, I don't know how that bottle made its way from out the front door and into the baths.  It doesn't make any sense at all.  If anything, it should have bounced down the steps and all the way to the bottom of the hill."

"I see," responded Haruka, "though to be fair, if you hadn't taken it from Kaolla's room in the first place, then chances are that none of this would be happening right now."

"W-well...I mean..." Sarah was at a loss for words, trying to explain her way out of things.

"Am I wrong?" interrupted Haruka.  "If you had left that bottle back in Kaolla's room that night, would any of us be growing day after day?  Would we have to concern ourselves over things like food, clothing, or sleeping arrangements if you had left that bottle alone?"

Silence from Sarah, as she simply looked down at the floor.  Clearly she was at a loss for words.

"Look at me, Sarah, not the floor," said Haruka in a slightly sterner tone of voice.  A moment later, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl did just that.

"Alright," replied Sarah, "you're right, okay?  You're right about it all.  If I had just left that damn bottle where it was, then yeah, none of this would be happening right now.  I just wanted to have a nice body is all, and I was gonna share that stuff with Shinobu and the other girls too.  I never thought things would be like this, okay?"

"Don't hide behind Shinobu and the others to lessen your part in all of this," replied Haruka.  "While I suppose one of them could have made an effort to stop you from taking that bottle, the plain truth is that you decided to take something that wasn't yours without permission, as well as not knowing just what exactly that something was capable of until it had already taken effect.  I would say that between an act of theft and not knowing what you were handling, you erred on two counts right there, Sarah."

Once again, being at a loss for words, Sarah merely huffed as she stared at Haruka in response, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.  Haruka caught onto this and figured that she shouldn't push much further in making Sarah feel guilt over her actions.  She could tell that the girl was beating herself up on the inside over what had happened, and thus she felt that it wasn't necessary to berate Sarah much more than she already had.  After taking another deep breath, Haruka continued.

"Look Sarah," began Haruka, "out of respect, I'm not gonna lie to you or sugarcoat what I think of the situation.  What you did was wrong for the reasons I just told you.  And what it's led to has certainly caused complications for everyone here at the dorms.  That much is clear."

"Fine," replied Sarah, "you're right.  You're right about everything.  It's all my fault.  Everything.  Blame me for all of it.  Throw me outta here and tell me I'm never welcome back here ever again.  If that's what it takes to show that I really am sorry for all of this, then- [flick] oww!"

Haruka decided to end Sarah's rant of self-loathing and interrupted her with a flick to the forehead.

"What'd you do that for?" asked Sarah as she placed her hands upon the fresh wound upon her forehead.  "You promised that you weren't going to hit me!"

"I said I wouldn't hit you while you were explaining things and at this point, you've pretty much explained everything to me," clarified Haruka.  "And besides, a flick to the forehead isn't going to do any serious harm to that thick skull of yours.  I just needed you to get out of that ‘blame me for everything' rant you were getting sucked into, that's all."

"But weren't you saying that EVERYTHING was my fault?" responded Sarah.

"I'll admit that you have at least some of the blame in all of this, Sarah.  I won't sugarcoat it.  If you left that bottle alone, things would be very different than where they are right now.  But I'm also not going to kick someone while they're down either.  I can see that you feel guilt over what you've done, and in a way I'm happy about that."

"You're happy that I feel bad about what's happened?" asked Sarah with some confusion.

"I'm content that you feel genuine guilt over your part in all of this," explained Haruka.  "It shows that you have a conscience and aren't so selfish or self-centered that you don't feel a sense of shame or regret for the things you've done.  While I wish you hadn't done so in the first place, I'm glad that at the very least, you came forward and owned up to what you did.  That shows character, you know."

"So...you're not mad then?" asked Sarah.

"Of course I'm mad," replied Haruka.  "Well, maybe not mad so much as upset or disappointed.  Those would be more accurate words for how I'm feeling about all of this.  But even so, I'm a tiny bit happy that you've confessed to what you did to me, and for that you have my respect."

"Th-thank you...I guess," replied Sarah as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.  She was startled at what happened just a moment later.

Haruka came forward and wrapped her arms around the girl in a warm embrace.  Sarah wasn't expecting something like this, and certainly not from Haruka of all people.

"Thank you for being honest with me," said Haruka.  "I'm guessing that you were on the fence as to whether or not you should confess to what you did that night, so I'm glad you decided to own up to what you did.  And I hope that you've learned something from this whole experience as well."

"A-and what is that?" replied Sarah.

"Well, it's really something you'll have to figure out on your own," answered Haruka.  "The best thing I can impart on you from this whole little incident is the simple truth that actions have consequences, so you should always consider them whenever you are about to make a decision like the one you did that night.  Fortunately, nobody got hurt or worse, so this whole situation hasn't turned out too bad overall...aside from these growth spurts we're having every few hours."
"Again, I'm sorry," responded Sarah, "Really, I am."

"I know you are," said Haruka, "I just want you to learn from this moment, that's all.  It's a part of growing up, you know.  You have to know that the choices you make and the actions you take will have effects down the road, even if you don't see them at the time."

"Okay, I get it...at least, I think I do."

"Good girl," Haruka said with a smile.  "Now, let's get something to wear and go see Kaolla.  I don't know about you, but 'd rather not be lounging about wearing nothing but towels or bedsheets the whole day."

"Agreed," replied Sarah.  A moment later the two of them had fastened spare bed sheets around their impressive figures and made their way out the door towards Kaolla's bedroom, making sure to duck under the door frame as they did so.

"Well, sister?" asked Motoko as she gently stroked and petted Shippu as she sat on her bed.

"I'm afraid it's as I've feared, dear Motoko," replied Tsuruko as she held and examined her clothes in the mirror, which she was bent over significantly in order to look into as was much too tall to look into it standing upright otherwise.

Really, the same could be said for both of the Aoyama sisters, given that the full-body mirror was around 6 feet 6 inches in height.  And since neither Motoko or Tsuruko could look at themselves in the mirror while standing straight up, they could only conclude that both of them were now well over 7 feet in height by this point.  Obviously, they had grown substantially as they slept, given how cramped that bed was feeling as they awoke.

"Ugh...this is really becoming a rather tedious everyday occurrence, I must say," declared Motoko, who was adjusting her chest wrappings at the moment.  Before she and Tsuruko went to bed, both sisters had untied their chest wrappings and placed them in the laundry bin.  Upon waking, each sister grabbed a new set of wrappings and noticed that there was less fabric to work with compared to yesterday.  Given that the wrappings were all the same length, width, and thickness, the only logical conclusion was that given the growth spurts the sisters had been going through, there was less bandaging to contain their tremendous bosoms (which had swollen to a larger cup size overnight as they grew).  Chances were good that both Aoyama sisters - as well as the rest of the Hinata women - had gone up another cup size, given how tantalizingly big their bosoms appeared to be, whether looking straight down upon them or viewing them in the mirror.

"I'm inclined to agree with you, dear Motoko," replied Tsuruko.  "I must say, when I decided to visit Hinata, I wasn't expecting to end up having a second round of puberty along with the visit.  I imagine that I must be a solid 8 feet tall by now.  I'm just grateful that your friend Kaolla has a workaround solution to the problem regarding clothing.  Otherwise, I imagine that we'd be confined to wearing bed sheets, blankets, and whatever else we could find to cover our bodies, given our current size and all."  Just like Motoko, Tsuruko was gingerly petting the other pet crane she brought along - Hayate - who she (like Motoko) could not help but marvel at how much smaller they appeared in their presence.  As the sisters grew, the cranes - like everything else around them - became shorter, lighter, and all around smaller as the size difference increased day by day.  They appeared almost infantile in the presence of both Motoko and Tsuruko, which was rather odd given that Shippu and Hayate were fully matured adults by this point in their lives.  Just another reminder of the change in scale that came with growing larger and larger as the days passed.

"Yes, dear sister," responded Motoko, who was in something of a confused state where things stood.  While she certainly was concerned about the predicament of growing larger and larger as the days passed, she also had another thing on her mind that morning.

From what Motoko could recall of the previous night, Tsuruko was in a rather high emotional state.  It wasn't like her to simply dart off like she did upon hearing that Keitaro was awake last night when all of the women were gathered in the hot spring trying to relax.  That alone was enough to grab Motoko's attention, hence why she felt the need to follow after Tsuruko when she bolted towards Kaolla's bedroom to check up on Keitaro.

‘Perhaps she felt some degree of guilt for what ended up happening to Keitaro from those thugs in the marketplace,' thought Motoko, both at the time in the hot springs and in that very moment of reflection.  ‘But even so, it was rather something to watch her embrace Keitaro like that, not to mention...that kiss.  And the way she made him caress her bosom...is she by chance...could she be...falling in love?'

"Tsuruko," began Motoko.

"Yes, Motoko?"

"Some things I've been meaning to bring up with you from last night?"

"Yes?  What would they happen to be, dear sister?"

"Well, a few things have come to mind.  One of them happens to deal with our little growth spurts."

"Oh, what in particular?" Tsuruko asked with a raised eyebrow.  "From what I understand, Kaolla and Amalla have taken measures regarding food and clothing, so resource consumption shouldn't be too big a concern, at least for now."

"Actually," replied Motoko, "I was referring to our sword training specifically."

"Really now?  Please, continue." replied Tsuruko with intrigue.

"Well, while you're visiting us here at Hinata, I imagine that you'd want to keep up with regular sword practice.  Wouldn't want to get rusty with your sword skills, especially as the current head of the Shinme-Ryu sword school."

"But of course," replied Tsuruko, "Don't want the new recruits to look down upon the teacher and all."

Motoko couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at Tsuruko's choice of words.  It would be hard to look down upon somebody who towers over you by a good two feet or more.  While Tsuruko was speaking figuratively, the way she worded things was humorous because of its very irony.

‘Chances are the next time the recruits see Tsuruko, they'll be in awe of her sheer size alone, and that's assuming she doesn't get too much bigger than she already is now.' thought Motoko.

"Well, regarding our swordplay and practice, we might have a little problem in one key area," continued Motoko.  Given how close the sisters were, Tsuruko had practically read Motoko's mind with the response she gave.

"Our swords you mean," said Tsuruko.

"Y-yes," replied Motoko, surprised her sister had deduced correctly on what she was getting at.  "By now, you must have realized that our katanas have felt remarkably smaller when we grip them.  They feel more akin to wakizashis or tanto blades in terms of length, and it is becoming somewhat more difficult to grip them as our bodies enlarge over time."

"Quite right," Tsuruko commented in agreement, "the handle does feel thinner, so managing an effective grip on it is becoming a bit problematic, and I imagine it will become even more so if we continue to grow at the rate we are going.  In a few days, our swords will feel like butcher knives I'd wager."

"Or toothpicks, if we end up getting THAT big," muttered Motoko in concern.

"Well, I may have come up with a roundabout solution to that problem," replied Tsuruko.

"And what would that be?"

"Well, before we went to bed, I sent a carrier pigeon back home with an urgent message regarding our little sword problem.  Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, we'll have the remedy to the sword concern.  Until then, we'll simply have to make due with what we have, though perhaps Kaolla could be of assistance once more as well."

"How do you mean, exactly?"

"Well, given that she has a machine that can ‘print' clothing for us like a 3D printer, perhaps she could do the same for other objects, if she's the creative little science type I think she is."

"Like a sword for instance," replied Motoko, understanding Tsuruko's logic.

"Exactly.  When we meet her next time, let's ask if she could come up with a pair of substitute swords that are more in line with our current size.  While I'd prefer good old fashioned Japanese steel, any material will do for me so long as it is sturdy enough for training use."

"Sounds like a plan," replied Motoko.  "We can ask her when we go to get our measurements and some proper-fitting clothing."  Motoko paused before another topic came to mind - one of a very different nature.  The look on her face must have said it all, because Tsuruko proceeded to ask a question.

"Motoko, is there something else on your mind?"

"Y-yes, there is...though I'm a little hesitant to bring it up."

"Please, my dear Motoko.  We're sisters, so I like to think that we can confide in one another on most topics.  After all, you were there for me when I was going through my divorce.  You were a shoulder for me to cry on and hear me out on my self-loathing recollection of things.  So please, I hope you'll open up to me about what else is on your mind."

There was a pause lasting a few seconds, where Motoko took a gulp and a deep breath before responding.

"Are you sure you want to know what's on my mind, dear Tsuruko?"  The serious tone in her voice caught the older Aoyama sister's attention.

"Well now, Motoko," replied Tsuruko, "after hearing that response from you, I am only too curious to know what you're thinking about now.  I'd have to all but insist you tell me what's on your mind."

"Alright then, I suppose I'll just ask plain and simple:  Tsuruko, are you in love with Keitaro Urashima?"

There was another pause, this time on Tsuruko's part.  After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Tsuruko opened them once more before staring Motoko straight in the eye with her response.

"I believe I have fallen for him, yes."

"When exactly?"

"I think I started having feelings for him during our time in the marketplace, once that scuffle broke out between us and those thugs.  The way he jumped into the fray to protect me...that ignited something in my heart.  It's that sense of putting others before himself that I find...rather charming."

"I know what you mean," replied Motoko.  "He was a pillar of support for me after that little scuffle you and I had."

"The one where you said you were going to marry Keitaro, am I right?" replied Tsuruko with a smirk.

"Y-yes, that one," Motoko answered with a blush.  "After I had lost my way and was ready to give up on being a sword practitioner, Keitaro was there to pick me up and help me find my way once more.  In spite of everything I had done to him up to that point, he never stopped being nice to me, or helping me out in whatever way he could.  It...touched my heart.  I ended up falling hard for him in the process, and I'm still in love with him even now, even with him and Naru as a couple."

"It would seem we have similar tastes in men, dear sister," said Tsuruko with that smirk still on her face.

"So then, what are your intentions regarding Keitaro, if you truly are in love with him?"

"Amalla's proposal," replied Tsuruko.

"Wait...you mean...a...a h-h-har-" Motoko stuttered with a growing blush.

"A harem, yes," said Tsuruko with a calm demeanor.

"You're serious?"

"Yes."

"You're willing to share Keitaro with Amalla and who knows how many other women?"

"I'm willing to share Keitaro with everyone here at Hinata - Amalla, Naru, the other women, and of course, you dear Motoko?"

"M-me?"

"You are in love with Keitaro, no?"

"O-of course I am, but..."

"Then it's settled then, we're going to become both sisters and wives, both to Keitaro and to one another."

"B-but Tsuruko, this is all moving a little too fast.  Shouldn't we talk this out some more and think this through more logically?  I mean..."

"Sorry, dear Motoko," interrupted Tsuruko, "my mind is made up.  I'm with Amalla on this little harem plan of hers.  The way I see it, it's the best way for everyone to be happy.  You, me, Naru, Keitaro, everyone at Hinata.  After that little get-together in Kaolla's bedroom last night, I made up my mind there and then.  I have fallen in love with Keitaro Urashima, I intend to carry the name Urashima as his betrothed, and I have no qualms with bringing other women into the fold, especially such beautiful ones with good hearts to match.  And of course, I'm going to rope you into this as well, my dear sweet Mo-chan."  Tsuruko finished with a giggle.

"M-M-M...Mo-chan?" asked Motoko with a flushed face.

"Yes, Mo-chan for you and I suppose it would be Tsu-chan for me.  Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"W-well, I mean...that is to say...I..." Motoko was clearly at a loss for words.  Hearing that her sister was not only in love with the same man as her, but now was also on board with forming a harem between Keitaro and EVERYONE else at Hinata House...it was simply too much too fast to take in at once.

"I think I need to sit down," said Motoko.

"I couldn't help but notice that you didn't say you were against the idea," replied Tsuruko with a grin.  Motoko's blush intensified upon hearing that.

"W-well, maybe we can pick up on this topic at a later time," responded Motoko.  "What say that for now we focus on finding suitably fitting clothes and breakfast, as well as checking to see how Keitaro is managing?  I'd also like to find out how much we've grown since last night too."

"Sure thing, Mo-chan," replied Tsuruko.

"Please stop teasing me with that nickname."

"Oh alright, I'll let up for now, but I'm not giving up on the harem plan, just so you know.  Consider me one of Amalla's ‘partners-in-crime' on moving this thing forward.  And it's not just my love for Keitaro that I'll be pushing ahead on, so you know.  I'm going to assist where possible on improving EVERYONE'S relationships with that wonderful little man, including yours, dear Motoko."

"Let's just get going, please," replied Motoko as she secured the bed sheets around her impressive figure before ducking out the bedroom door, with Tsuruko following (and ducking) right behind her.

As the morning came to awaken the residents of Hinata House, one Kanako Urashima awoke earlier than she would have normally.  As the sun was just beginning to crest over the horizon and bring light to the darkness, the younger Urashima woman stirred awake due to the cold of the night air.  Such a thing was odd for her, as she tended to sleep wearing pajamas, or at the very least some underwear before she went to bed.  However, the coolness of the night air awoke her abruptly, bringing her out of her nighttime slumber.

"Mmph...huh, what the..." muttered Kanako as she awoke from the cool air hitting her skin.  While the sun had just started to crest over the horizon, there was just enough light seeping through the window for Kanako to make out her surroundings.  She could see Haruka laying in bed with Sarah (oddly enough the older Urashima woman managed to somehow convince or force the free-spirited American girl to sleep in the same bed with her).

"W-where are my clothes?" grumbled Kanako as she examined her body.  As she rose from the second bed in the room, she got her answer a moment later.  All around her, her pajamas and underwear laid in tatters around her body.  It was obvious that she had outgrown them during the night while she slept and were thus reduced to torn remains.  Kanako merely sighed at the sight of this as she got to her feet and stood straight up.

The elevation upon her ascension felt otherworldly.  It was as if she were standing on a very tall step stool or a large crate, such was the perspective from her new size and height.  As she looked upwards towards the ceiling, Kanako took another deep sigh.  While she was thankful that she was not so tall that her head was bumping up against the ceiling, she knew that it would only be a few days, three or four from what Kanako wagered, before that ended up being the case.

The younger Urashima woman lifted her arm up to gauge whether or not she could touch the ceiling with her fingers.  Sure enough, her fingertips made contact with the ceiling's surface, and she had not even straightened her arm completely.  The realization that she was large enough to touch the ceiling while standing on the floor sent a shiver down Kanako's spine.  It reminded her of just how BIG she (and all the other women) had become, and they were all still growing too.

Kanako briefly looked over to Haruka and Sarah sleeping together in a bed that was clearly too small for them.  Thankful that they were still deep in slumber, she turned back to her bed and took the bedsheet in her hands.  She proceeded to wrap the sheet around her body as securely as possible, and once that was done, she made her way towards the door, walking as softly as she could towards it so as to not wake Haruka or Sarah.  As she made her way towards the door, she beckoned her pet cat Kuro to follow her out the door (which she had to bend significantly to pass through, lest she bump her nose into the frame).

Fortunately, there was enough light seeping through the windows for Kanako to make her way through the hallways and down the stairs as she proceeded to make her way to the kitchen.  She decided to brew a pot of coffee early, both for herself and as a minor goodwill gesture to the other tenants for when they eventually woke up.

‘If there are enough coffee drinkers living here, we'll probably end up brewing multiple pots per day the way things are looking, especially if these growth spurts keep up,' thought Kanko as she prepared coffee.  She couldn't help but notice how easy it was to search the tallest cupboards  and cabinet spaces and peer into the top shelves, such was her height now (which she wagered was somewhere in the seven foot range by this point).

"Kaolla better have an antidote or something cooking up REAL soon," muttered Kanako.  "I do NOT want to turn into some she-hulk who has to crawl through doorways and sit on the floor while indoors."  Among the Hinata women, Kanako was among the most adamant when it came to finding some kind of cure for their growing dilemma.

Kanako made her way over to the common room and sat herself down upon the sofa, having to bend more at the knees and waist than she would normally have to in the process.  As her rear end plopped onto the sofa cushions with a distinct thud, her back pressed hard against the sofa, with her neck and shoulders over the head rim of the sofa seat.  She also noticed that her knees hovered beyond the edge of the sofa cushion by a few inches - another reminder of how long her limbs were becoming along with every other part of her body.

"Ugh," sighed Kanako as she readjusted her position so that she was sprawled across the sofa as if it were a makeshift bed.  Once she got herself comfortable, she beckoned Kuro to hop up onto her lap, which her cat did so immediately.  Given Kanako's newly enlarged stature, Kuro weighed very little compared to before the growth spurts.  It was as if she were a newborn kitten, so small and delicate, with her weight hardly registering as she nestled onto her master's lap.  Once settled comfortably, Kanako began gently stroking her cat.  The exercise was as calming to the girl as it was to her pet, bringing both of them a genuine state of calmness as they lay on the couch, awaiting the coffee pot to finish percolating.

"Oh Kuro," groaned Kanako, "from my point of view, you've become so much smaller now.  You're practically the equivalent of one of those ‘purse dogs' I've heard about, even though you haven't shrunk one bit.  I can only hope I don't grow so large that you end up fitting in the palm of my hand.  How tall would I be by then?  Ten feet tall?  Twelve?  More?  Getting around would be more than just an inconvenience by that point.  Nothing would be to scale for me, or really I'd be too out of scale for the world around me.  Oh, why does this have to keep happening?  I'm large enough already, dammit."

Kuro responded with a quiet meow, followed by some tender licking of Kanako's resting hand, trying to soothe her master's troubled mind the best she could.  It was a gesture that was appreciated, given how long the two had known each other.

"Thanks Kuro," replied Kanako with a small grin.  "I'm glad to know I have you to help calm me down during times like these.  I just hope...that Big Brother doesn't fear me.  I...I don't think I could cope if he became afraid of the new me."  By this point, the smile had faded from Kanako's face and genuine sadness and worry were upon her once more.  Sensing this, Kuro responded with more licks and some nuzzling of her face into Kanako's belly, trying to soothe her the best she could.  The little cat REALLY had a knack for knowing when her mistress was not in a good mood.

Trying to relax herself the best she could, given the circumstances, Kanako closed her eyes once more and tried to rest on the somewhat undersized couch, waiting for the coffee pot to finish brewing.  For at least a few minutes, the girl could simply close her eyes and let rest take hold once more before the day began.

A few minutes had passed, and the coffee pot was finishing up its brewing session, with the last bits of coffee bubbling through the filter and into the pot.  Sure enough, the aroma started wafting through the kitchen and into any room adjacent to it, including the common room next door.  In the span of a minute, Kanako had risen from the couch, made her way over to the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of coffee, with generous amounts of cream and sugar to her cup.  She couldn't help but notice how much smaller the mug appeared as she held it in her hands, being able to only fit two of her fingers through the mug's handle as she breathed in the coffee's aroma, following with a delicate sipping.

Kanako returned to the common room, taking a seat once more on the couch as Kuro jumped into her lap.  The Urashima woman proceeded with gently stroking her cat's backside and scratching the top of her head.  Kuro's approval of the act was made known with the vibrant purring she elicited as her master spoiled her with such physical affection.  It was a trade of sorts between the two:  Kuro was gifted with Kanako's gestures of kindness (be it scratches, backrubs, feeding her high-quality foods, etc.), and Kanako was rewarded with what emotional support Kuro could offer her in turn.  Given how many years the two had known each other, Kanako viewed Kuro as more than a pet; the giant-eared black cat was family to Kanako as far as she was concerned.

As Kanako proceeded to shower Kuro with affection while she sipped her coffee, one thought was prominent in her mind above all others:  Keitaro.

Well, to be more elaborate, the thought was on Keitaro, Amalla's harem plan, and Naru's stance on it all.  After the brief one-on-one session between the two following Keitaro's awakening in Kaolla's bedroom (and Tsuruko glomping him upon waking up), Kanako decided to let the issue go for the time being.  However, now that the night had passed, Kanako decided that today she would address things with Naru completely over where things stood between them and Keitaro.

With Amalla's little suggestion of group marriage between Keitaro and ALL of the Hinata women, Kanako was somewhat torn.  

On the one hand, she wanted Keitaro all to herself.  She had made that clear enough upon her arrival to Hinata House during her first visit.  After enough shenanigans between herself and the other female residents - culminating in the incident involving the old annex building - Kanako had begrudgingly decided to let things stand regarding the relationship between Keitaro and Naru.  She didn't outright approve of it, but she could tell that the two of them genuinely loved each other, even if their relationship seemed a little rocky at times.

On the other hand, there was a chance for Kanako to have the chance to be with the one man she loved above all others.  Though she was reluctant at the idea of sharing Keitaro with several other women, the temptation of getting to spend the rest of her life with him seemed so damn alluring.  She could only hope that he could see her the way she saw him: not merely as a sibling from early childhood years, but as someone to genuinely love in the most intimate sense of the word...and to be loved in turn.  The very thought of it all brought a blush to Kanako's cheeks as she ended up getting lost in her romantic daydream.

"Alright," muttered Kanako as she finished her coffee, "time to rip the band-aid off."  She proceeded to take her empty mug to the sink, washed it empty before placing it into the dishwasher, then made her way towards the staircase and up to one person's room in particular, with Kuro tailing behind her as she did so.

"Really, this is starting to become tedious," said Naru as she examined her freshly destroyed lingerie.

Both Naru and her sister/roommate Mei had awoken to find that both their pajamas and undergarments had been rendered to scraps overnight from the latest round of growth that occurred while they slept.  Apparently, both of the Narusegawa sisters were heavy enough sleepers to not be stirred awake from the latest growth spurt, which had done a good enough job of practically obliterating what clothing they wore during the night.  Left with no other feasible options, both Naru and Mei settled with using bed sheets as a substitute for clothing until Kaolla could fashion new garments to accommodate their larger sizes.  By this point, both girls must have been over seven feet tall by now.  Well, Naru knew well enough that she was certainly over seven feet in height by now; as for Mei, if she wasn't seven feet tall at this point, she was definitely close to being so.  Whenever they made contact with Kaolla and got updated information as to their current heights, they would have definitive answers.

"I'd have to agree with you on that, Naru," replied Mei as she fastened her bedsheets around her newly enlarged body the best she could.  Though she was appreciative of the fact that her body was now far more matured and womanly in appearance, even she had to admit that the concept of perpetual growth was becoming a major inconvenience, especially when it came to finding adequate clothing day after day.  Hopefully Kaolla would have something to counter that dilemma, though Mei was really hoping for an antidote to counter the growth hormone by this point.

‘I REALLY don't want to have to go through life being ten feet tall or even bigger,' thought Mei as she secured the sheets around her torso and substantial bustline.  By now, pretty much all the women had rather large breasts at this point; the only difference was that some breasts were big whereas others were VERY big.  After all, Mei herself was sporting E-cup breasts just yesterday, and that was BEFORE this latest round of growth.  Had she become an F-cup by this point?  Until Kaolla had updated information, Mei could only guess on that, though she was fairly certain that her bosom had in fact increased at a somewhat greater rate than the rest of her body.

"Well then," said Naru, "I suppose we'll need to visit Kaolla once more and find something more appropriate to wear.  Shall we, Mei?"

"Umm, yeah sure," replied Mei.

Both Narusegawa sisters proceeded to make their way towards Naru's seven foot tall door frame, and could not help but notice that the top of the frame was several inches below the tops of their heads.  For Naru, the door frame was roughly leven with her chin, while for Mei the frame was around eye level.  The realization of being so big and tall that even door frames were looking woefully inadequate was just one more thing that made both girls take deep breaths at their current predicament.

At the way things were going, it wouldn't be long before the door frames were no higher than their collarbones, then their bustlines, and then even lower than that.  And by that point, they - along with all the other Hinata women - would be well beyond the nine-foot-high ceilings in their bedrooms.  The beds would be horribly inadequate for them to lay on at that point; chances are good that the bed frames would snap in two the moment any one of them sat down on them.

‘Ugh, please have some good news for us today Kaolla,' groaned Naru to herself inwardly, ‘I do NOT want to go around life having to bend under doorways all the time.'

As Naru was preparing to open her door, the sound of footsteps just outside made themselves known, followed by a voice.

"Naru, you in there?  Are you awake?" asked the surprise visitor.

Naru blinked her eyes rapidly in response, not expecting such an early morning visit.  And given the voice of the person on the other side, it made things even more intriguing.

"Kanako?" replied Naru.  "That you?"

"Yeah," answered the younger Urashima woman.  "Sorry to step in early in the morning, but we need to talk, you and me.  May I enter?"

There was a momentary pause before Naru made her decision.

"Uhh, yeah sure thing," replied Naru before turning to her sister.  "Mei, go on ahead and find the others.  You should get yourself dressed in something more than bed sheets.  I'll catch up with you in a little bit."

"You sure, Naru?" said Mei.

"Yeah, I'll be fine.  I just need to have a little one-on-one girl talk with Kanako, that's all.  Hopefully it won't take too long."

"Okay then," replied Mei, figuring that Naru had the situation under control.

As the door opened, Kanako ducked her head underneath the frame with her pet cat following right behind her.  In turn, Mei ducked under the frame (not as much as Kanako had to) and secured her sheet as she proceeded down the hallway, her footfalls making distinct thuds as she made herself scarce.

"So..." began Naru, trying to break the ice between herself and Kanako, "what's up?  What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Kanako took a deep breath before responding, which in turn made Naru all the more curious as to what the girl was about to say to her.

"Last night," said Kanako as she looked Naru straight in the eyes like a hawk.

"What about last night?" replied Naru with slight confusion.

"When Keitaro awoke, that whole little scene involving you, me, and the others in Kaolla's bedroom..."

"Yeah...what about it?"

"Amalla's proposal."

"What are you getting at?" Naru asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"What do you think I'm getting at?" replied Kanako with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.  There was a momentary pause before Naru responded.

"You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking around?  Do I look like the kind of girl who would suggest such a thing and then respond with ‘just kidding'?"

"B-but you're in love with Keitaro...why would you want to share him?"

"I don't WANT to share him.  Ideally, he would be mine and mine alone, but I'm being something of a realist on this topic.  At least, I like to think that I'm being realistic about this kind of thing."

"So...why are you bringing this up with me then?"

"I just want to be upfront with you, that's all.  And to also let you know that I'm going to do everything in my power to make this plan of Amalla's happen.  From what I've gathered since that night, I'm not the only one who is pushing to make this plan happen either."

"Who else do you know of?" asked Naru.

"Well, besides Amalla, Kaolla appears to be in on it as well."

"Kaolla's really in love with Keitaro?  I always thought she had more of a sibling-based affection for the guy, you know something more...what's the word, platonic?"

"Maybe at first she did, but she's definitely interested in him as more than just good friends or siblings.  She wants to be with him, marry him, have kids with him I'd wager.  And she's definitely Amalla's wingman...or wingwoman, I suppose...on making this little plan of theirs come true.  And also, from what I remember of last night, I think that they have Tsuruko on board as well."

"Motoko's sister?" Naru replied skeptically.  "Why would she want to be part of some harem?"

"When we were in the marketplace yesterday, I saw how Tsuruko looked at Keitaro the moment he was hurt.  Her eyes...she had genuine concern in them as she saw what happened to him.  She had the eyes of a lover who had just witnessed someone she cared deeply for get hurt...protecting her of all things.  That and the way she darted off to Kaolla's room last night.  Maybe she wasn't fully aware of it at the time, but I'm pretty sure she's fallen in love with Keitaro by now, and she doesn't seem to be bothered very much by the idea of sharing."

‘Great,' thought Naru upon hearing this, ‘the way things are going, Keitaro may very well end up with EVERYONE pining for him.  I'd probably come up with a shorter list of who ISN'T in love with him by this point.  Let's see, the only ones who I don't think have feelings for the guy are...Haruka, Mei, Sarah, and maybe Nyamo, though I'm not sure about her.  Everyone else is basically in love with Keitaro or in the process of falling for him.  Just what I need, more love rivals.'

"So," resumed Naru, "why are you bringing this up with me again?  I'm not following your reasoning."

Kanako responded by crossing the threshold until she was standing right in front of Naru, with their bosoms nearly touching one another.  Her body language conveyed just how serious she was at that very moment.

"I'm in love with Keitaro," said Kanako.

"Yeah, I know that," replied Naru with some confusion about what Kanako was getting at.

"I know that you love him too, and that he loves you," Kanako continued stating the obvious.

"Uh-huh," said Naru, nodding her head.

"Under these circumstances, I've made up my mind on something."

"And...what would that be?"

"I'm never going to stop loving Keitaro.  Until the day I die, I will always love him, and I will always want to be loved by him, and not in the way siblings love each other.  I want to be Mrs. Keitaro Urashima, you understand?"

"I get that, but what are you..." replied Naru, before Kanako cut her off.

"Let me finish, please."

"Very well, please continue."

"So...given how much I love Keitaro, and given that you're in love with him too, I only see one solution to this little dilemma of ours.  The way I see things, this is becoming essentially an ‘all or nothing' scenario when it comes to Keitaro's love, and I have no intention of having ‘nothing' be the outcome.  If the price of being with Keitaro means that I have to share him with other women, then so be it.  Like I said at the beginning, I'd rather have him all to myself, but I'm willing to compromise if that means I get to spend the rest of my life with him and have cherished memories with him.  And you should know, I have no intention of backing down, Naru."  Kanako finished with a deep breath, having finally gotten everything off her chest.

"So then, what you're getting at is...you're really serious about..." Naru was finding it difficult to say the words, given that she could hardly wrap her mind around the very notion that Kanako was actually siding with Amalla in forming a harem around Keitaro.

"Yes, Naru," replied Kanako, "I'm not letting up on being with Keitaro, so if that means having to share him with you and everyone else, then so freaking be it."

Naru was simply stunned upon hearing this admission.  Never in her life would she hear Kanako of all people declare that she would be willing to join in on being in a harem, and with Keitaro no less.  The girl was smitten with her adoptive older brother, that much was obvious.  But Naru underestimated just how far the girl would go when it came to matters involving romance.  It was all a lot to take in at once.

"W-well, while I'm glad you were willing to be honest and upfront with me about all of this, who is to say that I'm simply willing to let you all in on being together with Keitaro?  Last I checked, he is MY boyfriend, and I don't recall giving permission for anybody else to act like he was their lover or anything like that.  And furthermore, I..." Before Naru could get another word in, Kanako took the girl by surprise with a spur-of-the-moment act.

As Naru was speaking, Kanako came forward once more and placed her hands upon Naru's shoulders, before bringing her face right up to Naru's face and proceeding to kiss Naru directly on the lips.  Given that both girls were around the same height, neither one of them had to lean upwards or downwards during the kiss.  Of course, Naru's eyes went wide as her lips were assaulted by Kanako's lips, though she didn't scream or instinctively shove Kanako away from the gesture.  For a few seconds, Naru simply stood there like a deer in the headlights, her mind trying to process just what was going on in that moment.

After a few seconds of standing flabbergasted with a heavy blush on her cheeks, Naru used her arms to push Kanako away from her, finally breaking off the kiss after having her lips locked to Kanako's for a good five seconds or more.

"K-Kanako, what was that you just did?" asked a flabbergasted Naru.

"I'm just willing to show you how committed I am to this newfound relationship we're going to be entering Naru, that's all," replied Kanako with firm resolve in her voice.  "I want to be with Keitaro THAT badly, and if I have to end up getting married and intimate with EVERYONE here at Hinata, then that's a compromise I'm willing to make."

"You can't just force love onto somebody, Kanako.  If it's not genuinely from the heart, then it's doomed to fail.  I mean, I appreciate how earnest you are in all of this, but I really don't think that..." Once again, Naru was cut off by Kanako.

"If I may be blunt, I'm pretty sure that Amalla can charm the pants off of literally anybody and everybody here.  Give that woman enough time, and she'll have every single woman here turned bisexual in a few days, a week tops.  And while I find the idea of such a thing to be rather odd myself, I'm willing to take a leap of faith and give this harem plan she's offering a shot.  I know it's odd, but I'm willing to be the bigger woman here and do my part to make this thing work."

‘Interesting choice of words on the whole "bigger woman" statement, Kanako,' thought Naru.

"And besides," resumed Kanako.

"What?" asked Naru.

"You ARE a pretty girl, Naru.  Scratch that, you were pretty before these growth spurts we've been having; I'd say you're a knockout in the looks department now, along with all the other ladies here at Hinata House.  If I had to be in a harem in order to be with Keitaro, I certainly could think of worse people to tie the knot with.  So under the circumstances, I'd say I lucked out rather well all things considered."

Naru replied with a blush on her cheeks.  Was Kanako actually hitting on her?  A few months back, two of them were fierce love rivals with Keitaro as the prize.  And now, Kanako was actually bringing herself to not just accept a harem, but even to go so far as to help bring it to fruition?

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Kanako?" asked Naru with a bewildered look on her face.  The meaning wasn't lost on Kanako, who simply chuckled in response.

"Look, I get it Naru," said the Urashima woman.  "I know this is all a little sudden, but I like to think that in due time we'll learn to get along with each other as sisters and co-wives to both Keitaro and one another.  It's like I said, I'm not giving up on being with Keitaro, and neither is Amalla from what I've seen of her.  If this is inevitably going to happen, might as well make the most of it and try to enjoy it.  And I get that you're hesitant in sharing Keitaro, just like I am...or was anyway.  It'll take time, but I'm guessing that eventually we'll learn to be patient and enjoy each other's company as much as Keitaro's.  Anyways, now you know, so I won't take up anymore of your time.  We should go see Kaolla and get something more appropriate to wear.  Just wanted to get that off my chest with you."

Kanako proceeded to turn around and head out the door, with Kuro following right behind her master.  As she left, Naru couldn't help but stare at Kanako's figure, particularly her rear end as she walked gracefully out of Naru's bedroom, bending down to clear the doorway as she did.  A moment later, Naru was shaking her head side-to-side rapidly, trying to purge her mind of naughty thoughts as she watched Kanako's figure depart from the bedroom.

‘What is wrong with me?' thought Naru in self-reflection.  ‘Am I actually getting turned on by the sight of Kanako?  Will I feel the same way about the other girls?  Am I actually considering this harem plan of Amalla's?  Ugh, I'm so confused right now.  This is all too much to take in at once.  I need some coffee or something to take my mind off of all this.'

"Anyways, better head over to Su's room and catch up with Mei," said Naru, thinking out loud.  "She's probably curious as to what's taking so long."

With that, Naru made her way out the bedroom a moment later, bending down through the doorway and making sure her sheets were secure on her enhanced form.

As Naru slipped out of her bedroom, she didn't notice a figure who masked her presence and stayed out of eyesight.  Said figure was lingering nearby, keeping an ear just outside Naru's room and taking in everything she heard.  A smile graced her lips as she was bubbling with giddiness and pure bliss at how quickly things were progressing with regards to her harem plan.

"Well now," muttered Amalla upon eavesdropping on the conversation within Naru's bedroom, "this is working out better than I expected.  I've already got one major obstacle out of the way, and wouldn't you know it, that obstacle is helping me tackle the other major obstacle.  You really surprised me there, Kanako.  I'll have to thank you for doing your part in helping me sway Naru and getting her on board with this.  Not much longer now.  Just have to get her and Keitaro on board, and then we can all start having some fun."

The tall, dark-skinned seductress tiptoed her way towards Kaolla's bedroom, trying to keep her footfalls as soft as she could as she moved down the hallways.  Amalla Su was only too overjoyed at how quickly the harem plan was progressing.

"Just a matter of time, now," said Amalla with a big grin.

Now that the day was commencing and the sun had crested over the horizon to bring forth whatever the new day brought, the residents of Hinata House began assembling and making their way towards Kaolla Su’s bedroom.  Given the latest growth spurt which had occurred while the lovely ladies of the dormitories slept, it became apparent enough that new clothing was needed for all of them.  Of course, from Amalla’s perspective, the sight of a dozen other women with supermodel figures wearing absolutely nothing was certainly an enticing view to partake of.  Even so, despite some teasing agreement from her and some other women (specifically being Kaolla, Tsuruko, Nyamo, and Mutsumi), the group felt that it was in everyone’s best interest to have at least some manner of clothing to wear, both out of basic courtesy and so as to not overwhelm Keitaro into getting another nosebleed.

So it was that the assembled party (minus Keitaro) gathered round into Kaolla’s bedroom once more for a myriad of reasons.  With clothing being the chief priority so that the ladies of Hinata need not trounce about in bedsheets the whole day, Kaolla once more brought out her scanner to take everyone’s measurements.  After a brief scan of everybody, the updated measurements came out for everyone to see:

Naru: 7’7”, G-cup

Kitsune: 7’9”, H-cup

Shinobu: 7’4”, F-cup

Kaolla: 7’2”, F-cup

Motoko: 7’10”, G-cup

Mutsumi: 7’8”, I-cup

Haruka: 7’9”, G-cup

Sarah: 7’3”, F-cup

Mei: 7’2”, F-cup

Nyamo: 7’5”, F-cup

Kanako: 7’6”, G-cup

Amalla: 8’2”, H-cup

Tsuruko: 8’4”, H-cup

The summary of the increase in size which all the Hinata women had experienced brought a mix of reactions.  Naru, Shinobu, Haruka, and Kanako either sighed or groaned at having to hear that their bodies had enlarged by several inches overnight.  Mutsumi, Amalla, Kaolla and Tsuruko were somewhat delighted in a way at hearing how much they had increased in size, finding the revelation somewhat titillating.  The remaining women (Motoko, Sarah, Mei, Nyamo,  and Kitsune) were simply in awe of hearing about their recently-enlarged bodies, neither elated nor deflated at hearing the news.

As far as clothing arrangements went, Kaolla decided to introduce a new experimental form of clothing for all the Hinata ladies to try out, one that would hopefully serve as a short-term, temporary solution to their wardrobe problems given their growth predicament.

“It’s essentially a sort of impromptu form of underwear if you’d like to think of it as such,” explained Kaolla.  “It is constructed with a super-elastic fiber mesh that can stretch substantially before tearing, so that you don’t have to worry about keeping your modesty in public.”  She finished her explanation with that bright, cheery smile of hers, such was her upbeat nature.

“You can’t make ALL of our clothes with this material?” asked Kanako, wishing it wouldn’t just apply to undergarments.

“I could try,” answered Kanako, “but this material is designed to hug against your body, like a form-fitting pair of gym shorts with a sports bra to complement it.  Any shirts, skirts, pants, or other clothing articles would basically hug firmly against your body if I put this material into them.”

“So then we’re to wear borderline expandable underwear as your solution?” asked Haruka in a somewhat deadpan tone, not quite happy with Kaolla’s little workaround.

“Oh, don’t make it sound like such a bummer, Haru-chan,” replied Amalla.  “If anything, I’d prefer to see you in nothing at all if it were up to me...you and everyone else for that matter.”

“Easy there, Ama-chan,” said Tsuruko.  “While I can appreciate the feistiness you have so early in the day, let’s not overwhelm everybody with such ideas from the get-go.”  Though Tsuruko had agreed to be Amalla’s partner-in-crime regarding the harem plan, the older Aoyama sister decided to serve as a kind of mediator to help keep Amalla’s sexual appetite in check.

“Back to what Haruka was saying,” interrupted Naru, “couldn’t you make normal clothes with this material as well, Kaolla?”

“I could,” replied Kaolla, “but like I said earlier, if it’s made with this material, it’ll cling firmly against your bodies, similar to that of an underwater diving suit if that helps give you a visual.  If you want loose fitting clothes for your current sizes, then I really can’t put much of this material into them.  It’s basically either loose fitting clothes that will tighten and become inadequately small come the next growth spurt, or these temporary undergarments that will stretch enough that they hug your bodies and keep the more delicate parts covered.”

“Well,” commented Kitsune, “I ain’t crazy about the idea of wearing super-stretchy bras and panties, but if it saves on having to make new-sized clothes every couple hours, then I guess it’ll do, for now anyway.”

“I’m in agreement,” declared Motoko.  “It certainly isn’t a perfect solution, but it should address concerns regarding wardrobe malfunctions in the days to come at least.”

“Well,” said Naru once more, “in regards to the concerns about not fitting into clothes regarding these little growth episodes we’re having, any news on a potential antidote, Kaolla?”  Naru’s question had the other eleven women focusing their attention on the younger Su sister once more.

“Well, I don’t yet have a complete antidote to counter the growth hormone just yet,” replied Kaolla, “but I may have something that should work as a kind of stop-gap measure until then.”

“What do you mean by not having a ‘complete’ antidote exactly?” asked Motoko with genuine confusion in her voice.  Kaolla took a deep breath before continuing in her explanation.

“Examining the hormone in blood samples from everybody is taking a bit longer than I’ve originally anticipated.  Isolating and separating the compounds of the growth hormone from our DNA is proving a rather tricky endeavor.  Fortunately, I’ve made at least some progress in studying it.  I’ve come up with an experimental compound which I’m fairly certain will slow down the growth rate.  If my calculations are correct, this compound should increase the amount of time between growth spurts as well as shrink the overall rate of growth during each spurt.”

“Uhh...sorry, that kind of went over my head,” commented Sarah.  “Could somebody help translate the science jargon?”

“I think what Kaolla’s trying to say,” said Shinobu, “is that the growth spurts will happen further apart if we take this new medicine that Kaolla made, and the growth spurts themselves will be smaller than the ones we’ve been having up until now.”

“Exactly, Shinobu,” commented Kaolla with a smile.  “Think of it like this:  We have all been having two growth spurts every twenty-four hours from what I’ve observed, one during daytime hours and the other while we’re asleep.  And those growth spurts have been shooting us up in height by several inches each time, usually a good six inches or more each time we grow.  If my calculations are correct, if we try out this new experimental compound, we should grow only once a day, and the rate of growth should be smaller, hopefully no more than three or four inches at most.”

“So you’ve basically managed to cut the growth rate roughly in half while doubling the amount of time we grow if I’m understanding you right,” said Mei.  “Then we should only grow once a day instead of twice a day, right?”

“Bingo!” answered Kaolla.  “You’ve hit the nail on the head, Mei.”

“Well, while that’s a step in the right direction, I’d prefer something a little more permanent,” commented Kanako.  “Can’t you simply make a pill that has the same effects of what you’re explaining, but stronger?  Or maybe we just take two of this pill instead of one?  Wouldn’t that have a cumulative effect or something close to it?”

“While I appreciate your curiosity, Kanako,” replied Kaolla, “I’m afraid it might not work out the way you’re suggesting.  For starters, this IS an experimental compound we’re talking about, and while I’m highly certain that there should be no harmful side effects from taking one or even two doses of it, I’m afraid that taking more than the recommended dosage might not have the desired effect you’re looking for.  It might help boost the effects of the first dosage, or…”

“Or what?” inquired Kanako.

“It could potentially negate the first pill and we continue our current rate of growth, or perhaps it might even have a reverse effect and increase our rate of growth.  We may very well end up shooting up a foot or more with each growth spurt, and they may come three, four, or five times every day instead of just two.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” said Naru in a deadpan tone of voice.

“Not really, no,” replied Kaolla.  “Like I said, this is an experimental pill that we’ll all be trying.  As long as we follow my recommended dosage, we should be fine.”

“If it’s an experimental pill which even YOU aren’t quite sure about, then why should we take it in the first place?”  asked Kanako.  “How do we know it’ll be safe to take or do what you claim it’ll do?  What guarantees do we have that something horrible won’t occur as a result of taking it?”

Upon hearing this line of questioning, Kaolla closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and continuing once more.

“Well, my dear Kanako, two things I feel I should bring up given all of those questions.  First, I can only hope that you would trust my advice in taking this semi-remedy to our little predicament as it stands.  Know that I’ll be the first to use it if any of you are uncertain as to whatever potential side effects may occur from taking it.  All of you are precious to me and I would never do anything to ever bring harm to a single one of you, including you Kanako.  And as for the second point…”

“Yes?” inquired Kanako.

“Say you don’t take the pill.  What then?” Kaolla was polite in her statement, yet being rather blunt and to-the-point in the second point of her reasoning.

Kanako didn’t need to inquire any further; she knew what Kaolla was implying.  Not taking the pill would simply leave everyone in the same predicament as it stood, with the whole lot of them growing at the rate which they have been over the past day or so.  With the way things were looking, all thirteen women would transition from towering amazons into outright giantesses who would find it extremely difficult to navigate throughout the Hinata House dorms (or frankly any building) as the days wore on.  In a week or two, Kanako and the rest of the Hinata ladies would easily be in the double-digit height range (whether in feet or meters, take your pick) with the way Kaolla’s experimental growth hormone was working.  Nothing short of an extremely large gymnasium or warehouse would be adequate enough to house the lot of them, and if there was no permanent solution to stopping their growth, even those types of buildings would end up becoming too small for them to reside in over time.

Realizing that Kaolla was trying to be as kind as she was, given the bluntness of the second part of her explanation, Kanako simply took a deep breath, sighed, and then responded.

“Okay,” groaned the younger Urashima woman, “you’ve made your point.  I’ll take the damn pill.  I just hope you’re not trying to pull something and that you’ve seriously done your research on this is all.”

“Kanako,” pouted Kaolla, “I’m a little hurt hearing you say that.  I was hoping that you’d put a little more trust in me for all the time we’ve gotten to know each other over the past year or so.  While I understand your reluctance to take something that you’re not 100% sure on, I can only hope that you believe me when I say that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to harmful side effects.  I mean, in this situation, the worst-case scenario is that this pill acts as nothing more than a placebo and there is no noticeable change in our growth rate.  We may very well end up continuing to enlarge at our current pace, in which case I’ll simply have to start from scratch and come up with a new batch to either curb or stop all of this growth we’re going through.  So please, Kanako...have a little faith.”

As Kanako looked into Kaolla’s eyes, she couldn’t help but notice that there was no sense of being underhanded or deceiving in the young Molmolian girl’s countenance.  While Kaolla could be something of a prankster in her younger years, at this very moment, she was being completely genuine.  At least, that was what Kanako concluded upon looking at the younger Su sister and hearing her speak.  Kanako had a sort of gift for ‘reading’ people and sensing if they were working some kind of angle for personal gain.  In this instance, Kanako concluded that Kaolla wasn’t playing some kind of sick game or bullshitting her (or anyone else in the room for that matter).  Kaolla was genuine in her explanation and was being as honest as she was earnest in describing what this experimental semi-solution could accomplish for everybody.

Kanako proceeded to close her eyes and take a deep breath before speaking.  Hopefully, her trust in Kaolla and her little countermeasure wouldn’t be misplaced.

“Alright, Kaolla,” replied Kanako, “while I have my reservations in taking this experimental pill of yours, I’m going to take a leap of faith and hope that you’re as competent as you are confident in this little countermeasure of yours.”  Kaolla replied with a heartwarming smile before responding.

“Thank you, Kanako,” replied Kaolla with the utmost sincerity in her voice.  “I hope you believe me when I say I understand your hesitance in taking this experimental patchwork solution I’ve concocted.  Please believe me when I say that I wouldn’t put anybody here through this if I thought it would be harmful to anyone taking it.  And know that if any unforeseen side effects come as a result of taking this pill, I will take full responsibility for it and pay the price for it, even if it requires laying down my very life as a result.”

“Okay, no need to get overly dramatic,” replied Kanako as she rolled her eyes.  While she appreciated the sincerity of Kaolla’s explanation, she felt it to be a bit too much for the Molmolian girl to offer her very life as potential recompense for whatever unexpected negative side effects may occur.

And so it was after further explanation of Kaolla’s little patchwork countermeasure to all of the Hinata ladies that the group proceeded to ingest said substance which would hopefully lessen and slow the rate of growth which they were all experiencing.  While it wasn’t the panacea that they were hoping for, it was certainly appreciated as a step in the right direction when it came to taming the growth spurts they were experiencing.  Kaolla had developed it in a pill form, so all it took was the act of swallowing and the countermeasure would begin to take effect.  If Kaolla’s calculations were correct, the girls’ growth rate would slow down significantly, giving the Molmolian scientist ample time to come up with a more permanent solution to stop their growth altogether, and hopefully reverse it.

“So, this pill of yours,” inquired Mei, “is this something we have to take everyday in order to combat the growth spurts?”

“Nope,” answered Kaolla, “as far as this pill goes, it’s simply a case of ‘one and done’ as they say.  Once the medicine spreads throughout your bloodstream, it should latch on to parts of your body which induce growth, particularly the pituitary gland.  I won’t bore you with the science, but just trust me that once the compounds within this formula do their job, the intended effect should begin to take hold.  Granted, it’ll only slow the rate of growth, but it’s a step in the right direction at least.”

“Well, ‘better half a loaf than no bread at all,’ as they say,” muttered Motoko.

“I hear ya on that one,” added Kitsune.

After handing out the pills to everybody present, Kaolla stayed true to her word and downed her pill first.  She told everyone else to wait a few minutes before swallowing their pills, as she wished to demonstrate no negative side effects from her experimental countermeasure.  After a good fifteen minutes, Kaolla showed no harmful side effects whatsoever - no shortness of breath, sweating, changing of skin color, fever, nausea, trembling, bleeding, chills, body aches, irregular heart palpitations, stomach pains, convulsions, swelling of the throat or face, rashes, hair falling out, redness in the eyes, et cetera et cetera (you get the picture).

So it was that the other twelve Hinata ladies took their pills shortly after and hoped for the best.  After all, they wouldn’t really see noticeable side effects until a good 12 to 24 hours from the moment of consumption.

After ingesting Kaolla’s experimental half-solution, the Molmolian supergenius proceeded to print out the ‘super stretchy’ underwear she had talked about earlier from her 3D clothing printer.  Within a few minutes, all thirteen women were wearing black-colored sports bras which exposed more skin than some of the ladies would have preferred (Motoko, Shinobu, Mei, Naru, and Kanako in particular).  The sports bras were low cut, which showed a LOT of skin from the collarbone all the way down to the start of the womens’ cleavage, and even that which was covered up could be identified easy enough given the swell of the Hinata ladies’ bosoms over the past several hours.  The sports bras also ended right underneath their generous bosoms, showing pretty much everything regarding their sculpted torsos, teasing any viewer with the sight of both their magnificent curves and their well-defined abdominal muscles.

The bottom half of the attire was no more conservative in hiding the ladies’ lovely forms.  Kaolla had essentially printed out thirteen pairs of super short yoga shorts that were bordering on what some would consider to be ‘Daisy Dukes’ style shorts.  The yoga/gym/volleyball shorts (which were bordering on being panties), were low cut, with the upper end being just below the waistline while the lower end cut off high above the upper thighs, with a teasing peak of the buttocks on display for whoever stood behind any of the recently-enlarged mini giantesses to see.  Even that which covered the womens’ posteriors and maidenhoods clung so firmly against their hips and asscheeks that the material looked as if it were painted onto their skin, such was the firmness with which it clung against their supermodel dimensions.

“K-Kaolla,” moaned Shinobu, “is there any chance you could reprint these things so that they don’t show so much skin?  It’s kind of embarrassing to be showing this much of ourselves.”  The blue-haired, blue-eyed beauty was blushing heavily at this point, both at the sight of her own body and that of all the other women.  It was a sentiment which was shared among some of the other women in varying degrees of intensity, with the strongest blushes coming from Naru, Mei, Motoko, Kanako, and Sarah.

“Oh, don’t worry about that sort of thing, Shinobu,” replied Kaolla with a cheer.  “I think you look really cute in this attire.  Don’t you agree, Amalla?”  The older Su sister responded by embracing Shinobu from behind, wrapping her arms delicately around Shinobu’s torso and holding her as if she were a longtime lover (which as a reminder, Amalla was trying to make a reality very quickly given her pronouncement in the hot springs the previous night).

“I wouldn’t say cute, dear sister,” answered Amalla as she brought her face in near Shinobu’s neck and breathed in deeply through her nostrils, taking in the younger woman’s scent.  “I would say ravishing or deliciously sexy or something more akin to that.  A part of me wants to just tear off what she’s wearing and have her all to myself right now.”  The tone in Amalla’s voice was dripping with seduction as she delicately ran her fingers along Shinobu’s super soft and sensitive skin, which rewarded Amalla with a whimper bordering on a flat-out moaning sound from Shinobu, with her face blushing madly like a perfectly ripened tomato.

“Now now, Amalla,” commented Tsuruko, feeling the need to step in once more to keep Amalla’s sexual appetite in check.  “While I agree with your assessment overall, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist on a little restraint in where you’re going with this line of commentary.”  The older Aoyama sister stepped forward and gently parted Shinobu from Amalla’s embrace.

What all three women (Amalla, Shinobu, and Tsuruko) noticed during that brief entanglement with one another was that the touch of each was rather heavenly.  Simply being in the mere presence of one another and taking in the rich female scent of each respective woman was already getting all three of them ‘in the mood’ as the saying goes.  The simple act of physical contact just added to the intensity of the pleasure which each female had experienced in that brief moment.  It was a minor miracle that the three of them didn’t engage in a threeway right there and then on the spot, such was the willpower in which the Hinata ladies had managed to conjure up so as to not let their basic instincts take hold.

After the little teaser was over, the Hinata ladies were preparing to leave Kaolla’s bedroom, at which point both the Aoyama sisters lingered behind and asked the Molmolian supergenius for a favor.

“It regards our swords, dearest Kaolla,” began Tsuruko.  “With the increase in size we’ve been experiencing, our katanas have become comparatively smaller for us to handle and use effectively.”

“They are now basically wakizashi blades at this point,” added Motoko, “and given our rate of growth, they’re likely to become tanto blades or even smaller, assuming we keep growing without end as the days carry on.  We were hoping that since you’re able to make clothing for our larger bodies that you might be able to construct larger swords for us to use as we become bigger and bigger.”

“We’ll pay you for your trouble, of course,” added Tsuruko.  “We wouldn’t want you to go out of your way to assist us with no fair compensation on your part.”  Before either Aoyama sister could go any further, Kaolla simply raised her hand up, palm opened to cut them off.

“It’s no trouble at all, my dear sisters,” responded Kaolla with a smile.  “I think I may have something that should serve as a decent substitution regarding your little sword problem.  And you need not worry about payment for my services.  I’d be happy to assist you in this matter, especially since it was my growth hormone which caused all of this inconvenience in the first place.”

“Thank you, Kaolla,” said Tsuruko with a mix of both elation and relief as she bowed in a show of gratitude.  “From the bottom of my heart, you have my dearest and sincerest thanks in this matter.”

“Yes, thank you Kaolla,” added Motoko in a similar bow.  “This really means a lot to us.  As practitioners of the Shinmei-Ryu sword school, we don’t want our skills to get rusty over time and...wait a moment...sisters?”  It took a moment for Motoko to register what Kaolla had just referred to both of the Aoyama sisters as.

“Indeed, dearest sisters,” replied Kaolla with a smirk as she crossed her arms underneath her generous bosom.  The delight on her face was all too apparent.  “I prefer that title, though if you like, I suppose I could call you something like ‘fellow wives’ or ‘co-wives’ if that’s your preference.”  The suggestion brought a heavy blush of embarrassment upon Motoko’s cheeks, while Tsuruko simply smiled in response, her mind being on the same wavelength as Kaolla at this point.

“W-what are you talking about, Kaolla?” asked a still-flustered Motoko as she stared wide-eyed at the Molmolian girl.  While Motoko knew Kaolla well enough to tell when she was making a joke, in this instance, she could tell that the younger Su sister was not teasing or kidding in the slightest.

“Exactly what I’m referring to, my dear Mo-chan...or do you prefer Motoko-chan by chance?” replied Kaolla.  Apparently, her response left Motoko at a loss for words.  Given the conversations that had been had last night, the younger Aoyama sister knew EXACTLY what Kaolla was getting at.

“My my,” replied Tsuruko with a grin as she covered her mouth in a rather dainty, ladylike fashion, “it appears that the proverbial cat has my dear sister’s tongue.  Whatever shall we do to remedy this, Kaolla-chan?”  Kaolla responded with a wide grin, happy that Tsuruko had become an immediate ally in helping to implement the harem plan.

“Let’s give her a little time to process this and collect her thoughts,” replied Kaolla.  “After all, it wouldn’t do for our fellow wife to be overwhelmed by these developments, given how fast they’ve occurred.”

“You can’t be serious about this,” declared Motoko, with the “you” in this case referring to both her sister and Kaolla.  “What you’re getting at is a mere fantasy, nothing more.  You cannot honestly believe that you’re going to be able to pull off a mass harem with Keitaro in the center of it all.  It’s a teenage wet dream, plain and simple.  It’s…”

Before Motoko could get another word in edgewise, she was silenced abruptly.  However, the one doing the silencing was not Kaolla, but Tsuruko instead...and the means of silencing happened to be Tsuruko planting her mouth on Motoko’s mouth and invading said mouth with her tongue.

While Tsuruko went to town on her younger sister’s mouth, she proceeded to wrap her arms around Motoko’s torso, running her fingers all over her younger sibling’s skin and caressing her lovely form with a frightening amount of professional instinct.  In the span of a few seconds, Tsuruko Aoyama was fondling and caressing Motoko Aoyama with the passion of a longtime lover and the professionalism of an experienced masseuse.  The end result was Motoko melting like butter in her sister’s arms after a few seconds of resistance.

“Well now,” replied Kaolla after a high-pitched whistle (the kind one uses to denote surprise), “I must confess I wasn’t expecting a show like that, though I’m certainly thankful for it.  It will help move things along in the right direction.  As they say, ‘the more the merrier’ and all that.”  A moment later, Tsuruko had let up on her invasion of Motoko’s mouth, but only because of the need to come up for air.

“So, my dear Motoko,” began Tsuruko, “are you still unsure of the harem plan or shall I have another go-around with you, dearest sister?  Fair warning, I might lose control of myself and strip you down to nothing if I do.”  The look on Tsuruko’s face was as playful as it was serious.

“B-b-but, how are we going to get Keitaro and Naru to go along with this?” asked Motoko, her voice rather faint as she panted heavily from the euphoric assault from her older sister’s tongue in her mouth.  “I...I do love him very, very, VERY much, but I’m not sure Naru would allow what you’re proposing.”

“We simply MAKE Naru understand,” replied Kaolla.  “I mean, my big sister alone will probably get Naru to see her way of things, and I’d bet everything I own that with enough time, Amalla can charm the literal pants off of anyone, which given what we’re talking about I’d wager is her endgame.”

“This all seems like so much happening so fast,” said Motoko in a raspy voice, still coming down from the sexual high of the bliss she was experiencing just a minute ago.  “I mean, I’m not AGAINST what you’re proposing, don’t get me wrong.  I’m just not sure that it’s feasible given the circumstances.”

“Oh, no need to worry about that, dearest Motoko-chan,” replied Kaolla.  “There are already plans in motion to make this dream of ours a reality.  Amalla alone will do a lot of the figurative ‘heavy lifting’ in seeing this thing through, but the way I see it, the more allies we accrue, the easier it will be to come to the desired result.  And just in case you have any doubts, like my big sister, I see this harem plan as an ‘all or nothing’ outcome, and I refuse the ‘nothing’ option.”

“I’m in agreement with Kaolla on that,” replied Tsuruko.  “After all, what’s wrong with being part of one big happy family?”  The emphasis on the word “big” brought a tingle into the loins of all three women in the room, given the double meaning of the word in the current context.

“O-okay,” replied Motoko.  “If you guys are that certain about this whole thing, then I’m in too.”  A moment later, she was glomped on by both Kaolla and Tsuruko, with their bodies pressing firmly against hers.  The combination of smooth, delicate skin along with strong, supple muscles and heavenly pheromone-induced scents was driving Motoko mad with pleasure (and the other two women to a slightly lesser degree).

“Welcome to the family, sisters,” declared Kaolla with her trademark grin as she embraced both Aoyama sisters in the three-way hug which had formed.

“Please take good care of us, dear sister,” replied Tsuruko with a rosy blush and heartwarming smile in response.

“Y-yes, please do,” added Motoko with a deep-red blush on her face.

A moment later, after the group hug was ended, Kaolla presented her workaround solution for the Aoyama sisters when it came to their little sword problem (pun intended).

“I have another 3D printer in my laboratory which can conjure up virtually any item you can think of.  Whether it’s a firearm, cell phone, shoes, watches, jewelry, glasses, toys...I can go on and on.  You get the picture.  So creating a set of katanas for a pair of amazons shouldn’t be too problematic.”

“You have the materials needed to forge swords just like that?” asked an incredulous Motoko.

“Well, the materials in this case will be a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer which I’ve tweaked to have even greater durability than steel or titanium.  I won’t bore you with the science, but once I’ve put the specifications through, you two should have swords that are more befitting of your size.  After all, I wouldn’t want you to have to engage in your sword training holding something that feels like a butcher knife or a switchblade in your grip.”  Once again, leave to Kaolla to have a workaround solution for nearly everything.

“Th-thank you, Kaolla,” muttered a shocked Motoko, amazed that the Molmolian science whiz kid could come up with a solution for their problem practically on the fly.

“Think nothing of it, my dear Mo-chan,” replied Kaolla with a grin.  She then proceeded to prepare the printer to create the Aoyama sisters’ new patchwork swords.

Within a few minutes, the Aoyama sisters walked out of Kaolla Su’s bedroom holding new katanas in hardened plastic sheaths.  The length of each sword (from sword tip to butt of the handle) was a solid six feet in length.  The sight of such a weapon would humble even the staunchest and best-trained of swordsmen and warriors.  The sheer size of such a weapon would surely boggle the mind of anybody other than the amazons who now wielded such items.  Admittedly, Motoko and Tsuruko considered having the specifications of their new katanas somewhere more in the five-foot-range, but they eventually decided to err on caution and have larger swords forged instead.  If they kept growing in the coming days, then whatever difficulty they might experience in wielding these weapons would vanish soon enough.

“Once again, thank you, Kaolla,” said Tsuruko as she humbly bowed before the slightly shorter woman.  As she rose up once more, she marvelled at how close her head was to the nine-foot-high ceiling.  It would only be a matter of days before her scalp made contact with it and she would be forced to walk crouched indoors (or even crawl depending on the rate of growth).  And soon enough, every woman at Hinata would be doing the same if a permanent solution to their growing conundrum wasn’t made available.

“It’s no trouble, Tsuruko, honestly,” replied Kaolla.  “Now then, let’s head downstairs and join the others.  I’m guessing they’re either in the kitchen or the common room and helping themselves to breakfast as we speak.  And besides, we should be getting some newcomers arriving very soon by now.”

“By newcomers, you mean those servants which you and your sister were talking about earlier?” inquired Motoko.

“Yes indeed,” answered Kaolla. “Their presence will be most appreciated, as I intend to put them to work on some things around here, especially with Keitaro’s injury.  You should have seen how adamant he was about getting back to work this morning when we woke up.  It was really adorable...like a little puppy dog eager to run around and play.”

The very mention of Keitaro brought a blush to the faces of all three women in the group.  Given that all three of them were now compatriots in the ever-growing harem plan which began with Kaolla and Amalla, whenever the dopey Hinata dorms manager with a heart of gold was mentioned in conversation, the women couldn’t help but have a dreamy look on their faces upon hearing his name or seeing his face.

“Well then,” commented Tsuruko, “shall we, ladies?”  At this point, Tsuruko was motioning towards the staircase for the three ladies to proceed.  A moment later, the trio made their way along the staircase, their footfalls creating soft ‘booms’ as their feet made contact with the floorboards and their supermodel figures sashayed along the halls and corridors to meet up with the rest of the group, ducking their heads under door frames as they walked.

As Kaolla, Motoko, and Tsuruko made their way downstairs and into the dormitory’s common room, they spotted the other residents (including Keitaro at this point) within both the common room and the kitchen.  Some were lounging about in the common room while others were preparing breakfast within the kitchen.

In the midst of it all was Keitaro, surrounded by a bevy of bodacious beauties whose very presence reminded him of just how small he was in their company (or how large they were in his, in both sheer size and number).  From Keitaro’s perspective, it was an experience that was extremely titillating, and perhaps a tad bit terrifying.  After all, every woman in Hinata House was now over seven feet tall, so compared to Keitaro’s 5 foot, 7 inch frame, any one of them could overpower him with probably no real effort if they so desired (especially since Keitaro was still nursing a relatively fresh bullet wound from not so long ago).

Of course, if Keitaro only knew that overpowering or intimidating him was the absolute last thing in mind among ANY of the Hinata women.  Perhaps a little playful overpowering in the bedroom, at least in the minds of Amalla and her growing number of compatriots to the harem plan, but aside from that, there was only a growing sense of nurturing and protective overwatch among the group of Hinata women, especially those whose feelings were growing for Keitaro just as their bodies were growing in size and sexual appeal.  If Keitaro were just a little more perceptive, he might have been aware of the at-times dreamy look in the eyes among most of the women whenever they glanced at him, a look that practically screamed an invitation of a rather “intimate” nature.

“How are you feeling, Senpai?” asked Shinobu as she examined Keitaro closely, her face dripping with concern, given her sensitive nature.

“N-not too bad, Shinobu,” replied Keitaro with a mild grunt.  “Still a little sore, but Kaolla gave me some medicine to numb the pain.  If it gets too bad, I’ll take some aspirin or whatever we have available.”

“If you’re feeling any pain whatsoever, I’ll be sure to have more of what I gave you earlier,” stated Kaolla as she entered the common room alongside Motoko and Tsuruko.  Their presence completed the group of thirteen women once more, all of them dressed in rather enticing undergarments which hugged their bosoms and waistlines oh so nicely.

“Thank you, Kaolla,” responded Keitaro.  “I appreciate the offer.  After all, I don’t want to be an invalid and have to rely on all of you to help out with dorm chores.”

“Oh, there you go again, placing all the responsibility on your shoulders,” commented Amalla with a sigh.  She decided to gently put her foot down on Keitaro’s stubbornness when it came to carrying out his managerial duties.

“Ladies,” declared Amalla, “if you’ll entertain me for a moment, by show of hands, who here believes that Keitaro should be doing any physical labor whatsoever for the next few days, given his current condition?”

The room stood silent as all the women present simply stood by, not a single one raising her hand in response to Amalla’s question.  Keitaro was tempted to raise his hand in response, but figured that he knew where this line of inquiry was going.

“Now,” continued Amalla, “by show of hands, who here believes that Keitaro should be barred from any physical labor whatsoever for the next few days...scratch that...the next week or more?”

Not a second later, all thirteen women had raised their hands in response to Amalla’s question, making the vote pretty much unanimous as to where everyone stood on Keitaro exerting himself in any way whatsoever.  Keitaro was somewhat taken aback that even Sarah was quick to raise her hand alongside all the other women.  Was it simply logic driving her decision, or was it out of concern for Keitaro’s well-being?

“Well then,” declared Amalla with a smile, “it appears that we’re all in agreement then.  Keitaro, from this point on, for the next week or two, you are forbidden from engaging in any strenuous physical activity whatsoever.  Doctor’s orders and all that.”

“Well, technically speaking, are you a doctor, Amalla?” responded Keitaro in as genuine and non-sarcastically a tone of voice as he could, not wanting to incur any displeasure from the 8ft+ woman decreeing his unofficial bedrest regimen.  The towering Molmolian beauty merely smirked in response at Keitaro’s half-hearted retort.

“I suppose that I’m not a doctor, Keitaro, but Kaolla knows a thing or two about human anatomy, given her scientific background.  And since she’s the one who helped patch you up, I’d wager that she’s the closest thing to a doctor here at the dorms...and since she voted alongside the rest of us in barring you from housework or dorm chores, I’d like to think that you’d heed her advice as our unofficial medical professional.”  Amalla finished her explanation with that trademark grin of hers, knowing that she made a valid enough point.

Even IF Keitaro decided to press the issue in the middle of this semi-argument with the lovely ladies of Hinata, he reminded himself that he was in the presence of thirteen amazons who could simply force him to abstain from hard work through physical power alone.  He’d wager that any one of them could simply haul him in either her arms or over her shoulder and carry him to bed, strap him down, and keep him there until they decided to let him go free.  From Keitaro’s perspective, it would be like a child trying to fight off an adult (or in this case, a child fighting off against thirteen adults at once).

Realizing that his point of argument was essentially futile at this point, Keitaro simply sighed, shrugged his shoulders and relented to the unanimous decision of the Hinata ladies.

“Okay then,” replied Keitaro.  “While I’m not crazy about the idea of abstaining from my duties, I’ll relent and follow ‘doctor’s orders’ and all that.  But if I don’t tend to the daily chores, things will start to fall behind and pile up here at the dorms, and sooner than later at that.”

By this point, another of the Hinata ladies decided to counter Keitaro’s statement of concern regarding house chores at the dorms.

“Keitaro, we’ve pretty much been over this by now,” said Naru with a sigh, “with the thirteen of us here in the dorms, I’m sure that us girls can manage the daily tasks that need tending to while you recover.  So please, for goodness sake, stop being so darn selfless and let us step in.  You’ve done more than enough as it is and you need time to recuperate.  And besides, there’s at least one new advantage we’ve recently acquired.”

“And what is that?” asked Keitaro with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

“With our increased size, any task involving heavy lifting or extra muscle shouldn’t be too hard now.  I like to think of it as a sort of silver lining to our little predicament.”  Naru’s choice of words was somewhat comical, given that there was nothing “little” about what the Hinata ladies were experiencing at the moment.

“Naru does have a point there, Keitaro,” added Haruka.  “I’d wager that any one of us has the musculature comparable to that of a man in the six-foot-whatever range, given our current size.  So you really don’t need to fret over anything that involves hauling heavy loads or what have you.  So like Naru said, just give it a rest and take some much deserved R&R.”  Haruka finished her explanation with a gentle ruffling of Keitaro’s scalp, something that she would do to him in their younger years when they were still both children.

“Ditto on what Haruka said,” added Kitsune.  “All you should be focused on is healin’ yourself good and proper.  Us girls can handle the little tidbits of the day-to-day and all that.”  Kitsune said all of this were her eyes slitted open somewhat, revealing her irises to Keitaro as she did.  It was a sort of open secret that the fox-eyed girl tended to open her eyes somewhat in moments of either duress or emotional intimacy.  In this case, it was definitely the latter of the two, given the rosy hue on Kitsune’s cheeks as she said this to Keitaro.

“Yes, please don’t exert yourself, Kei-kun,” said Mutsumi as she leaned in towards Keitaro, her face just inches away from his and her bosom hanging both prodigiously and spectacularly, even within the confines of the super-stretchy sports bra made for her (just like the others which the Hinata ladies currently wore).  “You should focus on getting better and taking it easy, so please don’t worry over things like the laundry, dishes, or anything else.  I’m sure we can handle those kinds of things while you rest and recover.”  Mutsumi’s natural feminine charm did its job and dissuaded Keitaro of whatever resistance he might have vocalized up to that point.

Frankly, it was difficult enough for Keitaro to keep his thoughts together when in the presence of so many women who had killer figures and were wearing very little to boot.  Upon leaving Kaolla’s bedroom, Keitaro got the rundown on their clothing situation and Kaolla’s stop-gap solutions, both with regards to the pseudo-underwear which they currently wore as well as the experimental pill they all consumed which would slow down and limit whatever growth spurts that were to follow.  Even after hearing all of that, Keitaro was still flabbergasted at being in the presence of so many women who made him feel so darn small and inadequate, especially now.

Before the whole growth spurt fiasco that started up from that night in the hot springs, Keitaro considered all of these women to range anywhere from cute (in the case of girls like Shinobu, Kaolla, Mei and Nyamo) to very attractive (with regards to girls like Kitsune, Mutsumi, Motoko, Amalla, Tsuruko, and of course, Naru).  Now, over the past twenty-four hours and counting from the start of these growth spurts, all of the female Hinata House residents were smoking hot and dripping with a sort of natural seduction in their very character.  Be it their bosoms, rear ends, waistlines, thighs, or any other parts of their bodies, all thirteen women of the Hinata dormitories were now smoking hot supermodel material.  Their enlarged size simply amplified their natural beauty and made them all into walking, talking wet dreams come to life which any straight, red-blooded male in his right mind would practically kill to hookup with.

Such sexually-charged temptation was making the situation difficult enough for Keitaro to keep his head straight and not entertain the notion of stripping down into nothing but his birthday suit and “knock boots” as the old-time saying went.  While he would feel a bit less guilty at the idea of doing such an act with Naru, given that the two of them were an official couple at this point, Keitaro still tried to act in a manner befitting that of a gentleman and not give in to his baser instincts.

“Well now,” inquired Amalla, “what say we whip up another big breakfast for us all to enjoy?”  As she asked this, Amalla was percolating at watching Keitaro drink in the sight of so much sexually-charged female exposure being laid out before him.  Frankly, Amalla herself was getting rather turned on being in the company of so many lovely ladies who were pretty much wearing next to nothing, and even that which they wore left very little to the imagination.  While the older Su sister was tempted to simply declare the start of an outright group orgy, she decided to hold back on her more primal instincts and save such an act for a later time.

‘Can’t rush these things after all,’ thought Amalla to herself.  ‘After all, cultivating a harem is sort of like tending to a garden:  You have to provide the proper nourishment and be patient in order for it to grow and grow and grow into full bloom.’  Upon thinking of  the word “grow,” Amalla found herself slightly wet with the angst of sexual tension.  While she was no stranger to being “in the mood” and getting into rather kinky things when the time was right, Amalla found herself in a situation not so different from that of Keitaro:  Carrying a whole lot fo sexual angst and fighting the urge to act on it without a second thought.

“Yes, let’s do that,” replied Kanako, sensing what was on Amalla’s mind and trying to steer the Molmolian seductress from her thoughts.  Even though Amalla had asked a harmless enough question, Kanako was good enough at reading people to tell that even though Amalla was talking about food, the look on her face indicated that sex was more on her mind at that point.  Whatever “eating” the older Su sister was talking about would probably involve things below the belt, specifically in the crotch area.  And while Kanako had decided to tag along with Amalla’s little ‘harem plan,’ she was still of a rational enough mind to not jump the gun and simply dive in on sheer impulse.

At the very least, Kanako felt that it was bad form to engage in something like a massive group orgy so early in the morning.  Besides, things needed to be taken step-by-step.  If ever there was going to be some kind of free-for-all gangbang among Keitaro and all the women present, then all of said women would need to be completely okay with such an arrangement and be willing to make love to each other as well as make love with (and of course share) Keitaro.  Obviously at this point, such an arrangement had yet to be made reality...for the time being, at least.

So it was that the decision was made:  Keitaro was from that moment onwards banned from any and all strenuous activity and physical labor for the foreseeable future.

The Hinata ladies began rummaging through the kitchen and preparing another group breakfast like before, while some of them went outside to gather the groceries from yesterday’s shopping trip.  Whatever couldn’t be moved to the refrigerator or the freezer was simply left aboard the storage compartments within Kaolla’s mecha-Tama (some of which had refrigeration and freezer technology for any foods requiring either).  Once the groceries had been taken care of, all of the Hinata women had gathered once more in the kitchen and/or common room to prepare the day’s breakfast, all while Keitaro sat on the couch in the common room and watched them flitter about as they worked.

From Keitaro’s perspective, it was really a sight to behold.  While the ladies were simply taking in groceries and preparing various foodstuffs for a big group breakfast, the sight of their figures wearing stretchy, form-fitting pseudo underwear was a rather stimulating thing to behold.  The sports bras they wore clung to their bosoms rather nicely and the short shorts hugged each woman’s buttocks in just as fine a fashion.  Keitaro didn’t know what material Kaolla used in making these sets of undergarments, but whatever it was, it made it so that the black stretchy material looked as though it was painted onto these ladies seductive forms, such was the level of definition with which it conveyed in every fine detail of these women’s bosoms, ass cheeks, and even a particular “front door” if Keitaro glanced long enough, tempted as he was.

After a half hour or so preparing an assortment of various breakfast foods - cereal, toast, coffee, juice, waffles, bananas, grapes, eggs, bacon, sausages, muffins, bagels, etc. - the assembled party began partaking of the smorgasboard laid before them.  Given the increase in size among the female company present, it was only natural that their appetites and consumption rate would grow alongside their bodies.

‘They’re really putting it away,’ thought Keitaro to himself as he watched the woman feast on the various breakfast foods they picked from.  ‘Good thing we did that shopping trip, despite how it ended.  The way things are looking, we might need to stock up on food more often, especially if these girls keep growing like they are.’

“Something wrong, Keitaro?” asked Amalla as she set her sights on the dorm manager (now currently suspended in his duties).  “You seem like you’re distracted by something.”  After asking her question, Amalla popped a piece of toast in her mouth, consuming half of it in one bite.

“Oh, it’s uh...it’s nothing, Amalla,” replied Keitaro, not wanting to worry the women.  “I was just feeling a little light-headed is all...but don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Keitaro’s probably pondering about the food situation, given our number and our growth spurts, if I were to guess,” chimed Kaolla with that grin of hers.  “I’d wager that he’s worried about money for food, especially as time goes on and depending on how big we end up getting.  Am I right, Keitaro?”  Kaolla asked this question with an innocent tone in her voice, but given her powers of deduction, she (and all the other women) figured that she was right on target with her questioning.

“Uh...well I...n-no that’s not…” Keitaro was somewhat at a loss for words.  He didn’t like having to lie, unless the situation outright called for it.  So he was deciding whether or not to say that Kaolla was wrong in her deduction, so that he wouldn’t worry her or the others with his concerns.

“Well, that’s just like Keitaro now, ain’t it?” replied Kitsune with a soft grin.  “Doesn’t want us girls frettin’ over things like food and all that, sweet thing that he is.”

“Kei-kun simply doesn’t want to point out something that’s pretty obvious, that’s all,” added Mutsumi.  “It’s just not in his nature to be honest when he feels that it’ll make others uncomfortable or sad.”  Like Kitsune, the Okinawan girl was as polite as she was forthcoming in her demeanor as she spoke, given the dreamy look in her eyes she was shooting Keitaro’s way.

“Listen, dork,” said Sarah with that classic tsundere look on her face as she blushed, “stop being so darn considerate and just say what’s on your mind, got it?  You don’t have to try and hide whatever’s eating you up, understand?  It won’t do any good in the long run.”  Sarah then proceeded to dig into the stack of waffles she was devouring with much gusto.

“Oh come one now, Sarah,” chided Mei in response as she was popping in bits of fruit here and there while she ate, “no need to be hard on Keitaro-senpai for showing some concern.”

“I know, I know,” grumbled Sarah.  “He’s just so darn sweet sometimes that I think it’s gonna give me a toothache or something.”  Sarah muttered the last part so softly that it was hard for anybody not in her immediate vicinity to make out what she said.

“What was that now, Sarah-chan?” asked Amalla.  “Did you just say something about Keitaro being such a sweetie-pie?”  The rosy grin on Amalla’s face conveyed just how giddy she was, given that Sarah was most likely going to be one of the bigger obstacles to her harem plan.

“Never you mind what I said,” grumbled Sarah as she kept her eyes focused on her food and tried her hardest to suppress the blush that was forming on her cheeks while she ate.

‘Well now, this is an interesting development,’ pondered Tsuruko as she sipped some tea from her mug before continuing to nibble on a bagel in her hand.  ‘Perhaps it won’t be so difficult to bring Sarah into the fold after all.  Hell, give Amalla some one-on-one time with the girl and she’ll probably have her roped into the harem in a day...two at the most.  Things are really starting to take off now.’  Tsuruko couldn’t help but grin just a tad at the way things were playing out.

‘The brat may be rough around the edges, but she’s not a bad person at heart,’ pondered Kanako as she sipped some orange juice and munched on some toast.  ‘While she could use a little refinement and some lessons in patience, I like to think that with a little time and some self-discipline she can come around to being more...feminine?  Sensible?  What’s the word that would best suit how I’d put it.  Argh, maybe I’ll look it up in a dictionary or thesaurus when I have the time.  Either way, as long as she doesn’t get rough with Big Brother, I suppose we’ll get along...more or less.’  As Kanako ate, she stroked Kuro who was currently nestled in the younger Urashima woman’s lap.

“Come on now, ladies, let’s not start a scene so early in the day please,” said Haruka as she sipped her coffee.  While she was yearning for a cigarette to go along with it, she made a habit of abstaining from smoking indoors as much as possible.  If need be, she’d take a drag either out on the back porch or near the front door (assuming there were no peeping toms or random pedestrians passing by).

“I second that motion,” added Naru as she munched on her corn flakes while staring at the spoon in her hand and how annoying it was to have to handle a rather small eating utensil (relative to Naru’s enlarged size).  Given the growth spurts the Hinata ladies had been going through, it was a rather peculiar thing to re-examine the world around them and re-evaluate the scale of everyday items which they came into regular contact with.  

The forks, spoons, knives, plates, bowls, chairs, pretty much everything was the same as it had always been - only smaller now, given the rather rapid enlargement of the Hinata women.  It was like being a parent and walking into a child’s playhouse or treehouse, the kind one would expect of a child who was no older than ten years in age.  Everything around the women was just so damn small now, even though not a thing had shrunk in size.  The girls had simply become too large to live comfortably in the world now, and had to deal with minor inconveniences for the foreseeable future.

‘Please have a permanent solution ready soon, Kaolla,’ grumbled Naru inwardly at their predicament.  ‘I’m already loathing the idea of having to bend down to go through doorways, and I am NOT looking forward to having to crawl to maneuver through the dorm hallways, let alone having adequate sleeping arrangements...and I really don’t like the idea of being too big to fit in the shower stalls...or on the toilet. Ugh…’  These were Naru’s thoughts as she resumed eating her breakfast, trying to take her mind off of worrisome concerns in the near future.

‘Now this is JUST right,’ thought Amalla as she popped another grape into her mouth.  ‘I just LOVE big family gatherings like this.  Being in the presence of those you care for always puts me in a good mood.  Reminds me of back home with darling Lamba and my darling sisters (Amalla’s term for her fellow wives back in Molmol), though I’d personally enjoy it if we could all eat in the nude and perhaps out in the hot springs.  But, I suppose I’ll have to wait a bit longer before something like that can happen.  Need to set up the groundwork and get everyone to be perfectly fine with the harem first...can’t rush a good thing like that after all.’  As Amalla swallowed another morsel of food, she scanned the room once more, observing every woman and gauging how much resistance each one might put up to the idea of being in a harem (even though Amalla made her intentions clear enough to all of them last night in the hot springs).

‘Let’s see where things are right now,’ pondered Amalla as she analyzed the situation and where each woman stood with regards to the harem plan.  After sizing them all up one-by-one she broke the group of thirteen ladies into three basic categories, which were listed as such:

• In the Harem:  Amalla, Kaolla, Tsuruko, Kanako

• Least Resistant to Harem:  Nyamo, Shinobu, Mutsumi, Kitsune, Motoko

• Most Resistant to Harem:  Haruka, Sarah, Mei, Naru

However, Amalla had yet to realize that Motoko had signed on to the harem plan moments earlier in Kaolla’s bedroom.  And as for the other women, she had measured their dispositions in the baths during her announcement and got a read on their emotional state when it came to entertaining the idea of being married to one another with Keitaro as the centerpiece of it all.

‘Of course, it won't’ matter too much in the big picture,’ thought Amalla with a subtle grin.  ‘By the time I’m done working my magic here at Hinata, I’m going to have ALL of these lovely ladies become wives - my wives as well as Keitaro’s wives.  There is simply no other acceptable outcome as far as I’m concerned.  Like Kaolla and I agreed to the other night, this is an “all or nothing” scenario, and “nothing” simply will not do.’

As the thirteen women and Keitaro began winding down their breakfast, the lovely ladies began collecting dishes and putting away whatever leftovers remained, making sure to keep Keitaro out of helping, such was their insistence on him recovering and keeping from carrying out daily chores.  While the women flitted about the kitchen and common room, Keitaro once more took in the beauty of their figures.

The curvature of their hips and breasts, the definition of their abdomens, the subtle swell of their biceps and calf muscles, the gentle swaying of their bosoms - even the occasional jiggling of their ass cheeks as they walked to and fro throughout both rooms.  The simple act of putting away dishes and clearing the table was far more seductive than Keitaro would have considered possible.  Then again, he was in the presence of more than a dozen women wearing rather skimpy-looking attire at the moment, and all of whom had supermodel figures that would make most men become rather stiff between the legs rather quickly.

In fact, it was this stiffness which Keitaro was trying his damndest to fight off.  He didn’t like the idea of getting out of his seat and giving all of the Hinata ladies a front row show to the tent that had formed in his trousers during breakfast.  As it was, Keitaro was sporting quite the raging erection at the moment, and was sweating on how to excuse himself without causing an embarrassing scene in front of the women, especially the younger girls like Shinobu, Sarah, and Mei.

While Keitaro was trying to figure out a way to excuse himself that didn’t arouse suspicion over his own kind of ‘arousal,’ a particularly distinct type of mechanical noise started making itself known as breakfast was coming to an end.  The best way to describe it was something akin to jet turbines from some kind of aircraft that was making its descent.  As said aircraft neared Hinata House, it found an open enough tract of land near the dormitory grounds and made a smooth enough landing, with the boisterous humming of the jet engines starting to die down.

“Well now,” declared Amalla with a big grin, “if that’s who I think it is, then this day just got a whole lot better.”

“I’m going to say your guess is pretty accurate, Big Sister,” Kaolla chimed in with her own big grin.

As the Hinata women gathered near the windows to see what had just landed near the dormitory grounds, they were greeted with the sight of something that distinctly reminded them of their residential “happy-go-lucky” supergenius Kaolla Su.  

Right near the front porch was none other than a gigantic mechanized turtle, easily the size of a barn if not bigger, with jet thruster attachments on its side and carrying a shipping container (the kind hauled onto 18-wheeler delivery trucks) in tow.  No doubt this was the “Mecha-Tama” aircraft which Kaolla and Amalla spoke of, carrying foodstuffs, materials, and servants to assist with whatever was needed of them.

It was during this time (while the women were momentarily distracted) that Keitaro decided to excuse himself briefly, saying that he needed to use the bathroom and would be out momentarily.

“Kaolla, be a dear and keep an eye on Keitaro,” Amalla requested of her younger sister.  “We don’t want him to have some kind of incident while he’s relieving himself, especially given his current condition.”

“Of course,” replied Kaolla.  “I’ll leave you to tend to the new arrivals in the meantime.  With them here, things should proceed rather quickly now regarding living arrangements at the dorms given the state of things.  And the extra help will CERTAINLY be appreciated.”  The younger Su sister made her way off, tailing Keitaro but in a way that didn’t give away her position to him.

“So, is that who I think it is, Amalla?” asked Motoko.  “From what you were going on about, I believe you said something about servants or helpers from your homeland arriving any day now, correct?”

“Indeed they are, dearest Motoko-chan,” replied Amalla.  “What say we greet our latest round of guests.  I’m sure they’ll be in for a real treat when they get a good look at us now, wouldn’t you agree?”  Amalla was in rather high spirits, given these developments.

‘Now that the servants have finally arrived, daily chores should be a piece of cake,’ thought Amalla.  ‘This will help free up my prospective wives-to-be and my future second husband so that we can focus on more important things...like getting to know each other very, VERY well and all that.’

With that, Amalla Su and the other Hinata women (minus Kaolla) made their way towards the front entrance of Hinata House, curious to meet these servants whom the Su sisters had spoken of with high regards.

The loud humming noise of the engine began dying down as the mecha-Tama landed safely just outside the Hinata House dormitory.  As the thrusters became silenced and the turtle-themed aircraft landed with a rather pronounced ‘thud,’ the side doors of said aircraft slowly began to open.  The passengers aboard the mecha-Tama then began to depart from the vehicle and make their way towards the Hinata House entrance.

There were twelve in total, half of them male, the other half female.  The ages of the group members varied, with the youngest being in the mid twenties all the way up to the oldest being in the mid-to-late forties.  The type of dress they wore was rather exotic, given where they hailed from.  There were a myriad of different colors in the garbs they wore - red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange - all of them rather bright and distinct, complimenting one another in just the right combinations.  Some wore bits of jewelry here and there, whether it was a necklace or choker, rings or bracelets, an earring or a modest nose piercing, etc.  For footwear, they wore either humble open-toed sandals or simply nothing at all.

All twelve had dark, caramel-colored skin, which was rather common given their Molmolian ancestry.  Some in the group had black hair, whereas others had muted colors of either golden-blonde or silver (similar to Kaolla or Amalla).  Hair styles varied as well, whether it was short-cut hair or long hair stretching all the way down to one’s waistline.  Eye color varied among all members of the group, be it brown, blue, green, hazel, or grey.  All twelve were also at the peak of physical health, given their duties as royal servants and guards.  To serve the Molmolian royal family, one was expected to remain in top physical condition in order to effectively both aid and protect members of the royal bloodline.

The group made their way towards the front entrance and were greeted with quite a sight.  Coming out of the building were several women, all of whom had amazon-like figures.  They were easily head-and-shoulders over the tallest of the Molmolian group.  There must not have been a single one under seven feet in height from what the new arrivals would have wagered.  And these women had rather striking figures, which were further accentuated by the type of dress they wore, which basically amounted to extra-stretchy sports bras and rather short yoga pants which hugged their curves in a rather tantalizing fashion.  In short, these women were as beautiful in appearance as they were imposing in sheer scale.

The leader of the Molmolian group, an older man in his forties with short black hair and a trimmed goatee, stepped forward to make a formal introduction to the assembled ladies.  In turn, the leader of the women, ironically enough a Molmolian herself and towering at over eight feet in height, stepped forth towards the gentleman.  For a good ten seconds or so, the two sized up one another, the older one craning his neck to make eye contact with the towering beauty, who in turn stared down her rather generous bosom as she took in the sight of the newest arrivals to Hinata House.

After the momentary pause, the two representatives of each group embraced one another in a very warm-hearted hug, with the towering amazon lifting the older gentleman a good foot or so off the ground in the process (which made the rest of the Molmolian delegation go wide-eyed at the sight of such a thing).

“It’s good to see you again, old friend,” declared Amalla as she hugged the older Molmolian, gripping him firmly but not so tight as to hurt him.

“And you as well, my queen,” grunted the man in turn.  “I must say, you’ve certainly GROWN up quite a bit since the last time I saw you.”  The pun wasn’t lost on anybody.

“Well, Amalla,” said Haruka, “would you care to introduce us to your friends and fellow countrymen?”

“Why of course,” replied Amalla as she set down the man in her embrace before gesturing with her arms at the newly arrived assembly.

“This gentleman here,” said Amalla, indicating the man she had just lifted up a moment ago in her embrace, “is Malik, one of the senior most staff and guards for the Molmolian royal family.  He has looked after me ever since I was a little girl and has stayed on as an attendant for a good twenty-five years now if I remember, right?”

“You would be correct, Queen Amalla,” answered Malik.  “Hopefully, my age hasn’t shown in all that time.  Admittedly, my sideburns are starting to grey somewhat and heavy lifting has become a bit more tedious over the last few years.”  The tone in Malik’s voice was a mix of teasing with a pinch of straightforward honesty in his declaration.

“Oh, stop your teasing now,” replied Amalla.  “You don’t look a day over forty and you’re still strong as an ox.”  Amalla turned towards the Hinata women at this point.  “Malik here has a rather peculiar sense of humor, but he’s earnest and as hard-working as they come.  I trust him whole-heartedly with my life and have come to love him like an uncle, if not a second father outright.”

“You’re too kind with your praise, my lady,” replied Malik.  “I am merely a humble servant, ready at your beck and call, from now until the end of my life…or forced retirement if it comes to that.”  The statement got a chuckle out of some of the other Molmolian servants gathered.

“Anyway,” resumed Amalla, “Malik is the head servant of the troop assembled here, given the years of service he’s accumulated working for my family.  That being said, all the others here are honest and hard-working, handpicked by my husband personally to carry out whatever duties are required of them during their stay here.”

“Well,” said Naru, “the extra help will certainly be appreciated, especially with our dorm manager currently in recovery and our little…growing dilemma.”

“Yes, yes,” replied Malik, “we were notified somewhat of the situation as it was during our trip over here.  Rest assured, my good ladies, we are here to aid and assist in whatever daily chores and tasks that need attending to.  We will work hard and tirelessly to see to the completion of whatever it is you require of us.  Isn’t that right?”  Malik turned his gaze towards the other elven Molmolian servants at this point.

The servants in turn immediately took a bent position, propped on one knee with one fist against the ground, head bowed in reverence.  It was the sort of pose with which knights would kneel before royalty, which was fairly apt under the circumstances since Amalla was technically a queen.

“We live to serve,” said the other eleven in perfect unison.  “Whatever you ask of us, it will be done, Your Highness.”

“Geez,” muttered Sarah, “a bit much, don’t you think?”

“I’m gonna agree with ya on that one, kiddo,” whispered Kitsune to Sarah in solidarity.

“Well then,” continued Amalla, facing the retinue of servants, “allow me in turn to introduce the lovely ladies of the Hinata House dormitories.”  Amalla gestured with her arm towards the gathering of women, all of whom were present minus Kaolla Su.  “I have come to know and admire all of these women in the short time I’ve known them, and to me, they are practically akin to sisters.  While we may not share a womb in birth, I treasure each and every single one of them.  So please, treat them no differently than you would treat me and assist them with whatever task they may require of you.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” replied all twelve attendants in unison.

“I must say,” said Tsuruko in wonder and marvel, “the Molmolian people really seem to have discipline ingrained in them rather well, at least if your attendants are any indication of that.  It’s something that I would like to replicate in the students we have at my family’s dojo.  Wouldn’t you agree, dear Motoko?”

“It almost goes without saying,” replied Motoko in succinct agreement with her sister.

“You’ll practically make me blush with such praise,” replied Amalla with a cutesy little grin in response.

After a lot of personal one-one-one introductions and handshaking between Amalla’s royal servants/guards and the Hinata women, everyone assembled made their way into the Hinata House dorms.  The next hour or so involved unloading various foodstuffs and clothing-related materials from both mecha-Tamas which were now parked outside the Hinata House.  Whatever couldn’t fit in the refrigerator and freezer in the kitchen (or the backup freezer in the basement) was simply left aboard either of the mecha-Tamas.  True Kaolla’s word, each giant robot turtle had a compartment with on-board refrigeration/freezing technology to preserve whatever foods required such.

Once all foodstuffs were properly unloaded to their required destination, the Molmolian attendants started getting the layout of the Hinata House dorms.  With assistance from Haruka and the other regular residents of the place, the servants started becoming acquainted with things like tending to laundry, meal preparation, exterior cleaning, maintenance issues (plumbing, electrical, windows & tiles, etc.), cleaning the hot springs, tending to the tea house, separating recyclables from regular garbage…pretty much the everyday humdrum of house chores.

After another hour or so of instruction by the various Hinata ladies, Amalla’s servants got the general rundown of daily tasks throughout the dormitories and the surrounding grounds.  True enough to Amalla’s word, the staff assembled were naturals when it came to tending to the required tasks throughout the dorms.  Very little instruction was required on their part when it came to specifics regarding this job or that assignment.  It was as if they had lived in the dorms for months or even years, such was the in-tune nature of their very presence.

“Like I told you guys,” reiterated Amalla with a smile, “Molmolian servants are pretty much naturals when it comes to handling your typical day-to-day tasks, especially when it concerns matters of hospitality.”

“Okay then, Your Highness,” grumbled Kanako with apparent sarcasm as she rolled her eyes, “no need to gloat and all that.”

“Oh, you’re so cute when you groan like that, Kana-chan,” replied Amalla.  “I’ll have to be sure to reward you later for such a reaction.”  The hidden meaning wasn’t lost on Kanako, especially given the rather “in the mood” look in Amalla’s eyes as she responded to the younger Urashima woman’s sarcastic little retort.

“Now then, where oh where did our sweet little dorm manager run off to?” asked Amalla as she looked around.  Given that Keitaro had excused himself to use the restroom, it was understandable that he would be away for a little bit, especially if it involved sitting on the toilet.  Still, it had been more than two hours and he had yet to be spotted by this point.  Was he taking a nap perhaps?  Maybe somewhere outside taking in the view of the town?  It was possible he was back at his studies, trying to focus his attention onto getting into Tokyo U once again, especially with him being barred from managerial duties for the foreseeable future.

“Now that you mention it, Keitaro has been absent for a while now,” replied Naru with growing concern on her face.

“I suppose we should go look for him, just to make sure he’s okay, especially with his wound and all,” added Mutsumi with equal worry and concern written on her lovely features.

“I wouldn’t worry too much ladies,” declared Amalla.  “I asked Kaolla to go tend to him right before the servants arrived outside.  If anything serious has happened to him, I’m sure Kaolla would inform us right away.”

“Even so,” said Motoko.  “It HAS been a while now.  Unless Keitaro is either hiding from us or has run off on some specific task, he most likely would have been spotted by now.  Someone probably should go check up on him and all.”

“I agree,” added Shinobu.  “It’s not normal for Keitaro-senpai to disappear like that for more than an hour or so.  Somebody would have probably bumped into him by now, given how he works and all that.”   In typical Shinobu fashion, the young girl was sporting the most worry and concern across her lovely facial features more so than any of the other women gathered.

“Alright then,” replied Amalla.  “No harm in having a quick look around for him.  Malik, do you and the others have things taken care of from this point on?”  asked Amalla as she looked down at her faithful attendant.

“Yes, My Queen,” answered Malik with conviction.  “Please do not concern yourself with us.  You should tend to Mr. Urashima and focus on relaxing, as well as finding a solution to your current conundrum.  Rest assured that If I or any of the other staff come upon Mr. Urashima,  we will notify you at once.”

“Thank you, Malik,” said Amalla with a smile as she bent forward and kissed the older gentleman on the forehead.  While some might have considered such an act to be a little too intimate, it was simply Amalla’s own nature as a rather passionate kind of person.  Molmolians in general were no strangers to intimacy when it came to things like embracing each other and showing gratitude; Amalla was simply even more so of the same type of behavior.  In a way, it wasn’t so different from Mutsumi at times, given the Okinawan girl’s propensity to straight-up kiss other people with no warning (and usually on the lips too).

And with that, Amalla’s attendants began dividing up the workload between them.  Each individual was assigned one specific task to focus on.  After each member got his or her assigned chore to tend to, the group split up and each servant went his/her separate way.  Malik would serve as overall manager of the group, running point and checking on the status of each servant’s workload and how far along he/she got in completion of said task, assisting where and when needed.

Meanwhile, regarding things with Keitaro and Kaolla…

True to his word, Keitaro had in fact excused himself to go use the restroom.  While he honestly did need to use the facilities to relieve his bowels, there was also another kind of relief in which he was looking at that particular moment.

Given the moments prior to leaving, Keitaro was in the company of thirteen other women with supermodel figures and wearing very little during breakfast.  Even that which they DID wear left very little to the imagination.  After all, given that Keitaro was a straight, red-blooded male, he wasn’t above appreciating the female form…or at the very least, his body wasn’t above such a thing, despite his best attempts at being a gentleman.

As Keitaro finished evacuating his bowels, he contemplated as to whether or not he should also “wax the carrot” as the old-fashioned saying went, just to alleviate the stiffness he was feeling at that very moment.  Though he had absolute privacy at that very moment, he pondered as to whether or not he should go through with the act or simply wait it out and let decreased blood flow do its thing and turn his log back into an elephant’s loose trunk.

“What’s the big deal?” one may ask.  Why would a guy have to fret over whether or not he can bust a quick nut in the privacy of a bathroom?  Well, given that this is Keitaro we’re talking about here, the reasoning behind it all was simply this:  Chivalry.

Keitaro had a habit of being such a goody-goody, more so than the vast majority of men.  From his point of view, the idea of “spanking the monkey” was simply too base and vulgar in his mind.  While he had engaged in the practice in his younger years, he had made a personal vow to not engage in such an act anymore, especially now that he and Naru were an official couple.  To Keitaro, the idea of finding an easy out and pleasuring himself solely for his own sake brought forth feelings of shame.  In Keitaro’s mind, engaging in a quickie onto oneself was below his standards, at least among those who were in a relationship.  If he started whacking off whenever he felt like it, he worried that doing so might cheapen his relationship with Naru, which was the absolute last thing he wanted to do, now that they were making progress as a couple.

Deciding to stand by morals (outdated and over-the-top as they may be), Keitaro decided to simply play the waiting game and let time do its thing.  Sure enough, after a few minutes, his erection had started to die down and his member began drooping to its natural resting state.  Once he no longer had to worry about pitching a tent in the presence of others, Keitaro proceeded to flush, wash his hands, and leave the bathroom…and be greeted by somebody waiting right outside the door.

Upon opening the bathroom door, Keitaro was greeted by the lovely, 7-foot-plus figure of one Kaolla Su, donning a smile that was rather welcoming…and perhaps just a tiny little bit mischievous as well.

“Hiya there, Keitaro,” said Kaolla as she leaned her arms against the top of the doorframe, her breasts hanging before Keitaro like speedbags, dangling ever so enticingly before him.

“Oh…um…hey, Su,” replied Keitaro with his face reddening suddenly with a strong blush on his cheeks.  “What um…what’s up?”  At this point, Keitaro was trying to break the ice and keep the conversation going…as well as keep from having another erection after having just waited out the first one.

“Just checking up on you, that’s all,” answered Kaolla without missing a beat.  “Amalla asked that I go make sure you’re okay and all.  And besides, I thought it best that I take a quick peak, even if Amalla didn’t ask, what with your injury and all that.”

“Oh, I see,” replied Keitaro, diverting his eyes from Kaolla’s enlarged bosom as much as possible.  “Well, I appreciate the concern and all, but I’m fine.  I just needed to use the bathroom, that’s all.  And I promise that I won’t go back on my word and start doing chores and whatnot, in case you were wondering.”

“That’s good to hear,” replied Kaolla.  “As far as that goes, you won’t need to concern yourself with that sort of stuff for quite some time.  When you were leaving, we all heard a noise outside.  If it’s as I suspect, we have visitors who have come to help out with what you were worried about.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Keitaro with genuine interest.

“Yeah,” answered Kaolla.  “You remember, my sister was explaining about how we were having servants from our homeland come to help out with things around the dorms and all that, right?  Well, they should be here by now.  If I were to guess, Amalla’s probably greeting them now as we speak and introducing them to the others.  I’m sure that before you know it, they’ll be having this place up and running as if they’ve lived here for years.  Servants of the Molmolian royal family tend to be VERY good at running things in the hospitality sector, given the nature of their work.”

“That’s umm…good to hear,” said Keitaro, who couldn’t help but notice that Kaolla was not letting up on encroaching on his personal space the whole time they were talking.

Deciding to cut to the chase and speed things up on her end, Kaolla decided to take the next step in cementing the harem plan which she and her sister decided to see through to completion.

Stepping forward and bringing her face just inches away from Keitaro, Kaolla blocked the bathroom entrance so that Keitaro had nowhere to go.  Alarmed by what was happening, Keitaro seized up like a deer facing headlights coming over the horizon in the middle of the night.  Kaolla in turn capitalized on the opportunity and gently pushed Keitaro back into the bathroom, closing the door behind them and locking it.

“K-Kaolla,” stuttered Keitaro, “what are you doing?”

“Keitaro,” replied Kaolla with a rather dreamy look in her eye, “do you like me?”

“Uhh…umm…” Keitaro was taken aback by the suddenness and the ‘out of the blue’ nature of Kaolla’s question.  “I…of course I like you, Kaolla,” answered Keitaro.  “I’m not sure why you would ask something like that, or why you would feel the need to lock us in the bathroom.”

“Cute,” replied Kaolla with a smirk.  “That’s not what I’m getting at Keitaro…at least, not in the way that I’m implying the word ‘like’ in this case.  When I say ‘like,’ I mean in the same way that you like Naru, understand?”

“Su,” continued Keitaro, “why are you in the bathroom with me?  If someone were to walk in here right now, things could go from bad to worse, and…”

“If someone WERE to walk into the bathroom,” interrupted Kaolla, “assuming they could either pick the lock or kick down the door, I would simply rope them into the conversation and what we have going on here at the moment, that’s all.”  The whole time, Kaolla’s grin never left her face, enjoying having a retort to anything Keitaro said to turn the conversation in his favor.

“But back to my question, my dear sweet little Kei-kun,” continued Kaolla.  “Do you like me the way that you like Naru?  Or if that’s not clear enough of a question, then allow me to simplify things:  Do you think you could love me…scratch that…Do you think you could love everybody here at Hinata the same way you love Naru?”

The very nature and implication of Kaolla’s question had Keitaro at a loss for words.  It simply wasn’t in her character to be so forward and blunt with such a question.  The very notion of it was a 180-degree flip in Kaolla’s character.  From Keitaro’s point of view, it was as if Kaolla had become like her “grown-up” version whenever the red moon came out, only even more so now.  She was more forward, more seductive, more mature, more…like Amalla, in a way of putting things.

“K-Kaolla,” Keitaro responded while trying to keep his composure (and keep another erection from forming due to Kaolla violating his personal space), “I’m not sure what you’re getting at with this line of questioning, but I think we both know that I can’t l-love you the way I love Naru.  Please don’t get me wrong.  You’re a lovely young lady, and I’m sure you’ll make whoever you end up with very happy if you choose to pursue a relationship.  But that person can’t be me.  I’m with Naru already, so I’m afraid the answer is going to be ‘No.’”

Keitaro figured that his explanation would settle the matter there and then.  He only hoped that he didn’t break Kaolla’s heart in the process.  Lo and behold, the Molmolian sexy supergenius simply continued her line of inquiry without any indication of deflation or giving up whatsoever.

“And what if I told you that you didn’t have to be with JUST Naru, Keitaro?” asked Kaolla.  “What if you could be with me as well.  What if you didn’t HAVE to choose between Naru and somebody else?  What if you could be with EVERYONE here at Hinata?  Just think about it, Keitaro:  Every. Single. Girl. All of us belonging to you and to one another, becoming one BIG, happy family.”  Upon Kaolla’s uttering of the word “big,” she leaned in closer to Keitaro, with her bosom pretty much shoved right into his face.  And just like Keitaro knew how such an act was getting him hot under the collar, Kaolla knew the same in turn and was loving every second of it.

‘Just need to coax him a little further,’ thought Kaolla as she teased him.  ‘It’s for his own good after all.  This is for the sake of the harem plan.  It’s for EVERYONE’s happiness.  This way, we can all live happily ever after.  All that needs to be done is for Keitaro and Naru to let things take their natural course.  If my analysis is right, the two of them will be the biggest obstacles to the harem plan.’

“K-Kaolla,” replied Keitaro, now sporting a raging blush, another erection in the making, and an incoming anime-style ecchi nosebleed to boot, “what you’re proposing…it’s a fantasy, nothing more.  This isn’t some pervy, erotic shojou manga or anime we’re talking about.  This is real life, so I’d prefer it if you’d stop kidding and teasing with such an idea and [hmphf]”

As Keitaro was trying to dissuade Kaolla from her little polygamy-themed daydream, he found himself being cut off by Kaolla once more, only this time it was Kaolla’s lips pressing hard against Keitaro’s lips and her tongue invading his mouth in the process, poking and prodding every corner of his mouth while she slathered, sucked, and slurped in the process…as well as pressing her breasts (and freshly erect nipples) against Keitaros own chest.

Keitaro’s initial instinct was to push against Kaolla in the hopes of getting her off of him (even if she did have more than a foot in height over him and he was nursing a gunshot wound to the gut).  It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the kiss or the loving embrace with which Kaolla was initiating.  In fact, it reminded him of the kiss and embrace with Tsuruko from the previous night…and what a night that was!  Even with the soreness in his lower abdomen, Keitaro felt as though he was walking on Cloud 9 at that moment, and now that moment was being revisited, only this time it was with Kaolla in the bathroom instead of Tsuruko in Kaolla’s bedroom.

The main reason with which Keitaro was trying to resist was his damn stubborn sense of chivalry.  The very idea of engaging in something rather intimate or kinky with somebody other than Naru brought forth feelings of guilt and shame in Keitaro’s mind.  He simply couldn’t look at himself in the mirror with a straight face if he ever willingly engaged in a romantic act with somebody other than the woman he had sworn himself to.  Even if the two of them weren’t engaged (Hell, they had only recently become an official couple), loyalty and fidelity were a big to Keitaro, and he just couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t at least put up some measure of resistance to Kaolla’s advances, even if it was just the two of them alone in the bathroom in that very moment.

Of course, as a resident of Hinata House, Kaolla had lived with Keitaro long enough to know that his ironclad sense of “right and wrong” would make him act like a stubborn mule on this one issue.  While it was something she admired in the man (in fact, it was one of his most admirable features from her point of view), at the same time she found it rather bothersome under the current circumstances.  If the harem plan was going to go off without a hitch, then Keitaro would need to embrace the notion of being the centerpiece of the flower garden with which Kaolla (along with others) was cultivating for him.  From Kaolla’s point of view, she didn’t see such a concept as egotistical or chauvinistic, so long as Keitaro stayed the kind of man that he was.  And as far as Kaolla was concerned - or anybody who had known Keitaro long enough for that matter - there was no chance of Keitaro not keeping to his boy scout, “honest John” point of view when it came to honoring relationships.

‘It’s his inhibitions,’ thought Kaolla as she deepened the kiss and proceeded to wrap her arms around Keitaro as if the two of them were already husband and wife.  ‘He simply cannot bring himself to act on his baser instincts.  He does everything in his power to avoid letting go and just live in the moment.  While it’s certainly admirable, it’ll simply not do under these circumstances.  He needs to embrace the idea of having multiple wives for this to work.  It’s his damn conscience that’s getting in the way.’  These were Kaolla’s thoughts as she bombarded Keitaro with love and affection.

Frankly, if Kaolla had her way, the two of them would be peeling down to wearing absolutely nothing and making love well into the next day.  However, that would have to wait until Keitaro was perfectly fine with Kaolla’s harem plan.  As the saying goes, “You need to learn to walk before you can run.”

Fortunately, Kaolla had a countermeasure at the ready when it came to Keitaro’s inhibitions…or more accurately, his incessant need to suppress and restrain them.

During the smoochfest which Kaolla had initiated onto Keitaro, she had a hidden pill tucked within the gum line at the back end of her mouth.  A moment after she started French kissing Keitaro, she wormed and weaseled said pill and with the utmost finesse managed to direct it from her mouth into Keitaro’s mouth.  This was actually the main reason as to why Kaolla was engaging in so much tongue play with Keitaro in the bathroom..not that she didn’t enjoy the taste of his mouth, of course.

Once Kaolla was certain that she had forced said pill down Keitaro’s throat, she relented somewhat in the kissing session, though more so out of logic than out of passion.  If she had her way, she’d be kissing Keitaro for a good five minutes before entering into the more R-rated material.  But in the end, the scientist in Kaolla won out and she soon enough relented, coming up for air, but still having her arms securely around Keitaro’s torso and her bosom pressing into Keitaro’s face.

“Are you okay, my darling Kei-kun?” asked Kaolla as if she and Keitaro were already husband and wife.

Coughing in a spasm before responding in kind, Keitaro looked up at Kaolla before responding.

“K-Kaolla, what was the meaning behind all that?  Why did you go and kiss me like that with no warning?  I told you already, I’m with Naru, so I can’t be with someone else, understand?”  From Kaolla’s perspective, it was rather adorable for Keitaro to act like he was in control of the situation, especially when talking to somebody who was a solid foot-and-a-half taller than him, with head and shoulders above him and with breasts that were roughly the size of his head.  It was practically the equivalent of a pre-teen trying to muster authority before a fully grown adult.  And all the while, Kaolla was still embracing Keitaro, holding him against her body with her arms wrapped around him and her bosom pressed against his face.

“I’m sorry, Kei-kun,” replied Kaolla with a cutesy little pout.  “I just love you so much that sometimes I can’t control myself.  And besides, this is for your own good, you know.”

“What is, exactly?” asked a confused Keitaro.

“Project Harem,” answered Kaolla with a grin.

“H-h-harem?” asked Keitaro with a startled look on his face.

“You do know what a harem is, right Sweetie?” asked Kaolla with an even bigger grin.

“I know what it is, Kaolla.  It’s just that I can't see such a thing happening is what I’m getting at.  What you’re implying is a fantasy, nothing more.  This isn’t the Middle East or some other country where that sort of thing is accepted, you know.  This is Japan, and the notion of polygamy is simply not accepted, so therefore…”  Before Keitaro could get another word in edgewise, Kaolla decided to intervene.

“Polygamy only ended in Japan after the end of of World War II, Keitaro,” interrupted Kaolla.  “So given what you’re getting at, the practice of a man with more than one wife isn’t an alien concept in Japanese culture over the course of the nation’s history.  And besides, two things to consider, my sweet little Kei-kun,” continued Kaolla as she tightened her embrace of Keitaro all the while.

“And what is that, Kaolla?” asked Keitaro, wondering what the girl was going to say in her counter-argument.

“First off, Molmolian culture is VERY open to the idea of harems and polygamy.  Why, my sister is married not just to Big Brother Lamba back home, but also to a sizable harem of royal concubines, all of whom she loves just as much as she does Lamba.  Frankly, she considers all of them as her fellow wives, or “sisters” as she titles them.  So to us, the notion of harems is nothing taboo whatsoever.”  Kaolla was rather adamant and forthright in her explanation.

“Even so, Kaolla,” replied Keitaro, “this is Japan, not Molmol, and the country operates under a different set of rules compared to what you’re used to back home.”

“Hinata House is effectively the Molmolian embassy, especially with two members of the Molmoian royal family now residing in it by this point,” countered Kaolla without skipping a beat.

“W-wait what?” asked a flabbergasted Keitaro.

“You heard me, Sweetie,” replied Kaolla.  “Given the level of importance of Molmol’s royal family, anywhere we choose to live in as a formal place of residency outside of Molmol becomes the outright embassy of our country.  And since I’ve been living at Hinata House for more than a year by this point, this building and the land on which it sits is now considered Molmolian territory.  And with Big Sis Amalla - Molmol’s own queen no less -  that fact is even more true now.”

“You must be joking,” replied Keitaro.  “You have to be pulling my leg or something.”  Surely, this was just a bluff on Kaolla’s part.  It just had to be.

“Nope,” responded Kaolla.  “If you don’t believe me, we can get in touch with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm what I just said.  I wouldn’t lie about this kind of thing, I swear.  I even keep a Molmolian flag flying high in the back of the dorms.  I suppose it’s my fault for not having it planted at the front of the building so people can spot it more easily.  It’s just that I prefer to keep a low profile with that kind of stuff, at least when it comes to things related to politics.”

Having known Kaolla for as long as he had, Keitaro made up his mind that the Molmolian girl wouldn’t outright lie about that kind of thing.  It simply wasn’t in her nature.  And given that she HAD lived at Hinata House for quite some time by this point, he was inclined to believe that there was at least some validity in what she was saying.  Given that she was technically a princess from a royal family, it would make sense that she would be a person of interest with at least a modicum of political clout when it came to international relations.  And given that Amalla was also royalty (a queen no less), the likelihood of Kaolla’s words ringing true was even more so.

“Okay,” said Keitaro, thinking through the logic of Kaolla’s points in his head.  “So, assuming your fist point has some validity and all, what’s the other point you would use in your argument?”

“Simply put, Keitaro, I’m a girl who is used to getting what I want,” declared Kaolla.  “And I want a harem with you and everybody else here at Hinata.  While I didn’t initially factor my sister into the mix, I don’t really have a problem with it either if I may be so blunt.”

“You can’t be serious,” replied Keitaro with widened eyes.

“I’ve had feelings for you for quite some time now, my sweet little Kei-kun,” continued Kaolla.  “For a time I pondered as to whether or not to simply let you go and become an exclusive pair with Naru, what with the two of you becoming an official couple after the whole incident with Kanako and the old annex building.  I even considered snatching you away from Naru and making you my exclusive lover.  But then I considered how that would make Shinobu feel, since I know she’s fallen hard for you.  Then Mutsumi came to mind, then Motoko, then Kanako, then Kitsune, then Nyamo, and so on and so forth.  Before long, I figured that it would simply be easier for EVERYBODY to simply marry you and one another, then everybody could be happy and we could become one big, happy family.  Nobody would have to feel left out and every girl could have the happy ending that she deserves.  Even if there were laws against the idea of a harem with you and everybody else, I would simply tell those laws and the people who wrote them to take a hike, plain and simple.”

“Now Kaolla, be reasonable here,” replied Keitaro.  “You can’t just simply use brute force to get your way with that kind of stuff.  And besides, it’s not like EVERYBODY here wants to get married to me or anything like tha-”

“Every woman here has feelings for you Keitaro,” interrupted Kaolla, tightening her embrace on the man slightly more (but not in a way that would hurt him).  “Every. Single. One.”  Kaolla was enunciating those last three words to make her point.

“That simply isn’t true,” Keitaro responded.  “You’re telling me that Sarah, Mei, and Haruka have feelings for me?  The odds of that being the case are simply…”

“Some of the women go out of their way to hide their feelings for you,” interrupted Kaolla once more, “but I’m highly certain that all of us girls have strong romantic feelings for you.  All that is needed is a little nudge here and there so that everybody can be open and honest in their love for you, and I’m here to tell you that right here and now that both I and Amalla are dead set on making that very thing happen.  It’s an ‘all or nothing’ scenario the way I see it, my darling little Kei-kun, and I am simply not accepting the ‘nothing’ outcome.”

Hearing all of this from Kaolla had thrown Keitaro for a serious mental and emotional loop.  Was this girl serious?  Was she really adamant about forming a harem with literally EVERYONE at Hinata?  Did all the other women really have romantic feelings for him?  Even Sarah?  The girl who had been confrontational with him the first time the two of them met?  And even Haruka?  The woman Keitaro swore had romantic feelings for Seta?  All thirteen women had genuine feelings of true love for him?

Keitaro wasn’t a complete dope on that sort of thing.  He had a good enough of a hunch that both Shinobu and Nyamo had crushes on him and of course Mutsumi had strong feelings for him, even if she chose not to act on them out of respect for Naru.  He even pondered as to whether or not Motoko had some kind of crush on him.  Then there was Kanako, who Keitaro did his best to love as a sister and tried to gently discourage her from her wish to become Keitaro’s ‘promise girl.’

Then of course, there was that little episode with Tsuruko in Kaolla’s bedroom the night before.  Keitaro was keen enough to know that a woman doesn’t outright French kiss you and make you fondle her bosom if she didn’t have at least SOME level of romantic interest in you.  The same thing could be said of Amalla, given how overly friendly she was with Keitaro since the time she arrived.

All in all, Keitaro was at a loss for words over the situation as it stood.  Kaolla had straight up told him that every single female at Hinata was into Keitaro…and that Kaolla (along with Amalla) intended to play matchmaker in hooking all of them up with Keitaro as husband and wives.

“K-Kaolla,” said Keitaro.

“Yes, Darling?” responded Kaolla with that dreamy smile of hers.

“Two things I’d like to ask of you.”

“Yes?”

“First, could you please let me go now?” asked Keitaro, referring to Kaolla’s loving embrace of him the whole time they were alone in the bathroom.

“I suppose I could, after I hear what the second thing is,” replied Kaolla, not letting up on her embrace one iota as she spoke (in fact, she seemed to squeeze Keitaro just a little bit firmer in response, though not in a way that would hurt him).

“Well, the second thing is that could you simply let go of this fantasy of yours?  And by that, I mean this little harem plan you’ve got cooking up.  Even IF what you say is true, it just doesn’t feel right to me.  The notion of one man being together with multiple women…it just feels…I don’t know…wrong, for lack of a better word.”

“How so?” inquired Kaolla.

“In my opinion, romantic love is the kind of thing that should ideally be exclusively between two people.  I think that the idea of a person having multiple romantic partners kind of…I don’t know…cheapens the relationship, in a way of putting things.  I mean, I don’t begrudge people who WANT to pursue that type of relationship, your sister and Lamba included when I say that.  If they’re truly happy being part of a harem, then I won’t pass judgement for wanting that sort of thing.  I just don’t see myself as someone with that same kind of mindset.”

“That so?” replied Kaolla.

“Kaolla, I hope that one day you fall in love with somebody, be they male or female [Keitaro didn’t judge people over sexual orientation] and I think you deserve to be with someone who loves you above all others, at least when it comes to matters of true love, romance, and intimacy.  I think that you deserve somebody who puts your happiness above all others.  I mean, wouldn't the idea of having a share a husband upset you even a little bit?  Wouldn’t you want a romantic partner who would be yours and yours alone?”

“While it’s a lovely sentiment and one that I don’t begrudge others wanting to pursue,” replied Kaolla, “I am personally not bothered by the idea of having to share a husband, sweet of it is for you to be concerned about such a thing.  The way I see it, when it comes to marriage and romantic relationships, both Amalla and I share the same general sentiment:  The more, the merrier!”  

Given the tone in Kaolla’s voice, Keitaro could tell that this girl was being completely serious, as well as dead set in her ways.  There was simply no convincing her otherwise.  Kaolla was perfectly fine with the idea of a harem, and given the course of the conversation, she outright fixated on forming one among everyone at Hinata House.

Deciding to relent in the further back-and-forth with regards to dialogue, Keitaro simply took a deep breath (and feeling the swell of Kaolla’s bosom and nipples in the process) before he resumed speaking.

“Well then, harem talk aside and all that, could you please let me go now, Kaolla?  I’d rather not be stuck in the bathroom for the entire day and all.  And I figure that the longer I’m absent, the sooner that somebody is going to become curious as to where I am and all that.”

Kaolla saw the logic in Keitaro’s statement and decided to relent, releasing him from her embrace and proceeding to open the door and duck through the passage, making sure to give Keitaro a teasing view of her rear end as she did so.  A moment later, the two of them had walked out of the bathroom…and were greeted by Amalla in the process.

“Well now,” declared the older Su sister, “we were wondering where you had run off to, Kei-kun.  Any stomach problems?  I’m guessing you were in there for quite some time and all.”

“N-no, Amalla,” replied Keitaro.  “Your sister and I were just talking for a bit and she wanted us to speak in private, that’s all.”  Keitaro could only hope that Amalla’s imagination wouldn’t run wild and suspect that the two of them were doing something of a sexually-themed nature in the bathroom.

“I was just explaining the harem plan to Keitaro and that nothing was going to stop me from carrying it out, that’s all.” Kaolla said with a calm smile.

‘Kaolla, what are you doing!?’ thought Keitaro as he looked up towards the younger Su sister.  Did this girl lack subtlety or did she simply not care about such things?  Keitaro couldn’t figure out which it was.

“Oh, okay then,” replied Amalla with an equally calm grin.  “Well then, just so you know, darling Kei-kun, I feel that it’s in your best interest to simply let things run their course in this.”  By this point, both Su sisters had ganged up on Keitao, flanking him on each side and cornering him, using their amazon figures to their advantage.

“Amalla, not you too,” muttered Keitaro.  Apparently, Kaolla was being completely upfront about Amalla being her partner-in-crime when it came to implementing this little harem plan scheme of theirs.

“Afraid so, my darling little Kei-kun,” replied Amalla with a very dreamy, in-heat look in her eyes.  “Once we Su girls make up our minds, that’s pretty much the end of the argument.  You can try and go against this, but rest assured:  You WILL be our husband before much longer.  And the other women here at Hinata WILL be our wives, all of them.”

“And together,” chimed in Kaolla, “we will all be…”  At this moment, Kaolla leaned in and gave Keitaro a long smooch on the lips, tongue included (of course).  After a few seconds, Kaolla let up to let Keitaro catch a breath, before being descended upon by Amalla, who also engaged in an equally passionate French kiss onto Keitaro.

“One big,” said Amalla between smooches before letting Kaolla swoop in for another kiss.

“Happy” followed through Kaolla between her kisses, before letting Amalla join back in.

“Family” said both Su sisters in perfect unison, going back and forth onto Keitaro, with the two of them inserting their tongues into Keitaro’s mouth as they competed with each other in French kissing the man whom they had sworn to give a harem, no matter what.  Back and forth the towering, dark-skinned beauties went, bombarding Keitaro with pleasure as they assaulted him with kisses and tongue-play over his face and neck while their prodigious bosoms pressed against Keitaro’s chest and pinned him against the wall, each girl using her arms to block off any chance of escape for Keitaro.

From Keitaro’s point of view, this was just as passionate as last night with Tsuruko, if not even more so.  The only difference was that this time it was two women going to town on him and they weren’t naked (though given what they were currently wearing, they weren’t far off the mark in comparison).  It took all of his mental fortitude to not pass out from the sheer bliss that was overloading his mind in that very moment from the makeout session he was being subjected to.

After a solid thirty seconds or so of hardcore making out in the hallway, the Su sisters finally relented in their smoochfest.

“Well then, Kaolla-chan,” began Amalla, “shall we head back to the others?”

“Yes, Ama-chan,” answered Kaolla.  “Let us away.”

“Very good.  Come now, Kei-kun.  Let’s get back to the others.  Don’t want to worry your wives-to-be over your whereabouts and all that.”  Amalla said this with a sexy little wink at the end.

“Indeed, Darling,” added Kaolla, also looking and acting in an equally seductive manner.  “We should let them know that you’re alive and well.  Can’t have you bringing worry to your future harem so early in the morning and all that.  That simply will not do.”

Before Keitaro could get a word in edgewise over what these girls were getting at, he suddenly found himself being lifted off his feet and carried bridal style in Amalla’s arms.  The very suddenness of the act caught him off guard and he became as silent as a mime in response as he stayed perfectly still in Amalla’s strong (but also loving and tender)embrace.

So it was that the Su sisters made there way off towards the common room area, ducking under doorways, with their dorm manager and husband-to-be in tow, whether he wished to come along for the ride or not.

Now that Amalla’s servants had arrived to help out with the everyday chores and maintenance issues at Hinata House, things were starting to become less worrisome around the dorms.  While there was still the issue regarding some kind of cure or antidote for Kaolla’s experimental growth hormone, at the very least the Hinata women no longer needed to worry about Keitaro obsessing over daily chores and tasks, especially with his recent bullet wound to the gut.

From the perspective of the Su sisters, having the servants to manage chores and tasks also freed up time to put the harem plan into full swing now.  All it would take would be to get the most obstinate women in the group to sign onto it, and both Kaolla and Amalla were in agreement that Naru would be the hardest nut to crack out of all of them.  The good news was that once Naru changed her tune, the others would most likely follow suit once it was made official that Naru was willing to share her lover with others.  There was some speculation as to whether or not Haruka, Mei, and Sarah would tag along or not, given their own specific situations, but Amalla was confident enough that she could help bring out whatever feelings of attraction they felt for Keitaro in the coming days.

Amalla was also ecstatic to find out that Motoko was officially on board with the harem plan, after Kaolla whispered the revelation into her older sister’s ear as they walked down the hallway towards the common room (just far enough behind Keitaro that he couldn't make out what they were saying to one another).  Of course, Amalla had a hunch that the younger Aoyama sister was already smitten with Keitaro, given that the older Su sister was pretty much a natural when it came to ‘reading’ people.  It was a talent which she had developed since her early childhood years.

So as the situation currently stood, the Hinata women were divided into three main groups, given the private breakdown of each prospective harem candidate:

• Pro-harem: Amalla, Kaolla, Motoko, Tsuruko, Kanako

• Harem Leaning: Shinobu, Mutsumi, Kitsune, Nyamo

• Anti-harem or Reluctant: Naru, Sarah, Mei, Haruka

“Of course, I’m not taking no for an answer in the end,” said Amalla to her sister.  “I certainly don’t mind a challenge.  Some nuts may be harder to crack than others, but in the end, the outcome WILL be the same.”  Amalla was dead-set on this course of events.

“You’ve become more eager about this than I thought you would be initially,” smirked Kaolla as the pair of them walked behind Keitaro.  “I figured, given that you already have a harem back home, that you wouldn’t really have a need for any more lovers.”

“Don’t get me wrong, little sister,” replied Amalla, “Lamba is my king and husband, and I will always love him until my dying day.  The same goes for the other ladies in the royal harem back home.  To me, they are all my darlings and I treasure them all dearly.  I’m simply a girl with a big heart who has so much love to give.  The way I see it, why not share that love and tenderness with people whom I’ve come to care for, including here at Hinata?”

“Some might perceive you as something of an ‘ethical slut’ as the saying goes…that you’re too loose and free-spirited when it comes to matters of love and romance,” explained Kaolla to her older sister’s description of her own love life.

“Those people are free to have whatever opinion they like about me,” Amalla calmly replied back to her sister.  “If I obsessed over what other people thought about me and what I want in life, I’d probably end up becoming some kind of neurotic wreck of a person.  I know that some people will judge me as some kind of ‘whore with standards’ or whatever term they like to use.  They’re entitled to their opinion of me, but that’s where the line is drawn as far as I’m concerned.  I’m not required to change my behavior simply because they don’t approve of it.  My tastes don’t harm anyone…well aside from the occasional soreness in bed the morning after.”  Both Su sisters chuckled at Amalla’s insinuation.

“As far as I’m concerned,” finished Amalla, “as long as it’s an honest and caring relationship between consenting individuals, then I don’t see anything wrong with a big group love session, whether you specifically refer to it as a harem, an orgy, an ‘open relationship,’ a ‘gang bang,’ or whatever other term people use these days.  Of course, there are concerns about the ages of those involved in said relationship and all, for legal as well as moral reasons.”

“The age of consent in Japan is thirteen years old,” Kaolla responded [*look it up for those of you who don’t believe me].  “So as far as forming a harem here at Hinata goes, there are no legal obstacles regarding that part of the equation.  Even so, Keitaro would almost assuredly be against the idea of pursuing a romantic relationship with the younger girls, in particular Nyamo, Sarah, and especially Mei, given the difference in age between them and Keitaro.  In his mind, hooking up with someone who is eight years younger than him would be taboo.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” responded Amalla, “that might be an even bigger obstacle than getting Naru to change her mind to the harem plan.  Any ideas on how we rectify Keitaro’s reluctance in hooking up with the younger girls?”

“Way ahead of you, big sis,” Kaolla replied with a smirk.  “I’ll give you more details later on, but the short-hand answer to that little dilemma is in those pills we took earlier.”

“You mean that countermeasure that’s supposed to slow down our rate of growth?” inquired Amalla.

“The one and the same,” clarified Kaolla.  “While those pills ARE intended to do that, there are some other things which they should also do to us in the coming days, at least if I got the chemical formula right.  Within a few days, Keitaro will be looking at girls like Sarah, Nyamo, and Mei a whole lot differently, given what the pills should accomplish by then.”

“You crafty little devil, you,” grinned Amalla.  “You really are an evil genius sometimes, you know?”

“Hey, sometimes I still dream about taking over the world every now and then,” Kaolla clapped back with her own snarky response.  “Though not necessarily in the way some may think.  If I were to dominate the planet, I would simply run the world behind the scenes rather than declare myself ruler of the planet like some mad demagogue.  In my opinion, it’s better to be a de facto ruler than a de jure ruler, because people understand which one of those two holds ACTUAL power.  But enough about my occasional daydreams, dear sister.  We should really get back to solidifying this harem.  Oh, there’s one other thing I’d like to get started on, and for that we’re going to need assistance from some of the servants.”

“And what, pray tell, would this ‘other thing’ be, dear sister?” inquired Amalla.

“I’ll explain in further detail later.  Short answer: It involves the old annex building nearby,” answered Kaolla.

“Well now, you’ve certainly piqued my interest, dear sister.  Very well then, I’ll hold off on any further questioning, for now anyway.  I have my own projects to tend to.”  And with that the Su sisters (along with Keitaro) had made their way back to the common room.  Once it was official that Keitaro was in good health and good spirit - despite spending quite some time in the bathroom - the Hinata ladies went their separate ways and split up to tend to their specific tasks.

Deciding to hone their sword skills, both Motoko and Tsuruko headed to the backyard for a friendly sparring match.  Given the altercation in the marketplace the other day, the Aoyama sisters felt that they needed to always be at the ready whenever the situation demanded their attention and swift action.

Each woman stood poised and alert, holding her sword in both hands as they prepared their opening stances.  Motoko chose chudan-no-kamae, whereas Tsuruko chose hasso-no-kamae.

[*Feel free to look up these sword stances for those who are curious as to what they look like.  It saves time on describing them.]

After a moment’s pause, Motoko initiated the first move, diving straight for her sister with her sword raised over her head.  Tsuruko responded in kind by holding her own sword over her head running parallel with her shoulders, blocking Motoko’s sword a second later.  The two locked swords for a moment before leaping back and grounding their stances once more.

“Your footwork has improved since the last time we’ve dueled, dear Motoko,” said Tsuruko with a grin.  “You’ve learned to widen your stance more often.”

“You flatter me with your observation, dear sister,” replied Motoko with her own grin.

A second later, Tsuruko charged forward, swinging her katana in a perfectly horizontal swiping motion.  Instead of blocking, Motoko leapt up as far as she could, her mighty legs bringing her up several feet into the air, with Tsuruko’s blade whooshing by, missing Motoko’s legs by inches.  As Motoko began her descent, she swung her blade in a downward motion.  In response, Tsuruko barrel-rolled to her left, Motoko’s blade missing her in turn.

The whole song and dance went like this for the span of a good twenty minutes or so.  Sometimes the swords clashed with one another.  Other times, one sister or the other would side-step, leap back, barrel-roll, change footing, or use any other conceivable method of dodging and evasion during the sparring match.

“Well now, Motoko,” said Tsuruko who (surprisingly enough) was beginning to pant, “you’ve improved more than I initially believed you would have.  I’m as proud as I am envious of your progress.”

“I’ve had a good teacher to guide and instruct me,” said Motoko, also panting with equal gusto.  The compliment wasn’t lost on Tsuruko, who cracked a grin at her younger sister’s declaration.

“Well, while it pains me to say so, I’m getting a little winded by this point.  I really DO need the extra practice apparently.  What say we take a quick snack break before resuming our training?” asked Tsuruko.

“Sure,” replied Motoko.  “I could certainly use a tall glass of water at the very least.  Maybe an apple or a few grapes to eat too, especially now that groceries aren’t a concern for the foreseeable future.”

With that, the Aoyama sisters made their way back inside Hinata House for a quick break in their training regimen.  One thing they didn’t realize was that they were being watched the entire time they were training in the backyard.

On the upper deck, Amalla was watching the sisters train with their brand new swords gifted to them by Kaolla.  The entire time, Amalla quietly watched the practice match between the pair, enjoying every second of the duel.  Everything was so damn tantalizingly delectible to watch: The way their bosoms swayed as they moved about, the muscular definition in their thighs, calves, biceps, and abdomens as they swung and clashed their swords, the beads of sweat forming  and shining along all that bare skin.  The sight of it left Amalla as impressed as she was turned on.  It was that combination of raw power mixed with beguiling feminine charm which had Amalla instinctively pressing her fingers against her crotch (over her spandex short shorts fortunately, lest Amalla start pleasuring herself outright there and then).  Keeping her libido in check, Amalla soon enough made her way back inside Hinata House as well, looking for somebody else to check up on as she fluttered her way through the dormitories.

Before making her way inside the building, something out of the corner of Amalla’s eye caught her attention.  Up on the balcony level where she stood, Amalla came upon a small wooden tub of sorts, big enough to fit one person (maybe two if they were crammed into it).  It came attached with a portable heating unit which Amalla assumed was intended to heat the water within the tub.  No doubt this was a personal hot tub meant to seat one person at a time.

In previous correspondences with Kaolla, Amalla recalled that this hot tub was reserved for Keitaro.  Since Hinata House was a dormitory reserved for female residents, the reality of having a male dorm manager put Keitaro in a bit of a bind.  While he had his own personal bathroom with a shower unit, Keitaro was more or less banned from using the hot springs himself, unless it was one hundred percent guaranteed that nobody else would be in the hot springs for a good hour or more.

Of course, over the months since Keitaro arrived at Hinata House and formed the close bonds he had with the tenants, most of the women didn’t begrudge Keitaro wanting to use the hot springs if he so desired.  Even Naru started warming up to the idea of Keitaro joining them in the baths, at least once after the two became an official couple.  Where once back in the day Naru would have knocked Keitaro’s lights out for entering the baths when any of the ladies were occupying them, she had softened her approach and become more open to him using them by this point.

However, what should also be remembered was that Keitaro was very old-fashioned in his view of mixed bathing, in that he believed he shouldn’t entertain the notion of doing so.  Such was simply a part of his nature and what he believed was proper behavior as a gentleman, just like his sense of fidelity and staying loyal to Naru.  While these character traits were something that Amalla certainly respected and admired in Keitaro, they were proving to be thorns in the side of the harem plan being successfully implemented.

In short, so long as this private hot tub remained where it was, there was virtually no chance of Keitaro using the dorm’s main hot springs, at least not if the hot springs were occupied by a female.  And in Amalla’s mind, that simply wasn’t going to do.

“Hmmm…can’t have you up here any longer,” muttered Amalla to the personal hot tub, “though I’d rather not break you down and have you turned into firewood.  I think I know what to do.”

A moment later, Amalla pulled up her wrist and pressed a few buttons on a rather high-tech bracelet she was wearing.  After a brief ringing sound emanated off of the bracelet (like that of a telephone), a voice sounded off in response.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” asked a mature male voice.

“Malik,” replied Amalla, “are you in the middle of something right now?”

“For you, my lady, I am always at the ready,” answered Malik.

“Well then,” continued Amalla with a smile, “could you please meet me up top on the upper balcony in the backyard?  It’s the one overlooking the hot springs.  You might want to bring an extra staff member or two along with you…and some power tools as well.  I have a little assignment for you to complete by sundown today.”

“Yes, at once, Your Majesty,” replied Malik with the utmost conviction.

And with that, the line on Amalla’s comms bracelet went dead and silence resumed once more.  Happy that a minor nuisance to the harem plan had been dealt with, Amalla made her way back inside, scraping her head across the door frame as she entered.

“Hmm,” grumbled Amalla, “that’s going to take some getting used to.  Sometimes it ain’t easy being big.”

Meanwhile…

“Rgh…sonuva…” muttered Kitsune as she bumped the top of her head against the doorframe of her bedroom.  She had decided to return to her room to tidy up things a bit, as well as check up on something she had meant to do earlier in the week.  In her haste, she had failed to gauge just how large she had become, and thus had scraped the top of her head against her door frame as a result.  That was simply another reminder of just how damn BIG she and all the other Hinata women had become at this point, now all of them being over seven feet in height or greater.

‘I really hope Kaolla’s got somethin’ ta stop all of this craziness,’ thought Kitsune as she lumbered through her bedroom, her footfalls making rather distinctive thuds along the floorboards, even though Kitsune was walking normally like she always would.

‘From what little I could make out, those pills she had us take should slow down the growin’ at least a lil’ bit so we don’t end up bein’ a bunch of fifty-foot-tall women an’ all that.  We’d have nowhere to sleep at that size, short of a big ole airplane hangar or a really, really, REALLY big barn.  And even then, I doubt we’d be able to stand up straight in somethin’ like that if we ended up gettin’ that big an’ all.  Hopefully, Kaolla should have a more permanent solution to this whole damn growin’ problem we’re all havin’ in the next day or two.’  These were Kitsune’s thoughts as she navigated her bedroom, searching for something she had lost track of a few days earlier.

You see, there were two vices which Kitsune was known for among Hinata House:  drinking and gambling.  The amount of beer cans and sake bottles littering her bedroom were clear indicators of the first, and the amount of betting slips and lottery tickets (many of them crumpled up) served as equal indicators of the second.  It was these very vices which Kitsune had decided to address upon entering her bedroom.  After the little heart-to-heart she had with Naru earlier, Kitsune wanted to make an attempt to try and curb her bad habits, or at the very least clean up after herself and toss out whatever empty cans, bottles, and old betting slips and tickets which were scattered here and there thorough her living quarters.

Besides, she was sure that Mutsumi would certainly appreciate the effort at cleanliness Kitsune was making.  Though she didn’t bring it up to Kitsune (being her temporary roommate and all), the fox-eyed girl was certain that the somewhat air-headed Okinawan girl was simply too kind-hearted to bring up the overall state of Kitsune’s living quarters.  Such a thing was simply part of Mutsumi’s nature.

As Kitsune started gathering bottles and beer cans and tossing them into a trash bag she brought upstairs for this very task, she couldn’t help but pause after accumulating a sizable amount of empty alcohol containers.  While this was done in part to really gauge just how much booze she could put away (Kitsune could drink most men she knew in town under the table), the main reason was to really take in the increase in her size once more.

This little realization was made all too apparent as Kitsune handled a rather large sake bottle in her hand.  As she held a standard 750ml bottle (also known as a “fifth” in more common parlance among regular drinkers), she couldn’t help but notice just how much smaller the object felt in her hand.  Here she was holding it one-handed as if it were no more than a beer bottle to her, and a rather small one at that.  Such a reminder helped hammer home the realization that she - along with ALL of the other Hinata women - was an outright amazon by this point.  After all, how many women sprout up to being more than seven feet tall or higher in the span of a few days?  And with bodies and breasts that have become so goddamn big and enticingly eye-catching at that?

The rate of breast growth was really something to behold after all.  In the span of around forty-eight hours (by this point), the younger girls - Shinobu, Kaolla, Sarah, and Mei - had not just grown in size but had also grown substantially in breast size to boot.  Kitsune would have guessed that now all of them had breasts that were equal to (if not already greater than) Mutsumi’s breast size BEFORE this little growth hormone incident.  Now pretty much every woman at Hinata House had breasts that would be the envy of the vast majority of women on the planet, given that not one of them had them augmented with implants.

‘Well, I guess our boobs were sort of changed artificially an’ all because of Kaolla’s little growth hormone, in a way of lookin’ at things,’ pondered Kitsune on the state of breast size increase among the lovely ladies of Hinata.  Still, the simple truth of the matter was that while Kaolla’s growth hormone may have altered every female’s breast size by enlarging them (in sheer mass and in relative cup-size), this size increase occurred within their own bodies, not with the assistance of any breast implants…it was ALL natural.

Kitsune shook her head rapidly as she quickly fought to go down the rabbit hole and dwell on breast size any longer.  For as she looked down, she found herself instinctively pressing her fingers against her nether-regions (outside her short-shorts).  Apparently, dwelling on the beautification and enlargement of all the Hinata women - regarding both their breasts and their bodies in their entirety - was starting to get Kitsune rather turned on all of a sudden.  She raised the very hand which she was using to semi-pleasure herself and raised it to her cheek, blushing rather furiously with embarrassment at what she had subconsciously started doing.

“Am I really gettin’ turned on by what’s goin’ on?” asked Kitsune at this sudden out-of-character action she found herself engaged in.  “I mean…I did a lil’ experimentin’ with girls in my younger days and all, but…I thought I grew outta that sorta thing.”  Even the word “grew” brought a mild tingle along Kitsune’s spine and warmed up her nether-regions further.  Apparently, just the thought of getting bigger and bigger was getting the fox-eyed girl rather hot under the collar.

“Oh, stop it now,” muttered Kitsune to her own body.  While the feeling was certainly pleasurable, she felt that now was not the time to be overcome by raw, animalistic self-gratification.  She had a room to clean up after all.  Best to focus on the task at hand and tidy things up a bit.

After a good twenty minutes or so of rummaging through her room, Kitsune had accumulated a rather sizable amount of beer cans and liquor bottles.  The trash bag she was using was filling up to near capacity by that point.  As for smaller bits of trash - in particular all of the betting slips and lottery tickets she had come across (all of them non-winners, of course), Kitsune had set those aside and placed them in a small wastebasket in her room.  Given the amount of money she had blown on gambling over the years, it was no real surprise that she had also accumulated a decent-sized pile of those as well.  Small wonder she had asked Keitaro for money here and there, or asked for an extension on her upcoming rent payment.

On that note, Kitsune had come to a halt in her cleaning.  While she was making good progress in tidying up her room, she was suddenly overtaken by a wave of sadness, and more importantly…guilt.

“Why guilt?” one might ask?  In Kitsune’s case, she was reminded of the shame she had felt for taking advantage of Keitaro’s kindness…for all the times she had swindled him out of money, or simply not paid him the rent he was owed as dorm manager, or using her body to seduce and borderline blackmail him into not collecting said rent from her.  Week after week, month after month, Kitsune had resorted to her feminine charm and powers of seduction to either get money out of Keitaro (rarely paying him back, if at all) or to get him to cover the cost of her rent.  In Kitsune’s mind, she considered it her absolute worst character trait, even more so than the gambling and drinking (which admittedly were the two main causes as to why she felt compelled to take advantage of Keitaro when it came to money matters).

‘He’s been too good to me,’ pondered Kitsune.  ‘He pretty much gives in whenever I’d ask for an extension or a delay.  He’s even given me money when I already owed HIM money by that point.  And yet even then, for all the times I’ve taken advantage of him, knowin’ that he wouldn’t kick me out or even LECTURE me, he STILL has it in his heart to be good to me.  He’s…I…why…why is he so damn sweet on me?’  After this period of dwelling, Kitsune ended up falling onto her knees and doing something she wasn’t planning on doing that day: she cried.

Burying her face in her hands, Kitsune began sobbing at the guilt she felt over all the manipulation and underhanded tactics she had used on Keitaro up to that point.  While the sense of shame had lingered for weeks up until now, by that point, it had reached a fever pitch and the floodgates couldn’t keep it in anymore.  The guilt was simply too much to bear anymore.  So it was that Mitsune Konno poured out genuine guilt and shame in her bedroom, with the tears streaming down her face like miniature waterfalls.  At one point, it had even gotten so bad that Kitsune was initiating a mix of sobbing and hiccuping, such was the emotional turmoil she was experiencing during that period of self-reflection.

After she had poured out all of the tears she could muster and the hiccupping finally came to its end (providing a relief for Kitsune’s diaphragm surely), the fox-eyed young woman wiped her eyes and collected herself before deciding to make an act of ironclad resolution.

“I’m gonna make it up to him,” muttered Kitsune to herself.  “I’ll find some way to make things right with him, for all of the shit I’ve pulled on him over all them months…all the sneaky, underhanded, low-down crap I used time an’ again to weasel my way outta things.  Heaven knows he didn’t deserve it then nor does he now.  I’ll ease up on the drinkin’ and the gamblin’...I swear.  I’ll find some way to come up with the money I owe him for all them times in the past.  I’ll find a part-time job if I hafta.  Just gotta come up with somethin’ to make things right.”

It was at this point as Kitsune was gathering her thoughts and resuming her cleaning (partly to get her mind off of the guilt she was feeling) that something in her room caught her eye.

On Kitsune’s nightstand lay a lottery ticket.  While she assumed this ticket to be just like one of the others which she had purchased, what stuck out about this ticket was that it was uncrumpled.  Usually, whenever Kitsune checked on the status of one of the lottery tickets or betting slips she had purchased, she tended to either crumple them up or tear them up upon confirming that they were not winners.  However, given that this ticket wasn’t balled up or torn to pieces, Kitsune pondered as to whether or not it was a winning ticket.

After examining the ticket in her hands, Kitsune proceeded to go online a moment later.  Chances were good that the ticket wasn’t a winner, or if it was, it was most likely worth no more than what Kitsune paid for it, maybe twice the buying price if she were lucky.  After examining the date she purchased it, Kitsune decided to look up the national lottery registry to see if she won anything off of the ticket.  If even a few of the numbers she got matched the numbers read out at the time of the drawing, she’d make a little money at least…nothing special, but every little bit helps, right?

Upon inspection of said ticket, after scrolling through to check the date of the drawing for that game and matching up her numbers, Kitsune was planning to ball up the ticket in her fist.  Surely, her luck couldn’t be that good after all, if past attempts at a win were any indicator.  Just as she was about ready to do so, upon reading the winning numbers for the date of the drawing which she read, Kitsune’s breath automatically caught in her throat and her eyes (normally closed in their slit-like style) widened suddenly.

Every single number off of Kitsune’s lottery ticket matched the winning numbers of the jackpot drawing for the game she was looking up.

Kitsune nearly fell backwards and passed out from the shock of this revelation.  Never in her entire life had she been so lucky as to hit the jackpot from a lottery drawing.  Just for good measure, she slapped herself across the cheek as hard as she could to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.  After nursing the skin across her cheek, Kitsune let the reality of the situation sink in:  She had just won the jackpot in a nationwide lottery drawing.  It felt so damn surreal.

After looking up the grand prize for winning the jackpot, Kitsune nearly fell back once more.  She was expecting the amount to be maybe a few million yen, ten million or twenty million yen at the most.  Upon finding the grand prize reward for the lottery drawing in which she was entered into, Kitsune was shocked once more by what she saw on her computer screen.

Lo and behold, the grand prize for the lottery drawing she had entered (which had yet to be claimed), was a whopping 116,000,000 yen.

[*As of this writing, 116 million yen is a little over $1,000,000 in US dollars.  Felt that I needed to give the number some perspective for it to have weight.]

While Kitsune would be jumping with joy at this realization of suddenly winning so much money, she was strangely quiet and reflective at that moment.  The Kitsune of the past would be daydreaming of what she would spend that money on…most likely booze, fancy clothing, or something else that was rather expensive and served as some kind of status symbol (cars, jewelry, purses, etc.).  However, that was the Kitsune of old, the Kitsune before Keitaro came into her life and humbled her with his kindness and selfless behavior.  Before meeting Keitaro, Kitsune would have probably blown this newfound fortune on booze and partying before pissing away every last yen in the span of a few weeks.

Now, under these newfound circumstances, the Kitsune of the present, who had been touched, won over, and fallen head-over-heels in love with Keitaro Urashima, had decided as to what she was going to do with this sudden positive turn in her fortune.  Without wasting another moment, Kitsune picked up her cell phone, resting on the nightstand near her bed.  After pausing for a moment and staring at just how small the phone was in her hand (again revelling at her increase in size amidst everything that was going on), Kitsune dialled the number of a contact of hers.

In this instance, the number of the person who Kitsune had dialed was her own personal bookie.  While Kitsune didn’t have many people she trusted closely outside of Hinata House, this individual was somebody who she had known for many years now.  The two of them went WAY back.

“Hey, Shinji?” began Kitsune.  “Yeah, it’s me, sugar. [...] Yeah, I know it’s been a while. [...] Yeah, yeah, hey listen…listen…seriously, Shinji, listen to me now, will ya? [...] Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at ya.  I just needed to get a word in edgewise and all.  I got somethin’ big to tell ya. [...] I won. [...]  That’s right, I won! [...] How much? [...] Would you believe 116 million? [...] No, I ain’t bullshittin’ ya.  You think I’d call in and tell ya somethin’ like that if I was spinnin’ the yarn the whole time?  How long have you known me now, Shinji? [...] I’m tellin’ ya, I’m lookin’ at the ticket in my hands right now, and all the numbers match up.  [...] No, I ain’t drunk.  [...] Yeah, really. [...] Look, if ya don’t believe me, I can read off the numbers right now if ya like.  Far as I know, ain’t nobody went and claimed the jackpot, so it’s still up for grabs. [...] Yeah, I need ya to drop by real quick and all. [...] Today, preferably.  As soon as possible and all that. [...] Yes I’m bein’ serious.  [...] A few hours? [...] Could ya be a lil’ more specific? [...] Two or three?  [...] Sounds good. [...] Yeah, yeah, you’ll get your cut.  I’m a lot of things, but I ain’t stingy on payin’ off my bookie.  You know me better than that. [...] Alright, I’ll see ya in a bit, darlin’.  Just do me one lil favor when ya get here. [...] Try not to freak out when ya show up. [...] Trust me, you’ll know what I mean when ya get here. [...] Alright then, see ya then, Shinji.”

With that, Kitsune hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and planned out what her next move was going to be, given the sudden positive change regarding her financial situation.  Under the circumstances, things really had taken a positive turn for her regarding her good fortune (pun intended).

“This is how I can make things right,” muttered Kitsune.  “It won’t undo all the trickery and low-down crap I’ve pulled on him in the past, but I can try to turn a new leaf and make it up to him.”

The “him” in this case wasn’t too hard to discern, for those of you who have followed the story up to this point.  By now, it had become rather apparent that Mitsune “Kitsune” Konno had finally fallen madly in love with one Keitaro Urashima.  And now she had a means to make up for all the money which she had conned him out of for months and months.  The way Kitsune read the situation, this was an opportunity to make a gesture of atonement, however minor in the grand scheme of things.

“Finally,” sighed Kitsune as she looked at the winning ticket with small tears in her eyes, “I can finally make it up to that wonderful lil man now.  Just you wait, Keitaro.  I’m gonna do right by you, now and til the end of my days, Sugar.”

With that, Kitsune resumed tidying up her room with renewed vigor, waiting for her bookie to drop in and help her out with the good fortune which had suddenly come her way.

While the older women went about their daily activities amongst the dorms, Shinobu and some of the younger Hinata women decided to focus their minds on something more mundane: homework.

It might seem rather odd that during a period of rapid growth spurts that a young lady would worry about something as trivial as school assignments or homework.  However, such a menial task served as a good distraction from the stress and worries that came as a result of pondering over such things.  So it was that Shinobu, Mei, and Nyamo decided to engage in a small group study session in order to take their minds off such things.

Before beginning the study session, Shinobu asked both Kaolla and Sarah if they would like to join in.  Kaolla responded that she was currently busy with something in her laboratory and would catch up with the group later.  Sarah in turn said that she needed to tend to something else that was more pressing and would also catch up later with schoolwork.  Shinobu wasn’t sure if Sarah was being genuine in her excuse or if she was just making something up to get out of doing her homework.  The blonde-haired girl was a rather free spirit after all and in all the time that Shinobu had come to know her, she knew that Sarah McDougal simply HATED having to do homework.

In the end, Shinobu decided not to push the issue and left Sarah to her devices.  She could only hope that the girl wasn’t up to something mischievous while she was away.

So it was that Shinobu, Nyamo, and Mei had all gathered in Shinobu’s bedroom with an assortment of both school-related materials (textbooks, pencils, sheet paper, etc.) and snacks to appease their appetites while they worked.  Now that Kaolla’s servants had arrived with a substantial assortment of foodstuffs, there was little to worry about over there being enough to eat for quite some time (even with the girls’ series of recent growth spurts).

All three girls sat around the kotatsu table which Shinobu had decided to bring out for the occasion.  It was rather rare for her to have more than two people staying in her room for more than a few minutes, so she felt it appropriate to mark the occasion with a minor creature comfort while the girls studied.  It would have been more enjoyable had all three young ladies in the bedroom not be over seven feet tall.  Given their enlarged sizes, fitting their legs underneath the kotatsu was turning into quite the chore.  Though surprisingly enough, neither Nyamo nor Mei made a fuss over the minor inconvenience.  Perhaps it was simply out of consideration on their part, or maybe the simple reality that complaining wouldn’t change the situation in any case.  These girls simply had to make due with a world which was significantly smaller in scale to them, relative to their newly grown bodies.

The trio decided to start off with history, which entailed largely of Shinobu and Mei assisting Nyamo whenever necessary, given that she was foreign-born and not fully acquainted with Japanese history.  To her credit, Nyamo was a fairly quick study, so she didn’t ask too many questions to the point of slowing down the pace of the study session.  After an hour or so of going through Japanese history, the girls decided to brush through their math homework.  On this topic, Nyamo was just as adept as the other two girls, so things moved through a lot smoother by comparison.  After comparing notes with one another and checking to see if they had come to the same answers for their math problems, the girls decided to take a break, given the amount of progress they had made up to that point.

While they were studying, Shinobu couldn’t help but notice how the scale of everything around them was so much smaller than before:  The writing utensils, the textbooks, the notebooks, the snacks they sampled, the calculators, the erasers in their han - literally everything they touched and handled as they worked.  Even though the homework was a welcome distraction, it couldn’t hide the simple reality that these young ladies were big…and they were only going to get bigger as time marched on.

This was Shinobu’s mindset on the overall predicament.  Though she tried to hide her concerns as best as she could, Shinobu simply couldn’t help but worry and fret over the circumstances as they were.  Even with Kaolla’s little countermeasure pill that the girls all took (assuming it worked as Kaolla said it would), Shinobu simply couldn’t be at peace until a more permanent solution arrived to solve this growing problem of theirs [double meaning intended].  At the very least, she’d appreciate something that would stop the growth and keep them from getting any bigger.  Hopefully, Kaolla would have something that could do that in the next few days.

‘I REALLY don’t want to have to worry about bumping my head into the ceiling or squeezing through doorways,’ thought Shinobu as she mulled over the overall state of things.  Her face must have conveyed that very sentiment, for sure enough, Mei felt compelled to speak up upon seeing the worry on Shinobu’s face.

“Shinobu,” began Mei, “are you okay?  You seem a little…distracted.”

“Oh, um…I…I’m fine,” replied Shinobu as she briefly shook her head from side to side, trying to get her mind right.  “Just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” asked Mei.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing you need to worry about,” replied Shinobu as she waved her hands in a side-to-side motion.  “Please don’t fret over me.  I just got a little air-headed for a moment, that’s all.”  Shinobu finished her declaration with a mild giggle, though both Nyamo and Mei could tell that it was somewhat forced.

“Shinobu,” stated Nyamo, “it’s okay.”

“W-what are you talking about, Nyamo?” Shinobu responded with a hint of confusion.

“You don’t have to put on a brave face,” explained Nyamo.  “It’s okay to be scared, but just know that you’re not alone.”

At this point, Shinobu was staring back like a deer in the headlights.  Of course, Nyamo would be able to pick up on Shinobu’s mannerisms and her general behavior.  The dark-skinned girl had spent months as Shinobu’s roommate up to this point, and even before that, the two of them had connected rather closely ever since they met back at Nyamo’s homeland.  Ever since the two girls made contact on the Pararakelse Islands, they had formed a rather sister-like bond, as if the two shared a womb from the point of birth to the present.  So it was only natural for Nyamo to be able to tell whenever Shinobu was distressed or had lingering concerns, even if she tried to hide them.

Knowing that she couldn’t keep up the facade (at least not in front of Nyamo anyway), Shinobu simply hung her head in defeat, acknowledging and showing the angst that was dwelling within her over the state of things.  After wiping some minor tears from the corners of her eyes, Shinobu took a deep breath, a long sigh, and lifted her head back up once more before speaking.

“I’m sorry,” said Shinobu, “I don’t mean to sound like such a crybaby over all of this, really I don’t.  It’s just a lot to take in and all, you know what I mean?  I mean…here we are, wearing little more than stretchy underwear right now, and we’re all…what, two feet taller?  In the span of a few days?  Never in my life did I think I’d be over seven feet tall!  I didn’t expect to be even six feet tall, never mind seven.  I figured I’d top out at around five-and-a-half feet or so.  I mean, Japanese women normally don’t grow much past that.  Heck, women in general…no, people in general don’t grow much past six feet in height, aside from people who play basketball or volleyball or some kind of sport like that.  And for those who do grow around seven feet or more in height, there tends to be serious physical problems in the long run that develop over time.  I wonder if that sort of thing is going to happen to us, especially if we keep growing like we are.  Sorry, I don’t mean to rant and mope on and on about all of this…it’s just been a lot to process, that’s all.  I’m sorry for coming off as a downer in the middle of all of this.  I’ll stop talking now.”

Sensing that Shinobu was talking herself into a somewhat depressed and negative state of mind, Nyamo simply stood up, walked over to Shinobu before lowering herself down once more and hugging her, firmly yet also gently.

“It’s okay, Shinobu,” Nyamo softly replied.  “I know it’s a little scary for this to be happening, but it will be alright in the end.”

“But you don’t know that for certain,” countered Shinobu.  “We don’t know yet if Kaolla’s little pill we took will do what she said it’ll do, never mind finding a way to reverse this growth or even stop it altogether.  I mean, what are my parents going to say if they see me like this?  I’m pretty sure my mom would faint at the sight of me, and I really don’t know how my dad would react either.  And then there’s the others at school, assuming we go back.  How are they going to respond when they see the lot of us towering over them and all the teachers?  I’m just worried about what’s going to happen, because it’s just right around the corner, you know?”

“I’m not smart like Kaolla, but I have a feeling it’ll be okay in the end,” replied Nyamo.  “I can’t really explain it well or put it into words as good as others can, but I have faith that it’ll all work out somehow.  I trust Kaolla.  After all…”

“After all…what?” asked Mei, curious as to what Nyamo was leading into.

“A wife should have a little faith in her wife now and then, right?” elaborated Nyamo with a cutesy smile and a giggle.

This declaration had both Shinobu and Mei wide-eyed with their mouths slightly ajar.  Apparently, Nyamo was on-board with this little harem plan that the Su sisters were cooking up, and she seemed to have no reservations about it whatsoever.

“Nyamo,” Mei said, trying to keep her composure, “you’re joking about all of that stuff, right?  Please tell me you’re just kidding around.”

“Not at all, Mei-chan,” replied Nyamo without missing a beat and playfully sticking out the tip of her tongue.

“You’re really okay with hooking up with Kaolla?” asked Shinobu as she stared wide-eyed at her dark-skinned mirror image.

“Please don’t dance around this, Shinobu-chan,” said Nyamo, turning her attention back to the girl.  “I’m talking about hooking up with EVERYONE…meaning you two, all the other girls, and of course, Keitaro-kun.”

“B-but, that’s just so…so…out there,” replied Mei.  “You’re talking about polygamy, and that’s something that simply isn’t recognized in Japan.  And legal obstacles aside, do you really think that everyone - literally EVERYONE is going to go along with this?”

“Honestly, I could care less about what one country or another says about this kind of relationship,” Nyamo clapped back calmly.  “From the way I hear it, Kaolla’s homeland is pretty powerful…they just don’t show their power very often.  They prefer to work “behind the scenes” as the saying goes.  And Hinata House is more-or-less Molmolian territory, if I understand it right.  So as far as the rest of the world is concerned, what Amalla and Kaolla are pitching is perfectly fine, given that we’re on de facto Molmolian land.  And besides…”

“Yes?” asked both Shinobu and Mei simultaneously.

“Do you two not like me?” Nyamo asked with equal parts bluntness and worry in her tone.  Whether the worry in her voice was genuine or an act was hard to tell.

“W-well…I mean…I…” said Mei, who found herself stuttering and suddenly blushing at Nyamo’s simple question.

“Yes, Mei-chan?” replied Nyamo as she leaned towards the young lady, putting on some strong ‘puppy dog’ eyes as she fluttered her eyelashes before the younger Narusegawa sister.

“I mean…of course I like you, Nyamo,” said Mei.  “As a friend, I mean.  You’re a nice girl and all, but…”

“But?” inquired Nyamo, elongating the letter “u” as she responded.

“But…I don’t swing that way, you know?” replied Mei, who turned towards Shinobu as she spoke.  “You agree with me, right Shinobu?  I mean, the very idea of ALL of us willing to be in some kind of harem or whatever this would be, with all of us sharing Keitaro and…each other…I mean, that’s just…just…”  By this point, Mei was sporting a rather distinct blush on her cheeks and found herself muttering while struggling to maintain eye contact.

“Oh?” asked Nyamo, in a tone of voice that pretty much said “challenge accepted” as she slowly grinned in turn.  “Are you sure about that, Mei-chan?  You sure I can’t help change your mind about that sort of thing?”

‘What has gotten into this girl?’ thought both Mei and Shinobu at the same time.  Normally a rather reserved type who didn’t speak a whole lot, Nyamo was acting surprisingly bold.  It was as if she were pretty much a third Su sister who was acting in perfect, lock-step direction with both Kaolla and Amalla’s plan.  It had become pretty apparent at this point that Nyamo wasn’t only on-board with the harem plan, but that she was going to do her part to see it through to fruition and bring aboard the other women as well, no matter what.

A moment later, both Shinobu and Mei found themselves being tugged by the arm as Nyamo playfully grabbed the both of them and ended up rolling onto the floor with the both of them, knocking the kotatsu to the side in order to make room for their seven-foot-plus bodies on Shinobu’s floor.  WIthin seconds, both Shinobu and Mei found themselves underneath Nyamo with her arms planted to the side of each girl’s head, with her left arm cornering Shinobu and her right arm cornering Mei.  The two ladies simply looked up at Nyamo with mild shock at the brazenness of her action as she stared back at both of them with a newfound shine in her eyes and a rosy smile on her face as she seductively licked her lips taking in the sight of both of them.

“Shinobu-chan, Mei-chan,” whispered Nyamo as she looked down at the two of them.

“Y-yes, Nyamo?” replied Shinobu who was wondering just what this girl was trying to pull.

“Both of you are very, very, VERY pretty…I take that back.  Both of you are beautiful,” declared Nyamo as she took in the smorgasbord of curves on both of these girls' bodies.  For with the increase in size came an increase in breast size and further female development.  The sports bras and yoga shorts that all the women found themselves wearing left very little to the imagination, especially with the swell of their bosoms and the pronounced definition of their posteriors.  Their bodies had just the right amount of baby fat to cover over their musculature in order to give them that perfect ratio of plumpness mixed with firm muscle composition all throughout their necks, abs, arms, thighs, and calves.  The very sight of it all was starting to get Nyamo very ‘in the mood’ as the term goes.

“So, having just said that,” continued Nyamo as she reached out and gently caressed the swell of each girl’s bosom, “I’d certainly not mind being married to both of you and everybody else, given how beautiful you all are.”  As she said this, Nyamo delicately traced her fingers along the large mounds on each girl’s chest, appreciating the mix of firmness and buoyancy of each girl’s breast.

Rather than fight back or scream out for Nyamo to stop, both Shinobu and Nyamo simply gasped in a mix of both alarm and euphoric pleasure.  While neither wanted to straight-up admit it, the simple sensation of touch which Nyamo was initiating onto both of them was downright amazing.  The ministrations and gentle squeezes this girl was engaging in had both girls blushing madly, trying to get their heads right as waves of pleasure crashed upon the two of them…and all from the simple act of groping one’s bosom no less.

What none of the girls were aware of at that moment was that Kaolla’s little experimental countermeasure was doing its job.  For while Kaolla explained a lot of what her pills were designed to do, there were also some parts she decided to leave out in her explanation.  These little tidbits all served one simple purpose: to help bring the harem plan into fruition.  The explanation of these other features of Kaolla’s little countermeasure would come in later chapters in the story [so for now, consider this part to be something of a teaser].

Speaking of Kaolla, it was at this very moment that the girl decided to make her presence known, opening up the door to Shinobu’s bedroom with Sarah in tow.  Taking in the sight before her, Kaolla couldn’t help but crack a smile at what she saw.

‘Oh yes,’ thought the Molmolian supergenius, ‘everything’s going according to plan.’

As Kaolla crossed the threshold into Shinobu’s bedroom, she gently nudged Sarah in front of her, with both towering beauties ducking under the doorframe as they did so before Kaolla closed the door behind her.  Given that now all the Hinata women were over seven feet tall (the height of the door frames in Hinata House), ducking was something that they would all need to get used to when moving from room to room.

While Shinobu and Mei were getting ready to speak up and explain themselves to Kaolla, hoping to lessen the embarrassment of such a position they found themselves in at that very moment, they were surprised to find out that Kaolla simply had a calm, knowing smile on her face, before speaking up.

“Well now,” declared Kaolla, “looks like you three are having some fun during your study break.  Mind if we join you?”

“Uh…K-Kaolla,” said Shinobu with a blush on her face, “it’s not…not what it looks like…”

“Oh I think it is, my dear Shinobu-chan,” replied Kaolla with a grin, “and I’m certainly happy that it is.  Thank you, Nyamo-chan.  I appreciate doing your part in moving things along.  Less work for my sister and I to do.”

“It’s my pleasure, Kaolla-chan,” replied Nyamo with an equal grin on her part.  The double meaning of her reply wasn’t lost on Kaolla (or really anybody else in the room for that matter).

While Shinobu and Mei weren’t too surprised at Kaolla’s response, given that the harem plan was basically promoted by both her and her sister from the get-go, they WERE surprised to find that Sarah had a rather muted response at this whole thing.  While the blonde-haired girl was blushing at the sight of foreplay between the three of them, it wasn’t so much out of embarrassment as it was out of…arousal.  The look on Sarah’s face was practically saying “I want in on this,” as she stared at the playful threesome that was happening before her, especially with the way she was breathing deeply at foreplay she witnessed.

“S-Sarah,” said Mei expecting a little helpful interference from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigner, “don’t just stand there.  Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Got room for one more?” replied Sarah.

“Make that two more,” chimed Kaolla as she playfully pushed Sarah into the pile before joining in herself.

The reason as to why Sarah was so on-board with what was happening in Shinobu’s bedroom can be traced back to two reasons.

The first reason once again goes back to Kaolla’s little countermeasure in which all of the Hinata women had taken earlier.  Now that some time had passed, the pills were starting to do what Kaolla had designed them to do.  And while the purpose of the pills was to help slow the rate of growth among all of the lovely ladies of Hinata House, they also served a secondary purpose in furthering the mass harem which Kaolla and Amalla had become dead-set on.

The second reason was that an hour or so back, Kaolla had cornered Sarah and had a little one-on-one session with the young girl regarding her thoughts on the harem plan.  While Sarah was highly skeptical of the plan working - and even more so on the idea of joining in on it - Kaolla had decided to try and persuade the feisty free-spirited girl to open up her mind to such an arrangement.  That form of persuasion apparently was the same method that Nyamo had taken with both Mei and Shinobu…in the form of getting fresh with the girl, so to speak.  After a hardcore makeout session in the privacy of Kaolla’s bedroom for a half hour or so, Kaolla decided to take a little trip over to Shinobu’s room to check up on the girl (and see if she’d need to do the same thing to her and the others in roping them into the harem).

And so it was that the younger Su sister had brought Sarah into Shinobu’s room to see how things were progressing.  Much to her delight, Nyamo was basically of the same mindset and doing her part to bring both Shinobu and Mei into the fold.  While they weren’t firmly cemented into the harem plan, it was a step in the right direction (from Kaolla’s point of view, anyway).

Now that there were five amazons gathered in Shinobu’s bedroom, the scene was feeling somewhat claustrophobic.  However, that didn’t put a damper in neither Kaolla’s or Nyamo’s dispositions and states of heightened libido.

‘I’ll have to make adjustments soon, given the living quarters,’ thought Kaolla as she joined in on the four-way pile of lovely ladies (turning it into a five-way).  ‘Given our increasing size, it won’t be long before any of the standard bedrooms start feeling really cramped, especially when we start having the mass orgies.  It simply will not do if it becomes too crowded when we start making love with each other.  That’ll dampen the mood and I refuse to let a little thing like that get in the way of having a good time and loving each other.  Guess I should fast-forward work on the annex building.  I’ll have some drones help move things along to assist Amalla’s workers on that project.  Shouldn’t take more than a few days, if my calculations are right.’

These were Kaolla’s thoughts in the back of her mind as she proceeded to take off everything she was wearing.  Soon enough, all four of the other girls found themselves disrobing of their stretchy undergarments.  While Shinobu and Mei put up some resistance, trying to remind the others that this was initially a study session, the other three girls overruled the two of them and helped remove everything they were wearing, with some occasional resistance from Shinobu and Mei, pleading for them to stop what they were doing.  However, the pill that the women had all swallowed had begun to lower inhibitions while heightening libido and getting them all “in the mood” as people term it.

Within a few minutes, all five girls were nude and entangled in a mass of hefty bosoms and long, long limbs, with deep kisses being passed from girl to girl, bosoms being caressed, nipples being pinched, poked, or sucked on, ass cheeks being squeezed…and of course, the occasional bout of “finger play” in a very distinct part of the female body.  The moans and gasps that came from Shinobu, Mei, and Sarah were rather distinct, which in turn drew smiles from both Kaolla and Nyamo.  Clearly, the two dark-skinned members of the group were working in tandem when it came to getting naughty in the bedroom.  Of course, the two of them made sure to sample every girl in the room, including one another.

“Once again [kiss] I thank you [smooch] for your help in this [kiss] my darling Nyamo-chan,” said Kaolla in the midst of a makeout session with said girl.  The two of them were engaging in mix of caressing each other’s breast, waist, and asses, deciding to have fun with one another after having a taste of the other three girls in the bedroom.

“Think [kiss] nothing of it [smooch] my dear [kiss] Kaolla-chan,” replied Nyamo.  “After all [kiss], a wife [kiss] should do [smooch] what she can [kiss] to make [kiss] her partner [kiss] happy [long kiss].”

“Or in this case, partners,” finished Kaolla with a giggle.

‘This will be a good practice run,’ thought Kaolla.  ‘It’s just a matter of time before we get everyone on board now.  Between the assistance of those in the harem plan and my little countermeasure, things should be taking off rather quickly now.  Everything's falling into place.’

Kaolla and Nyamo decided to turn their attention back to the other three girls in the room, having enough energy to engage in another bout of hardcore “making out” with their future wives-to-be.  For the thirty minutes or so that followed, the sound of kissing, panting, and moaning could be heard right outside Shinobu’s bedroom door, and anybody on the other side of it would have been in for quite a treat if they even just stood outside quietly and heard the noises emanation from within.

As it so happened, one Amalla Su was not only standing outside of the doorway, but had gone so far as to crack the door open and take in the sight before her.  The eight-foot-plus Molmolian beauty found herself blushing, lightly panting slightly drooling, and subconsciously fingering herself (keeping her hand outside her yoga pants) as she enjoyed the show, making sure to stay perfectly quiet so as to not alert the others to her presence, lest the entertainment come to a premature finish, pardon the pun.

‘Much as I’d like to get in on the action,’ thought Amalla, ‘I figure the room might be too small to add another person into the mix, especially someone as big as I am.  And besides, I have other matters to attend to.  It’s nice to see Kaolla and Nyamo taking initiative to help move things along.  Now I suppose I should do my part as well.’

With that, Amalla Su gently shut the door and proceeded down the hallway, trying to keep her footfalls light so as not to give away her presence to the five ladies on the other side of the door and ruin the makeout session they found themselves in.

Meanwhile…

With the newfound help from Amalla’s servants, Haruka was certainly happy for the extra manpower, both with the dorms and at the teahouse.  She assumed that it would take at least a day if not longer for them to get into the swing of things.  Lo and behold, to Haruka’s surprise, the servants were practically professionals from the get-go.  After perusing the menu selection, seating arrangements, kitchen area, and general operations within the teahouse, the newly arrived staff started moving like clockwork, as if they had spent months - even years - working in the teahouse.

The extra help was certainly appreciated for more than one reason.  For while Haruka was glad for the extra manpower in and of itself, the assistance from Amalla’s servants also allowed Haruka to avoid being out and about on the premises.  It wasn’t out of a desire of sheer laziness, though Haruka would certainly enjoy a small vacation of a few days away from the shop.

The main reason Haruka wanted to avoid being in the public eye as much as possible was the circumstances of her growth.  Now standing in the seven-foot-plus range, Haruka would stick out like a freshly swollen sore thumb.  The prospect of interacting with incoming customers and not coming off as intimidating or having the mood in the teahouse become tense or awkward was motivation enough for Haruka to take a very ‘behind the scenes’ position as things currently stood.  And of course, with her increased size - and lack of clothing she could wear aside from the stretchy undergarments Kaolla had cooked up on the fly - Haruka would certainly feel rather self-conscious at the thought of prancing about the tables and serving as eye candy for anybody who saw her.  While she might make some good tip money among the male customers, she’d rather not draw unwanted attention from over-the-top perverts or other people with less-than-good intentions.

Therefore, Haruka had asked Amalla’s servants (in this case, four of them which were allotted to help around the teahouse), to manage both the serving floor and the kitchen as much as possible on their own.  Of course, Kentaro would assist as much as he could in his capacity, as well as keep his mouth shut about Haruka’s recent growth spurt (if he knew what was good for him).  The servants replied that any assistance was welcome, though not necessary.

“Please, don’t worry yourself over the state of things here, Miss Haruka,” said one of the servants as he looked up to her.  “We will manage and tend to this establishment as if it were our very home.  You can rest easy knowing that we will tend to all tasks here, both on the serving floor and in the kitchen.  If a problem comes up, one of us will contact you at once, though such an event is unlikely to occur, so feel free to do something enjoyable with your spare time.”

“Indeed miss,” chimed in a younger female servant.  “You have instructed us well as to the everyday tasks of this establishment, so we’ve got it from here.  So please, go enjoy yourself.  We insist on it!”

The other staffers nodded in agreement with the younger Molmolian servant as they turned their gaze up to Haruka.  Even at that point, the whole situation felt rather surreal from Haruka’s pont of view.  It wasn’t the insistence of Amalla’s servants in telling her to scamper off and do something with her newly acquired free time that gave Haruka pause.  It was the simple act of looking DOWN at them as they spoke with her.  The tallest among the bunch was probably around 5’9” or 5’10”, and Haruka was looking DOWN at this person as though they were a small child.  The experience was enough to somewhat rattle Haruka to her core, and just another reminder (out of several) at just how BIG she was becoming.

Feeling the urge to light up another cigarette, Haruka made her way back uphill towards Hinata House (trying to find a discreet way to slip out the back so as to avoid eyes on her as she left).  After letting Amalla’s helpers know to contact her if something urgent came up, Haruka decided to take their advice and give herself a little time off from managing the teahouse.  Otherwise, she’d mostly likely spend the day cooped up in either the back office or behind the counter (seated so as to draw less attention).

Upon arriving at the front door of Hinata House, Haruka simply stared at the entrance for a good long while, still taking in the reality of the situation (given how unreal it all felt).  She had lived at Hinata House for several years now and had passed through this entrance all the time like it was nothing.  Yet here she now stood in all her 7 foot, 9 inch glory and tilted her head down to look at the doorway entrance.

“It’s like I’m getting ready to enter a child’s playhouse,” muttered Haruka.  Never in her life did she think she’d have to bend down and duck to walk into the place she resided.  It was as profound a realization as it was preposterous.  Haruka would laugh at such a thing if it weren’t true.

‘Let’s hope Su’s little pill does what it’s supposed to,’ thought Haruka as she bent down and crossed the threshold into the entrance hall.  ‘Otherwise, we’ll end up having to CRAWL in order to get inside this place, and even then, it’s not like we’d be able to stand up straight by that point.  I am NOT looking forward to having to crawl about on all fours inside my own home.’

As she walked through the hallways of Hinata House, Hakuka couldn’t help but notice how pronounced her footfalls were along the floorboards.  While it was common to expect the occasional ‘thud’ when hearing someone make their way throughout the dorms (unless they were trying to sneak about via tiptoeing), in this case, the sound was much louder and more distinct than before.  It was just another reminder of how large the Hinata women had become in such a short time, and made Haruka’s craving for a smoke all the more prevalent in turn.

Reaching her bedroom, Haruka made her way towards the nightstand right next to her bed and found the pack of cigarettes within.  Upon closer inspection, she saw that there were only three cigarettes left in the pack.  Given her larger size, a typical cigarette would alleviate her nicotine cravings and lower her stress levels only so much.  Now with her larger size, the effect was lessened per cigarette, just like other everyday resources she would use and consume.  If Haruka kept getting bigger at the way things were going, she would have to start smoking cigars to get the same amount of tobacco-related relief as she did prior to these growth spurts she was having.  She simply sighed before taking out one of the cigarettes, striking a match, lighting her smoke and taking a good, long drag right from the get-go, burning through half of the cigarette in one single draw.

Sighing with momentary relief, Haruka glanced at the cigarette nestled between her fingers, staring at it with focus and letting the difference in scale really set it.

‘It’s so damn…tiny now,’ thought Haruka as she stared at her smoke.  From her viewpoint, her cigarettes looked like one of those super skinny types that fancy older women prefer to smoke, brands like “Capri” or “Virginia Slims.”  However, while the cigarette looked thinner relative to her newfound size, it wasn’t any longer in comparison.  And of course, it wasn’t her smoke that shrunk, but Haruka who had grown…and quite a lot at that.

Taking another deep breath and sighing once more, Haruka took another draw from the cigarette, this time a shorter one so as to make it last a little longer.  She really didn’t want to have to leave the Hinata House to get a new pack of cigarettes, given the attention she would no doubt draw due to her size (and her current wardrobe).  Therefore, she would have to make the few smokes she had left at her disposal count all the more, at least until she was desperate enough to brave being out and about while towering over virtually everybody she came into contact with (outside of Hinata House, of course…minus Keitaro).

As Haruka was finishing up her cigarette, she glanced downward…and couldn’t help but stare at her bust in the process.  While Haruka wasn’t a woman who obsessed too much over bosoms or cup size, she couldn’t help but be a tad bit mesmerized by just how much her own breasts had enlarged…and relative to her own body at that.  From what she could tell, literally ALL the Hinata women had larger bosoms by this point, having gone up several cup sizes from what they originally were.  Even the more flat-chested girls - Mei in particular - were now sporting what anyone with a brain would refer to as “tits,” “jugs,” “melons,” “cannons” or any other term implying large breasts.

It was a realization that had Haruka blushing as she dwelled on it…and inadvertently found herself gently rubbing her hand over her nether-regions as she pondered on such a lustful topic.

Upon realizing what she was doing, Haruka quickly pulled her hand away from her crotch, embarrassed that was getting so damn turned on thinking about bosoms, including her own.  Of course, given her past - especially her period of romantic exploration with both Seta and Julia - Haruka simply couldn’t help herself.  She had made peace that she was indeed bisexual and appreciated both the male and femal form in all of their splendor.

It was this line of thinking as she finished up her cigarette that Haruka’s mind started to go down a different rabbit hole onto another person…well, more accurately, another male person along with twelve other female persons in accompaniment.  The overarching topic regarding these persons involved a proposition in the Hinata hot springs not so long ago, at the insistence of a certain pair of Molmolian sisters, neither of whom appeared to be taking ‘no’ for an answer.

‘Am I really thinking about joining a harem?’ thought Haruka.  ‘I mean…am I honestly considering hooking up with Keitaro…AND all of the other women here at Hinata?’  As she pondered and dwelled on whether or not she was seriously considering jumping into such an arrangement, Haruka found her heartbeat increasing and a growing pleasurable tingle emanating through her very being (especially in her nether-regions once again).

“Ugh…what is wrong with me?” sighed Haruka as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back before continuing to think out loud.  “I can’t marry Keitaro.  He’s family.  That alone is reason enough to stay out of this.  Besides, he’s with Naru and he already has other women vying for his attention.  No need for me to jump into that pile-up…even if I…I…”

“Even if you love him?” asked a voice to Haruka’s surprise.  Haruka turned her attention to the doorway and was greeted by not one…but three individuals who had crossed the threshold, apparently while Haruka’s eyes were closed and her mind deep in thought.

Standing there before Haruka in all of her beauty and glory was Amalla Su, with Kanako (and Kuro resting on her shoulder) flanking Amalla’s left and Mutsumi flanking Amalla’s right.  Both Amalla and Mutsumi had knowing smiles on their faces while Kanako had a less than ecstatic look on hers.  It wasn’t disgust on Kanako’s face so much as it was grumbling reluctance on her part.  After all, the younger Urashima woman desired Keitaro all for herself, and while she was acceptant of the harem plan, it didn’t mean that she yearned for it with the same passion as Amalla or some of the other Hinata women.

Haruka simply sat on her bed (feeling cramped in the process given how small it was relative to her enlarged frame) and stared at the trio now standing in her room before her.  A moment later, she came up with a semi-witty retort to Amalla’s question.

“Haven’t you heard of knocking, Amalla?” asked Haruka as she rubbed out the cigarette but before standing up (and up, and up) before her and the other women present.

“Sorry to intrude, Haru-chan,” replied Amalla.  “I know it’s not much of an excuse, but Kana-chan invited Mu-chan and I into your room, given that she is your temporary roommate after all.”

“I’m sorry if we’ve overstepped our bounds, Haru-chan,” Mutsumi said with genuine compassion and regret in her voice.  “If I have upset you with this transgression, please let me know how I can make it up to you.”  Upon finishing this statement, Mutsumi bowed forward with her hands clasped together, fingers laced over her crotch area.  As she leaned forward, her magnificent mammaries jiggled and bounced, making themselves only too pronounced in the sports bra she wore.  No doubt this girl still spotted the largest pair of breasts among the Hinata women (though the gap between her and the others had lessened significantly by this point).

“I…it’s okay, Mutsumi,” replied Haruka with a mild blush on her face as she found herself staring once more at other womens’ tits in the process (all three women in this case, to which Amalla cracked a Cheshire Cat smile in response).  “I know you had no ill intent in coming here.  And as they say, “no harm, no foul,” so no need to apologize.”

“Oh, thank you, Haru-chan,” said Mutsumi with small tears of joy in her eyes as she came forward and hugged Haruka once more.  The older Urashima woman was taken back by the suddenness of Mutsumi’s snow of affection, especially with her substantial breasts being squished against Mutsumi’s massive mammaries.  Such close contact with another woman with such a sexually-overcharged figure was starting to get Haruka hot under the collar and pent-up with sexual angst.

That level of angst hit the figurative ceiling when Mutusmi followed her hug with a very passionate smooch on Haruka’s lips.

While there was no tongue-play involved, the kiss was still very, VERY enjoyable from Haruka’s perspective.  It was as if a pleasure bomb had exploded in Haruka’s brain and was now bombarding the neurons in her head with nothing but raw, 100% pure euphoria - all from being embraced by another woman who held her with the touch of a lover while kissing her for several seconds.

Though it was somewhat common knowledge that Mutsumi liked to kiss both men and women on a whim (which she had done numerous times in the past), in this case, she was even more passionate and loving with the simple act of locking lips with another person.

“Geez,” muttered Kanako, “if she keeps this up, she’s soon enough going to switch to French kissing in another minute or so.”

“I should hope she does,” chimed Amalla, “both because I think it’s the best kind of kissing, my darling Kana-chan, and it’ll help cement the harem all the more.  Wives should learn to be as open and nurturing towards one another as they can be.”

“That so?” replied Kanako with a cocked eyebrow.

“I’m speaking from personal experience on that note, given that I have a royal harem back home,” replied Amalla with a grin.

“I still don’t get why you feel the need to have a second harem when you already have a husband and multiple wives back home then,” said Kanako while she stroked her pussy [cat…get your mind out of the gutter] as she watched Mutsumi get really REALLY affectionate with Haruka.

“Second harem?” asked Amalla.  “Oh no no no, my dear Kana-chan.  I have one harem.  It’s just getting a lot bigger is all.  It’s getting filled with big, beautiful women and another wonderful husband to add to the one I currently have.  In fact, I was thinking…”

“Oh no,” groaned Kanako, “I’m not sure I want to know what you’re thinking of right now.”

“Once this branch of the harem becomes good and secured, I’m thinking of bringing everyone over to Molmol for a little vacation, just so you can get acquainted with your new sister-wives back in Molmol.  And I’m sure that Lamba will find the idea of adding more women to the royal harem to be QUITE invigorating.  Then there’s also the matter of what to do with Kaolla’s little growth hormone.”

“I’m sorry, what does that have anything to do with this harem-themed wet dream of yours and why would you even factor it in, given what it’s led to?”  asked a somewhat flabbergasted Kanako.

“Well,” began Amalla once more, “once Kaolla works out the bugs in the growth hormone, given that it was in an experimental state, I was thinking of sharing it with my fellow wives back home.  After all, I wouldn’t want to have an unfair advantage over them in the bedroom, enticing as the prospect may be.  I’m sure they’ll be beyond surprised the next time they get a look at me.”  Amalla finished with a giggle, which in turn made her breasts wobble slightly in response.

“You REALLY think your sister is going to be able to make a perfect form of that growth hormone of hers in practically no time?” asked Kanako one again.  “And you REALLY want to create more amazonian women like us?”

“I was thinking something more along the lines of miniature giantess personally,” replied Amalla with a grin.  “Just thinking about it is getting me really, really, REALLY hot right now.”

“You really are a slave to your baser instincts,” muttered Kanako.

“Unapologetically so,” said Amalla with an unabashed grin plastered on her lovely supermodel features.  “But before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to address the here and now.  As the old saying goes, ‘You need to walk before you can run.’”

Finally pulling herself away from Mutsumi’s lovingly smothering act of affection, Haruka turned towards Amalla and Kaolla.

“So what are you guys doing coming in here anyway?  Do you need something in particular?” asked Haruka.

“Well, since you asked,” began Amalla, “we need you to get on board with the harem plan.”

Upon hearing this, Haruka fluttered her eyes and struggled to put the words together for the next few seconds.  After taking a deep breath to calm down, Haruka looked back at Amalla once more.

“So I take it that wasn’t a joke you were making the other night in the baths,” declared Haruka.  “You’re actually dead-set on making everyone here your wife.”

“Well, Keitaro would be my husband - and everyone else’s husband - but yeah, aside from his specific case, the whole lot of you would be my wives…and wives to one another, of course.”  explained Amalla.

“And you honestly think you can get literally EVERYONE on board with this harem plan you’re concocting?”  Haruka asked with insistence.  “Literally EVERY SINGLE WOMAN here at Hinata?”

“I’m simply not having it any other way, my dear Haru-chan,” answered Amalla.  “If you’re curious as to who is on board, both Kana-chan and Mu-chan here are in agreement and have joined in.  I know that Tsuruko-chan and Mo-chan are both practically guaranteed to be in it.  Kaolla and Nyamo are also on-board with it and they’re doing their part to bring Shinobu-chan, Mei-chan, and Sarah-chan into the fold.  All that really leaves is Naru-chan and Kei-kun at this point.”

“And me.” corrected Haruka.

“Yes, but not for long,” said Amalla with a rather confident smile.

“You seem confident that you’ll bring me into this cuckoo plan of yours without any resistance.” inquired Haruka.

“I know you’re in love with Keitaro,” stated Amalla with a very point-blank, more serious tone in her voice.  “Kana-chan knew it as well and Mu-chan had strong suspicions about it.  You can deny it all you want, but I’ve caught on with how you react around Keitaro, especially when in the presence of other women:  The way you blush, the way your demeanor softens when you’re near him, the look in your eyes as you gaze at him longingly.  It’s pretty apparent to someone with hawk eyes like mine.  You suppress it best you can, but I see through the shield you put up.  You are in love with Keitaro Urashima, even if you don't show it openly or choose to deny it.”

Haruka’s eyes fluttered as her breath caught in her throat and her nicotine craving began to slowly spike as well.  Apparently, she didn’t give Amalla enough credit for how perceptive she could be at times.  The towering Molmolian beauty was a natural at reading people.  Give her a few days, and she could analyze and discern a person’s temperament, personality, preferences, dislikes, and any other facet making up one’s character down to the tiniest detail.  It was a gift of hers that was as impressive as it was frightening.

‘No longer putting it off, I suppose,’ thought Haruka in that moment.  Slumping her shoulders in defeat, she decided to be upfront about her feelings.

“Even if it were true,” began Haruka, “even if I do have feelings for Keitaro, I can’t bring myself to act on them.  In all honesty, it’s best that I stay out of this little arrangement you girls are trying to set up.  I can’t - in good conscience - enter into this little harem fantasy of yours for at least two good reasons.”

“Oh? And what would those be, dear Haru-chan?” asked Amalla with genuine intrigue.

“First off, Keitaro and I are related.  For years, I’ve always been referred to as ‘Aunt Haruka’ by that loveable little goofball.  How do you think he’d feel about entering into a romantic relationship with his own aunt?  I doubt he’d be on board with that concept.” explained Haruka.

“Technically, you’re not REALLY his aunt, Haruka,” countered Kanako.

“She’s not?” asked both Mutsumi and Amalla at the same time.

“Biologically speaking, Haruka is Keitaro’s cousin,” continued Kanako.  “When she was young, Haruka’s parents passed away in an unfortunate accident, so Grandma Hina adopted Haruka and raised her as if she were Hina’s own daughter.  That’s why Keitaro had referred to her as ‘Aunt Haruka’ for so many years.”

“I see…” pondered Amalla out loud as she took in this newly acquired information.

“While I’d prefer Kanako not telling you about that little tidbit,” grumbled Haruka through clenched teeth, “now that you know that Keitaro and I are biologically related no matter how you cut it, that’s a strong enough reason as to why I shouldn’t enter into this arrangement.  I don’t know how things are back in Molmol when it comes to courtship and marriage, but in several parts of the world, the act of incest is frowned upon, Amalla.”

The Molmolian princess paused for a moment before speaking up.

“Well then, dearest Haru-chan, since you’ve brought up what some consider to be a taboo act, I suppose all I can say on that is that historically, the act of incest has been practiced several times over and across many different parts of the world.  A few names come to mind as far as inter-cousin or inter-sibling relationships…names like Cleopatra, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Edgar Allan Poe, Queen Victoria of the British Empire, the Habsburg Family, King Tutankhamun  of Egypt…need I continue?  Even the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Buddha supposedly had relations with their respective cousins, and there are passages throughout the Bible where key religious figures have had the same types of relationships with relatives, be they cousins, siblings, or otherwise.”*

[*Sorry if this tidbit about incest offends anybody (especially the religious types), but I did my homework on this.  Don’t believe me?  Here are some links:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coupled_cousins]

“I’m not sure hearing all that made me feel any more comfortable about getting into a romantic relationship with my own cousin,” countered Haruka.

It was at this point that somebody decided to take a more firm approach than Amalla in the midst of all of this.  Upon Haruka finishing her statement, that person came right up to Haruka, held up her thumb and middle finger in the form of an “O” and flicked the middle finger directly into Haruka’s forehead.

“Argh!” grunted Haruka upon the moment of impact.  “What the hell, Kanako?” said Haruka with growing irritation in her voice.

“Will you get off it already?” said a rather annoyed Kanako staring slightly upward into Haruka’s eyes (given their 3-inch height difference).

“What are you talking about?” replied Haruka.

“Since when did you give a damn about what society thought about you?” elaborated Kanako.  “All of a sudden, you’re worried about what other people think of you?  You’re really concerned about what people might think about you hooking up with someone you happen to be related to?  The Haruka I knew in the past would tell those people to take a hike and stick their judgements up their asses.  So don’t go using that whole ‘what will other people think of me?’ shtick as an excuse, because I know you better than that.  In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been Keitaro’s sister for years, and now I’m dead-set on becoming one of his wives, and I couldn’t care less about what society thinks about that.  Whenever somebody gets on my case over a thing like that, I’m going to tell them that they’re entitled to their opinion about me, and then I’m going to tell them to hit the bricks and keep walking, because their judgements about who I can love mean less than nothing to me.  You understand?”

“That’s easy for you to say,” retorted Haruka.  “You may have been Keitaro’s sister for most of your lives, but you’re not blood-related to him.  I am.  What do you think would happen if Keitaro ended up getting me pregnant?  How would we explain to our child that he or she is the product of an incestuous marriage?  What if the baby grew up with some kind of serious genetic defect as a result of us being together?  Those are the kinds of things I have to think about when it comes to being together with Keitaro.  You think I don’t love him?  You think I’m staying away because I don’t have feelings for him?  Besides…”

“Besides what, you stubborn woman?” asked Kanako.

“There’s one other reason I can’t in good conscience be with Keitaro.” muttered Haruka.

“And what is that, Haru-chan?” asked Mutsumi.

There was another pause before the older Urashima woman spoke up once more.

“I’m a terrible person,” said Haruka.

“Huh?” asked the other three women simultaneously, before Amalla decided to speak up right afterwards.

“What are you talking about?” asked the dark-skinned beauty with genuine confusion on her face.  “Haruka, if I considered you to be a ‘terrible person,’ do you think I would bring you into this harem?  Honestly, sometimes I don’t understand you.”

“I’m a terrible person because I don’t just love Keitaro!” spoke up Haruka, raising her voice in the process.

Another pause before somebody spoke up to break the silence.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Mutsumi.

“Yes, what exactly do you mean by that?” Amalla reiterated.

After another pause, Haruka took a deep breath and began explaining her backstory from her younger years involving both Noriyasu Seta and Julia McDougal.  She went into detail about how she had fallen in love with both of them and all of the ups and downs in their complicated three-way relationship, including Julia’s brush with death from the sickness she got all those years ago and how it strained the relationship she had with Seta.  After a good twenty minutes or so of explaining how her heart was tied to Julia, Seta, and also Keitaro, Haruka had finished up on her emotional outpouring (and yearning for another cigarette in the process).

“Well now, that’s quite a backstory,” said Amalla after hearing everything.

“Yes…I’m really sorry about what happened to you back then, Haru-chan,” said Mutsumi.  “I hope that Julia is doing well these days.”

“She’s recovered somewhat from the disease,” explained Haruka, “though her constitution is frail.  Her overall health is fragile, to put things simply.  She cannot exert herself too much with everyday activities, or else she’s likely to end up being hospitalized as a result.  But leaving Julia’s physical state aside, I like to think you all understand why I shouldn’t be involved in your little harem plan or whatever you call it, right?”

“Wrong.” replied Amalla bluntly.

“What?” asked a somewhat flabbergasted Haruka.  “After explaining both my biological relationship with Keitaro and my previous romantic backstory, that’s not enough for you guys to face facts?  I’m somebody who cannot stay fully faithful to Keitaro, understand.  I love him, but I also love Seta and Julia.  Doesn’t that make me an awful person?  A terrible woman?  The fact that I cannot give my heart wholly unto Keitaro should be reason enough for me to stay out of this.  Why can’t you see that?”

“Well…a retort for each of your reasons, if you’ll entertain me,” replied Amalla as she crossed her arms underneath her bosom (accentuating them in the process).

“Go on…” responded Haruka, curious as to what the Molmolian queen was about to say.

“Regarding your first reason - about you and Keitaro being family and related by blood - I’m basically in agreement with Kana-chan on that one.” began Amalla.

“Huh?!” replied Haruka with her mouth ajar and her eyes wide open.

“You heard me, Haru-chan,” continued Amalla with a grin.  “I say that society can go fornicate with itself if it has a problem with people who simply happen to be related by the sheer accident of birth.  And like I was talking about earlier, societies across time and place have engaged in incestuos acts in the past, in particular among members of royalty and the aristocracy.  Even Molmolian culture has had instances of relations between cousins or siblings among members of both the royal family and the lesser noble families.  And let’s not forget…”

“Forget what?” asked Haruka.

“From the Biblical perspective, if I understand it right,” continued Amalla, “for those who honor and revere the Old Testament, whether they call themselves Jews or Christians, after God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and they produced their sons Cain and Abel, after Cain murdered Abel, that just left the three of them…Adam, Eve, and Cain.  So if all of mankind originates from those three, according to the story of Genesis, then the human race - logically speaking - is derived from a very, very, VERY incestuous family, whether one wishes to perceive of it in the figurative sense or the literall sense.”

“Even so, leaving that sort of thing aside,” began Haruka before being interrupted by Amalla.

“And like Kanako said earlier, you never came off as the type that was concerned with judgment from outsiders being passed on you for most things in your life, including who you love.  And as for your worries about having offspring with potential genetic defects…”

“Yes?” inquired Haruka.

“Kaolla, being the science whiz kid that she is, would certainly be able to help assist with whatever problems might come up from such a thing.  While I don’t lay praise on my sister too much - at least I like to think I don’t, otherwise she’ll get a big head as a result - I must admit that Kaolla’s intellect is practically in a class of its own.  If she were to get an IQ test, I’d wager that she’d be somewhere in the 200 range, at least when it came to matters of math and science.  Whether it’s chemistry, biology, computers, robotics, physics, or anything in those types of fields, Kaolla is an outright maestro with few who could match her in terms of intellect and creativity.  So to get back to your worries over potential offspring, I’d wager a literal ton of gold that Kaolla could come up with some kind of gene therapy or similar treatment so as to make sure your children grew up with a more-than-satisfactory bill of health for their entire lives.  Now, as to your second point, involving you being in love with other people…”

“Uh-huh…” replied Haruka, nodding her head slowly, as her way of telling Amalla to continue.

“The way I see it…these two people, Seta and Julia, who also have your heart alongside Keitaro.  I have a rather simple solution regarding what to do regarding them.”

“That being?” inquired Haruka.

“Bring them into the harem, of course,” chimed Amalla with a grin.

“You can’t be serious,” deadpanned Haruka, almost falling over with how ‘matter-of-factly’ Amalla had proposed a solution for that little emotional dilemma of hers.

“Well, the intent was to bring them into the harem as YOUR lovers, dearest Haru-chan, so that you need not feel like you were being unfaithful to Keitaro.  After all, I’m proposing a harem between Keitaro and all thirteen of us, being lovers to one another and not just between each of us and Keitaro.  So the way I see it, both Seta and Julia get folded into the harem as your own lovers, for whenever you feel the need to romantically connect with them whenever you’re not with Keitaro.  That way, you can be with all the people you are currently in love with, though I hope you’ll have the same loving passion for all the Hinata women as you do with Keitaro and those other two.  Who knows, after a few months, maybe both Seta and Julia can be officially folded into the harem as well, if the right kind of chemistry develops between them and us.  I wouldn’t necessarily be against the idea of adding another husband and wife to the mix.”

“Alright, don’t overstep your bounds, your Majesty,” interceded Kanako, feeling the need to create some degree of boundaries between Amalla and her ever-growing wet dreams.

“Oh, alright, Kana-chan,” replied Amalla.  “You can be a real party pooper sometimes, you know?  No matter though, I still love you to pieces.”  Amalla followed through with glomping onto Kanako and lovingly rubbing her cheek against Kanako’s own cheek in the process, all while their breasts both smooshed into each other while Amalla lovingly embraced Kanako as if the two were already married (which Amalla was dead-set on making a reality ASAP).

“Okay, okay, enough with the display of love and affection, alright?” replied Kanako.  “I may have agreed to this arrangement of yours, but that doesn’t mean I’m as crazy about it as you are, you know?”

“Hmmm…” pondered Amalla out loud, “that’s something I hope to change once we finalize our marriage.  No matter, you’ll love me just as passionately as I love all of you here at Hinata.  It’s just a matter of time, that’s all.”

“You really don’t let up, do you?” asked Haruka.

“Not when it comes to something I want, no.” replied Amalla.  “It’s like I said to the whole lot of you back in the baths, I want ALL of you - every single one of you lovely ladies and Keitaro to become my lovers, and I’m simply not taking no for an answer.”  She finished by playfully sticking out her tongue and winking.

“But enough about my desires and preferences,” continued Amalla.  “What say we get to the reason as to why we’re here now, shall we?”  Upon saying this, Amalla was gesturing to both Kanako and Mutsumi.

“What are you talking about?” asked Haruka with a cocked eyebrow, wondering just what Amalla was hinting at.

Upon finishing her question, Haruka found herself suddenly surrounded by the other three women - Amalla in the center with Kanako and Mutsumi flanking on each side of her.  While Haruka was roughly in the same height range as the latter two, it was Amalla’s 8-foot-plus height range that gave her an edge over Haruka.  The older Urashima woman had a bad gut feeling that something sudden and forward was about to occur in a matter of seconds.

Her suspicion turned out to be quite accurate as she suddenly found herself being playfully pushed back onto her bed by Amalla, who not a moment later laid atop Haruka with both Kanako and Mutsumi following right after.  Haruka now found herself trapped in a heap of female flesh on all sides, with no hope of escape.

“H-hey!  What are you all doing?!” asked a bewildered Haruka.

“Sorry, Haru-chan,” replied Mutsumi, “but this really is for your own good.”

“Don’t bother fighting this,” added Kanako.  “You might as well just ‘go with the flow’ and let this happen.  You’ll enjoy it much more that way.”

“Enjoy what exactly?” replied Haruka.

“This,” whispered Amalla in a rather husky tone of voice as she seized Haruka’s lips with her own.

While Haruka was tempted to scream out at the sudden assault on her mouth and try her hardest to push back against the three women currently on top of her, she simply couldn’t bring herself to do so.  If she were desperate, she could have bitten down on Amalla’s own tongue in order to force the woman off of her.  But within seconds, the pleasure that Haruka was feeling was beginning to overtake her mind and drown her in euphoria and sexually-charged bliss.

While Amalla was going to town on Haruka’s mouth, both Kanako and Mutsumi began peeling up Haruka’s sports bra and began a series of ministrations onto her breasts, with each girl having a tit all to herself to play with.  After some playful caressing of the bosom and fingering of the nipples - getting them erect in less than a minute - each girl began engaging in a combination of playful licking, sucking, and nibbling of said nipple, which in turn drew moans of pleasure from Haruka.  As much as the older Urashima woman tried to fight it, she was floating on Cloud 9 in that very moment.

Back with Amalla, the Molmolian alternated between French kissing Haruka and giving her hickeys along the woman’s neck.  And while that was going on up top, she proceeded to move one of her hands all the way down towards Haruka’s crotch - underneath her yoga pants - and introduce her fingers to Haruka’s “pearly gates” as it were.  Amalla couldn’t help but crack a smile upon finding out that Haruka was emanating a good amount of both heat and moisture from betwixt her womanly folds.

“Well, now, my sweet little Haru-chan,” said Amalla between kisses, “it makes me happy to know that you are REALLY enjoying this.”

Haruka said nothing in response.  She simply snuck her right arm around Amalla’s flank and gave one of her ass cheeks a firm squeeze, which in turn elicited a rather high-pitched gasp from the Molmolian beauty in turn.

“My, my, my,” continued Amalla as she composed herself from the momentary elation, “you can be a rather feisty one, now can’t you?”

“Thought I’d surprise you a smidge, Your Majesty,” answered Haruka between the kissing sessions.  “Mission accomplished?”

“Oh, you’ve certainly accomplished your objective,” replied Amalla with a grin.  “Ladies,” she gestured to both Kanako and Mutsumi once more, “what say we try and rock Haruka’s world now, shall we?”

“Sounds like a lovely idea to me,” answered Mutsumi with a glowing, radiant smile on her lovely features.

Kanako didn’t even bother verbalizing a response.  She simply took the initiative and immediately dove face first towards Haruka’s crotch and introduced her lips to Haruka’s “lips” in turn.  This of course elicited a high-pitched shriek of pleasure from Haruka, who was alarmed by how much Kanako Urashima was getting in on this action.

“My my, Kana-chan,” declared Amalla, “I’d say you’re getting more into this than I thought you would.”

Kanako simply looped one of her arms around Amalla’s neck and yanked the Molmolian queen straight towards her, smashing her lips against Amalla’s lips in the process and invading Amalla’s mouth with her tongue as much as possible.  Amalla’s eyes widened in response at how brazen Kanako was acting, though this in turn only got her even more in the mood and soon enough the two of them were tangled in a tongue war before needing to come up for air.

“Less talking, more screwing,” said Kanako Urashima, who was gesturing for both Amalla and Mutsumi to get in on the act of cunnilingus onto Haruka’s crotch alongside her, alternating with kissing and groping one another all while they did so.  During the whole bout, each girl would alternate with another girl, making sure to feel and memorize every nook and cranny of her partner’s body.  Within an hour, all four women had gotten VERY intimate with one another, knowing each one’s scent and “taste” so to speak.  All four ladies found themselves panting heavily along Haruka’s bedroom floor, having climaxed several times during their four-way orgy.

“Well now [pant] I must say [pant] you ladies [pant] really know [pant] how to [pant] show a girl [pant] a good time.” said Amalla with equal parts exhaustion and elation.

“We [pant] Urashima women [pant] pride ourselves [pant] on our [pant] endurance.” replied Haruka, who currently had Kanako nestled in her armpit and resting against her bosom, smooching it and suckling on her nipple at times.

“I must also say,” continued Amalla, who started to regain her strength and lessened her panting at this point, “you two also surprised me in your own ways.”  Once again, she was gesturing to both Kanako and Mutsumi.

“Why is that, Ama-chan?” asked Mutsumi.

“Well, Mu-chan,” began Amalla, “you seem to have more stamina than I originally thought you would have.  From what I understand, you’ve had a history of anemia that makes itself known every now and then.  Yet from what I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing with you over the last hour or so, you were able to keep up with us in terms of endurance like it was nothing.  I have to say I’m rather impressed.”  Amalla finished with a loving smooch on Mutsumi’s lips.

“Really?” asked Mutsumi with a blush.  “I suppose I didn’t give it much thought until now.  I was just so caught up in the heat of everything that I couldn’t be bothered to observe that.  But now that you mention it, I am a little surprised that I lasted as long as I did.”

“And as for you, Kana-chan,” said Amalla, turning her attention to the younger girl.

“What is it, Amalla?” grunted Kanako, still nestling and in a daze as she snuggled up against Haruka.

“I’m rather shocked how adamantly you’ve turned around in this little harem plan of mine.  You seem to go at the act of love-making with as much gusto as I do, if not even more so.  That and the sight of watching you get extremely passionate with a member of your own family had me taken back a little bit.” explained Amalla.

“She’s got a point there, Kanako,” added Haruka, kissing Kanako on her forehead right afterwards.  “Given our history, I’m rather surprised that you would take the initiative in getting fresh with me of all people…not that I’m complaining, of course.”

“The way I see it,” responded Kanako, now more awake and energetic, “the sooner we cement our relations with one another, the sooner we can move onto the main event.  Better to rip the band-aid off right away than dance around it and nitpick over it all.”

“Main event?” asked Amalla with noticeable surprise.  “You mean a mass orgy with EVERYONE?  Already?”

“Keitaro.” both Haruka and Mutsumi replied at the same time.  Kanako simply nodded in their explanation of Kanako’s declaration.

“Well, of course Keitaro is involved in all of this, that goes without saying,” replied Amalla.  “Little miscommunication there, that’s all.  It’s just the way I see it, the ‘main course’ from my point of view is that wonderful little man and all of us - all thirteen of us - in a bedroom and adjoining bathroom big enough for all of us and enough food and drink to last us for days while we ‘get to know’ each other.”  Amalla finished with a rather naughty grin on that last part.

“You sure have a cutesy way of describing the act of intercourse, don’t you?” replied Haruka.

“Ditto on that,” added Kanako.

“Ama-chan is just a woman who loves being in love and making love, that’s all,” Mutsumi responded with that rosy, semi-air-headed grin of hers.

“You know me so well, Mu-chan,” replied Amalla with a grin as she smooched the Okinawan girl not but a second later.  “Well then, anybody up for round two?” continued Amalla.

“Already?” asked Haruka, somewhat surprised.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and a voice calling out.

“Hello?” asked the voice of one Motoko Aoyama.  “Is everything all right in there?  I thought I heard screaming or something earlier.”

Right at that moment, Amalla Su, being the nymphomaniac that she was, got up off the floor and proceeded over towards the doorway.  Upon opening it suddenly, Amalla was greeted by the sights of both Motoko and Tsuruko standing before her.  Her action had taken the Aoyama sisters by surprise, given that she was wearing nothing at all.

“W-well…um…perhaps we should take our leave, Motoko,” said Tsuruko, sporting a heavy blush on her face much like her sister.  “It seems we came at a rather bad time.  If you’ll excuse us.”

Before they could take their leave, the Aoyama sisters found themselves being grabbed by the wrists and pulled into Haruka’s bedroom (remembering to duck as they did so).  Amalla had taken the initiative and decided that some extra company would be more than appreciated under the current circumstances.

“Well now, ladies,” said Amalla to Haruka, Mutsumi, and Kanako, “it appears we have some new arrivals who have come to check up on us.  Isn’t that considerate of them?”  The tone of Amalla’s voice was clear enough to the other three as to what the older Su sister was implying and about to occur.

“The more the merrier,” said Mutsumi with a loving, tender grin.

“Oh, why the hell not,” sighed Haruka.

“Clothes. Off. Now.” said Kanako with a straightforward tone, as if she were outright commanding it from both the Aoyama sisters.

The Aoyamas, being taken back at what they had witnessed before them were unsure how to act in that moment.  They simply stood there like statues with wide eyes, heavy blushes, and mouths ajar.

“Oh my, it seems dear Mo-chan and Tsu-chan have forgotten how to undress,” joked Amalla.  “What say we give them a little assistance, huh ladies?”

Without missing a beat, Amalla’s newfound compatriots had descended upon Motoko and Tsuruko, stripping them of their clothes and playfully tumbling onto the floor with the two of them.  Though the Aoyama sisters were well trained in matters of close combat and self-defense when the situation called for it, under the present circumstance, they were completely helpless before the onslaught of loving that was about to descend upon them.

With newfound vigor, Amalla, Haruka, Mutsumi, and Kanako had descended upon the Aoyama sisters, roping them into an even bigger orgy of big girls now, turning a four-way into a six-way.  Just like before, the next hour or so was spent in moments of sheer bliss and intimacy between all persons involved.  Once things had gotten hot and heavy enough, there was even a point where both Motoko and Tsuruko were making out with each other.

All in all, Amalla was quite satisfied, both in the bedroom and in the realization that the harem plan was making real progress.  With Kaolla doing her part with the younger girls and Amalla doing her part with the older women, it wouldn’t be long now before the harem was finally and fully realized.  There were just two obstacles remaining at this point now.  It just so happened to be that the last two would be the biggest obstacles to the harem becoming reality.

As the sun began cresting over the horizon, letting people know that the day was transitioning from A.M. to P.M., a lone figure was making his way up the staircase towards the Hinata House dormitories.  While he was an inhabitant of Hinata City, he didn’t venture out and around town too often.  He had only visited Hinata House once or twice over the last few years, and that was only on matters of business, which was the same reason for his visitation in this particular instance.

The lone figure in question was bald-headed, middle-aged, and had lived in Hinata City for a number of years.  His profession was centered on the world of gambling and serving as a bookie to a limited clientele of locals who lived in Hinata and the surrounding area, taking a small cut of the proceeds whenever they scored a win.  The way he saw it, it was only fair for him to get a slice of the action whenever he had to cash in a winning ticket on behalf of his clients, especially whenever he had a hot tip on the odds of any bet.

In fact, the very reason he was making his way up towards Hinata House was because he was making a visit to one of his clients, otherwise he would have stayed at home.  Normally, he wouldn’t bother to visit, especially at such a place that was fairly out-of-the-way within the broader Hinata City metropolitan area.  However, the client he talked to over the phone just a few hours ago was rather insistent on him coming up to the dormitories to collect and cash in on this ticket on her behalf.

Now some might ponder as to whether or not this person could simply take advantage of his client’s trusting nature and keep all the money for himself upon cashing the ticket.  After all, if the client simply gave him the ticket, what’s not to say that he could simply act as though the ticket was his and keep all the money for himself upon cashing it?  After all, what was stopping him from doing such a thing?

As corny an idea as it may seem, the simple answer was honor.  While it was certainly a trait that some men may not adhere to, it was still one that some still felt was worthy of abiding by, even when it came to matters of money.  In this case, that belief held true.

The man making his way up the staircase towards the front door of the Hinata dormitories - a man who went by the name Shinji - was a relatively honorable man when it came to such matters of money, as tempting as it was to be greedy and make off with the whole lot of loot from such an arrangement.  It was that sense of honor he had that got him such a closely-knit clientele of fellow gamblers.  After all, if you’re perceived as greedy and money-grubbing, people might be reluctant to trust you, at least when it comes to matters involving gambling.

As Shinji finished making his way up the long stone staircase and neared the front entrance of the Hinata House dorms, he was greeted by a pair of individuals, one male and one female.  The two of them were clearly foreign, given their dark skin tone and rather exotic style of dress.  If Shinji were to guess, he’d wager they were from India or some neighboring country.

“Hello there,” said the female, “can we help you, sir?”

“Yeah, I’m here to meet with someone,” began Shinji.  “One of the residents here.  She goes by the name Kitsune.  Fox-eyed, short hair, in her twenties.  That ring a bell?”

“If I may ask, what business do you have with her, good sir?” inquired the male foreigner.

“She’s a client of mine, in a way of putting things,” replied Shinji,  “I’m her bookie and I manage her winnings…whenever she DOES win anyway.”  he finished with a chuckle.

“I see…If you’ll just wait here a moment, I’ll go and inform the woman of your arrival.  Oh, I don’t believe I got your name, sir.” replied the male foreigner.

“It’s Shinji.  Just give her my name and she’ll know it’s me.” said Shinji.

The male foreigner took his leave and headed inside the dorms to go fetch Kitsune, leaving Shinji with the female counterpart to keep him company (and an eye on him) while he waited.

“So…” began Shinji, trying to break the ice, “are you from around here?”

“Actually, I just arrived here yesterday,” answered the woman, “my fellow countrymen and I came here via aircraft to assist with chores here at the dorms.”

“Where do you hail from, if you don’t mind my asking?” inquired Shinji.

“The Kingdom of Molmol.” replied the woman.

“Molmol?  Can’t say I’ve heard of it.” said a somewhat confused Shinji.

“It’s a small island kingdom in the southeastern end of the Indian Ocean.  We normally don’t make global headlines and we tend to keep to ourselves for the most part.  So it’s understandable that many people wouldn’t know about it.” explained the woman.

“So, you guys are the staff here then?” continued Shinji.

“For the time being,” replied the woman.  “We’re here to assist in any capacity we can, as servants of our queen, Her Majesty Amalla Su, her sister Princess Kaolla Su, and the other residents here at Hinata.”

“Kaolla…Su,” pondered Shinji aloud.  “I think I may have heard Kitsune bring up that name in passing, now that I think about it.  Anyways, how are the ladies doing here?”

“They’re…fine, sir.” replied the woman, thinking carefully on how to describe what the Hinata women were going through.  “Their situation is somewhat…unique I should say, but they are in good health and good spirits as far as I can tell.”

“How do you mean?” asked Shinji with a cocked eyebrow.

“It’s perhaps better that you see for yourself rather than have me describe it to you, sir.” answered the woman in a rather ‘to-the-point’ tone of voice.  “Otherwise, you’d think I was simply making things up and saying something that wasn’t true.”

“Well okay then,” Shinji commented, not sure as to what the Molmolian girl was referring to exactly.

A moment later, the front door opened and the male Molmolian from earlier reappeared, gesturing for Shinji to enter.  He followed behind the attendant as the dark-skinned man led him towards what he assumed to be Kitsune’s bedroom.  Eventually, the two of them had indeed arrived at Kitsune’s bedroom door.  The attendant knocked on it to signal whoever was inside of their presence before speaking.

“Lady Kitsune,” said the Molmolian gentleman, “your guest has arrived.  Are you ready to receive him?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” answered Kitsune.  “Bring him on in.”  The attendant turned to face Shinji before speaking once more.

“Now I should inform you of something,” said the Molmolian in a stern tone of voice.  “Miss Kitsune and all of the female residents here have undergone a rather profound change over the past few days.  I advise that you don’t make a scene while you are here, and to also inform you that you are not to tell anybody outside of Hinata House about what you saw here.  Is that understood?”

Taken aback by the sudden seriousness which was being conveyed, Shinji simply stared like a deer in the headlights before replying.

“Ummm…okay then.  Scout’s honor and all that.” said Shinji as he raised his right hand as if he were taking an oath at that very moment.

“That’s good to hear,” replied the attendant.  “It is not my wish to alarm or intimidate you with what I just said.  It’s just that the situation as it currently stands requires discretion.  We do not wish to draw undue attention at this time under these circumstances as they develop, that is all.  And rest assured, if you are a man of your word, you have nothing to fear.  And if you aren’t a man of your word, we’ll know that as well…and take the necessary steps to address the matter accordingly.”  The last part came off as rather ominous.

‘Geez, what is with this guy?’ thought Shinji.  ‘He makes it sound like I’m walking into some kind of top-secret government facility or something like that.  Better not kid around about this kind of stuff.’

With that, the attendant left Shinji alone outside of Kitsune’s door.  The man knocked on it to announce his presence.

“Kitsune, I assume you’re decent.  Can I come in?” asked Shinji.

“Yeah, just…try not to freak out once ya enter, okay?” replied a somewhat worried Kitsune, given the shakiness in her voice.

“Okay then,” replied Shinji, shaking his head from side-to-side as he proceeded to slide open the door.  Whatever Kitsune and the others were talking about, it was rather odd at how they would dance around the topic.  Whatever, it couldn’t be that big a deal right?

Wrong.

Upon entering the room, Shinji was greeted by the sight of Mitsune Konno sitting on her bed, with the blanket wrapped around her torso as best as she could do so.  What seemed out of place was that the bed appeared rather undersized relative to Kitsune, as if she were sitting in a bed meant for a small child.  However, the bed was a standard queen-sized frame.  It wasn’t the bed that was small, but the woman sitting on it who was big.  Even sitting on the bed, Kitsune was taller than Shinji.

Shinji was of a fairly average build overall.  He stood a solid 5’9” and had a somewhat lean figure.  Yet in that very moment, he couldn’t help but feel rather small standing in the presence of this woman who he could clearly tell had a solid foot or more in height over him. And this was a woman who not so long ago was less than five-and-a-half feet in height.

“Hey there, Shinji,” began Kitsune, “thanks for comin’.  Wanna drink?”  Shinji just stood there for a moment, still in a state of disbelief at seeing Kitsune having turned into an outright amazon before him.  Blinking rapidly and shaking his head to get his mind clear, he responded.

“Uhh, yeah sure.  What do ya have?” asked Shinji.

“Got a bottle of sake and a few cans of beer left,” said Kitsune.

“Beer’s fine,” replied Shinji.

Kitsune proceeded to take one of the cans, gesturing that she was about to gently toss it towards Shinji.  He held his hands open, giving her the go-ahead to lob him a beer can.  He caught it, cracked it open, and took a few good chugs of it, finishing half the can in a few seconds.  Now that he had some alcohol in his system to help mellow him out a bit, he could proceed with further conversation…at least without things feeling too awkward anyway.

“So,” began Shinji, “you wanted me to come here for some lottery ticket, if I understand it right?”

“Yeah,” said Kitsune as she leaned over towards her nightstand by her bed.  On said nightstand was the winning ticket she had.  Holding it gingerly in her hands, Kitsune stared at it briefly before stretching her arm out towards Shinji, gesturing to him to take it off her hands (no pun intended).

Shinji took the lottery ticket, all the while marveling at just how long Kitsune’s fingers were, as well as how defined her bicep was.  He never took the woman for an outdoorsy kind of person or somebody who worked out, but Kitsune was definitely in rather fine physical form from what he could tell.  There was of course also the rather generous swell of her bosom just underneath the blankets.  Shinji knew that Kitsune was rather “gifted” when it came to breast size, but he could have sworn that it looked as though she had gone up a few cup sizes, even relative to her newly enlarged body.

Deciding to focus his attention on the ticket before being caught staring too long at Kitsune’s figure, Shinji examined the slip to make sure the numbers all matched and that it wasn’t a forgery of some sort.

“You’re sure that it’s a winner?” asked Shinji.

“I wouldn’t have brought ya all the way up here if it weren’t,” replied Kitsune.  “I checked it three times over in the last hour just to make sure I weren’t seein’ things or gettin’ my hopes up.  It’s the real deal, Shinji.”

“And I’m guessing the reason you want me to cash it in is…” Shinji’s insinuation wasn’t lost on Kitsune.

“Shinji, look at me,” said Kitsune gesturing to her entire body.  She decided to stand up for good measure just to prove her point.

As her feet hit the ground with a distinct thud, Kitsune stood up, and up…and UP.  Standing before Shinji in all of her 7 foot, 9 inch glory, the foxy-eyed large-bosomed beauty had cast the man in her shadow.  With her two foot advantage in height, the woman outright towered over her guest.  The top of Shinji’s head was basically level with the top of Kitsune’s generous bosom.  Looking forward gave the man a spectacular view of Kitsune’s cleavage laying just behind the bed covers she had wrapped around her frame.

“I’d be drawin’ a LOT of attention goin’ out right now, wouldn’t ya agree?” asked Kitsune.  “I mean, how many folk run into a woman who’s more than seven feet tall?  I don’t really have anythin’ that’ll fit me proper, so I’d stick out like a sore thumb for more than just my height and…other things.”  Kitsune muttered that last part, staring down at her breasts and feeling just a tad bit self-conscious about her own bosom being on display in front of a man, even if that man was a trusted associate.

“Got it,” replied Shinji.  “So you want me to cash the ticket in your place then.  Understood.”  With that, Shinji slipped the ticket into the vest pocket of the jacket he was wearing.

“Ain’t ya gonna set terms about percentage an’ all that?” asked Kitsune with a cocked eyebrow.  It was the kind of thing to be expected when it came to money matters, especially since she was asking somebody to cash a ticket on her behalf.

There was a momentary pause before Shinji spoke up.

“Tell you what, I’ll take one million yen as my cut and the rest is yours.  Sound good?” asked Shinji.

[*As of this writing, one million yen is a bit over $8600]

“Only a million?” asked a rather shocked Kitsune.  She figured that Shinji would ask for a higher percentage of the profits, at least a solid ten percent or more.  Only going with a million was hardly anything in the grand scheme of things.

“Tell me yer jokin’ here,” said Kitsune.  “Ya mean ta tell me that yer fine with ONLY a million yen outta more than a hundred million yen in jackpot money.  I mean, that ain’t even one percent of the whole pot.  This is 116 million yen total, and 1 million is all ya want?”

“Well Kitsune, two things to bear in mind,” replied Shinji.

“I’m all ears,” Kitsune responded, curious as to what her bookie was about to say.

“First off, the ticket is yours, not mine.  So if I were a man of honor - which I like to think of myself as such, more or less - then it would be wrong of me to take any bigger a cut than 1 million out of that jackpot, even if I am the one going into town to cash it in.”

“Yer tellin’ me that you ain’t tempted by that kinda money bein’ yours?” asked Kitsune, figuring that Shinji must have been pulling her leg.  Hell, he could be lying right now and have no intention of giving her ANY of the money once he cashed the ticket in.

“Of course I’d LIKE to have that money be mine,” replied Shinji, “but I probably wouldn’t sleep well afterwards at pulling such a dirty trick as taking a friend’s winnings all for myself.  Believe it or not, I DO in fact have a conscience, Kitsune.  Not every bookie and gambler is a greedy cheat.  Some of us do honor our commitments and play fair, as rare as that might seem.  And as for the second reason…”

“Go on…” replied Kitsune.

“You’re not the only client I have when it comes to gambling arrangements.  I do maintain regular business with other people, both in and out of Hinata City.  It’s not as if you’re my chief income flow, you know.  I do well enough from taking a modest cut out of the winnings of my other clients, enough so that I live a fairly comfortable life on the collective winnings I’ve accrued.  Besides…”

“Besides what?” asked a curious Kitsune.

“I figured that you’re owed a lucky break in life anyway,” said Shinji with a smile.  “I know you haven’t had a good win in many years and I like to think that fate is throwing you a life preserver, in a way of looking at things.  With this kind of money, you shouldn’t have to worry about rent payments, food, or other necessities for quite some time.  So I say go ahead and enjoy your winnings.  Live a little and all that.”

The response coming out of Shinji’s mouth had Kitsune opening up her eyes in genuine surprise.  To be fair, she had known the man for a number of years now, but still figured that he would be tempted to keep her lottery money all for himself out of pure greed.  But even now, she was fairly certain that the man wasn’t bullshitting her in his response.  His tone of voice, body language, and overall mood seemed to indicate that he was being fairly genuine in his replies…that there was no subterfuge or anything secretly malicious that would indicate that he was lying deep down.

“And just as a show of good faith,” continued Shinji, “in case you think I might change my mind and secretly keep the money all for myself, I’ll do a little something to prove I’m trustworthy.”  With that, Shinji reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather beautiful silver pocket watch.  He laid the item on Kitsune’s nightstand and then turned his eyes back to her.

“Consider this collateral,” explained Shinji.  “You can hold onto it and I’ll come back for it after I return with your lottery money.  Sound good?”

“Shinji,” said a somewhat shocked Kitsune, “isn’t that yer pa’s watch?”

“Indeed it is,” replied Shinji with a smile.

“That’s one of ya most treasured items…and yer just gonna leave it here with me, just like that?”

“Like I said, think of it as collateral for you to hold onto.  In fact, think of it this way:  The watch is now yours, and in a little bit I’ll come back and buy it off you for 115 million yen.  Deal?”

In all the time she had come to know her bookie, Kitsune had learned that Shinji treasured that pocket watch.  It was a gift to him passed down from his late father, who in turn had gotten it from his father.  The item had basically become something of a family heirloom over time.  To someone like Shinji, that pocket watch was something he couldn’t bring himself to sell unless he absolutely needed the money.

Without really thinking, Kitsune had crossed the threshold and made her way directly to Shinji.  The man was certainly taken aback by the suddenness of the towering amazon coming right at him, given the sound and vibration of her footfalls on her bedroom floor.  What really surprised him though was how everything suddenly went black…given that his head was quickly smooshed in between Kitsune’s massive mammaries as they enveloped his entire face while Kitsune wrapped her arms around him in a big bear hug.

“Thank you, Shinji,” whispered Kitsune as small tears of joy began to form out of the corners of her eyes.  She simply held him in a hug of gratitude as the man appreciated the softness of her breasts pressed firmly against the entire front side of his head from ear to ear.  If Shinji had any objection to Kitsune’s show of gratitude, he certainly wasn’t being vocal about it.  Though admittedly, the lack of oxygen from having such wonderful boobs pressed up against his face would have made verbal complaining rather difficult.

After a good ten seconds or so of the hug, Kitsune finally released her hold on Shinji, in part so that the man could breathe again.  She liked to think that he enjoyed the brief period of “marshmallow hell” that he ended up experiencing in that time, at least if the blush on his cheeks was any indicator.

With that, Shinji ended up finishing the rest of his beer before preparing to take his leave.  As another gesture of goodwill, he promised not to tell anybody about Kitsune’s little - or maybe not so “little” - growth spurt.  Given that he was indeed curious as to just how she ended up sprouting upwards by more than two feet, Shinji did ask a bit before leaving.  Kitsune told him what she knew, and how it was affecting not just her, but all the women currently residing at Hinata House.

“Well, hopefully you’ll have things under control before long,” commented Shinji.  “I’m certain I’d be a little vexed if I had to worry about bumping my head into the ceiling or having to crawl on all fours to go through a doorway.”

“You’re tellin’ me, sugar,” said Kitsune in lockstep agreement.

“Well, I’ll be taking my leave then,” said Shinji.  “Thanks for the drink, Kitsune.  I’ll be back in an hour or so.  Just need to make the proper arrangements and I’ll be back with a duffle bag with your winnings.  In the meantime, make sure nothing happens to that watch, if you could be so kind.”

“I’ll look after it as if it were a newborn baby,” chuckled Kitsune in response.  She picked up the pocket watch, marveling at the intricate craftsmanship on it as well as marveling at how small it appeared in her hand.  The whole watch easily fit in her palm with room to spare.  She could have enclosed her entire fist around it if she so desired.  Just one more little reminder of how everything around her was shrinking in scale relative to her larger body.

“Take care, Shinji,” said Kitsune with a beaming smile on her face, “and thanks again.  Next Christmas, I’ll get ya a bottle of somethin’ special.  Real top shelf stuff, just for you.”

“I’d appreciate that, Miss soon-to-be Multimillionaire,” replied Shinji with his own chuckle as he left the room and soon after the Hinata House dorms.

Once more, Kitsune was alone in her room, though her mood had much improved under the current circumstances.  In a few hours time, she’d have something to give to Keitaro to let him know just how sorry she was for her past bad behavior and how she would make it up to him.  For a scant few minutes, she felt like she was walking on Cloud 9.  She was so bubbly and giddy that she was on the verge of skipping with joy.  But she erred on caution and decided not to, both to avoid making distinctively loud footfalls on the dorm’s floorboards as well as avoid bumping her head into the ceiling if she ended up jumping just a little too high up if she skipped.

Instead, Kitsune simply walked out her bedroom door with the bags of the garbage she had collected, easily hauling both bags with one arm.  After placing the pocket watch in the drawer of her nightstand, Kitsune made her way out the bedroom, remembering to duck this time.

‘It is certainly a change of pace to not be working for once,’ thought Keitaro as he made his way through the halls of Hinata House.  With Amalla’s newly arrived workforce and the unanimous vote of barring Keitaro from doing his managerial duties, he suddenly found himself burdened with a whole lot of free time now.

Still stuck in his ways, Keitaro had asked Amalla’s servants if there was anything they needed clarification on regarding the day-to-day tasks and daily chores.  But lo and behold, they had all pretty much answered the same way, which in this case meant that they were all quick learners and required no extra assistance.

“If need be, we can ask Haruka or one of the other tenants,” answered one of the servants to Keitaro.

“You sure?” Keitaro asked in turn.  “I mean, I AM Hinata’s dorm manager, so I really don’t mind answering any questions or addressing concerns if you guys have any.  I might be recovering, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t give tips or pointers if you guys need them.”

“We certainly appreciate the offer, Mr. Urashima,” replied the servant, “but we’re pretty much accustomed to jobs and tasks associated with the hospitality sector.  Most of us have put in several years serving the royal family and tending to their daily needs, so I think we can manage on our own with the everyday chores around here.  If we’re REALLY in a bind and need guidance, we’ll come find you, but only as a last resort.  Again, we thank you for the offer, but put your mind at ease and let us handle things from here, Mr. Urashima.”

Deciding not to press the issue any further, Keitaro relented and left the servants to the everyday tasks, whether that was tending to the laundry, taking out the garbage, inspecting the plumbing or electric throughout the dorms, or any of the other daily or weekly chores which required a manager’s attention.  With that, Keitaro made his way back to his bedroom.

Since he had time to kill, Keitaro felt that it would be best for him to focus on his studies.  After all, he was still trying to get into Tokyo University, even after multiple failed attempts on his entrance exams.  Might as well make another attempt and focus on his studies for the time being.  Breaking out one of the practice exam booklets he had, Keitaro made himself comfortable and began going over the exam questions one by one.

The practice exam was a welcomed distraction for Keitaro for more than one reason.  One reason in particular was that it helped him clear his head now that he didn’t need to worry about house chores for the time being.  It also helped him keep his focus on something other than the pain in his abdomen from that recent gunshot wound in the marketplace.

‘That reminds me,’ thought Keitaro, ‘I should see Kaolla in a little bit for some more of that pain medication.  It’s worked wonders so far, so I should get a backup supply for when it starts to wear off.’

Speaking of Kaolla, now that the Molmolian princess had crossed Keitaro’s mind, he found himself recollecting over that little incident earlier in the bathroom - especially the part where Kaolla ended up getting fresh with Keitaro and deep-throat kissing him.  Now that he thought about it, he could have sworn that Kaolla inserted something down his throat in the midst of it all.  It was brief, but from what he could recall of his muscle memory, he was fairly certain that something solid passed along his throat and made its way down his gullet.

“Did Kaolla drug me or something?” muttered Keitaro.  It didn’t really make sense…unless Kaolla was using Keitaro as a guinea pig for some new experiment.  He really hoped that wasn’t the case, though he had a strong hunch that it was probably a safe assumption to make.  Kaolla DID have a history of trying out her inventions on Keitaro from time to time, though it usually tended to be robots, not drugs or mystery formulas.

Keitaro was also glad to have some private time to himself for another reason - avoiding the Hinata women in general.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy their company, quite the opposite in fact.  Keitaro liked spending time with the Hinata ladies when he wasn’t busy with his managerial duties.  They had become his family over time, something akin to sisters from his viewpoint.  Even with all of their quirks and faults (Kitsune’s money swindling, Motoko’s close-call swordplay, Naru’s supercharged punches, Sarah’s rebellious demeanor, or Kaolla’s free-spirited shenanigans), Keitaro still treasured them all dearly.

In all frankness, and as corny as it might seem, the reason that Keitaro was trying to keep his distance from the lot of them was temptation… sexually-charged temptation more specifically.

Ever since the Hinata women were exposed to Kaolla’s little growth hormone in the baths and began undergoing growth spurt after growth spurt, Keitaro was taken aback with equal parts awe and primal lust.  Though he did his darndest to act as a gentleman, he simply couldn’t help but admit how turned on he was becoming at the sight, smells, and touch of the Hinata women who had morphed into outright amazons before his eyes.  All thirteen of them had grown into downright goddesses in the looks department, with enlarged bosoms and curves in all the right places.  While Keitaro was adamant in staying true and faithful to Naru now that the two of them were going steady, he found it difficult to NOT stare at the other Hinata ladies whenever they happened to be nearby, whether they were family members (Kanako & Haruka) or younger than him by several years (Kaolla, Shinobu, Sarah, Nyamo, and Mei).  Evolutionary biology was simply reminding Keitaro that he was a heterosexual, red-blooded male and his body would let that little fact be known whether he wished for it or not, especially in the crotch area.

Keitaro once more focused on his studies, going over one multiple-choice question after another.  Time flew by fast enough during his study session.  After an hour or so, Keitaro had finished up the mock exam and began comparing his test to the answer page.  While he had done better than previous exams, it was still a far cry from a passing grade in the end.

“Fifty-four percent correct,” groaned Keitaro.  While it was the highest he had gotten on a mock exam by this point, it was still not good enough for him to get into Tokyo U.  Even if he DID get a passing grade of sixty percent, that was no guarantee that he would be accepted into the university.  To get into a rather prestigious school like Tokyo U, it was expected for students to have a passing grade of around eighty percent or higher.  Given Keitaro’s circumstances, he would need to get a passing grade of over seventy if he wanted the higher-ups at the academy to give him more than a passing glance at the idea of enrollment.

“Maybe a break is in order,” thought Keitaro out loud.  “I should grab a snack and something to drink and then maybe I’ll take a crack at one more mock exam after I’ve cleared my head, just to see if I can beat my previous score.”  With his mind made up, Keitaro took his leave and headed towards the kitchen to grab a quick bite and stretch his legs a little.

As Keitaro made his way out the door and through the hallways, he was surprised to find that he didn’t bump into any of the women during the trip towards the kitchen.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought he might have heard some roughhousing coming from at least one of the rooms.  While a part of him was curious to take a peek to make sure everything was alright, Keitaro had enough prior experiences in the past to know that such a gesture tended to end up becoming a huge misunderstanding and ended with him at the receiving end of either Naru’s right hook or the dull side of Motoko’s katana.  So for once, he decided to err on caution and not poke his nose into things.

‘If something serious has happened, I’m sure one of the girls will let me know about it,’ thought Keitaro as he made his way towards the refrigerator.  After pouring himself a glass of fruit punch and pouring himself a bowl of pretzels to munch on, Keitaro made his way back upstairs towards his room to both snack and prepare for another round of studying.

Once he had settled back into his room, Keitaro resumed his studies, munching on pretzels and washing them down with some punch from time to time.  After another half-hour or so, Keitaro decided to take another breather and make a quick visit to the bathroom, which in his case happened to be adjacent to his own bedroom.  As dorm manager, he was afforded the additional perk of having his own personal bathroom right next to his bedroom.

While in the act of relieving his bladder, Keitaro instinctively glanced downward as he was finishing up.  At that very moment, he was somewhat bewildered as to what he saw before him.

Keitaro wasn’t one to obsess over the size of his genitalia or gloat about it, as some men were known to do.  From what little he had gleaned over the years, he assumed that the size of his ‘package’ was generally average in size, if perhaps a bit under overall.  Keitaro figured that his ‘member’ was around three inches in length when flaccid, yet from what little he could discern as he was finishing up urinating, he figured that his lower appendage was closer to six inches in length.  Though he didn’t have a ruler at that very moment to verify, it was both an honest and relatively accurate guess on his part upon his observation.  It was that very observation that gave Keitaro pause as he was finishing up his business in the bathroom.

‘Have I…been this long before?’ thought Keitaro as he stared at his member upon finishing his business in the restroom.  ‘I mean, I never really paid it much mind up until now, so I figured not to bother on such a thing.  But even now, I can’t help but feel that it’s…bigger than it should be.  I normally don’t bother over dwelling over the size of my…thingy, and all that, but it seems a little out of place from what I remember.’  These were Keitaro’s thoughts as he stared at his Johnson and wondered over the how and why it had become more enlarged compared to its previous size.

‘Maybe I’m just seeing things is all,’ thought Keitato as he finished up his business in the bathroom.  After all, he wasn’t one to obsess over the size of his lower member and brag about it with the few male friends and acquaintances he had.  It simply wasn’t in his nature to do such a thing.  Braggadocio was as alien and foreign a concept to Keitaro as he could conceive; he probably couldn’t initiate in the act of such a thing to save his life.

Keitaro proceeded to put his unit back behind the ‘fly’ of his trousers and zipped up before washing his hands and leaving the restroom shortly after.  Upon vacating the bathroom, he once again took his place at the table where he was studying and proceeded with his mock exams.  Another hour proceeded, with Keitaro’s mind pondering on other things while he did his darndest to focus on his studies.

‘Now that I think about it, I could have SWORN that Kaolla put something down my throat when she kissed me in the bathroom,’ thought Keitaro.  ‘I distinctly remember something going down along my esophagus while she was…deep throating me during that little kissing session.’  Keitaro’s cheeks flared up with a blush at the recollection of the event, with Kaolla embracing him and French-kissing him with such passion and gusto.

Though such a recollection was rather ‘adult-rated’ in Keitaro’s mind, he felt it necessary to remember each detail of the experience as vividly and accurately as he could.  After all, his mind was greatly puzzled as to why Kaolla would kiss him out of the blue like that.  He was certain that it was a ruse to force whatever it was down his throat.

‘Should I bring this up with Kaolla?’ thought Keitaro.  ‘And if I choose to do so, should I keep it between us, or should I do it in front of the others?  Would that be the right thing to do?  I probably shouldn’t put Kaolla on the spot like that in front of everybody else, so if anything I should address it with her personally, assuming I bring it up with her at all.’  These were Keitaro’s thoughts on what to do regarding the enlargement of his…member.

As he left the bathroom, Keitaro decided to change course with his plans.

“A soak in the tub,” thought Keitaro out loud, “just to help me clear my head and relax a little.  Yeah, that sounds like just the thing right about now.”

Keitaro proceeded to make his way towards the upper back deck of the dorms, passing by some of Amalla’s servants in the process.  He really was appreciative of the extra manpower, especially since his body was in recovery mode.  As he opened the door and headed outside, he was surprised to find that his own personal tub was gone.

“W-what happened?” said Keitaro in surprise.  “Where did it go?”

The private hot tub had been removed outright, as if it had simply vanished into thin air.  Obviously somebody removed it within the last few hours, as Keitaro knew it was sitting there earlier in the day.  The only real question now was “Who did it?”.

“Something wrong, Kei-kun?” asked a familiar voice in a rather playful manner, from both behind and above him.

Turning around, Keitaro was greeted by both Amalla and Kaolla, standing before him in all of their seductive glory, though thankfully they were clothed at least.

“I…um, my private hot tub disappeared, so I’m curious as to what happened to it,” answered Keitaro.

“Oh, that thing?  I had my servants remove it earlier,” said Amalla with a grin.  “Don’t worry, it isn’t destroyed or damaged if you were worried.”

Keitaro blinked rapidly before widening his eyes and responding to Amalla’s declaration.

“And…why exactly would you do that, Miss Amalla?” Keitaro asked.

“I’ve decided that you no longer need that thing, my sweet little Kei-kun,” said Amalla with a Cheshire Cat-like grin.  “Would you agree with me on that, Kaolla?” she asked as she turned to her sister.

“Indeed I would, dear sister,” replied Kaolla with her own playful grin.

“So then am I barred from taking baths now too?” asked Keitaro.  “I mean, I have a shower in my own bathroom, but it doesn’t come with a bath built in.  And that private hot tub was the only way for me to enjoy a nice warm soak.”

“If you need a nice warm soak, there’s a hot spring right down there, you know,” replied Amalla with a giggle as she gestured to the main hot springs.  “I’m told it’s what this place is famous for.”  Kaolla chuckled in response to Amalla’s attempt at sarcastic humor.

“Come on now, ladies,” said Keitaro.  “You know I can’t use the main baths, at least not when somebody else is using them.”

“And why is that, Kei-kun?” asked Amalla as she leaned forward, invading Keitaro’s personal space and giving him a spectacular view of her bosom as it bounced and jiggled ever so slightly from her movement.

“B-because this is a females-only dormitory and I’m not female,” responded a flustered Keitaro.  “It would obviously be weird if I were to barge into the hot springs when any of you are using them.”

“Would it be now?” countered Amalla.  “I don’t see a problem with you bathing with us.”

“Nor do I,” added Kaolla.

“In fact, I’m pretty sure that most if not all of the other ladies wouldn’t really be that bothered by you joining us in the hot springs.  So you have nothing to worry about on that little matter,” said Amalla.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” sighed Keitaro, exasperated at Amalla’s insistence on the idea of him bathing with the women.

“I’m guessing that since you’re out here,” said Kaolla, “you were initially planning on taking a bath, weren’t you, Kei-kun?”

“Yes, that was the plan,” answered Keitaro, “though I suppose I’ll just head back to my room and take a shower instead.  Now that my personal hot tub is gone, that pretty much settles the matter.  Well then, if you’ll excuse me ladies.”

Keitaro was starting to make his way towards the door, when all of a sudden he was blocked by Amalla, who wrapped her arms around him and held him against her torso…with his face buried against her stomach and her bosom pressing down upon his head.

“Amalla,” said Keitaro with his words muffled against the woman’s super soft, super smooth skin, “what are you doing?”

“Stopping you, silly,” giggled Amalla.  Keitaro made an attempt to pull back from Amalla’s embrace before he started getting a raging hard-on from the contact their bodies were making.  However, it was to no avail for two reasons.  The first reason was because Amalla had a rather firm grip on Keitaro and held him firmly (yet also tenderly) against her.  The second reason was because Kaolla had come up behind Keitaro and wrapped her arms around Amalla’s lower back and waistline, which had resulted in Keitaro being cocooned by the Su sisters, with their bosoms now resting atop his head.

“Sorry, Kei-kun,” chimed Kaolla, “but this is for your own good, sweetie.”

“What exactly are you two planning?” asked Keitaro, who was sporting both a deep red blush and a raging boner that was starting to form.  It was said boner that Amalla felt brushing up against her leg and got a rather distinct “oooh” from her lips, before looking down to examine what it was that was poking her.

“Kaolla,” said Amalla, “be a dear and hold darling Kei-kun in place while I have a little lookie-lookie at what’s poking me, would you?”

“Sure thing, sis,” said Kaolla as she tightened her hold on Keitaro, making damn sure that there was no way for him to escape.  Once Amalla was certain that Kaolla had Keitaro firmly in her clutches, she released him from her own and proceeded to bend far down to take a look a Keitaro’s crotch.

Amalla’s eyes widened at the sight of the tent in which Keitaro was pitching.  It was clear that he was getting quite turned on from the contact he was making with the Su sisters, both with regards to the feel of their bodies and the pleasing aromas wafting from them (which had heightened considerably during and after the makeout sessions each Su sister had engaged in during her respective orgy).  Amalla licked her lips with anticipation as she yanked the hem of Keitaro’s pants (in this case sweatpants, so no need to work a zipper or buttons) and pulled them down past his knees.  That left Keitaro in his boxers with a member that was tenting them very strongly.

‘It’s well over six inches,’ thought Amalla as she gazed at it, ‘probably a good eight or nine from what I can tell.  I’ll make sure to find a ruler just to confirm for the heck of it.  Either way, it’s certainly a magnificent thing to behold.’

“Well well well,” declared Amalla as she leaned in closer and closer to Keitaro’s member, “looks like SOMEBODY is happy to make our acquaintance, wouldn’t you agree Kaolla?”

“Indeed I would Amalla,” grinned the younger Su sister, keeping her hold on Keitaro firmly secured.

“Ladies, please!” declared Keitaro, “This is highly inappropriate!  What if somebody sees us?  Besides, I’m with Naru, so I can’t be doing this kind of thing!  I won’t do it!  I’m not going to betray her trust!”  Keitaro squirmed and wiggled the best he could, but Kaolla’s grip was simply too strong for him to fight against.  Being over seven feet in height simply gave Kaolla too much of an advantage over Keitaro.

“It’s not betrayal if Naru is okay with it, is it Keitaro?” replied Kaolla.

“There’s no way Naru is okay with what you’re proposing,” answered Keitaro.  “And besides, it just doesn’t feel right.  I’m flattered at the offer ladies, but I just can’t bring myself to have multiple lovers.  It makes me feel…dirty…like I’m being unfaithful.”

“Oh Keitaro,” sighed Amalla, “I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again.  What my sister and I are proposing is a group marriage where we all belong to one another.  Naru would be your wife and my wife as well.  You would be both her husband and my husband.  You would have thirteen wives, whereas everyone else would have twelve wives and one husband in turn, understand darling?”

“How are you guys actually okay with such a thing?” replied Keitaro.  “Wouldn’t you get jealous over the idea of having to share a lover?”

“Not if we are each other’s lovers, no,” answered Kaolla.  “If we all truly love one another equally…if basically all fourteen of us tie for first place with whom we love, then we girls can enjoy each other’s company while we wait for our turn with you, Kei-kun.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t see that little fantasy of yours becoming a reality, Kaolla,” said Keitaro.  “And besides, I’m committed to Naru, so I just can’t bring myself to love you the way I love her.  Please, don’t be mad about it.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t be your husband.”

Kaolla simply smiled in turn before bringing her head down and seizing Keitaro’s lips within hers, essentially upside down kissing him in the process (*visualize the kissing scene from the first Tobey Maguire “Spiderman” movie).  After some playful poking around with her tongue, Kaolla finished the kiss and came back up for air.

“Oh Kei-kun,” sighed Kaolla, “your sense of chivalry is admirable, but I’m afraid our minds are made up…mine, Amalla’s, and a growing number of the other girls.  We aren’t taking no for an answer.  You WILL be getting a harem.  It’s decided.  Best thing would be to accept your fate and get used to being swarmed in an all-girls flower garden of women who want to love you and make love with you.  You are simply fated to be something of a harem king, my darling.  Isn’t that right, Amalla?”

The older Su sister simply stared at the bulge in Keitaro’s boxers before finally giving into temptation and fingering the button that was holding his boxers closed.  As soon as she undid the button, out flopped Keitaro’s member, which sure enough was at least eight inches and closing in on nine, standing proudly at attention and bumping into Amalla’s nose in the process.

Amalla instinctively jerked back from the close contact, but regained her position soon enough and leaned in so that her face was less than an inch from Keitaro’s raging hard-on.

“Well hello there, little fella,” said Amalla as she inhaled deeply and took in the scent of Keitaro’s musk coming off of his member.  “You certainly seem happy to see us.”  Amalla followed through with a quick smooch on the tip of Keitaro’s member, which resulted in the organ stretching out another inch, now at a solid nine inches in length.  That in turn made Amalla smile all the more.

Keitaro’s breathing picked up, having a boost of pleasure shoot up his spine from Amalla’s kissing the very sensitive tip of his junk.  In another minute or so, he was on the verge of losing control and prematurely shooting Amalla in the face, which he worried was something that might turn her on even more than she was being turned on now.

“Please,” gasped Keitaro, “don’t do this.”  The man was pleading at this point.

“Say,” thought Amalla aloud, “since you were coming up here for a bath, why don’t you just take one now with us instead?  We can wash your back for you, and in turn you can wash our bodies.  It’ll be a good bonding exercise to help us become closer with one another.”  While Amalla was presenting the proposition in the form of a question, Keitaro had gleaned enough about her to know that like her harem proposal, she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

A moment later, the door opened and out came both Naru and Kitsune, who were curious as to both where Keitaro had run off to and what all the hubbub was about on the back deck.  Both women were rather shocked to find Keitaro in the clutches of the Su sisters…and with his dick standing proudly at attention in the midst of it all.  Such a sight made both Naru and Kitsune (who herself was wide-eyed at this point) blush profusely at just how BIG he had become down there.

“What is going on here?!” asked an alarmed Naru Narusegawa.

“Ah!  Na-chan!  Ki-chan!” said Amalla standing upright.  “Just who I was looking for.  I haven’t seen either of you today, and this works out perfectly.  Kei-kun, Kaolla, and I were just making our way to the baths.  Join us at once.”

Before Naru and Kitsune could get a word in edgewise as to what was happening, they were being nudged towards the door by Amalla, who was using both her height advantage and raw physical power to gently force them towards the door (making sure they all ducked as they crossed the threshold).  Once again, as usual, the Su sisters weren’t taking no for an answer.  Amalla gently coerced and guided both Naru and Kitsune towards the baths, with Kaolla right behind them, carrying Keitaro in her arms ‘bridal style’ as she followed behind.

For the time being, Keitaro was basically doomed (or blessed, depending on how one viewed it) to take his baths in the presence of the Hinata women, given Amalla’s removal of his private hot tub.  He could only hope that things in the hot springs wouldn’t get too…steamy.

‘Just what is going on here?’ thought Keitaro as he was carried bridal-style in Kaolla’s arms.  ‘This HAS to be some kind of wacky, messed-up dream I’m having right now.  There’s no way that ANY of this is actually happening.  I’d have a better chance of being struck by lightning or coming into a hundred million yen.’  Clearly, Keitaro was at a loss for words under the current situation.

“Something wrong, Kei-kun?” asked Kaolla with that playful smile of hers as she looked at the man she was currently carrying in her arms on her way to the hot springs.  “You seem distracted, as though your mind is very far away.”

“Kaolla,” began Keitaro.

“Yes, darling?” she asked, enjoying the blush that came on Keitaro’s cheeks at being referred to by such a title.

“Not that I’m on board with what you’re proposing or anything…this whole harem you’ve got planned,” began Keitaro.

“Oh, don’t worry, that’ll change soon enough, sweetie,” said Kaolla with a grin, while motioning for Keitaro to continue with whatever he was trying to say.

‘She’s so confident in her assertion,’ thought Keitaro.  ‘I can’t tell if it’s just plain stubbornness or if she’s got something in the works that I don’t know about.’

“Regarding this plan of yours, I simply have to ask, since you’re so hell-bent on seeing it through,” resumed Keitaro.

“Yes?” replied Kaolla.

“Why?” Keitaro asked as bluntly as he could.

“Why what?” countered Kaolla.

“Why me?” said Keitaro.  “Why do you want to give me a harem so damn badly?  In all the time that I’ve gotten to know you, you never really seemed committed to something like that.  So why obsess over something like this?”

Kaolla paused in her thoughts, though she still walked ever onwards as she mulled over how to respond to Keitaro’s question.  It was simple and rather to-the-point in its nature, so it wouldn’t require too long an explanation.  Once she had collected her thoughts and knew how to word her answer, Kaolla turned her gaze to Keitaro once more and responded.

“Well,” began Kaolla, “simply put, my darling little Kei-kun, I would say that as to why I’m doing this, it’s basically because of two things.”

“Them being?” inquired Keitaro.

“First off, I’m in love with you, to put things simply,” replied Kaolla with a grin so endearing and warm that it could melt butter in under a minute.  “I’ve been in love with you for quite some time, several months at least, if not over a year by now.  I just didn’t feel the rush to claim you and make you mine at the time.  And besides, I know that you were trying to make things work between you and Naru, so I didn’t want to step in and make things awkward with the two of you while you were making your relationship grow and strengthen.”

“Okay then,” replied Keitaro as he took in this newfound information.  “So, what’s the other cause behind this harem plan of yours?”

“Simply put, I want to be with everybody, and I don’t want to make anybody sad or upset over the idea of having to fight over you,” Kaolla answered.  “As corny as it may sound, it’s been a goal of mine to basically live happily ever with everybody here at Hinata.  You guys are all my family and I want to be with all of you forever and ever.  If that means marrying everyone so that we can stay as one big, happy family, then that works out perfectly for me.”

“I don’t mean to deflate your dream, Kaolla, but that sounds rather childish and not very probable,” responded Keitaro.  “We all have our own lives to live and our own paths to follow.  I understand that you enjoy spending time with everybody, but it’s kind of selfish to want to keep everybody all to yourself, don’t you think?”

“You guys aren’t my possessions, Kei-kun; you’re my family.  I’m simply doing my part to cement that relationship status, that’s all.  I love all of you guys so very much, and it’s my hope that all of you will feel the same way about me in turn.  Amalla is more-or-less of the same mindset as me, and I know for a fact that most of the other Hinata ladies are pretty much in the same camp as me on that viewpoint,” explained Kaolla.

“You seem so damn sure of yourself on that, as if there’s no way you could possibly be even the slightest bit wrong about that,” replied Keitaro.

“All of the women here at Hinata like you Keitaro, and when I say ‘like,’ I’m saying that they have strong romantic feelings for you.  Even Tsuruko and Haruka have strong feelings for you; they just are reluctant to act outright on them,” said Kaolla.

“And Sarah and Mei?” countered Keitaro.  “You’re really going to tell me that THEY are in love with me as well?”

“Sarah’s become something of a tsundere,” Kaolla responded.  “She’s reluctant to lower her guard, given her history.  She might take a little bit to open up and be honest with her feelings, but in the end, she’ll acknowledge how she feels about you all the same.  And as for Mei, I know that she’s taken a very positive view towards you ever since you helped reconcile things between her and Naru.  I’ve seen her blush and get real cutesy more than once whenever your name comes up in conversation.  Mei admires you, Kei-kun.”

“Admiration and falling in love aren’t exactly the same concept, Kaolla,” replied Keitaro.  “You can look up to somebody without having romantic feelings for them, you know.  I’m guessing that if anything, Mei might see me as something of a big…er, as something of an older brother.”  Kaolla chuckled at Keitaro’s quick rebound in his choice of words, given that with the size difference between Keitaro and the Hinata women that he was more akin to a ‘little’ brother relative to all of them, now that they were in the seven-foot-range or greater in terms of height.

“Once again, Kei-kun, your sense of chivalry is commendable,” replied Kaolla with a chuckle.  “However, I wish that you’d ‘let your hair down’ as the saying goes.  You really need to relax and enjoy what life is offering you from time to time, you know?  I mean, you work hard enough around here as it is, and you’ve endured your share of hardship over the years.  Is it really so wrong of you to indulge in a little fun and embrace being loved by all of these lovely ladies?  I’d wager that most men would go through a whole heap of trouble to be where you are right now, so why not just enjoy what’s happening and ‘go with the flow,’ you know?”

Keitaro was momentarily at a loss for words.  Kaolla was certainly being insistent - though not outright demanding - on this topic as she carried Keitaro towards the baths.  It appeared as though she really did want Keitaro to enjoy himself and partake of the veritable “Shangri-La” of pleasures which awaited him in this little (or perhaps not so little) harem which she was creating for him.

“I…I don’t know,” replied Keitaro.  “It just feels wrong to me.  It feels like I’m cheating on Naru, that I’m being unfaithful.  And it also feels wrong to take advantage of all of you girls as well.”

“Take advantage?” replied Kaolla with a cocked eyebrow and a look of outright shock and alarm on her face before chuckling once more.  “Oh, dear sweet Kei-kun, if anything, you’ve got it backwards.  If anybody would be getting taken advantage of, it would be you, darling.”

“How do you mean?” inquired Keitaro.

“Having thirteen women vying for your attention and affection would put you in a rather precarious situation.  It would certainly be quite the juggling act to pull off.  But no need to worry about that.  Amalla has QUITE the appetite to keep them occupied while each one of them waits her turn with you.  And besides, with a harem this large, it would be beneficial to perform in smaller groups in order to maximize pleasure among as many members as possible.  And in time, once you’ve become more acquainted and experienced in group love-making sessions, you’ll be able to go a round with ALL of us in the same session,” explained Kaolla.  Just the thought of a fourteen-way orgy was getting her percolating, warm, and moist between her legs as she daydreamed about such a scenario.

Kaolla proceeded to enter the baths, which Naru, Kitsune, and Amalla were already in by that point.  All three women were naked (not even bothering to cover up with towels) and sitting in the warm, soothing waters of the hot springs.

“About time you got here,” said Amalla.  “Get in here already.”

Right there and then, Kaolla proceeded to begin stripping Keitaro of all of his clothes.  He tried fighting against the Molmolian girl’s advances, but was quickly stopped in his efforts when out of nowhere swooped in two of Amalla’s servants - both female - and held his arms in place.  While their grip was strong, the ladies placed just enough pressure to hold Keitaro still and not harm him.  A moment later, Keitaro was relieved of all articles of clothing, including his underwear, and leaving him naked for all to see.

The moment his dick became exposed, Keitaro instinctively placed his hands over it out of that sense of modesty and gentlemanly behavior, not wanting to flash his junk in front of the other ladies.  This got a chuckle mixed with a scoff out of Kaolla, who proceeded to pick up Keitaro and carry him bridal-style once more towards the hot springs.

“Anything else you require from us, Princess Kaolla?” asked one of the attendants.

“No thank you.  That’ll be all, ladies,” replied Kaolla with a smile.  “You are dismissed.”  The attendants took their leave right afterwards.

“Wait, were those two waiting here the whole time?” asked Keitaro.

“I had a feeling that you were going to be stubborn upon being undressed, so I felt it necessary as a precaution.  Don’t want to hurt my sweet little Kei-kun, after all,” replied Kaolla with a beaming grin.

Upon reaching the edge of the hot spring, Kaolla set Keitaro along the edge of the water…and straight into Amalla’s waiting arms.  The older Molmolian sister cocooned Keitaro in her own loving embrace before taking a seat once more, with Keitaro firmly in her lap and her spectacular breasts cushioning his head like a pair of pillows.  As Amalla was getting Keitaro firmly in her loving clutches, Kaolla proceeded to disrobe her garments and dip her feet into the water before finally coming all the way into the hot springs.

Now Keitaro found himself in Amalla’s embrace, with Naru, Kitsune, and Kaolla all gathered in the baths in a circular arrangement.  From his viewpoint, it was Kitsune to his left, Kaolla on his right, and Naru in the middle right in front of him, with Amalla DIRECTLY behind him as she held him firmly against her thighs, abdomen, bosom, and crotch.

For their part in all of this, both Naru and Kitsune were still rather taken back by the current developments.  While they wanted some answers as to why the Su sisters were getting fresh with Keitaro on the upper deck (especially Naru), Amalla told them that they would get those answers all in good time.  However, they would first have to join the Su sisters and Keitaro in the hot springs for an evening soak before an explanation would be given.

Kitsune was the type to generally ‘go with the flow’ as the saying goes, but Naru was not so much of the same character, given how her temperament could flare up at times in the past.  However, she was cognizant enough to know that Amalla had a strong enough physique that any attempt at overpowering the older Su sister would most likely be a foolhardy endeavor on Naru’s part.  The sheer definition in Amalla’s abs, biceps, thigh muscles, and calves were quite something to behold.  Unless Naru managed to get the jump on Amalla, she was almost certain to lose in a head-on confrontation with the older Molmolian sister.  So for the time being, Naru would relent and play along with whatever Amalla was planning, though she certainly was bubbling with discomfort at the sight of her boyfriend sitting in the lap of the dark-skinned beauty with her arms draped around his torso and her boobs pressing against the back of his head.

Now that the four women were settled and Keitaro was firmly within Amalla’s grasps, the older Su sister proceeded to begin massaging Keitaro’s shoulder slowly and gingerly.

“How’s that feel, Kei-kun?” asked Amalla as she leaned in and borderline whispered the words into Keitaro’s ear, the tone in her voice dripping with sultry seduction as she spoke.  “Let me know if I’m pressing too hard into you, okay?”

“Umm…Amalla, I appreciate what you’re doing, but that’s really not necessary,” replied Keitaro, who was sporting both a strong blush and an even stronger boner.  Fortunately for him, he was deep down enough in the hot spring waters that his member wasn’t cresting above the waterline.  However, all any of the women gathered had to do was to simply glance straight downward and they would have been able to spot the python of his that was growing longer and longer as Keitaro sat in the presence of so much tantalizing female flesh and pleasing aromas wafting off of them.

“I disagree with that, Kei-kun,” countered Amalla.  “You’re still recovering from a recent injury after all, so I’d say that a little assistance with washing yourself is practically required at this point.  But even if it weren’t, I’d still disagree with you on that statement for another reason.”

“That being?” asked Keitaro.

“It’s not so much a matter of necessity,” continued Amalla.  “It’s more so a matter of bonding and connecting with my future husband.  A wife should be willing to provide all the love and tenderness that her husband could possibly want, after all.”  Amalla finished that last part with a wide grin, clearly enjoying the rise she was getting out of Keitaro in the process as she continued massaging Keitaro’s shoulders, neck, and back.

“I’m sorry, I’m gonna have to step in on hearing that,” Naru clapped back at Amalla’s statement.  “I know you’ve been here for a little while now, Amalla.  So you are more than aware that Keitaro is MY boyfriend, and I don’t really appreciate having another woman just waltz in and declaring that MY Keitaro is now her exclusive lover.”  Naru was still keeping her composure at this point, but only just.

“I never said he was my EXCLUSIVE lover, Naru-chan,” replied Amalla with her Cheshire Cat style grin.  “You were in these very hot springs with me, after all…along with everyone else for that matter.  So, unless you’ve acquired amnesia over the last few hours, you would know that Keitaro is my lover AND yours as well.  You in turn are also my lover and I intend to be yours in turn.  As far as romance goes, it’s pretty simple in the grand scheme of it all:  When it comes to we thirteen ladies and dear Keitaro here, everyone is everyone else’s lover, understand?”

“Now hold on there, Amalla,” countered Naru, “I never consented to such an arrangement.  You can’t just waltz into this place and say, “Hey everyone, guess what?  I’m forming a harem with the whole lot of you!”  I mean, that’s about as hair-brained a concept as I’ve heard in my whole life.  You agree with me on that, right Kitsune?”  Naru turned towards her longtime friend to back her up on that.

To Naru’s surprise, Kitsune simply kept her mouth shut, all the while staring longingly at Keitaro with a blush on her cheeks and her eyes partially opened.  The whole time Amalla and Naru were having their verbal back-and-forth tiff, Kitsune was looking at Keitaro with an overpowering flurry of emotions raging within her - a mix of desire, lust, guilt, and genuine love all swirling round and round within her as she stared at the man of her affections.

“Kitsune?” asked Naru once more, trying to get her friend out of the daze she was in.

“I…” began Kitsune, getting her thoughts together.  “I get that you’re not crazy about havin’ ta share Keitaro an’ all that, but…”

“But?” asked Naru, sensing that she was about to her something she didn’t want to hear from her best friend.

“I…wouldn’t be against that kinda thing,” muttered Kitsune at little more than a whisper, all the while increasing her own blush as she turned her gaze away from Keitaro…and inadvertently placed her hands over her crotch while she did so.  Apparently, just thinking about getting into a harem with the man she loved was getting her rather ‘hot under the collar,’ even if she was a bit too embarrassed to outright embrace the very idea of such a proposition.

“Kitsune!” declared Naru, surprised that her friend was basically siding with Amalla and Kaolla at this point.

“My my my, dear Ki-chan,” replied Amalla, “I’m a little surprised that you’re open to my little proposal at this point.  I figured that you would take a little more coaxing, though I’m certainly not against you siding with me in the midst of all this.  You agree with me on that, right Kaolla?”

“Indeed I do, Big Sis,” chimed Kaolla with her own playful grin.  “I figured that it might take another day or two for Kitsune to come around, though I’m definitely not against her being on board with the harem plan.  That simply helps bring things that much closer to their grand conclusion after all.”

“Hey now,” spoke up Naru once again, “don’t you girls get any funny ideas now.  Even if Kitsune IS open to the idea of what you’re proposing,” Naru shot a frustrated look at her friend implying ‘Way to back me up, Kitsune!’ in a rather sarcastic tone, “that still doesn’t change the reality of the situation:  Keitaro is MY boyfriend and mine alone, understand?”

At this point, Amalla decided that she needed to be more direct in her approach towards Naru.  It wasn’t something that she wanted to do; it was something more akin to what some might call a sort of ‘necessary evil.’  Taking a deep breath and sighing, Amalla proceeded to get up while handing over Keitaro to her sister.

“Kaolla,” began Amalla, “could you be a dear and look after Kei-kun for me?  Naru and I need to have a little ‘heart to heart’ about something.”  As she spoke, Amalla lifted Keitaro with little effort and proceeded to hand him over to her sister.  Kaolla in turn reached out and took Keitaro into her arms.  To her, such a thing was as natural as breathing or blinking.

“Sure thing, Sis,” replied Kaolla.  “I’ll take over while you and Naru clear the air.”  Kaolla proceeded to hold Keitaro against her in the same position which Amalla had held Keitaro just moments ago.  Basically, Kaolla was making sure that there was no way that Keitaro would be able to get out of her grasp whatsoever, especially in his current physical condition.

“Thank you, Kaolla,” replied Amalla as she stood upright, with the hot spring water cascading off of her body and baring all before the assembled group in all of her magnificent splendor.  Pretty much everything about Amalla’s body was magnificent to behold, even before the incident which led to the growth spurts which the Hinata women were experiencing.  Now, in nothing but her birthday suit, Amalla’s figure was quite the sight to behold for all those currently spectating (especially Keitaro, whose raging boner was staying strong and only becoming harder and stiffer at the sight of the towering eight-foot-plus amazon standing right in front of him).

“Now, Naru,” began Amalla in a tone of voice that had become far more serious than it was just seconds ago, “there’s something I feel I must address with you, and in a rather blunt way it seems, given your attitude about these developments.”

“Oh?” replied Naru, sensing that Amalla was about to be rather direct in whatever she was about to say.  “And what would that be, Miss Amalla?”  Right at that moment, Naru was in no mood to back down before the older Su sister, even if she was considered royalty and had a solid height advantage over Naru.  Figuring this talk would be centered on ownership of Keitaro (as a lover), Naru was simply not going to fold in front of Amalla, given that the man she loved was at stake.

“I’m in love with Keitaro, plain and simple,” began Amalla as she stared Naru hard and firm in the eyes.  “I’ve had feelings for him for quite some time now, and they haven’t dissipated in all that time.  In fact, they’ve stayed the same in their intensity…no, that’s not right.  Like you, me, and all the other lovely ladies here at Hinata House, they’ve simply grown and grown and GROWN, becoming all the more powerful in that time.  I’m rather quite smitten with Kei-kun here,” declared Amalla, turning her gaze to Keitaro and giving both a loving smile and a playful, sexy wink as she looked at him.

“Well,” began Naru, “I don’t begrudge you for how you may FEEL about Keitaro.  People are allowed to feel however they want about a person.  I don’t have a problem with that.  What I DO have a problem with is when somebody tries to make a move on my boyfriend, especially right in front of me.”  The ire in Naru’s voice and on her face was quite distinct at this point.

“I see,” replied Amalla, pausing at what she was going to say next.  After taking a deep breath, Amalla focused her gaze upon Naru once more before continuing.

“So, you’re basically declaring that Keitaro is yours and yours alone, correct?” Amalla asked.

“Exactly,” answered Naru.

“So, you would then tell people like Motoko, Kanako, Mutsumi, or even Kitsune here to back off of Keitaro as well then?” inquired Amalla.

“Huh?” asked Naru, surprised that Amalla steered the conversation somewhat off course by bringing others into it.  “Where are you going with this?  Why bring them up?”

“Why not?” replied Amalla.  “I know for a fact that the first three I mentioned all have strong feelings of affection for Keitaro, and I’m fairly certain you knew the same thing before I even brought it up.  And as for Kitsune, her little confession pretty much made it official that she’s in love with Keitaro as well.  So, given those developments, are you willing to fight them off as eagerly as you seem to be doing with me?  Or with Kaolla here?”

“Wh-what are you getting at?” asked a somewhat flustered Naru, who was sporting a blush out of embarrassment by this point.

“Please stop dancing around the issue, Naru,” sighed Amalla, “You know damn well what I’m getting at.  Are you going to look any of those women in the eye - especially Mutsumi out of the four of them, given how soft-hearted and sweet she is - and say to her ‘Look, bitch, stay away from my man or else I’ll scratch your eyes out’?  Hell, Kitsune is sitting right here.  You want to start with her and tell her to back off of Keitaro here and now?  Now’s the opportunity.”  Amalla gestured with her arm towards Kitsune, presenting her before Naru like a gift.

Naru turned towards her fox-eyed friend and was suddenly caught in a whirlwind of emotions.  On the one hand, Kitsune was Naru’s closest friend.  She had known the older girl for years now, going back to their highschool days.  They became fellow dorm mates at Hinata House.  Over time, Naru began seeing Kitsune as an older sister who she could confide in and turn to for advice and a shoulder to cry on when she was at her emotional low points.  However, Kitsune was now a love rival for Keitaro’s affection as well.  The woman pretty much confessed right there and then in the hot springs that (a) she had strong feelings for Keitaro and (b) she didn’t mind being in a harem.  That put Kitsune in a whole new light in Naru’s eyes.

Now that her best friend had also become a love rival, Naru found herself on the fence as to how she should feel about this development.  It had become so damn confusing for her.  There were also the cases of Motoko, Mutsumi, and Kanako as well.  Motoko was an honorable woman, given her samurai-style upbringing, so she simply wasn’t somebody whom Naru could view in a negative light, even IF she was also in love with Keitaro.  Mutsumi was simply too sweet, soft, and kind-hearted a person for Naru to hate.  She had even confided with Naru that she was one of the two promise girls from Keitaro’s childhood days, and she was willing to give up her claim for Keitaro’s heart for the sake of Naru’s own happiness.  Naru simply couldn’t bring herself to hold disdain for Mutsumi, even as a love rival for Keitaro.  And as for Kanako, while Keitaro’s younger adoptive sister was rather bull-headed and confrontational with Naru from the beginning, over time Naru began viewing her in a better light.  She knew that Kanako’s love for Keitaro was genuine, she only wanted her adoptive brother to find happiness and the utmost of bliss, comfort, and joy in life.  Even if Kanako tried to get between Naru and Keitaro back in the day during the whole Old Annex episode from long ago, Naru had decided to let that whole incident become ‘water under the bridge’ and started seeing Kanako more positively from then on (even if the younger woman could be a tad confrontational at times, albeit more passively than before).

“Well, Naru?” asked Amalla once more, “Kitsune is right in front of you, so go ahead.  Tell her to back off of your man, if you’re so adamant about it.  Feel free to include Kaolla as well, since Keitaro is currently in her embrace and not yours.  What are you waiting for?”

“I…I…” Naru was clearly at a loss for words, not sure how to respond to Amalla’s suggestion.

“Besides,” resumed Amalla, “given your past history with Keitaro, I ponder as to whether or not it would be best for you to remain as his lover.”

“W-what are you talking about?” asked Naru with newfound curiosity.

“Well,” began Amalla “from what I’ve gleaned in my encounters with the other ladies, I know that you’ve had a history of physically attacking Keitaro from time to time, with some measure of regular frequency I should note.”

“Hey now, that’s…” replied Naru, trying to counter Amalla’s analysis, though Amalla simply wasn’t going to let up.

“You’ve given Keitaro strikes and blows that would do significant harm to other men, from what I understand.  A punch here, a kick there, a body throw or a karate chop, etc.  And most of those attacks resulted in Keitaro being punched out a window or even through the ceiling, literally speaking.  Those kinds of attacks would result in serious long-term harm and require several weeks if not months of recovery.  Some of them might even be considered fatal, or am I wrong, Naru?” declared Amalla.

Once again, Naru was like a deer in the headlights.  She was at a complete loss for words.  She looked around and saw that the expressions on the others in the baths revealed that what Amalla said rang true.  The deflated looks on the faces of Kaolla, Kitsune, and Keitaro all conveyed a message of shameful truth in what Amalla said.  So even if Naru wanted to deny it, she knew that if Amalla simply asked any of the other three in the baths that they would verify what Amalla said as true.

“And these attacks of yours against Keitaro,” resumed Amalla, “what were they over?  Did he assault a single person here at Hinata?  Did he blackmail or intimidate any of the women here in some nefarious way?  Was he engaged in some kind of criminal activity outside of Hinata?  What made you feel compelled to assault Kei-kun all of those times, Miss Narusegawa?”

“I…he…we…” Naru was once again at a loss for words, starting to shake with equal parts frustration and shame.  It was hard for her to get the words out and admit the reason for all the times she attacked Keitaro in the past.

“Amalla, please, there’s no need for this,” pleaded Keitaro as he looked up at the towering Molmolian beauty.  “Don’t put Naru through this.”

“I’m sorry, Kei-kun,” replied Amalla, turning her gaze towards Keitaro with a somewhat apologetic look on her lovely features, “but this needs to be said.  It’s time to address ‘the elephant in the room’ as the old saying goes.”  Amalla then returned her focus onto Naru.

“So, Naru,” resumed Amalla, “would you care to explain to me why you attacked Keitaro all of those times in the past?  I’m rather curious as to find out the reasoning for all those cases of assault which you initiated onto him.  I’m sure you must have had a rather good reason for doing so, and not acting out of some petty misunderstanding or rushed judgment, right?”  The insinuation in Amalla’s tone of voice was only too obvious by this point.

By this point, Naru’s mind was a jumble of emotions.  It was apparent by this point that Amalla had Naru right in her crosshairs as to her line of questioning.  She was just waiting for Naru to admit the truth as to why she attacked Keitaro all those times in the past.  After mustering enough courage, Naru looked Amalla in the eyes…with tears in her own.

“Fine,” began Naru, “I…attacked Keitaro all those times back then…because…because…”

“Because?” asked Amalla.

“Because I thought he was a pervert all those times,” resumed Naru, choking up as she spoke.  “I thought he was a peeping tom…who was doing something lecherous all those times.  Whether it was on me…or any of the other girls…especially the younger ones, I thought…back then…that Keitaro was up to something…lecherous, okay?”

“Even if he DID engage in anything perverted like that - which I’m extremely doubtful that Keitaro would partake in any such kind of act, at least not on purpose - but even if he did occasionally get a quick peep or glance at one of you girls in a state of undress, is that justifiable grounds to outright attack him?  Did that give you the right to assault Keitaro to the point of severe bodily injury?  It’s a minor miracle that Keitaro’s body heals as fast as it does, otherwise I’d wager that he’d be confined to a hospital bed or a wheelchair for all the times you attacked him in the past.”  Amalla finished her analysis and stared down Naru once more, getting a feel for what the girl was experiencing in that moment.

‘She’s right,’ thought Naru, ‘Of course she’s right.  Even if I can’t bring myself to say the words, she’s absolutely right about all of it.  I’ve attacked Keitaro more times than I can count.  And in spite of it all, he never called the cops on me or ordered to have me evicted from the dorms, even if it would legally have been his right to do so.  Why is he so damn considerate?  How can he be so kind and good to me, after all I’ve done to him?’  Naru glanced down at Keitaro, with tears beginning to form at the edge of her eyes and her lower lip starting to tremble.

For his part, Keitaro looked back up at his towering girlfriend with concern written all over his face.  Amalla wasn’t letting up with her interrogation of Naru’s past actions against Keitaro.  Yet even if it was all basically true, Keitaro took no pleasure in Naru’s ‘dirty laundry’ being aired out in front of the group, especially in front of him.  After all, he loved Naru deeply and wanted to leave events of the past IN the past, not dig them up so they could be used to knock his girlfriend down an emotional peg or two.

“Amalla, please,” insisted Keitaro.  “You’ve said enough.  Don’t do this to her.”  Surprisingly, Keitaro found the strength to break out of Kaolla’s embrace, stepping forward towards both Amalla and Naru.

By this point, Naru’s head was swirling with emotion over what to do.  Part of her wanted to slap Amalla across the face and shout “You bitch!” for bringing up her past episodes of assault against Keitaro, but that would only prove Amalla’s point that Naru was quick to anger and even quicker to physically lash out.  It would be an outright admission that Naru didn’t deserve to be with Keitaro - that she was simply too violent to be his girlfriend, let alone his wife.  Naru was also feeling intense guilt at having to revisit her past sins, reliving in her mind every punch, kick, body throw, or any other act of assault against the man she had grown to love over time.  Eventually, after letting the whirlwind of emotion cloud her mind, Naru did the only thing she could think to do in that very moment:  She cried.

Right there and then, Naru fell to her knees, buried her head into her hands, and began sobbing heavily in front of everyone.  Her sobbing was so pronounced that her body was practically convulsing in response.  All of the guilt from Naru’s past transgressions upon Keitaro had finally caught up to her, and her conscience was bubbling up as a result of it.

“I’m sorry!” cried Naru into her hands as she weeped.  “I’m…so sorry!

Acting on pure instinct, Keitaro marched right up to Naru and pried her hands away from her face.  Given that Naru was currently on her knees, Keitaro had a slight height advantage over her since he was standing up, but only just.

“Naru!” said Keitaro.  “Naru, please look at me!”  While Keitaro’s voice was loud, it wasn’t anger filled.  He was merely trying to get his girlfriend’s attention and get her mind out of the guilt trip she was in.  Keitaro was rewarded for his efforts when Naru locked eyes with him, with tears streaming down her face like waterfalls by that point.

“Please,” insisted Keitaro, “please don’t beat yourself up over this.  What’s passed is in the past, and I don’t care about that stuff anymore.  I love you, understand?  And it feels like there’s a hole in my chest or a deep pit in my gut when I see you like this.  So please…please don’t do this to yourself.  I don’t want to see you like this, please.”

The look in Keitaro’s eyes and the pleading insistence in his voice were simply too much for Naru to act on rational thought.  In that very moment, when Naru was at an emotional low point and Keitaro had come in to be her knight in shining armor and forgive her for her past transgressions, Naru simply acted on pure instinct.

Lifting her hands up and palming the sides of Keitaro’s head, Naru brought her lips towards Keitaro’s and kissed him, pouring all of her love and passion for the man into her kiss.  While Keitaro was taken by surprise from Naru’s sudden forwardness, he returned the kiss in kind, wondering if he should be bold and initiate a little tongue-play.  He didn’t have to worry about that, because Naru ended up being the one to turn the kissing session into a French kissing session, invading Keitaro’s mouth with all the gusto and ferocity of a German blitzkrieg.

For her part, Amalla was both sad and happy for her part in what had occurred:  Sad for having to interrogate Naru and putting her past crimes against Keitaro for everyone present to witness, yet happy that Keitaro came in to help pick Naru back up from the emotional trainwreck she was on the verge of becoming.  It gave Amalla no pleasure to air out Naru’s ‘dirty laundry’ regarding how she treated Keitaro in the past, but at the same time she felt it was necessary in order for the harem plan to proceed.

Kneeling down, Amalla placed a hand on Naru’s shoulder to get the woman’s attention.  While Naru was reluctant to end the kissing session with Keitaro, she relented and turned around to face Amalla.

“I’m sorry I put you through that, Naru,” said Amalla, “but I felt that the ‘elephant in the room’ had to be addressed sooner or later.  No hard feelings?”  Naru simply responded with a slow nod, still in too delicate a state to speak clearly at that moment.  She then turned her attention back towards Keitaro.

“I’m…so sorry…for all I did to you…back then,” said Naru at little over a whisper to Keitaro.  “I should have…known better.  But I’ll make it up to you…I swear…I promise.”  She proceeded to seize Keitaro’s lips in hers once more, while guiding his hands to her substantial bosom and directing his palms to massage her mounds, feeling up every square inch of titflesh in the process.

“I [smooch] love you [smooch] so very [smooch] very [smooch] much [smooch].” said Naru in between kisses to Keitaro as her tears began to dry and her mood calmed down somewhat.

“I know [smooch] you do [smooch],” replied Keitaro, giving his all in trying to make Naru feel better between the kissing and the breast massage he was giving her.  If the soft moans she was giving were any indicator, he was doing a fine job all around.

After a solid minute or two of smooching and caressing, Naru sat herself back down, this time being the one to hold Keitaro seated against her torso and his head between her bosom while he sat.  It was obvious enough to the other women present that this was done because (1) Naru was jealous of Amalla having Keitaro in her lap and embrace not so long ago, (2) Naru wanted to reassert that Keitaro was HER boyfriend first and foremost, and (3) Naru needed to have Keitaro close at hand to help keep her mind at peace at that moment.

“So,” began Amalla, “have you settled down somewhat, Naru-chan?”

“Now I’m Naru-chan now, am I?” replied Naru, nuzzling her head into Keitaro’s scalp and breathing in his aroma, while at the same time snuggling his comparatively smaller frame against her larger body (and caressing his erect member underneath the bathwater all the while, much to Keitaro’s embarrassment).

“All of you are precious to me, my dear Naru-chan,” replied Amalla.  “I’m sorry about putting you through that, but I felt it necessary in part for the good of the harem plan.  I didn’t want to simply bring you down out of any malice, merely to help bring things forward to their ultimate end, that’s all.”

“Sorry ta interject an’ all,” Kitsune chimed in, “but how did knockin’ Naru down a peg or two figure inta that exactly?”

“Well, dear Ki-chan,” replied Amalla, “a part of me thought about simply putting Na-chan in her place and snatching Kei-kun out from under her, at least initially anyway.  But since I intend to be with both of them along with everyone else, that simply wouldn’t do.  I thought that by mentioning you and the other girls, that Naru’s defenses on claiming Keitaro as her own might falter somewhat.  Bringing up past events was simply a way to press the advantage, that’s all.”

“There’s also my little countermeasure to help move things along as well,” added Kaolla at little more than a whisper.

“What was that?” inquired Kitsune.

“Oh nothing, dear sweet Ki-chan, nothing at all,” replied Kaolla in a normal speaking volume once more.  She shot her older sister a cutesy little wink in the process, basically implying that the two of them were ‘in the know’ on something, and they didn’t feel like telling.

“I’m not sure I like what you two are up to,” muttered Naru as she increased her hold on Keitaro as if he were a big teddy bear she had just won at a carnival game.  For the time being, Keitaro was her emotional pillar and she needed him as close by as possible.  Amalla couldn’t help but find the display to be rather cute.  In her mind, the only thing that would be even better would be to have Keitaro sandwiched between both her and Naru in a hot-and-heavy threeway love session.  After all, Amalla was definitely the hungriest out of everyone at Hinata House, so the act of initiating a threeway would be little more than an appetizer when it came to satisfying Amalla’s hunger for making love (especially since she had engaged in an orgy not so long ago before entering the baths).

The ladies and Keitaro proceeded to simply bask in the warming waters, with Naru keeping Keitaro in her clutches all the while.  While the other women (especially Amalla) wanted some one-on-one time with Keitaro, whether it was the act of bathing him, massaging him, or caressing and fondling his body (especially his rather engorged member), they all felt it was best for Naru to have this tender moment with Keitaro.  There would be time enough for the other Hinata ladies to have their turn with Keitaro.

Soon enough, the back doors opened and out came the remaining Hinata women (all of them ducking through the doorway, once more reminding themselves and Keitaro of their size) with nothing but undersized towels in their possession.

Alarmed by this sudden expansion of the bathing group, Keitaro asked Amalla and Kaolla if they had anything to do with this.

“We notified the staff to wake them up shortly after our arrival in the baths,” answered Amalla.  “We figured it would be best for them to wash…certain aromas off of their bodies.”

“What kinds of aromas?” asked Keitaro, soon after regretting his line of inquiry.

“The smell of sex, Kei-kun,” replied Kaolla with a grin.  The reaction of shock on Keitaro’s face got a chuckle out of both Amalla and Kaolla, who couldn’t help but find his alarm rather adorable and endearing.

‘So then, those noises I heard earlier coming from their bedrooms,’ thought Keitaro to himself as he blushed heavily and risked having a nosebleed from imagining just what was going on in those rooms while he was passing by.

“We figured it was best for them to clean themselves up once they were rested and recovered,” continued Amalla, “though I must confess, I’m rather hungry to go another round now that we’re all here…and I am of course including you, Naru, and Kitsune, my dear sweet little Kei-kun.”  Amalla finished with a wide toothy grin on her face, clearly implying that she was up for another round of love making with an even bigger orgy this time around.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not joking?” muttered Keitaro, who found his grip in Naru’s possession tightening all the more.

“Because I’m not, darling,” replied Amalla without missing a beat.  Clearly, the older Molmolian girl had the stamina and the hunger to go another round for some hardcore love making with literally EVERYONE right there and then.

The other Hinata women began seating themselves throughout the hot springs and proceeded both washing one another’s backs and making small talk all the while.  Even Kanako appeared in a rather amicable mood and in good spirits, as opposed to her more reserved nature when in group settings.  It was somewhat out of character for her.

What was most alarming about the whole situation from Keitaro’s perspective was that none of the women took issue with bathing in the hot springs alongside Keitaro.  Some of them (specifically Shinobu, Motoko, Sarah, and Mei) were sporting strong blushes - out a mix of both embarrassment and being turned on in the presence of Keitaro - yet not a single one of them objected to bathing alongside Keitaro.

‘Seems the pills are doing what they’re intended to do after all,’ thought Kaolla with a grin at this development.  ‘Things should be proceeding smoothly now.  It won’t be long before we end up having EVERYONE on board with the harem plan, then we can REALLY have some fun afterwards.’

Kaolla took pride in what was occurring, and would have enjoyed the moment more…if not for an old familiar feeling that was welling within the very core of her being.  It wasn’t a painful feeling she was experiencing - quite the opposite in fact.  The sensation was pleasurable, even downright orgasmic.  The problem was that this old familiar feeling was an indicator of what was to come, and not just to Kaolla, but to all the Hinata women simultaneously.

Sure enough, panting and moaning started to occur among every single one of the Hinata women, all of whom were sporting distinct blushes on their cheeks and feeling outright sexual bliss emanating from their loins.  With all the heavy breathing, profuse sweating, pounding heartbeats, and erect nipples, the Hinata women were practically engaged in another mass orgy, all without the act of engaging in actual intercourse.

“Oh no,” moaned Shinobu, “not again!” she finished with a moan.

Sure enough, just as Shinobu and some of the other women feared, their bodies began to enlarge, growing inch by inch in the bath waters.  Given their proximity to one another, the sound of the growth was quite distinct.  It was a sort of deep cracking and groaning sound, like a mighty tree slowly twisting in a windstorm, than handling of a balloon in a deeper octave than normal, or the creaking of leather with more bass in the overall noise.

“Kaolla,” moaned Haruka, “I thought you said those pills we took were supposed to [moan] counteract this!”

“I said that they [pant] would LIMIT the amount of growth, not [moan] stop it altogether,” replied Kaolla.

‘It seems I miscalculated on the countermeasure where growth is concerned,’ thought Kaolla as she observed the growth spurt happening among the assembled female party.

From Keitaro’s perspective, the entire experience was beyond surreal, especially since he was currently seated in Naru’s lap feeling her body enlarge against his.  Her breasts slowly started rising higher over his head.  Her hips grew wider and her legs became longer, making more room for Keitaro to sit comfortably in Naru’s lap.  Her arms stretched longer, allowing her to further secure Keitaro all the more snuggly, which Naru did indeed (and then some!).

Breathing heavily while experiencing waves of pleasure, Naru tightened her hold on her lover, completely enrapturing him in her embrace with newfound gusto, passion, and a greatly heightened libido.  During her growth spurt, Naru flipped Keitaro around so that he was facing her instead of leaning against her light a chair.  She then looked down at him with dreamy eyes as her body grew upward and outward, proceeding to French kiss him once again while she grew, holding his head in her hands.  From Naru’s perspective, Keitaro’s head was no larger than a football, with the palms of her hands covering his cheeks while her fingers easily encircled the scalp of his head.

While Keitaro was certainly enjoying the renewed makeout session with his growing girlfriend, he was also enraptured by the growth to which he had a front-row seat to witness, as well as that among all the other Hinata women, who were pretty much having orgasmic responses to the growth as it occurred.

After a handful of minutes, the growth eventually subsided, and the Hinata women had calmed down from their climaxes, panting all the while as they started to relax from the sexually-induced high they had collectively experienced.

Deciding to find out what their new heights were, Kaolla reached over towards the edge of the pool, where she placed her tracking device pertaining to the size statistics of all the Hinata House women.  After taking her scanner and scanning each of the Hinata women one by one, Kaolla waited for the statistics to come out.

“Well, Kaolla?” inquired Kanako  “What’s the verdict?”

“It would seem that I made a…tiny miscalculation on my part with regards to my countermeasure,” replied Kaolla with a bit of chuckle.

“I wouldn’t refer to what we just experienced as ‘tiny,’ Kaolla,” replied Motoko, who was in awe of both what had just happened and the after effects of what she saw before her.

“No point in ‘beating around the bush,’ Kaolla,” chimed Amalla.  “Might as well share with us since we’re all here.”

Kaolla read out the new size statistics for all the Hinata women:

• Naru: 8’6”

• Kitsune 8’9”

• Shinobu: 8’2”

• Motoko: 9’0”

• Kaolla: 8’0”

• Mutsumi: 8’8”

• Haruka: 8’10”

• Kanako: 8’4”

• Sarah: 8’0”

• Mei: 8’2”

• Nyamo: 8’3”

• Amalla: 9’3”

• Tsuruko: 9’6”

“Good heavens!” declared Mutsumi.  “That’s quite a leap compared to last time.”

“Eight feet tall,” whispered Sarah, repeating her newly adjusted height.

“I was big enough before,” grumbled Haruka.

The sentiments among the other women varied from surprised to worried to being in sheer awe of how much they had grown in so short a time.

‘Guess I’ll need to fast-track my contingency plan sooner than I originally planned,’ thought Kaolla, ‘otherwise, sleeping or even standing indoors is going to be impossible before we realize it.’

“Don’t worry,” declared the younger Su sister, “I’ll have new clothes printed out for everyone once bathtime is over, rest assured.  So until then, let’s just enjoy our nice long soak and not fret over such things.”

So the Hinata women returned to sitting in the hot springs to serve as a welcome distraction to their group growth spurt, even if the waters were now comparatively more shallow and the surface area of the baths was feeling more crowded and diminished compared to just moments ago.

‘Should probably alter the size of the baths too while I’m at it,’ thought Kaolla with a sigh, ‘otherwise we’ll end up literally pressed against each other while bathing, and that simply will not do.’

‘Will wonders ever cease?’ thought Keitaro.

The act of witnessing the same thing more than once would usually sap out any and all sense of surprise upon seeing the same act play out over and over.  However, under the current circumstances, that logical supposition didn’t hold any weight.  After all, the sight of thirteen women transforming into outright amazons is something that people don’t wake up seeing in their day-to-day lives.  That sort of thing was left to the realm of fantasy (or those storyboards posting something in the area of fanfiction, fanservice, or fetishism), not reality.

Now that the Hinata women had calmed down from their latest round of growth - and the sexually-charged ‘high’ that came with it - they now had time to really take in their ever-shrinking surroundings.  While the Hinata hot springs were certainly spacious enough to fit more than a dozen people at a time, they were meant for normal-sized human beings.  When the occupants are women who vary between 8 feet to 9-and-a-half feet tall, things tend to start becoming…rather crowded, to say the least.

The women couldn’t help but notice that given their latest round of growth that the scale of their surroundings had become all the more smaller by comparison:  The bath water had become shallower and the amount of free space in the baths had shrunk substantially.  This left more and more of their enticingly seductive bodies on display in the cool night air.  Even the simple act of bending their legs while seated now exposed their knees, poking out like islands in the bathwater, while more and more of their torsos became exposed as they rose out higher from their newly elevated position, even though the women were seated perfectly still.

“Oh god,” groaned Kanako, “we’re gonna end up ten feet tall in another day or two with the way this is going.”

“So Kaolla,” spoke up Haruka, feeling the urge for another cigarette to help calm her nerves, “would you care to explain how your little experimental pill is faring?  Because from what I recall, you said that the next spurt would be around two or three inches, according to your calculations.  But from what I gather, we’ve all shot up around…a good foot or so, if I were to guess?”

“To be fair, Haru-chan,” replied Kaolla with a somewhat embarrassed grin, “I DID say that the pills were experimental.  I had no guinea pigs to test them on, so I had to hope for the best that they would do their job.  At the very least, the next growth spurt shouldn’t be for another twenty-four hours, give or take an hour by my calculations.”

“And when that growth spurt DOES occur,” said Kanako, “how big a spurt are we talking?  Another six inches?  A foot?  More even?”  The tone in Kanako’s voice was all too apparent that she was in no mood for joking about the matter, even more so than Haruka by comparison, and that was saying something.

“In the worst case scenario, I’d say maybe another foot or so,” answered Kaolla.

“Is that your professional opinion or just a gut feeling?” inquired Haruka.

“Let’s go with the former on that supposition, Haru-chan.” replied Kaolla with a playful smirk and poking out of her tongue as she winked in jest.

“I wish you’d take this a little more seriously, Kaolla,” interjected Motoko.  “It’s hard enough trying to live our lives as big as we are now.  I’m sure you can imagine how difficult it’s going to be if we all end up in double-digit territory in the height department if this keeps up at the current rate.  I mean, look at your sister and mine.  They’re not far from hitting ten feet in height already.  They’re now unable to stand upright in most rooms without bumping their heads into the ceiling.”

“No need to worry on my behalf, Mo-chan,” replied Amalla with her own grin.  “This might come off as odd, but I’m kind of turned on by being too big for most rooms.  It’s sort of exhilarating in a way.”

“You can’t be serious, Amalla,” replied Motoko before turning to her sister.  “Tsuruko, tell me that sounds preposterous to you.  I’m right, right?”

For her part, Tsuruko merely looked downward into her lap (well, mainly at her generous bosom to be exact), struggling to maintain eye contact with her sister.  Though she was reluctant to say it openly, she was in fact also turned on by the increased growth, becoming larger and more powerful in an ever-shrinking world.  She simply couldn’t yet bring herself to outright and openly agree with Amalla’s declaration, not yet at least.

Tsuruko’s body language must have said enough, for Motoko simply stared wide-eyed at her older sister, clearly at a loss for words.  Even if Tsuruko wouldn’t say a word on the matter, her inability to vocally agree with Motoko right there on the spot let Motoko know that Tsuruko’s frame of mind was becoming more in line with Amalla’s than with her’s, both with regards to these growth spurts and with forming a harem centered around Keitaro.

“Please, Kaolla,” insisted Shinobu who was nearly on the verge of tearing up, “PLEASE tell me that you’ll do something about this.  We’re already way too big as it is!  How are we gonna live our lives as we are?  There’s no way we can go to school or outside in general without drawing attention to ourselves.  I don’t want to push you on this, but you’ve really gotta find a solution to all of this and fast, or else things are gonna…are gonna…”  Shinobu was starting to tear up and on the verge of an all-out emotional breakdown, when suddenly she was interrupted, and not by one but TWO girls at that moment.

The first girl was Kaolla herself, who simply crawled forward and gave a rather endearing kiss on Shinobu’s lips.  While there was no tongue-play involved in the kiss, it was no less endearing or affectionate either.  There were times where Kaolla felt that words simply weren’t going to cut it, at least not when it came to calming down Shinobu.  Therefore, taking a more direct approach was deemed necessary in order to help assuage the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl of her worries.

The other girl who ended up joining in was Nyamo, who came up from behind Shinobu and wrapped her arms around Shinobu’s torso.  However, she didn’t merely let her arms rest on one spot, but ended up caressing and massaging all over Shinobu’s front, from her neck all the way down to her maidenhood, with most of the attention focused on either Shinobu’s substantial bosom or her super-smooth, perfectly-proportioned stomach.  Nyamo must have been hitting all the right spots with her half-hug/half-massage, at least if the moan elicited from Shinobu’s lips and the newfound blush on her cheeks were any indicators.

It was this mix of Kaolla’s endearing smoochfest and Nyamo’s equally endearing caressing that brought Shinobu from the point of having another tearful emotional breakdown and simply resigning herself to the blissful euphoria she found herself being subjected to.  While the more rational part of her brain would be screaming “What are you doing?!” at both Kaolla and Nyamo, she was simply too ‘in the moment’ to be concerned with such things and simply let the wondrous pleasure of both Kaolla’s lips and Nyamo’s caressing carry her mind away to a state of pure, heartfelt nirvana.

After a good minute or so of drowning in affection, Shinobu had finally calmed down.  For the rest of the Hinata ladies (and especially for Keitaro), the show was quite something to behold.  There wasn’t a single cheek that didn’t have a blush painted on it during that moment.  Even Amalla was rather wide-eyed and sporting a modest hue of pink rosiness on her lovely dark-skinned complexion.  The sight of both her sister and another young lady ganging up on Shinobu (with the intent to calm her down, mind you) was a rather titillating show to behold, which was getting Amalla…scratch that, getting ALL of the Hinata women percolating and ‘in the mood’ after witnessing such a thing.

“Feel better now, Shinobu?” asked Kaolla with a gentle smile, her voice at just above a whisper.

Shinobu could only pant in response, her breathing slow and heavy, while her cheeks sported the heaviest blush out of everyone in the assembled party.  Even though she had engaged in - or more accurately ended up being roped into - a hardcore makeout session and some playful ‘hanky panky’ just a few hours prior, the experience of lovemaking was still an overwhelming thing for her to partake in.  While she certainly didn’t mind it in the slightest, she always found herself at a loss for words as she basked in the afterglow of a good, hardcore makeout session.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” continued Kaolla with a grin as she turned her focus towards Nyamo.  “What do you think, Nyamo-chan?”

“I’d say ‘job well done’ on this,” answered Nyamo, her arms still wrapped around Shinobu, with one hand caressing Shinobu’s bosom and alternating from one breast to another while the other went under the bathwater towards Shinobu’s super-sensitive, extra delicate maidenhood, fingers tracing along it with the utmost gentleness, which garnered a raspy moan from Shinobu in response.

“Er-ghem,” coughed Kanako, trying to break up the hardcore makeout session that was going on in front of everybody.  “By any chance would you ladies like to wrap things up?”

“What’s wrong, Kana-chan?” asked Kaolla as she turned her gaze towards the younger Urashima sibling.  “Feeling left out?  If you need some quality attention, all you have to do is ask?”  While the tone in Kaolla’s voice was playful, it was also apparent to Kanako (and pretty much everyone else) that Kaolla wasn’t joking.  Even after the fiveway makeout session which she partook in, Kaolla was apparently ready for another go-around, in this case ready to rope in Kanako into the little makeout session she had going on with Shinobu and Nyamo.

“That’s not what I’m talking about and you damn well know it,” replied a rather flushted Kanako, sporting her own blush in the process.

“Now now, Kaolla,” said Amalla, feeling the need to intercede somewhat, “no need to get Kana-chan here all ‘hot under the collar’ as the saying goes, at least not right now anyways.”  The meaning behind the last part of what Amalla said was lost on very few women, least of all Kanako herself who was tempted to stare daggers at the older Su sister for such a remark, but simply couldn’t bring herself to do so (especially not after the romp the two engaged in during the orgy that took place in Haruka’s room just a few hours back).

“So,” said Mei, feeling the need to break the ice and steer things away from less erotic matters, “do you have a plan of action, Kaolla?  Maybe back to the drawing board with these little pills of yours and all that?  I mean, you’ll want to do something about this sooner rather than later, given these developments.  At least, that’s what I’m assuming, anyway.”

“You’ve pretty much read my mind on that, Mei-chan,” Kaolla answered with a grin.  “Don’t you worry.  I’ll have another round of countermeasure pills whipped up and ready first thing tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, the revised formula should have the intended effect on us and slow things down substantially.”

“Hopefully?” asked Kanako, the angst made all too clear in her voice.  Obviously, she didn’t like it whenever there was any wiggle room made for error when it came to Kaolla’s latest cuckoo experiment.

“Relax, Kana-chan,” replied Kaolla.  “I’m 99.99 percent certain that (a) there shouldn’t be another growth spurt for a good twenty-four hours, and (b) the next round of pills will have the desired effect once created and ingested.  This may come off as ironic, coming from someone who dabbles in science more than religion, but please have a little faith, okay?”

Kanako simply grumbled in response, not wanting to exacerbate things any further or get into a heated argument with Kaolla or anyone else for that matter.  After all, even if she wasn’t thrilled about the latest round of growth, she realized that Kaolla was the group’s best chance at correcting things as they were.  At the very least, she was hopeful that the Molmolian super genius would indeed have something ready come morning that would slow down the rate of growth they were all experiencing.

During all the back-and-forth banter going on between several of the Hinata women, Naru remained silently seated the whole time. Maintaining her loving embrace of Keitaro all the while, she held him firmly against her torso and bosom while she secured him in her arms, occasionally nuzzling his scalp with her nose as she breathed in deeply, finding comfort in his aroma.  From Naru’s perspective, Keitaro was like a big teddy bear that one might win as a prize at some kind of carnival game.  He was certainly small enough relative to Naru to be comparable to such a thing anyway.

From Keitaro’s perspective, the last few minutes were outright amazing.  As he perceived them, the spectacle of watching over a dozen women transform into growing amazons was exhilarating, titillating, highly arousing, and perhaps just a tiny bit terrifying as well.  He knew damn well that any single one of them was now far stronger than he was, especially in his current physical state.  Hell, any one of them was probably stronger than more than 99 percent of men on the planet, given that all of them ranged between 8 feet to 9-and-a-half feet in height now.  And all of those women were gathered before him with the most spectacular of bodies, all of which rivaling if not downright surpassing that of the most renowned supermodels on the planet.  With curves in all the right places, enlarged breasts and buttcheeks, and refined and strengthened muscles throughout their torsos, arms, legs and calves, these women had all become downright walking, talking wet dreams - all thirteen of them no less!  And all of this because of Kaolla’s little growth hormone in a bottle.  Before he could marvel any further at the sight before him, Keitaro’s concentration was broken by a particularly busty member of the Hinata women who was making her way closer to him.

“Are you okay, Kei-kun?” asked Mutsumi as she crawled towards Keitaro, eyeing him intently.  “You seem kind of distracted.”  The look of concern on Mutsumi’s face was only too obvious, given her kindhearted nature.  Given her warm and endearing character, Mutsumi Otohime was only too concerned about Keitaro’s well-being, especially since she was deeply in love with him just like Naru Narusegawa was in love with him.

“I…I’m fine, Mutsumi.  Thank you for asking, but there’s no need to worry,” replied a rather flustered Ketiaro, given that he was currently viewing an extremely busty woman more than eight feet in height sauntering her way towards him on all fours in a rather seductive manner.  With the way her breasts swayed as she crawled closer to him, Keitaro couldn’t help but blush intensely at the sight before him, feeling a perverted nosebleed coming any minute now.

“You sure, Kei-kun?” Mutsumi asked, her face less than a foot apart from Keitaro’s as she leaned in looking downward at her beloved.  “Your face is pretty red.  You’re not catching a fever or something, are you?”  Before Keitaro could even respond, Mutsumi leaned in so that her forehead was gently pressed against Keitaro’s forehead.

Whatever sexual angst Keitaro was feeling up to that point, the moment Mutsumi made physical contact with him, that angst had at least doubled if not tripled right there and then.  Keitaro’s breath caught in his throat as Mutsumi’s super soft skin brushed up against his.  Her lovely features filled his vision, especially the glossy shine of her lips and the equally endearing shine reflecting in her lovely brown eyes.  Damn near everything about her face was exquisite, having a heavenly, matronly appearance adorning her countenance.  And of course there was that exquisite feminine aroma of hers, reminiscent of watermelon.  All of it combined was driving Keitaro crazy and on the verge of giving into his baser, animalistic impulses and locking lips with her while caressing those stupendous mounds dangling from her chest.

“Y-yes I’m perfectly fine Mutsumi,” said Keitaro in a rather shaky voice.  “Y-you can p-pull back now, if you don’t mind.”  He hoped that after saying so, the towering busty Okinawan beauty would pull away and give him some breathing room.  However, quite the opposite ended up happening.

Mutsumi simply smiled a particularly warming, motherly smile as she gazed into Keitaro’s eyes before leaning in and smooching him as she inhaled deeply, taking in Keitaro’s aroma as she closed her eyes and gently moaned during the kiss.

Keitaro’s mind was now being overloaded with simply too much pleasure for him to stand against.  While the rational part of his brain was telling him ‘Come on, man!  Push her off, already!  She’s making out with you while you’re sitting in your girlfriend’s lap, for crying out loud!’, the baser part of his brain was overruling that part, saying things like ‘Finally!  About freakin’ time already!  This girl has had the hots for you for so long, so man up and return her feelings already, dammit!’

Though he tried his hardest to muster up some amount of resistance to the smoochfest Mutsumi was laying upon him, Keitaro was fast losing the will to resist.  Between her heavenly aroma and the softness of her lips, Keitaro was getting ready to abandon reason and simply embrace the heat of the moment as it was unfolding.

“Hey now,” spoke up a rather familiar voice right behind and above Keitaro.

‘That’s it, I’m a dead man,’ thought Keitaro.  ‘Naru’s going to grab me by the head and snap my neck in one swift motion.  At least, that’s how I hope it’ll pan out anyway - quick and painless and all that.’  Given his past experiences with Naru, he assumed that was how things would proceed from that point on, or some measure of violence being taken against him for a somewhat perverted action he took part in, even if it wasn’t his fault.

“No fair, Mu-chan,” moaned Naru as she made a rather adorable pouty face.  She proceeded to tug Keitaro away, finally breaking the kiss between him and Mutsumi.  Keitaro inhaled deeply through the mouth, but he only had a few seconds of free air before his mouth was assaulted once more, buy none other than Naru Narusegawa as she leaned down and seized Keitaro’s lips within her own, initiating another round of French kissing onto her boyfriend.

‘What in the hell?!’ thought the rational part of Keitaro’s mind.  In pretty much the whole time he had come to know Naru, he downright expected her to lash out physically in one way or another after witnessing him kissing another woman.  Aside from the last few weeks, Naru was practically guaranteed to assault Keitaro over some sexually-charged misunderstanding or accident on his part.  He had certainly been attacked for lesser acts.  Yet now here was Naru, engaging in nothing more than a hardcore makeout session onto Keitaro after seeing him kissing Mutsumi.  Was she serious about improving?  Did she mean what she said earlier to Keitaro during her little emotional breakdown?  If what was happening was any indicator of that promise, then Naru was off to a good start in honoring it.

Just like Keitaro, the other Hinata women were rather surprised at Naru’s reaction - and display of affection - after witnessing the smoochfest between Keitaro and Mutsumi.  Even Mutsumi herself was a little taken back by Naru’s rather “out of character” response.  Some of the women suspected that the elder Narusegawa sister would clock Keitaro in the head right there and then, or at least give him a harsh reprimanding of some kind.  But aside from some cutesy pouting, she did nothing whatsoever.  In fact, some pondered if Naru was almost inadvertently inviting Mutsumi to some kind of challenge for Keitaro’s affection, as if it was some kind of battle between the two women over the man whom they both loved dearly.

As Naru was going to town on Keitaro’s mouth and throat with her kiss, holding on for as long as possible in the embrace, several of the Hinata women couldn’t help but say the same word at the same time:  “Mu-chan?”

Upon finishing the kiss, Naru looked around the gathered assembly of the Hinata ladies, blushing strongly all the while.  Whether the blush was out of embarrassment or from the heat of the moment was anybody’s guess; most likely it was a mix of both.  She comforted herself by once more wrapping her arms securely around Keitaro while nuzzling her face into his scalp and breathing in his scent.  It appeared to both calm her and stimulate her at the same time, as contradictory of a concept as that might be.

“Well well well, Naru-chan,” began Amalla with a wry smile of hers, “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you refer to anybody here with the suffix ‘-chan’ in all the time I’ve known you.  And yet here you are talking to our dear sweet Mutsumi using that very suffix.  Might I ask what has brought about this wonderful change of heart, by chance?”

All Naru could do was nuzzle deeper against Keitaro as if he were some kind of emotional support animal or a stuffed animal that children would snuggle up against to help them fall asleep.  The sight of such a thing was as adorable as it was surprising.  Naru Narusegawa was at a loss for words and now resorting to holding her lover firmly against her body as an emotional defense mechanism, keeping her grip firm but never to the point of harming him.

“Alright now, Amalla,” said Kaolla, “no need to tease the poor girl too much.  Besides, I think we might have hit a breakthrough if this little turn of events is any indication of such.”

“How do you mean?” replied Amalla with a raised eyebrow.

Kaolla decided that her explanation was only for her and her big sister to know at the moment, making her way across the baths and plopping herself down next to Amalla before leaning in and cupping her hand over the space between her mouth and Amalla’s ear, keeping her voice to no more than a whisper.

“Think about it, Amalla,” began Kaolla.  “With Naru’s change in behavior towards both Keitaro and Mutsumi, I believe that this means a step in the right direction towards getting her on board with the harem plan.  It’s mainly guesswork right now, but I believe that both my little countermeasure and your heart-to-heart with Naru have helped move her towards being more open to our group proposal.  She might not be fully on board just yet, but she’s not so far from being so either.  She just needs a little push in order to get her fully on board with the harem plan.  And I think I have an idea as to how to get that to happen, and tonight no less.”  Kaolla finished her explanation with a grin, while Amalla grinned and chuckled lightly with glee after hearing her sister’s next steps.

“What are you two whispering about, if you don’t mind my asking?” inquired a very curious Tsuruko Aoyama, having a general feeling what the Su sisters were up to.

“I second that question.” added Motoko, sitting next to her older sister.  “I don’t suppose either of you would mind sharing whatever it is you’re discussing by chance?”

“My apologies, Tsu-chan, Mo-chan,” replied a giggling Amalla.  “It’s currently on a ‘need to know’ basis, but rest assured it’s nothing malicious or underhanded.  So you two can relax your worries and simply bask in the heavily hot spring waters.”  Amalla finished with a wink and playfully sticking out her tongue.

Deciding not to push on the topic any further, both of the Aoyama sisters decided to relent, each of them sighing and lowering their bodies as far as they could into the hot spring waters.  Such an act was proving somewhat difficult, given that their bodies had grown significantly in size not so long ago.  The recent growth spurt had made both the waters more shallow and the overall area of the baths more crowded for ALL the Hinata women, after all.

So it was that for the next hour or so, all thirteen women and Keitaro simply basked in the heavenly feel of the Hinata hot springs, taking in their warmth and letting it melt their worries away.  Of course, from Keitaro’s perspective, it was just a tad bit hard to relax when you find yourself in the warm embrace of your towering, eight-foot-plus girlfriend, with her arms wrapped around you and her gigantic bosom pressing against your back and neck.  While the experience of it all was certainly enjoyable, it was a little bit hard to relax with all of the sexual angst that came as a result from such stimulating contact.  Even if Keitaro tried his damndest to not become too aroused by all of it, his ‘lower member’ would let the truth be known only too well regarding Keitaro’s deep desires.

It was the arrival of said ‘member’ poking out from underneath the bathwater and getting Mutsumi’s attention, followed by the attention of all the other Hinata women.

Staring wide-eyed at the lower appendage as it grew longer and fatter, Mutsumi’s breathing became slower and heavier as she leaned in to get a closer look at it.  The Okinawan woman was in awe of just how BIG it was growing, and couldn’t help but give in to her baser, more animalistic urges as she neared closer to it, breathing in the distinctive musk emanating from it and drawing her in more and more.

“Kei-kun,” Mutsumi gently gasped upon getting a closer look of his not-so-little friend, “it seems that you’re more of a ‘grower’ than a ‘shower’.  Now where have you been hiding this little fella of yours?”  Mutsumi leaned in closer and closer, till the tip of Keitaro’s staff was less than an inch away from Mutsumi’s nose.

For his part, Keitaro was blushing furiously with embarrassment.  After all, it wasn’t everyday that he ended up exposing himself before anyone, least of all a hot spring full of nude amazons, all of whom were fixated on Keitaro’s appendage at this point.  Some were wide-eyed and focused, others were blushing heavily and attempting to look away (mainly Shinobu, Mei, and Sarah), but ALL of them had their eyes glued on Keitaro at that very moment, despite whatever attempts they made to look in another direction out of modesty.  It seemed that baser desires were winning the battle tonight.

Deciding to take the initiative, Amalla spoke up once more.

“Well now, ladies,” said the tall, dark-skinned former stranger, “it seems that Kei-kun here is a little ‘pent up’ as some may say.  And I think we all know that such a state is not good for a man.  He needs to let loose and relieve the tension he’s currently experiencing, am I right?”

Knowing damn well what Amalla was implying, not a single Hinata woman spoke up against what she was saying.  Even those like Kanako or Motoko simply averted their eyes and blushed out of embarrassment, unable to counter what Amalla was getting at.

“So then,” resumed Amalla, “what say you and Kei-kun go and ‘relieve’ the situation as it stands, Naru-chan?” asked Amalla to the older Narusegawa sister, giving her a playful wink at the end.

Keitaro wasn’t sure how Naru was going to react to Amalla's proposition, given her behavior over the past hour or so.  It seemed that she had undergone a significant character shift, switching from combative to surprisingly endearing and super-girly.  A moment later, Keitaro got his answer when Naru rose from the bathwater, carrying Keitaro in her arms ‘bridal-style’ before everyone else and replied with one word:  “Okay.”

Keitaro went wide-eyed at Naru’s sudden willingness to take the next step in their relationship so soon.  But before he could even speak up to offer any potential objection, he found himself being carried away towards the dormitories…and found that to both his surprise and Naru’s that they were being shadowed by a small group.

Right behind Naru were Amalla, Mutsumi, and Kanako tailing right behind them.  Naru turned around and eyed the three other women before speaking up.

“What are you all doing?” asked Naru with guarded curiosity.

“Given how things have developed, I felt it best to start ‘checking off the boxes’ among all the lovely ladies here,” answered Amalla.  “While I’d certainly prefer a massive fourteen-way among everyone here, I understand that this has to be taken in a step-by-step process.  And given that you and these other two here,” Amalla places a hand on the shoulders of both Mutsumi and Kanako in the process, “have been in love with darling Kei-kun the longest and the most intensely, I figured it would be logical for the three of you to have the first go-ahead with him tonight.”

Naru blinked rapidly, looking back and forth between both Mutsumi and Kanako.  While a part of her wanted to reject such a proposal, she also knew damn well that Amalla spoke truthfully.  The other two women DID love Keitaro for a very long time, since their childhood days, and their feelings for him were just as strong as Naru’s, if not even more so.

Sighing once more, Naru closed her eyes before straightening up once more and with firm resolve answered thusly:  “Alright, fine.  Follow me.”

“B-but Naru,” said Keitaro in her arms, “you can’t really be okay with this.”

Naru simply leaned down and captured Keitaro’s lips in hers, initiating another powerful kiss lasting for a good ten seconds or so before coming up for air.

“It’s not ideally how I wanted things, Kei-kun,” replied Naru, “but I know that their feelings for you are genuine, and I simply can’t bring myself to deny them their happy ending with the man they love.  It’ll take some time to get used to this, but I think I can make peace with it all…as long as I get to be with you, my darling.”

“Darling?” spoke up the other thirteen Hinata women in surprise.

“Well now,” declared Amalla, “I’m REALLY liking the new Naru I’m seeing before me now.  You’ve really turned over a new leaf, haven’t you?  It makes me want to join in on the fun you’re about to have.  But don’t worry, tonight belongs to you three.  Now go and show Kei-kun here how much you all love him.”  Amalla finished with a playful swat on both Mutsumi’s and Kanako’s rear ends, making them jump and ‘yip’ out of instinct.

And with that, Naru, Mutsumi, Kanako, and Keitaro (still being carried) made their way into the Hinata dorms for a night of hanky-panky that was to come very soon, with all three women bowing greatly to clear the doorframe now that it was even lower than before compared to their eight-foot-plus bodies.

‘This must be some kind of dream,’ thought Keitaro.  ‘It just HAS to be some sort of waking dream I’m having right now.  There’s no way that this is ACTUALLY happening in real life, no matter how real it might feel right now.’  These were his thoughts as he was carried bridal-style in Naru’s arms towards his bedroom, with Mutsumi and Kanako flanking him from each side as the women walked down the hallway, their footfalls being rather loud and pronounced as they hit the floorboards, making soft ‘thuds’ and ‘booms’ with every step.  Just another reminder of what happens when a woman shoots up in size, going from the five-foot-whatever range to more than eight feet in height.

“Naru?” said Keitaro as he looked up at her lovely features.

“Yes, my love?” responded Naru as she looked down at him with a smiling gaze that could melt butter, not letting up a bit as she walked.

‘Okay, now THAT is not how Naru normally talks,’ thought Keitaro.  In all the time he had known the young lady, she had become remarkably cutesy and super-girly in the span of a few hours, in both her words and how she physically acted around him.  Ever since that heart-to-heart in the hot springs, Naru had become so much more seductive, nurturing, and perhaps a tad bit clingy towards Keitaro.  Though this behavioral shift was rather unexpected, it certainly wasn’t disliked from Keitaro’s point of view…not in the slightest.

“Um, where are we headed exactly?” asked Keitaro as he gently swayed in Naru’s arms.

“To bed, of course, you silly little man,” answered Naru with a smile.

“I suppose you’re right,” said Keitaro, hoping things were going to take a rather innocent approach and not turn into some kind of ‘hot-and-heavy’ type of erotic fanfiction.  “It is getting late, and we should get our rest after all.”

“Sure thing,” replied Naru, “AFTER we’re done, of course.”

“Done?” asked Keitaro, sensing that things were about to take a turn.

“Making love, darling,” said Naru with a very warm and endearing grin on her face as she gazed into Keitaro’s eyes.

“N-Naru, do you need to be so…so blunt about that sort of thing?” asked a very flustered Keitaro, “Especially in the presence of others?”

“If you’re referring to Mu-chan and Ka-chan here,” responded Naru as she continued walking, “there’s no need to worry about that sort of thing.  They’ll be joining us after all, so there’s no need to be prim and proper about that sort of thing.  They are your ‘wives-to-be,’ after all, my darling.”

‘Okay, Naru is DEFINITELY not the girl I know anymore,’ thought a wide-eyed Keitaro.  ‘I don’t know if Kaolla brainwashed her or if it had something to do with those pills she and the other girls took, but Naru is definitely a LOT more frisky than usual, especially with her being so blunt and forward about things in the bedroom.’

“N-Naru!” exclaimed Keitaro, “You’re REALLY okay with what you just said?  Honestly?  The idea of sharing…me…US, with other women?”  Naru stopped walking, now just outside Keitaro’s door, with both Mutsumi and Kanako flanking her.  Naru closed her eyes, took a deep breath, sighed, and then proceeded to speak as she looked deep into Keitaro’s eyes.

“To be honest, Kei-kun,” began Naru, “a part of me still would rather have you all to myself.  I don’t ever want to lie to you under ANY circumstance, so I’ll be direct in saying that some small part of me would prefer that you and I stay exclusive…”

“Well, in that case, just-” began Keitaro before being cut off by Naru.

“That being said,” Naru gently interrupted, “I’m aware that I’m not the only woman here deserving of love or of getting to be with her ‘Prince Charming’ as it stands, my dear sweet little Kei-kun.  I can’t quite put it into words, but I’ve come to realize that everyone here - EVERY SINGLE WOMAN - has a good heart and deserves to be with the one she loves, no matter what.  And while some are quicker to come to terms with that than others, I feel that eventually, the same conclusion will occur when all is settled.  Deep down, I feel that Amalla and Kaolla are right:  You’re simply destined to a harem, my darling Kei-kun.  And while a tiny part of me isn’t thrilled about the prospect of that scenario, on the whole I am willing to let that scenario play out…as long as I get MY share of the action, of course, which I intend to start with tonight.”

“B-but Naru,” replied Keitaro, “even after what you’ve just said, then why are Mutsumi and Kanako here then?  Are you REALLY okay with sharing…me…alongside them tonight?”  As Keitaro spoke, the blush on his cheeks became all the more pronounced, getting flustered and nervous at the idea of talking about having a four-way orgy.

“I told you, darling,” resumed Naru, “these women deserve to fall and love and STAY in love with the man who makes their hearts race like he makes my heart race.  And I’m not just talking about Mu-chan and Ka-chan here either.  Kaolla, Motoko, Amalla, Tsuruko…pretty much everybody here has strong feelings of love for you.  Some are just more apparent than others, but the outcome is pretty much guaranteed in the end, and I don’t intend on being the one to stand in the way of a good woman and the man she loves, even if it happens to be the same man whom I am in love with.” 

“But Naru,” spoke Keitaro once more, “as much as I’m trying to understand where you’re coming from, don’t you think it’s better for everyone here to have their own special someone to love and cherish?  Shouldn’t love ideally be something treasured between two people, with each person loving the other whole-heartedly above all others?  I mean, I’m not necessarily against the idea of a multi-sided relationship for other people, but I don’t think that’s something I’d necessarily want for myself.  It makes me feel…I don’t know…dirty?  Unfaithful?  Something along those lines, you know?”  Clearly, Keitaro still had his doubts about this arrangement, even with Naru’s blessing or ‘go-ahead’ over the whole matter.

‘Leave it to Keitaro to be the final obstacle,’ thought Naru with a warm-hearted grin.  ‘I’ve pretty much given him the green light on this whole thing and HE is the one who has reservations about it.  It’s kind of adorable and warms my heart, but much as I admire that about him, for the sake of EVERYONE’S happiness, that little character trait of his has gotta be told to take a hike.’

“Kei-kun,” stated Naru firmly yet also gently, “it’s FINE, really it is.  I’m a big girl now…hell, in a way, I’m a REALLY big girl now,” Naru chuckled at her own little play on words, “so I can learn to make compromises here and there.  It reminds me of that one song by that band named Maroon 5, now that I think about it.”

“Which song is that, Na-chan?” asked Mutsumi.

“That song called “She Will Be Loved,” from the band’s first album,” explained Naru.

“And how does that song figure into this?” inquired Kanako.

“It’s not always rainbows and butterflies; It’s compromise that moves us along,” said Naru, quoting the line.

“I see,” muttered Kanako in response, “I’ll admit, that’s a fairly apt line for these current circumstances.”

“Anyway, enough reminiscing about songs and the like,” continued Naru, stopping at the threshold of Keitaro’s bedroom.  “Ladies, would one of you be so kind?”  Naru asked, gesturing towards the door, since her arms were full (of Keitaro) at the moment.

“Of course, Na-chan,” replied Mutsumi, bending down to slide open Keitaro’s bedroom door and gesturing for Naru to enter first.

Naru bent substantially at her knees, waist and neck so as to avoid bumping her head against the doorframe.  She also cradled her arm around Keitaro’s head so as to protect him from bumping against the door frame as she entered.  As she walked through, Naru couldn’t help but notice that her hips, thighs, and shoulders brushed along the sides of the doorframe, indicating just how big overall she had become since the last growth spurt.  If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be just a matter of being too tall for door frames, but too WIDE for them as well.

After Naru passed through, Mutsumi followed after, with Kanako coming in right afterwards and shutting the door, but not before placing a “Do Not Disturb” sign upon the outside of the door, in order to make things perfectly clear to whomever was outside of Keitaro’s bedroom.  After all, Keitaro and the three women were about to become VERY occupied with one another for the next hour or more.

Now that all members of the soon-to-happen fourway were present, it was time to get to the matter at hand.  Of course, with Keitaro being the stubborn, well-meaning gentleman that he was, he simply couldn’t help but be obstinate right until the bitter end.

“Mutsumi, Kanako,” began Keitaro, now placed on the ground, still nude (and covering his genitals the best he could with both hands), “are the two of you REALLY okay with this?  Don’t you want a man all for yourselves, instead of one you’d end up sharing?  Wouldn’t you want to be with somebody who was yours and yours alone?  Because all of this seems like some kind of crazy dream and-”

Before he could get another word in edgewise, Keitaro was silenced, with his own lips being stopped by a rather direct smooch which was being initiated by Kanako.  There was no tongue-play involved, but that wasn’t necessary at the moment.  The intensity of the kiss and the amount of time that passed during it were more than adequate to shut Keitaro up and drown him in bliss once more.  Eventually, after a good twenty seconds or so, Kanako broke off the kiss and stood upright once more, directly in front of Keitaro and standing proudly before him in all of her nudity, not even bothering to cover either her breasts or her maidenhood.

“Keitaro,” began Kanako in a somewhat firm tone of voice, “listen to me very carefully when I say this, okay?”

Keitaro simply nodded his head, looking up at his not-so-little sister and wondering just what she was about to tell him.

“I love you.  I am IN love with you.  Ever since we were little, from the earliest I can recall, I’ve had strong feelings for you.  At first, I wondered if those feelings were just the makings of a crush, or some case of ‘puppy love’ as some like to call it, but they weren’t.  I’ve been in love with you for a very, very, VERY long time.  Just thinking about you helps put my mind at ease and calms my heart whenever I’d be in duress.  Around the time I was entering high school, I had made up my mind that I would do what it took for you to see me as something other than your little sister.  I wanted you to see me as a woman…as a lover, and perhaps one day as your wife.  And that dream of mine never really went away.  I thought  that perhaps after the little tiff that you, me, and Naru went through in the old Hinata annex building that those feelings would eventually die off…but they haven’t.  In a way, like me, they’ve simply grown and grown and GROWN.”  The pun wasn’t lost on Keitaro, who felt a stir in his crotch at the mention of growth.

“And while like Naru a part of me would rather keep you all to myself,” continued Kanako, “I’ve made peace with the hard reality that this way is less confrontational in the long run.  Sure, there might be the occasional bout of jealousy among us over having personal time with you, especially in the bedroom.  But I think that over time we can learn to adapt and adjust accordingly…make compromises as Naru mentioned.  And like Naru, I also agree that there isn’t a single woman here in Hinata who doesn’t deserve to be with the man she loves.  I just can’t bring myself to stand between any of the other ladies…my fellow ‘wives to be’, and our husband.  I’m not sure I could live with myself for being so sneaky and underhanded, even if it meant having you all to myself.”

“Kanako…” muttered Keitaro with little more than a whisper.  From his viewpoint, this was a lot to take in, and Keitaro was at a loss for words after hearing his adoptive little…younger sister pour her heart out before him.

“So please, please for the sake of everything good and decent and for love itself,” stated Kanako in a more direct tone, “please stop being so damn chivalrous and take this bountiful garden being offered before you.  I know that you have that stubborn streak in you that hates the very notion of cheating on Naru, and I…scratch that, WE - all of us women here at Hinata love you for that.  But that doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge yourself now and then and have some fun.  What point is living then if you can’t enjoy yourself from time to time?  Do you plan on being some penitent monk and abstaining from any and all pleasure?”

“Well…no, not really.  I never really considered THAT option as far as life choices go, not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that for those who wish to pursue that lifestyle,” responded Keitaro.

“Well then, if you’re not planning on becoming chaste from now until the end of your life, then for heaven’s sake, have a little fun now and then.  Take pleasure and enjoy this!  Most men would give a LOT to be where you are, even if it’s with women who are eight feet tall or more.  I just don’t want you having this cloud of guilt that seems to hover over you on this matter, that’s all.  I know that Naru told you herself, but I’ll reiterate to help get the point across:  Naru is okay with this.  I’m okay with this.  Mutsumi here is okay with this.  And soon enough we - all thirteen of us Hinata girls - we will ALL be okay with this.  So for cryin’ out loud, stop feeling so guilty over this already!”  Kanako finished her tirade with another kiss, leaning down and wrapping her arms around Keitaro’s torso while French-kissing him with all the gusto she could muster.

Thirty seconds or so had passed from the last makeout session, with both Keitaro and Kanako breathing heavily in the aftermath of it.  Such was the need for oxygen after such a heartfelt tongue battle between the adoptive siblings.  Keitaro was in quite the daze and at a loss for words.  In Kanako’s case, the young woman had pretty much said all that needed to be said from her standpoint.  She simply looked over towards the other two women in the room, mainly focusing her eyes upon Mutsumi before speaking up once more.

“Well, Mu-chan?” asked Kanako, “Anything you’d like to add after all of that?  I’d rather not have you playing ‘silent partner’ in the midst of this whole thing.”

Sensing what Kanako was getting at, Mutsumi walked forward, casting Keitaro in her shadow as her lovely frame stood before him.  Everything about her was all the more magnified compared to usual:  Her curves, her supple thighs, her heavenly fragrance, the shine of her skin, and of course her magnificent bosom.  Mutsumi still held the title of largest pair of breasts at Hinata House, and now thanks to Kaolla’s little growth hormone, Mutsumi might hold the title of largest pair of breasts on the planet…at least largest pair of natural breasts anyway.  From what Keitaro recalled, according to Kaolla’s recorded measurements on her scanner, Mutsumi would need an I-cup brassiere to hold her massive mammaries securely.  Of course, that was BEFORE the last round of growth that was had, so if anything, that was probably outdated data by this point, meaning that Mutsumi’s bosom was probably in the J-cup range by now (if not even bigger).  Whatever the case may be, one thing was certain:  Mutsumi Otohime’s breasts were as spectacular as they were large…which was to say VERY on both.

Keitaro must have been staring intently at Mutsumi’s breasts, which surprisingly appeared to almost completely defy gravity, given how big they were.  Yet even with all the weight each bosom was surely packing, they hardly sagged at all.  The gaze which Keitaro had on his face only brightened the smile that was on Mutsumi’s face in turn.  It made her SO happy that the man she loved with all her heart appreciated her body.  Instinctively, she made her way closer until she was standing directly in front of Keitaro, with his nose brushed up against her stomach and her gigantic breasts hanging right above him like over-ripened fruit (practically akin to watermelons from Keitaro’s point of view).

Deciding to act on impulse (if only slightly), Mutsumi began wrapping her arms around Keitaro and lifted him up off the ground so as to press his face between her colossal cleavage, feeling his head being swallowed into her tremendous tits all the while and bombarding her with pleasure in the process, given the gentle moan that slipped out of Mutsumi’s lips, along with her nipples beginning to become erect all the while.

“Kei-kun,” began Mutsumi with a somewhat throaty moan, coming down from her modest sexual high at the merest of physical contact with the love of her life, “I’m in agreement with everything Kana-chan here just said.  She’s okay with this.  If anything, she practically WANTS this, surprising as that may sound.  I think that with time, she’s coming to embrace the idea of a harem, just like I have, along with Na-chan, Ama-chan, Tsu-chan, and Ka-chan.  In time, I’m certain that EVERYONE here will become okay with that arrangement, given how much they all love you…and I believe that they’ll all come to love each other almost as much as they love you as well.  We’ll all be both sisters and wives to one another…one very, VERY big happy family of us BIG girls loving you and one another.  That sounds like heaven to me, Kei-kun.”  Apparently, talking about matters of size among the growing amazons was getting Mutsumi turned on, which seemed to be a sort of pattern forming among all the Hinata women.

“B-but Mutsumi,” began Keitaro, only to have his objections silenced by the busty beauty holding him pressed against her body.

Apparently getting turned on rather quickly, Mutsumi leaned her head towards Keitaro and closed her eyes, pressing her lips against Keitaro’s in the process and playfully licking her tongue across Keitaro’s lips, begging for entrance.  After a few seconds, Keitaro relented and the big-breasted Okinawan girl began tasting Keitaro’s mouth for all she was worth, sucking and inhaling deeply while she did so.  It was becoming clear fast enough that Mutsumi was giving into her more basic, animalistic instincts and smothering Keitaro with all the affection she had growing inside her after so many years.  From Mutsumi’s perspective, she was driven to show Keitaro just how much he meant to her through her actions.  If Keitaro’s response was any indicator, she was doing a damn fine job of getting her feelings across to him.

‘Losing control,’ thought Keitaro.  With all of the love and affection he was getting from the three towering beauties who were currently in his bedroom with him, Keitaro’s sense of chivalry was about ready to be declared deceased.  It was simply too much pleasure for him to put up any more resistance, especially with all of the kissing he was being exposed to along with the heavenly aromas coming from these three amazons who were pretty much violating whatever personal space he had during this time.

Mutsumi eventually broke off the kiss, though she still kept Keitaro firmly in her grasp, holding him pressed against her magnificent bosom all the while and gazing straight at him with a mix of lust and romantic longing in her eyes.

“Kei-kun,” Mutsumi moaned, “won’t you return our love for you?  After all, we all love you so very, very, VERY much.  Is it wrong if we simply want you to love us back?”  Mutsumi finished by pressing out her lower lip and making the biggest pair of puppy-dog eyes right at Keitaro, in order to knock down whatever mental/emotional defenses he might have been able to muster as a countermeasure.

“I…I…uh…” said Keitaro, clearly at a loss for words by this point.

“Yes, Kei-kun?” asked Mutsumi, standing large and in charge before him, with both Kanako and Naru flanking her by this point.  All three women had ganged up on Keitaro, casting him in their collective group shadow and in the presence of their collective feminine musk which was filling the room at that very moment.  All these factors put together were eroding whatever mental defenses Keitaro might have been willing and able to put up by that point.  But being so outnumbered in the presence of such towering beauties had left Keitaro with no other option than to simply give in and let what was going to happen…happen.

“Well, Keitaro?” asked Naru with a warm grin.

“You were saying, Kei?” added Kanako with her own grin.

“Kei-Kun?” asked Mutsumi, leaning forward, placing her hands upon her knees, and letting her spectacular breasts hang and dangle before Keitaro like perfectly ripened fruit from the Garden of Eden.  Naru and Kanako proceeded to do the same, leaning forward and letting their own bosoms dangle in front of Keitaro for him to take in the sight of them in all their glory, nipples and all.

Naru decided that now was the time to pounce and make her move, hoping that it would finally get Keitaro on board, with both what the three ladies were offering him at that very moment and with the harem plan in general.  If Keitaro could somehow manage to say ‘no’ to what was being proposed to him at this very moment, then he truly was the most stubborn man on the planet when it came to being offered sexual nirvana.

“Come on, Kei-kun,” Narue whispered into Keitaro’s ear, less than an inch from her lips, “you know you want this.  And most importantly, you know you deserve this.  You’ve pretty much EARNED this after all you’ve been put through.  So come on…enjoy yourself and let us show you just how much we love you.”  The huskiness in Naru’s voice, along with the glazed-over look on both her face along with the other two women’s faces, was pretty much screaming “just do us already!” to Keitaro.