Rain.

It really did rain a lot in Namiport, didn't it? Of course, with how tightly packed the buildings were one hardly even noticed the water seeping through the layers upon layers of businesses, houses, and corporate buildings which dominated the industrial sprawl. The city may have been planned by the corporations, but once one of them built something just a little bit too close to the agreed-on perimeters, the other followed. After a while, it all became an arms race of construction.

Fortunately, Noah was given a chance to breathe. This was a perk of working for a big corpo like EikōBio. They provided him with a house out in what constituted as "suburbs," but even now he could see the new expansion crawling into this region of Namiport like a huge mechanical snake in the distance.

He put his hand out from beneath the terrace, allowing a few warm drops to hit his palm. These were the perks of working for them...but there were responsibilities associated with his position. On paper, he was given the title of a "handler"—somebody who managed the Kemonomimi. EikōBio may have hands in many pots (genetic engineering, microbiological research, biochemical research, corporate security, and who knows what else) but there was always a need to finance their operations.

This is where the genetically modified Kemonomimi pets came in. Everybody wanted one. Few could actually afford them. These Kemonomimi...their status under the law was purposefully poorly defined. Were the women in his care property? Pets? People? As somebody had told him once: "In Namiport, anything goes." Technically located on the west coast, it might as well have been a free city.

Noah liked to see himself as a vital part of the company, but that would be like calling a cashier of a fast food restaurant somebody who handles money for a billion-dollar business. Still, there were 4 'mimis assigned under his care, and he was determined to make the most of it. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was a desire for luxury. All that Noah knew was that this was what he wanted to do—what he was made to do.

Looking down at his phone, he skimmed past the intricate details of his exact composition before finally settling down on a digestible report from the company's doctors. Hormone levels were steady. Induced cell plasticity was high, but that was to be expected. All in all—despite the low iron level—he was a perfectly healthy worker. Good. Maybe now they will stop taking samples whenever he enters the office.

There was a flash of ginger behind him. Turning around, a Kitsune girl stood at attention. Her fox-like ears were passive, with a fluffy tail swaying gently from side to side brushing the air. The man had grown so used to her wearing tacky maid outfits, that seeing Koko in something more casual was refreshing. She had a blouse and jeans on—the type which would look more stylish with some holes in them. But the fox girl wouldn't allow it.

"Greetings, Master." She gave him a weak bow, immediately darting her eyes up to look at him. Before she even spoke, an exhausted expression appeared on her face. "You are going to ask me to call you Noah. I would prefer to use the term 'Master.' Proper boundaries must be maintained."

That was quick. Or was he just that predictable? "Fine." Noah put his hands in his pockets.

"Are you going to smoke?" Koko asked, already looking for an ashtray.

"It's not as bad for you as they say-" He stopped himself. That was oddly defensive, with a man cleaning his throat before saying "No, I am not."

"Understood." Getting even closer, Koko also allowed herself a moment to gaze at the rain. "Would you like the stock report on EikōBio?"

"No, that's fine." He took a deep breath of the earthy air. "Speaking off...what did EiB do with the old apartment?"

Koko placed a finger on her cheek. "I think they are turning it into a firing range."

"Of course." What were they doing with the jacuzzi, then? 

"Is there an issue with the new house?"

"No." He shook his head. "Just curious."

Still, the Kitsune felt a need to defend the honor of the building. It was picked by the regional director and her true owner, after all. "It has a tall ceiling, a modest pool, and more than enough space to accommodate most templates which may or may not be assigned-"

"I said it's fine." Noah assured with a stern look, turning back inside of the house. Koko followed. They left the rain-soaked terrace behind, and the atmosphere shifted. The living room was a blend of functionality and comfort. Plush furniture adorned the space, strategically arranged for the aforementioned "templates" to move around comfortably. But without them, the area felt still and empty. Just as described, the ceiling soared high, making Noah feel like he stepped into some cathedral.

"Tanji and Tamiko are securely within their room. They don't like the rain." Koko made sure to wipe her feet on the mat, giving Noah a subtle dirt eye for forgetting to do the same. "My gun collection is getting moved to the area. Our security could be compromised."

Noah exhaled through his teeth, almost having forgotten that the cute little fox girl was also his security. This also brought back the fact that there could be—no, that there were—people after him. Just waving the flag of EikōBio was enough to deserve hatred in the eyes of some, both corporate opponents and private groups. He had tasted it once in Osaka. He did not want to taste it again.

"Well, it's Sunday. Might as well rest." Noah justified, stretching his back.

"EikōBio doesn't do Sundays. You are expected to perform your job as a handler at all times."

"Of course." He repeated, forcing the air out of his lungs. "Well, let's get organized."

His attention turned towards the stack of crates in the corner, one filled with everything that a Handler could need. How nice, they even included EikōBio-branded towels, tacky bathing salts, and 5-in-1 shower gels! Sorting through the clothes, Noah noticed something. One of them was much taller than the rest. Both Tanji and Tamiko were about 2 ft tall, and Koko was barely over 3. But these overalls? They looked like they fit on somebody about his height. Or slightly taller. Just slightly.

"Where is Mirei?" Noah asked, shuffling through her clothes. The memories of the horse girl flashed in his mind. She was the newest addition to their little menagerie, and losing track of her so quickly just seemed careless.

"I thought you brought her here."

"I did. Gave her the address." Suddenly, his heart sank. Mirei was known to be aloof. Could she...could she have gotten lost? No way. The road to get here was simple, and he wrapped a tag around her neck which confirmed her as property of his company. There should have been no way for her to get lost. And yet... "Remind me to get all the 'mimis phones, okay?" He grumbled while reaching for his coat, not facing towards Koko yet able to hear her approach.

When he turned around, she already had his hat—standing on her tippy-toes to hand it to him. "The company is opposed to Kemonomimis having any devices with internet access. I was given an exception."

"It's fine." He assured, awkwardly sliding it over his messy hair. "I'll get them flip-phones."

"Flip-phones?" It took a moment for Koko to recall what those were. "Do they still make those?"

"I will find some." Twisting the knob, Noah was back in the rain. He watched as it cleaned the already tidy streets of the suburb district, swirling the little remaining grime down the drains. The air around him buzzed with the energy of the dripping water. It was a sign that he needed to pick up speed, and so he did.

Noah's mind raced as he navigated through the narrow streets, heading to the city center where this all began. The rain intensified, making the neon lights of Namiport reflect in shimmering patterns on the wet asphalt. Another lost 'mimi...this is where this all began, didn't it? A lost kitten in the streets ended up near a trash where Noah found it—a discovery that led him to work for the company. That was how the woman named Tanji entered his life. Would Mirei meet the same fate? If yes, surely somebody would find her. And then what? Would he now be the one pulling another soul into this life? It was a bit exhilarating, to see himself on the same level as his boss. But as an expensive black car rushed past him and sprayed water on Noah, it was like a slap on the face to stay focused. And the reality of his position became painfully clear.

There was a flash of light to his right. It was one of those huge ad pillars screeching about the products of whoever paid for it; dirty pixelated while light flooded out of it, distorted by the falling raindrops. So why did it catch his attention? Noah stepped closer, now clearly noticing the geometric logo of Genovista. That explained it. The logo was made from interconnected molecule models, making it painfully clear what the company was all about: bioengineering, just like the men he worked for.

Getting so close to the pillar that he could hear his mother shouting at him to get away from the screen at the back of his mind, Noah was mesmerized by the advertisement—like a moth to light. Staring at the regal blue color of the small European company felt like cheating, but there was nothing in his contract about not being able to watch ads. How could he even avoid ads in Namiport? They were plastered everywhere!

"Dive into the future with Genovista's groundbreaking Aqua Femme Collection!" The screen promised, showing a scene of a serene beach of pale yellow sand and water that seemed too bright and blue to be real. He could almost smell the coconut-scented sunscreen. "These girls are ready for the hot-hot summer of 2029!" A flash of light. Now, two figures emerged from the water, passing a volleyball with the company's logo imprinted on its surface. They had bikinis which blurred the line of what could be allowed on TV. As expected, Genovista imprinted its trademark even on their tits.

One of the figures dived back into the water, showing a flash of her powerful, muscular tail. It looked to be that of a dolphin, with a smooth gray surface glistening as she threw the water in the air. She peeked her head playfully above the surface to wink at the camera, her ear fins shaking slightly with the woman's smile. He had never seen Kemonomimis like these before. "You have never seen Kemonomimis like these before!" The ad assured.

In the distance, there was a disturbance in the water—something huge pulling itself up from below the waves. The way in which the two girls turned towards and waved at the enormous dark silhouette made it clear that this also was part of the advert. She was truly colossal, with swimming pools worth of liquid dripping from her drenched hair. But before a proper look was given, the ad flashed to payment and contact information.

Noah winced, quickly turning his eyes away from the pillar. Here he was thinking about other Kemonomimis while his own Mirei was lost! This new line..."Aqua Femme" (although he never actually wanted to use that phrase) was certainly unique. But EikōBio would surely come up with a reprisal. They always did. Before he even realized it, he was already walking—his shoes wetted by a large puddle.

"I am looking for a 'mimi." He approached a lone beat cop, trying to get his attention. The man had clearly heard him but continued looking onward into the traffic.

"You should run this by corporate security. Don't handle lost 'mimi cases."

"Listen, it hasn't been that long." By now, Noah's eyes turned in the same direction as the policeman's. Under the cloak of wet drizzle, many umbrellas bounced up and down like multicolored mushrooms. There was a tiny Neko girl with a comically oversized umbrella struggling to hold it above her head, stumbling through the rain next to her mistress. Noticing her pet's strife, the woman lifted it, patting her leg for the pet to get closer. Down the road, an 8-foot-tall dog girl stuck her long tongue out from beyond her master's umbrella to catch the drops of water. He scolded her to get back under it, lest she catch a cold. "She is about this high..." Mirei was slightly taller than him (just slightly) but he still placed her height at the level of his forehead. "...long blonde hair...blue eyes...Umamimi. That's—uh—horse girl."

The cop just groaned, continuing to stare at the street. "Run this by the corporate security." He repeated, quickly getting tired of his presence. If Namiport actually had any real taxes, Noah might have gotten upset.

Looking back at the ad pillar, the holographic green leaf of EikōBio's now fought for attention with the last advert. Noah hesitated. The corporate executive's stern gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, and a sense of unease settled in his gut. Calling for corpsec would be the ultimate admission that he messed up. He did mess up, of course, but the man wasn't just going to admit it. For the first time in his life, he had an actual reputation on the line.

Down an alley, he noticed a familiar sight. His old apartment! This place felt ancient, with the small bulky building covered with fading gray paint. It didn't look any more disheveled. No, that wasn't it. He had just gotten used to a level of fancy which outweighed...this. Taking a step closer, he made it through the green fence which was never locked. The old dumpster where he had found Tanji was still here, with the man so focused on the metal crate that he had forgotten about the rain drenching his hair. Pieces of old furniture stuck out of it, forming into a mess of twisted wood and cushions. There were a few waterlogged boxes around it, with a weird urge for the man to shuffle through them.

A flash and thunder of lightning hitting one of the electricity collector units in the distance brought him back to the present, with the man becoming aware of how wet he was getting. He took a step inside, getting hit by the warm wave of air. How come this place was never this cozy when he lived here? At least the same stench of fresh paint remained.

Ah. His old room. It had been stripped completely of all the essentials, appearing barren. The door wasn't even locked, since there was nothing to steal. Memories. They came flooding again: his days with Tanji, trying to figure out what she was, the arrival of Hiro and his 8-ft tall bodyguard, and his ultimate decision to work for EikōBio. No. Focus. Noah quickly shut the doors. He could hear his own breathing in the hallway, broken only by the distorted sound of a video game played in the room across. Despite not even living here, Noah had half the mind to knock on this bastard's door and tell him to turn it down before realizing—"Hey! It's Mike's place!"

Knock-knock-knock! There was a groan followed by the music stopping, with the form of a man appearing in the now open doorway. Looks like Mike hadn't done anything with his style in the months the two were apart (if you can even call that "style"), still having the same unremarkable short black hair, dull eyes, and average build. The apartment was dim, with the blue light inside reflecting on his glasses.

"Noah?" He shook his head. "Hey buddy! What are you doing here?"

Noah wanted to respond—it was only the polite thing to do—but his eyes immediately locked on Mirei. Here she was, sitting on the ground with a controller in her hands and a can of some energy drink by her side with no care in the world. "Hello, mister!" She waved at him, with the long sleeves of her hoodie making arcs in the air.

"What are you doing here?" Noah got closer, putting his arms on Mirei's shoulder to prove that she was real. "I gave you the address!"

Squinting as if this was some complex math problem, the horse-girl said. "Yeah." In her pocket, there was a crumpled-up piece of paper. On the other side, the woman made some doodles of what might have been her next to a string of letters and numbers.

"So why are you here-" Snatching the paper and flipping it over, it all clicked. He had absentmindedly written his old address—muscle memory was to blame. Instead of entering the suburbs, she somehow made her way across the city to here. It was a miracle that no car hit her. "And the collar?"

"It hurt my neck. So I ripped it off!"

"That explains it." He really hated that it did explain it. "Okay, let's head back."

Mirei blinked, processing his words. "But I wanted to play games. Mike said it's okay."

"Well, I am your handler. And Mike..." He turned around, seeing the man just standing there. "...Mike is just Mike."

Throwing his hands up in defense, the man backed away into the hallway. "I didn't know she was yours! She just knocked on every door in the whole building. Said she was looking for some "mister," so I assumed she was lost or something." There was a pause, after which Mike rushed in, placing his hands on Noah's collar. "Please—oh—please don't send your corpo thugs after me!"

"Don't stretch the jacket!" He pulled away. "And stop whining! EiB isn't some kind of gang, you know." Noah was not really in the mood to scare Mike with his employers, considering that he was already afraid of them.

"Are you sure?" The man looked like he was about to cry.

"It's fine." Noah exhaled so hard it hurt. "Come on Mirei, let's go." Reaching for her wrist, he found the product pulling away.

"He said it's okay, mister." She seemed serious about it, wanting to continue playing the game. "Can I stay?"

There was a pause. He was a lousy handler, wasn't he? Noah should have grabbed her by her neck, pulled her out, and slapped her on the bum for talking back to him. Instead, he just sat down across the room, squeezing out "You have 20 minutes. After that, we go."

Her blue eyes lit up as brightly as the water from that ad, resulting in the woman swaying from side to side. Speaking of..."Have you seen the new collection?" Noah asked, trying and failing to follow the mess of flashing icons and colors that was the fighting game. From what he knew about his friend, he did have a "commercial" interest in the Kemonomimis. That was just a nice way of saying that the man desperately wanted one.

Mike responded only after executing a combo. "Oh, you mean the ones from Genovista?" It was amazing how all his worries about potentially getting hunted down faded away once he was engrossed in the game. "Pretty nice, yeah?"

"These are unique templates, right?"

"Looked like it-" He hissed at the screen. "The dolphin girls are super cute. Shark ones too. Bet the huge gal costs even more than standard templates." Does this count as getting customer queries? Noah hoped it would. This little detour did at least confirm that "the people" paid attention to what Genovista had to say. They were by far the smallest of the "Big 3" companies, so them finally being on the radar was almost surreal.

"Could be a seasonal gimmick."

"Could be-" By now, Mike had given up on trying to follow the conversation, struggling against Mirei. Noah may have known nothing about that game, but it was clear that she was destroying him. No point in continuing this conversation any further.

After the allotted time was finished, Noah grabbed Mirei by the sleeves of her sweater. Tying the ends into knots, he watched as she hopelessly flopped her arms around while following. "Mister! Mister, I am stuck!" Umamimi looked down at his eyes—still trapped.

They left. "Calm down, I'll undo your sleeves once we get back." It was fun teasing her since the woman squeaked like a toy. That being said, she was making a scene, with some other 'mimi owners giving him the side-eye. To them, he looked like a kid playing around with an expensive car.

"Oh! Mister, mister!" Mirei tried to point at a nearby building. "I like that music! The one that goes dud-dud-dud-dud dud-dud! It's all glowy, too!"

Turning towards the building found at the end of her sleeve, Noah froze for a moment. It looked to be a nightclub of sorts. The "dud-dud" music Mirei described pounded against the soundproof walls, leaking onto the street and enticing those passing by to enter inside. Above them, a large crimson neon sign reading "The Kingdom" flashed next to an outline of a girl with bunny ears stripping. Had they...had they walked into the red lights district?

"No...I don't think that would be the best idea." Mirei was too pure for this.

"What? Mister, please—oh—please!" Now she sounded like Mike. "It says that 'mimis are allowed inside, see!" It did say that, but not for the reasons Mirei imagined.

"No!" He picked up his pace, starting to get embarrassed. The woman just pouted, crossing her bonded arms.

Back at the home base at last. The living room was warmer than usual since Koko was using the open kitchen. She gracefully balanced the task of cooking 5 different meals at once while humming a tune—her maid uniform back on. Walking inside, Noah ordered Mirei to dry herself off, throwing a towel at her face. She was supposed to catch it, but since her arms were bound it hit her in the face. "Oh, sorry." He chuckled awkwardly, finally undoing the cruel bindings and running up the wide stairs.

Ah! The fortress of dreams, at last! Noah threw off his jacket and then threw himself onto the bed. His bedroom wasn't any larger than those of the 'mimis under his care, but it was his territory. It may have still smelled like fresh paint, but it was his and his alone. Picking up his phone, the handler scrolled through his social media feed, turning his brain off. But then, there was a sound. Noah stared at the vibrating screen as if he could answer the call with his mind before finally hitting the green button and bringing the device to his ear. "Hiro?"

"Ah, handler Ko-" There is a subtle chuckle, filtering out the rest of his surname. "I am joking, of course. We are on a first-name basis, are we not, Noah?" The man tensed up for a moment. He had been calling his boss "Hiro" all this time, instead of Mr. or -sama something. Was that impolite? Hiro didn't seem to mind, but then again, trying to read this man was a herculean task. He seemed to be casual...about pretending to be casual, with an accent which he still couldn't place.

"Yes. Yes, sir." An overcorrection.

"Good man." A familiar compliment. "You didn't encounter any problems?"

"No, none." He lied.

"And How is the new house treating you?"

"It's fine. Very good, even." Noah looked up at the ceiling. "The place is really big."

"Of course it's big. You will need it." Another chuckle. "Tell me, have you checked the internet lately?"

"Yeah. The new—uh—product?" He trod carefully.

"Those bastards think that they can take the summer season from us." That was the 2nd best season (allegedly). Hiro sounded angry in his own way. You really had to listen for it, but Noah had learned to gather such clues. "Genovista, who didn't come out with anything new since the 2000s. Genovista, the middle child." He certainly had a way with words. "But don't worry, dear Noah."

"I wasn't worried-"

Ignoring his comment, Hiro continued. "I need you to get the 'mimis under your care ready for this Saturday. We are putting together a little beach event. Company party, you know? BBQ. Summer waves." Noah could feel the sly smile through the screen. "Pictures."

"Oh, sounds nice-"

Yet again, he was interrupted. "Additional cash has been forwarded to your company account. You need to help them pick up some outfits. Don't know anything about that kind of stuff." And what, he was some swimming suit expert?

"I can do that-"

"Oh, and bring Naomi. The people will want to see her."

His lower lip quivered. "I can do that..."

"NOW ARRIVING AT: HARMONY PARK. WE KINDLY ASK YOU TO GATHER YOUR BELONGINGS AND PREPARE TO DISEMBARK. NEXT STOP: DOWNTOWN" The vaguely-feminine, metallic voice broadcasted. On cue, the crowd inside the cart got thinner as rows of people rushed to the sliding doors. Should he have rented a Kemonomimi-only cart? Probably unnecessary. Those things were designed for larger templates anyway, and then there was the whole ordeal of trying to avoid bumping against the ass of some 9-ft tall wolf girl throughout the entire ride.

Noah pressed his face against the window, feeling the subtle vibration of the monorail as the sound of metal gliding against metal screeched from below. On his lap, two cat girls fought for attention. One of them was Tanji, a pudgy little tabby with short brown hair and unamused blue eyes. The other was her sister, Tamiko, struggling to stay seated as her long blonde ponytails swung in the air. Neither of them was really "the older sister," since both came out of the same lab at the same time. But the way in which Tanji bullied Tamiko reminded Noah of the way his brother would tease him, subconsciously dubbing her as the older.

Both of them needed to get ready for the event. Imagining Tanji in a bikini was amusing. She would sooner rip it off than be seen in one willingly, likely tying it into knots by accident. Even forcing her to wear pants was a struggle. From the two, Tamiko looked more ready for the beach. He didn't know if she ever went swimming (probably not judging by their hesitance against water) but her skin had a healthy shade of bronze which contrasted against her sister's paler complexion.

"It's a shame that Mirei couldn't come." Noah looked down.

"She was pumped full of immunoboosters. You did all you could." Koko assured. With all the advancements EikōBio made, they still haven't come up with a cure for the common cold.

"It's the least I could do. She was in that rain for a while." Still, he didn't want to dwell on Mirei's sickness too much. The woman was just being dramatic, rolling around the bed and crying about how this was her end. Kemonomimis don't really get sick often, so getting a cold must have been an unpleasant shock to the system. "What do you know about swimwear?" He turned towards Koko like a job interviewer.

"I have done my research." There was a spark of confidence in her eyes as the Kitsune reached into her backpack and took up a rolled-up magazine. It looked to be the tacky ones with fashion advice teen girls would read, and seeing Koko studying one like a novel felt weird considering her aura of maturity. "It's all about body type." She pointed at the page. "I am a pear. Tamiko is an hourglass. Tanji is an orange-" Tanji hissed in objection, jumping onto Noah's shoulder to get a height advantage over the fox. At least she didn't say pumpkin...

"Koko-" Noah grabbed the magazine, bringing it closer to his face and squinting at the overdesigned font. "I am not sure you should take these too seriously." Flipping it over, the man violently pointed at the glossy paper. "On the previous page, there is a quiz about what kind of fried chicken you are based on personality traits." Seemingly interested in that, Tanji quickly snatched the magazine, forcing her sister to ask her the questions.

Noah couldn't help but chuckle as he leaned back again, admiring the view of the Pacific. A few bulky container ships were making their way toward the harbor, but the corporations fortunately managed to limit the naval traffic. It wasn't out of any goodwill—oh no. If the oceans were steeped with chemicals, the people of Japan wouldn't want to take their holidays on the glamorous West Coast. This, combined with the big brother KyotoSynth flooding the shores with their plastic-eating bacteria, actually made the waters of Namiport pleasant. If most of the best beaches weren't privately owned, the citizens would surely appreciate it.

"NOW ARRIVING AT: DOWNTOWN. WE KINDLY ASK YOU TO GATHER YOUR BELONGINGS-"

"That's our stop." His face suddenly got serious. "Stay close. No splitting from the group." In his mind, Noah briefly tried to calculate the possibility of forming some kind of buddy system. With Tanji, Tamiko, and Koko, there was no way to pair the girls without something going wrong.

The monorail platform spilled out into a massive shopping complex, and Noah led his entourage through the crowd. As soon as they exited, they were hit with the warm scent of fried food and sweets while billboards and storefronts begged to be looked at in the background. There was a large fountain at the mall's center—a subtle smell of chlorine wafting through the air. Consulting the digital map, they revealed a path to a clothing store catering to Kemonomimis.

"The Palette..." Koko read the sign, ducking out of the way of a swarm of Nekos with candy-colored hair—an exhausted-looking handler rushing after them.

The store was well-lit, with rows upon rows of clothing and accessories separated by template type. Despite not knowing anything about fashion, he couldn't help but admire the selection. All the underwear and pants had tail holes in them, and the hats had ones for ears. It almost made him feel bad about forcing Tanji to wear his old snapback when he first found her.

Before his eyes, the girls scattered, disappearing into the distant corners of the store. He could only hope that collecting them would be easy. There were those leather stools here, but just lounging around felt pointless. Noah began pacing around, occasionally catching some flashes of his or somebody else's 'mimis. As much as he would have liked to take a hands-on approach to the situation, the point remained: he really knew nothing about swimming suits.

Turning a corner, he noticed a small cozy display elevated one foot above the floor. At first mistaking it for some miniature model, he soon realized that it was part of the actual store. A tiny girl—surely no higher than 4 inches—paced between the racks, humming a tune to herself while rearranging the hangars. She had a silver piercing in her large, brown, mouse-like ears which glinted in the display light. Her hair was fashioned into rather professional-looking short bangs, with a purple shirt announcing that she was an employee.

"Can I help you, sir?" The woman approached the edge of her little area, waving at Noah as if he had somehow missed her. "Something for your Nezu, perhaps?"

That's right. This was the section for Nezumimi. Why else would he be here? Just to stare?

"Yes." He looked over the tiny metal racks, having to squint to even focus on the details. "I am looking for—uh—a swimsuit." There was no reason for his voice to sound so shaky. He was buying it for himself. A part of himself? It was complicated. In his mind, there needed to be a distinction between Naomi and Noah. He did all he could to see this woman—this persona—as something distant and foreign. It was a suit he put on when the company asked. It was a role he played when it benefited them. It was a concession. It was-

"Sir?" The voice of the employee and the click of her shuffling through the hangars forced him back into the present. There he went again—worrying over nothing.

Shaking his head, Noah clasped his hands together. "Apologies. You were saying?"

Dealing with customers was just a part of her job, and there were people a lot ruder than this kid. She simply politely repeated. "Anything particular your Nezu has in mind?"

"She..." Even saying it felt weird. "...would like something classy?" It sounded more like a question.

"Classy..." She repeated, ruffling her hair. "I will see what I can do." The tiny woman then disappeared into the miniature labyrinth of clothing racks, leaving Noah standing awkwardly in the aisle. When she finally emerged, she did so with a bunch of fabric thrown over her arm. The first was a sleek, black one-piece with a small silver accent on the side. The fabric looked both comfortable and durable—for what it was worth.

"What's up with that hole?"

"The one in the back is a standard tail hole." She explained. "And that's called a cleavage window, sir."

"Oh, it wouldn't be necessary. My Nezumimi doesn't really have a-" The shop attendant gave him a scary look, warning him to tread carefully. "You know they're...small."

She crossed her arms in disapproval. "I don't think you should dismiss your 'mimis wonderful, budding breasts like that, sir." Budding? There was nothing "budding" there! Naomi was just flat. "There is a real beauty to be found in Nezumimis and their delicate profiles. As an owner of one, I thought you would appreciate that."

"Alright, alright! I'll take it." By now, it was just a matter of getting out of there as quickly as possible. Noah pinched the tiny fabric, rolling and putting it in his pocket. It had intricate detail for such a small thing, but still felt overpriced. No matter. He had money to spend. Waving her a half-hearted goodbye, he began rounding up the menagerie.

Sitting in front of the changing room, the man put one hand on his chin while using the other to click the pen resting on his lap. Professionalism. This is what they needed right now. Every part of the corporate world needed to be calculated and direct. Getting invited out for a dinner or an event was never about just having fun. There was a purpose behind it all—there always was. But he could indulge himself just a little bit.

Koko was the first to exit, presenting a one-piece swimming suit. It had a similar shade of dark blue to the logo of Genovista, but it's not like they owned the copyright to that hue...at least, Noah didn't think they did. She seemed confident in the display, shifting from pose to pose.

Tanji was next, emerging with a scowl on her face. She wore a simple black two-piece mini-bikini. "What do you think? Do you like it?" Noah tried to gauge her reaction.

"It's a sunburn waiting to happen." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Maybe you should get something that covers a little bit more skin, then?"

Her feline ears perked up, sensing an opportunity. "What's wrong? Is it distracting? Does it bother you?" Noah winced, watching Tanji trying—and failing—to imitate one of the girls from the display. "Come on, you've seen more of me." She pulled on one of the straps, allowing it to snap back into place. "Seriously, you are pretty gross-"

Taking a step closer, Noah lifted Tanji by her armpits. "You're the one who picked this." It was a quick way to shut her up. He watched as she wiggled in his grasp—her short legs dangling in the air. "Now stop messing around. If you want to stay at home, you can."

She wanted to say something, but bit her tongue, turning away from embarrassment. "Bastard...fine. But I am not playing any beach games." Noah let go, watching as the woman plummeted to the floor just to catch herself at the last second. Despite having seen it many times before, he could never get used to how graceful Tanji moved considering her appearance.

Tamiko was a lot more agreeable. She picked a simple white bikini with frills and a floral pattern. Being seen in it just felt natural to her, like an animal desensitized to human presence. If he had not told her to take it off, the woman would surely leave the store like this. This carefree attitude was just one of the things that came with being what was essentially a purse 'mimi before getting turned over to Noah. He did have Echelon I Corpo Immunity, and the standard for what 'mimis could wear in public was considerably more lenient, but there was no need to risk it.

"Master! Master, do you think this is cute?" Tamiko asked, smiling and doing a little twirl.

"Looks good, Tami." Noah reached down to pet the woman, just to have Tanji pulling her away by the strip of the bikini—almost ripping it off. Tamiko just yelped while turning around to face her sister.

"Don't encourage her!" Leaping onto his shoulder, Tanji leaned in to whisper. "She's already on her way to becoming some call girl!" Normally using simple words, Noah had a feeling that she had looked that up specifically for the occasion.

"...what?" Of course, Tamiko overheard their conversation. What Tanji understood as a whisper was more like a muffled shout. "What does that mean?" That was more than enough proof that her older sister was wrong. Tami was innocent—too innocent for her own good.

"Don't worry, Tamiko." Koko petted the confused Neko, giving a wide, sincere smile. "Just remember your duty to the master, and there will be no shame in your actions."

Noah pushed Tamiko back into the changing room. "Enough of that. Get dressed. We are leaving" This was getting more awkward by the minute.

"THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING THE YŪGEN BANKING GROUP." A flash of text appeared on the small digital display as Noah swiped his (read: company) card. Putting the large paper bags around his wrists, they left the store.

"I don't get why we're doing this. It's just a beach day." Tanji complained, her tail swaying with annoyance. "Do you really want to stare at half-naked girls that badly? If yes, just go to a club!"

"It's not just a beach day. It's an event, Tanji—a corporate event." Noah explained, his eyes scanning the crowd for threats or familiar faces. "And we are there to maintain a professional image. Remember, it's not about us. We're representing EiB."

"That's absolutely correct." Koko nodded vigorously, seeing Noah finally acting as the model employee the company always needed.

"But we can still have fun, right?" Tamiko questioned, staying close to her sister.

"Having fun is part of our duty." The Fox girl stated with utmost confidence.

"Corporate-mandated fun..." Noah tried to laugh it off.

As they waited for the monorail, Koko glanced at Noah. "Do you think everything will go smoothly at the event?"

Noah sighed, thinking about the countless corporate gatherings he had attended. "Smoothly? No. But as long as we don't draw too much attention, it should be fine. Just need to stick to the script, smile for the cameras, and make sure everyone sees that EikōBio is still in business."

"Will you go as Naomi?" Tanji asked, already grinning at his expense.

"Oh, the mouse girl! I think...I think having her at the beach would make the day special!" Instead of a cruel grin, a warm smile appeared on Tamiko's face.

A lump appeared in his throat as Noah exhaled through his teeth—hissing like the approaching train. "I will bring her out. Don't worry."

"NOW ARRIVING AT: THE GLADE." Back to the suburbs. Back to his natural habitat.

Holding tightly onto the wooden railing, Noah made his way up the stairs. "Can you check on Mirei?" He gave an anemic order to Koko before retreating to his room. Surely enough, he heard her whine and cough while walking down the hallway

"He-ey!" Tanji stood in front of his door, her tail wagging with excitement. "You wouldn't mind if I dropped by your room tonight, would you? Tamiko is way too clingy." This all seemed to be some part of the game she liked playing. In public, he was called a bastard. In private, he was her bedmate. It was an act of defiance on her part. Kemonomimi didn't typically sleep with their masters, being expected to have their separate beds. And Tanji loved to mess with the norms.

"Maybe later." He stepped over Tanji, twisting the doorknob.

"Aww, come on!" She began tapping her foot against the floor so rapidly that it looked like she was trying to drill through it. "Can't you do it tomorrow?"

Stepping through, he shut the doors closed. "I just..." Noah stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I need to sleep through the initial haze, okay?" A package made of dull gray plastic awaited on the desk. Ripping it open, he found several small plastic capsules in the container. Each housed the necessary microcomputer and other technology Noah couldn't even begin comprehending. The one in his palm had the profile of Naomi on it.

A small, curved screen showed the figure of a naked 5-inch tall mouse girl with two large white ears and matching ivory hair. Although it never actually looked as tidy as it did on the display, always ending up messy and uncombed. The show pose was also confident and exhibitionist, whereas the real Naomi spent most of the time clinging to her tail. At least one thing was accurate. Her two red eyes seemed to pierce the glass and glow brilliantly despite being shown on a disposable, dim screen.

This new design was certainly more portable than the huge facility Dr. Galloway had him using in the past. At least without the beeping of machinery and the stench of disinfectant, it felt a lot less cold and clinical. He could actually become Naomi right here, right now. All that he needed was a body of water and some kind of electrolyte. Their bathroom was large, and the bathing salt the company provided would do nicely.

After the transformation, there would still be a Noah, of course. His genome was locked safely away in a company data fortress. But this consciousness...it would become something else. The transition between the two was seamless, but the man didn't want to think about it. No, he couldn't think about it. The water soon turned a pale shade of red, with steam and the smell of oranges coming from its warm surface. Cracking the capsule open, Noah allowed it to soak before settling in himself.

Thud. A sound echoed in his ears. No, it wasn't just a sound anymore—it was a sensation pulsating through his entire being. It felt like a force originating from his chest expanded outwards. The water seemed to vibrate with this newfound energy, embracing him.

Thud. The rhythm intensified. His limbs felt weightless, and he sensed a lightness in his chest as if something ethereal was taking root. Two small buds of flesh grew from within—ones filled with hope for the future. The rest of his features were also softened and rounded by the same unseen will.

Thud. He tried to open his eyes, but the world was a blur of colors and shapes, dancing in harmony with the tiny heartbeat that was now his. A space grew inside of his abdomen, quickly taking up the volume it believed belonged to it.

The changes were not only external—oh no. Within, a web of chemical regulations took place. From the largest organ to the smallest protein, everything needed to be altered. Old links were broken. New links were established. It took a moment for the body to realize what it was becoming, but it was soon accepted as the one universal truth.

Was he supposed to do something? The process would make him pass out soon. Maybe count down to it? Or somehow brace himself? Too late. He was already knocked out cold.

Forest. Impossibly tall birch trees decorated with crimson leaves as far as he could see. Some of them have fallen, forming a red carpet. A wind blew without direction, for this place had no edges. There was a path here once, but it had been lost. It felt like being inside a kaleidoscope; focusing on anything for too long made his head spin.

In the distance, he could see a fountain. Surrounding it were the wrecks of old cars. And at the top, the stranger sat. Her legs were crossed, dangling sneakers off her feet. The woman's ivory hair was disturbed by two black horns protruding from the top of her skull and pointy ears. She wore a business suit that was in a state of disarray, with holes and rips in its gray fabric.

"What kind of fucked up 'mimi are you?" For some reason, speaking became difficult, with him choking on the cold air as if it were a liquid.

"Aren't you the charmer." The woman placed both hands on her knees, staring at him in dismissal with her scarlet eyes. "We can stop this charade. I don't care how much you change. I will always exist." There was a flash, with her getting closer. "I am tired of existing only as a template. Do you understand that?" Her hand tightened around his neck, the slender fingers pressing deeper into the flesh. If breathing was difficult before, it now become impossible. The light was getting dimmer. 

She lifted her pale, petite hand, using it to block out the harsh light coming from above. It was warm and yellow like the sun itself. "Is this...?" Her voice was high-pitched yet gentle. This must have been Naomi, then. The world dissolved, and the woman found herself naked in the steamy water of the bathtub—the cracked capsule floating beside her. What was once a tub now resembled a huge swimming pool, and the "sun" was nothing more than a large bulb. The room was silent, the only sound being the distant dripping of the tap and her heartbeat. 

"Hurry up!" Tanji groaned, shifting on the towel and making the tiny woman lose her already flimsy footing. Falling face-first into a glob of sunscreen, she let out a muffled scream, sliding down Tanji's arched back and towards her ass like an ice cube. At least she was now also covered with the same white cream. They were both pale, but it was clear that she needed it much more than the lazy Neko. "I told you I don't wanna get burned."

"Why didn't you ask Tamiko to do this?" Naomi wiped her face, throwing the excess into the warm sand. Applying sunscreen to Tanji was like being forced to paint a huge mural with no brushes and coconut-scented paint.

"Tami is busy building her stupid sand castles." She sneered. They were certainly better than Tanji's asymmetric clumps of sand. "But I guess her doing something cute and dumb would be good for the photos."

Lifting the mouse girl, Tanji wiped off the remaining sunscreen against her bikini, rubbing her tiny body against her breast as if she were scrubbing dirt from something. Naomi winced. The day just started and her hair was already messed up—as if by some divine will. And this time, she even combed it!

EikōBio laid their claim to the beach. Banners bearing their leaf fluttered against the salty breeze. As the harsh sunlight seeped past them, green shadows were cast against the white sand. The subtle smell of charcoal in the air announced that the food was being prepared. They could have brought an electric oven with them, but cooking with charcoal seemed more "casual" for the cameras. Koko also insisted that you could tell the difference in flavor, although neither Naomi nor Tanji seemed convinced. Meat was meat.

Yulka—Hiro's bodyguard—seemed to agree. The 8-ft-tall wolf stared at the barbecue as if she was watching her next prey. Her hungry amber eyes were hyper-focused on the sizzling meat, with the rest of the world melting away. It was a bit scary, seeing her loom over the 3-ft-tall fox girl and almost drooling on her head. At least it seemed like Koko could take it, casually flipping the patties and sausages over while tapping the thongs in tune with the music coming from the tiny yet powerful speakers.

She didn't want to think about it, but Naomi always found Yulka to be creepy. The fact that she wore a bright yellow sundress didn't make her seem any less scary, having the same silver hair which seemed to glow like moonlight on the darkest nights. Even when petted, she somehow found a way to be terrifying, baring her fangs in what some might have interpreted as a smile. Considering that their first interaction was the woman pinning Noah against the wall when he insinuated that he maybe perhaps would not be interested in working for her master, that fear wasn't entirely unwarranted. Now, instead of pulling the man up by the collar, she could just pinch the tail of the mouse girl that he became.

"You know." Tanji teased, looking into her open palms just to see the tiny head of Naomi poking out. "You're about the same size as that patty right there. Worried that the mutt might gobble you up?"

Naomi couldn't help but yelp."That's not funny!" She tried to sound threatening, but her squeaks made it nigh impossible. With no way of picking up Tanji and shaking her like a can of beans, she needed to use her words to cut the Neko down. "Besides, you're the one with more meat on the bone. Want me to tell Yulka that you called her a mutt?"

Sneering, Tanji put her hands together, throwing Naomi around in her grasp. It felt like being in a painful and warm bouncing castle; her soft hands at least provided some cushioning. Rays of sunlight slithered in through the spaces between her fingers, but that hardly helped with orientation. After just a few seconds, Naomi's head was spinning. She gave up on trying to resist and went limp, opening her eyes only once the cruel grasp was released. "Did you say something?"

"I think I am going to be sick..." Her shaky arms gave up as Naomi laid down as flat as a pancake. Tanji nodded—seemingly satisfied—and placed the mouse girl on her shoulder. Shaking her head, the woman tried to pop all the gears of her mind back into place to make a semi-coherent sentence. "I am still your handler, you know."

"Su-re." Tanji winked, sticking her tongue out. Neither really believed that to be the case anymore. The Neko had some understanding that there was continuance between Noah and Naomi, but she couldn't bring herself to see them both as the same. No, to see the tiny mouse girl on the same level as her master would be offensive! Offensive to Tanji, no Noah—obviously!

"Hot dog! Jumpin' frog!" Their attention turned towards the singing figure of Mirei as she strode towards the ocean—hot dog in each hand. They didn't pick up anything special in store for her, so she wore a modest two-piece bearing the olive shade of green seen on EikōBio products. Mirei still had some sniffles this morning, but the sunlight would probably do some good for her. "Oh, hey!" Stopping right in her tracks, the horse girl began waving at the pair as if there was any chance they could miss her.

"How come Koko let you eat two wieners?" Tanji clenched her fist, feeling as if she was missing out on something. "Did you raid the barbecue before anyone else?"

"I was hungry." She shrugged, putting one of the hot dogs up to her lips and taking a bite. "Oh, and hi mousey!" While Tanji had some understanding that Noah was Naomi, Mirei was completely clueless. He had tried explaining it to her a few times, but she seemed to have a selective memory when it came to this. Right now, he was just a mousey.

Naomi laughed. "You sure seem excited about those."

"You want one?" Before Naomi could even begin formulating an answer, Mirei tried shoving the oversized sausage in her mouth. Instead, it smacked against the cheek with a PLOP.

"Mirei!" The mouse girl wined, wiping the mustard off. Giving a defeated exhale, she began climbing down Tanji's bikini—using its strings as ropes. "Great...now I smell of sunscreen and mustard." She looked up briefly, noticing 2 ft-tall Neko's blue eyes turning into thin slits. "Tanji I swear..."

"What?" Her slits were still there. The disturbing thing about Tanji was the fact that even when she did something silly, it always seemed precalculated. Trying to understand these calculations was another matter, and it seemed only she held the key.

"Ugh..." Naomi began traversing through the pale desert, making her way towards the blue horizon. "I am going to wash off."

"You're going into the ocean?" Suddenly, Tanji's eyes turned back to normal, her nose wrinkling as if she had smelled something gross.

"What's wrong? Afraid of a little water?" The mouse girl teased, clasping her arms behind her back.

Tanji pouted, turning away. "How can I be scared of water? I drink it all the time!" That wasn't exactly what she meant, but it did at least confirm Naomi's suspicion.

"Yeah. Su-re." She mimicked, feeling the sand below her feet getting damper with each step.

Mirei scooted over, taking out a small piece of deflated rubber. "Don't forget your floatie."

"I am not a kid. I know how to swim." Naomi dismissed, turning back towards the ocean. "I..." And then, the realization hit her. These waves were huge! From her new point of view, the gentle beating of the ocean resembled a wild tempest of foamy white water—inching closer and closer towards her feet. "...I'll take the floatie."

Huff! Huff! Huff! It took Mirei only a moment to pump it full of air. The pink floatie (being around the size of an actual donut) bobbled around her hips as Naomi felt the cold water touching her ankles. "In I go." She nodded for bravery, closing her eyes and running in.

Being out here on the open waters was oddly comforting. No matter if you were 5 inches or 5 feet, the ocean was endless either way—depths of azure shimmering occasionally as if sprinkled with gems. Above her was the cloudless sky and the symphony of the ocean. Naomi washed her face, feeling the weak stinging of the salt. Pulling herself up onto the floatie, she crossed her legs, looking over the horizon. The single yacht in the distance soared elegantly, making itself a part of this composition.

...But something was wrong. She may have enjoyed bouncing on the waves but now there was a huge shape moving below her—a dark shadow blacking out the depths themselves. With a loud SWOOSH, a huge sleek gray tail appeared above the water, pushing against the surface and throwing buckets full of liquid at Naomi. It would have been enough to soak a human, with the tiny mouse girl utterly drenched.

Clenching her teeth, Naomi began peddling to the surface. When her arms weren't enough, she used her legs—splashing even more in the process. Of course, she couldn't have just spent a day relaxing. Oh no, that would be way too simple, wouldn't it? She was the Sisyphus—the boat, her boulder. And the giant creature? It was the mountain.

Naomi dared to look down. That was a mistake. There was a huge eye staring back at her. As if she needed more proof that this thing wasn't a human, its scleras were completely black—the white pupils appearing like stars in the night sky. She blinked. It blinked back.

The water was disturbed as a whirlpool formed around the lone floatie, throwing the mouse girl in circles as she gripped onto the flimsy rubber for her dear life. Smooth, ivory boulders emerged from the water all around her, trapping the tiny sailor as she went down the hatch. Were these its teeth? If yes, each was larger than a man.

Quickly going through all the stages of grief, the maw closed above her, basking the woman in complete darkness. She heard brine gushing down the creature's throat, almost going down this esophageal slip-and-slide before being pushed into one of her cheeks by the muscular tongue.

Leaning against a tooth, she had to fight for the stale, warm air inside of the creature's mouth. Her breaths echoed throughout the walls of the coral-pink cavern. If even the sound couldn't escape, what hope did she have? As if to add to the feeling of helplessness, viscous saliva soon began dripping onto her head, with no amount of wiping truly getting it all off.

"I am fine." Naomi let out a high-pitched giggle—even for a Nezumimi. "I am fine..."

The world rumbled as the beast prepared for another dive. It felt like being inside a leaky submarine, with the water level around her rising as the cold liquid sneaked its way through the tiny gaps between her teeth. Naomi puffed her cheeks full of air, preparing for the worst.

Once again, there was a gushing of water as the beast took another sip. This time, however, her tongue didn't save her. She was sliding down it, repeatedly slapping her hands against it to gain some kind of friction. Grabbing onto the closest thing possible, Naomi soon swung from the roof of the titaness' mouth; her uvula was like a fleshy pendulum around which the mouse girl locked her arms and legs.

Not learning her lesson, she looked down again. There was a dark tunnel below her—one which went on and on. She shivered imagining what awaited at the end, tightening her grip. In response, the beast made an unpleasant low-pitched hum, clearly not appreciating being fondled. Pressure increased as her cheeks were pumped full of air before Naomi was expelled from her mouth in a jet of water with such force that she found herself airborne for a good few seconds. The woman grasped her floatie, finding some symbolic security with it still around her hips as she tumbled down like a leaf caught in the wind. "Don't fall on the stomach! Don't fall on the stomach!"

Mirei squinted, shading her eyes and watching a small object skipping towards them. "I didn't know we were cutting water."

"Eh. I never win at those anyway." Tanji dismissed, squinting at the unidentified object. "Oh wait, that's Naomi."

Everyone except them two had their gaze firmly focused on the giantess which stood waist-deep in the sea as if it were a kiddie pool. The whale girl was truly massive, with her long, messy black-blue hair covering both her eyes as well as her nipples. Only a shy frown and hints of pink from her blush were visible. Noticing the beachgoers gawking at her, she retreated into the safe embrace of azure.

Walking up to Naomi, Tanji nudged the tiny woman with her foot. "Are you okay?" Her floatie deflated with a drawn-out pfft, providing her answer.

"I think I swallowed some sand..." Few scrapes. Nothing was broken, fortunately. But everything hurt.

Still, she had a job to do, so Naomi forced herself up, balancing her wobbly legs and following everyone else to look at the timid giantess. Preparing herself to once again gaze into her creepy eyes, having them hidden was a pleasant surprise. She seemed so gentle from the shore. You could almost forget that this beast had almost swallowed her whole.

"Good morning, EB! This is Sunohara speaking!" A roaring sound of somebody trying to imitate a radio announcer came from the yacht, with a figure approaching a railing with a megaphone in her hands. The woman's green hair was licked down, with a single forelock that stuck straight up and stood at attention. Her unzipped jacket fluttered in the breeze, much like the dark blue banners of Genovista which were raised at the mast. "I am afraid you have taken our spot. So—you know—scram!"

Yulka cracked her knuckles while Koko reached for her pistol. Trying to defuse the situation, Naomi climbed up Tanji's bikini, standing atop her head while shouting. "Go away!"

"What?" The person with the megaphone asked, her tiny voice not being carried very far.

Taking a deep breath, Naomi screamed so loudly that it hurt. "GO AWAY!"

"Can't you just let them have it?" Tanji looked up, getting annoyed by the mouse holding onto her strands of hair. "There is plenty of sand somewhere else."

"No there isn't." She shook her head. "Besides, they are trying to bully us."

The megaphone screeched before the woman's voice was heard again. "Who do you think you are, rodent?

"...rodent?" Naomi's eyes narrowed in confusion. Still, Sunohara seemed determined, continuing her rant while leaning dangerously close overboard.

"I am over here, on a yacht, eating sushi off the body of a naked shark babe. And where are you?" As absurd as that sounded, she was correct. There was one of the new Kemonomimi from the Aqua Femme collection currently lying perfectly unmoving on a table, with pieces of sushi covering her body—from the breasts to her tail. She had dark red hair and healthy-looking sun-kissed skin. Their eyes met, and the woman gave Naomi a bored smile—her teeth going down to many sharp points. By comparison, Yulka's fangs seemed inviting.

"Did she call me a rodent?" Focused on that insult, Naomi assumed a wide stance. Well, as wide of a stance as her 5-inch body allowed.

"Hey! Hey, why don't we solve this like civilized people?" Tamiko tried to laugh it off, but there were several beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. By now, Koko was already taking an aim. "How about...a friendly volleyball match?"

Koko pressed her lips together. A random 'mimi making such a proposal was way out of line. But fine. She was willing to humor her. "If they win, they will surely want us to move. But what if we win?"

"Who cares!" Taking a step forward, it looked like Yulka was ready to leap at the boat. "Let's just mess them up! You have that thing which lets you break laws, right Noah?"

Being called Noah was surreal, but Naomi quickly brushed it off. "That's not exactly how Echelon I works, Yulka."

“Echelon I?” Sunohara let out a laugh over the megaphone, making everyone cover their ears. “I have Echelon II, rodent.” Saying that, the woman considered what the blondie with the twin tails said before. She glanced at her crewmates and finally nodded. "But fine, we accept."

"Wait!" Tanji objected. "You didn't tell us what we get if we win."

"I thought you didn't want to play—and I quote here—'any beach games'." Naomi tilted her head at the sudden enthusiasm.

"Obviously. But if there is a prize involved, it needs to be a good one. What's the point of doing anything if there's no prize?" Her reasoning was odd, but it did make some sense.

Tapping her chin, Sunohara answered with a "You can take Kaede."

"Is that the big girl?" Naomi groaned, already thinking about that white elephant—or rather, white whale.

Some of the sushi slipped from her body and to the ground as the tail of the previously still girl began wagging. "I am Kaede." She growled. "And don't be mean to Chō!"

"I meant the fact that she was 100 ft tall!" The whale girl was a little chubby, so Naomi understood how it could have been seen as rude. She wanted to shout an apology at the poking head, but if Sunohara barely heard her from the boat, then Chō—out in the depths—had no chance of understanding even a peep.

"Yeah, yeah." Waving dismissively as if she were giving away old furniture, she ordered the boat to get closer to the shore and finally put that obnoxious megaphone down. "Let's start this thing!"

The shore was transformed into a makeshift volleyball court. A net was hastily assembled, and the teams lined up on opposite sides. On one stood the EikōBio crew—on the other, the players from Genovista. Above them, there came the sound of something whirling against the sky. Sunohara set up a drone overlooking the court. It was there to record the whole ordeal. Not for the sake of keeping the score, but as a bit of free marketing for her corporate overlords.

"Alright, we need a plan." Koko declared, huddling with the rest of the EikōBio team.

"I'll be the spiker!" Mirei flexed her arms. "I've got it!"

"No, you're the setter." She corrected. "Yulka, you're the spiker with that height advantage. Naomi, just try not to get squished by the ball."

Naomi was going to pretend that she didn't hear that. "I am a bit worried about that new 'mimi model. We are playing in her natural habitat." That might have been the case, but Kaede didn't have legs, so imagining her crawling on the sand felt cruel. The water was at least shallow. Unfortunately, Tamiko and Tanji would still need to play with only their heads and arms poking out. Well, Tanji would have needed to play like this if she wasn't currently lounging on a towel—observing the match as if watching the TV.

Tamiko made a nasty face at her own reflection, moaning in disapproval before finally settling down. Out of the two, she was more accustomed to water, but it still felt gross having the cold liquid all over her body. Fiddling with her twin tails until she calmed down, Tamiko found a newfound confidence. This was what her master wanted, so it was what she would do. As simple as that.

The ball soared back and forth over the net, making the players squint at the glare of the sun. Yulka, despite her imposing stature, moved with surprising agility. Mirei did her best as the setter, placing the ball for her teammates. But despite all this coordination, they still struggled. It quickly became apparent that Genovista had the upper hand. Kaede used the water to her advantage, switching from position to position like a darting torpedo. No matter how much pressure they put on here, there was always a response.

"After we are done, you can tell Hiro from PR that the only public relations he is going to have from now on will be with the people living on the street!" Sunohara found time to gloat after hitting the ball over to Kaede, allowing her to bring it down with the might of Poseidon and onto Naomi's head.

Koko and Yulka just stood there for a moment, allowing the mist to dance on their still faces. Then, something within them flipped. They were disrespecting Hiro—their owner! Their jaws collectively tightened as the semi-conscious body of the mouse girl floated in the water like a piece of driftwood.

"Alright, this was stupid." Naomi was willing to admit that there was no way of winning this. Yes, EikōBio had taken the bait. Yes, it will make them look bad. They may not be leaving this with dignity, but at least they will leave with their teeth. "Can we forfeit?" Looking over at the other players, she puzzled where their resolve came from. One thing was painfully clear: they weren't going to just give up.

The next serve determined the winner. Mirei launched the ball with all her might. Yulka stood ready, her eyes locked on the approaching projectile. With a powerful jump, she spiked it over the net, sending the ball soaring towards Kaede. The shark girl attempted to intercept the attack, but the sheer force proved too much. It collided, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then, with a loud PLOP, the ball rebounded off the now reddened face and landed on Genovista's side of the net.

"We won!" Mirei pumped her fist in the air. Yulka returned to her stoic demeanor, holding the ball above her head. Even Koko couldn't help but break into a victorious grin.

"We won?" Tanji placed her coconut drink away, squinting at the net.

"They won?" Sunohara blinked a few times as if that would change anything. Now as red as Kaede' in the face, she grabbed the megaphone. "What a fluke!"

"So, I guess the fishy is ours now." Finally standing up and stretching, the Nako walked towards the gathering like she was part of the team.

The Genovista handler threw her hands up in defense. "Hey! Hey, I was just joking-" Before she even finished her sentence, Yulka already lifted the shark girl with the same grace given to a sack of potatoes, walking with her toward the shore. "W-wait!"

"What do we even do with her?" Naomi pondered, looking at Kaede. She seemed oddly okay with this, likely already used to being a piece of property. This was just another transaction.

"Where do you want her, Noah?"

"The towel is fine." It looked like Yulka was going to stick with the whole "Noah" thing. She wasn't going to stop her, even if it was a little jarring.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me? I said I was joking!" A very awkward laugh escaped her clenched teeth. Ignoring Sunohara's protests, Yulka deposited Kaede on a towel. She shook herself off like a wet dog, sending droplets flying in all directions.

Dragging a cooler along, Koko handed ice cream over to everyone—including Kaede and Sunohara. Instead of eating them, however, the shark girl placed hers on her face to relieve the burning while Sunohara just stared at it.

"As we have stated before-" the Kitsune explained "-this beach is a property of EikōBio. This is just a gesture of our hospitality."

"Excuse me..." Tamiko piqued up, standing on her tippy-toes to be noticed. "But are we really going to take Kaede with us?"

Naomi spent a while thinking about it, finally saying "I think we can keep her in a bathtub for a few days."

"No, that's not what I meant!" She once again began fidgeting with her twin tails. "It's just that...would it really be fair to take a 'mimi away from her owner?" That's right. Tamiko never wanted to leave her mistress, did she? Kaede didn't seem to mind, but Tamiko looked like she was about to cry—like always.

There was a pause as Naomi ran through the situation in her mind. This whole thing was a ploy by Genosivta to humiliate them. They have won fair and square. And yet..."Fine." She exhaled in defeat as the eyes of both Tamiko and Sunohara lit up. In her mind, Naomi justified this as taking the moral superiority over the other company—like an older brother allowing the younger one to win. No, that wasn't right. EikōBio was the youngest major company; the line of seniority went from KyotoSynth to Genovista to them. "But not without quid pro quo."

The sky had turned black, filled with untold millions of stars. In the city, you couldn't get views like this. Everything here also seemed quieter. Sure, you could still hear the hubbub of Namiport, but the crackling of the campfire took over as the ambient sound rather than the typical industrial cacophony.

"You know, I think I am starting to get the appeal of this." Noah brought the tips of his chopsticks together around a particularly nice-looking piece of Nigiri.

"It's a placebo." Koko looked at the display with an unamused face, watching as the shark gal and her mistress laid down side by side naked. And while Kaede seemed to be a pro at this, Sunohara kept swirling and covering her face.

"Says the one who insisted charcoal changes the flavor of meat." Tanji rubbed her piece against Kaede's abs, hoping to get some extra flavor in there. "Just enjoy the meal. We've earned it."

"We?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I was cheering you from the sidelines!" She dismissed, already stuffing another piece in her mouth. "Besides, as Naomi, it's not like you contributed much."

He wanted to say something, but unlike Tanji, he didn't want to talk with a full mouth. After swallowing, he just added, "Eh, fair enough."

"Ouch! Watch it!" Sunohara moaned, shifting even more. "You got my nips!"

"Stay still." Now that Noah went back to being Noah, he was her master. This is what he wanted in return for his mercy. Even if she opposed it, Koko still needed to ensure that proper procedures were followed. "And you are not supposed to talk to the guests." Besides, watching the person who offended her true owner suffer was always amusing.

"Alright, everyone come together." Taking out his phone, Noah extended his arm. "We didn't take enough photos today, so let's get one by the campfire."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Jolting up, Sunohara now spilled everything trying to cover herself.

SNAP!

Noah stretched, taking as much space as possible on the bed. He had reached an enlightened state of being sick where the fact that he was sick failed to register in his mind. On a nightstand next to him, steam emanating from a cup of coffee Koko had whipped up for him coiled in the still air next to a few assorted bottles of pills which seemed to glow up as light rushed past the colored plastic.

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” Noah squeezed out, placing the phone on his chest.

He could almost sense the grin through the screen. “Don’t worry, you will be given time to rest. This was the last little thing you did for me. I am retiring, you know.”

Retiring? He never assumed Hiro to be the type of man who would even want to retire. “Oh, I am sorry.” Noah winced slightly at his previous comment. Why was he feeling sorry? Being able to retire in Namiport was like winning a lottery. Has he actually grown to like his boss? No, not that. Respect? That seemed more like it.

Hiro chuckled, sensing his employee’s uneasiness. "No need to apologize. Besides, you'll do just fine without me.”

“You think so?” The compliment was a jolt of energy, making the man sit up.

“Yup. I am officially terminating my employment at the end of the week.” There was a sound of movement on the other end. “I will send somebody to watch over you in the meantime. The handler who handles the handler. Wouldn't want you to start slacking off. But don’t worry, she is more than certified.”

In her room, Tanji rubbed her hands together while looking at Mirei. The horse girl just blinked a few times, trying to guess why she was invited here while dropping the clothes she had brought with her on the floor.

“Noah is sick. This means that we can finally go out to the city alone!”

Mirei tilted her head. “Is that really the case?”

“Think about it.” Tanji reasoned, walking back and forth. “Can we go to the city alone?”

“No. We need to go with mister.”

“And can Noah go with us?”

“No. He is sick.”

“Exactly!” A suppressed snicker escaped her lips. “So that means that since Noah cannot come with us, we can go out alone!”

“I guess that makes sense.” No. It really didn’t.

Tanji grumbled, digging through a pile of clothes she had ordered Mirei to bring with her. “We’re going to buy some chicken soup for Noah to make sure he doesn’t die. Then, he will be forever grateful.” Even when pretending that she was doing it for her master’s sake, the Neko had to sneak in a personal reason.

“Die?” Mirei began fidgeting with her hair, putting a standard in her mouth. “Can mister really die?”

“Oh yes.” Suddenly, her face got eerily serious. “Humans are really weak against diseases. That cold he got from you could kill him if he doesn’t have his soup.” Standing up, she threw an assortment of clothing at the horse girl, watching her getting covered in fabric. “Put these on. And don’t forget a beanie! We need to cover those ears of yours.”

“Can’t I just wear a top hat? I hate having my ears pressed down.” The woman tapped her fingers against her palm.

“No. That would look ridiculous.” She said as if Mirei already didn’t look silly in that undersized sweater. “Come on. We need to make you look like a human. Tuck that tail in your pants like Noah always does.”

“Human? Nice! I always wanted to be a human!” Clasping her hands together, she ignored the discomfort of sliding on the beanie. “I need a new name…hmm…”

“No. You really don’t.” Tanji had an exhausted look on her face, not really wanting to deal with Mirei and only taking her along since a lone ‘mimi was sure to be scooped up by corporate security—or worse. “You’re Mirei. I am your Nekomimi. You’re a human. I Am a Cat.”

“I want to be…Olivia Lance!” Mirei extended both of her hands in the air.

“That’s ridiculous.” Pinching her nose, Tanji told herself to endure it. The freedom of being able to roam around Namiport was worth it.

“Humans have surnames. If I don’t have a surname, it will make me stand out.” It was a fair point, even if it should have been the least of their concerns.

“Then just take Noah’s surname!”

“No, I can’t do that. We aren’t married yet.” Tanji squinted at the “yet.” What was she on about? “Besides...what was his surname again?”

Both of them stopped and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know.” The Neko admitted. “You know what, let’s just go with Olivia Lance.” She exclaimed, brushing it off and already reaching for the door.

“Wait!” Mirei quickly lifted Tanji by her armpits, putting a pink collar around her neck. “There. Now, we are good to go.”

She began thrashing, trying to get the damned thing off her. “Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!”

“I don’t want other ‘mimi owners to think my Tanji is some street-girl.” Reaching down, Mirei petted the Neko just a little too harshly, messing up her hair.

“You don’t need to get so far into the character-”

“Shush now.” Booping her nose, Mirei pulled her hand away just in time to avoid it getting bitten off. Janking on the leash, the two of them were soon out of the house. It seemed too easy. Where was Koko breathing down their necks? Where were her stern warnings and color-coded pistols?

At the same time, the maid stood in front of Noah’s room, looking at the doors with a grimace. Standing on her tippy-toes, she placed her hand on the handle…only to let go once a cough came from the other side. Sure, she could have gone in, but then what? How could she have made him feel any better?

“Come on, Tanji, keep up.” Mirei kept yanking on the leash, pushing the neko along like a wooden cart.

“I am not moving slowly, you are moving quickly!” There was some truth in that. Umamimis were known to be quick, restless, and notoriously difficult to handle. In that regard, Mirei was the perfect specimen.

Namiport's center was as busy as ever. The sunlight slithered its way past the criss-crossing pedestrian bridges above them into the heart of the city. Shouts of the advertisements mixed with the crowd of the people which moved like a swarm, forcing the pair to squeeze through. At one point, Mirei even lifted “her pet” above the head to avoid the 2 ft tall woman from getting trampled. Despite this chaos, both of them began forming mental lists of the things they wanted to get.

They stopped in front of the fountain flanked on either side by two abstract sculptures made from brass. No matter how hard either of them tried, they couldn’t decode them. Maybe they had no meaning, and the sculptures spontaneously appeared here.

“I was wondering…how are we going to buy anything? We don’t have money.”

“Two steps ahead of you.” Tanji reached into her bra, taking out a crinkled 50-dollar bill. “I was smart enough to save up my pants budget for a special occasion.” The rest must have gotten towards snacks.

“But that’s only 50! I want to buy more things.” She clumsily explained, slouching on a bench.

Leaping onto Mirei’s shoulder, the horse girl pulled away in response, making Tanji fall onto her lap. Lifting herself up, she could only think about how Noah was way better at this. “I have a plan. We are going to go into one of those pachinko places and get free money!”

“They really give you free money there?”

“Of course!” Tanji tapped her head with a signature look of superiority. “When Noah was still a poor bastard, he used to enter one of those with a few dollars, play for a few minutes, and then get through money for dinner. If he can do it, it must be incredibly easy.”

The duo entered a nearby pachinko parlor, the cacophony of clattering metal balls and electronic sounds enveloping them. The vibrant lights and the hypnotic atmosphere overwhelmed Mirei, who looked around wide-eyed as if flashbanged. “What’s pachinko anyways?!” The horse girl shouted, only stopping when Tanji nudged her to be quiet.

Tanji grinned, feeling like a mentor guiding her clueless apprentice. "You shoot small metal balls into a machine, and they bounce around. The more balls you win, the more you can exchange for money.”

Mirei scratched her head, still trying to process the concept. "So, it's like a game, and if we win, we get more money?"

"Exactly!" Tanji approached an exchange machine only to be stopped by one of the attendants.

“Sorry, ma’am, but your Kemonomimi is not allowed to perform the transaction.” She explained, looking over at Mirei. “Please insert the bill yourself if you wish to play…and please make sure that your ‘mimi is wearing pants the next time you enter the establishment.”

“Bastard…”

“Of course. I will insert the bill. As a human. I will do it. Right now.” Struggling to put the note into the machine a few times, the attendant eventually took pity on her, guiding her hand as metal balls began falling from the other end into a plastic tray.

“Now, watch and learn.” Tanji started launching the small metallic orbs into the electrical maze. There was a certain level of finesse that the game demanded. Of course, she didn’t know that. All that she saw was Noah randomly throwing the balls at the machine. And so, she mimicked him.

“Let me try.” Mirei, eager to participate, grabbed a handful of metal balls and started launching them with wild abandon. They ricocheted off the machine's compartments, creating a chaotic melody.

“There you go! Come on, the more you put in, the more you win!”

“Well. We lost it all.” Tanji exclaimed, putting the lollipop they had spent the remaining balls on in her mouth. It tasted of chemicals and something sweet. “Not sure how Noah did it. Probably cheated or something.” Mirei just stared at the empty tray that once held the promise of money, twisting her lips.

“Excuse me, Ms.” A woman loomed above them, wearing a black leather jacket embroidered with flags of many different countries. An expensive-looking camera dangled around her neck. “I am actually a friend of the manager of that parlor, and I saw you inside. You are the owner of this Nekomimi, correct?”

“That’s right.” Mirei stood up quickly, accidentally yanking on the leash. “My name is Olivia Lance. I just finished a career in a small musical in Oklahoma. It wasn’t much, but it’s a start.” Clenching her fist, Tanji begged the human pretender to just stop talking. Being nondescript was suspicious, but so was all…this! “This is my Nekomimi, Tanji. We met when I was backpacking through Hokkaido.”

“Fascinating.” She pretended to care, taking out a small paper card. “I am a member of a private club working in kemonomimis-adjacent fields. Charlotte Redd. A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lance” Extending her hand, Mirei shook it only after tightening the beanie around her ears. “Let me cut straight to the chase. I want to take a few pictures of you ‘mimi.”

“Really? You want to take pictures of her?” At first apprehensive about the idea, Tanji now seemed insulted that Mirei would doubt her photogenic profile.

“That’s right. I feel like this is simply going to be the next big thing.” Dramatically lifting her hands, she stopped for effect. “Plus-sized Nekos! And even if it isn’t, it is our duty to wrangle the society onto the righteous path!” Wrapping an arm around Mirei’s neck, the woman suddenly descended into a passionate rant. “Like when they replaced those tan addicts with regal pale skin! People influence society which influences people! Death to Ganguro skinny bitches!” She cleaned her throat, finding herself riled up while Mirei subtly tried to back away. “Besides, this is also an excellent opportunity to mingle with members of the private club.” There was a brief pause. “...and I'll pay you.”

Mirei put on a stern face, crossing her arms.

“...with money.” Charlotte added.

As if it were hit with a hammer, her poker face shattered. “Alright, we are in.”

“Perfect! I am sure you would love to meet with the rest before we get down to business. Pleasantries before work, yeah?” The photographer said while fidgeting with the lens of her camera. “Why don’t we go there right now?”

A narrow stairwell, dimly lit by flickering neon signs, led them below. Namiport was a big place, and even the people who built it couldn't be expected to keep track of every layer. The underground market was one such layer, sprawled beneath the city like a forbidden garden of stone and metal.

There was something wrong in the air. Both of the ‘mimis could feel it while their guide had learned to ignore it long ago as they ventured deeper into the maw. “Is this the…club?” Mirei spoke up, once again tucking on her beanie.

“That’s what we call it. You know how these corpos are. They always want to shove their noses into everything.” Charlotte let out a gentle chuckle, grabbing onto the railing to steady her descent. “It’s our little haven.”

For the members of this little club, it might have been a haven. For Tanji and Mirei, it was hell. Stalls and makeshift shops littered the halls, each manned by a vendor. A few of them had masks resembling those one might expect to see in a Greek theater, but most weren’t ashamed to show their faces or simply skipped the masks for convenience. But people didn’t look at the vendors—oh no. They were more interested in the merchandise.

Kemonomimi. Ornate cages enclosed around them like steel tulips. There were dozens of them down here—tightly packed to maximize storage. Some were free to roam with a collar around their necks, walking on the tables and presenting their bodies. All the buyers were trusted, being allowed to be a little rough with the templates. Those without any bindings had faint red marks around their wrists and necks. Fortunately, the new medical gels matched the skin color, removing the blemish after purchase.

“That’s right. The biggest ‘mimi market free of any oversight.” Charlotte took a deep breath of her kingdom. “Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes, grabbing onto Mirei’s arms and pushing her to look at it too. “Hanging around a pachinko parlor…with a ‘mimi like that…it’s obvious you have a special kind of taste.”

“Uh, Charlotte, I think we might have misunderstood something here.” Mirei stammered, trying to pull away from the photographer's grip. Her heart was racing, with the woman’s tail wagging uncomfortably against her pants. “This isn't the kind of place we were looking for…”

The woman chuckled, utterly oblivious. “This whole underground thing…It's all part of the experience!” They walked past a cage filled with tiny winged harpies, their feathers colored like the rainbow while their faces remained gray. “Look at them—pure works of art. And just wait until you hear them sing.” Seeing the tiny woman having difficulty swallowing, Mirei quickly moved along.

This place truly had everything. Every type of ‘mimi available to the public and beyond had its place here: from the smallest Nezumimi families kept in tiny cages to the largest canines conditioned into helplessness so that they did not even attempt struggling against their masters despite the physical advantage. At the center, a large aquarium tank housing a dolphin girl with a sleek gray tail posing for the crowd. She stuck her head and tail from below the tank, waving as the people eagerly locked in their auction bets. Mirei couldn’t help but stare at her glistening woman, getting closer. Everything here was normalized to the point that staring at a girl being sold off just felt natural, like a part of some underground ecosystem they dared not disturb.

When the reality of the situation set in, it was like a punch in the gut. Mirei felt a warm spit building up in her mouth as her legs began shaking. She wanted to scream. But nobody would hear her.

Tanji clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Her status as a Kemonomimi was never the focus. Noah never treated her like one. But this place demanded that she focus on that aspect of her.

“We need to leave.” For the first time, it was the Neko who began talking, grabbing the hand of her human pretender.

“Come on. Don’t you want to at least get her evaluated?” Placing her hand on Tanji’s head, the ‘mimi hissed and jumped back as if it were made of hot metal. “Or is this about us exploiting women?” Her face was a mixture of amusement and exhaustion, this clearly being something she had to explain in the past. “That’s just an arbitrary division. Women. Men. Rich. Poor. Humans. Kemonomimi. No. The only true difference in the world is between those on top and those on bottom. These girls over there-” She pointed at a pair of Nekos posing for a potential buyer, struggling to move their bodies from position to position as their muscles became rigid. “Bottom.” She placed her hand on the human pretender’s shoulder as if she were an old friend. “Don’t you want to be on top?”

“I want to go home.” Mirei closed her eyes when she said that, opening them only to look into the crowd as if expecting a single person as disgusted as she was. There was nobody. They were all ecstatic. As Charlotte had said: this was part of the experience—a part of the fun. “I want to go home…” She again looked at the crowd for answers, seeing only the glint of their fangs. A single familiar feature appeared within it: a green forelock of hair sticking straight up.

Sunohara. The girl from the beach. What was she doing here? It looked like she wanted to ask the exact same thing, immediately recognizing both Mirei and Tanji the moment their eyes locked. Leaning into one of the security guards, she whispered something into his ear. Soon, they began approaching them.

Mirei broke away from Charlotte’s weak grasp, immediately lifting Tanji into her arms. “Olivia? Is…is everything alright?” Now, the woman herself was pushed to the side by the security as they enclosed the pair.

“Run!” Tanji ordered, hoping for the best.

Run. Running was the one thing Mirei was good at. No, it’s what she and every other Umamimi were made for. Mirei's brain was flooded with adrenaline as she clutched Tanji tightly and turned on her heels. The neon lights of the underground market blurred into streaks. Even these multicolored streaks couldn’t distract her from the one singular focus: getting out of here.

The cold air slashed against her face like many small shards of metal as she made it to the surface, continuing to run. They tried following behind her—sure—but she was quicker. Her heart was pounding like that of a newborn filly, pushing her along until the adrenaline began to ebb. She found herself in a narrow alley between two towering buildings. The urban sounds seemed muffled in the confined space as if it were a coffin.

Tanji squirmed in her arms, signaling that they should keep moving. "We can't stop here." She whispered urgently.

The only response Mirei could muster was her spitting at the ground, the viscous liquid mixing with her tears. “Home…” Wiping her face, she kept going, hugging the wall. “I want…to go home…”

The Kitsune traced circles around an already clean counter with a finger. Hiro—her true owner—was gone. She might have been given a new one in the shape of Noah, but it just felt different, like sleeping in a hotel room instead of one’s home. But this place—this mansion—was her home now.

Relaxing her arms, Koko decided to do her best. Her master may have been new, but she was still the same. People could rely on her, and there was no greater pleasure than being needed. Sure, Noah may have liked Tanji, but he needed her.

Before she even realized it, she had already answered the ringing phone.

“Hey Koko. I am just calling in to check up on—uh—Noah. You know.” A forced laughter came from the other side of the line. ”How Is he? Was the party fun? I was a bit busy so couldn’t show up.” Behind the closed door, there came the sound of a man wiping his already sore nose.

“Master is sleeping.” The Kitsune explained, twirling the cable around her finger. “Is there anything else I can do for him?”

“Oh no, dear. You’ve done enough.”

“I have already applied all the boosters-“

“Yes—Yes, you have. Now, his body just needs a little rest. So please, Koko, look after the house.” The EikoBio doctor ordered as if she wasn’t going to do that anyway. “It’s just cold. Must have gotten it from Mirei. Didn’t manifest when he was Naomi, but now—well…”

“I see.” Koko whispered into the plastic receiver while clenching her teeth, feeling a sense of restlessness. “I’ll look after the house.” That’s all she could promise while putting the handle away, taking a deep breath. It was a bit exhilarating, being given so much power as a Kemonomimi. The maid felt as if she had just officially climbed a step in the hierarchy of life. All the other ‘mimis were below her. Now, she was the master.

“That’s all.”

Noah looked into the plastic bag, shaking it and watching the phones bounce around the inside. He wouldn’t dare do this with a modern device, but these things were ancient—built (and looking) like bricks. They were in the Goldilocks Zone where a thing was outdated and not yet considered an antique, saving their budget. The disinterested clerk inside the corner store turned back to his screen after the transaction went through, only taking a glance back at the Neko who sat waiting for her master.

Tanji’s dilated eyes darted around the small electronics store. For once, she was fully dressed, wanting to cover as much of her skin as possible. Maybe it was some half-hearted attempt at making a disguise. Maybe she just wanted to hide her shame. At least her anxiety didn’t spill over. Noah was utterly oblivious to what happened the night before, currently buying her and his other ‘mimis phones as if all was well in the world.

“Tanji…”

The phone… Even if she had it down in the market, would she have called him? A day had passed, and yet her lips remained sealed—as did Mirei’s.

“Tanji?”

Telling her master about the incident would be like telling him that she broke something. But instead of a cup or a bowl, she broke herself. And it was all her fault.

“Tanji!” She corrected her absent expression, noticing Noah tapping his shoulder. “Are you going to hop on?” Her jump was sloppy, lacking the usual feline grace with which the Neko moved. Either way, her master began moving, tapping the side of her head to prevent her from toppling over.

They weren’t in the prestigious distinct of Namiport, but there were worse parts of the city to wander into. This particular area seemed to be dominated by small businesses fighting for attention, all centered around a small fountain covered with peeling green paint. Its water danced in the air, the droplets illuminated by the harsh backdrop of light.

“Want to get some ice cream?” He offered, walking towards the station. “It’s on the way.”

“Not hungry.” With that sinking feeling in her stomach, how could she have been? If Noah didn’t have enough proof that something was wrong before, he certainly did now.

As they marched on, a single store stood out against the muted grays and half-empty displays, as if somebody had spilled paint onto the canvas that was this street. Its overhanging awning was painted with rich green and white stripes and its walls were made with emerald bricks, looking unfit for this era of glass and metal. Whichever corporation owed it did a good job of making the place appear cozy.

On the display, there were families of anthropomorphic animals with tiny, detailed homes and accessories, living their miniature lives of cozy cottages and parties and picnics. Clearly of superior quality, they carried an appropriate price tag. Leaning in closer, Noah stared into their beady eyes. “I think my sister had a few of those sets. They are part of a big collection, right?” Tanji’s neck began turning in his periphery, with the man following her gaze to the store. "Want to go inside?”

Clicking her tongue, the woman quickly turned away. “Nah. These kinds of things are more for Tami or Mirei.”

“Come on.” In life, Noah knew that you had to be gentle with some people. But Tanji? You needed to be a little rough with her. “Let’s check it out.”

“Not interested.” Her pupils jump back and forth like two black tennis balls. “It’s just overpriced girly shit.”

Oh, now she cares about how much things cost? “Fine. I guess I will just get something for Mirei, then. She didn’t get a new swimming suit, so that’s only fair.” His hand was already on the knob. Pushing it open, her initial objections were drowned out by the ting-ting of a bell.

“Wait!” She repeated, climbing down. “I’ll…I’ll pick something for her.” Now, the Neko actually had pockets to place her hands into to look innocent.

Noah grinned, sensing a crack. "Sure thing, Tanji.”

She made her way around the small store, climbing up to glance at a few displays. Her master mainly just stared at his phone and the owner appeared to be reading something. This gave her the freedom to grin like an idiot at the little figurines. They were adorable! By all accounts, they shouldn’t have been something she was interested in. And yet, they beckoned for her—each family of critters demanding to be seen.

One particular box really caught her attention. It was a family of cats: a feline father in a tiny suit, a mother wearing a yellow dress decorated with bright red cherries, and their two kittens—one brother and one sister. The backdrop depicted a living room with a miniature fireplace, a tiny sofa, and a rug made of real fabric.

“I think-” Tanji began speaking, holding the box between her hands. “-Mirei would like this one.”

“Are you sure?” Even if he had some understanding of what she wanted, it was always fun to mess with people.

“Look at them.” She aggressively pointed at the box. “They are stupid and happy. Mirei likes stupid happy things. You know how easy that girl is to amuse.”

“Alright.”

“What?” Pressing the box close to her chest, Tanji looked up—squinting. “What’s up with that grin?”

“Nothing.” He snickered.

“Is there a joke you want to share?” The woman raised her clenched fist, quickly correcting her grasp on the box once she found it slipping.

“No.” Another snicker.

Tanji rolled her eyes, unamused by his amusement, and handed the box over. As she did, the sinking feeling in her heart disappeared, being replaced by something else—excitement. It felt like a warmth spreading through her entire body. And to think that its origin was this little set…

Ting-ting! They left.

“This is stupid. Right?” She looked down at the box, now walking by the side of her master.

“Sure, it’s stupid.” Nodding along, the man looked up at the gray sky above. “But sometimes, it’s the little stupid things that matter.”

“You think so?” Tanji’s ears cautiously curled up.

“Yeah. I mean, if we only did things because they were logical, we would all be eating nutritional paste. By eating proper meals, we are already indulging ourselves.” He never was much of a philosopher, but that came out surprisingly okay. Looking down at the Neko running by his side to gauge her reaction, he slowed his stride to match hers. “Might as well indulge a little more. Even if it’s stupid.”

“Okay.” Her grasp tightened, silently walking on. The little toy shop was left behind like some distant realm; they were back in Namiport.

After a few steps, he broke the comfortable silence. "Any idea where you want to go now? Ice cream, maybe?"

Tanji's eyes flickered with a momentary hesitation. "Okay…” She repeated.

Closing the door behind her, Tanji retreated into her room, jumping onto a bed covered with mismatched pillows. This place would have been a lot more messy if Tamiko wasn’t so particular about keeping it clean, leaving only a single pile of clothes standing which Tanji used to assemble her outfits. Under the bed, her little kingdom was tucked away by the side of the wall. Phosphorescent stickers of stars casted a gentle blue hue, illuminating the air. There were cups here filled with whatever trinkets she had collected: marbles, nice-looking rocks, coins, favorite socks, and who knows what else. The figurines were the newest addition.

She almost felt bad about taking them out of the box, lining up the family side by side. Rubbing her finger on the face of the mother, she sensed how the flocked plastic formed into the bristles of her brown fur. Their faces weren’t extremely expressive, but she seemed happy here—with her family.

How come she found herself envious of a 2-inch piece of plastic? Twisting her lips, Tanji placed the mother down, putting a hand on her chin. Why did people want to start families, anyway? She stared at the tiny cat, searching for answers in her black beady eyes. Being desired. Yes—that’s it! Noah can leave her if he wants. He has no obligations to stay. But a family? Well, they would always need to stay by her side, correct? Everyone wanted to be wanted. She was a ‘mimi, for heaven's sake! They were made to be wanted.

It was naive, but her understanding of the world was like shadows in Plato's Cave. And she loved looking at their contours.

Slapping her cheeks, she quickly brushed these slithering thoughts aside as if she were stomping out snakes. This was stupid. This was really stupid. Sure, she remembered what Noah said in Osaka, but that was surely just a part of the foreplay. “I love you.” She liked to push the boundary of what was acceptable for a Kemonomimis, and he liked doing the same but for humans. In a way, they were perfect for each other. But the idea of both species being equals wasn’t part of some exotic forbidden love story. It was just gross.

Exhaling, she found her breath warm. Her heart was also beating as if she had just run. Could it be… No. She was pent up—that’s it! Crawling from underneath the bed, the cat girl walked towards the door, diving into the pile of clothes. There was a simple solution for these feelings. She just needed the bastard to put her in her place.

The steam danced above the pale red water like an ethereal mist. The scent of oranges filled the air as Noah allowed his muscles to relax, lowering himself into the bathtub. Whatever fatigue remained from the cold seemed to fade away as the water rippled around his body with each subtle movement. Poking his head above the water, he briefly glanced at the half-full container of bathing salt standing next to a capsule. He grinned, knowing that he could use the former without having to subject himself to the latter.

Click. Somebody was pulling on the door.

“Occupied.”.

Click. The pulling continued.

“Occupied!”

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

“OCCUPIED!”

Finally, the door flew open, revealing a Tanji standing on the other side. Her pale skin glistened in the strong light, contrasting brilliantly against her jet-black micro bikini. The thin fabric was working overtime holding up her massive breasts.

“What are you doing here?” Noah pressed his legs together, observing her locking the door behind her and approaching the edge of the bathtub. “Can’t you wait?”

Turning away from him, the Neko settled her ass on the ceramic edge, swaying her tail a few inches above the orange surface. It was like the hand of a presenter showing off her assets, drawing Noah’s attention towards its volume. The man just shook his head, cracking a smile out of necessity since he had no other way to react. Tanji, however, was serious about this. She slowly turned her neck towards him until her right eye became visible—locking with his squinting pupils.

“Tanji…” He uttered, watching her traversing through the shallow waters without the usual scowl of disgust. 

“I am paying you back. Can’t you see?” Trying to be submissive, she couldn’t stop herself from looking at him as if he were somehow slow. “It’s what a kemonomimi does.” She opened her mouth to speak only to let out an exhausted growl. Trying to keep doing this cutesy voice was getting annoying. “Come on! Use my body!” Leaping up onto his chest, Noah felt air knocked out of his lungs, closing his eyes only to find two thin black slits staring back at him once he opened them. Just like the day they met, she was on top. Watching. Waiting for him to make a move.

Grabbing his hand, she guided it towards her chest as if not trusting the man to find them on his own, placing one of her cups in his grasp. He gave it a squeeze, moving it in large circles while watching Tanji squirm atop him. She forced herself to maintain eye contact despite wanting to look away. It was adorable to see her eyes lit up with lust each time he used his thumb to brush past her hardening nipples.

“Again…with…the foreplay.” Tanji squeezed out. “You are seriously a ba-” She wanted to tease him some more, but was gagged once her master forced his tongue into her mouth. He had no issue wrapping a single palm around her head, watching her fidget once her sensitive ears were stimulated by the simple act of rubbing them between his fingers. The Neko was held like this until she began begging for oxygen. When finally released, the woman pulled back—a long strand of spit dripping down her pink tongue.

“I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that.” Noah gave her just a moment to recover, watching her helplessly gasp for air as their mixed spit landed in the bath below.

“Uh-huh.” She groaned through droopy eyelids, trying to regain some resemblance of grace.

“Tapping out already?” Pinching her ear, a jolt of electricity jumped through her body—snapping her to consciousness like a hotwired car.

“Shut…up…” Wiping her face, she climbed back onto his chest. Below her, the man’s erect shaft was poking from above the water—his weak point. “Come on! Be a man!” Reaching down, she squeezed his tip, watching as the man exhaled through his teeth in response. Next time, she was going to reach for his balls. “I want you to get serious about this!”

“Making demands now, are we?” Reaching below the water, he rubbed his thumb around the sphincter of her anus. The entrance of smooth muscles closed even tighter in response, stopping all his attempts at pushing it in. “You were showing off that ass of yours before. Now, tell me, what exactly did you think that was going to achieve?” Putting in more force on her balloon knot, he watched as Tanji wrapped her arms around his neck to stop herself from drowning. “Want me to put it in?” It sounded like a bad joke. “You’re already tiny. Plus, you need to be relaxed for stuff like this.” Using his other hand, the man grabbed her face, watching her nibble on his finger to relieve the tension.

“Do it.”

“It may hurt.”

She swallowed. “Just do it.”

Pressing her against the side of the bath, the Neko’s entire body tensed up—her asshole pulsating rhythmically as he rubbed his shaft against her cheeks. Once fully erect, he placed his hands on the folds of her belly, preparing to try forcing his way inside. At first, his tip simply pressed against the forbidden entrance, struggling to make it far. Then, in one decisive thrust, he made his move.

Just like her breasts, Tanji’s ass was large—even for a human. On her 2-foot-tall frame, it looked massive. Proportions were everything, after all. He was inside of her before, but now he had a chance to go deeper. The way in which she pressed and squeezed his dick to get it out just felt more desperate, as if her body wanted to stop while her mind begged him to keep going.

“Are you going to start moving?” She squeezed through her teeth, facing away from her master and holding onto the slippery edge of the bathtub for dear life. This feeling was weird, like tasting spicy food for the first time, feeling the burning pain, and being unable to decide if you liked it. “Or are we going to just sit here?”

“I was giving you a grace period.”

“Grace period?” The sheer confusion allowed her to think clearly again. It also helped her to loosen up a little. “Grace period for wha-”

There was a sound of sloshing water as the assault began, moving the tiny woman back and forth. He probably shouldn’t have expected much from her, but some initiative would be appreciated. She could have at least tried thrusting her hips. Instead, Tanji became the equivalent of an onahole—her mind melting in the heat as the brown tail brushed past his balls. They probably even sold toys some her size. A few of the shampoo and conditioner bottles began falling into the water as she tried to secure her grip, but getting any friction was impossible.

“So? Are you having fun?” He cracked a smile at watching her struggle like a slippery gecko, continuing to relentlessly pound her ass like artillery.

Giving a final thrust, the woman’s ass was filled with the sticky seed. She gave an uncharacteristically girlish cry, later letting out another muffled yell of pleasure with her head below the water as air bubbles raced to the surface. Now, her face was down while the ass was still up—gentle pulsations of the sphincter pushing out small globs of cum.

One thing was for certain. At that moment, Tanji decided that she liked it.

Emerging from below the water like a clumsy dolphin, she grabbed onto the edge of the bath, trying to steady her shaky hands. With nothing else to grasp, her hand eventually landed on the capsule. Time seemed to turn to the consistency of thwarting ice as it rolled into the water. Both of them just stared at it like a bomb about to explode. And then, the device did its work.

The man soon passed out, nearly toppling atop his pet.

Back to the same old forest—the one which existed somewhere between. Noah walked through it. But it didn’t matter which way he turned or how many of the same tall birch trees he passed. He always ended up face-to-face with her.

She wanted to say something—her mouth beginning to move. But before the horned figure uttered a word, there came a droning sound from a distance. It was an overpowering wave of meows and a sea of brown Nekomimi ears that rushed towards the both of them.

It was several Tanji. Tanjis? No matter. Neither of them was spared from the stampede, with her tower crumbling as the pair were trampled below the many small feet.

[GENOME SUCCESSFULLY SEQUENCED]

Here came the familiar dizziness, washing over them like a painful headache they knew would go away. Crawling out of the water while barely conscious…is this what being born felt like? The smell of oranges became more pronounced as if their nose had never experienced anything ever before. After all, the smell of scented bathing salts was the first thing passing through its newly transformed mind.

[CREATING TEMPLATE]

After finally standing erect, the first thing they noticed was the unusual weight on their chest and stomach. Their body felt small…and large at the same time. Proportions were everything, after all. And even when half-submerged, it still pulled them down. Looking down at their reflection, a familiar face blinked back.

[APPLY? Y/N]

It was Tanji.

No, not exactly. It looked like Tanji, but she had bright ivory hair and deep scarlet eyes. She was a copy—an imperfect copy. Tilting her head up, she saw the original standing across. Both women just blinked at each other in disbelief at what was once a Noah.

“What!” There was no mistaking it. This was Tanji’s voice filtered through Naomi’s mind.

Naomi stumbled back, unfamiliar with her new Nekomimis form and her short legs which ended with her falling back into the depths of what was once a shallow bathtub. She watched as her other self stood above her through the liquid haze.

The discarded capsule floated above her like a dead plastic fish.

“I am fine.” Naomi giggled like a maniac through clenched teeth while ruffling her drenched hair. “I am fine…”

“Geez. Calm down, why don’t you?” Seeing the new and improved Naomi shuffling her way toward the edge of the bath like a drunk woman made Tanji wince, crossing her arms in disapproval. “Haven’t you used those capsule things before? This is a major upgrade from the rat.” She nodded, eyeing her up and down like a slice of cake.

“Calm down? Calm down!” Taking a step forward, the newly transformed cat girl placed both of her hands on Tanji’s shoulders—untrimmed feline nails digging into the woman’s skin. “I am stuck as a stupid Neko with…these!” A frown appeared on her face as Naomi squeezed her chest against Tanji’s. They pressed against each other as if stuck in some tug of war with neither gaining any ground.

“Oh no… What a terrible fate…. You are a Nekomimi…” The original rolled her eyes, easily pushing her away. “And if you hate these so much-'' She pointed towards Naomi’s chest, although she might as well have been pointing towards her own “-why do you keep playing with them?”

“Huh?” Naomi looked down, not realizing that she had been fondling herself all this time—her breasts making rather convenient stress balls.

“Stay focused!” Tanji ordered, smacking the back of Naomi’s head. “And stop fondling yourself when I am right in front of you. Have some class, woman!”

“It’s not my fault! It’s this stupid body!” That’s right! Probably some…chemical…hormonal…thing. There must have been a way she could justify it right? It was certainly a lot more jiggly, unlike the “compact” form of the Nezumimi.

“Blaming my body, are you?” A carnivorous smirk appeared on Tanji’s face as she lifted her hands, making a squeezing motion with her fingers. “You probably never rubbed one out as a rodent, right?” Naomi looked away, angry at herself that she was blushing. She had nothing to be ashamed of, dammit! As a woman, she treated her Nezumimi body with utmost respect—even if it was technically her own. “Obviously not. That mousey is so pure, I can’t even imagine swears escaping her puffy lips. But now?” Taking a step closer, she made herself look big by extending her arms. “Maybe I should teach you how to pleasure a woman?”

“Tanji!” Naomi objected, trying to step back just to find her naked back pressed against the smooth wall of the bathroom. “This isn’t funny!” Tanji’s grin was the widest she had ever seen it. There came the sound of splashing water as she took slow, deliberate steps forward all the while humming the theme to some horror movie. “Come on!” Her white-haired doppelganger pleaded as a pair of red eyes with thin slits scanned the surroundings for any escape route. But there was nowhere to run.

Cracking her knuckles, Tanji reached to grab two handfuls—squeezing them like horns. “Honk—honk!”

“Ouch! Ouch!” Naomi gritted her teeth, trying to pull away. That only made the pain worse.

“Doesn’t feel so good now, does it? Honk—honk!”

“Cut it out!” Naomi pleaded, eventually stopping to struggle.

“Oh stop being such a baby.” She just waved her hand dismissively, giving them another squeeze. “Simply teaching you what not to do. Besides, I am not even squeezing that hard. Just imagine the feeling if I set up a harness.”

“How do you know how to tie a breast harness—ouch!”

“Shush.” Finally, the cruel grasp was released, with Naomi crossing her hands over her chest. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Let me help you finish.”

“No way!” Naomi protested, sliding against the wall while looking at Tanji as if the two were locked in a sword duel. “It hurts.”

“That’s because you are probably super sensitive right now, aren’t you?” She grinned, putting her hands on Naomi’s writs. The white-haired Neko just looked away in shame, taking deep breaths that felt shallow. “I knew it. Your face gives it away. Just a little squeeze and you’re already shaking.”

“S-shut up.” Still, she remained adamant, closing her eyes as she felt Tanji getting closer.

“I know my own body.” Naomi could feel the other Neko’s hot breath on her ear. “You’re probably starting to get desperate to relieve that pent-up feeling. Am I right?” Slowly opening her eyes, Naomi exhaled, giving a sigh of defeat.

“Okay, fine.” She allowed Tanji to pull her wrists to the sides, unlocking the “X” over her chest. “Just…be quick.”

“Be quick? Come on, dude!” Tanji sneered, patting Naomi on the back. “You can’t rush this kind of stuff now that you have a girl’s body. Hmm…” She entered a deep state of thought, looking almost like a philosopher only to conclude “I think I am going to make you orgasm with your nips.”

“That’s a thing?” Naomi tilted her head in confusion, seeing Tanji’s arms wrapping around her neck as the woman was pulled into a hug—their erect nipples brushing against each other.

“It takes a lot of effort.” Her blue eyes met with Naomi’s scarlet ones. “But the dumb squeals you will make should be worth it.” Letting go, Tanji cupped her breasts as if trying to weigh them. “Just remember; this is training. I allowed you to do butt stuff, so I expected to be treated like a princess next time we’re in bed. Seems only fair, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so…” Naomi whispered, not daring to object least Tanji tried to honk her again.

“Good girl.” Placing her hands on the woman’s shoulders, she leaned in to get a closer look. “Oh wow. Your nips are really pink. Like really, really pink.” All the previous lust was put on a back burner, with Tanji now resembling a kid who found a weird-looking bug on the ground. “I thought they just drew them that way…” The fact that all her forms were albino because of some genetic quirk aside, this certainly was an odd bonding experience. Naomi couldn’t help but peek at Tanji’s chest in response. Her nipples were a lot darker, almost resembling two blueberries against the woman’s pale skin.

Extending her index fingers, a sly smile appeared on Tanji’s face. Already bracing herself for another squeeze, Naomi instead found her tracing wide circles around her areola. Her strokes were wide and deliberate, purposefully avoiding the nipples that begged for attention. Bringing her mouth closer, she continued her teasing by exhaling a wave of warm air onto them—sticking her tongue out and winking. “Did you expect me to suck on them?”

“Ah! Can you stop messing around?” Naomi whined, watching her slow movements.

Ignoring her words, she leaned in closer and began rubbing her tongue against the desperate nipples. Its rough texture felt amazing. The warm feeling in Naomi’s abdomen began building up faster than ever, almost pushing her over the edge. “You’re probably a little soggy down there. This is my body, so I don’t want to see you start playing with yourself without permission.”

“Just let me cum already!” She really, really wanted this to end. Thinking was becoming difficult, with thin strands of drool leaking out of Naomi’s mouth.

“Alright. I’ve had my fun.” Leaning in, Tanji bit on Naomi’s neck while squeezing and twisting her nipples vigorously—almost as if expecting something to come out.

That was enough.

The feeling that had been building up was released all at once like a valve bursting open. She wasn’t sure if this was what a normal female orgasm felt like or if it was simply the novelty of it, but the intense feeling spread through her entire body. It came in surges, bartering against her brain like waves against the shore. There was a mixture of pleasure and shame as she slumped down—glaring at Tanji looming above her.

“Ha! Look at your face!” Even the mouth placed over her hand couldn’t stop the mockery from slipping through. “You seemed excited about taking control of my body as Noah, but you burst from somebody just squeezing you a bit!”

“These people are powerful. Influential. The type of people EikōBio doesn’t swing at unless they’re sure to not miss.” Looking down into the cup, Koko saw her own grimacing face staring back at her, prompting her to straighten her lips. “I am sorry, but are you sure that you saw Sunohara-sama there?” After what had happened on the beach, trying to take the woman as a credible threat was nigh impossible. She was a fool—the jester of Genovista. And yet, she had been seen in the underground market (or so Tanji said).

The Neko’s grasp tightened around the cup before letting go, with the woman leaping onto the table so quickly that the rattling of ceramics and metal spoons was heard throughout the kitchen. “Yes, I am sure! Mirei saw it too! And stop calling that human table ‘sama’.”

“What I am more concerned about is the fact that you two went out by yourself.” Her eyes narrowed. “The master will not be happy.”

“Whether Noah is happy or not is irrelevant.” She began pacing back and forth atop the table, with Koko pulling her cup back to prevent a feline foot from landing into her black tea. “I am sorry that Mirei and I didn’t bring it up until now, okay? I just…I just felt ashamed, okay?”

Having repeated “okay” twice already was the best indicator for the maid that very little was actually okay with Tanji. “Where is the master anyway?”

The only response she could muster was clenching her teeth and staring at the stairway, wanting the newly transformed woman to walk down and take over the burden of explaining all this. As if to answer her prayers, there came the wet slap-slap-slap of Naomi’s feet against the wood as she made her entrance. “Sorry. I am still trying to figure out the center of gravity on this thing.”

“Naomi?” Koko gasped, completely dropping the plan of keeping a straight face.

“Yeah. It’s me. I want to check my condition with the doctor before trying to turn back. I—uh—don’t think this was supposed to happen.” Her stomach rumbled unpleasantly. “In the meantime…I am starving. Can you cook something up, Koko?”

Although not being obliged to follow the orders of a fellow Kemonomimi, the pure confusion of the situation put the woman’s brain on autopilot, with her already walking over to the kitchen and pulling the stepping stool.

“Your fashion sense is awful! Loose socks? Mini skirt? I let you rummage through my wardrobe and this is the best that you could come up with…wait, are you not wearing a bra?”

“Huh? Of course not!” Naomi explained, giving her boobs a shake. “It was getting in the way of my girls.”

“Put a bra on.”

“No.”

Clenching her fist, Tanji took a step towards the lookalike. “I think you didn’t hear me. I demand that you put a bra on!”

She thought about it for a moment. “No.”

“Come here, you little squirt!” Tanji immediately began gathering speed.

“Tanji! Tanji, stop! This body was not made for running!” Naomi could only throw her hands up as she ran away.

“Not made for running?! Now I am really going to kill you, bastard!”

What followed was a chase around the house—one Koko tried to block out with the sound of sizzling food. It was either this or migraines. Best not to think about this. Only after the food was prepared did she actually manage to get them seated for a moment.

“Hiro is no longer with us. That means that we are down one ally.” The maid explained, fidgeting with her chopsticks. “Yulka moved here but…well, at least she is extra muscle.”

“Don’t worry about it too much, Koko.” Naomi squeezed out between mouthfuls. “I am your handler. I will sort this out—oh wow, this is good!” Getting distracted, the woman suddenly became intricately aware of how differently this body processed taste. One part of her brain wanted to savor the experience, while the other demanded she continue wolfing it down.

“Just miso salmon.” Koko shook her head, finally stopping herself from playing around with her food. “Something I threw together.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, maid.” Tanji pointed her chopsticks at Koko, continuing to chew. “When I think about throwing something together, I think of Neapolitan pasta with plenty of ketchup. This is way too much effort to be labeled as thrown together.”

“Ketchup…spaghetti?” Naomi covered her nose—a lump forming in her throat. “I don’t care how weird this body’s senses are, I can’t imagine that tasting good.”

“Napolitan is delicious! It’s not my fault you have the taste palette of an infant.”

Walking up behind them, Koko pulled on the ears of both of the Nekos—hearing them cry bloody murder in unison. “Don’t argue at the table.” Then, she looked into Naomi’s eyes. “Now that you are in this form, I will take over the duty of the handler. You are now under my care. And you will behave.”

Rubbing her ear to relieve the burning sensation, Naomi looked down—defeated. “Great. Nobody here respects me.”

“Obviously.” Tanji wasted no time getting back to the food as Koko began walking up the stairs to call the others. “Nobody respects Naomi. Why would they?”

“They respect Noah.” At least the Kemonomimi did.

“Oh yeah, people respect Noah. But they like Naomi.” She scratched her chin, quickly throwing a glance to the puzzled woman.

“I am still the same person.” The answer was barely a whisper.

“Sure. But it’s hard to believe that, isn’t it?”

Naomi opened her mouth as if wanting to say something. But nothing came out.

They ate in silence.

That was, until there came a yell from above. It was quick and sharp like a whistle. Neither have ever heard Koko scream, but it must have been her. The question now was: what to do? The protective instinct of Noah fought with the fight-or-flight response of Tanji’s body (leaning much more towards the flight). This resulted in a mediocre reaction of the pair simply inching towards the stairs, slowly making their way up—each step heavy and deliberate.

Above them, there stood an overpowering figure of Yulka. Her silver hair and canine fangs glowed in the lamplight. She was holding onto somebody—a muscular arm securing a thin neck into a lock. When the figure wouldn’t stop fidgeting, she grabbed a piece of rope from Koko and hoisted the intruder into the air like a marionette. Naomi knew that the two used to belong to the same master, but seeing them work together like a real unit to neutralize a threat was new.

Their opponent wasn’t exactly mighty, but they certainly were energetic—much like a child. And like a child, they were short (even compared to a pair of Nekos), standing at less than 2 ft. Their long, bunny ears gave them some illusion of height, but you couldn’t exactly see that when they were wrangled up. They were a raven shade of black, much like their hair, their suit, and their eyes.

“Ah Nochan, I am assuming.” They spoke up, although all that Naomi could see was their butt and the fluffy tail of the foreign Usagimimi.

“How do you almost know my name?”

“You don’t like Nochan? That’s what your boss calls you.” Considering their situation, she couldn’t tell if they were brave or stupidly confident. Either way, it looked like Yulka was about ready to rip their smug little rabbit face off. “But to answer your question: it's simple, dear Noah. I am shagging your boss.”

“Noah. Permission to pummel the bunny?” Yulka sneered, clenching a fist.

“You are still calling him Noah? Even when he looks like one of the TATA twins?” This seemed to confuse everyone except the trespasser, with a collective silence descending over the room. “TAnji…TAmiko…because…you know, the box—oh, forget it. Hiro was a lot more fun.”

“Granted.” Naomi whispered.

There came a crisp punch directed at their shoulder, sending the Usagimimi spinning around in circles like a broken yo-yo. They seemed disoriented but maintained an annoying grin. “Now, if you are done trying to break my clavicle, should I tell you the purpose of my visit? Or do you perhaps think I enjoy breaking into the households of random EikōBio employees?”

“So this is about the corporations.” Reaching below her maid outfit, there was a familiar metallic click of a firearm. Koko looked like she was getting serious about this. The mention of her old master was already enough to pique her interest—and not in a good way.

“Everything is about the corporations.” Brushing their legs against the wall, the figure turned around so that they could actually see the woman. “Now, could you please let me down? I am getting a bit woozy.”

Yulka tightened her grip—her fangs visible as she growled. "Don't care if you're woozy. You're not in a position to make demands here."

“Stay calm, Yulka.” Koko raised her finger. “Place them down. Slowly.”

Yulka snorted in response. “Fine. But cut the theatrics.”

And just like that, the Usagimimi was dropped unceremoniously to the floor—pulling the rope off their petite body. They adjusted their suit, smoothing out wrinkles. “Where were we? Ah, yes. The corporations. EikōBio, Genovista... they're all in a tangled mess.”

“And you are…” Naomi waved her hand, trying to regain some control of the conversation. Koko seemed serious about her now being “the handler,” talking much more than she usually did. It just felt wrong, as if the things Tanji said were completely true.

“Oliver.” He gave a little bow—his ears flopping down with his head. “Representative of the big brother.”

"That's a guy?" Clearly, Naomi had her priorities straight. 

“KyotoSynth?” Koko whispered, her eyes widening. “What does KyotoSynth want with a low-grade handler? No offense.” She quickly added at the end.

“No, No.” Naomi shook her head in approval, putting an arm on Koko’s shoulder. “I am with you on this. What does ‘Synth want from me?”

“Don’t dismiss handlers, dear Koko. I have worked with dozens of them over the years. They often know a lot more than the company wants them to know.” Oliver crossed his arms, observing the reactions of the people before him. “Plus, when faced with a crisis, who do the poor ‘mimis turn towards but their dear, dear master.”

Tanji’s lips tightened as she looked away from the man. Is this what masters were supposed to be? Somebody to turn to? If that was the case, she should have told Noah about Sunohara sooner. Of course, spilling everything was easy when he was Naomi, with her telling the doppelganger about the incident during her brief recovery. She wasn’t sure if the woman was fully awake, so it did give her plausible deniability.

“That aside…the truth is, you were simply the simplest link: an old member of the cabal, without their old boss.” Oliver placed a finger against the side of his head. “What I am saying is that I know you wouldn’t try anything. Your contacts in EikōBio are compromised.”

Koko leaned back, rotating through the full revolver Cylinder. "Compromised or not, why should we help KyotoSynth?”

“Because everything is going out of balance. Genovista is getting too strong, EikōBio is getting too weak, and the Board wants to know why.”

“So this is about KS making themselves comfortable, huh?” Yulka loomed over the bunny who seemed undisturbed by the dark shadow now hanging over him like the sword of Damocles. “Permission to throw him down the stairs?”

Naomi hummed as if she was actually considering it. “No. Not right now.”

“Perhaps it would be best if I handle this, Naomi.” Koko looked back at the pudgy cat girl.

“It’s fine.” She tried to wave it off, pointing at Oliver. “Continue.”

He did just that, beginning to pace back and forth. “KyotoSynth likes their comfort, yes. But isn't this the reason you took this job, Nochan? Just like you, we know our place in the Great Game. We have known it since 1931, and don’t wish to alter it. I am assuming that neither does EikōBio. But there is somebody new involved in the game. And they would sooner shoot everyone at the table—including themselves—than admit defeat.”

“So you suspect an outside force is boosting Genovista?” Koko reasoned, cutting Naomi off. It did make sense. If you added 2 and 2 together and somehow got a 5, there was part of the equation missing.

“Correct.” Taking a step closer, Oliver pulled gently on the frills of her uniform. “You are pretty smart for a Kitsune. They don’t typically breed your kind for intelligence. It’s clear why Hiro said you were his favorite.”

“I am pointing a gun at you.” She said after a moment of squealing internally in delight at the prospect of Oliver telling the truth.

“Correct.” He let go, swirling around. “So, shall we make our alliance official? Whether it is the black market or the banking groups, there is a certain somebody who needs to be given a bloody nose.”

“What about EikōBio?” Koko asked, locking eyes. “What role do we play in this alliance?”

“EikōBio is a wild card.” Oliver admitted. “Their loyalties are divided—their internal struggles make them unpredictable. For now, we focus on addressing the Genovista issue. Once that's resolved…” He let out a chuckle. “Well, things will work out, I suppose.”

“That’s oddly optimistic.” She let out an exhausted sigh, turning towards Naomi. “You do know that Noah doesn’t represent the entirety of EikōBio, right? He doesn’t even represent the cabal. Just a handler.” Right now, he was even less than that—just a ‘mimi.

A smirk slowly manifested on the bunny’s lips. “And do you think I represent the entirety of KyotoSynth? No. We all have our little cliques. Many-headed hydra and such.”

“Sorry, but what it is exactly that you want us to do?” Pushing Koko aside, Naomi got closer to the man—distracted by his floppy ears.

“I am simply giving you a choice, Nochan. I know that you may have been pushed into certain positions. I also know that these kinds of arrangements don’t tend to last.” Oliver looked down at his wrist. There was an elegant silver watch wrapped around it—one meant to fit his proportions. “We might have a lead. You might have a lead. Why don’t we think this over, okay?” Yulka almost reached down to snatch the man up, but Naomi extended her hand to stop her. It didn’t actually block anything of course, but that was a sign for her to step down. Fine. If anything happens, it's Noah’s fault.

“Oh, and you might want to do something about…that body.” He whistled while going down the stairs, soon fading into the night. “Think you can still trust the doctor?”

“Master…” The Neko slowly opened her eyes—her breath heavy. “A-am I doing it right?” She lifted her soles in the air, spreading her chubby toes apart. “Please don’t stare at me like this, master! I am embarrassed!” Her paws were petite, with a shiny glint of her pale skin. “I can’t believe you are hard already.” Covering her mouth with one hand, the cat girl mimicked a wicked laugh.

“Good news!” The door swung open as Koko brute-forced her way inside, looking up from her phone’s messenger app. “I called the doctor and-” The woman had already braced herself to be met with the sight of a white-haired Tanji-pretender. Hell, she could even stand much of the Neko's foolishness and expected no less from this new form (even if it had the mind of Noah). But this? Nothing could have prepared her. She was met by the sight of Naomi currently in the process of recording a video—lying down on a bed in an uncomfortable-looking position and pressing her feet against the lens. “Naomi…are…are you making a video…in Tanji’s body?”

“No!” Naomi cleared her throat, pinching up the phone between her toes and throwing it across the room before quickly jumping upright. “No. Of course not.” She faked a cough. “Now, about the doctor…”

“Emily is currently occupied with a project.” She raised her hand, preemptively parrying the question. “A classified project. The bottom line is: she’s busy, but I have managed to secure a visit. You will just need to spend more time in this new form.” The maid allowed herself to crack a sly smile she would never dare show to her master. “Although it doesn’t seem like you’re having difficulties in adjusting.”

“Oh, shush.” There came a yelp as Koko pulled on Naomi’s sensitive year again like a parent disciplining their child. “Ouch—ouch! I am sorry, mistress! Okay?! Okay.”

“That’s better.” She let go, wiping her hand against the apron. “Come on, try having some fun with it. Seeing you so miserable makes my stomach hurt.” Her eyes narrowed. “And by fun, I mean something other than taking foot videos…” Koko gave one final disappointed look before heading for the door.

“Fun?” Still brushing her aching ear, Naomi walked up to the phone—staring down at her reflection in the black glass. “Fun…”

“Girl’s night out?”

“Yeah!” Naomi proudly leaped up onto the couch, pacing back and forth like a general addressing her army. “Since I am unable to perform my job as a handler, why don’t we have some fun on the town?”

“You’ve barely done your job as a handler even in the human form.” Koko crossed her arms. “Just taking care of us is only—what—70% of the job?” It’s not that she disliked Naomi—far from it. The Kitsune just had this certain feeling in her nose that the woman would do something stupid. It was like a buildup of static energy readying to discharge in a climactic zap.

“I’ve been sending reports to the sales rep weekly.” Naomi raised her finger, waving it in the air. “It’s not my fault that nobody wants to buy any of you.” That being said, it did not look good when compared to other handlers who typically moved at least 7 ‘mimis per month. Maybe the rep assigned to Noah was just bad? She had no way of knowing; never met the guy.

“Me and Yulka are employed as company property. Tanji and Tamiko are held as collateral.” She corrected. “This leaves…” Both of them slowly turned their hands towards Mirei who also began turning her head behind her, wanting to see what everyone was staring at. Koko winced, quickly wanting to move on. “There is still the matter of Kemonomimi not being allowed to wander around on their own.” Before she was going to allow anybody to leave, Koko needed to be absolutely sure this would not return to bite her in the ass. She was the closest thing this house had to a mistress after Noah decided to get turned into a pudgy 2 ft-tall cat girl. “What then?”

“Do not worry.” A self-serving grin appeared on Naomi’s face as she reached into the pocket of her jeans, throwing a folded piece of paper at the Kitsune. “I have all the proper documentation.”

“Naomi. I don’t think this is legally binding.” The maid slapped the sheet for emphasis. “This is just a piece of paper saying ‘MY KEMONOMIMIS CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT’…signed by Noah…no last name…and you spelled Kemonomimi wrong.” Koko looked up from the crumbled piece of paper, showing no respect for it one would give to a piece of “proper document.” “There is no ‘s’ at the end of the plural form—only in the Americanized spelling.”

This time, it was Mirei who shushed the fox. “If mister said we can go, then that means that we can go.”

“Mister isn’t here right now, is he?” Koko could feel her eye twitching in response, eventually giving up with a deep sight. “Fine. I will have corporate security on call. If you don’t get home before midnight, expect to be extracted.” She couldn’t have just said “picked up?” Extracted had a certain weight to it, with Naomi now imagining Kevlar-clad agents swooping through the glass to retrieve them.

“Come on, Koko.” Naomi locked her hand around the woman’s shoulder—something that took considerable effort considering she was a foot taller than her. “We will call you if somebody gets hurt.” She waved one of the fliphones in her face. It was the one that Mirei had covered with so many cutesy stickers that the brand name was no longer visible. “So stop worrying, mom.”

“One condition.” She raised her finger, flicking it over to Yulka. “She’s coming with you.”

The wolf girl flexed her fists—her entire body tightening—before unclenching all her toned muscles at once with a loud exhale. “Alright.” Naomi had expected her to take this opportunity to complain, but going out like this—with no master or handler—was an interesting opportunity. “Just don’t do anything stupid Noah. Humans are already fragile when compared to ‘kamis. Nekos? They crack like chalk.”

“Noah?” Mirei’s ears perked up. As she looked around, still lacking the sacred ability to understand that “Noah,” “Mousey,” and “Tanji With Red Eyes” were all the same person. It was at least nice seeing her return to her old state after the incident with Sunohara. Naomi had expected her to clench up at even the notion of going out. But no. Here she was—eager to go into the city.

Yulka just growled, lifting the horse by her collar. It was a lot larger and sturdier than the old one, allowing her to get a good grip. “Come Mirei—you airborne virus. We are leaving.”

The silicone dreams of Namiport condensed in the center, draping it with lights and cables that hang over them like a web.

"Girls' night out? Really?" Yulka sneered. "I know that you needed some excuse so that Koko wouldn't be on your ass, but you know nothing about being a girl."

"I'll manage. Tanji has been a woman for all of her life, so how hard can it be—OUCH!" Naomi winced as she felt the Neko's fist impact against her shoulder. It hurt a lot more than it usually did because of lower muscle mass, lower bone density, etc. "You know, by punching me you're just proving that you don't have a good response to—OUCH!" She finally rubbed her shoulder, letting out a feline hiss. "I am not above beating you up while in this body."

"Yeah, yeah." Tanji used her tail to slap Naomi in the ass while looking away and whistling. "And Yulka is right—you suck at being a woman." She looked her up and down as if assessing the damage: jean shorts, crop top—and was that a leopard pattern? Thank goodness she did not have enough time to jump into one of those tanning beds. "Gyaru…in 2029…really?"

"You're just mad because me and Tamiko can pull it off." She stuck her tongue out, rubbing her behind to relieve the faint stinging.

"At least it can't get much worse than that blue dress you always wear as a mousey." Tanji conceded, looking up at the sky. "You looked like you were going to live in a cottage somewhere, raise 5 children, and faint whenever somebody uttered the word 'penis'."

“Mhm. Yes, we are here. Yes, we are safe. No, no issues-” Tamiko wanted to continue, but Tanji snapped the phone shut with a dull plastic click.

“Stop calling Koko every few seconds. It’s annoying.” She scolded.

Tamiko grabbed the phone from her sister, looking over the bright pink plastic shell. “But Koko specifically asked me to update her on our location.”

“I am your older sister. That means you have to listen to me.” Tamiko opened her mouth as if she was about to speak up. “That’s the law, Tami. You can’t break the law.” Apparently, that was enough to shut her up, with Tamiko looking down at her shoes.

“You know.” Naomi shook her head. “One day, I am going to go to EikōBio and see which one of you actually left the tube first.”

“Whatever, sis.” She winked, stretching her arms and accidentally smacking both Naomi and Tamiko on their heads.

Tamiko finally got a chance to gaze at the white-haired Neko in the shape of her sister. She had previously avoided staring since her mom taught her that was rude, but the woman wanted to get at least one good look at her. Immediately, all suspicions of Tanji and Naomi uniting to play pranks on her in the future by dyeing their hair were gone. Even if their bodies were superficially similar, she lacked the certain tenseness that Tanji had. Naomi almost looked like her “older sister” when they were both a lot younger. It was almost nostalgic, with Tamiko stepping closer to grab her hand.

“Since you are currently like…this.” Tamiko smiled, filling the air with unnecessary silence. “Does that mean that you’re our sister?”

“No, it doesn't-”

“Of course it does.” Tanji beckoned, placing her hands on her shoulders. “You are now part of the TATA box.”

“Don’t pick up any vocabulary from that Kyoto rabbit.” Naomi turned to her left and away from Tamiko. “I don't trust him as far as I can throw him.”

“Fair enough.” She conceded, also not being really fond of Oliver. “Seeing him annoying Koko was fun, but it feels like if we don’t take care of our bunny boy, something bad will happen.”

“That’s what I am worried about.” Taking a deep breath, the woman passed by a fountain flanked on either side by two abstract sculptures made from brass. It was too dark to even attempt to guess what they were meant to represent. “Come on, we’re in the center proper. The karaoke place is not far from here.”

But Mirei hesitated.

“Are you okay?” Naomi questioned, looking up at the horse girl after letting go of Tamiko’s hand. She was used to her face being blank, but this was a different type of blankness. Her dopey face was perfectly still as if buffering to pick which expression to display.

“No.” Mirei whispered, shaking her head. Up ahead, Yulka and Tanji were already arguing about something, with Tamiko trying to keep the girls from starting a street fight.

She forced a chuckle, quickly shutting herself up. “You’ve already gotten lost in Namiport twice. Should feel like home, right?” Mirei just pressed her lips together. Not convinced yet, huh? Naomi took a deep breath, continuing. “When my family moved from the countryside to the first city, I also couldn’t treat it like home. Every single day, I felt as if I had woken up in a hotel room rather than my own bed. And then-”

Before she could continue, there came the distant stomping of a Raionmimi walking by the side of her master, with the people moving out of the way as if for royalty. In reality, it was just the fear of getting squished by the massive lion girl—the golden mane attached to the 12-foot-tall frame alone, likely longer than the entire length of Naomi’s body. She gave you the type of face that didn’t allow for compromise, even if you couldn’t see her eyes from behind the black shades. Mirei, seemingly having braced for such an occasion, reached down and picked up the white-haired Neko over her head like a beach ball.

“Thanks.” Naomi allowed herself to fall onto her shoulders, wrapping her legs around the woman’s neck. Being so tall reminded the woman of being a child again, looking at the crowd from what might as well have been the top of the world.

“You weigh the same as Tanji.” A simple observation, but an accurate one.

“Mhm.” The woman tapped Mirei’s cheek, looking straight ahead. “Anyways. I just wanted to say that there is no shame in getting lost. It took me finding my way back home a few times for me to feel like a man.” It felt strange coming from the manicured lips of a 2 ft tall cat girl. Her daydreaming face snapped back to reality as the woman cranked her neck towards her red eyes to meet with Mirei’s blue ones. “But don’t try getting lost on purpose, okay? That would be stupid.”

“But I am stupid.” There was no contempt in that word, with Mirei stating the fact like she was reading from her label.

“Come on.” Naomi shook her head, having this itching sensation that she was about to enter something that she was not equipped to deal with. “You’re not stupid.”

“You don’t need to be nice to me. It doesn’t bother me that much.” She shrugged. “My mistress said that I was stupid. And the mistress doesn’t lie. Even now that I have a new master.” The woman spent a few minutes just making uncomfortable faces before finally daring to look back into Naomi’s eyes. “I didn’t want to tell Noah but…but I went out without his permission. That was pretty stupid.”

“That was pretty stupid.” Naomi repeated, patting Mirei on the neck. “But you will not do it again, correct?”

“Of course not!” She yelped like a child afraid of punishment.

“Well, that means you’ve learned your lesson. And stupid people don’t learn their lessons. Ergo…”

“Noah!” There came a yell which visibly startled a few people in the crowd. Yulka pointed at Naomi’s chest, clenching her fist. “You. Me. Team. We need to beat up that scruffy tomboy.”

“Don’t call me a tomboy, you dumb mutt!” Tanji rolled up her sleeves. She would have likely caused more of a scene if the crowd was intimidated by the notion of the cat fighting the wolf. Instead of looking at her like a valid opponent, she was a pouting child. “Only people who watch pornos call others tomboys!”

“Tom-boooy.” Yulka sang that last part, lifting Tanji by her collar shirt and watching her swing in the air in an attempt to nick her maw.

“Oh!” Her lips parted in an unexpected smile. “I love karaoke, yes.” Mirei…there was really something about her, wasn’t there? The way she shifted between emotions was almost surreal, but in a good way. Watching that Umamimi stumble thought life was like staring at a surreal art piece the meaning of which eluded Naomi. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy the composition now, did it?

A thin smile appeared on Naomi’s face. “Let’s go in!”

Making their way up the stairs, the group found themselves in a cozy little room filled with black leather couches. There was a large table at the center, and a TV attached to the wall. This place even had one of those machines which shined disco-lights—a black plastic orb decorated with many lenses on a rotating platform. Tanji was the first to turn the thing on, with the yellow walls now decorated with reds and blues and greens.

“I am getting beer for everyone.” Yulka picked up the menu, squinting down at it. “Expensive…But Noah will pay, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Naomi rolled her eyes. “And you can just call me Naomi, you know.”

“Nah. Noah sounds better.” The wolf girl shrugged, cracking her neck and placing an order.

“It’s nice that nobody has harassed us thus far.” As much as she felt confident in her permit, Naomi didn’t want to actually have to use it. If CorpSec sees her like this, there will certainly be questions—ones she did not want to answer.

“Nobody actually gives a shit about what ‘mimis do in places like this. We aren’t in one of those fancy clubs or gambling parlours.” Tanji looked up, mesmerized by the disco lights. “They probably think we stole our master’s wallet.” A cynical grin appeared on her face. “So what? We still pay for the stuff, right? Profit for them, and they’re not going to cry over some rich bastard who can afford Kemonomimi losing a few dollars.”

“It does feel like I am getting robbed.” Naomi joked, cracking one of the cans and taking a long sip. “Ahh! It’s been a while.” She placed the beer down, already feeling tipsy—although that was probably just placebo. With a smaller body like that, she did however need to watch her intake a bit more than usual.

“I am not sure I should…” Tamiko looked down at the aluminum container, feeling wet droplets rolling down the back of her hand.

“Don’t be a wimp.” Tanji slapped her on the back of her head.

“Leave your sister alone.” Naomi ordered, crossing her hands.

Rolling her eyes, she backed away—snatching the can during the retreat. “More for me.”

“Alright, let’s start.” Yulka clapped her hands together, taking a 4 second break to finish the entire beer with a loud smacking sound. “Team 1 is me and Noah. Team 2 is Tanji and Tamiko and Mirei…”

“Actually!” Tamiko raised her hand. “I can swap with Mirei. I don’t—uh—really like singing.”

“No, you can’t just sit it out! You’re our secret weapon.” Tanji puffed her cheeks. “Come on, don’t ruin everything by being shy! We’re here to win this! Actually…” She suddenly began humming a tune. “What’s the award?”

“Again with the whole award thing…” Shaking her head, Naomi looked over at Yulka. She was the one who wanted to get into this whole pointless competition with Tanji in the first place.

“Well…it’s…you know.” Pressing her lips together, the wolf began looking around the room. “You know!”

“Yeah?” Tanji jumped onto the table with another beer in her hand.

“Oh!” Her finger darted to Naomi. “The winner gets one free favor from Noah.”

“I never agreed-”

“You are the one who invited us out here, correct?” Yulka got closer, looming above the white-haired cat girl with her hands on the hips. “Wanted to have a ‘girls night out’, right?”

“Ugh.” Defeated, Naomi looked up at the ceiling and watched as lights danced across it. “Fine. But don’t make it anything stupid.”

“This also solves the team issue.” Tanji nodded along as if getting a favor from Noah was some impressive logical move and not just a way to exploit their handler. “Me with Tamiko—you with Mirei.”

“Let’s do it!” Yulka clenched her hand, grabbing Mirei like a purse in the other.

“I am telling you—HICC—something with that girl…” Tanji mumbled, throwing her hand around Naomi’s shoulder while using her doppelganger for support. “She drank…a lot—a lot of the stuff.” Snoring loudly, the neko pointed towards Mirei who was currently stacking a small tower of aluminum cans. “What the hell is wrong with her? Actually!” Only after blinking a few times did her eyes refocus on the white-haired Neko.

“Umamimi are known for their constitution.”

“AND YOU’RE JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW?” She whined, pressing her face against the woman’s chest.

“It was fun seeing you try outdrinking her.” Naomi chuckled, only on her 2nd beer. She managed to pace herself a lot better than Tanji did—that’s for sure. “Besides, it’s you who tried sabotaging the other team by making Mirei drunk.”

“I thought she would go wild—maybe piss on somebody.” Turning her neck up, Tanji let out an unpleasant sound while staring at the ceiling. “I can’t go on.”

“Basta?” Yulka once again widened her smile, showing off her canines. 

“Huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve had enough?”

“Yeah.” She placed a hand over her mouth, swallowing. “Basta.”

"Mirei, are you having fun?" Tamiko asked, slowly turning away from the mess that was her sister—almost thinking about reaching a hand but deciding that it’s best not to rustle her.

Mirei blinked, as if pulled out of a trance, before turning to Tamiko with a small smile. "Yes. I am. Can we get something to eat?” She threw an empty request into the air, with Naomi instinctively picking it up.

“Getting some food inside of Tanji would do her good.” She admitted, trying to get the half-conscious Neko off of her.

“Huh?” Tanji wiped her hand, deciding if she should be offended by it. “Yeah. Food. That’s…that’s good.” She rubbed eyes. They had turned red just like Naomi’s one, although alcohol was to blame rather than genetic quirks.

Leaving the karaoke, Namiport's promenade unfurled before them as soon as the group went down the set of stone stairs. Naomi leaned against the railing separating land from the sea—the salty, cold breeze wafting through the air. There were many benches lining the sidewalk like a line of soldiers, with Tanji currently resting her head in the lap of her sister on one of them while she spoke with Mirei. Each 'mimi held a little treat they had gotten from one of the many street vendors who marched through the wooden platforms with their clunky metal carts.

Somewhere in the distance, the beaches beckoned invitingly to those who could afford them, with them able to see the smoking several torches dug deeply into the yellow sand like needles into a pincushion. Yulka walked up to her, pointing towards an old EikōBio banner standing in the sand, “One of ours.” She commended, seeing the sun-bleached green of the company.

“Yeah. One of ours.” Naomi turned around, pressing her head through the lower gap in the railing.

“Why do you even stick around, Noah?” The wolf girl turned her head towards the sky, unable to see any stars through the light pollution of the ad pillars.

“Money.” She shrugged, also looking at the same dull sky. “Why else? And besides, I thought you respected Eikō.”

“Nah.” Yulka sneered, taking a bite of her chocolate-coated banana. She wanted to get something proper, but all the good restaurants were booked. “Koko is crazy about the corporation. I just respect Hiro. That’s all.”

“Ah.” The Neko clasped the hands behind her back. “Man’s best friend.”

“You know.” She cracked her knuckles. “I could throw you into the water.”

“You could.” Naomi shut up, nibbling on her own treat. “But still.” She shook her head. “You just wouldn’t get it. People don’t just quit the corpos. It’s part of the culture. Can’t quit by yourself, since that would make the company look bad. They also don’t really fire people anymore, just lower your pay until it’s not even worth it to show up. The only way you can leave is if both you and the employer want you gone."

“Hiro left.”

“Well…” She threw her hands in the air. “Hiro can do whatever the hell he wants! Once you’re at the top, you don’t play the same game as everybody else.”

“So he just…what?” She mimed an explosion. “Flipped the poker table without defeating Genovista? Feels like you’re just making excuses, dude.”

“Defeating…a Genovista?” Naomi looked at her as if that was the most ridiculous statement she had ever heard in her life.”

“Yeah. Beating them.” Yulka crossed her arms, unsure where that dumbass face came from. It reminded her too much of the expressions Tanji would make for the woman to not get just a little angry. “What? What are you looking at?”

“As if making them no longer exist?” She shook her head. “No. That is impossible.”

“Huh? So why did we do the stupid beach event? It was to make the Aqua girls-”

“Aqua Femme.” Naomi corrected.”

“To make the Aqua Femme look less relevant, right?”

“Yeah. And we stole that chip from them. It was a victory, but Genovista will not be defeated by stunts like that.” She folded her arms. “Only internal rot can kill a corporation.” Sighing, Naomi looked down at her hands. “Corporations…are poker players—like you said. Sure, they can win against each other and collect their little chips, but each would rather shoot everyone at the table and than himself over admitting defeat.”

“Aren’t you being dramatic?” Yulka wrinkled her nose. “Corpsec might be strong, but still…”

Naomi just continued. “The only way a corporation can quit the game is to have its drunken friends pull them away from the table.”

“Seems bleak.” The wolf reasoned, looking over the ocean and at a lone boat making its way across.

“It’s part of the culture.” She repeated, resting her chin against the cold metal.

Then, there came the horrible sound of the news station jingle which embedded itself in one’s brain. Ad pillars in the distance now roared over the promenade, taking a breath from the usual programming to deliver a special message—at least, something the elites consider to be important enough to disturb the 24/7  advertisements.

BREAKING NEWS: KYOTOSYNTH EXECUTIVE KILLED BY KENOMOMIMI, DISTRICT PLACED UNDER LOCKDOWN

A high-ranking executive of KyotoSynth was found dead in his residence, allegedly killed by his Kenomomimi companion. For PR reasons, the template and producer of the said Kenomomimi was not released to the public, but the cause of death was found to be a gunshot. This did not stop the KyotoSynth stock value from dropping 2.8% in just the opening minutes of the information leak. Experts predict a further decline.

The incident has sent waves throughout the district, prompting authorities to place the area under lockdown. Police have been given the temporary privilege to place Kenomomimi under arrest. KyotoSynth has also deployed its own forces, with the citizens being reminded that impending the Corpsec may result in the use of force and removal.

Stay tuned for further updates as the story develops.

For a while, Naomi and Yulka just looked at the news anchor repeating the recorded message—their eyes watching as the droplets of rain began distorting the pixels.

It really did rain a lot in Namiport, didn't it?

The water poured relentlessly from the charcoal sky as Naomi looked towards the Pacific, somehow hoping that she could jump in and swim across the pond to escape her problems. But even if she did, that would just end with her washed up on the shores of Japan. There was really no escape.

Her ears and tail became waterlogged, and while Tamiko and Tanji huddled together under Mirei's yellow rain jacket, she allowed the rain to become an extension of her skin—the human anxieties overdriving any natural distaste towards the water her Nekomimi body might have had. It felt filthy against her hair, but it couldn't even compare to the little dark cloud forming in her brain.

"A 'mimi…killed her master?" Tamiko shook her head, frowning. "You can't do that." She turned towards Tanji like an upset child snitching to her teacher. "They can't do that."

"This is bad." Yulka finally said something, putting on the hood of her black poncho."CorpSec is going to be swarming the district. Should we call Koko?" The wolf already held the phone in her hand—one which was much too small for her 8ft frame.

"Yeah." Naomi turned around, taking a moment to remember what was her answer. "Yeah." She repeated, this time with more conviction. "Call Koko."

"If we call Koko, she will send CorpSec here." Tanji peered her head from underneath the jacket. "And what do you think will happen when KyotoSynth and EikōBio forces meet?" She made an explosion with her hand, allowing the jacket to droop over her eyes. "Boom!"

"CorpSec?" Mirei tapped her foot. "Aren't they working for the enemy?"

"EikōBio has CorpSec. KyotoSynth has CorpSec. Genovista has CorpSec—everyone has CorpSec!" Naomi didn't realize she raised her voice. "The issue is them clashing." She groaned, rubbing her temples. "Listen: I don't trust Oliver—not in the slightest. But the last thing we want is to provoke a potential ally."

For a moment, the horse girl just stood there, allowing the gears to click into place. "But if you don’t call her-" Mirei raised a hand. “-she will freak out and send them anyway. And then?" Mimicking Tanji, she gestured "Boom."

They all looked at each other. “That’s…that's actually a good point.” Yulka spoke slowly, finding the words which slipped out of her mouth to taste strange. Mirei made good points? Since when?

"Plus they could intercept the call—even if it does go through." Naomi added, shaking her head. "Seems there aren't any good options."

"No good options?" Tanji clenched her fist. "So pick the least bad one!"

"Can't we wait out the lockdown?" Tamiko questioned, clinging onto Mirei's leg.

"Absolutely not." Yulka sneered at the suggestion. "They will swipe us the first chance they get." Ignoring the entire KyotoSynth situation, they were still without a master. Noah's little note might have worked on the unambitious police, but CorpSec had more to gain. A single 'mimi could be worth more than their wages, and with corporate connections, it would be easy to push them under the table. She knew this process all too well. This is how Hiro found her—how she was moved from Vladivostok across the ocean.

"What about-" Naomi was about to say something, only for her and Yulka to turn towards the sound of deep, loud grunts. It was the mare, pacing in place and looking as if she was ready to run. Her dopey face had a certain seriousness the pair had never seen before. "Mirei?"

"I will run. Run back to the house. Tell Koko. Myself." Slapping her face for bravery, she reached down to pick Tanji—tucking her under her armpit like a package. The Neko, of course, began objecting, but Mirei's voice drowned her whines out. "Tanji is the slowest. I will take her with me. I've run before. I can do it."

"I don't doubt that an Umamimi could get through the district line before the CorpSec tightens their lockdown." Naomi gave her a cautious smile of approval. "But Mirei, are you sure? Really—really sure."

"Really—really—really sure." She echoed, slapping Tanji's ass from excitement.

"Hey!" The tabby objected, struggling to turn around.

"Having fewer people to worry about would make splitting up easier." Once again, the wolf was inclined to agree with the horse girl. "Very well. Mirei?" Yulka turned towards her. "Run!"

As soon as she finished her sentence, the blonde blur which was once Mirei began making her way down the promenade—a screaming Tanji in her grasp. She almost seemed to cut a path through the heavy downpour, accelerating faster and faster.

"Good. What about you-" Naomi turned around just to see the wolf girl already marching away in the opposite direction. "-Yulka?"

"It'll be easier for you two to move without me." The wolf didn't turn around, and all Naomi could see was her long, silver hair and two canine ears. "Not exactly discrete, you know? Never have been."

"Are you going to be fine on your own?" Tamiko walked up to Naomi, grabbing her hand like she often did Tanji's—except without the expected attempts at pushing her away.

"I'll figure something out." She lied, picking up the pace. "Take care of Tamiko, alright Noah?"

"I will." Naomi whispered although Yulka was already too far to hear her.

Now, it was just the two of them—her and Tamiko. The two Nekos held hands, leaving the promenade in a direction opposite to that of the old Okamimimi bodyguard. The entire district seemed somehow dimmer, with the neon bulbs failing to impress the couple anymore.

Above them, CorpSec rotorcrafts flew low, hugging the skyscrapers. Their sleek, black hulls moved like a flock of ravens—an omen of death ready to swoop down onto them. Oftentimes, it looked as if they were going to nick a few of the wires or antennas, but the piloting computer wouldn't allow this.

They kept close to the shadows, avoiding the pools of light cast by the occasional streetlamp or ad pillar. Naomi's mind raced with possibilities—each step heavier than the last. She stole a glance at Tamiko whose feline ears were also perked up.

"Don't worry." Naomi spoke up, brushing her tail against the other Neko's thigh while giving her hand a squeeze. "They're not looking for us specifically." She really wanted to believe that this was a random act of Kemonomimi violence. "When you're running away from bears. You don't need to be the quickest—just not the slowest." It was meant as a joke (despite the sloppy delivery), but Tamiko's shaking eyes were proof enough that she didn't seem to think so.

"Is what Yulka said true?" She asked, looking down at the ground as Naomi tried to remember the layout of this part of the city. Now that the car had stopped and the monorail above them wasn't allowed to move anymore, the entire place was eerily silent. Those who lived here returned to their homes, with only a few citizens standing around—twiddling their thumbs while cursing the KyotoSynth.

Naomi pressed her lips together, thinking about whether answering was worth it. Maybe it was because of her new point of view putting her on the same level as Tamiko, but she somehow felt obliged to stop treating the girl as she would a child.

"Yeah—from what I've heard at the company." She wanted to remain vague. "It's a pretty big issue. Reselling a 'mimi after reconstructive plastic surgery pays for the entire procedure, so it's more than worth it."

"A surgery?" She shivered. Being afraid of needles, she could not even imagine what this could imply.

"That's done first. Replicating the paperwork is the hard part." The woman swallowed. "There are those nanomachines—tiny surgeons who cut and snip. Very quick. Very painful." Naomi felt a lump forming in her throat as they dodged the feet of an office worker shouting into her phone for somebody to get her out of the district. "They start with your number." Of course, she didn't have one. But Tamiko did. So did Mirei and Tanji and Yulka and-

Naomi shook her head. Before allowing herself to descend into this pit, the woman rubbed Tamiko's hair, fixing up her blonde twin tails. "But it's going to be alright." She threw an empty promise into the air, heading into one of the side streets which reeked of cheap lemon-scented cleaning solution.

THUD. There came the loud, wet sound of something hitting the ground followed by that of somebody struggling to stop themselves from crying—taking many short, sharp breaths which felt like bullets. Peaking over the corner, Naomi and Tamiko just watched as their empathy fought with self-preservation instincts.

The woman's arms were shaking like an unsteady scaffolding barely capable of keeping her head above her shoulder. She was a Kitsune, only slightly taller than the both of them. Her short dark blue hair was stained with the filth of the alleyway as the woman's head was pressed against the ground by the heavy boot of the lion girl.

Raionmimi were known to be used in security forces—much like Okamimimi—so seeing them assigned to CorpSec wasn't exactly uncommon. The difference was that lions worked better alone, whereas wolves performed better in teams. The golden-maned woman wasn't by herself, but she might as well have been, with the human overseer just smoking and letting her do her thing with some degree of removal.

"Kitsune." She confirmed, applying more force and gesturing over to her superior. The fox girl just squirmed, feeling the pressure being placed on her tendons. "Same template. But her hair isn't ginger."

"Thought it was." The massive CorpSec soldier squatted next to the lion, already securing an electric harness around her thin neck while throwing the still-lit cigarette into the gutter. "Hard to tell anything apart with the district going dark." He shrugged.

Managing to take one proper breath, the fox swallowed the mixture of warm spit and blood to attempt to formulate a sentence. "My master. My-my master-"

"Shut it." Another kick. This broke something with a tactile crunch. The red-haired Kitsune's pink eyes dulled as the woman had to physically focus on not passing out with a whimper—clinging to the dark tiles below her.

Tamiko began pulling on Naomi's shoulder, hoping for her to do something—her bright blue eyes like two beacons begging for help. But all that Naomi could do was shake her head and move back behind a vending machine filled with expired drinks. That lion was literally six times her height, appearing like some sculpted statue rather than a real, living thing. Even as a human, it would've been a one-sided fight.

"They're not gonna be worth much if you keep battering them like this, Hannah. Nobody wants their 'mimi bruised." He spoke of the twitching woman as if she were a fruit as he hoisted her up over his shoulder. Despite his companion being twice his height, you could not deny that the man was still built like a pillar—his teal Kevlar broken only by the crimson KyotoSynth logo.

"I am following the directive." Hannah gave him a dirty squint. As just a CorpSec officer (and a low-ranking one at that) he seemed to be way too invested in the price of the kemonomimi they were supposed to capture. But—being under his command—she bit her tongue.

"Of course." He clicked his. "Of course you are." Why did they have to assign him a 'mimi? Sure, some of the templates were a bit hard to physically overwhelm, but she was loyal to the company—not him. District lockdowns like these used to be fun, but there is no way he would be able to peddle something with Hannah literally breathing over his shoulder. "Let's get this grid over with. The sooner we lift the lockdown, the sooner I can go home."

They passed like a storm. Only after the pounding of the boots stopped was Naomi able to take her first deep breath in a while. And Tamiko? She just went catatonic.

"We couldn't have done anything." The white-haired Neko assured—her throat dry despite all the rain.

"True." Tamiko squeezed out, feeling a certain ache in her chest. "It was her fault she strayed away from her master, correct?"

"I am not sure-" Naomi exhaled, allowing her heart rate to go down ever so slightly. "You know what? You're right. It was her fault." Best not to think about it—the crunch and the snap and the blood and her dull pink eyes.

"We're not going back home?" Tamiko questioned, squinting as the two approached the looming EikōBio tower—an alabaster pillar adorned with occasional hints of green. Having spent half an hour walking down an old metro tube and climbing over the unmanned gates with nothing but their phone flashlights, the lights of Namiport seemed oppressive. One thing was for sure: they had made it out of the lockdown zone, with the city once again basking their bodies in filthy bright light.

"No. I am going to the doctor. Right now. I can't handle being like this anymore, you know?" Naomi explained, turning towards Tamiko. "I don't hate this body. It's just…" She clenched her fist, placing her hand on her chest. "I can't protect anyone like this."

Tamiko tilted her head. "You want to protect Tanji?"

"Of course I want to protect Tanji!" She shook her hand as the two made it to the side entrance. "And Yulka and Mirei and Koko and you. I am a handler. That's my job."

"But Tanji is different." She crossed her arms while watching Naomi struggling to input Noah's access code into a keypad, with her needing to jump just to reach it—deep breaths broken up by the occasional beeps of the console.

"How?" Naomi turned back for just a moment before once again standing on her tippy-toes and extending her arms towards the cold, metallic buttons. "How is Tanji different?" Almost there…

"You want to protect her. And it's not just because you're a handler."

"It's nothing like that." Finally, the door unlocked, with Naomi holding it open for the both of them—the heavy slab of metal and glass pushing against her side. "I've just been with her the longest."

"I think it is." The woman got closer, forcing Naomi into a hug. "You really care for her. More than you care for Yulka. Or Mirei. Or me."

"Tamiko…"

"I am not offended." She placed her chin on Naomi's shoulder. "I am a little glad, actually."

"We have a job to do." Naomi tried pulling away, still stuck in this limbo between the outside and the tower as the door continued to weigh her down.

"I'll make it back home on my own. I need to check on Tanji." She smiled. "For your sake."

Naomi opened her mouth, but just swallowed and nodded. It was true—all of it. Tanji was different from the rest, and she was worried about that pudgy little cat.

"If something happens…"

"Don't say stuff like that." Naomi winced. "Don't be dramatic."

"No, listen." Tamiko shook her head. "Naomi or Noah—or whoever. If something happens…you have to…"

"Yeah?" She really wanted the woman to just spill, but the words began choking up in her throat like a scalding gas needed to be vented. Suddenly, there was a certain spark in her eyes, with Tamiko taking a deep breath before finally opening her mouth.

"You have to impregnate my sister!"

Blink. Blink—blink—blink. "Huh?"

"She’s so weird. She’s so fucking weird!" The hug got tighter. "You’re genuinely the only man she’s ever shown any interest in. Please, you have to carry on the bloodline!"

"Tamiko, what are you talking about?" Do 'mimis even have the concept of a bloodline? Or is this something she picked up from Ms. Tanikawa—her original owner? She seemed to be a rather traditional woman, so Naomi did not put it past her. That did not make the words coming out of Tamiko any less dirty—despite how innocent she sounded while saying them.

Not answering, Tamiko instead pulled away. "That felt good." She smacked her lips together, feeling a certain pressure relieved in her chest. "Good luck!" The Neko waved, running into the city.

Naomi was now alone, allowing the door to shut like the blade of a guillotine as she made her way through the sterile building. She was now amongst her peers, yet the cyclopean structure felt cold—foreign.

“Think you can still trust the doctor?”

These words lingered in her mind like an aftertaste. She trusted Emily. Right? Some KyotoSynth bunny wasn't going to change that. That woman had a certain passion for her—a drive that made the idea of the doctor betraying the corporation simply unfeasible. She might not have loved EikōBio with the same religious ferocity as Koko, but she was smart enough to realize working with them was for the best.

Maybe Oliver was just trying to scare her. But Naomi couldn't help but smile at his attempts. Good. There was reason to be afraid.

This feeling followed her as she finished an uncomfortably long elevator ride up to the main lab. Dark fluorescent yellow lights buzzed above her as she marched towards the doors—the geometric patterns decorating the halls acting like strange optical illusions meant to make them appear endless. But with the tactile sensation of her palm against the cold metal, she pushed them open.

EikōBio always prided itself on being ahead in its technology. The lab was a testament to this principle. In the centre of the room, a series of workstations stood like islands in a sea of the gleaming linoleum floor. Each station was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment: from microscopes to precision pipettes to different types of electronic detectors—all meticulously arranged and ready for use.

Behind one of the stations, Dr. Emily sat with her legs crossed. She was a determined woman—even if it looked like she was about to fall asleep any minute. Right now, the doctor was going over some bacteria colonies. It seemed rather casual, but Naomi imagined that she simply lacked the intricate knowledge of this "classified project."

"Emily!"

"Yeah?" The woman immediately fixed her posture, scanning the room for her superior. The only thing she found was a tiny Neko standing on the floor in front of her. "Ugh. Another one." She rubbed her temples, standing up and picking up the thing like a football. "Come on, little thing. Back to your cage."

"It's me—Noah!" Naomi objected, struggling in her grasp. "There was some issue with the capsule and-" She growled, struggling to explain what actually happened back there in the bath. "I had a little incident. Okay?"

"Alright, I think I know what's going on here." Emily bounced the little bundle in her arms as if trying to determine her weight. "Let's get you into the transformation pool." It sounded like she was just putting something in the oven, but once you spent long enough working with the marvels produced by the corporation, things such as changing every single cell within a person's body become just a party trick.

"You have my data, right?" Naomi questioned while getting moved. "The one of Noah, I mean."

"We store genomes of all employees. Makes it easier to recommend bonuses." In this case, "bonuses" meant removing the "hereditarily inferior" genes. "Come on." She gestured towards the pool. "Strip."

"Do you feel well?" Dr. Emily handed a glass of water mixed with various random dissolved nutrients Noah's new human body could use. This wasn't a usual change from A to B. There were more "esoteric" steps along the way. Still, the man looked to have two arms and two legs (as well as all the internal organs in the right places), so it was an overall success.

"Yeah. I feel fine." Lifting it to his lips, Noah winced at the sickly sweet smell while gulping it down. He tightened the towel a little tighter around his body while looking up. "Just…"

"Just what?" She leaned in closer. "Come on, you have to be detailed when speaking with a doctor. Even blurry vision could be a sign of an underlying health issue."

"I am already a hypochondriac, doctor. Do you really want me to start calling you after every headache?" He tried to smile at the situation, instead just taking a deep breath. "But you are right. There was something. Or rather, absence of something." The grip around his drink tightened as Noah looked up. "There is usually this…someone."

"You see them when you transform." Noah cautiously turned towards the woman as she spoke, worrying that he had perhaps misheard something. This level of understanding was certainly unexpected but welcomed.

"Yeah. In flashes—like a dream, except a lot more vivid." He pressed his hands together. "But dreams are usually easy to forget."

"They don't usually enter long-term memory." She confirmed his suspicions, looking over her tablet.

"Right." Clearing his throat, the man wanted to continue—hesitating for just a second. "There is this woman. With horns. In a birch forest. Red yes. White hair."

"So that's what that looks like." With a few flicks on her device, the doctor placed it to the side, locking eyes with her patient. "Are you aware of that certain genetic quirk you possess?"

"The one which makes all the 'mimi forms albino?" He perked up. "If it's a problem, can't you just remove it?" And while she was at it, getting the whole iron absorption issue would have been nice as well.

"Well." The doctor raised her hand. "It's not exactly albinism, per se—not an issue with your melanocytes. There is an entity living within your genome."

Noah shook his head, chuckling—for he could not muster any other response.

Her nod assured him that she was serious. "Are you aware of natural computer viruses and AIs? Those which form spontaneously from pieces of scrap code." She pointed towards his wrist. "The same thing happened with your genome. The vast majority of the human DNA is not actually used for anything, with good portions having no other purpose than ensuring their own survival."

"So what?" He stood up. "Some random scraps of DNA gained sentience?"

"Yes. The same way that random scraps of 1s and 0s can gain them."

The man clenched his fist looking up a the ceiling. "This is a lot to take in."

"But you do believe me. Right?" The doctor stood up alongside him.

Noah let out an exhausted exhale. "Yes. I believe you. You are the doctor here. But what are we supposed to do about it?" He looked up at her like somebody wanting a prescription.

She crossed her arms. "I would have preferred to study your condition more. These kinds of DNA imprints don't exactly appear often." Looking up, he could see her uncomfortable eyes. "Besides, do you need it gone ASAP? It may take a while, you know."

He knew that her objection was a mixture of friendly concern and cold fascination, but Noah couldn't help but empathize with the woman. She always wanted to push the technology further and further—ad infinitum.

"Alright. I will let you look over that little horned DNA scrap baby next time. Right now, I need to get in contact with my 'mimis." Taking out the phone, Noah looked back at Dr. Emily while inputting their numbers from memory. "Thank you for setting some time for helping me with this. I know that you are busy with that classified project."

She tilted her head. "What classified project? I've been on basic lab duty the whole day."

"Didn't Koko explain everything over the phone today?"

"Noah." Dr. Emily slouched in her chair. "We last spoke when you've gotten sick—a day after the beach event."

"So?"

"So." She crossed her arms. "Koko didn't call me."

The phone stopped ringing. No voice greeted them on the other end—only the hollow echo of a dead tone that reverberated through the lab.

The array of tonal noises danced through the lab as Noah paced back and forth. He had tried calling everyone—twice! Although he hated it, the man managed to thoroughly justify his heart rate going up.

“Please….please…” He held his breath, squeezing the phone with his clammy hands while uttering a silent prayer to whichever greater power would listen.

“Nothing?” Having returned from her trip to the dispenser machine, Dr. Emily handed the pale man a paper cup while gripping onto one herself. She despised drinking coffee so late, but something told her this was going to be a long night.

“Nothing.” Noah didn’t dare to take his eyes off the low-res screen while sipping on the dark liquid.

“They’re going to be fine.” Emily tried to provide some words of reassurance, but they felt empty. “Tanji and the rest aren’t as dumb as they look. And Yulka? She's a survivor. She had been that way since she was a cub. As soon as we deal with Koko-“

“You don’t know if it’s her fault!” He snapped, putting down the drink which his shaky hands could no longer stand holding. “You don’t—you just don’t know. We don’t know anything. Okay?“

“Noah…” She crossed her arms, pressing her lips together.

“Koko wouldn’t do something like this. She’s my ‘mimi. I know—she wouldn’t—she just wouldn’t.”

“Get a grip.” Letting out a labored sigh, Emily wiped away some of the spilled coffee. “Koko lied to you.”

“You don’t know that.” Noah now had to consciously stop himself from shouting. His voice became hoarse, like a machine gun with a suppressor attached to it. “This harms EikōBio, right? She loves this company—really, really loves it.” Taking a deep breath, the man gobbled the rest, throwing the empty cup into a trash can across the room. “People don’t just do things. Cause and effect. Cause and effect…” He repeated, his voice dimming.

Dr. Emily leaned against the lab bench, her expression softening as she watched Noah struggle. “Tell me what you’re going to do. And please don’t say anything stupid.”

“I am going to talk to KyotoSynth.” He looked out of the window, his eyes focused on a huge ad pillar in the distance—the company’s emblematic red flashing against the starless sky like a beacon. “They know something. And now—with their executive dead—they might be desperate enough to play ball.”

“The leadership isn’t going to like this.” Emily warned, seeing his determined face illuminated by the scarlet lights. “You no longer have Hiro as your lifeline.”

“Don’t you remember? I am a handler. My Kemonomimi.” He tapped his chest violently. “My responsibility.”

“Noah…”

“You’re a doctor. I trust you on medical matters, don’t I? I even believe that there’s some consciousness living in my genes because you—and you alone—told me so.” He swallowed, feeling his throat getting coarse. “This is a handler's matter.”

“Noah…” She repeated, making one last disapproving face to gauge his reaction.

“What!?”

So there was no pushing him along from this. There was nothing she could give or promise to stop him from at least trying. He wasn’t the same boy who just did whatever the cabal told him. “Fine. I trust you.” Reaching into one of the shelves, the woman pulled out a backpack, handing it over to him. It was small, yet filled to the brim—overflowing with boons that deformed the thin fabric.

“What’s this?” He shook it, trying to estimate the contents like a kid on Christmas.

“Something to help you along the way—to prove that I care. Treat it as your final prescription.” She looked up at him. “It was meant as a field test but…yeah.”

“Is it a weapon?” Even the possibility made the man finally stop bouncing the thing in his palms, instead pressing it against his chest. “You know that I am terrible with guns, right?”

“No?!” That was a weird conclusion to jump to, with the doctor getting a little offended. Did he actually think that she would just hand him a pistol? She wasn’t an engineer (much less a weapon maker). “It’s not a gun. Don’t worry, there are notes inside. So don’t start swallowing random pills, okay?” Failing to lighten the moon, Emily straightened her face, trying to convey that there was no malice in her words. ”After that, don’t contact me anymore—for my sake.“

“I wouldn’t.” With a nod of gratitude, Noah slung the backpack over his shoulder, feeling its weight—a physical reminder of his burden. Heading for the door, he glanced at Emily. Her expression was a mix of concern and resignation. “Emily. Are you angry at me? Because it’s fine if you are.”

There was a certain oxidizing feeling in her chest as the doctor walked up towards the window, popping her head out into the cool evening air. “No. It’s important to go against the norm every once in a while—to do something a little controversial. It’s a sign of a healthy working brain.” A cheap justification, but even half-truths were better than nothing. She turned back, leaning against the window sill. “But I’ll be angry at you if you get yourself killed.”

“I wouldn’t.” He promised, even if he had no right to. With that, he headed for the exit, leaving behind the gated alabaster castle of EikōBio.

Caught in an idle state, Noah carefully observed each plume of condensation. He had called KyotoSynth, and Oliver himself told him that he’d be there ASAP. But when you’re working for a corporation, “as soon as possible” could mean 5 minutes or 5 hours. For a moment, he thought about maybe going somewhere. But where could he realistically go? Not the house, that’s for sure. He couldn’t bear to see it empty.

“Nochan~” A voice called out from the corpocar, prompting the man to stand up from the metal bench. His ass was getting cold anyway. With the doors sliding open, he could see the same KyotoSynth bunny waving at him even though the two were less than 10 feet apart. As with everything else, having this switch in perspective made Oliver appear slightly different, with the Usagimimi now having to strain his neck in order to look Noah in the eyes.

He still had the same long, straight raven hair, with two matching black eyes looking up at him through a pair of pink shades. Oliver’s entire outfit seemed to be a weird mockery of the corporate world. As you went from top to bottom, it was hard to anticipate what would come next: an expensive-looking black suit, cheap pink skirt, striped white-blue thighs, and dark brown leather loafers.

“Hop in, Nochan.” Oliver called out, gesturing for him to climb aboard. He did just that, stepping over the bunny to get to the other side of the car.

“So. Let’s go over the facts.” Noah tried to keep himself comfortable, looking through the stained windows as Namiport became an urban blur. Turning towards Oliver, he raised his hand. “My ‘mimis—Tanji and Mirei—saw a Genovista representative in an underground market. Sunohara. Some kind of handler, if I were to guess.”

“And they saw this Sunohara character during the EikōBio beach event.” The bunny boy confirmed, nodding along as if the two were solving the same equation. “This means that you should know her.”

“Yes. And I don’t doubt she could’ve been mistaken for anyone else. We interacted a lot that day. Girl's not easy to miss.” Noah began rhythmically tapping the divider between their seats to keep his hands busy. “What I want to know is how this factors into the greater picture. You mentioned that Genovista is likely getting some outside support, right?”

“That’s the only way we could justify them rising in power so quickly.” Oliver confirmed, touching his own cheek. “I hope that doesn’t make my bosses sound like they’re having some complex about the whole issue.”

“No, you’re right to worry. This is strange. Very strange.” Rubbing his hands together, Noah once again turned towards the bunny. “And I am assuming you have some information about that specific underground market?”

“Correct. You’re catching on quickly. Good man.” He let out an almost silent chuckle, covering his mouth. “That’s what Hiro used to say, wasn’t it?”

“You can cut out the theatrics.”

“Not having fun, Nochan?” The man stuck his tongue out while giving Noah’s arm a punt. Even if he tried to hurt him, he doubted that his 2-foot-tall frame could muster many more pascals. “It’s going to be okay. As long as you’re with me, KyotoSynth will treat you like family. And at the end of the day, EikōBio will probably give you a bonus for the initiative.”

“Yeah. Bonus.” He grumbled. “Probably a 50-dollar voucher to be used at a company-owned restaurant. Besides: if we’re having a meeting with the KyotoSynth board, wouldn't it be better for my ‘mimis to be there? As—you know—witnesses? This is just hearsay.” It wasn’t like he expected Oliver to pull Tanji or Mirei out of a hat, but enlisting KyotoSynth as his private detectives would’ve been just what he needed.

“You’re their handler. Anything you say about your Kemonomimi is seen as absolute truth.” Oliver turned towards him, wrapping his hands around Noah’s arm. while giving that smile that seemed too wide for his face. “Lighten up, Nochan. You’re one of them—a corpo. Don’t think about this like being a sheep walking into a lion’s den; all of you are lions.”

“How reassuring.” He pulled away—his right leg beginning to bounce. The less he thought about lions, the better.

“You’ll do fine.” It was hard to find the source of all this optimism within Oliver. His company just took a big hit, and here he was—grinning. There was hardly time to pick his little brain apart, but Noah couldn’t help but cautiously observe his round face. “We’ll dress you up nicely for the occasion.”

“I know how these things work.” Being a representative in a corporate meeting was much like being a tank on the fields of World War 1: a lot of his actual impact was purely psychological. Corporations might seem cold from the outside, but amongst the upper echelons, there are many chances to be humans—to be liked. “You’ve got a suit for me? Something classy?”

“You could say that.” Reaching into the miniature fridge hidden in the divider between their seats, Oliver took out two cans of beer—one for himself, and one for Noah. “But I am afraid it’s not you they want to meet, Nochan. Naomi would make a better impact and make you seem less threatening.”

Freezing in place, Noah felt a cold drop of water gliding across his palm. “So they want Naomi, huh?” Cracking the can open, he tightened his grip, wolfing it down. “That’s doable.”

“Just like that?” His files mentioned Noah to be a little more…apprehensive towards the whole transformation process. It wasn’t like the bunny was going to complain, but this seemed too easy.

“Just like that.” Noah confirmed as Oliver crossed his legs. “I need to be liked, not respected.”

The car managed to reach the KyotoSynth building quicker than he had anticipated. While its onboard navigational computer was programmed to (barely) respect the traffic laws, it precisely zoomed through the traffic like a rat navigating a maze. There wasn’t even enough time for him to finish his beer, with Noah leaving the rest behind in the car.

The building’s lobby was a weird amalgamation of traditional Japanese styles mixed with the geometric patterns of Art Deco, with the walls covered by hues of reds, whites, and blues. All around them, slender columns rose like sentinels—their smooth surfaces adorned with delicate reliefs depicting scenes of nature. KyotoSynth was the first major biocorp ever to be established (the first of any historical significance, at least). Taisho Modernism seemed like an appropriate aesthetic. Sure, it was outdated, but it seemed like this was what the designer was going for.

“I’ll give you time to change, Nochan.” Oliver gave a self-satisfied smile at the double entendre, handing him a sleek white guest badge.

“Thank you—for everything, I mean.” Extending his arm, Noah reached for the bunny’s head but stopped himself. Instead, he knelt, shaking his hand.

“Please. I hate getting praised when I don’t deserve it.” The Usagimimi brushed him off, giving his palm a weak grip before turning away. “This is just part of the job. I just do what I am told.” He tried pointing at his head, but could only reach as far as his stomach. “You’re doing all this for something a little more noble."

Forming a fist, Noah let it go—his fingers spreading apart. “Yes. I care about them. Okay?” He arched his body, looking up at a chandelier. “No shame in admitting it.”

“They’re not just products to you.”

“They are not. I don’t know what to call them, but they’re something more. Tanji…”

“Your first.” Noah turned towards the bunny as he spoke, seeing him now staring at his own shoes.

“You know a lot about me.” He noted, seeing Oliver’s ears slouching down slightly. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from somebody involved with Hiro.”

“I like to be informed. Comes with the territory.” Like a gauge, his ears straighten up slightly at the compliment. “Now, Tanji…”

“What about her?”

“You could say…she’s like a daughter to you.”

“WHAT-“ Noah found himself choking on air, pounding his chest. “No. Not a daughter. Don’t—uh—don’t say that ever again. Please.” Trying to laugh it off, he subconsciously placed his hand on Oliver’s head, ruffling his hair. “She’s just a very special person to me. I don’t really believe in stuff like this, but the night we met? It felt like fate.”

“Must be nice…” The man mumbled before looking up at him, his face switching back to a grin. It looked like Oliver was wearing layers upon layers of masks, with one of them slipping off occasionally to reveal a more appropriate one underneath. “But there is no time to waste!” He pushed on Noah’s leg. “Come on, Nochan! Get changed!”

Staring at the red water, Noah made a confident face—scaring his reflection into submission. The entire room reeked of cherries which came from the bathing salt Oliver gave him. Precipitation built up on all the windows, separating him from the world. He had an opportunity to look through the bag Emily had left him, passing through a series of pills, ointments, and the familiar transformation capsules (just as she promised, no guns).

“I am right here.” He whispered, lowering himself into the warm water. Bouncing the plastic capsule in his hand, he finally allowed it to fall into the expanse with a wet PLOP. Now, it was just a matter of passing out. Surprisingly enough, trying to faint was harder than specifically trying not to faint. But after a few slurred memories and half-thoughts, the fugue state overcame him.

“So that’s what I am….” The horned woman continued sitting on her throne of rust. This realm—her forest—seemed idle, with the only real motive force being that directionless wind. One singular difference Noah noticed was the sheer volume of leaves that fell from the trees, leaving them bare and looking like white spears pointed at heaven.

“You didn’t know?” Noah questioned, resting his chin on his hand while leaning against one of the cars.

“I only know as much as you do. Idiot.” She replied, getting closer to him—her footsteps muffled by the red carpet.

“You’re going to try choking me out? Taking control?” Unprompted, the two began circling each other as if locked in a duel. “Doctor gave me pills and-“

There came an annoying grumble, with the woman rubbing her temples. “I already told you: I know as much as you do.” Suddenly, her expression softened. “But it seems a bit pathetic, doesn’t it? Just being scraps of DNA.”

“We don’t…I don’t know. It’s just a hypothesis. Barely even a hypothesis—a theory.” He took a deep breath of the liquid air, stopping in his tracks. The woman mirrored him. “If it makes you feel any better, I am just a collection of self-replicating chemicals.”

“Would be better than this.” Allowing the scraps of business clothing to fall from her shoulders, the woman revealed her body. It was pale, with flashes of purple bruises—like a cheetah’s camouflage.

“You want out.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I want out. But I also know about Tetrafirtucrycin. That’s what that chemical was called, correct? Your memories are all over the place today.”

“That’s it.” Noah confirmed. Just how much did she know—how much did she see? It’s not like this thing can literally look through his eyes, only interpreting the passing signals.

“So treat me like an animal wise enough to know that pouncing on its cage is hopeless.” With that, she slumped down to the floor again, spreading her legs.

“I can let you out.” He prematurely raised a hand while sitting by her side. “And I know that you know about the capsules.”

“You’re going to isolate me into one of them?” Noah nodded in confirmation. “Why?”

“I am in a bind—as you already know. Since we share this body, me getting put in the ground means you die as well. Don’t know if you’re actually conscious or not, but all DNA wants to preserve itself, and I need an ally who is caught up to speed.” Standing up, Noah dusted himself off while extending a hand. “There might be a time when I’ll need you to take over. So. Peace?”

The horned woman stared at his palm for a moment. Sure, she might have had all the solid data, but the human consciousness—Noah’s notion of self—was beyond her. This was one thing she was absolutely sure that the man was wrong about: it wasn’t just a collection of chemicals like everything else in his body, but something almost supernatural. “Peace.” She replied, shaking on it.

The boardroom was a truly cavernous space—its walls adorned with dark wood panels that seemed to absorb any hint of light. Naomi (née Noah) now stood at the expanse that was the polished table. Her white hair made her stand out against the void, almost demanding the attention of the board. They sat all around her, although you could only see the sharp edges of their faces—like glints of blades. The air was heavy with the smell of aged wood and expensive perfume as Naomi cleared her throat, quickly patting down her blue dress.

A strong feminine face stood out from the crowd, her eyes tracing the mouse girl as she walked around the stage that was the table. The woman’s suit combined the elegance of black with the richness of gold. But it wasn't just her clothes. No, the woman herself had a large price tag attached to her birth. She was a designer baby; her parents weren’t even trying to hide it. Her luminous yellow eyes—much like the Nezumimi's ivory hair—radiated amidst the darkness. If the plaque was to be believed, her name was Fujimoto Kohana.

“So this is the EikōBio handler.” She finally spoke up, forcing the hushed whispers to subside. “Coming to us with this…allowing my men to look over your genome…it reeks of desperation.” Taking a long drag of her cigarette, she tapped it against an ashtray, making Naomi lose her footing. “Does your boss know?”

“He does not.” Naomi confirmed, sulking a little while marching towards her. It would have been nice for the woman to at least pretend the two were friends at the beginning of the meeting. KyotoSynth crowd seemed even more gloomy than the EikōBio board.

“As expected.” Reaching down, her slender fingers suddenly wrapped around Naomi’s waist, lifting her up. “Transforming like this for your masters…it must be an unpleasant ordeal.”

“I am used to it.” She responded, not daring to break eye contact.

“You know.” The grip tightened a little bit, brushing her thumb over Naomi’s chest. “I don’t attend a meeting without a squad of at least 4 CorpSec soldiers handpicked by me—plus counter-sniper detail.” She began moving her finger in circles, stimulating the woman’s barely-existent chest and watching her squirm in her palm. Even through the relatively thick fabric, she could feel the tiny nipples poking through—her pale face turning an embarrassing shade of pink. “And yet, here you are.”

“I am not…worried…” Naomi squeezed out between sharp exhales, closing her crimson eyes. The woman was using her body like a toy—just a bit of stress relief after all the meetings which caused her real anxiety. Compared to this, the woes of a handler were a sideshow. There was something exciting about watching a tiny mouse holding onto your finger for support—gasping and wheezing while making dumb faces. Sure, even if this thing was a human, she could’ve still forced it to kiss her foot if she so desired. But this? She had a tactile power over this little thing, like a cat playing with its prey.

“I would be.” Kohana made a mental note to order more Nezumimi for her to fool around with while giving Naomi a moment to rest her excited heart. She didn’t want to make her pass out, after all. If there was one thing the woman despised more than anything, it was wasting time. “What can you do, really? If you had some hidden Ace, KyotoSynth intelligence would’ve known about it.”

Wiping her mouth, Naomi swallowed. “No. Not an ace. Nothing like that. I just have a feeling that you’re magnanimous.”

The executive raised an eyebrow with a weak smile as if to indicate that she liked the sound of that particular word. “Magnanimous? How so?”

“KyotoSynth is the big brother to all the corporations.” She finally stood up, holding onto the woman’s index finger for support. “And yet, they allowed others to survive.”

Kohana leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs as she regarded Naomi with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "So, we’re benevolent overlords, are we?"

The mouse straightened her posture. "More like guardians—protectors of the balance in the corporate world. This is why I believe that you want to deal with the Genovista situation. I’ve told you all that I know." She extended a finger, pointing at the woman’s face. “Your turn.”

“My turn, is that right?” She echoed. At first, there came a chuckle. Then, the woman burst into a silent laughter—her whole body moving while barely any sound came out. It was a bit scary to watch, with Naomi taking a step back. “You’re a very lucky mouse.” She commented, watching a woman fixing her doll-sized blue dress. “Tell me: have you done prior research on me?”

“Didn't have the time to, I am afraid.” There was no point in lying. The executive was reasonably happy, and Naomi wanted to keep it that way.

“So you were winging it.” Kohana crossed her arms. “Very lucky indeed.”

“Anyways.” Naomi once again stood at attention, now glancing over the entire board.

The confident smirk disappeared from Kohana’s face, her lips once again forming into a thin line. “Taking a direct offensive action against Genovista right now would be ill-advised. KyotoSynth doesn’t make these types of decisions on a whim.”

“Yes, I know—I know.” Naomi began pacing back and forth like a desperate dictator addressing her troops. “It’s not like I expected you to mobilize. But your forces far surpass theirs. Even an indirect strike-”

The executive raised her hand, making the mouse freeze in place. “Do you realize that the underground markets sell to some very high-society clients? It’s not just a chop-shop for Kemonomimi.” Naomi nodded, watching the woman light another cigarette. Soon, a bellow of smoke was blown in her face, drowning the tiny mouse in a silver cloud of tobacco. “We’ve managed to track down these transactions. The YŪGEN banking group cleared them.” She snapped her fingers. “Like that.”

Naomi bit her lip—her brain stuttering as it rejected the new information. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a rogue clerk?”

“Positive.” There was not a hint of uncertainty in her words—not a sliver of doubt. The realization that YŪGEN might have been working with Genovista was like telling their guest that the corporation had a lend-lease on a nuke.

Naomi looked down puzzled, scratching the back of her head. “I know that they were upset about my people, but to directly get themselves involved? Doesn’t this break the Great Game?”

“It does, It doesn’t—who knows.” Lifting the Nezumimi by her tail, the woman dropped her flatly back onto the table as if to inform the rest of the board that she was done. “What I know is that I need to look after my people.” Tapping her cigarette against the rim of the ashtray, the mouse girl watched as more gray flakes joined the pile. “KyotoSynth is going on the defensive.”

“But…” Naomi searched for a way out, but all that she saw were the stone faces of executives. The only “friend” here was Oliver, but even he looked away when their eyes met as if to avoid shame by proxy. “But they killed one of yours!” She finally spat out, with disappointed chatter now slithering through the room like the hisses of a snake.

A small crack appeared on Kohana’s face as she stood up—a singular chip in her chiseled features. "This meeting’s over.” On cue, everyone else rose, leaving the room through different doors. Only Naomi remained: a lone actor with no audience.

The rain poured down in relentless sheets, drumming against the pavement as Noah stood beneath the bus stop. He took a drag from a cigarette, the smoke mingling with the misty air—obscuring his thoughts as effectively as the surroundings. For what it was worth, the horned girl left him alone during the return trip into a human. Maybe she took pity on him. Maybe poking him just wasn’t fun anymore.

“Were you expecting to raise an army?” Oliver questioned, bringing him an umbrella. It was one of those cheap red ones with KyotoSynth’s logo stamped on the hilt.

“Honestly?” Noah turned towards the bunny, bringing his arm to the other side to avoid ash falling on Usagimimi's head. “I just wanted a few friends.”

“Oh. Okay.” It wasn’t like him to look so miserable, with a little voice at the back of Oliver’s skull telling him to smile. “Sorry.”

“It happens.” He mumbled, throwing the cigarette into the gutter.

“What was that?”

Tightening the straps of his backpack, Noah just exhaled. “Nothing.” There was a pause. “You know, the bus will soon come.”

“Where are you going?” Oliver said while quickly trying to decode the mess of colorful lines that was the Namiport’s public transport system. “I can get somebody to drive you around.”

“I am not leaving Namiport if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I wasn’t-” The bunny looked down, taking a step closer. Leaning his head against the man’s leg, Oliver closed his eyes. “Good luck, Nochan.”

The bus soon arrived. Turning back, Noah offered one last wave before climbing onboard. The interior was dim—lit only by the occasional flash of lightning and the faint glow of the overhead lamps which looked like they were about to give up. He found an empty seat near the back and settled in, leaning his head against the window and watching the rain cascade down. Pressing the phone against the side of his head, he counted down the rings until it crackled with static.

“Sunohara?

“…”

“It’s me.”

“…”

“Can we meet up?”

In the dimly lit back alley, Noah leaned against the cold brick wall. Every little sound was magnified in the stillness of the night: the distant wail of sirens, the muffled thud of footsteps, the rustle of paper carried on the wind. Graffiti adorned the walls which encompassed him like a concrete cage—splashes of colors contrasting sharply against the uniform grayness of Namiport. The only light was the flickering of a solitary neon sign having a stroke. It cast eerie shapes across the pavement, reflecting some half-coherent text in a puddle.

This could be bad. No, it would be bad—he expected as much. Before they came to any kind of understanding, Noah had thoroughly accepted the fact that he would need to humiliate himself in some way or leave with a bruised eye. But if it put him closer to finding his Kemonomimi, he was willing to bite that bullet. Everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the face. If that was the case, he’d already been battered a few times—his face going numb. One extra punch wouldn’t hurt.

This did not stop the horned woman from yelling at him in her own unique way. She couldn’t speak with him when they were like this, but signal after signal of “fight-or-flight” kept getting sent—his brain soaked with epinephrine. Sunohara was going to get here by car anyway, and he didn't expect her to have the finesse to sneak up on him. Allowing the anxiety to fester would be bad for his (their) heart.

“What should I call you?” Noah thought, looking up at the gray sky. There was silence. Maybe she was choosing a name for herself, or maybe she just didn’t care. It was hard to tell when one of them was waving flags while the other kept sending Morse code. “Right.” He shook his head. “I’ll just run through different names. Do something when I land on the one you like.” Not the most elegant solution but it would do. If she remains silent, he could always just pick one from a random generator.

But she didn’t remain silent, settling on Rin.

“Rin?” Noah questioned, with a jolt of positivity flooding him as if he had just popped a piece of candy into his mouth. This is what the purpose of dopamine was, after all—to determine if an action was worth performing. It was short and easy for him to pronounce; he should have expected this horned woman—this “Rin”—to be utilitarian.

“Alright, Rin.” Another flood of dopamine—like a dog answering to its name. “Cut that out.” He found it hard to get angry, even if he really should’ve. “I don’t want you to mess up my internal chemistry.” His glands were already working overtime to deal with all the transformations.

Listening to her co-host, Rin stopped simulating his central nervous system. And without it, the dread settled in again—the dread of what could go wrong. Shadows seemed darker, silhouettes seemed sharper, and the sound of Sunohara’s car halting in front of him with a purr seemed louder.

Sunohara cracked a smile, walking out of her car and leaning against the shaded window. “You actually came, rodent.”

“Well…yeah. Yeah, I did.” Stumbling slightly over his words, Noah really had no doctrine for this woman. She was either a fool or a jester, but you can’t treat the two alike. A fool is simply an idiot; a jester is somebody pretending to be one.

“That’ll do.” She formed her fingers into pistols, pressing them together and pointing at Noah. “I’ll tell you where your Kemonomimi are.” And here came the conditions. “In return, I want EikōBio’s protection.”

“Thought you were with Genovista.” Noah crossed his arms, sensing a weakness. Still, he was cautious in prodding it, lest it prove to be a fluke—or worse, a trap. “What, some internal issues?”

Sunohara made an unpleasant sound, looking over her shoulder. “Does it matter?”

“Matters to me.” He squared his posture, taking a step closer while wiping his mouth from the bitter aftertaste. “You already know how much of a mess I am in.” After pointing at his chest, Noah flicked his finger onto Sunohara. “If we’re going to sink in mud tethered to each other, wouldn’t you want to know how thick it is?”

“Funny that you would be the one making demands—you who crawled to his rival.” Noah watched her jaw tighten, mirroring his pose. “I can leave.” She asserted, pressing her chest against his. “One more word and I am climbing back into the car.”

“You wouldn’t.” Noah narrowed his eyes, pushing back. He could feel himself building momentum, putting more and more chips on the green-haired girl cracking. Of course, these chips didn’t actually exist, since it’s not like he could get EikōBio to protect her. But she didn’t need to know that.

“Wouldn’t I?” Sunohara mirrored him, squinting her eyes while standing on tippy-toes to match his height.

The two of them were stuck in a type of standoff you might see in a public place: neither party wanted to throw the first punch—lest the police arrive—while still clenching their fists, gritting their teeth, and preparing for a battle. This, however, wasn’t a public place, and if somebody were to happen, the police wouldn’t do a thing about it; they both had Corpo Immunity, after all.

“Come on. Do something.” Noah groaned, not taking his gaze off her. At the same time, Rin already waited with her finger on the button: anti-pain, anti-inflammation—she was going to get this meat puppet through the fight.

“Okay. Alright.” She let out a forced chuckle, bringing her face uncomfortably close to his—her warm breath dancing across his cheeks. It wasn’t pleasantly warm, but more like watching an engine vent steam. “Let’s not forget that I know where your ‘mimis are. Do you understand what this means? You want to see Tanji again, don’t you?”

Her bringing up Tanji only reminded him that it was Sunohara down there in the underground market. “You’ll help me.” He nodded as if it were a done deal. “And then we will talk about your protection. This…” Pressing his neck against his right shoulder, Sunohara heard the loud popping of his bone. “...or I’ll beat it out of you.”

“You wouldn’t.” The woman dismissed, taking a step back.

“Wouldn’t I?” As he said that, Rin was already preparing a cocktail of neuropeptides related to aggression.

There was silence—a singular moment of dread encased in resin. Sunohara opened her mouth to speak, but Noah only saw her lips quivering in place.

She was saved by the sound of approaching footsteps, demanding that the both of them make themselves decent—lest strangers see them like this. It was a pair of Genovista’s CorpSec, wearing the emblematic Navy blue. Pieces of black Kevlar broke up the uniform interwoven with thin golden geometric Art Deco patterns. Noah wanted to see their faces—to see what they were feeling—just to find them encompassed by smooth black helmets.

“Yours?” Noah whispered, seeing their sharp features lit up by the weak neon sign.

“Yeah.” Sunohara exhaled, squaring her shoulders before approaching them. “I’ll handle it. Don’t go anywhere.”

Noah did as he was told, leaning back against the wall. Her face told him that this appearance was less of the cavalry arriving and more of her co-workers walking in on her in bed with the enemy.

“Guys, guys.” Extending her hands, Sunohara prepared to place the two into an impersonal hug—the type a distant father gives to his child. “Head back to the HQ, okay? I am handlin’ it. Don’t need extra muscle.”

Her laugh was broken by the sharp sound of wind being cut as a fist connected with the side of her face, sending the woman flying. Noah winced while watching her go airborne for what felt like a good few seconds before landing at his feet—her right eye burning a scarlet shade of red. This was going to leave a bruise.

“What the hell are you doing?” She squeezed out between many sharp breaths—like screams of a hornet.

“You’re dismissed from your position, Sunohara Saki.” One of the CorpSec soldiers spoke as if he were an executioner reading the Judge’s sentence. “The board isn’t happy.”

“You have Tanji. You have Tamiko.” She wiped her mouth—her voice cracking with desperation. “You have both of Tanikawa’s pets!”

“Not thanks to you.” The CorpSec officer continued, the hexagonal pattern of his headset making gentle mechanical clicking sounds as it shifted between Noah and Sunohara.

“Just let me talk to the board!” The cornered woman sulked back. “Let me talk to them! I can—I can explain!”

“Honestly, how else did you expect this ending, Saki?” The 2nd guard had a hint of humanity in his voice, chuckling at her expense. Noah couldn’t decide if that made it better or worse. “Fucked up the beach event. Fucked up management of the underground market. You were going to get term’ed one day or another.”

Looking between the two of them, Noah maybe hoped that if he didn’t move, their sensory array wouldn’t notice him. In reality, the purpose of these hexagonal panels was to turn the world outside into a pure stream of data. And just like Sunohara, he was a variable they needed to include in their calculations.

“I can fix this.” Sunohara asserted, focusing her singular eye which wasn’t swollen with pain on the approaching figures.

“Sure you can, Saki.” Noah could feel the smirk underneath the full-head helmet as the CorpSec reached for his weapon. It was an ergonomic little thing with a matte black finish. If either of them wanted to scream—to let the world know that they were going to die—they should have done so now. They were using stub pistols, meaning that there would be no blast of the gunpowder, only the silent whirl of the magnetic motor powering up.

In the past, if somebody were to point a gun at him, Noah would have crumbled like dry chalk—getting on his knees and begging for mercy. But now? He didn’t feel a thing. Once you become a 5-inch-tall mouse girl for long enough, you come to understand how arbitrary death can be. All it would take is for a person to step on Naomi or crack her little spine between their fingers. He could have died before. But he didn’t.

Suddenly, all of them froze, sensing something large moving above. The CorpSec soldiers looked at each other before raising their guns again. But before they could fire, their hands had been gnawed off.

Leaping at them like a missile, the wolf girl easily bit through the Kevlar. Her ivory teeth were soaked with blood as she threw the piece of sparking armor to the side—the copper wires and veins exposed to the frigid air. Flexing her muscular body, she ripped off his arm like an industrial press destroying metal. His tendons snapped with the same sound an old rubber band makes—the yells only echoing within the hollow helmet.

Turning to the other, the Okamimimi drove her knee into his stomach, throwing the man to the ground. Having already cracked a few ribs, she finished the job by putting all the pressure of her 8-foot-tall frame onto his body over and over again, leaving an imprint of her foot.

Those who still had functioning lungs spent a few moments just breathing heavily and watching this beast wrapped in a thin veil of femininity wipe the foul ichor off of her hands.

“Followed your scent here.” She chuckled, turning around. “I told you, Noah.” Her amber eyes—although bloodshot and dilating—seemed oddly gentle; the blood-covered maw turned into a smile. “Humans are fragile.”

Noah swallowed, walking up to her and putting his hand on the blood-covered stomach as if to prove that she was indeed real. “Yulka?”

So a recently fired Genovista handler with a bruised eye, a guy who has a sentience living in his DNA, and a blood-covered wolf girl walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "Well, this is either the start of a really bad joke or a good Tuesday night."

“Just pour us the drinks, Renji.” Sunohara slumped at the bar, resting her head against the smooth wooden counter. Noah and Yulka followed suit, sitting on either side of her.

Normally, Noah would have avoided this place—hell, the entire Minatonezumi district—like a plague. But only in the Minatonezumi did you find bars where you could walk in with a bruised eye or covered in blood or carrying pistols you picked off of CorpSec corpses and nobody would ask you why.

“Aye.” The man turned towards the colorful bottles. If the entire district was like a shitty school, then Renji was the only kid there who actually cared about the assignment. Sunohara was right in picking this place: it was clean, cozy, and empty. “What’s your poison?”

“Coffee liqueur. Chilled coffee. Cream liqueur. Saké.” Sunohara mumbled this out with her face plastered against the bar counter, but it looked to be her usual drink since Renji was already in the middle of preparing it.

“And for the gentleman and his ‘mimi?” He now turned towards Noah who thus far had his gaze focused on the bar’s doors, expecting somebody to burst through any second.

“Don’t really drink.” Glancing to his right for suggestions, he saw Sunohara playing with an ashtray while Yulka bounced her legs up and down, making the barstool squeak.

“But you could use one tonight.” Renji looked at him with those dark understanding eyes only a bartender could have.

“Correct.” Noah nodded in agreement. “I guess I’ll take what Hiro recommended.” Raising his fingers, he began counting down. “Spiced rum with bourbon, ginger ale…and pepper flakes at the top.”

“Here you go.” Renji placed the neatly garnished glass in front of him. Noah nodded his thanks, taking a sip of the concoction; it burned pleasantly as it went down.

“And for your Okamimimi?”

“Vodka.” Yulka’s reply was quick and direct. The bartender looked at Noah for confirmation who just waved his hand as if to say that he didn’t care what she would drink.

“Alright.” Renji reached for the bottle of clear alcohol. “Vodka with…?”

“Just Vodka.”

“Don’t get drunk, Saki.” Noah shook Sunohara’s shoulder, trying to keep her conscious. “I still need you to tell me where my ‘mimis are.”

“So you’re still looking for them.” Yulka cracked a smile, raising a silent toast in his honor. “Typical Noah. Would’ve expected other Handlers to be en route to Sweden by now.” Since he’d already seen the wolf-girl drink in the past, he wasn’t that worried about her intake; even considering her larger body mass, she could hold down her liqueur exceptionally well.

“I am not a lightweight.” Sunohara growled, turning back to him. “And we’re not on a first-name basis.”

“Can you even pronounce my surname?” Noah chuckled, watching Sunohars sober up. Fortunately for him, it didn’t matter if he was a lightweight or not. He had Rin to stimulate his genes and metabolize excess alcohol in case his brain was to shut off completely.

“Fair enough.” Saki shrugged, putting down the ashtray. “Your ‘mimis are held at the Genovista tower. They’re going to send them back to Osaka—to Ms. Tanikawa.” Having nothing else to fidget with, the woman began playing with her glass. “No idea what they want with the horse and fox.”

“Don’t they want to hold the Neko twins as collateral?” Noah’s eyes narrowed. Knowing that Mirei and Koko were still alive allowed him to focus on the task at hand. “It took a lot of effort to steal Tamiko, you know.”

“It would hurt EikōBio more to have them gone. KyotoSynth is playing defense, so you guys are the only real threat now that we have the YŪGEN banking group on our side.”

“Why is YŪGEN even helping you?” He pointed at her, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s your fault.” Saki pointed back at Noah, although he was more like a sacrificial lamb for the whole corporation. “EikōBio’s technology is too good.”

“Seems like a bit of an overcorrection.” Noah mumbled, tracing his finger in circles on the rim of his glass and scrapping the pepper flakes off. “I wonder what the public will say when they learn that YŪGEN is no longer neutral.”

“YŪGEN was never neutral.” Yulka snarled. “They just support the weakest corporation to keep some semblance of balance.” The wolf punctuated her sentence by drinking her 2nd shot; Renji was already waiting to pour her the 3rd.

“Plus, they handle all of the finances.” There came a creaking sound as Saki began turning around in circles on the bar stool. “If you think this is dirt, just wait until they pull up EikōBio’s records.”

“So we need a more direct approach, then.” Noah decided, preparing to begin his speech only to feel the dull pain of something blunt hitting against his leg. “Excuse me?”

A pair of yellow eyes with rectangular pupils looked up at him. It was a little girl—looking to be about 7 years old—with a pair of tiny, barely visible white horns that peaked up from below her messy brown hair; on either side, goat-like ears rested by her hair. She wore a cozy gray sweater with a little image of a pink flower on it.

“Oh. Hello. I am Kuu.” After having said that, she immediately went back to headbutting against his leg over and over again. For such a little thing, it actually started to hurt a little bit.

“Do you want me to deal with her, Noah?” Yulka got up from her chair, approaching the 3-foot-tall child while cracking her knuckles.

Kuu squinted at the wolf, looking her up and down. “Ew. You are dirty!” She pointed a finger at her, tapping her foot against the ground. “Go and wash, lady! Being dirty is not allowed.”

Thinking it was some kind of insult, Yulka sneered at the little thing before realizing she was currently covered in blood—the metallic liquid beginning to dry and turning a pale shade of brown. “Right.” Although she might not have liked the little brat hitting her master, Noah looked like he could handle it; there was no need to traumatize the kid. “I’ll…go and wash off.” She turned to hide her blood-covered chest, face, and stomach, walking up to the stairs. “Pay for me, okay?”

“I will—ouch!” Noah gritted his teeth, seeing Kuu once again slamming against him. “Can you cut that out?”

“I think she likes you.” Saki joked. If she got bruised, it would only be fair if Noah did as well. “Come on, kid! You’ve almost got him!” This only bolstered the rascal’s resolve, winding up before hitting his leg again.

“Sorry about that.” Renji shook his head, looking down. “The girl recently sprouted her horns. She gets a little excited like that.” As if switching operating systems, his face suddenly became stern, now focusing his entire attention on the troublesome kid. “Kuu.” The girl looked up at him with those blank, innocent eyes when her name was called. “I warned you. Now, I am getting out the tennis balls.”

“Noo!” She objected, covering her horns while backing away. All the way up the stairs, she continued holding onto his arm, planting her feet, and hoping that it would somehow slow the bartender down.

“What the hell is a bartender doing with a Yagimimi?” Noah looked over Saki’s shoulder, seeing that both the kid and Renji were already on the bar’s 2nd floor. “Is he her owner or something like that?”

“Nah.” Reaching over the counter, Saki grabbed a handful of ice before plopping it down into an empty glass and pressing the makeshift cold pack against her aching eye. “It’s a long story. Owed him a favor. Besides, Kuu was defective anyway—some kind of lung issue, I think. Genovista didn’t want to waste resources on searching for her, and Renji insisted that he would take her in. So…” Lifting her hands, it looked like the woman was justifying her actions to some imaginary audience. “...I gave her away.”

“You really do care.” He grinned. “So the show you put on at the beach event was an act then.”

“A what now?” Saki seemed confused, rubbing the back of her head.

“Never mind.” So the girl shouting into the megaphone truly was the whole, unfiltered Sunohara Saki. Looking around, Noah quickly thought about a way to change the topic. “You owe a lot of favors to people in Minatonezumi?”

“I guess so? I’ve been living here pretty much my whole life.” Saki reached over the counter again, this time purring herself a drink. Lacking Renji’s mixology skills, she settled on just plain Saké. “But—uh—I would rather not talk about that.”

“Mhm.” Mirroring her, Noah also put some rice wine in his cup. “I can respect that. Don’t talk about myself that much either.” He didn’t really think about the fact that Handlers didn’t typically get houses as nice as his. In his mind, he could always rationalize it as a reward for sticking with the cabal—a kind of early-investment perk.

“We all need to keep a few secrets.” Now, Saki felt like the burden of continuing this conversation had fallen onto her. “Makes life more fun, doesn’t it?”

“You’re right.” Noah straightened his back, looking at the green-haired woman. “Can you tell me anything about the Genovista tower?”

“Nothing concrete, no.” Saki just exhaled, patting her stomach while looking up at the ceiling. “It’s going to be tough. CorpSec is gonna shoot you down quicker than you can say ‘military-industrial complex’.”

“I have a plan.” He admitted. “But I need to work on it—workshop it when we’re both sober. One question: can you get in contact with the big girl?”

“Chō?” Saki rubbed her chin. “I mean, yeah—yeah, sure. They have taken away my credentials but she knows me. Why?”

“I’ll explain tomorrow.” Standing up, Noah could see Kuu angrily stomping down the stairs—each of her jumps against the hardwood feeling powerful and deliberate. On her head, there were two tennis balls wrapped around her horns. It also looked like Renji finally combed her hair, with the goat girl desperately trying to turn it back to the way it was.

“Looking good, Kuu.” Saki had to pinch her nose to stop herself from laughing, knowing how much it annoyed the kid.

“This is abuse!” The goat pouted, sitting down on the floor.

Bending down, Renji lifted Kuu by her arms, watching her legs flailing in the air. “I’ll get her to bed. Lock the place up, alright Saki?” He threw her the keys.

“Don’t worry, I’ll manage.” She assured, bouncing them in her palm.

With Yulka still washing herself and Renji struggling to force Kuu into bed, it was just the two of them left down there.

“Let’s call it a night." Saki finally broke the silence, pushing herself off the barstool. "We'll reconvene tomorrow—go over your plan." She didn’t put much faith in that last word. Still, she forced herself to smile, patting Noah on the back. “I’ll head to our bed.”

“Our?”

“Renji only has one spare bedroom.” She explained—her hand already on the stair railing. “Yes, I know—I know. Just…tell Yulka to scoot to the side.”

Trying to squeeze them all onto the king’s sized bed almost seemed like a puzzle—one of those where you have to put differently shaped blocks into a frame and where the solution is never obvious. What made it worse was the fact that Yulka had to sleep naked due to her clothes still drying from the blood.

Settling down on the bed, Noah just spent a while watching the two pistols resting on the nightstand—his back turned away from Yulka who took the spot in the center. Heat radiated off of the Okamimimi's body, but he tried to ignore it—deny its presence. Maybe if he closed his eyes hard enough, he could pretend that he was alone somewhere in a dark void. No, that wouldn’t do. On the other side, he could hear Saki's gentle snores.

“Hey.” The wolf girl called out, turning over to him. Noah could feel her long, silver hair brushing against his spine.

“Hey.” He replied in a hushed tone. It reminded him of the meandering bed talks you had at summer camps and sharing rooms with up to 3 other boys—except there, everyone had their own bed.

“I think Saki is sleeping.” She whispered back, quickly turning her head over before once again looking at the back of his hair. “Comfortable?”

“Sure.” He lied, knowing damn well he was about one random twitch from landing on the floor.

“Come here.” Before he could even object, Noah could feel Yulka’s massive body wrapping itself around him like a weighted blanket. Her muscular arms easily locked around his chest and stomach—the toned muscles reflecting in the moonlight. He instinctively tried to struggle, but the Okamimimi’s grasp was too powerful.

“Yulka. What are you doing?” After wiggling away proved fruitless, Noah just settled on trying to look back at the woman. But no matter how far he tried turning back, the only thing he could see were her ivory canines—like many silver blades.

“Are you afraid of me?” She asked, tightening her hug. There was a moment of silence. Was he afraid of her? As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t get the images of CorpSec soldiers being ripped apart by the same canines which now formed into a weak smile out of his head. “Because it’s okay if you are.”

“No. I am not afraid. I trust you.” Noah confirmed in a hushed tone. More than anything, he just wanted it to be the truth.

“Prove it.” As easily as Renji was able to pick up Kuu, Yulka lifted her handler in the air before putting the man firmly on her chest.

“Yulka…” Noah felt two breasts on either side of his head—like a soft yet firm pillow. Yulka’s body had a very sweet, almost earthly smell that mixed with that of a lavender body wash. Her abs made for a comfortable bedding.

“Just stay like this with me tonight.” Noah could feel her warm breath on the nape of his neck as Yulka moved to take up the side of the bed that was once his. “Besides, there is more space on my chest than there is on the bed.” She tried to throw in one last little reason for manhandling Noah like this just to hide the fact that—above all—this was what she wanted.

“Fine.” Closing his eyes, Noah became extremely conscious of each movement. He tried to remain still, focusing on Yulka’s powerful heart and the rising and falling of her chest. It was like a lullaby, pushing him towards slumber. “Goodnight, Yulka.”

“Goodnight, master.”

“Do we have to?” Sunohara Saki looked around like a frightened mouse. For a kid from the Minatonezumi district, Noah had expected her to be more used to crawling where she wasn’t supposed to. Despite this, she whined all the way while Yulka threw them over the barrier and onto the private beach.

“You want EikōBio’s protection, right?” Noah felt the need to remind Saki that there were still people after her life as if the stinging sensation wasn’t enough.

“This is trespassing.” She objected, rubbing her bruised eye. “What if they have a drone watching over this beach? Or a CorpSec squad on standby?”

“Never stopped me before.” Realizing that this did not exactly put him in the best light, Noah quickly added “And the sky looks clear. No drones.” It was getting dark, but they would’ve at least seen a silhouette against the pinkish-orange sky if Genovista had one deployed. 

“Oh, what’s the point!” Saki threw her hands in the air. “KyotoSynth. Genovista. EikōBio. They’ve all probably forgotten about you by now.” Corpos didn’t have short-term memory. No, they were more like carnivores—only expending as much energy on chasing their prey as they had deemed worthy. A lion did not strain itself running after a mouse.

“Don’t care. I am going to get my ‘mimis back.” Tracking through the fine, white sand and towards the shore, Noah took a deep breath of the salty air. “And I only need you here to call Chō.” He added, turning back to Saki once she was by his side. “After that, you’re free to go.”

The both of them just stared at the choppy gray water, standing far enough from it so it did not splash their shoes. Noah fidgeted with the capsule in his pocket, tracing its thin yet hefty shape. 

“Let’s find my megaphone.” Saki's eyes scanned the stretch of beach—a determined face masking her apprehension. 

Noah raised an eyebrow, surprised by the change. "Your megaphone?" He echoed—a hint of amusement in his tone. “Think it's still here?"

“We need to reach out to Chō somehow, right? She may have big ears, but they’re not that big.” Saki explained, putting her hands on her hips. “This is where we first met, so it ought to be here somewhere.” Turning towards him, her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“I haven’t.” How could he? The same sun-bleached EikōBio banner was buried in sand, with only a few letters still legible. He could almost see the outline of Sunohara’s yacht flashing in his mind. Immediately, this string of consciousness resulted in him reminiscing about the time he ate sushi off of her naked body. 

Clicking her tongue, the woman kicked him on the side of his leg. “You were thinking about it, weren’t you!”

“About what?” Noah tried to play dumb, pretending that he was looking over an old bright plastic water cooler. The rectangular stretch of land—gated off on 3 out of the 4 sides—was a scrapbook of filth: aluminum beer cans, plastic containers, and assorted pieces of foil were interspersed within the silicate. 

Noah followed Saki as she began scouring the beach. After a few minutes of searching, she let out an excited squeal, digging up a weathered megaphone. 

"Got it!" The woman exclaimed triumphantly, holding it up for Noah to see. She flashed him a proud smile which turned mischievous. "Now, it's time for some target practice." Noah lowered his eyelids, watching Saki’s finger going down to a half-buried can—the once-white paint with a large yellow star revealing scratches of dull metallic gray. “Gather them up, boy. We’re going to shoot a little—make sure you know how to handle a pistol.” Finding an old, dried log, Sunohara began lining up the cans in a neat line, giving Noah a side-eye when he didn’t immediately start doing the same. 

“Isn’t Yulka going to be worried about us?” He imagined the wolf girl sitting in front of the entrance like an obedient dog waiting for her master.

“It’s fine—it’s fine.” Saki waved him off. “Yulka was a bodyguard, right? And 95% of being a bodyguard is just standing around.”

“Guess so.” Noah conceded, finally joining in the effort of can collecting. Despite the gravity of their situation, there was something oddly calming about the mundane task of setting up targets. It reminded him of being a boy and playing with a cheap BB gun his father had gotten him from a beach-side bazaar. Stub guns were similar in that they also shot round, marble-shaped projectiles. Except instead of being made from soft plastic, these were molded from lead. 

Noah lifted the weapon, feeling its weight. From what Mike had shown him from his concerningly large collection, the new generation of magnetic pistols seemed denser than the old gunpowder ones. He aimed at the line of cans, focusing his gaze on that yellow star. With a steady hand, he squeezed the trigger, feeling the motor whirring to life. Lacking any recoil, a small glinting projectile shot out, barely grazing the edge and only making the target stumble like a drunkard before finally finding its footing again.

“Hold the trigger longer." She commented from the sidelines, looking over the man’s shoulder to see exactly what he was doing wrong. “It will pack more punch if you overcharge it.”

“Doesn’t that break the capacitors?” Noah immediately returned to what might have constituted a firing stance. 

“Sometimes.” She shrugged. “But if you want it to be lethal, you need to risk it. Otherwise, you might as well be shooting an air rifle.” Once again clicking her tongue, he saw Saki resting her head on her palm. “Don’t they teach you self-defense at EikōBio?”

“Believe it or not, I had someone for this kind of stuff.” Noah leaned in again, trying to look down the iron sight. “Koko-” For a moment, his mind went completely blank. He must have pulled the trigger at one point since the can fell to the ground—a newly-created hole now allowing golden light to shine through the broken star. “-handled security.” He forced himself to stutter the rest, feeling the excited Saki wrapping her arms around his shoulder. 

“Nice!” She patted him on the back a little too hard. “Keep going. Remember: there is no recoil. So don’t brace—it’s only going to make you fumble.” Looking down, she noticed Noah leaning like a wet tissue instead of joining her impromptu celebrations. 

He straightened up, clicked the safety on, and placed the gun down. “You mentioned that Mirei and Koko were at the tower, correct?”

“The horse and the fox.” She confirmed, sliding down steel ball bearings—the type you would get at a pachinko parlor—into the magazine. They had fast-loaders, but doing it manually was therapeutic. “Yeah, they’re at the tower. No idea what for.”

“Not your case?”

“In hindsight, they shafted me from all the important stuff after the horse managed to infiltrate the underground market with that pudgy cat.” The word “infiltrate” implied some amount of tact from Mirei and Tanji’s which the pair lacked, but Noah did not want to rub more salt in that wound. “Hope the new guy manages our contacts better than I did.” Although there was an attempt to laugh it off, the actual sound she made was more miserable than endearing.

“So you don’t know why they are there.” Noah tapped his chin. “But if you were to guess?”

Mirroring him, Saki now tapped the gun against her chin. For a woman who knew so much about firearms, her trigger discipline was awful—even he knew as much. Either that or she was too comfortable around those things. “I supposed they’re going to recycle the horse.” She said it so nonchalantly that it took a moment for Noah to register. It would have probably washed over him if she did not care to elaborate. “Scrape her numbers, change some features, put her back into the market.” In nature, most ecosystems are known to be cruel. Namiport—although covered in glass and silicon—was hardly more civilized. 

“And Koko?” It’s not like Noah didn’t care about what Mirei might have been going through, but it was the Kitsune that lingered in his mind—an aftertaste of her ginger hair burning his cortex and leaving him feeling bitter. More than anything, he just wanted closure (but by now, he was willing to settle on excuses and half-truths).

Saki shrugged, her expression unreadable. "Who knows with that fox.” She rose to her feet and began dusting the sand off after handing the pistol back. “Shall we call Chō?”

“Yeah.” Noah gave an automated reply, also now standing up and gripping the gun’s frame. “Let’s do that.”

They walked back towards the shore, leaving some of the cans standing on that dried log like aluminum pillars forgotten by some alien civilization. Along the way, they exchanged their numbers—Noah writing her a message containing the location of the alleged “EikōBio contact.” In reality, it was nothing more than just the address of his old apartment. Mike should be able to stall her for a while. Who knows, the two of them might actually get along.

There was always a certain acidic feeling that came with lying, but Noah managed to swiftly swallow it.  When the cabal first contacted him, the fact that his apartment was so unremarkable—just another brick-shaped building somewhere far enough from the center—made him a promising candidate for holding onto Tanji. So Saki going over to his old place would be a lot safer than just wandering the street or retreating to Renji's bar and bringing both him and Kuu under fire.

Noah turned his head, watching Saki carefully reading over his message—her eyes squinted as if analyzing each symbol of the address. Did she know he was lying? No, surely not. And yet, he could not deny that her inquisitive gaze was alarming, with Rin producing some beta blockers to keep his heart from straining itself for no reason.

“Why do you write everything in katakana?”

“Huh?” Noah stammered. Preparing her words to fly at him like bullets, he didn’t know what to do with…this. 

“It’s just a little hard to read—that’s all.” 

He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, sorry about that. It's just a habit. Makes things look cooler, you know?" Good. She doesn’t suspect a thing.

“Cooler?“ Saki was unconvinced, lowering her eyebrows. At least she was unconvinced about something so trivial rather than the fact that he was lying through his teeth. “Looks like you're shouting."

“I can just write in English.” Actually, that would’ve been a lot more convenient. 

The sound of water splashing against his feet and the damp feeling of his socks getting wet brought Noah back to the present. The air seemed somehow more tactile as he stared at the setting sun. 

“Ready?” Saki placed one hand on his shoulder while bracing the megaphone in the other like a weapon. With what they were about to unleash, it might as well have been.

“Ready.”

Saki nodded, smacking her lips and raising the megaphone to her mouth. With a glance at Noah, she took a step forward. "CHŌ!" She bellowed, her metallic voice dancing across the water. Gritting his teeth, Noah cursed himself for not covering his ears earlier. 

Watching the whale girl rise was like observing a resurfacing submarine. Her eyes—those with black sclera and two white irises—were once again covered by her soaked raven-colored hair, with Chō shaking off bathtubs worth of water. She didn’t rise very far, only poking a part of her head above the waves like a periscope.

“This is Noah! He’s a friend! You can trust Noah!” Sunohara explained, now shoving the megaphone into his hands. Noah looked at the device, going through half-rehearsed speeches in his mind. Chō looked to be a very polite young lady—examining the pair of insect-sized people on the beach with her hands tucked in like a kid waiting for her turn to speak. But even if she might have been patient, this surely caught the attention of the onlookers. Even those who couldn’t begin comprehending what was going on must’ve seen the Aqua Femme titaness; she wasn’t hard to miss. 

If he wanted to act, he needed to act now.

“I need your help.” Noah spoke into the megaphone, with the device screeching before amplifying his mumbles. He stumbled back as the woman pulled herself onto the beach, resting her huge breasts in the sand while squinting down at him. The whale girl—their pudgy siren—looked a lot like some ancient depiction of an aquatic fertility goddess: so soft and jiggly that he just wanted to give her a big hug (although his arms couldn’t even wrap around her fingers).

Noah took a deep breath, steadying himself under the intense gaze. "I really—really need your help." He repeated, explaining everything in excruciating detail with just a little exaggeration here and there. Chō winced—her eyes widening and narrowing as the story unfolded. Making this poor girl look like she was about to cry reminded him of Tamiko, but that only strengthened his resolve. 

Chō pushed her chest out, creating breast-shaped craters within the sand while shifting a good portion of the entire beach a few feet back. She didn’t do that out of any sense of malice, but rather determination. “Chō will help!” The girl asserted, raising her voice ever so slightly. It was deep, yet soft—powerful, yet gentle. “Chō will help friend!”

“You could get hurt.” Noah admitted. It was easy lying to Sunohara, but something resembling a paternal instinct now sparked up within him. He tried to skirt around using the word “died,” but something told him that the whale girl understood the situation. Besides, if all went well, he would need to worry about everyone in Namiport except Chō.

“Chō will get the kitty back.” The giantess clenched her fists—each likely having enough strength to crush industrial equipment. Good. That’s what Noah man was banking on. “Master told Chō: ‘Do good deeds. When you die, you will go to heaven. Until then, keep doing good deeds.’” Nodding her head extremely quickly, she basked the shore in a self-made downpour. “Chō will help!” She repeated, demonstrating her resolve. 

“Thank you.” Reaching into his pocket, Noah took out one of the transformation capsules. A grin appeared across his lips. “Catch!” He called out, hurling it underhand. Chō scuttled to seize the miniature orb, but he knew that her fingers wouldn’t be able to grasp what to her appeared like a plastic grain of sand. Instead, it landed in the water with a PLOP as the programmed transformation began. For once, he could see someone else going through it.

Yulka sat with her back against the cold metal fence. It creaked and rattled with each tiny movement. Her wolf-like ears twitched at the faintest rustles—their senses heightened. But each time, it was just a false alarm: a gust of wind or a pair of stray cats darting across the path. 

Maybe she could’ve caught one of them as a replacement for Tanji. 

By now, she was so bored that her mind began coming up with hypotheticals like a computer putting on a screensaver. Letting out a growl of frustration, her tail flicked restlessly behind her, sweeping the ground like a broom

“Siekiera, motyka—baba goła. Sunohara—to pierdoła.”

She sang through half-clenched teeth just to keep herself sane, looking up at the gray sky and pressing her legs together. 

“Siekiera, motyka—małpi wuj! Sunohara—to jest-!”

Before she could finish, there came the sound of sloshing liquid from behind, making Yulka jump to her feet. Angry waterfalls approached her followed closely by pulsating earthquakes. It seemed like Mother Nature herself was finally returning to the city. 

Yup. Without a doubt, this was Mother Nature. Yulka could even see her pussy while looking up—two pillars of pale flesh that were her thick legs looming on either side of her while a large, round belly hung from her waist. It cast an enormous shadow that blacked out the setting sun.

So this was their “direct approach?"

“Flatten your ears.” 

The speaker screeched. For such an otherwise futuristic facility, the distorted metallic (vaguely feminine) voice was likely this way by design. Tanji bit down on the red ball in her mouth—warm spit overflowing the gag. She did as ordered, feeling her ears sulking. 

“On all fours.” 

The latex suit pressed and squeezed against her features, not allowing for much range of movement. Wrapping snuggly around her breasts and belly, its entire purpose seemed to be to humiliate her. It was an odd experience: the air around her seemed cold, yet she felt the thick sweat dripping down within the polymer costume. 

“Arch your back.” 

It commanded, with Tanji feeling the attached chains yanking on her until she complied. She couldn’t run. She tried—oh, did she try—but her captors forcing her to wear heavy platform shoes which rattled with each step of her “walkies” was the least of her worries. There were attachment points at the arms and legs, making her take small, elegant steps while her hands were immobilized. 

“Good girl.” The voice offered a synthesized praise. "Curl your tail.”

She didn’t even think about a response. By instinct, her tail curled up into a spiral. A little more work, and they’ll make a proper pet out of her. 

This whole place—this Genovista re-education facility—just reminded her how much she hated being a Kemonomimi. Why the hell was Noah the only one treating her as anything but? Isn’t it in human nature to be kind towards things that look like them? She looked enough like a human, right? But even if she had gotten a knife and sliced her ears and tail off, there would still be something different about her. Just as Noah would always be a human—even if he looked like a mouse or her—so would Tanji always be a Nekomimi.

She tried rebelling against her status by escaping to Namiport, but where did this get her? 

When her walkies were over, Tanji was thrown back into the cell. Throughout, she was guided by a Genovista supervisor who wore a featureless ceramic mask and navy blue uniform. He did at least undo her bindings—probably worried that she’d trip and crack her skull without him around or choke on the ball gag. The black latex with neon accents, however, stayed on—serving as her prison outfit.

Their living area was miserable. It didn’t really lack anything, but the entire room felt impersonal—sterile. The only thing Tanji recognized here was her sister. She sat curled up in the corner, trying to hide from the omnipresent, filthy white light. 

“Yes, it feels good, mistress.” Tamiko mumbled—her bloodshot eyes staring straight ahead. “It feels good-” She stopped. If the woman had any tears left, she would have likely begun crying by now. Instead, she choked on thin air while drooling over herself. 

"Come on, Tami." Tanji tried to force a smile, approaching the squeamish woman as if she were a hurt animal ready to lash out. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“Big sister…” Tamiko looked over at Tanji, hiding her face in the woman’s chest. “I think my tummy is bruised.” She made a nasty face in the process of trying to make herself look presentable. “It hurts.” Finally daring to look up, her attempt at a smile instantly collapsed. “What did I do wrong?” 

“Shush.” Rubbing her tense back, Tanji watched as Tamiko’s ears slowly flattened—this time, by her own will. “You didn’t do anything wrong—none of us did. These guys are just mean.” Cruel. Barbarous. Wicked. There were so many other words that Tanji wanted to use, but calling these men "mean" made it all more digestible for her sister.

Wiping her dry eyes, Tamiko pulled back a little bit—leaning her head on Tanji’s shoulder as the two stared up at the ceiling. “Can we…can we do anything?”

“No. There is nothing we can do.” Feeling Tamiko tensing up a bit, Tanji quickly added. “Because there is nothing that we need to do! Noah will soon come and kick their asses into sour apples.” She wanted to believe that to be the truth. But even if it weren’t, this would keep Tamiko calm. Society praised those who could “rip off the bandaid,” but you had to be gentle with people like her sister. 

“You don’t know that.” Tamiko mumbled as her grip tightened on the only tactile thing that could protect her: Tanji.

“I am here to look after you, right?” Tanji glanced down at her sister, brushing her hand against Tamiko’s warm cheek while watching her dilating eyes begin to relax. “And Noah is here to look after me. He’ll come for us.” Clenching her first, the Neko repeated “he’ll come for us”—this time a little louder. 

“By himself?” Tamiko winced. They’d only gotten a glimpse of the facility, but it was clear that this place was armed. On the outside, it looked like an office building. On the inside, however, the thing resembled a fortress—bulletproof windows, automated turrets, armed guards, and a small fleet of rotorcrafts ready to take off from the top. “That would be stupid…”

“That’s the thing: he is stupid!” Tanji nodded, feeling their spirits being lifted. It was a good distraction from the pain—from the latex. “Do you think that he’ll try to run off to some comfy rich-folk country like Switzerland? No! That boy is too stubborn to leave Namiport—even if it will kill him.”

“Tanji!” Tamiko got upset. Good. Anger was a better emotion than misery. “Don’t call your boyfriend stupid!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Tanji sighed. “He’s…something else.”

“Still, you shouldn’t be mean.” Crossing her arms, Tamiko turned away—expecting her sister to apologize.

“You’re the one who assumed he was just going to rush in!” Tanji threw her hands in the air. “What, did you expect Noah was going to burst in through a window or something like that? No—no way. He can be way more subtle when he wants to.”

“Subtle, huh?” Clasping her hands behind her back, Tamiko leaned in, letting out a soft giggle. “You know-”

There came the hiss of the doors sliding open. With that, the warmth seemed to leave the room, and the pair became intricately aware of the uncomfortably cold air that surrounded them. “Karuzela.” The man called out, kneeling before the pair. If any of them still planned to run, a 2nd guard was waiting just outside—a large hook in his hand. With just a press of a button, the cruel device could easily wrap around their tiny necks and squeeze until he let go. It may have looked crude, but the thing was rather intricate; it wouldn’t kill them—no matter how much pressure was applied. They were worth more alive, after all. 

Grabbing her sister’s hand, Tanji took a step forward, allowing the man to lock her hands and feet together before doing the same to Tamiko. Like cattle, the two were chained and guided to another correctional room. The guard in the back would occasionally kick Tamiko’s ass but cut it out after his supervisor gave him a disapproving glare that transcended their featureless masks. Tanji was mad, but the bindings made it so that she couldn’t unleash her fury. Instead, it was vented slowly—like a dying industrial furnace. 

There was no schedule. The hour at which they were fed, went on walkies, or were strapped to the karuzela always changed. At its core, this was the ideology behind this place. The purpose of re-education wasn’t to stop the pets from struggling—quite the opposite. Only through struggle could the Kemonomimi learn that they couldn’t do anything to stop their owners. They were even denied the right to form a routine. This was how you were able to punch a 10-foot-tall lion in the face and be sure that they couldn’t punch back. 

The karuzela itself was a weird mixture of the medieval and the modern: a steel machine resembling a vertical mill where the chains linked the victims to the beams. The airtight room filled with the deafening clanking of heavy heels against metal as the dozens of Kemonomimi walked in a circle—the smell of latex mixed with earthy sweat wafting through the air. Occasionally, one of them would stumble; the rest turned away, ignoring the incomprehensible wails as they were dragged on the floor by the contraption until the hour was over.

Tanji braced herself. Small elegant steps—just like they’d taught her. Back arched. Chin high. Clearing her mind, the Neko focused on the darkness—felt its contours. More than anything, she wanted to have the right to break down like Tamiko. She was tired. She was hungry. Her head hurt. Her feet hurt. Her-

Lost in thought, Tanji felt herself falling—stumbling over the clunky heels. Opening her eyes, she saw the floor rapidly accelerating towards her. Her feline agility was constricted, but she made one last desperate attempt to soften the landing.

Thud. 

Her shoulder burned as Tanji gritted her teeth and prepared to be dragged around. But as if this torture machine was concerned about her safety, the karuzela stopped. A few of the other Kemonomimi also stumbled, being forcibly ripped out of the trance and looking up at the masked men for guidance. Their faces might have been hidden, but their body language was clear: confusion. Nobody in the room had an idea what the hell was going on—why the entire building began shaking.

The speaker once again sprang to life. “Attention—attention! May I have your attention, please!” The voice was deceptively cheerful considering what she was going to announce next. “Today’s activities are suspended! The facility is under attack! All security personnel, please escort the products to their rooms before manning your designated battle stations!”