"What is it about women?" Keitaro asked himself.  "They are just so darn...ugh...I can't even sum them up with one word.  Seductive?  Confusing?  Scary?  I suppose they're all those things at one point or another.  They certainly confuse the heck out of me most of the time, that's for sure."

At this point, Keitaro was finishing up with cleaning the dishes from this morning's breakfast.  Given that he was in the company of more than a dozen women, there were certainly enough plates, glasses, mugs, and utensils to go around.  In that moment, he wished that he had a small army of kitchen staffers to assist him with all of the dishwashing that such a large meal would inevitably lead to.  Even having just one or two of the tenants nearby would have been appreciated.  His first pick would have been Shinobu, given that she was no stranger to both preparing meals as well as cleaning and putting away dishes.  However, given that she was currently occupied with finding clothing that would fit her enlarged frame (along with all the other females at Hinata House), that left Keitaro all by his lonesome until someone else came along.  He figured that Shinobu - as well as all the other girls and women - had enough on their plates (pardon the pun) with having to make adjustments to their new, larger sizes since last night, so it was best to leave them be for now.  No need to make things more difficult by bothering them while they were processing their taller heights and newly enhanced figures.  From what Keitaro could discern, it seemed that all of them were gaining more hourglass-like figures as their bodies continued to grow, making them appear all the more seductive in the process.

‘No!  Bad Keitaro!  Don't think of them like that, especially Shinobu and the younger girls!  You don't want to be some kind of sick pervert chasing after little girls!  Besides, you have Naru!  How would she feel if you were pining after young ladies like Shinobu, Kaolla, or Mei!?  Especially Mei!?  Don't go getting any ideas like that!'  Keitaro's conscience was rattling on, instructing him not to act on base impulses and lust after any of the other tenants.  He would consider such thoughts and behavior to be an outright betrayal to Naru, which was the last thing he would ever want to do to her.

Even if she had a history of occasionally clobbering him on a whim over a misunderstanding, Keitaro simply couldn't bring himself to hate or resent Naru over it.  Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment, but he just didn't have it in him to feel victimized or vengeful over the times Naru would give him a clenched fist to the face or stomach, even if it was an overreaction over a genuine accident.  The same could be said for Motoko.  Though both she and Naru would physically attack him from time to time (Naru with her punches or kicks and Motoko with her sword, which thankfully was sheathed everytime she used it), Keitaro simply couldn't bring himself to hate them over said attacks.  Some part of him was simply too forgiving to hold a grudge over it.  Usually, he just ended up being fearful of them at times and avoiding them until they were in a generally better mood.  In Keitaro's view, sometimes it was best to simply take the path of least resistance when it came to either one of those two women.

As for the other girls, Keitaro was on generally better terms with the majority of them.  Kitsune had a habit of teasing him with her body, usually to either get money out of him or to delay rent payments, but aside from that, she wasn't a bad girl.  Sarah had a habit of being against him given her dislike of authority figures in general (aside from her adoptive father, Seta), but she could be friendly with him at least some of the time.  Kaolla was playful, sometimes to the point of being mischievous (at least when Keitaro first met her), but over time she had become more serious with her inventions and eventually stopped making anything that proved harmful to Keitaro or anyone else for that matter.  It was a step towards maturity that Keitaro greatly appreciated.

Shinobu and Mutsumi were friendly with Keitaro virtually all of the time, with each of them doting on him like a supportive sister (or in Mutsumi's case something more akin to a mother, given her instinctively maternal nature).  Haruka was supportive most of the time with Keitaro, even if she was a bit withdrawn most of the time.  He just needed to remember to avoid referring to her as ‘Aunt Haruka,' lest he get a karate chop or an elbow to the head, given how Haruka resented that title which was given to her.  Nyamo was quiet, but friendly with Keitaro all the same, much like Shinobu.

As for Kanako, Keitaro knew that she saw him as an emotional pillar of sorts - someone to lean on for support during her formative childhood years.  It was that kind of support that made Kanako practically joined at Keitaro's hip during much of their childhood, all the way into Keitaro's late highschool years.  While Keitaro certainly appreciated the doting that Kanako showered onto him as a result, he did find her fondness for him to be a bit much at times, bordering on outright clinginess.

Mei was something of a catchall in terms of personality.  When they first met, her disposition was something akin to that of Naru's, Motoko's, or Sarah's when they all first met Keitaro - distrustful and somewhat combative.  Yet after helping to patch things over between Mei and Naru, Mei began to look more favorably towards Keitaro over time.  Soon enough, Mei's disposition was more in line with that of Shinobu's, Kaolla's, or Nyamo's - polite, considerate, and easygoing overall.

Amalla and Tsuruko were interesting in their own ways, given what Keitaro remembered of them.  Since they weren't regular tenants at Hinata House up until this point, Keitaro only had the brief times they stopped by to go on.

Amalla seemed to be raw seduction given form.  Given how she dressed and acted, Keitaro got the sense that she could be rather kinky in her free time.  That attitude seemed to stay the same, more or less, even after getting hitched with the next king of the Molmol Kingdom, His Majesty Prince Lamba Lu.  Amalla also seemed somewhat hotheaded from what Keitaro could recall of their first meeting, though her attitude appeared to have leveled off somewhat.  While she still oozed seduction, Amalla had a more mature mood to her character (but no less seductive in any way).

Tsuruko was more refined compared to Amalla, with an attitude that was similar to that of Motoko, given that they were both swordswomen who took the family tradition rather seriously.  From what Keitaro remembered of her, Tsuruko was married like Amalla, though her attitude was definitely more conservative by comparison.  She had a sort of natural grace like that of a proper lady, which was something that Keitaro noticed right off the bat from the first time they met in the street.  While her warrior-like attitude in the heat of battle could be rather frightening, Tsuruko was polite, elegant, calm, and mature for her age.  If Keitaro had met her before he met Naru, he wondered whether or not he would have asked to date her, assuming he had the courage to do so back then.

All things considered, the ladies of Hinata House were a lot of things when it came to their characteristics and personalities.  Some of those things were bad, or definitely left much to be desired, but in the big picture, Keitaro saw more good than bad in the group.  He certainly never considered booting them out of the dorms or calling the cops to press charges against them (even if he would have been within his rights to do so where it concerned Naru, Motoko, Kitsune, and perhaps even Kaolla at times).  Keitaro was simply too soft-hearted to take such action against them, whereas others would have kicked them to the curb a long time ago.

These were Keitaro's thoughts as he worked on the dishes in the kitchen.  He was making decent progress and was about halfway through with the overall pile of dishes by this point.  Once he was done with the dishes, he would then make the rounds to see what else needed addressing in the dorms.  If the weather was nice enough, maybe he would check for loose tiling on the roof or tend to the gutters for any excess leaves.

At this point, Keitaro was finishing with scrubbing a pan which was used to cook both eggs and pancakes from the morning's breakfast.  As he was finishing with rinsing and drying the pan, he opened up the cabinet above where the pan was usually placed.  He stretched as far as he could, but the shelf was just a little bit out of his reach, even with Keitaro on his tiptoes.

"Guess I'll need a step ladder or a chair to stand on," grumbled Keitaro.  While he didn't consider his 5'7" height to be particularly on the short side when it came to the height of the human male, he wouldn't have minded being just a few inches taller, something more akin to 5'9" or 5'10" instead.  He figured that he most likely would never reach Seta's 6'1", but just another inch or two would make a noticeable difference.

As Keitaro turned around to fetch something to stand on, he was greeted by something big and soft colliding directly into his face.  In an instant, everything went dark as he was smothered by what felt like large round marshmallows surrounding his face.  In fact, it seemed as though most of his head was buried within the giant, plump objects that he had suddenly become acquainted with.  In that moment, Keitaro could only freeze as the breath seized within his throat, though even though he held his breath, he could detect the lovely scent of tropical fruits invading his nostrils as his face was pressed into supple, vibrant dark skin.

‘Oh god, here comes the thrashing,' thought Keitaro.  ‘Better brace for impact.'  Keitaro proceeded to shut his eyes tight, expecting to make impact from either getting punched, kicked, or shoved hard into a wall and making a particularly nasty crunching sound from said impact.  However, after a few seconds of nothing happening, Keitaro inhaled gently as he slowly opened his eyes to see what was in store for him.

"Hey there, cutie," said a familiar voice.  "You know, that kind of tickles...not that I'm complaining, of course."  The voice finished with giggle, which caused the giant marshmallow-like objects to jiggle somewhat.

Keitaro pulled back as much as he could, though his back was propped up against the countertop, so he could only pull back a few inches at the most.  His movement was immediately halted as something held him in place just a few seconds later.  As Keitaro got his bearings, he realized what had just occurred.

As he turned around, Keitaro went face first into a rather large set of breasts.  Upon pulling back from said breasts, he was immediately halted by a pair of arms which had held him in place firmly yet gently.  As he looked up, down, and all around, he saw the lovely visage of one Amalla Su - all 6 feet, 10 inches of her - smiling down at Keitaro as she held him against her the way someone would hold their spouse or romantic partner.

Keitaro could only stare up at Amalla with a blank stare on his face as he looked upon the ultra-sexy amazon who held him in her embrace.  If Amalla was weirded out or annoyed by what had just happened, she certainly didn't show any outward sign of irritation, annoyance, or disgust; quite the opposite, in fact.  Amalla simply stared down with a sort of lovey-dovey expression on her face as she held Keitaro against her body, gently pressing him against her chest, abdomen and thighs as she pinned him between herself and the countertop behind him.

"Uhh...hello, Amalla," said Keitaro.  "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?"  He made sure to keep his tone of voice as respectful as he could muster, especially since he was in the embrace of a woman who had more than a foot in height over him and was almost assuredly MUCH stronger than him.

Amalla simply stared down at Keitaro with that same lovey-dovey smile of hers, breathing in his own aroma as he breathed in hers.  She took her time to feel his heartbeat against hers as she held him against her body.

‘His heart is pounding right now,' thought Amalla to herself, ‘and I can feel something getting really, REALLY tense down below his waistline.  I'm glad to know that my body excites him.  That will make things easier.  I just need to help coax him out of his nervousness.'

"I happened to see you were putting away the dishes and thought you could use some help." replied Amalla to Keitaro's question.

"Well, I appreciate your willingness to help, Amalla, but that really isn't necessary.  You're a guest here at Hinata House, so you don't need to worry about tending to the dishes.  I'm the dorm manager, so it's my responsibility to tend to that sort of thing."  Keitaro was struggling to keep a straight face and not lose his composure as he remained in the firm yet tender grip of the Molmolian amazon.  Amalla simply exhaled through the nose as she smiled at Keitaro's response.

"Oh, Keitaro," she said as she playfully rubbed the top of his head and smothered him once more into her bosom, "you're such a sweety!  There's really no need to worry about that sort of thing.  I don't mind helping out with house chores at all.  Besides, I couldn't help but notice that you were having a little difficulty putting away some of the pans and utensils."  Upon finishing her statement, Amalla loosened her grip on Keitaro and let him pull his head from the pleasure prison that was her bosom.

"It's not necessary for you to worry about that sort of thing, Amalla," responded Keitaro, who was blushing furiously at having his head sandwiched between her breasts twice in less than a minute.  "I can manage that sort of thing."

"Nonsense," responded Amalla.  "Let me help you out.  It's no trouble at all.  And for the record, I'm not taking no for an answer.  I'm gonna give you a hand, so just relax and go take a load off.  You do enough as it is."

Before Keitaro could get a word in, Amalla grabbed the pan he was struggling with and placed it on the top shelf with the greatest of ease.  She didn't need to stretch or strain herself in any way whatsoever as she completed the task.  Afterwards, she did something which Keitaro was not expecting:  she picked him up.

It was all without warning, but it wasn't malicious or harmful in any way whatsoever.  After putting away the pan into the upper cupboard, Amalla then bent down and swept Keitaro's feet out from under him.  A second later, Keitaro found himself being cradled "bridal style" by Amalla, with one arm underneath the back of his knees while the other arm supported his back.  The whole feeling of being carried like this felt surreal to Keitaro, as it was typically the other way around, with the man carrying the woman in this position.  While it was somewhat embarrassing from Keitaro's perspective, he didn't find it bad.  In fact, he found the experience to be both calming and a little bit sexually stimulating (much to his embarrassment).

Amalla proceeded to carry Keitaro from the kitchen to the common room, where she then gently laid him upon the couch and hovered over him in all of her beauty, grace, and raw seductive power.

"Now," said Amalla in a tone of voice that was both commanding and calming, "I want you to relax and take a load off, Keitaro.  You work hard enough as it is and deserve a break from time to time.  So I just want you to take a few minutes and let your mind decompress.  I'll take care of the remaining dishes.  In fact, I might not be alone in completing that task."  Upon this statement, Amalla looked up to see that other women had joined the two of them in the common room.

Keitaro looked over and saw Naru, Kitsune, Mutsumi, Shinobu, Motoko, and Kanako all standing before him in their raw seductive beauty.  While they were now wearing clothing that regularly fit them (compared to the bed sheets they wore earlier this morning), the clothes hugged them firmly in a way that accentuated every curve of their bodies - their hips, legs, waists, stomachs, asses, and especially their breasts.

Before the second growth spurt resulting in their wardrobe malfunction, these women were very pretty.  Now, after the growth spurt they were downright beautiful, even with more form-fitting clothing on their bodies.  Keitaro found himself instinctively gulping as he took in the sight of these lovely ladies.

"There you are, Amalla," said Naru.  "I told you to wait up, so of course you decide to do the opposite and try to lose us in the hallway at the first opportunity."

"Hey, I told you guys I was looking for Keitaro.  I figured he would be finishing with tidying up the kitchen, and lo and behold, I was right.  I just wanted to give him a hand so he didn't have to do all this work all by himself."

"Well in that case," responded Naru, "I'll take care of it then.  Keitaro, you just sit here, relax, and let me handle the dishes."  She was looking down at Keitaro as she stood on high, using her 6 foot, 2 inch height to her advantage in order to get her point across.

"But Naru, I-" Keitaro was cut off by two different index fingers making contact with his lips.

"Keitaro, please," said Naru as she gently held her finger against his lips, "I WANT to do this for you, so please just let me help you...please."  Naru's voice had taken a more gentle tone.  Right now, the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl was a mix between commanding and pleading with her boyfriend to let her take the load off of his shoulder in some small way.
"We got this, Keitaro," said Kitsune, who was the owner of the other index finger placed over Keitaro's lips alongside Naru's.  While she was normally not this bold or forthcoming in her physical behavior, the fox-eyed girl decided to take some initiative and gently put Keitaro in his place.  Given that she now had several inches on him, Kitsune figured that she was now physically stronger than Keitaro.  Even so, while she had a physical advantage over the loveable little goofball, Kitsune didn't want to alarm or scare him in any way whatsoever, especially given how she was coming to terms with newfound feelings of genuine romantic love she was feeling for him.

"Please," continued Kitsune, "let us help ya out.  We WANT to help ya.  Wontcha let us lift the burden offa ya, just a lil' bit here and there?"  Kitsune proceeded to bat her eyelashes at Keitaro as she slightly opened her eyes, revealing her irises and pupils to him.

The act appeared to serve its purpose, as Keitaro lost the will to put up any type of verbal resistance.  He merely nodded at the request, deciding to acquiesce to make the ladies happy.

"Okay then," he said, "you guys can get the dishes.  Just let me know if you need assistance."

"Don't worry, sempai," said Shinobu.  "We've got this.  I've done my share of kitchen work before, so this will be no problem for me whatsoever."  Even with her new elevated size, Shinobu was still the same sweet, soft-hearted girl Keitaro had come to know over the last few years.

"She's right, Kei-kun," added Mutsumi as she cast him in her shadow alongside all the other girls.  From her elevated height, her bosom looked even larger than it normally would have.  Of course, given the readings that came out from Kaolla's device from earlier when she was taking everybody's measurements, the Okinawan girl probably did go up a cup size or two in the breast department (alongside all the other women).

"I'm in agreement with Naru and the others on this one," said Motoko as she looked down upon Keitaro.  Being the second tallest person in the presently assembled group (and having almost a full foot in height over Keitaro), her word carried even more weight than it would under normal circumstances.  As Keitaro eyed her up and down, her long black hair looked even more radiant than it normally would have, with an increased shine upon it.  Motoko truly was becoming the visual ideal of the nadeshiko yamamoto among Japanese culture, much like her sister.

"I'm just gonna settle things and make this unanimous," Kanako chimed in.  "Just go ahead and lay down on the couch for a bit while we take care of the dishes.  You've certainly deserved a rest, at the very least for a few minutes."  She then proceeded to take a seat upon the couch before gently hoisting up Keitaro so that his head was resting upon the soft, supple upper thighs of her lap.  While taken back by his younger sister's forwardness, Keitaro soon after began to lull into a sense of relaxation bordering on deep sleep as the tension and stiffness in his body began to melt away.

"There you go," said Amalla with a smile.  "That's a good Keitaro.  You just relax and let Kanako give you a nice head rub and maybe even a massage while we finish up here in the kitchen."  Amalla then took her leave towards the kitchen, followed by Naru, Motoko, Kitsune, Mutsumi, and Shinobu.  Kanako proceeded to gently stroke Keitaro's scalp, running her fingers ever so delicately through his hair as she proceeded to gently massage the muscles along his neck and shoulders.

While Kanako spent some quality one-on-one time with Keitaro, the other girls proceeded with finishing up on putting away the plates, pans, and other items used in breakfast.  With their newfound strength and height from the growth spurts, reaching the highest cabinet doors and cupboards no longer was an issue for anybody, not even Shinobu.  With the five of them working together, the task was completed in the span of a few minutes.  Of course, Keitaro had already initiated the task, so there wasn't a whole lot of work left to do.  That only spurred the girls to find something else that needed done from start to finish.

From the perspectives of Naru, Kitsune, and Motoko, it was their way of starting to make things up to Keitaro for their past behavior.  Whether it was Naru's and Motoko's rushes to violence or Kitsune's inherent trickery and underhanded motives, each woman vowed to do her part to help ease Keitaro's burden from here on out.  And given that all three women were in love with the same man, that only strengthened each woman's resolve to do her part in assisting the Hinata House dorm manager.

Once the dishes were done, the women returned to the common room, where sure enough, Keitaro was resting on Kanako's lap (which at that point served as a pillow).  In the time that Amalla and the other ladies were tending to the dishes, Keitaro had nodded off from Kanako's delicate touch to the point that he ended up napping.  His breathing had slowed to a gentle, back-and-forth pace as his eyelids had inevitably closed shut and he fell into deep slumber.  The look on Kanako's face was one of pure, blissful contentment as she watched over her beloved resting on her thighs.

"Awww..." cooed Amalla at the sight before her, "isn't he just adorable right now?"

"Yes indeed he is," commented Mutsumi.  "I'd certainly like him to be in my lap right about now."

"Well, maybe when Kanako's finished with ‘im, you can have your turn with the fella," said Kitsune, "after I have my fun with the guy."  The last part she muttered to herself as her cheeks blushed lightly at the thought of getting intimate with him.  Such a thing wasn't missed upon by Naru who stood right next to Kitsune.

‘She really is falling in love with him, isn't she?' thought Naru in self-reflection.  ‘So then how many women does that make now?  There's myself, Mutsumi, Amalla, and Kitsune.  Shinobu has a pretty big crush on Keitaro.  Kanako is head over heels for him, that much is certain.  I'm pretty sure that Motoko feels something for the guy as well, and maybe that one girl Nyamo does as well, though she's usually quiet so it's hard to tell with her.  So that makes what...eight women?  How did this loveable little dork end up becoming such a casanova?  Did I not notice it up until now?  Then there's what Amalla told us all in the hallway: A harem?  Thirteen women in total?  Is that even possible?  Do I have it in me to accept that kind of thing?  Do the other women?  Amalla seems pretty sure of pulling something like that off, that's for certain.  Ugh...this is all too much to take in at once.  Why can't it just be me and Keitaro?  Why do all these other girls have to fall hard for the guy too?  And why is it that I can't bring myself to get mad at them for doing so?  Is it because I feel guilty for what I've done to him in the past...all those beatings?'

On this last mental note of self-reflection, a lone tear had made its way down Naru's cheek as she gently stroked Keitaro's hair.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice little more than a whisper.  "I'll be better, I promise."  This whisper was picked up on by Motoko, Kitsune and Mutsumi, who all in turn were able to parse out the meaning behind the elder Narusegawa sibling's statement.  It was a promise to herself to make it up to Keitaro, out of a mix of genuine guilt for past transgressions as well as an increasing growth in her love and affection for the guy.

After a few minutes of being quietly stroked by seven lovely ladies, the manager of Hinata House had stirred awake, lifting his head from Kanako's lap pillow and realizing he was surrounded by amazons all around him, taking in their rich, heavenly scent given their proximity to him.  It was stirring something within his libido, and he needed to busy himself with a task before his baser urges got the better of him.

"Well," said Keitaro as he lifted his head off of Kanako's lap and got up from the couch, "I do appreciate the help with the dishes, ladies, but I've got to get going.  There's other chores that need tending to."

"Oh, and what would those be, Keitaro?" asked Amalla, cornering the Hinata House manager before he could make an escape.

"Well," he said as he stared up at the exotic amazon before him, "there are the basic house chores that need looking into.  I usually have a checklist posted on the hallway as a reminder of what needs doing.  I know that most importantly, I need to go get some groceries, given how low we are on a lot of items.  Figured that it was best to stock up on supplies with all the new arrivals coming in."

"That's a fair enough point you make, Keitaro," responded Amalla.  "In that case, I think I'll join you on that then."

"That really won't be necessary, Amalla," said Keitaro as he looked up high at Amalla, tilting his head far back to make eye contact with the Molmolian seductress.  It was a gesture which Amalla liked to use to her advantage.  Given her newly increased size, she liked to use her proximity to Keitaro to get him to acquiesce and surrender his position towards seeing things her way.

"Nonsense," replied Amalla as she draped her arms around Keitaro's shoulders and brought him against her body once more, pressing her flesh to his flesh (much to Kanako's annoyance).  "With the amount of groceries you'll be needing, I figured you're going to need assistance with bringing them back to the dorms.  And besides, do you not want my company?"  Amalla was setting Keitaro up, especially with a cute little pout she was making as she finished her question.

Sure enough, Keitaro's defenses melted down and he folded before Amalla like a seven-deuce hand before a royal flush at a poker table.

"Well...okay...I suppose I could use some assistance with getting the groceries in."  Keitaro said this with a strong blush once more, given that Amalla still had not lessened her embrace of the man and he was finding her rich scent to be intoxicating once more.

"Excellent," said Amalla.  "In that case, let me contact Kaolla about something quickly before we head off."

As an old saying goes, ‘Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.'

Kaolla Su was making her way down the stairs alongside Tsuruko, Nyamo, and Mei towards the rest of the assembled party.

"Hello there, everyone," chimed the happy-go-lucky younger Su sister towards Keitaro's group as her group convened with his group.  "How are all of you guys today?"

"Fine, fine dear little sister," responded Amalla.  "We were just finishing up with the dishes when Keitaro and I decided to do a little shopping."  On this statement, Amalla increased her hold on Keitaro, bringing his head into her bosom once more to have a little teasing fun, both with Mr. Urashima and the other ladies within their group.

"Has Haruka already left?" asked Naru.  "She's the only one I haven't seen this morning."

"I believe she has parted for the cafe down the steps, yes," said Tsuruko.

"Now what was this thing you said about shopping?" inquired Kaolla.

"Exactly what it sounds like, dear sister," replied Amalla.  "Keitaro said he needed to shop for groceries, given that we're apparently low on a lot of different food items.  And besides, we're all growing girls, so we need to eat to keep our strength up, am I right?"  The pun wasn't lost upon the rest of the women, most of whom scoffed or giggled at Amalla's sense of humor regarding the ‘growing' part of her statement.

"Well, in that case," replied Kaolla, "I'll have one of my mecha-Tamas ready for you when you've finished your shopping.  Simply call me and I'll have your geolocation so that I can send it your way.  Figured you'll need something big to haul as many groceries as you'll be buying.  And it'll also save you guys on the trip back, as I can just have it fly back towards Hinata once you've loaded it up."

"Seems like you really HAVE thought of everything, haven't you, Kaolla?" asked Naru incredulously.

"Well, some have referred to me as a mad scientist or evil genius in my younger years," teased Kaolla in response.

"That's my sister for you, always has some gadget or device to help make things easier," chimed Amalla.

"Except for an antidote for an experimental growth hormone," muttered Kanako.

"I heard that, Kana-chan," responded Amalla.  "Don't you go fretting over that thing now, okay?"

"Kana-chan?" asked all the other women at Amalla's cute little nickname for Keitaro's younger sister.

"If I remember Japanese terms, I know that the suffixes ‘-kun' and ‘-chan' are used when referring to someone in endearment, correct?"  Amalla showed no embarrassment whatsoever at this point.

"Well, while that is certainly true, people tend to reserve those terms for those whom they are really close with," explained Naru with a modest blush at Amalla's forwardness.

"Exactly," responded Amalla, "so then in this case, everyone here would be," Amalla began listing off everyone in the common room one by one as she pointed from person to person, "Kana-chan [Kanako], Naru-chan, Ki-chan [Kitsune], Mu-chan [Mutsumi], Shinobu-chan, Sarah-chan, Mei-chan, Kaolla-chan, Mo-chan [Motoko], Tsu-chan [Tsuruko], Nyamo-chan, and Haru-chan [Haruka] who is currently not with us at the moment.  Oh, and of course our darling little Kei-kun here."

"And you yourself would be Ama-chan, dear sister," responded Kaolla, completing the set of cutesy nicknames.

All of this nickname talk was getting several of the people rather flustered at how forward and intimate Amalla and Kaolla were both getting on the topic of endearment-related terminology.  Keitaro himself was keeping a steady blush, both at being referred to as ‘Kei-kun' and the fact that Amalla still held him against her side during the entire conversation.  Even now, standing as the shortest person among a group of women who towered above him made Keitaro feel a bit hot under the collar, and he had to keep himself busy before his libido got the better of him.

"Well then, if you all don't mind, I've got to be heading out now," said Keitaro as he loosened himself from Amalla's grip.  "Gotta make hay while the sun shines and all that."

"I'm coming with you," replied Amalla.  "You're gonna need the extra support to haul so many groceries between the store and Kaolla's mecha-Tama when it arrives.  And a little company never hurt anything, am I right?"

"I think I'll join you as well," declared Tsuruko.  "I'd like to see the town during my time here, and I'd like to think that you'd appreciate the assistance with hauling the groceries."

"In that case, I'm coming along too," said Motoko.  "I believe that with the more people heading into town, the quicker things will go and we'll make it back here in good time."

"I'm coming as well," said Kanako.  "I haven't seen the town much during my time here at Hinata, so it'll be good for me to take in the sights.  And a little exercise is certainly appreciated."  In all honesty, Kanako didn't need the exercise one little bit and she could care less about the local scenery.  She was just getting weary of Amalla trying to glomp onto Keitaro at every chance she got, so Kanako felt it was up to her to keep an eye on the older Molmolian girl and prevent her from getting extra chummy or super physically intimate with the one man she loved and cherished above all others.

"Well, in that case, I think the rest of us can hold down the fort here while you guys are out," said Naru.

"Oh that's not necessary," said Keitaro.  "I'll get to those things when I return, so you guys don't have to worry about that sort of thi-"  Before he could get another word in edgewise, Keitaro once more had the soft tip of Naru's index finger covering his mouth, cutting him off on the spot.

"Keitaro," said Naru in an extra delicate tone of voice, "what did I say earlier to you?"

"Umm..." Keitaro was rummaging through his recent short-term memory to recall the exact words Naru had said.  "I believe it was something like ‘Please let me help' or some such thing."

"Exactly," said Naru with a smile, "so let me do that.  I want to help you out with things around here.  In fact, I'm going to make it a more common thing from now on."  Upon this statement, Naru was flanked by Mutsumi and Kitsune on her sides as the other girls joined her and looked down upon Keitaro.

"Naru's right, Kei-kun," said Mutsumi with that warm smile of hers.  "Please let us help you.  You don't have to do everything here alone."

"Yeah, Keitaro," added Kitsune, "Dontcha worry ‘bout things around here.  We'll manage just fine on our own while you're out and about.  I promise."

While initially reluctant to agree with them, Keitaro simply shrugged his shoulders and let the girls have their way.  After putting his shoes on and making his way out the front door (noticing that Amalla and Tsuruko had to bend over to pass underneath it, with Motoko not far from doing so herself), Keitaro and the four women who volunteered to go shopping with them had made their way out the door.

"Well then, shall we be off?" asked Tsuruko to the others in their party.

"Yeah," said Keitaro.  "I'd like to take a bus if possible, but I'm concerned if you guys will...um...well..." By this point, Keitaro was trailing off and failing to keep eye contact with the other ladies.

"If we will...what, Keitaro?" asked Amalla with curiosity.

"Umm...fit?" he replied.

"Well then," said Amalla with a somewhat coy attitude about herself, "what say we find out then shall we?"  The idea of struggling a bit to get on public transportation was a rather titillating idea in Amalla's opinion.  At their nearly seven foot height, she figured that both she and Tsuruko would certainly be the centers of attention in any crowded setting.  Just thinking of that alone was making her somewhat hot under the collar and putting a tingle in the space between her legs.  Heck, even Motoko and Kanako would catch people's eyes with each of them being over six feet tall.

"Let's get going," said Amalla with a smirk as the group made their way down the steps and towards the nearby bus stop down below.