“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?”