“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?