Mecchen House - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Morning at Mecchen House

I didn’t wake with the expectation that the previous evening was all a dream. One look at the ceiling swiftly killed any chance of that.

I didn’t wake feeling renewed and refreshed. More like sweaty and stiff, on my head especially. Katsumi’s wig didn’t breathe.

I also didn’t wake up alone. Fortunately, it was just Ms. Ishida with a bundle of clothes in her arms. Some of them looked like mine. I sat up.

She flashed me a grin like a caught thief. “Sorry to wake you. Pleasant morning to you.” I assured her I woke up on my own, hoarsely returned the greeting, and asked her what time it was.  

“Six in the morning, or pretty close to it.” Earlier than I was used to. Surprising the sun was even up at this hour.

“Where are my… roommates?”

She tucked the clothes into a bag. “Nathan… I think he’s with Miki right now. And your other roommate is with Tara. Both are fine. Breakfast will be ready soon. Nana and Reiko are down in the kitchen right now. They offered to help with the cooking.”

“Must be a real talkative affair…” I muttered to myself. Ms. Ishida looked at me and asked, “Hmm? What was that?”

“Nothing…” I covered quickly. “I didn’t expect that, but then I just met them.”

“They’re both quite helpful,” Ms. Ishida assured me with a wink. “Now is there anything else I can do for you?”

Nothing else came to my still-foggy mind.

“I’ll see you downstairs when you’re ready then… Mr. Kelly.” With that, she slipped out the door.

I stretched up and out of my futon. My chest felt heavy. Katsumi’s paste-on breast forms were still there on my chest. I gave them a good tug. They weren’t budging. I gave them a much stronger tug and crumpled over in pain. I sure hoped that Katsumi had some solvent for these.

“Nope. Never got any. The glue will wear off soon though. It’s not permanent,” Katsumi was in her room, legs crossed in bed, with a laptop clutched to her. Her laptop had a nice, glossy-black paint tone. She had on the same thing from last night. I gave my unwanted chest another tug.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’ll just distend your chest and give you real boobs when the forms finally fall off, girl.“ She slipped a hard candy into her mouth and rolled it around a few times. “That’s what I read… in a story I wrote…”

“What should I do till then…?” Probably the wrong thing to ask of Katsumi.

She flashed a white blade of teeth. “I know of a skirt and a tank top which will fit you perfectly. After all, since you’re gonna look like a girl for a few hours yet, why not go all out? Besides, you have no choice. I want it. And you are a girl.”

I sighed, “Why me? Don’t you have Nathan and Jamie to toy with?”

She narrowed her eyes and sucked on her candy. “The adhesive didn’t last this long with either of them. Besides, you kindle my girl-making imagination. You should feel honored.”

Feeling honored somehow eluded me though. I was more unsettled and the forms were weighing ever-presently on my chest.

I tried, “Is there any place where I might be able to buy a solvent?”

Katsumi shrugged. “Dunno. Besides… It’s just temporary. You know… Girls have them all the time without complaint.”

With narrowed eyes, I said softly, “Some girls do.”

Katsumi’s eye twitched a little. Her fingers slammed at the keys on her laptop. After a minute, she looked at me again. “Well? Skirt and tank? Or did you have something else to say, Miss Kelly?”

I stepped closer. Not a good idea. I was still groggy and wasn’t used to having a weight on my chest. I lost my footing and stumbled forward. My first thought was for my glasses. My next was hope I wouldn’t break through and damage Ms. Ishida’s ceiling. I caught a blur in my peripheral vision and felt something like a warm, soft board underneath me. It was Katsumi.

She squeaked and glared at me. “Get off me. I can’t lift you.” She had my glasses on her face. I picked them up carefully and sat on my legs. Katsumi crab-crawled to her feet. Her laptop was upside down on the bed.

I watched her brush off her clothes with a light plume of animated dust. “I didn’t want those breast forms to get damaged.”

“Truly?”

“Of course! …mostly. I don’t want the floor to get damaged either. Or you. Because…” She trailed off, coughed and announced, “Well. You’re okay, right?”
I nodded.

“Alright then. The skirt and tank are on the table by my closet. Good practice to wear a skirt. You’ll be wearing them all the time when I’m done…”

It was her standard line, but she uttered it without the same earnest intensity she had yesterday. I picked up the clothes. They would fit me. I looked over. Katsumi was back at her laptop. I snuck out without pestering her further for an explanation.

Unfortunately, I wound having to just go back into her room a few moments later to ask if it was okay to use the bath.

“Mami and I are both done with it. Go ahead. Oh and…” She handed me another bar of the girlie soap. “Can’t forget this, missy…”

Then she went back to her laptop.

How early did she actually wake up to have already taken a shower/bath?

I took my shower the same way as last night, only I made extra sure to scrub at the forms attached to my chest. I still tried to tug at them but gently. It made no difference, because they clung to me like they were a part of me. I slipped more than once, but caught myself. I thought about what Katsumi had done for me.

Why didn’t she just watch me tumble, laughing all the way? Why had she done that? I set the wig to the side and rinsed my hair. I splashed my face.

-----

When I was all done, I still felt like crawling into my futon to nap.

I pawed at the choices in clothes. I considered the tank and skirt for about a minute. If we really did find a way home, I wasn’t interested in arriving back in such a state. I did compromise because it wasn’t a bad tank which Katsumi had given me. I paired it with the knit pants I found last night.

I combed my hair a little in the mirror, although it looked best unkempt. Trademark spiky hair. The pockets were a bit annoying, because my wallet kept poking out, along with my keys. They were far too small for carrying anything of note. I assumed whoever made them expected the wearer to be toting a purse or something. But it didn’t keep me from grumbling.

It took me ten minutes of searching for my shoes to realize they were probably still at the entrance. I gave myself a well-deserved bonk on the head for that.

I looked as decent as could be expected with breast forms stuck to me. I folded up the remaining clothes and left the wig behind with them. Katsumi didn’t burst out to correct me as I walked past. I stopped and listened. Just the steady clacking of keyboard keys.

I made my way down the fragrant steps to the second floor. Tara was in the middle of the hallway. She had on a slick, red cloak and a hot-pink witch’s hat. She held a plastic wand in her hand. It matched her outfit and had a mouse-head at the top. The mouse had Xs for eyes. Jamie was there too. He had cat-ears on his head and a sour look on his face. He brightened a little when I showed up and blurted out, “Finally! Let’s go! You bathed, right?”

Tara tapped him on the head with the wand. “You’re the mascot character! You haven’t learned to speak yet. For now, you must say ‘kusu.’ It’s cute!”

Jamie let out a barely-audible “Kusu…” then chewed on his lip. Tara danced around him, swinging her wand and chanting, “A touch of velvet, serpent’s coil, and cod liver oil. Bend and lean, are my hands clean? There we go!”

Then she tapped him on the head with the wand. “You can speak now, but you have to finish every sentence with ‘kusu.’”

Everyone seemed pretty spry for this hour. I rubbed my eyes and asked, “What’s going on?”

“This one wanted to play before she got ready for class… Umm… kusu.” Tara twirled in place with her eyes curled in happy arcs and her wand clutched close to her. Jamie’s eye-line dipped a little. “Yours are still on… kusu? Mine fell off when I woke up kusu. At least you ditched that dumb wig too kusu.” He mussed his hair as much as the cat-ears would allow.

Tara traced where Jamie was looking and her eyes shimmered a bit. “Wow! Katsumi succeeded! Yay! Remember, you’re supposed to wear a bra. You only get a pass if you’re like Katsumi-chan.” Then she looked around, leaned close, and whispered to me. “Her boobies are too small for one.”

I smiled and nodded gently. She clapped her hands. “Aww, your chest is so pretty! If you need a bra, I can loan one to you. I have one with zoo animals.”

Jamie used her attention on me to sneak over to my side. But this only meant that Tara was perfectly-positioned to hug both of us at once, which she did. Then she scampered back to her room. The door wasn’t painted like some I’d seen, but it did have her name written in small kanji on the front.

Jamie and I both turned to one another. I went first. “When did everyone wake up? Everything seems so animated for this time in the morning.”

“Animated?” Jamie raised an eyebrow. I glared back and pointed out I’d just woken up.

He shrugged. “Well, Miki came to the door first and said ‘good morning’ to Nathan. She was doing wind sprints around the building, again. The sun wasn’t even up. He didn’t join her at that point, yet. But it was the beginning of just about every girl in the house saying hello, except for Ami. She’s still sleeping, last I heard. But anyway, we took a quick bath since we will be walking a lot today, I assume. Flatsumi popped in to do a chest check and was rather disappointed. You pleased her and didn’t stir from snoring for an instant. You did have this weird bubble coming out of your nose for a while. Gross. So…I did some walking and waiting and ran into Tara waking up. She wanted to play. I didn’t have anything else to do and such…” He gave another shrug.

I brought him up to speed on my morning, then asked, “Where’s Nathan now?”

“With Miki still, I guess. Doing running and whatnot. Challenges. Crazy stuff. Katsumi cushioned your fall, intentionally?”

I affirmed that. “I’m not quite sure what to make of it.”

“She’s secretly got the ‘hots’ for you? Isn’t that how it always goes? Or so far as I’ve seen.”

That earned a roll of my eyes. “I very much doubt that girl could get the ‘hots’ for anyone without the benefit of girl-making involved.”

He gestured to my chest. “Clearly.”

“So you’re saying, without these glued to my chest, she would’ve let me crash into the floor?” I gave them a bit of a tug to test the grip. Still firm as ever.

He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. The catboi look made me tempted to take a photo for Carolyn. He smirked. “I’m not saying anything. It’s interesting to think about it a little. Especially if you consider her and Sumi. Just you know… considering that.”

I folded my arms. “Oh really? Since when have you been the type to be so subtle in your suggestions?”

“I got a good night of sleep, and we’re getting out of here soon.”

Tara darted back into the hallway and over to us. “I have one for you!” She still had on her witch’s hat and cloak with her wand in one hand, lowered.

She held out the bra, clenched like offering up a fish for dinner. It was blue, shimmery, and had no obvious feminine details. It seemed more like a sports bra. It was actually rather nice. I had to flatly reject it though.

“I’m honored you’d share with me, but I figure if I don’t wear a bra then they’ll probably be gone faster.”

Tara turned her head like a pendulum on the upswing. “You want them gone? But then you’ll be just like Katsumi again.”

I felt myself blanch. Again with the comparisons. But it was hard to get upset at Tara. “They’re fake. And they really upset my balance.”

Tara centered her head. “Oh! Then you want for them to be real! That’s easy!” She lifted her wand and aimed the dead mouse-head at my chest. “Prestidigitorium! Boobs!”

They didn’t change, fortunately. Tara giggled. “That spell still needs some work. Next time!”

I had to ask Tara something which was lingering in my mind. “Last night, you drew a face and said ‘Sir Walter Raleigh.’ What does that mean to you?”

Tara blinked a bit and shrugged. “It was just something I made up. Like my spells. It’s for fun. Now I gotta go wake up Ami!” She wrapped the bra around her wand, for safe-keeping I guess.

She ran to the pink door and dived in. I followed behind her, with Jamie trailing after. I looked in.

Ami was stretching and blinking a bit. She had on a pair of pink pajamas which matched her hair. Her room truly was a heap of junk. It cascaded and arced throughout the room, one piece connected to the rest like a strange, self-supporting scattered pile of cards. There were underclothes of all sorts spread about like lacy confetti. She had oodles of old bags and a couch in the back, which she sat up from. Shelves camouflaged in junk towered around the room and wires with clothes on hangers crossed the ceiling. Closets were ajar and overflowing. A TV was gathering a gray coat of dust in the corner. There seemed to be posters here and there but their placement was more akin to a chaotic splatter of paint.

Ami coughed once with pink hair feathered all about from sleep and waved to us. “Morning. Hi Tara. Hi… Jamie? Hi there… Miki. What’s up?”

She was looking at me. At least she hadn’t thought I was Katsumi. I started to correct her when she caught her own mistake and tumbled onto a pile of junk with a gasp.

“Oh my! Kelly! I am so sorry. I thought for sure… Umm… What?”

Ami looked just below my eye-line. Tara pointed her wand to my chest. “It’s my magic! We have a new girl!” Ami rubbed her eyes a few more times before she finally sighed. “Katsumi… The girl doesn’t quit. I do actually have some solvent for that type of glue. Somewhere… Others might too.” She glanced around the floor and rubbed her hair.

I helped her search the room for a while, finding richly-drawn bits of flotsam, but nothing that looked like solvent. Before long, Ami curled up on a particularly-soft bit of clutter and was snoring lightly. I settled on a bit myself, but it jabbed me in the back. Tara dove at a pile, like plunging into a frozen wave. She came up with a faded teddy bear with an abnormally-long tail. She held it high. She was still holding onto her bra-wand.

“It’s Mr. Snookums! How are we, Mr. Snookums? Oh! That’s right! You’re Mr. Snookums Yamamoto. He and Miki are married. I concentrated the union!”

“Consecrated?” I asked.

“That too. And what are you doing without your wedding dress, Mr. Snookums? Why at least put on your kimono, or you shall bring shame to all your ancestors and descendants for ever and ever and ever. Snap to it!” She giggled and mimed the bear running through the air.

Jamie cleared his throat. “I think we oughta head downstairs so we can get out of here as soon as possible… kusu.” Tara frowned. “Aww… But you have to say goodbye and hugs and breakfast. The best meal of the day! And we have to play one more game before class!” With those wide eyes, there was no chance for Jamie. He rolled his mouth line a little then finally said, “I promise… kusu. At least most of that kusu. What sort of game… kusu?”

Tara darted between the largest portions of junk with Mr. Snookums. “That’s a surprise. Don’t worry. It’ll be so much fun!” We followed her back out and over to her room. If I were to replace every figurine in my room with something soft or stuffed, then perfectly organize it, my room would begin to approach the girlish magnitude of Tara’s room. It looked amazing. Her bed was a rounded square flowing with color, like a melted rainbow. She had gossamer drapes of cloth near the headboard. She laid her bra-wand beside a pillow.

A stalk of bamboo grew near the window. The window had star-patterned curtains. I saw a bookshelf, a small TV and a perfectly-arranged closet. Excusing the feminine look, I wouldn’t mind having a room like it. Jamie’s eyes looked around room a long time before finally saying “KuSU…”

Tara searched carefully through the closet, apparently in search of this game we were meant to play, and came out with a deck of cards.

She shuffled them and smiled. “You’ll love this. Sumi taught me how to play this game. You gotta try before you go. So much fun!”

“What game… kusu?”

Tara hugged the cards to herself. “Hehe, you’ll see. I’m gonna go see how Ms. Ishida is doing. Catcha’ downstairs!” Then she was gone through the door and we were left in a girl’s room.

Jamie smiled. “She actually seems rather mellowed compared with last night.”

“Oh really?” I left that hanging for Jamie, who just arched an eyebrow in response. He went on ahead to the first floor, and I stopped to check Ami again. She was still snoring and no amount of prompting would wake her up. I even whistled. I gave up and offered a little wave, just in case I didn’t see her later.

When I made it to the first floor, I encountered Sumi first, typing on the desktop in the little computer room. She swung around in the chair to look at me. She swirled a pen around in her lips like a baton and sucked gently on the end. I could tell she was looking at my phony chest but her eye-line was quite good. As good as the more ‘clever’ guys I used to know in high school. She set the pen down languidly. She scratched at and combed her hair with her fingers. “Morning. Sleep well?”

“Decently. What are you up to?”

She grinned. “Not the sort of thing you’d expect if I was on a computer. That was last night. Right now, it’s just a bit of class work. Oh yeah, and hold still…” She slipped a slim cellphone out of her pocket, clicked a few buttons, then showed the screen to me. She’d taken a photo of the androgynous form I had in this anime world, accentuated by a rounded chest.

Sumi looked close at her phone. “It could use a little more light but now we have something to remember this by. I would ask you to pull your shirt down to show a little more cleavage, but I’ll save that for an area that’s better lit. How are the ‘girls’ holding up for you?”

“Ah… well. They kinda throw off my weight. They’re umm… peculiar.”

“In that case, I better check things out.”

I felt unsettled around Sumi for the first time. It was a unique feeling. Even when Carolyn wistfully spoke of boys making out with one another, I wasn’t as affected by the presence of a girl as I was in that moment.

She rose and wrapped her arms around me from behind with a gentle sigh. “Shame they’re only temporary. They’re so warm and soft. Kat-chan always uses quality items. I could really get used to them. Too bad I didn’t see the ones on your friends. I had a really busy night. I’ll have to thank ‘pumpkin’ for this… in my own special way. It looks like she had fun with the three of you. That’s good. It’s been a while since she’s found any males who would indulge her.”

She pressed against me in the same way I’d seen her do to Katsumi. I didn’t ‘squeak’ for her, but I did blush at the pressure of her chest against my back. Her fingers clenched around my stomach and she took a long whiff of my neck. “I also need that soap of hers a little more often.”

She slowly disengaged from me, picked up her pen, and twirled it in her fingers. “I need to go feed Pussy before I finish up in here. Nice to see you again, especially in such a state. Almost there…”

That time, I could discern a clear capitalization when she used the P-word. I had to ask, “Is your cat’s name actually ‘Pussy’?”

She gave me a half-smirk. “Yes, her name is Pussy. But she’s not exactly my cat. I still love her though. Go get yourself some breakfast, buttercup.” And then she was gone.

I felt a weight ease off my shoulders with Sumi out of the room. The whole thing gave me a shiver up my back. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her use of a nickname for me, so I decided to ignore it for the time being. I walked over to Miki’s room and found Nathan and Miki furiously doing one sit-up after another. They moved like colorful pistons on an engine, powering their way up and down. A timer went off and Miki burst to her feet.

“Eighty! Pant. What did you get?”

“Just seventy-seven. Pant,” Nathan turned his head and smiled at me. “Kelly! Good morning… Wow. Yours are still stuck on?”

Miki bounced a bit in place, catching her breath, then finally looked at me. “Oh my gosh. What’d she use on you? She keeps saying she only uses temporary glue, but if she put permanent glue on you, that would be so uncool. Here. Let me check it out.”

She touched me on the chest. We both blushed a moment, then she cleared her throat and asked if she could lift up my tank top. I nodded.

She gave a gentle tug on the breast-forms at first, then a harder one. I didn’t crumple this time, but I did feel weak in the knees.

She stopped there and pondered a bit. “Okay, we need to think this through. The glue has a short sticking-time, but staying on this long is not outside the realm of possibility. I remember Daiki. His name alone set Katsumi off. This was last year. The forms stayed on for a while. Eventually, I had to go buy a special solvent. I have it around somewhere. Daiki was actually really mellow with the whole experience. I can’t say for sure, but a girlfriend told me she heard he was working at a maid café… and making great tips. Sorry, that probably isn’t very comforting. Anywho, it means I do have something to help you out tucked away in my closet.”

That last bit did reassure me somewhat. I looked over at Nathan. He was sweaty, with a dark area traced on his shirt. Despite that, he looked nice in the clothes Ms. Ishida had given him.

Miki was dressed in same style of gym clothes as Katsumi wore yesterday. It made sense if they all went to the same high school. Miki nodded when I asked if that was so. “We all go to Azako High School, except for Ms. Ishida of course. The term started just last week. We’re all in our second year. In fact, I should put on my uniform in a little bit. Sooo… I’ll see you in the kitchen in a few minutes. Awesome competition, Nathan. And Kelly… I will find a solvent for you. I promise. Seeya soon!”

We walked out of the room, and Miki closed the door behind us. I gave Nathan a friendly pat on the shoulder. “How is your morning?”

“Active. And fun. She is insatiable… I mean! …at competition!” He blushed bright and glanced down at his feet. I gave Nathan another rub. “I’m glad. Come on, let’s see if there’s any food ready.”

Mami was spread out on one couch with her uniform on and a bookbag beside the couch. Her eyes looked like narrow, brown slits. She gave a little arm wave. “Cartoons are on… still so… early.” She hugged the end of the couch and shut her eyes with flat, black eye-marks. Her uniform looked nice. The jacket seemed soft, and the brown material complimented Mami’s hair. All but the lowest golden button was clasped. Mami snored. I saw a bit of her white shirt under the elaborate, yellow bow tied at the front. It was probably a pain to tie. Her skirt looked like a pleated picnic blanket. I assumed all students wore the same uniform. I couldn’t help imagining how Ami looked in it.

I turned to look at the TV. The show on wasn’t familiar to me but I couldn’t look away. We sat on the empty couch, our eyes still transfixed. I was still aware enough to check to make sure nothing fell out of the tiny pockets on these knit pants.

The visuals were crude but interesting. They looked on par with Popeye or Peanuts. Backgrounds were well-painted, but had very little presentation of depth. It didn’t have much of a plot. Soon, it ended and another one came on. This one looked more like what I expected from animation. It was clearly what I’d call anime. Sumi had used the term “anime” once. Did it mean the same thing? Also, what was the difference between ‘reality’ and animation here? Was there any?

I noticed the remote next to Mami on the floor. Since she had her head covered and was snoozing, I figured she wouldn’t mind.

Naturally, the first thing I flipped to was a feminine hygiene ad with an anime girl bending and stretching this way and that.

Click

Another ad. Bishounen in the mountains making BBQ and drinking beer. The icy splash looked like something I’d seen a million times.

Click

A disturbing ad with a cute little yellow thing wishing to get swallowed and eaten by an anime woman working in an office. Nathan thought it was cool.
At least TV didn’t change too much in this world.

Click

Horror show. It looked especially good in anime.

Click

A redecorating program with anime girls lugging furniture about and feeling gleeful to paint walls.

Click

Some mystery program with dark shadows and black cloaks.

Click

A high-energy game show with tons of flashing colors.

Click

A news program. I paused here. I would be good to get some further information on this world and examine any congruities with our own. It had a ‘Live’ caption in the corner and a ticker at the bottom. The newscaster had lovely, sharp shadows on the ends of her bluish-black hair. She wore a suit half a tone off the coloration of Mami’s jacket. Her glasses were incredible. I loved how the lines rippled as she turned from one monitor to the other. Everywhere I looked, I could find anime. For such a huge fan like myself, that still hadn’t gotten old.

The ‘living’ anime flesh and the ‘created’ anime shows were hard to tell apart but, ultimately, it seemed to come down to quality. Living anime appeared to be ‘drawn’ with little regard for budget or cost. The anime shows I saw in this world dropped frames and had cheats in animation that felt like someone wanted to do better, but they were limited by circumstances.

I tried to focus on the content more than the presentation for a moment. The kanji on-screen seemed to leave little doubt we were in a country at least similar to Japan. The ticker mentioned peace talks in a faraway land ‘falling apart.’ Government investigations into waste and bias. A new music-playing device released. Protests. Politicians screaming into microphones and pounding on tables.

I couldn’t help but feel disheartened. It all felt so… normal. No rockets to space, no magical spells, no giant robots… Sure, it was a world of anime. But beyond that, it was just like home.

I clicked the channel back to the cartoon station that Mami had been watching. I looked over at Nathan and sighed. “Same stuff, different universe…”

He flapped the edge of his shirt a little. “Well, I guess that’s good. It means we didn’t get pulled far from our world. It’s similar to where be came from. We just need to get the way it looks right…”

That gave me a bit of enthusiasm. I stood up. “True. Thanks. Let’s go see how breakfast is coming along.”

-----

We found Tara flying around Nana and Reiko in the kitchen. All three had colorful aprons on. Tara’s cloak and hat were set to one side. Nana looked right at me. Reiko kept her attention on her pan.

“What are you making?” I asked.

Reiko flipped something in her pan. She coughed but didn’t say anything more.

So I posed the question to Nana.

“Breakfast.”

What sort of breakfast? “For all.”

I tried ‘What items are being made?’

“Food items.”

I had to wonder if she was intentionally messing with me. She sure had a good poker face for it. Tara helped a second later with, “We’re having natto, rolled omelets, miso soup, pickles with sour plum, grilled fish, nori, and plenty of rice! A hearty meal! I’m helping with the bento boxes.”

She took a plum and mixed it around a ball of rice with a bit of seaweed. Nathan looked at everything steaming and frying and asked gently, rubbing the back of his neck, “May I help with anything?”

Reiko looked at him and said a terse “No.”

Tara stuck out her tongue at Reiko and smiled at us. “You can help me with the bentos. You both can! Then we can eat and play cards afterward! If you help, we’ll get to play even more!”

We were both slower combined than Tara by herself, but she didn’t seem to mind. I caught Nana glancing over once or twice.

I finished up a placement of asparagus when Ms. Ishida came in with a mop and took it to one of the storage rooms. She returned and rinsed her hands. She smiled at me. “I’ll still work on the spare rooms today, even if you three aren’t coming back. They won’t be out on the market ‘till next week, so you have time if you change your minds.” She leaned over Reiko’s shoulder and whispered something softly. Reiko looked intensely-focused.

I thanked her for that but said, “I think we really should at least look for a way to get home. Check out that path again…”

Nana stepped closer. “I will go with you.”

Did she want to leave with us? If so, I had to ask why.

“I will go. You need assistance.”

I looked to Nathan. He shrugged. In Jamie’s absence, I put up a bit of a fight.

“You can’t go. We may not return and you have class, right?”

She picked up a cleaver and held it with a slight curve. “Class will be fine. I will go. I will help you along to your destination.” I wasn’t sure if I should take that as a threat. Then she turned and furiously chopped up a cucumber. Ms. Ishida was right about her abilities. Then she picked up a plate, balanced by one finger, and gently laid it down for the cut pieces.

We went back to work on the bento lunches. Ms. Ishida looked over my shoulder and smiled. “Nice work! By the way, your clothes will be done soon. You can have those others you selected as well. Same goes for your roommates. Oh my, those are still attached?”

I was beginning to get a little tired of everyone noting my breast-forms. “I can’t do much about it. Miki is looking for some solvent but otherwise… Just need time I guess.”

Nana drew closer to me. “Some are different and it takes time. Some only require a precise application of pressure.” She placed her hand between my cleavage and pressed. Both forms plopped down my shirt and to the floor. I held them up and tested my balance. Back to normal. I looked at Nana with gratitude, but she was already carving up another cucumber. Still, I offered a gentle “Thank you so much…”

She turned and bowed her head congenially. Reiko growled at her cooking and rubbed the pan with something flat. Ms. Ishida rushed over to assist. Reiko muttered something to Ms. Ishida, who just rubbed her shoulder. I was tempted to offer help as well but her “no” stuck in my head, so I kept helping on the bento lunches. I set the forms aside, glad they were no longer attached to me.

Jamie finally emerged from wherever he’d been hiding right when we finished the last of the bento boxes. He still had the cat-ears on. He explained he was in the bathroom and then watched a little TV. Convenient. Reiko’s gaze struck his. “Get over here. You’re helping me with fish.”

Wow, that was more than she’d said to me in all the time I’d known her. She snagged Jamie by the collar and gave him a pan. He gave me a look of pleading with his eyes. Ms. Ishida gave another sweatdrop-covered look.

Nana finished the last of the vegetables, then walked around the corner. She came back with a long table. She pushed it into the large, empty area on one side of the kitchen. Nathan offered to help her but she just said, “You have done much for me. I will do this.”

Tara showed me how to wrap the bento boxes and told me which to mark to whom. I noticed I was unconsciously writing in kanji. Trippy…

Ms. Ishida set a mediating hand on Jamie and Reiko. Jamie seemed to be handling the pan decently well. Reiko’s look was harsh. When Jamie finished the fish, Nana and Reiko set the table. Chopsticks, napkins, and plates.

Reiko glared at Jamie. “Next time you come around here, you’re making the meal. You think you can simply leech off hospitality? You disgust me.” She took the far side of the table. Jamie sat as far away from her as possible and rolled his colorful eyes. Nathan and I sat near him.

Mecchen residents slowly began to join us after Tara ran off to announce breakfast and put her magical outfit away. Mami was first. She seemed docile and sluggish. Miki burst in next, her hair slightly-wet. She had the solvent in her hands and a smile on her face. Her smile quickly shifted into the same look of disappointment she wore last night when she saw my forms were gone. But that look shifted again, into a look of relief.

Ms. Ishida sat nearby and offered to explain the food to us. Reiko looked over at Jamie with contempt then turned away, her eyes closed. Jamie muttered, “What’s her deal…”

Katsumi joined us next and frowned deeply when she noticed I no longer had bumps on my chest. I did feel rather itchy and sensitive there, though nothing unreasonable for having something glued to my chest overnight. I passed the forms to her and she set them in front of her, on the table.

Jamie scratched at his chest a little and where Reiko had grabbed him. Katsumi sat on the other side of Ms. Ishida and announced, “Don’t think this is over, you girls. You may think I’m letting you all off easy, that’s just because you’re heading off soon. I assure you, my spirit of maiden-making will haunt and change you, no matter how far you travel!”

Reiko uttered a high, “Shh!” as she broke her chopsticks. Katsumi challenged her interruption with a look, glanced back at us, and nodded once. Nana served warm tea to each of us. Nana found a place to sit on the other side of Katsumi. Ami came, looking quite bleary, with Sumi towing her along.

Except for Ami, everyone was dressed in the same school uniform Mami previewed. I felt Katsumi, excusing her long hair, looked more like a boy dressed in drag than I did last night when she wore the uniform.

I let out a little smirk at that thought. Katsumi narrowed her eyes at me. The moment soon passed.

Everyone uttered a quick “I receive this food”, and started eating

I bowed my head, said the same along with Nathan and Jamie, and dug into my omelet.

Excusing the nauseating taste of the natto (Jamie and Nathan didn’t like it either), it was a wonderful breakfast, especially with Ms. Ishida helping out where she could. The conversation was even better.

Ami eventually woke up a bit more and expressed her relief at the condition of my chest. Mami even returned to her normal self, noticed me scratching at my chest, and offered to sell me a moisturizing lotion. Ami offered me plenty for free. I reminded them we were leaving in a few minutes.

Tara whimpered between bites of rice. “We have to play cards! Please! It’ll be so much fun!”

Sumi rotated her chopsticks. “The game I taught you?” Tara nodded vigorously. “Yeah! I love it!” She raised her food high.

I promised again that we would play cards before leaving. Reiko had given up communicating at all again and resorted to quick glares in Jamie’s direction. He didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore.

Miki ate fast, said “Thanks for the feast!”, and had time to clean up the pans. She gave Nathan a big hug and said, “Got practice and club stuff. If I don’t see you again, it’s been an awesome time. You’re my absolute favorite challenger.” She gave a hug to me and Jamie too.

“You two are great fun. Take care of Nathan and be well.” With that she dashed over, picked up her bento box, and ran out waving. I heard feet shuffling and a door opening and closing a second later.

Ms. Ishida added, “She’s on the school’s lacrosse team.” That clarified a few things.

Nana reiterated her intention to go with us. Jamie objected and used the same points I did, to even less effect. Eventually, he threw up his hands and agreed to let her come.

Ami finished next, with a small burp and all politeness, but promised to come back once she’d changed into her uniform. For an instant, I was tempted to go with her. Katsumi flashed me another dirty look.

The three of us were done shortly thereafter (we offered our thanks as well). Jamie cleaned up a bit, so as not to incur further wrath from Reiko. I left my natto for Tara, who consumed it eagerly. I showed Jamie the news station until Tara put it back on cartoons and went to ‘go get the card table.’ Jamie shrugged. “Doesn’t look all that weird…”

“Exactly! That’s why I’m so concerned.”

He rolled his eyes.

When Tara returned, I asked, “Are there any giant robots?”

She opened up the table with an ‘umm’ and “I think there’s a show on at three. I don’t watch it. I watch Pretty Yumeko Hime Galaxy.”

“What about magic?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yup! Yumeko has tons of spells, even some which stop time. And spells that allow her to read minds. And super-strength spells. And she can change people into other people, or even animals. But she can only do one spell per day. So she has to be really careful. It’s so much fun. Her childhood best friend is actually magical too and he likes her, but that’s a secret from Yumeko. They both come from the same planet. Each thinks the other is actually human…”

Tara kept going with a snowballing explanation of the plot. She was getting into the “Magic-users spread throughout the galaxy to oppose the Death Urge plague” when she remembered the cards. She leapt at them and shuffled furiously.

Nana walked in slowly and sat right next to me. She had a bit of rice on the lower edge of her mouth-line. I pointed it out and she touched her face. Nana remained still for so long that I worried I’d said something wrong.

“Are you alright?”

She looked at me.

“I am fine.” She cleaned her mouth with a sweeping motion.

-----

Tara’s card game went long enough for us to learn the rules and play a few rounds. The objective was to get rid of all your cards. Nothing new there. Judging by the labels of ‘rich one’ to ‘poor one,’ I was surprised that Sumi taught her the game instead of Mami.

It played rather like a more-intricate version of Hearts. Strategically deal your highest value card. The highest card was two. That threw me off, but I was able to cope. Jamie looked utterly confused. He wound up being the ‘poor one’ each time.

Tara was ahead with Nana right behind when Ms. Ishida tapped her on the shoulder and told her the time. She slowly put the cards away and looked at each of us. Tears streamed down her cheeks, “We just met… but…” The rest of her words were lost in sniffles.

Jamie stood and gave Tara a big hug. He didn’t say anything except, “There there…” With his ears on, the image of a crying, blond anime girl hugging a blond cat-boy was captivating enough to take a photo. And Sumi did, with her phone.

“Cheer up, Tara. Here. Take a few photos to remember them all by.” Tara’s tears quickly dried and she ran about, trying to get into every picture she could. Sumi winked at me. The unease was gone but not entirely forgotten.
Katsumi walked past with her book bag over her shoulder. She approached and asked if she could get in one of the photos.

Sumi laughed. “Aww… shy-bunnykins finally wants to get her picture taken. Does that also mean she wants to go all out, wear the bust enhancer, and have a ‘private’ photography session too?”

Katsumi stuck out her tongue. “I wouldn’t mind having a few photos so I can track these three down and get them when they least expect it. But first! I made a promise! I have selected names for the three of you in your maiden destiny! You!”

She gestured at Nathan first. He shrunk a bit.

Katsumi pursed her lips, “Your name will be… Taketani Keiko. Evermore! Shy and cute!”

Her hand moved to Jamie, “And you… Oh you. I have a good one for you. Minamoto Kimi. It fits you perfectly and your fate!”

She ended on me. I leaned back. She moistened her mouth line with a pink dab of tongue, “Your name took a while to figure out. I wanted it to be perfect. Nakamori Arisu! So shall you be!” She clapped her hands three times and bowed.

Silence followed.

I spoke up, “Really… who are you trying to fool? You may play and imagine but look at the facts. Even this world, there is no real magic. Science can’t even do the kind of things you want. There is NO WAY. Give it up. You’re just deluding yourself in the end. Are you going to spend your WHOLE LIFE pretending you can make girls with a wave of your hand? It’s not possible. Not in this world! Not in any other!”

I regretted what I said even before I saw Katsumi’s hand sail across my face with a “SLAP” that echoed through the room. It only stung for a second.
She trembled in front of me, her head down. Tears didn’t flow from her eyes. She just trembled and slowly clenched her fists. Then she flew out of the room, rumbling across the floor as she went.

I hit myself on the head. What did I know? I’d just seen a handful of TV shows. And with just that, I presumed to dismiss all forms of the fantastic? I was in a world of anime! Wasn’t that something? Wasn’t that fantastic?

Tara had her arms down and close to her. Jamie and Nathan looked similarly subdued. Nana looked unaffected.

I felt guilty. Now, I just wanted to leave.

-----

The goodbyes were low-key. Tara bounced back quickly, giving us big hugs. She accepted the cat-ears from Jamie.

Katsumi didn’t return. Ms. Ishida offered us each a bento and our clothes in a nice bag. She gave hugs too. Reiko passed a glare to Jamie but walked off to class without saying anything further. Sumi waved to each of us and told me, “Miss ya, miss your chest even more.” She winked and left.

Ami and Mami said bye and left just before us. I accepted a long hug from Ami and a friendly shake from Mami. With no further ado, we slipped our shoes on and walked out. Nana walked near to us.

I felt a sudden wind tease at my hair. It curled around me with a hint of warmth. I turned to look. Ms. Ishida and Tara waved through the doorway. I looked up to the third story. I couldn’t see Katsumi, but I could feel her looking down on me.

I remembered her words. You kindle my girl-making imagination…

I sighed and didn’t look back again until we were out of sight of Mecchen House.