As the ending bell rang, hundreds of students began rushing out of the
buildings of the school. Snow was falling softly in the outdoors, both a
blessing and a horror to the Tokyo people. The snow was already
accumulating on the roadways, as the weather had been so freezing cold
lately. After a few minutes, the courtyard of the school was nearly empty.
With a creak, the door of the center building slowly opened and the
redheaded Eiri walked out, talking to the taller Caomei. As they exited,
Caomei's face grew happy. A black-haired woman in a long winter coat who
Eiri knew only as "muqin" walked up to the girls and grabbed Caomei
happily.
"Muqin! Nin hao ma?" said Eiri excitedly to the tall woman.
"Hen hao, Eiri-chan. Ni ne?" said Caomei's muqin.
"I'm wonderful." Eiri said to her.
Caomei kept a firm grasp on her mother, but held one hand up to wave good- by to Eiri. Eiri waved back and watched them walk to Muqin's car.
"Eiri-chan, would you like a ride to your house?" said Muqin.
"Mei guanxi, bu shi. I love the snow and shall enjoy it on my way home."
"Okay. Have a wonderful holiday!"
"Good-by!"
Eiri watched the two drive away. She stood in the snow for a few minutes then started walking towards her house. As she walked, her school bag slung over her shoulder, the snow grew increasingly harder. The temperature kept dropping, leading to her putting on cashmere-leather gloves and searching frantically for a hat in her bag. It wasn't long until she realized her folly in choosing to not ride home with the Hsu's... the snow was rapidly becoming a blizzard.
Exasperated, Eiri stopped and sat in a bus stop box. The plastic sides of the stop gave her no warmth, but the shielding from the snow was enough to keep her happy. Minutes passed quickly, and by the LCD display on her NAVI, it had been forty-five minutes since she left school. She sighed loudly and cursed herself for even trying to walk home. Suddenly, she heard the whirring of a small engine. As a black Vespa pulled up to the bus stop, Eiri beamed.
"Mr. Langley!" she screamed happily.
"You had me worried, Eiri. Your sister told me you usually get home about twenty minutes after school!" he said with mock seriousness. He took off his helmet and looked at Eiri with bright grey eyes.
The helmet had held in his sweat, so his hair glimmered in the odd half- light that occurs on snowy days. The spikes had lost their gel, and therefore had created a semi-curly mess on his head. His smile was radiantly handsome, perfectly framed by the light tan of his face. He tossed her a helmet and patted the seat behind him.
"My saviour." Eiri said to him as he placed his own helmet on.
"I expect a good dinner from you, woman." Adam said with his, again, false severity.
Eiri sat down behind him on the moped. She leaned forward, pressing against him as much as she could. Her hands met very close to his lap, still covered with cashmere gloves. Her head rested on his upper back. His warmth was a welcome respite from the cold of the winter day. Eiri's eyes closed as the engine revved up, as she was finally comfortable. Her hands squeezed around his waist as the Vespa started forward. Adam heard a small sigh come from Eiri and he tried his best to look back at her, to no avail. She was so close to him that it almost seemed as though no one was behind him.
It was only about a fifteen minute drive to get back to the Kojirou-dubbed Garden of Eden. By the time that they reached there, though, Eiri had fallen asleep against Adam. Adam pulled the Vespa up to under the thatched porch of the house, then removed his own helmet. With one hand, he released Eiri's grasp of his waist and held on to one of her leather-clad hands. After removing her helmet, Adam picked up the short girl and took her inside the house, remembering to remove both his shoes and hers.
He laid her on the couch in the main living room. Carefully, he removed her gloves and admired her soft, pale hands. The raspberry nail-polish on her nails had chipped finely at the tips. He laid her hands down by her sides then started unbuttoning her wool coat. In short time, he had taken the coat off and laid it on the floor beside her. After finishing with taking off her winter gear, he released her hair from the buns on top of her head. The shiny auburn hair fell down in cascades, glimmering across her chest and falling off of the couch, almost touching the floor. He ran a large hand over the top of her head and then stood up.
And thus he stood for a few silent moments. The scene was perfect. From where he was standing, he could look out of the completely windows room of Eiri's temple, with the pure white snow falling, making the outside world virgin and new. The light from the windows shone in on the other virgin, Eiri Tsugoyaki, making her hair shine like silk and the pink on her pale cheeks glow. Suddenly, he became aware of the fluttering of her eyes. Slowly, the eyelids opened to reveal glimmering violet and navy blue eyes. She smiled, but did not speak.
Gradually, she sat up and looked at him. He knelt down to gaze into her eyes. Unexpectedly, Eiri leaned forward and stopped her face about half-an- inch from his. Her eyes closed, and after a half-whisper of 'Adam,' she continued her leaning and placed her lips on his. After a brief pause of surprise, Adam accepted the kiss and kissed her sensuously back. Eiri's arms held around him once more, but this time she put one on the back of his head and the base of his neck. Soon, his arms were wrapped around her svelte waist, their kisses growing faster and harder.
Then, a cat appeared out of the blue and landed on Eiri's head. The couple broke the kiss and both giggled uncomfortably. Eiri took the kitten off of her head and lectured it before giving it a little peck on the lips and sending it on its way to be with the other cats. Adam and Eiri looked at each other for a few silent moments.
"I'll go ahead and prepare dinner." Eiri murmured in a slightly lethargic voice.
He simply nodded and stood. She held up nearly-white hands, a sign that she wished to he helped up. His hands grabbed hers and pulled her up into strong arms. Eiri stayed curled against him for a second and then pushed away softly. His eyes followed her to the kitchen, and when she was out of sight, he decided to follow her.
***
Kojirou had his MP3 player on Grand Pain as he happily skipped out of his classroom. He was free, if just for a while. And it was snowing. He had learned to love it when it snowed... a long, long time ago...
When they would lock him outside the house, and let the snow fall on him. At first he pretended the snow flakes were petals, then as rage gathered in his heart, the petals turned into droplets of blood... and then again into snowflakes... when he started enjoying their cold touch... burning his skin... stealing his breath...
Kojirou shed a lonely tear for that memory. He didn't know what had caused it, but it made him happy. Most things did. He shook his head slowly, then took a long breath. Raising his head, the kid headed out humming along with Ain't Afraid To Die.
The streets seemed a lot larger than they really were, specially because they were not as crowded as usual, what with the raging blizzard. He found an almost empty kissaten, and settled down there for a while. Inside the restroom, Kojirou opened up his purse, taking from it a skirt matching the uniform, plus loose socks and shoes to go with his cosplay. He even took the time to braid his hair. If his looks were naturally feminine, this time he could be very well mistaken for any girl in his school... or a prostitute, since school time was over. A wide grin slashed his face. This wasn't something he did on a regular basis, but Kojirou was exceptionally happy that day. A sick sense of humor? Definately.
***
As seemed to be the general fashion among the students... Tak buggered off.
Despite the snow falling and because of the rugged individualist that he was, he decided to walk home.
On his way home... he played the draft cover of One More Time that was stored in the NAVI that was in his left arm... routing directly to his auditory nerve... making him a connoisseur of the highest, most discriminating order...
And... true to form of such picky people... he wasn't satisfied with the draft cover.
And Hime's voice was so damn HARD to synthesize on the quiet... it had a certain similarity to Aeon Flux's voice... but still Tak was having no luck...
Of course, with this being a surprise present an' all... he couldn't just ASK Hime to sing some lyrics...
___
Why do you cling to the illusion so stubbornly?
___
/You're supposed to be dead. Start acting like it./
***
Kojirou had been walking through the large mall for quite a long time. His ever watchful eyes caught the luscious looks of salarymen and shy schoolboys over him. Sometimes, when he realized someone was following him, Kojirou would stop, adjust his skirt, slowly rubbing his legs.
/Heheheh... can't blame all these men... I'd be raging if I saw myself like this... ... ... ... come to think of it, a bra and some girlish accessories are what's missing to render this cosplay perfect.../
His musings were interrupted by a tall, muscular man Kojirou assumed to be in his twenties. He had touched his shoulder, and Kojirou turned his head back slowly, blinking as cutely and innocently as he could. Shivering in anxiety, the man clumsily tried to explain what he wanted from Kojirou, as if he didn't know already.
/Pervert... such a little girl.../ "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Ja ne?" Kojirou blew him a kiss before quickly leaving the guy behind.
The scene repeated itself quite a few times, with some variations, until Kojirou figured it was time to get back home. In the back of his mind, he kind of wanted someone to feel him while in the subway... so that he'd be able to scream.
***
"Onee-chan, I'm home..."
"I'm in my bedroom, Kojirou." Hime's voice sounded through the intercom.
The boy made his way up, eager to show off how lovely he was.
"So... beautiful..." Hime would have said that louder, but with her breath stolen all she could manage was a whisper.
"I thought you'd like it." Kojirou replied happily as he turned around and posed. He knew he was rushing Hime's blood into overdrive.
"You know... you need a name to go with that look. Do you have one in mind, already?"
"Tee-hee! Not really... but yeaown, someone might ask my name..."
"Then..." Hime got down on your knees, looking deeply into his eyes. "I'll call you Kei."
Kojirou smiled sweetly. He would have thanked his sister, but the next thing he knew she had her lips locked against his. He accepted and retributed the kiss, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist.
Hime led Kei to her bed, still not breaking the kiss. She ran her hands through the shorter girl's body, making both shiver in pleasure. As Hime lowered her head to suck her nipples, Kei softly fondled her hair, her other hand rubbing Hime's back, which sent jolts of electricity through her spine.
***
At work, Nakita was buried under a pile and a half of paperwork... as the green haired doctor continued pen scratching... he convinced himself those could wait... finishing up one particularly soul-destroying piece of paperwork... he decided to leave for the day...
As was customary... Nakita unlocked the front door and didn't bother announcing his arrival... not that it would have made half a difference at the moment.
Removing his shoes... he headed up to Hime's room... eyebrow raised at the sounds issuing from within... inside said room, two girls drove each other over their limits of pleasure. Nakita could have well came inside leading a marching band and remain unnoticed.
Scanning the scene with characteristic savior faire, he saw what seemed to be a girl in Kojirou's school's uniform, knelt down next to Hime's bed, orally pleasuring the latter, who had her body shaking with one of countless orgasms.
Nakita shut up, stayed hidden and kept watching... after what seemed like an eternity at watch, Nakita could see Hime sitting up from her bed. She moved slowly, as the previous love making session had her near exhaustion. The other, much smaller girl crawled up to look directly into Hime's eyes, finding exactly what she was looking for, satisfaction and love. After a slight peck on her lips, she got out of the bed, trying to lick her own lips clean of Hime's love juices.
Nakita switched to a voice more... appropriate... contralto #2... "Looks like you enjoyed yourselves."
Kei looked around the room, as she wasn't still able to identify where the hidden voice had come from. Shrugging, she just answered to nowhere "More like enjoyed each other... where are you, Nakita?"
"Kojirou... if you're going to cross dress... develop a voice to go with it."
Kojirou scratched the back of his head... "Yeaown, I know... mine is far, far away from perfect..."
"Don't be discouraged... it takes at least six months of work per voice."
"Nah, I'm not discouraged... only the first time I cosplay anyway..."
"Least you got enough curves to do so. Ah well... I'll leave you two to clean up. I'm gonna have something to drink."
"Thanks, Nakita... and sorry for the vain fit, but it's not just enough curves, it's the perfect form. I got the right body to provoke surges of lust in any pedophile salaryman or the like..."
As he headed down, the pair could hear him say "So I gotta teach you kickboxing and how to talk in a real female voice?"
Kojirou would have said something, but he figured Nakita already knew the answer. Instead, he got back to his sister's bed, resting his head on her lap while he waited for her to become able to sit up again.
Nakita grabbed a carafe of water, three plastic glasses and headed back up. Back at Hime's room, Kojirou was finishing setting up the bed while Hime was still regaining her strength with a cold bath. As he entered, Kojirou stopped for a second to welcome Nakita back.
"Hoe, you brought us water. How kind!"
Nakita shut up, set the glasses down and started pouring. When two of the glasses were full, Kojirou grabbed one and went to take it to Hime in the bathroom.
Hmm... for the sound Nakita heard, she had just fainted... Nakita wanted to ask a few questions... but kept quiet.
After a few seconds, Kojirou came back, still with the glass in his hand. "Onee-chan is asleep right now... so unless you have other plans for her, I think we better wait downstairs..."
Nakita shrugged and, grabbing the carafe and his glass, headed downstairs. Kojirou had waited for Nakita to say it, but as he was too curious by now, he just asked. "So, what did you think of the cosplay?"
"How sugar coated do you want it?"
"Hmmm... very sugar coated." Kojirou answered with a grin.
"Convincing... until you spoke."
"No, forget the voice... I mean just the looks."
"That was convincing."
"So much for a compliment, Nakita... I thought you'd say I look lovely or something like it."
Nakita slapped his hand against his forehead. "Open mouth, insert foot."
Kojirou laughed in response. "Heh, don't worry... I know you're just too overwhelmed for words."
"We're all a bundle of surprises... some are bigger bundles than others."
"I take it you learned that from here?"
"Among other places..."
"Ah... I should have figured it..." Kojirou answered with a large grin.
"Starting when Tak had an identical twin brother."
"Hm? How was it?"
"Those pair... sigh... the shit they got away with..."
"Now you got me curious... examples?... if we're wandering into bad memories just say it..."
"Nah... I'll have to talk about it sometime... might as well be now..."
Kojirou smiled at him. "Then start."
"Well... I might as well start with my family situation..."
"First up... I have, or had, a few siblings... being the third of eight. Not including the two stillbirths."
"Hmmm... sounds like heavy stuff..."
"Two older sisters that I've never met... myself..."
"And? ..."
"A twin brother... now dead... two brothers spaced two years apart.... then Tak and Kannai... I was a triplet.. up until an hour before I was born. As was Tak... I was half the cause of one of the stillbirths..." Nakita started to shake...
Kojirou had seen that before. Trying to hold Nakita now would only make matters worse, so he let him calm down by himself.
Letting himself shake, Nakita continued... "Same thing happened to each set... one stillborn... one died in childhood... and one survives to blame himself." Nakita stopped shaking... stifled a sob... "...thanks... for listening..."
"My pleasure, Nakita. I'm glad you let that out."
His shoulders slumped... "So am I."
Kojirou smiled in response. "You want to keep going?"
"As you can see... I tend to worry about my close relatives."
"Only natural, I guess..."
"Considering by age 18 I had lost four of them..."
"That too."
"Although I still cling to the wild hope that somewhere... Kannai's still alive..."
"Well, how can you know? He might be alive somewhere. I think it would be a waste to go looking... but you might meet again by chance."
"Yeah... he should be easy to spot... there's not many 7 foot plus green haired teens kicking about..."
Kojirou shook his head. "There's ONE of them, Nakita..."
"Well.. Tak was an identical twin..."
"My thoughts exactly. As far as we know, there's just one of said kind of teen around. If you see another one, who else can it be?"
"Yeah..."
"Though... he might be around... without you being able to see him."
"What do you mean?"
Then comprehension dawned...
"I mean... just what I said... he might be around, but you still might be unable to see him."
...and he went into what Tak had jokingly dubbed shrink mode.
"Tak has been verifiably subjected to intense psychological stress... he survived... and well... you've seen the bodydump..."
"Yeaown, I have..."
"Well... maybe... Kannai can also dump... but less frequently..."
"Maybe he's still in the process of trying to come back."
"Hope so..."
"You do that..." Kojirou looked down to the ground "...as hope is wall we can do."
Nakita grinned... "Well... game not over..."
"It's only over when you say it. And I know you won't be saying it that soon."
"Well... want to start working on the voice to go with the clothes?"
"Sure enough!"
***
If you've ever been to Japan, you've seen Ayumi Hamasaki. She's the one with her face plastered on billboards, on the sides of buildings, on giant TV screens. The one with the Lemur-like eyes, the "Am I real or a robot?" expression.
//hajimekara sonna mono nakatta no kamo shirenai tanoshikute kanashikute soshite yasashii SUTORII//
And Ayumi's voice flew over the crowd at the Tsubasa, altered so that she'd sound robotic and coupled with a heavy droning beat. Satoshi and Naoko arrived together, now Koneko and Tenshi. Koneko wore tight leather jeans and matching cat-ears and tail, Tenshi with the tightest of miniskirts and plastic angel wings.
//maboroshi to yume o miteita no kamo shirenai amari nimo nagai aida nemuri sugiteta no kamo shirenai//
"Ugh, they're mixing Ayumi." Koneko grumbled, scratching an itch inside his bright yellow vest. "Can't stand her."
"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go find Shingo, find out when we're gonna be mixing." Tenshi turned, white-sprayed hair flying in an elegant half circle, and disappeared into the crowd.
//aoi sora ni natsu no nioi okanjiru kisetsu ni haomoide shite iru yokogao//
Koneko had a habit of stuffing the tip of his strap-on tail in his mouth and chewing, which he had already proceeded to do. He found a booth to the side and scanned the crowd.
Ah, there was Canvas Jacket, the one dealer who always sold Accella and its more dangerous brethren at a reasonably low price. And then there was Yumi, always the oldest at the club at her thirty-five years, loose breasts sagging underneath see-through blouses. And then... who... was that?
//machi no keshiki yugami hajimete SUNGLASSES sagashita subete no iro nakusu tame ni//
"I CAN'T believe YOU'RE here!" Tenshi growled fiercely. She'd canceled a night out with friends so as not to lose her job; and there was Tatsumi, the DJ she was standing in for, splayed out on a couch with his lips and legs entangled with a boy in middle school.
Tatsumi looked up from his prey and glowered at her. "Ah, Tenshi. I figured they'd call you in to cover, you're the only one here that even comes NEAR my talent." He smiled snidely at her; they were not by any terms good friends.
//naritakatta mono nara ohimesama nanka ja nai hoshigatteta mono nara GARASU no kutsu nanka ja nai//
Koneko's eyes were fixated on the girl's form. Twelve, thirteen, but looking so much older, she was beautiful. Normally he'd kick himself for ogling such a little girl, but he was captivated. Long black hair, slender figure, thick eyelashes...
Leather jeans are never comfortable when you're thinking of things like that.
//naritakatta mono sore ha kimi to iru watashi hoshigatteta mono sore ha kimi no hontou ni waratta kao//
"You know, that's disgusting, Tats. He's got to be eight years younger than you." Tenshi gestured toward the boy pinned under Tatsumi's grip.
Tatsumi didn't look up at her, but he broke lip contact with the boy for just a moment. "Dear, Satoshi's four years younger than I and one younger than you, and that's not stopping either of us, hmm?"
"Satoshi and I haven't done anything like that yet!!" She shouted, her cheeks red. Then she caught herself. "...What do you mean, it hasn't stopped you?"
//kyou no sora ni natsu no nioi to kaze ga toori nukete daijoubu datte unazuita//
"That's Kei. It's her first time here." A voice quipped next to Koneko. "She's.... a lot more than you'd expect."
Koneko turned from Kei and stared at the small girl. Eleven, twelve, with bright pink hair and large glasses. She wore many bracelets and necklaces, a pacifier around her neck. Her shirt read 'Wired'. "Who're you?"
"An echo from your past, a remembrance of your childhood days." The girl smirked. "...sounds like a fuckin' anime, huh? I know what happened to your parents, I know Primus, and I know you, Satoshi."
//moshimo futari hanashiteta you naunmei ga aru nara doko ka demata deaeru kara//
Tenshi's hand gripped, her nails almost piercing the skin. It couldn't be true. Tatsumi was such a son of a bitch... she left the pair as Tatsumi's hand snaked down the schoolboy's pants.
She needed to find Koneko.
//lalalalalalai... daijoubu datta unazuita//
"What?? The fuck? How do you- What the-" Koneko's words spilled over each other. The pink haired girl raised a finger to Satoshi's lips.
"Shut up. I can't tell you yet." Satoshi stared agape at the girl. She stood, bangles on her wrists jingling. "Expect some packages in the mail."
She disappeared into the sea of faces, leaving Koneko sitting in the booth, his mouth wide open.
//lalalalalalai... watashi ha totemo tsuyoi kara//
"KONEKO, how many FUCKING times did you sleep with Tatsumi?" Tenshi's voice snapped Koneko out of his thoughts. Her face was red.
Koneko arched an eyebrow. "Twice. You found out about that? You angry?" He asked, a bit of humor showing in his voice.
Tenshi was visibly flustered. "I... of course I'm... angry! Why... fuck didn't you tell me?"
Koneko pulled Tenshi down into the booth with him. "I didn't think it was a big deal. Besides, it's in the past, right?"
Tenshi crossed her arms, her face red. "I suppose..." For once, she was at a loss for words. She'd often pondered over certainty of Satoshi's bisexuality, but she'd never have thought... TATSUMI...
"It's not a big deal. Besides, you're my best friend, right?" Koneko placed a kiss on Tenshi's cheek.
"...friends... yeah..."
***
"First and foremost... the pitch ranges of male and female voices overlap significantly."
"What do you mean?"
"OK.. the voice I'm talking in is my original voice... a high baritone, just short of tenor."
"Keep going..."
"Most contraltos are actually lower in pitch... I'll demonstrate... but you'll have to be carefully listening to the pitch of my voice..."
"Alright..."
"Ready?"
Kojirou hesitated for a short while... "...yeaown."
"Most contralto voices are at least an octave lower..." as he talked, Nakita's voice changed to the first contralto that he had developed. By the look on Kojirou's face... he had gotten his point across.
"Still serious about developing a voice to match?"
"Sure! Keep going!"
"Well.. as you displayed earlier... what gives most cross dressers away is the voice... mainly the lower harmonics generated by the male larynx."
Kojirou smiled in response. "So, how do we fix that?"
"Train yourself to only use the lower half of your voicebox."
While Nakita received no vocal response to that, the look on Kojirou's face was a good sign that he had no idea how to do it.
"Hmm... try talking in a falsetto..."
"Ahn... alright..." sure enough the kid wouldn't make some mock old lady voice. Instead, he tried to sing like Isshi. The result was as far away as possible from what Kojirou wanted. While his look displayed some disgust, he wasn't giving up so soon.
Nakita stifled a giggle... but the broad grin remained... "Now press two fingers lightly against the upper part of your voicebox..."
"Ahn..." Kojirou felt his own neck for some seconds, before settling for one spot. "Like this, ne?"
"Surprise surprise... you just spoke in a rough soprano..."
"Did? "Well... if you're saying it..."
"Now the idea is to have said voice, clean it up a bit and not need the fingers..."
"Hmm... alright... how?"
"You willing to put in at least an hour of practice per day for six months?"
"Muqin! Nin hao ma?" said Eiri excitedly to the tall woman.
"Hen hao, Eiri-chan. Ni ne?" said Caomei's muqin.
"I'm wonderful." Eiri said to her.
Caomei kept a firm grasp on her mother, but held one hand up to wave good- by to Eiri. Eiri waved back and watched them walk to Muqin's car.
"Eiri-chan, would you like a ride to your house?" said Muqin.
"Mei guanxi, bu shi. I love the snow and shall enjoy it on my way home."
"Okay. Have a wonderful holiday!"
"Good-by!"
Eiri watched the two drive away. She stood in the snow for a few minutes then started walking towards her house. As she walked, her school bag slung over her shoulder, the snow grew increasingly harder. The temperature kept dropping, leading to her putting on cashmere-leather gloves and searching frantically for a hat in her bag. It wasn't long until she realized her folly in choosing to not ride home with the Hsu's... the snow was rapidly becoming a blizzard.
Exasperated, Eiri stopped and sat in a bus stop box. The plastic sides of the stop gave her no warmth, but the shielding from the snow was enough to keep her happy. Minutes passed quickly, and by the LCD display on her NAVI, it had been forty-five minutes since she left school. She sighed loudly and cursed herself for even trying to walk home. Suddenly, she heard the whirring of a small engine. As a black Vespa pulled up to the bus stop, Eiri beamed.
"Mr. Langley!" she screamed happily.
"You had me worried, Eiri. Your sister told me you usually get home about twenty minutes after school!" he said with mock seriousness. He took off his helmet and looked at Eiri with bright grey eyes.
The helmet had held in his sweat, so his hair glimmered in the odd half- light that occurs on snowy days. The spikes had lost their gel, and therefore had created a semi-curly mess on his head. His smile was radiantly handsome, perfectly framed by the light tan of his face. He tossed her a helmet and patted the seat behind him.
"My saviour." Eiri said to him as he placed his own helmet on.
"I expect a good dinner from you, woman." Adam said with his, again, false severity.
Eiri sat down behind him on the moped. She leaned forward, pressing against him as much as she could. Her hands met very close to his lap, still covered with cashmere gloves. Her head rested on his upper back. His warmth was a welcome respite from the cold of the winter day. Eiri's eyes closed as the engine revved up, as she was finally comfortable. Her hands squeezed around his waist as the Vespa started forward. Adam heard a small sigh come from Eiri and he tried his best to look back at her, to no avail. She was so close to him that it almost seemed as though no one was behind him.
It was only about a fifteen minute drive to get back to the Kojirou-dubbed Garden of Eden. By the time that they reached there, though, Eiri had fallen asleep against Adam. Adam pulled the Vespa up to under the thatched porch of the house, then removed his own helmet. With one hand, he released Eiri's grasp of his waist and held on to one of her leather-clad hands. After removing her helmet, Adam picked up the short girl and took her inside the house, remembering to remove both his shoes and hers.
He laid her on the couch in the main living room. Carefully, he removed her gloves and admired her soft, pale hands. The raspberry nail-polish on her nails had chipped finely at the tips. He laid her hands down by her sides then started unbuttoning her wool coat. In short time, he had taken the coat off and laid it on the floor beside her. After finishing with taking off her winter gear, he released her hair from the buns on top of her head. The shiny auburn hair fell down in cascades, glimmering across her chest and falling off of the couch, almost touching the floor. He ran a large hand over the top of her head and then stood up.
And thus he stood for a few silent moments. The scene was perfect. From where he was standing, he could look out of the completely windows room of Eiri's temple, with the pure white snow falling, making the outside world virgin and new. The light from the windows shone in on the other virgin, Eiri Tsugoyaki, making her hair shine like silk and the pink on her pale cheeks glow. Suddenly, he became aware of the fluttering of her eyes. Slowly, the eyelids opened to reveal glimmering violet and navy blue eyes. She smiled, but did not speak.
Gradually, she sat up and looked at him. He knelt down to gaze into her eyes. Unexpectedly, Eiri leaned forward and stopped her face about half-an- inch from his. Her eyes closed, and after a half-whisper of 'Adam,' she continued her leaning and placed her lips on his. After a brief pause of surprise, Adam accepted the kiss and kissed her sensuously back. Eiri's arms held around him once more, but this time she put one on the back of his head and the base of his neck. Soon, his arms were wrapped around her svelte waist, their kisses growing faster and harder.
Then, a cat appeared out of the blue and landed on Eiri's head. The couple broke the kiss and both giggled uncomfortably. Eiri took the kitten off of her head and lectured it before giving it a little peck on the lips and sending it on its way to be with the other cats. Adam and Eiri looked at each other for a few silent moments.
"I'll go ahead and prepare dinner." Eiri murmured in a slightly lethargic voice.
He simply nodded and stood. She held up nearly-white hands, a sign that she wished to he helped up. His hands grabbed hers and pulled her up into strong arms. Eiri stayed curled against him for a second and then pushed away softly. His eyes followed her to the kitchen, and when she was out of sight, he decided to follow her.
***
Kojirou had his MP3 player on Grand Pain as he happily skipped out of his classroom. He was free, if just for a while. And it was snowing. He had learned to love it when it snowed... a long, long time ago...
When they would lock him outside the house, and let the snow fall on him. At first he pretended the snow flakes were petals, then as rage gathered in his heart, the petals turned into droplets of blood... and then again into snowflakes... when he started enjoying their cold touch... burning his skin... stealing his breath...
Kojirou shed a lonely tear for that memory. He didn't know what had caused it, but it made him happy. Most things did. He shook his head slowly, then took a long breath. Raising his head, the kid headed out humming along with Ain't Afraid To Die.
The streets seemed a lot larger than they really were, specially because they were not as crowded as usual, what with the raging blizzard. He found an almost empty kissaten, and settled down there for a while. Inside the restroom, Kojirou opened up his purse, taking from it a skirt matching the uniform, plus loose socks and shoes to go with his cosplay. He even took the time to braid his hair. If his looks were naturally feminine, this time he could be very well mistaken for any girl in his school... or a prostitute, since school time was over. A wide grin slashed his face. This wasn't something he did on a regular basis, but Kojirou was exceptionally happy that day. A sick sense of humor? Definately.
***
As seemed to be the general fashion among the students... Tak buggered off.
Despite the snow falling and because of the rugged individualist that he was, he decided to walk home.
On his way home... he played the draft cover of One More Time that was stored in the NAVI that was in his left arm... routing directly to his auditory nerve... making him a connoisseur of the highest, most discriminating order...
And... true to form of such picky people... he wasn't satisfied with the draft cover.
And Hime's voice was so damn HARD to synthesize on the quiet... it had a certain similarity to Aeon Flux's voice... but still Tak was having no luck...
Of course, with this being a surprise present an' all... he couldn't just ASK Hime to sing some lyrics...
___
Why do you cling to the illusion so stubbornly?
___
/You're supposed to be dead. Start acting like it./
***
Kojirou had been walking through the large mall for quite a long time. His ever watchful eyes caught the luscious looks of salarymen and shy schoolboys over him. Sometimes, when he realized someone was following him, Kojirou would stop, adjust his skirt, slowly rubbing his legs.
/Heheheh... can't blame all these men... I'd be raging if I saw myself like this... ... ... ... come to think of it, a bra and some girlish accessories are what's missing to render this cosplay perfect.../
His musings were interrupted by a tall, muscular man Kojirou assumed to be in his twenties. He had touched his shoulder, and Kojirou turned his head back slowly, blinking as cutely and innocently as he could. Shivering in anxiety, the man clumsily tried to explain what he wanted from Kojirou, as if he didn't know already.
/Pervert... such a little girl.../ "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Ja ne?" Kojirou blew him a kiss before quickly leaving the guy behind.
The scene repeated itself quite a few times, with some variations, until Kojirou figured it was time to get back home. In the back of his mind, he kind of wanted someone to feel him while in the subway... so that he'd be able to scream.
***
"Onee-chan, I'm home..."
"I'm in my bedroom, Kojirou." Hime's voice sounded through the intercom.
The boy made his way up, eager to show off how lovely he was.
"So... beautiful..." Hime would have said that louder, but with her breath stolen all she could manage was a whisper.
"I thought you'd like it." Kojirou replied happily as he turned around and posed. He knew he was rushing Hime's blood into overdrive.
"You know... you need a name to go with that look. Do you have one in mind, already?"
"Tee-hee! Not really... but yeaown, someone might ask my name..."
"Then..." Hime got down on your knees, looking deeply into his eyes. "I'll call you Kei."
Kojirou smiled sweetly. He would have thanked his sister, but the next thing he knew she had her lips locked against his. He accepted and retributed the kiss, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist.
Hime led Kei to her bed, still not breaking the kiss. She ran her hands through the shorter girl's body, making both shiver in pleasure. As Hime lowered her head to suck her nipples, Kei softly fondled her hair, her other hand rubbing Hime's back, which sent jolts of electricity through her spine.
***
At work, Nakita was buried under a pile and a half of paperwork... as the green haired doctor continued pen scratching... he convinced himself those could wait... finishing up one particularly soul-destroying piece of paperwork... he decided to leave for the day...
As was customary... Nakita unlocked the front door and didn't bother announcing his arrival... not that it would have made half a difference at the moment.
Removing his shoes... he headed up to Hime's room... eyebrow raised at the sounds issuing from within... inside said room, two girls drove each other over their limits of pleasure. Nakita could have well came inside leading a marching band and remain unnoticed.
Scanning the scene with characteristic savior faire, he saw what seemed to be a girl in Kojirou's school's uniform, knelt down next to Hime's bed, orally pleasuring the latter, who had her body shaking with one of countless orgasms.
Nakita shut up, stayed hidden and kept watching... after what seemed like an eternity at watch, Nakita could see Hime sitting up from her bed. She moved slowly, as the previous love making session had her near exhaustion. The other, much smaller girl crawled up to look directly into Hime's eyes, finding exactly what she was looking for, satisfaction and love. After a slight peck on her lips, she got out of the bed, trying to lick her own lips clean of Hime's love juices.
Nakita switched to a voice more... appropriate... contralto #2... "Looks like you enjoyed yourselves."
Kei looked around the room, as she wasn't still able to identify where the hidden voice had come from. Shrugging, she just answered to nowhere "More like enjoyed each other... where are you, Nakita?"
"Kojirou... if you're going to cross dress... develop a voice to go with it."
Kojirou scratched the back of his head... "Yeaown, I know... mine is far, far away from perfect..."
"Don't be discouraged... it takes at least six months of work per voice."
"Nah, I'm not discouraged... only the first time I cosplay anyway..."
"Least you got enough curves to do so. Ah well... I'll leave you two to clean up. I'm gonna have something to drink."
"Thanks, Nakita... and sorry for the vain fit, but it's not just enough curves, it's the perfect form. I got the right body to provoke surges of lust in any pedophile salaryman or the like..."
As he headed down, the pair could hear him say "So I gotta teach you kickboxing and how to talk in a real female voice?"
Kojirou would have said something, but he figured Nakita already knew the answer. Instead, he got back to his sister's bed, resting his head on her lap while he waited for her to become able to sit up again.
Nakita grabbed a carafe of water, three plastic glasses and headed back up. Back at Hime's room, Kojirou was finishing setting up the bed while Hime was still regaining her strength with a cold bath. As he entered, Kojirou stopped for a second to welcome Nakita back.
"Hoe, you brought us water. How kind!"
Nakita shut up, set the glasses down and started pouring. When two of the glasses were full, Kojirou grabbed one and went to take it to Hime in the bathroom.
Hmm... for the sound Nakita heard, she had just fainted... Nakita wanted to ask a few questions... but kept quiet.
After a few seconds, Kojirou came back, still with the glass in his hand. "Onee-chan is asleep right now... so unless you have other plans for her, I think we better wait downstairs..."
Nakita shrugged and, grabbing the carafe and his glass, headed downstairs. Kojirou had waited for Nakita to say it, but as he was too curious by now, he just asked. "So, what did you think of the cosplay?"
"How sugar coated do you want it?"
"Hmmm... very sugar coated." Kojirou answered with a grin.
"Convincing... until you spoke."
"No, forget the voice... I mean just the looks."
"That was convincing."
"So much for a compliment, Nakita... I thought you'd say I look lovely or something like it."
Nakita slapped his hand against his forehead. "Open mouth, insert foot."
Kojirou laughed in response. "Heh, don't worry... I know you're just too overwhelmed for words."
"We're all a bundle of surprises... some are bigger bundles than others."
"I take it you learned that from here?"
"Among other places..."
"Ah... I should have figured it..." Kojirou answered with a large grin.
"Starting when Tak had an identical twin brother."
"Hm? How was it?"
"Those pair... sigh... the shit they got away with..."
"Now you got me curious... examples?... if we're wandering into bad memories just say it..."
"Nah... I'll have to talk about it sometime... might as well be now..."
Kojirou smiled at him. "Then start."
"Well... I might as well start with my family situation..."
"First up... I have, or had, a few siblings... being the third of eight. Not including the two stillbirths."
"Hmmm... sounds like heavy stuff..."
"Two older sisters that I've never met... myself..."
"And? ..."
"A twin brother... now dead... two brothers spaced two years apart.... then Tak and Kannai... I was a triplet.. up until an hour before I was born. As was Tak... I was half the cause of one of the stillbirths..." Nakita started to shake...
Kojirou had seen that before. Trying to hold Nakita now would only make matters worse, so he let him calm down by himself.
Letting himself shake, Nakita continued... "Same thing happened to each set... one stillborn... one died in childhood... and one survives to blame himself." Nakita stopped shaking... stifled a sob... "...thanks... for listening..."
"My pleasure, Nakita. I'm glad you let that out."
His shoulders slumped... "So am I."
Kojirou smiled in response. "You want to keep going?"
"As you can see... I tend to worry about my close relatives."
"Only natural, I guess..."
"Considering by age 18 I had lost four of them..."
"That too."
"Although I still cling to the wild hope that somewhere... Kannai's still alive..."
"Well, how can you know? He might be alive somewhere. I think it would be a waste to go looking... but you might meet again by chance."
"Yeah... he should be easy to spot... there's not many 7 foot plus green haired teens kicking about..."
Kojirou shook his head. "There's ONE of them, Nakita..."
"Well.. Tak was an identical twin..."
"My thoughts exactly. As far as we know, there's just one of said kind of teen around. If you see another one, who else can it be?"
"Yeah..."
"Though... he might be around... without you being able to see him."
"What do you mean?"
Then comprehension dawned...
"I mean... just what I said... he might be around, but you still might be unable to see him."
...and he went into what Tak had jokingly dubbed shrink mode.
"Tak has been verifiably subjected to intense psychological stress... he survived... and well... you've seen the bodydump..."
"Yeaown, I have..."
"Well... maybe... Kannai can also dump... but less frequently..."
"Maybe he's still in the process of trying to come back."
"Hope so..."
"You do that..." Kojirou looked down to the ground "...as hope is wall we can do."
Nakita grinned... "Well... game not over..."
"It's only over when you say it. And I know you won't be saying it that soon."
"Well... want to start working on the voice to go with the clothes?"
"Sure enough!"
***
If you've ever been to Japan, you've seen Ayumi Hamasaki. She's the one with her face plastered on billboards, on the sides of buildings, on giant TV screens. The one with the Lemur-like eyes, the "Am I real or a robot?" expression.
//hajimekara sonna mono nakatta no kamo shirenai tanoshikute kanashikute soshite yasashii SUTORII//
And Ayumi's voice flew over the crowd at the Tsubasa, altered so that she'd sound robotic and coupled with a heavy droning beat. Satoshi and Naoko arrived together, now Koneko and Tenshi. Koneko wore tight leather jeans and matching cat-ears and tail, Tenshi with the tightest of miniskirts and plastic angel wings.
//maboroshi to yume o miteita no kamo shirenai amari nimo nagai aida nemuri sugiteta no kamo shirenai//
"Ugh, they're mixing Ayumi." Koneko grumbled, scratching an itch inside his bright yellow vest. "Can't stand her."
"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go find Shingo, find out when we're gonna be mixing." Tenshi turned, white-sprayed hair flying in an elegant half circle, and disappeared into the crowd.
//aoi sora ni natsu no nioi okanjiru kisetsu ni haomoide shite iru yokogao//
Koneko had a habit of stuffing the tip of his strap-on tail in his mouth and chewing, which he had already proceeded to do. He found a booth to the side and scanned the crowd.
Ah, there was Canvas Jacket, the one dealer who always sold Accella and its more dangerous brethren at a reasonably low price. And then there was Yumi, always the oldest at the club at her thirty-five years, loose breasts sagging underneath see-through blouses. And then... who... was that?
//machi no keshiki yugami hajimete SUNGLASSES sagashita subete no iro nakusu tame ni//
"I CAN'T believe YOU'RE here!" Tenshi growled fiercely. She'd canceled a night out with friends so as not to lose her job; and there was Tatsumi, the DJ she was standing in for, splayed out on a couch with his lips and legs entangled with a boy in middle school.
Tatsumi looked up from his prey and glowered at her. "Ah, Tenshi. I figured they'd call you in to cover, you're the only one here that even comes NEAR my talent." He smiled snidely at her; they were not by any terms good friends.
//naritakatta mono nara ohimesama nanka ja nai hoshigatteta mono nara GARASU no kutsu nanka ja nai//
Koneko's eyes were fixated on the girl's form. Twelve, thirteen, but looking so much older, she was beautiful. Normally he'd kick himself for ogling such a little girl, but he was captivated. Long black hair, slender figure, thick eyelashes...
Leather jeans are never comfortable when you're thinking of things like that.
//naritakatta mono sore ha kimi to iru watashi hoshigatteta mono sore ha kimi no hontou ni waratta kao//
"You know, that's disgusting, Tats. He's got to be eight years younger than you." Tenshi gestured toward the boy pinned under Tatsumi's grip.
Tatsumi didn't look up at her, but he broke lip contact with the boy for just a moment. "Dear, Satoshi's four years younger than I and one younger than you, and that's not stopping either of us, hmm?"
"Satoshi and I haven't done anything like that yet!!" She shouted, her cheeks red. Then she caught herself. "...What do you mean, it hasn't stopped you?"
//kyou no sora ni natsu no nioi to kaze ga toori nukete daijoubu datte unazuita//
"That's Kei. It's her first time here." A voice quipped next to Koneko. "She's.... a lot more than you'd expect."
Koneko turned from Kei and stared at the small girl. Eleven, twelve, with bright pink hair and large glasses. She wore many bracelets and necklaces, a pacifier around her neck. Her shirt read 'Wired'. "Who're you?"
"An echo from your past, a remembrance of your childhood days." The girl smirked. "...sounds like a fuckin' anime, huh? I know what happened to your parents, I know Primus, and I know you, Satoshi."
//moshimo futari hanashiteta you naunmei ga aru nara doko ka demata deaeru kara//
Tenshi's hand gripped, her nails almost piercing the skin. It couldn't be true. Tatsumi was such a son of a bitch... she left the pair as Tatsumi's hand snaked down the schoolboy's pants.
She needed to find Koneko.
//lalalalalalai... daijoubu datta unazuita//
"What?? The fuck? How do you- What the-" Koneko's words spilled over each other. The pink haired girl raised a finger to Satoshi's lips.
"Shut up. I can't tell you yet." Satoshi stared agape at the girl. She stood, bangles on her wrists jingling. "Expect some packages in the mail."
She disappeared into the sea of faces, leaving Koneko sitting in the booth, his mouth wide open.
//lalalalalalai... watashi ha totemo tsuyoi kara//
"KONEKO, how many FUCKING times did you sleep with Tatsumi?" Tenshi's voice snapped Koneko out of his thoughts. Her face was red.
Koneko arched an eyebrow. "Twice. You found out about that? You angry?" He asked, a bit of humor showing in his voice.
Tenshi was visibly flustered. "I... of course I'm... angry! Why... fuck didn't you tell me?"
Koneko pulled Tenshi down into the booth with him. "I didn't think it was a big deal. Besides, it's in the past, right?"
Tenshi crossed her arms, her face red. "I suppose..." For once, she was at a loss for words. She'd often pondered over certainty of Satoshi's bisexuality, but she'd never have thought... TATSUMI...
"It's not a big deal. Besides, you're my best friend, right?" Koneko placed a kiss on Tenshi's cheek.
"...friends... yeah..."
***
"First and foremost... the pitch ranges of male and female voices overlap significantly."
"What do you mean?"
"OK.. the voice I'm talking in is my original voice... a high baritone, just short of tenor."
"Keep going..."
"Most contraltos are actually lower in pitch... I'll demonstrate... but you'll have to be carefully listening to the pitch of my voice..."
"Alright..."
"Ready?"
Kojirou hesitated for a short while... "...yeaown."
"Most contralto voices are at least an octave lower..." as he talked, Nakita's voice changed to the first contralto that he had developed. By the look on Kojirou's face... he had gotten his point across.
"Still serious about developing a voice to match?"
"Sure! Keep going!"
"Well.. as you displayed earlier... what gives most cross dressers away is the voice... mainly the lower harmonics generated by the male larynx."
Kojirou smiled in response. "So, how do we fix that?"
"Train yourself to only use the lower half of your voicebox."
While Nakita received no vocal response to that, the look on Kojirou's face was a good sign that he had no idea how to do it.
"Hmm... try talking in a falsetto..."
"Ahn... alright..." sure enough the kid wouldn't make some mock old lady voice. Instead, he tried to sing like Isshi. The result was as far away as possible from what Kojirou wanted. While his look displayed some disgust, he wasn't giving up so soon.
Nakita stifled a giggle... but the broad grin remained... "Now press two fingers lightly against the upper part of your voicebox..."
"Ahn..." Kojirou felt his own neck for some seconds, before settling for one spot. "Like this, ne?"
"Surprise surprise... you just spoke in a rough soprano..."
"Did? "Well... if you're saying it..."
"Now the idea is to have said voice, clean it up a bit and not need the fingers..."
"Hmm... alright... how?"
"You willing to put in at least an hour of practice per day for six months?"