IChapter 5:
Regrets and Self Images
It was midnight and Keitaro clumsily walked and giggled, with much help from the very kind man who volunteered to buy so many drinks.
Four A.M. always seemed like a dismal time. A time when only those with self pity and regret would stay awake. It was at 4 a.m. that Keitaro slowly waddled back into the Hinata House. The hours before coming home were a blur of drinking games, karaoke antics, and fighting off an extremely amorous benefactor. In the end, Keitaro felt nothing but a hangover and a dash of self-humiliation.
'Damn, I don't remember half of what happened,' the confused boy thought as he ran his hand on his seething stomach. The contents of sake and whatever the heck was served as food at that bar were long gone after a thorough purging two blocks back, yet Keitaro felt Kitsune's stomach still objecting to whatever treatment it got in the lost hours. The cool wooden floors were a welcome change of texture for Keitaro's bare feet; he'd lost Kitsune's footwear somewhere the night before. A cool breeze blew in from an air conditioner and over Keitaro's bare legs. Shivering, the boy rubbed both of his arms against each other, holding them against the brown sweatshirt he was wearing.
'I need some coffee, a shower, and mouthwash at the same time,' Keitaro thought gloomily as he ran his tongue over Kitsune's straight, yet somewhat grimy teeth. However, the need for cleanliness was lost under a much greater need - one Keitaro became aware of as he stumbled slightly from drowsiness. Wearily, Keitaro slid the door open to his room and saw his old body sleeping in the futon he once occupied but a few days ago.
'Oh that's right - 'Keitaro thought as he slid the door closed again and staggered the steps to Kitsune's door. But before Keitaro could pull the door open, someone else announced his or her presense.
"Kitsune?" a tired, somewhat ruffled Naru asked from the end of the hallway as she squinted at Keitaro. "Up all night partying again?"
"Hehe, you know me," Keitaro weakly confirmed, "always a party somewhere."
"Kitsune, you shouldn't stay out so late, the other girls get worried," Naru chided as she walked towards Keitaro.
"It couldn't be helped," Keitaro answered docilely. "I really don't plan on it. It just kind of happens."
"I know that," Naru said. "You've been like this ever since high school. You don't have to keep this image anymore."
"What someone expects of you is hard to escape," Keitaro pointed out wryly. "I'm stuck in this role, so I might as well enjoy it." Another half- truth, but ironically realistic.
"It's just that you're my closest friend and all," Naru continued, her head turned to the side to try and hide her worried expression. "I'd hate to see something bad happen to you." Keitaro wasn't sure why, but he stepped up to Naru and enclosed the shorter girl in a hug. Naru returned the hug and the warmth of their bodies against each other was reassuring to both.
'Mmm, this feels nice,' Keitaro thought, his mind dazed from the remnants of a hangover and serious sleep deprivation. After what seemed like an eternity of comfort, Keitaro pulled away from the hug and looked down at Naru's reassured, but still saddened face. Then, for no reason or warning, Keitaro bent down gave Naru a gentle but firm kiss on the lips, forgetting exactly which body he was in. Naru, half awake, let the kiss occur with no resistance.
A few seconds later, Keitaro remembered just who he was and pulled away from the sweet kiss. "Good night," Keitaro nervously said.
"G-goodnight," Naru, dazed, returned as she walked off to go back to her room.
Keitaro turned around to face the door and sighed, blushing furiously. 'Why did I do that?' he thought. A good tug and the door slid open and the physically spent Keitaro took a few steps into the room, collapsed face first onto the futon and groaned in pain before rolling onto his back. "Darn it, these things always get in the way," Keitaro grumbled as he tried to rub the pain of his new, recently squished breasts. 'I should stop this,' the boy thought as the pain quickly subsided yet continued rubbing.
The decision on weather or not to stop was made for Keitaro as Kitsune's body quickly fell into the realm of unconsciousness.
***
Kitsune woke up just as the sun was peeking over the horizon and dreaded the day ahead with the instinct of a hunted man. 'How the hell does this guy survive like this?' Kitsune asked herself as she got dressed and ready for the day ahead; the feeling of impending doom lurked as she slid the door open and stepped out in the hall. But something was strange this morning of day: the floors were clean.
Kitsune headed towards the unoccupied hot springs, confused. The entire area was just as clean as she left it the day before. A short jog then over to the kitchen then revealed breakfast was already simmering under the careful eye of Shinobu.
"Good morning, sempai!" Shinobu greeted brightly. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." The young girl maneuvered around the kitchen like a skilled chef, her careful eye on every simmering pot and pan.
Kitsune just stared in wonder, and then remembered that Keitaro didn't spend the majority of EVERY day doing his chores, but usually spread them out over the week while squeezing in time to study. However, during the summer and with no real need to cramp for the entrance exams, Kitsune realized that she gave the appearance of laziness around the others, which in turn made Motoko work her like a horse. Three days straight of chores left the Hinata virtually spotless, and it would stay that way for at least the course of a day, maybe two if she were lucky. and Su didn't break out another mecha-tama.
Shinobu, though, noticed Kitsune's wariness at the door. "Do you want to help me, sempai?" the young girl asked sweetly.
"No, that's all right, I was just thinking. I'll just get the others," Kitsune replied and turned around to walk out of the kitchen.
"All right, but I think Kitsune should get some more rest," Shinobu requested. "She came home awfully late and it is summer, so I think it would be okay if she slept in a little bit."
"I guess," Kitsune said sourly.
***
Breakfast quickly ended and Kitsune washed the dishes with much needed assistance from Shinobu. Kistune sat on the couch and wondered what meaningless task she could undertake to appear busy in the watchful eyes of Motoko, she glanced at the kendo girl and saw a small blush appear on her cheeks as she quickly turned her head away.
"What is it, Urashima?" Motoko asked pointedly. The fear of agitating Motoko quickly made the need to do something.
"N-nothing!" Kitsune hurriedly answered. "It's just- I was wondering where you learned to massage."
"We will NOT talk about that," the kendo girl stated, making the words as solid as stone.
Just then, to save Kitsune's life, Naru stepped in and sighed in relief. "There you are!" the longhaired girl said as she grabbed Kitsune's arm. "C'mon, Keitaro, you wanted me to teach you trig, so you're coming with me!" Naru dragged the befuddled Kitsune all the way to her room and plopped the confused girl at the low table. With an air of great authority, Naru sat down on the other side of the table and slid her glasses up her nose, then opened her textbook. Naru noticed Kitsune still not moving and prodded him with a pencil. "What's wrong, Keitaro?"
"Nothing, nothing at all!" Kitsune stammered as she opened up the trig book. "This page, right?"
Naru just sighed wearily. "Yes, that page. Listen Keitaro, we still have a few weeks before prep. school begins again. We could just blow off the rest of the day."
"That sounds like fun!" Kitsune agreed with a grin. "So where do you want to go?"
"How about bowling?" Naru suggested. Before Kitsune could reply, however, the door slid open, and Motoko, Shinobu, and Su fell down to the floor in a pile.
"Bowling! Is it delicious?" Su asked with a happy smile. Naru exhaled in defeat.
***
"STRIKE!" Su yelled in jubilation and pumped her fist in victory. Everyone else, however, sweat-dropped and looked at the strange foreign girl.
"Su-chan," Naru said, "not many bowl with a bazooka."
"Oh, this little thing?" Su said innocently as she slung the massive cannon over her deceptively slender shoulder.
Kitsune felt his perpetual stress headache returning and reached a hand out to order a pitcher of beer when Motoko grabbed her arm. "Urashima, not in front of Su and Shinobu," the kendo girl warned, serious despite the fact that her traditional garb had been replaced by a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
"My turn," Shinobu volunteered bravely as she stood up and picked up a smaller bowling ball. The cautious girl slowly walked towards the line and released the ball. Slowly, but surely, the ball rolled towards the pins and knocked down eight of them. "Yay!" Shinbou squealed in childish delight, jumping up and clapping before remembering herself.
"That was a very good roll, Shinobu-chan!" Naru congratulated. "It's your turn now, Keitaro."
"Thanks," Kitsune said as she stood up and picked one of the heavier balls. 'Bowling with the group isn't bad I suppose,' the transformed girl thought.
***
The evening steadily rolled on and the Hinata group returned back home after endless frames and pizza. "STRIKE!" Su announced aloud once again as she hung off Motoko's back, full on endorphins and junk-food.
"I hope we didn't stay out too late," Shinobu murmured docilely as she walked lazily to her room.
'Oh well, another evening of studying lost,' Naru thought with a sigh. "Well, I'm heading to bed," the longhaired girl announced as she trudged up the stairs.
"I too have to bid a good evening," Motoko responded as she went her own separate way, Suu still hanging on her back, "good night everyone."
Kitsune, now alone, walked over to her old room and slid the door to see Keitaro still snoozing away in her old body. "You have no idea how lucky you are," Konno Mitsune said to the sleeping Keitaro, and then slid the door shut.
***
Day five slowly crept into Hinata house, the sunlight shone brilliantly over Keitaro's eyes, forcing the slumbering boy turned girl to awaken with a groan. "Is it morning already?" Keitaro was unaware that a full 24 hours had passed as he slumbered. Weakly, this disoriented boy stood up and stretched his tired muscles, feeling the different parts of his new body still shifting under the stretching. 'I'll never get used to that,' Keitaro thought, then added, 'but I must admit it does feel kinda nice.'
After a few more, slow, luxurious, cat stretches, Keitaro's stomach rumbled in abject hunger. "In just a bit," Keitaro said as he patted his new toned abs. First thing on Keitaro's priority list was a nice, solid cleansing.
Minutes later, a still hungry, but considerably cleaner Keitaro sank into the hot springs, feeling the warm water envelope his tired female flesh, awakening and warming the skin.
'Another plus - not that I'd wanna STAY this way,' Keitaro thought. A moment later, the door slid open and Motoko and Naru stepped out and started cleaning themselves off. 'Did she remember? Was it just a dream?' Keitaro thought nervously as he looked at Naru's face. Naru made brief eye contact with Keitaro and quickly looked away with a heavy blush. 'Whoops, guess it really happened,' Keitaro thought with a blush of his own, having prayed through his drunken stupor that it was a pleasant, if bizarre dream.
The two girls quickly joined Keitaro in the springs, although Naru still seemed a bit shy of comfortable, and Keitaro, a bit more sure of his control, didn't try to look away from them while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on their faces. Needless to say, his focus slipped occasionally, but for the majority of his bath, his eyes stayed on target.
"Honestly, Kitsune," Motoko announced out of nowhere and she relaxed in the springs, "I cannot comprehend where your figure comes from, especially after the laziness you've displayed. You slept for a whole day."
Keitaro blinked at that. "A whole day?" he asked. 'Surely I didn't sleep for a whole day!' "Well, I was really tired when I got home, that's all," Keitaro answered himself a moment later. "In fact, I hardly remember getting home. Besides, I get some exercises in."
Naru visibly relaxed when she heard who she thought was Kitsune say that. "Well, Motoko-chan's right, Kitsune," Naru asserted, meeting her eyes. "It's not good for you to be drinking and sleeping all the time."
"I'll try to tone it down," Keitaro said to reassure the girls, though he had no control over what the true owner of the body.
***
Kitsune anxiously awaited Keitaro's return in her old room. A friendly exchange between the three other girls could be heard from outside the room, Keitaro seemingly enjoying his position as confidant and free pass to the hot springs. The conversation died down as the two girls went their separate ways back to their rooms and Keitaro opened the door.
"How was your nap?" Kitsune asked wryly, looking Keitaro, who was wearing her body and nothing more than a towel. Keitaro quickly closed the door to avoid anyone seeing them both together.
"Fine I guess," Keitaro answered nervously. "Look, I need to get dressed."
"Ain't nothing I haven't seen before, or owned for that matter," Kitsune pointed out.
"I'm still nervous being alone with this naked body, much less dressing in front of anyone with it," Keitaro pointed out.
"So you've seen it naked a few times, eh?" Kitsune said with a grin and a nudge. "Any good memories?"
"Ye- I mean no, I mean-" Keitaro stammered out.
"Relax," Kitsune said, "I'm not here to give you the 9th in what young guys would do in a hot woman's body. Besides, possession is nine- tenths of the law."
"That's not funny," Keitaro said, alarmed. "Being you is rough. People have a certain expectation of what you act like, not to mention your atrocious drinking habits."
"Oh, it's not nearly as rough as being you," Kitsune rebutted. "I have to do all the chores and if I ever look at one of the other girls the wrong way, they get all mad. My life must seem like a paradise."
"Then why do you drink so much, it's hard wired into your body?" Keitaro asked, point blank.
Kitsune sighed. "You're right. I'm being unfair. People DO expect something out of someone else, and even if my life doesn't seem as harsh as yours, trying to act like me must be hell."
"Grass is always greener," Keitaro mused with an understanding smile. "Anyways, where did you hide that wooden statue?"
"Oh it's at -" Kitsune began.
"Urashima! Tama's in my room again!" Motoko squealed in fear, voice echoing from her room.
"I'll tell you later. Just relax, okay?" Kitsune said as she left the room.
"Okay," Keitaro answered then sighed in frustration as he opened the dresser. "I hope there's at least one T-shirt left to wear."
***
Kitsune rushed up to Motoko's room and saw the Kendo girl still in nothing but a robe, shrieking and standing on a chair. "Ok, where's Tama?" Kitsune asked the frightened warrior girl.
"It's in there!" Motoko shouted, pointing to her closed closet door. Kitsune quietly crept up to the closet, then in a spring-like action slid it open, only to be bombarded by Tama-chan, flying full speed into her face. Off-balance, Kitsune stumbled and hit the legs of the chair that Motoko was standing on and both tumbled down.
Kitsune's vision got dark and she felt something warm and soft against her face, and then heard in her ears an angry yell of "Urashima, you PERVERT! You shall pay for that!" followed by a left hook to the face, sending her spiraling through the roof.
'Forget that, Keitaro DEFINITELY has the harder life,' Kitsune thought bitterly as she sailed into the air.
Regrets and Self Images
It was midnight and Keitaro clumsily walked and giggled, with much help from the very kind man who volunteered to buy so many drinks.
Four A.M. always seemed like a dismal time. A time when only those with self pity and regret would stay awake. It was at 4 a.m. that Keitaro slowly waddled back into the Hinata House. The hours before coming home were a blur of drinking games, karaoke antics, and fighting off an extremely amorous benefactor. In the end, Keitaro felt nothing but a hangover and a dash of self-humiliation.
'Damn, I don't remember half of what happened,' the confused boy thought as he ran his hand on his seething stomach. The contents of sake and whatever the heck was served as food at that bar were long gone after a thorough purging two blocks back, yet Keitaro felt Kitsune's stomach still objecting to whatever treatment it got in the lost hours. The cool wooden floors were a welcome change of texture for Keitaro's bare feet; he'd lost Kitsune's footwear somewhere the night before. A cool breeze blew in from an air conditioner and over Keitaro's bare legs. Shivering, the boy rubbed both of his arms against each other, holding them against the brown sweatshirt he was wearing.
'I need some coffee, a shower, and mouthwash at the same time,' Keitaro thought gloomily as he ran his tongue over Kitsune's straight, yet somewhat grimy teeth. However, the need for cleanliness was lost under a much greater need - one Keitaro became aware of as he stumbled slightly from drowsiness. Wearily, Keitaro slid the door open to his room and saw his old body sleeping in the futon he once occupied but a few days ago.
'Oh that's right - 'Keitaro thought as he slid the door closed again and staggered the steps to Kitsune's door. But before Keitaro could pull the door open, someone else announced his or her presense.
"Kitsune?" a tired, somewhat ruffled Naru asked from the end of the hallway as she squinted at Keitaro. "Up all night partying again?"
"Hehe, you know me," Keitaro weakly confirmed, "always a party somewhere."
"Kitsune, you shouldn't stay out so late, the other girls get worried," Naru chided as she walked towards Keitaro.
"It couldn't be helped," Keitaro answered docilely. "I really don't plan on it. It just kind of happens."
"I know that," Naru said. "You've been like this ever since high school. You don't have to keep this image anymore."
"What someone expects of you is hard to escape," Keitaro pointed out wryly. "I'm stuck in this role, so I might as well enjoy it." Another half- truth, but ironically realistic.
"It's just that you're my closest friend and all," Naru continued, her head turned to the side to try and hide her worried expression. "I'd hate to see something bad happen to you." Keitaro wasn't sure why, but he stepped up to Naru and enclosed the shorter girl in a hug. Naru returned the hug and the warmth of their bodies against each other was reassuring to both.
'Mmm, this feels nice,' Keitaro thought, his mind dazed from the remnants of a hangover and serious sleep deprivation. After what seemed like an eternity of comfort, Keitaro pulled away from the hug and looked down at Naru's reassured, but still saddened face. Then, for no reason or warning, Keitaro bent down gave Naru a gentle but firm kiss on the lips, forgetting exactly which body he was in. Naru, half awake, let the kiss occur with no resistance.
A few seconds later, Keitaro remembered just who he was and pulled away from the sweet kiss. "Good night," Keitaro nervously said.
"G-goodnight," Naru, dazed, returned as she walked off to go back to her room.
Keitaro turned around to face the door and sighed, blushing furiously. 'Why did I do that?' he thought. A good tug and the door slid open and the physically spent Keitaro took a few steps into the room, collapsed face first onto the futon and groaned in pain before rolling onto his back. "Darn it, these things always get in the way," Keitaro grumbled as he tried to rub the pain of his new, recently squished breasts. 'I should stop this,' the boy thought as the pain quickly subsided yet continued rubbing.
The decision on weather or not to stop was made for Keitaro as Kitsune's body quickly fell into the realm of unconsciousness.
***
Kitsune woke up just as the sun was peeking over the horizon and dreaded the day ahead with the instinct of a hunted man. 'How the hell does this guy survive like this?' Kitsune asked herself as she got dressed and ready for the day ahead; the feeling of impending doom lurked as she slid the door open and stepped out in the hall. But something was strange this morning of day: the floors were clean.
Kitsune headed towards the unoccupied hot springs, confused. The entire area was just as clean as she left it the day before. A short jog then over to the kitchen then revealed breakfast was already simmering under the careful eye of Shinobu.
"Good morning, sempai!" Shinobu greeted brightly. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." The young girl maneuvered around the kitchen like a skilled chef, her careful eye on every simmering pot and pan.
Kitsune just stared in wonder, and then remembered that Keitaro didn't spend the majority of EVERY day doing his chores, but usually spread them out over the week while squeezing in time to study. However, during the summer and with no real need to cramp for the entrance exams, Kitsune realized that she gave the appearance of laziness around the others, which in turn made Motoko work her like a horse. Three days straight of chores left the Hinata virtually spotless, and it would stay that way for at least the course of a day, maybe two if she were lucky. and Su didn't break out another mecha-tama.
Shinobu, though, noticed Kitsune's wariness at the door. "Do you want to help me, sempai?" the young girl asked sweetly.
"No, that's all right, I was just thinking. I'll just get the others," Kitsune replied and turned around to walk out of the kitchen.
"All right, but I think Kitsune should get some more rest," Shinobu requested. "She came home awfully late and it is summer, so I think it would be okay if she slept in a little bit."
"I guess," Kitsune said sourly.
***
Breakfast quickly ended and Kitsune washed the dishes with much needed assistance from Shinobu. Kistune sat on the couch and wondered what meaningless task she could undertake to appear busy in the watchful eyes of Motoko, she glanced at the kendo girl and saw a small blush appear on her cheeks as she quickly turned her head away.
"What is it, Urashima?" Motoko asked pointedly. The fear of agitating Motoko quickly made the need to do something.
"N-nothing!" Kitsune hurriedly answered. "It's just- I was wondering where you learned to massage."
"We will NOT talk about that," the kendo girl stated, making the words as solid as stone.
Just then, to save Kitsune's life, Naru stepped in and sighed in relief. "There you are!" the longhaired girl said as she grabbed Kitsune's arm. "C'mon, Keitaro, you wanted me to teach you trig, so you're coming with me!" Naru dragged the befuddled Kitsune all the way to her room and plopped the confused girl at the low table. With an air of great authority, Naru sat down on the other side of the table and slid her glasses up her nose, then opened her textbook. Naru noticed Kitsune still not moving and prodded him with a pencil. "What's wrong, Keitaro?"
"Nothing, nothing at all!" Kitsune stammered as she opened up the trig book. "This page, right?"
Naru just sighed wearily. "Yes, that page. Listen Keitaro, we still have a few weeks before prep. school begins again. We could just blow off the rest of the day."
"That sounds like fun!" Kitsune agreed with a grin. "So where do you want to go?"
"How about bowling?" Naru suggested. Before Kitsune could reply, however, the door slid open, and Motoko, Shinobu, and Su fell down to the floor in a pile.
"Bowling! Is it delicious?" Su asked with a happy smile. Naru exhaled in defeat.
***
"STRIKE!" Su yelled in jubilation and pumped her fist in victory. Everyone else, however, sweat-dropped and looked at the strange foreign girl.
"Su-chan," Naru said, "not many bowl with a bazooka."
"Oh, this little thing?" Su said innocently as she slung the massive cannon over her deceptively slender shoulder.
Kitsune felt his perpetual stress headache returning and reached a hand out to order a pitcher of beer when Motoko grabbed her arm. "Urashima, not in front of Su and Shinobu," the kendo girl warned, serious despite the fact that her traditional garb had been replaced by a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
"My turn," Shinobu volunteered bravely as she stood up and picked up a smaller bowling ball. The cautious girl slowly walked towards the line and released the ball. Slowly, but surely, the ball rolled towards the pins and knocked down eight of them. "Yay!" Shinbou squealed in childish delight, jumping up and clapping before remembering herself.
"That was a very good roll, Shinobu-chan!" Naru congratulated. "It's your turn now, Keitaro."
"Thanks," Kitsune said as she stood up and picked one of the heavier balls. 'Bowling with the group isn't bad I suppose,' the transformed girl thought.
***
The evening steadily rolled on and the Hinata group returned back home after endless frames and pizza. "STRIKE!" Su announced aloud once again as she hung off Motoko's back, full on endorphins and junk-food.
"I hope we didn't stay out too late," Shinobu murmured docilely as she walked lazily to her room.
'Oh well, another evening of studying lost,' Naru thought with a sigh. "Well, I'm heading to bed," the longhaired girl announced as she trudged up the stairs.
"I too have to bid a good evening," Motoko responded as she went her own separate way, Suu still hanging on her back, "good night everyone."
Kitsune, now alone, walked over to her old room and slid the door to see Keitaro still snoozing away in her old body. "You have no idea how lucky you are," Konno Mitsune said to the sleeping Keitaro, and then slid the door shut.
***
Day five slowly crept into Hinata house, the sunlight shone brilliantly over Keitaro's eyes, forcing the slumbering boy turned girl to awaken with a groan. "Is it morning already?" Keitaro was unaware that a full 24 hours had passed as he slumbered. Weakly, this disoriented boy stood up and stretched his tired muscles, feeling the different parts of his new body still shifting under the stretching. 'I'll never get used to that,' Keitaro thought, then added, 'but I must admit it does feel kinda nice.'
After a few more, slow, luxurious, cat stretches, Keitaro's stomach rumbled in abject hunger. "In just a bit," Keitaro said as he patted his new toned abs. First thing on Keitaro's priority list was a nice, solid cleansing.
Minutes later, a still hungry, but considerably cleaner Keitaro sank into the hot springs, feeling the warm water envelope his tired female flesh, awakening and warming the skin.
'Another plus - not that I'd wanna STAY this way,' Keitaro thought. A moment later, the door slid open and Motoko and Naru stepped out and started cleaning themselves off. 'Did she remember? Was it just a dream?' Keitaro thought nervously as he looked at Naru's face. Naru made brief eye contact with Keitaro and quickly looked away with a heavy blush. 'Whoops, guess it really happened,' Keitaro thought with a blush of his own, having prayed through his drunken stupor that it was a pleasant, if bizarre dream.
The two girls quickly joined Keitaro in the springs, although Naru still seemed a bit shy of comfortable, and Keitaro, a bit more sure of his control, didn't try to look away from them while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on their faces. Needless to say, his focus slipped occasionally, but for the majority of his bath, his eyes stayed on target.
"Honestly, Kitsune," Motoko announced out of nowhere and she relaxed in the springs, "I cannot comprehend where your figure comes from, especially after the laziness you've displayed. You slept for a whole day."
Keitaro blinked at that. "A whole day?" he asked. 'Surely I didn't sleep for a whole day!' "Well, I was really tired when I got home, that's all," Keitaro answered himself a moment later. "In fact, I hardly remember getting home. Besides, I get some exercises in."
Naru visibly relaxed when she heard who she thought was Kitsune say that. "Well, Motoko-chan's right, Kitsune," Naru asserted, meeting her eyes. "It's not good for you to be drinking and sleeping all the time."
"I'll try to tone it down," Keitaro said to reassure the girls, though he had no control over what the true owner of the body.
***
Kitsune anxiously awaited Keitaro's return in her old room. A friendly exchange between the three other girls could be heard from outside the room, Keitaro seemingly enjoying his position as confidant and free pass to the hot springs. The conversation died down as the two girls went their separate ways back to their rooms and Keitaro opened the door.
"How was your nap?" Kitsune asked wryly, looking Keitaro, who was wearing her body and nothing more than a towel. Keitaro quickly closed the door to avoid anyone seeing them both together.
"Fine I guess," Keitaro answered nervously. "Look, I need to get dressed."
"Ain't nothing I haven't seen before, or owned for that matter," Kitsune pointed out.
"I'm still nervous being alone with this naked body, much less dressing in front of anyone with it," Keitaro pointed out.
"So you've seen it naked a few times, eh?" Kitsune said with a grin and a nudge. "Any good memories?"
"Ye- I mean no, I mean-" Keitaro stammered out.
"Relax," Kitsune said, "I'm not here to give you the 9th in what young guys would do in a hot woman's body. Besides, possession is nine- tenths of the law."
"That's not funny," Keitaro said, alarmed. "Being you is rough. People have a certain expectation of what you act like, not to mention your atrocious drinking habits."
"Oh, it's not nearly as rough as being you," Kitsune rebutted. "I have to do all the chores and if I ever look at one of the other girls the wrong way, they get all mad. My life must seem like a paradise."
"Then why do you drink so much, it's hard wired into your body?" Keitaro asked, point blank.
Kitsune sighed. "You're right. I'm being unfair. People DO expect something out of someone else, and even if my life doesn't seem as harsh as yours, trying to act like me must be hell."
"Grass is always greener," Keitaro mused with an understanding smile. "Anyways, where did you hide that wooden statue?"
"Oh it's at -" Kitsune began.
"Urashima! Tama's in my room again!" Motoko squealed in fear, voice echoing from her room.
"I'll tell you later. Just relax, okay?" Kitsune said as she left the room.
"Okay," Keitaro answered then sighed in frustration as he opened the dresser. "I hope there's at least one T-shirt left to wear."
***
Kitsune rushed up to Motoko's room and saw the Kendo girl still in nothing but a robe, shrieking and standing on a chair. "Ok, where's Tama?" Kitsune asked the frightened warrior girl.
"It's in there!" Motoko shouted, pointing to her closed closet door. Kitsune quietly crept up to the closet, then in a spring-like action slid it open, only to be bombarded by Tama-chan, flying full speed into her face. Off-balance, Kitsune stumbled and hit the legs of the chair that Motoko was standing on and both tumbled down.
Kitsune's vision got dark and she felt something warm and soft against her face, and then heard in her ears an angry yell of "Urashima, you PERVERT! You shall pay for that!" followed by a left hook to the face, sending her spiraling through the roof.
'Forget that, Keitaro DEFINITELY has the harder life,' Kitsune thought bitterly as she sailed into the air.