Misaki: Yep, they do have the same passion. And I don't think there's anything wrong with being a tomboy, but Aya-chan had a new doll to play with! A Spell: Yep, probably because of Tsuzuki. And the nosebleed is more fun to mention other than that other indicator, which is just plain hentai. Misura: Ken's just fun to pick on, period. XD

I keep getting a request for a certain something to happen… Lemme just say that… I already hd plans on whether I'd do that or not… And as for name… I already had a name before I uploaded this. The name only appears now, because they only thought of it now. Why'd I use this name? It's a little play on something that I might reveal later.

Chapter 3

Omi moved from one side of the shop to the other, carrying two flower pots. She was scowling and mumbling to herself.

"Something wrong, Omi?" Ken asked, keeping his voice low in case there were nearby customers.

"These are kinda heavy…" Omi grumbled.

"Want me to carry them for you?"

"Sure… If you want to have breasts of your own."

Ken made a silly face, "O-oh… I thought you meant the pots…"

Omi set down the pots, still scowling. "How do real girls handle it?"

"Um… They're… probably used to it?"

There was a sudden commotion from the front of the shop. Both teenagers looked up to see that the fangirls have finally arrived.

"Huh?!"

"Wai! Where's Omi-kun?!"

"Who's that girl back there?!"

Omi and Ken both sweatdropped at the fourth of the girls that were whining and complaining. Ran growled a bit at the noise, but didn't yell at them like he used to. Ever since Aya had woken up, he was still quiet and still a biting asshole, but he was easier on everyone.

Some girls finally moved in, and one eagerly tried to catch Ken's attention. "Ken-san!! Who's this?"

"Hai!!" The other girls agreed.

Ken blinked, and took a glance at Omi for her approval. Omi nodded. He sighed and turned back to the girls. "She's… Omi's cousin."

"So where's Omi-kun?!" One of the girls whined.

Ken blanked out for a moment, "Omi? Oh… Um.. He's…" he shot Omi a panicked look. "He's…"

"He's out of town for a while," Omi smiled sweetly at everyone. "Some project for school, apparently. And I'm here to visit some of my friends," she made a very girlish giggle that made Ken raise an eyebrow. "And he let me live in his apartment. In exchange, I have to take care of his job too."

"No way!!"

"You're living with them?!"

"You are so lucky!!"

Omi winced. She didn't see why this was such a big deal.

"So what's your name?" One of the scowling girls asked.

"Um… Name?" Omi blinked.

"Ah!" Ken looked around for help but Aya-chan was still out doing that something with Sakura and Yohji was still nowhere to be found. Ran had caught notice of them and had come closer but didn't look like he was going to lend a hand. Omi still seemed to be thinking.

"Well, her name is… That is…" Ken scratched his head. "Um… O… mi…o……"

"Kasumi!"

Ran raised an eyebrow. Ken blinked and turned to Omi. "Ka… sumi?"

Omi just smiled that sugary sweet smile again. "That's right. My name's Kasumi."

"Omiyo Kasumi?" A girl asked, eyes wide in confusion.

"Oh! No…" Omi laughed and shook her head. "Just Miyo… My name's Miyo Kasumi." She reached up and slapped Ken on the back… hard… "Ken-kun here likes to get a little tongue-tied, doesn't he?"

Ken hacked and coughed, and glared at her, "Right…… Kasumi-chan…"

"Well then, Kasumi!" One of the girls called. Omi looked up. "I'd like to have these flowers. Could you arrange them for me? I hope you can imitate Omi-kun's style… He does the flowers so well…"

Omi smiled as she took the flowers, "It won't be a problem."

"I'll go handle the other customers, I guess," Ken moved away from her. Ran nodded before following.

Omi set herself down at the table. She hadn't been able to work long when it happened. There was a tap on her shoulder. Omi looked up. There were three girls standing there. And they didn't look friendly.

"Hey, there… Kasumi……" one of them snarled.

Omi didn't like the look on her face, nor the sound of her voice. Still, she tried to smile, "Oh… Um… May I help you with something?"

The girl laughed, snidely. So did the other girls. They started moving in.

Omi abandoned the arrangement she was working on and shrank away, backing into a wall. She looked up desperately, but Ran was tending to a customer and Ken was too far to see what was happening. She looked back at the girls.

"No help needed. We just wanted… a little chat," The girl said sweetly. Almost too sweetly. "I'm Rika. And these are Hikari and Tsubame."

"See… We've been going to this shop way too long…" Tsubame said. "Far too long, trying to get these guys to notice us."

"You understand, of course?" Hikari nodded. "They're all way too gorgeous to pass up."

"But, then you come waltzing in… just like that!"

"As if you actually belonged here!"

"And holding up those melons like a total slut!"

Omi sweatdropped. She didn't know she was holding up "those melons". Frankly, she was usually just standing there. Was it supposed to be a crime for girls to do it in the presence of other rabid girls? This… "holding up of melons"?!

Wait a minute… Melons?? She blinked and looked down. They aren't that big are they??

"You're moving in on our territory, Kasumi-chan­."

"We don't like that."

Omi temporarily wondered if Aya and Sakura went through this.

"So we're going to get some things straight." Rika, apparently their ringleader, smirked.

"Yohji's mine…" said Hikari. Figured. She seemed to be the oldest.

"Aya-san belongs to me…" said Tsubame.

A smirk was still on Rika's face as she concluded. "So that leaves Ken for me. If you make a move on any of them, you are going down. Simple enough for you?"

Omi blinked around at them. A sudden, insane thought came to her. She had no idea why she asked. But she asked anyway.

"None of you like m-… Omi…?" She wasn't sure if she should feel grateful or insulted.

"Omi?" Tsubame laughed.

Rika rolled her eyes. "Omi's way below us… he's such a whiny baby…"

"We're after the more mature type…" Hikari looked at her nails, "Much more mature."

Okay… Now, Omi knew she felt insulted.

"I am not a whiny baby!"

The three girls blinked at her.

"……… he…" Omi mentally slapped herself for the slip-up. "He doesn't whine and he's no baby!! I'm sorry to hear you think that of m- him! And just so you know, I'm not interested in any of the others. They're like my brothers!" When the girls raised suspicious eyebrows, she corrected herself again with another mental slap. "… even though I've only known them for some time, but it feels like I've known them for much longer." She shook her head, sadly. "And I feel so sorry for Aya-chan and Sakura-chan, knowing that they've gone through the same thing that I have just now."

"Aya's sister? And Tomoe?"

The girls looked at each other, and laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing… It's ridiculous that you should pity them. It's a little… misplaced."

"We didn't need to have a talk with them."

Omi stared again, "Why not?"

Rika narrowed her eyes. She stepped forward and jabbed a finger at Omi. "See…" she looked at Omi, starting from her feet and up to her face. "They weren't that much of a threat."

Omi gaped, aghast. Especially when she had seen that the girl's scrutiny had lingered on her chest for a moment longer than the rest. Of all the superficial…

"Listen here," she growled. "You have no right to say that about them. It's not as if you girls are anything special, unlike my two friends! They are much better than you!"

The three girls gaped. Hikari looked to say something but Omi had already continued.

"And I refuse to take all this crap from you. Ken-kun, Yohji-kun and Aya-kun are all great guys and they all deserve people much better than you. They –  and Omi – are all way above the likes of you."

Rika scoffed, "We'll see about that."

"Om-…Kasumi-chan?"

All four girls turned to see Ken had arrived. Rika immediately smiled sweetly at him. "Ken-san! So glad you could be here!"

Ken raised an eyebrow at the girl and then turned to Omi. "Is everything all right here, Kasumi-chan?"

"Oh don't worry, Ken-kun!" Omi faked a laugh. "Everything's perfectly under control." She frowned, "Nee, girls?"

Rika glared back. "Right. We were just leaving…" she looked up and smiled again at Ken. "We hope we could come by again later, Ken-san!"

The other two girls nodded. Tsubame paused to wave at Ran on the way out. The redhead appeared to have ignored her.

"You okay, Omittchi?" Ken asked in a low voice as soon as the girls were out of sight.

"I'm fine," Omi muttered. "You be careful of that Rika." She moved back to the table she had been working at. "I'm finishing that arrangement and I'm outta here."

"Why?"

"Ken-kun, the longer I stay here, the more a catfight could happen." Omi scowled and folded her arms, "Apparently, I'm a threat to these girls' territories."

Ken blinked, "Why would that be?"

Omi raised an eyebrow at him, then pointed to her own chest. "These have officially been referred to as 'melons'."

An awkward cough. "I-I see…"

"I'm done here," Omi picked up the bouquet she just crafted. "Could you give these to the girl who asked for them? Tell her Kasumi's sure that Omi would've been glad to do it if he was here."

She smiled when Ken smiled. "And when Aya-chan comes back, tell her I'm really sorry I couldn't stay out here longer. I'll probably just hide out upstairs until the coast's clear again."

Ken took the bouquet and saluted, "You can count on me, sir… uh… ma'am… no wait! Sir!" he grinned, sheepishly. "Ah whatever."

Omi rolled her eyes and grinned back, "We can talk later if you want."

"You know I always expect you up there."

Omi waved goodbye again and left.

-----*-----

She really didn't come down for the rest of the day, which was probably a good thing because the shop was packed to the time that they closed.

Aya and Sakura were disappointed when they had returned from their project. Apparently, they wanted to keep Omi on display for everyone. Aya let Ken go off ahead while she, Sakura and Ran finished up. Yohji was still nowhere to be found at that point. They all assumed that he was out on yet another one of his 'hot dates'.

So Ken spent the rest of the afternoon, bumming in his apartment. He wasn't sure if he should check on Omi. And besides, he was scared of barging in on her while she was indecent.

It wasn't really a problem before, but that was when they were both 'he's.

Not that he'd actually done it though.

Ken lay back on his bed. He really wasn't able to sleep. This whole thing with Omi and 'Kasumi' was just weighing too much on his mind. Not to mention that he was starting to find Omi quite attractive.

He shook his head. Bad idea, he told himself. Very bad idea to get attracted to your best friend. Your male best friend, I might add. Him being a girl now will not change a thing.

Though…… 'Kasumi' is still pretty hot.

There was a soft knock on his door, interrupting his thoughts. "Come in!"

"Ken-kun?" a small voice said as the door opened. Speaking of 'Kasumi'. Noone else came into his apartment at this time, after all.

Ken tilted his head towards the newcomer, "Hai, Om-…………"

He almost fell out of the bed from the sight at his door. Now, it really wasn't much of a bad thing. Omi was wearing a very loose sleeveless shirt and a pair of the usual tiny tight shorts.

Under normal circumstances, Ken wouldn't have minded at all. It was a hot night and Omi probably just wanted to keep cool while sleeping. And Omi always came up when he couldn't sleep and wanted some night time company.

But considering that there was way too much leg, that those hips were jutting out way too sexily, and Omi's chest seemed like it was going to pop out from the top of his… HER!… shirt…

Ken realized these definitely weren't normal circumstances…

Obliviously, Omi came in, "Ken-kun? Something wrong?"

"N-no! O-of course not!" Ken sat up, still watching his best friend come on. Somehow, his eyes kept straying from Omi's face. "O-omi… did you h-have to wear that?"

"It's hot!" Omi pouted, her lips pursed together. She climbed into the bed and sat in front of Ken, cross-legged. Ken's throat dried up a bit.

"Wh-what are you doing up here?"

"I can't sleep. What's wrong? I always come up here when I can't sleep at this time, don't I? And I told you that I was coming up, just this morning."

"U-uh…" Ken's eyes left Omi's face again. "Y-you went up here… wearing just that??"

Omi tilted her head. "What's wrong with doing that?"

"Omi…" Ken swallowed a bit, trying to resist his hormones. "In case you forgot... You're a girl now… You're kinda… putting yourself on display…"

Omi's eyes widened. "O-oh!" she looked down as she just realized it now. "Oops."

"I-it's all right…" The brunette coughed. "L-looks like I'll have to get used to it."

"Yeah, you better." Omi warned him. Then she patted him in concern.  "So, how's your head?"

"Fine, cept that you've been pounding on it."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I never realized you were a hentai before, Ken-kun."

"Hey! I was shocked all right? You have your best friend turn into a girl!"

Omi made a lopsided grin, "It's funny imagining you as a girl, Ken-kun. I don't think you'd make a very good one though."

"Heeyyy…" Ken narrowed his eyes. "And you're saying you'd do a better job? Kasumi?"

"As a matter of fact, I think I've done quite well for my first day," she said, smugly.

"……… Yeah, I guess you're right. You actually make a really great girl, Omi."

Omi frowned. "Okay. Now I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted."

Ken laughed and poked her nose. "Take it as a compliment, Omi. Just don't overdo it, okay?" He thought for a moment longer, eying Omi up and down again. "Hm… There are some advantages to this…"

"Like what?"

The grin on Ken's face was quite evil. "Like… What's it like being a girl? You gotta tell me everything."

Omi rolled her eyes. "You really are a hentai."

"Apparently, you guys have already established that," Ken frowned. "Come on! Some guys are curious you know."

Omi finally smiled at that. "Okay …" she thought for a moment. "Weeelll… you already know about the breasts being uncomfortable. Sure guys think they look great, but I can't stand having them!"

Ken laughed.

"It's also kinda awkward having to sit down to take a piss," Omi continued.

"I could imagine!" Ken stuck out his tongue.

"Maybe not all girls are like this, but some are very easily threatened by new girls. And they like to exaggerate. I hope."

"Like those ones you saw earlier?"

"Don't remind me!" Omi grinned again. "And though a skirt can be a little uncomfortable at first, it is kinda breezy to wear one."

Ken almost fell backward, trying hard not to laugh. Omi rolled her eyes, waiting for Ken to sober up again.

"Anything else?" Ken asked as one of the sleeves fell over Omi's shoulder. He watched it… then his gaze wandered down a little lower…

Omi frowned a bit. "I've confirmed that guys really do stare at breasts too much."

Ken flinched and forced himself to look back up at Omi's face. "Sorry."

She sighed. "It's okay, I guess. Probably another thing I'm supposed to get used to."

"Maybe," Ken agreed as he lay down, folding his arms behind his head.

Omi sighed and lay down beside him. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Ken-kun?"

"Yep?"

"This whole me-turning-into-a-girl thing… It's not gonna affect our friendship, right?"

"Nah," Ken shook his head fiercely. "No way I wanna ruin that."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course I am."

There was a sort of silence between them for a while.

Omi finally sighed again, "I'm sorry, Ken-kun! It's just that… this is kind of a big thing, isn't it? There's gonna be a lot of changes, and probably a lot of ridiculous things and it's just going to be crazy!"

"Omi," Ken sighed too. "We're gonna be there, all right? There's me, and Yohji, and Aya… even Sakura-chan and Aya-chan!"

"… yeah…"

"So don't worry too much," he turned to her and smiled. "Hey, if it helps, I'll be there for ya the whole time, even if I do get bruised more often."

Omi giggled a bit. "I'll stop bruising you if you stop staring."

He rolled his eyes. "I'll try, okay? Anyway, Omi. If you need anything, just ask, and I'll do it."

"Anything? You promise?"

"Sure, why not?"

Omi grinned and hugged him. "Thanks, Ken-kun."

Ken smiled and hugged back for a while, then made a face when something soft came into contact with his chest. "Err… Omi… This… might not be a good idea…"

"Hm?" Omi looked down and eeped. "Oh right!" She moved away from him, fixing her shirt and folding her arms across her chest.

"M-maybe… I should sleep on the floor for tonight."

"G-good idea!"

Ken got off of the bed and went to his closet for his spare mat, blanket and pillow. He came back, dropped his stuff on the floor by the bed and turned to Omi. "Hey, Omi-……"

He trailed off when he realized that Omi had fallen asleep. Ken shook his head. Poor kid must have been tired already, and was just unable to sleep in her own place.

Ken laid out his stuff and looked back up at Omi on his bed. She was curled up tightly, murmuring soft nonsense to the air around her. He smiled a bit, reached up and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.

"Oyasumi, Omi."

-----*-----

Those last four paragraphs were not supposed to happen… *beats up her muses* Then again, I couldn't think of another way to end the chapter. *revives muses again*

I don't own Mata Natsu ga Kita, btw. You'll understand why I mentioned this soon.

omiclones@hotmail.com