Sunlight streamed through the large window in Hideki's apartment right onto his face. Twitching slightly, Hideki's rolled over sleepily and hugged Chii to his body. His right hand moved up from her waist to stroke her soft, silky hair which was… short?!
Hideki's eyes snapped open and he clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from yelling as he gazed at the sleeping girl next to him. Where was Chii? Then he remembered. The accident, the hospital, Yuki… Hideki sighed heavily and settled himself back down, propping himself up with his left arm. He watched Chii sleep, her chest rising and falling softly as she breathed in and out. Hideki was glad he hadn't awoken her, because now that Chii was human, she needed sleep just as much as he did.
Chii moved in her sleep, her mouth opening slightly.
In the past, such a sight usually moved Hideki to much excitement, but now he could only watch, entranced. Feeling sunlight on her face, Chii frowned in her sleep and reached out to Hideki, pulling on his shirt as she hid her face in it. Hideki gently moved closer to the sleeping girl and embraced her. He put his nose in her hair, smelling the way she smelled like a human girl now. His fingers gently traced the contours of her face, shaking with the effort of keeping his touch feather-light so that she didn't awake.
It was miraculous, this new Chii. She was still Chii inside, but the face she now wore didn't belong to her. When she was awake, Hideki saw Chii clearly through the girl's expressions and the way she talked, but when he saw her asleep… Chii was entirely gone, and it was only Yuki that remained.
"Chii. Chii, wake up." Hideki shook Chii gently, feeling the desperate need to assure himself that Chii wasn't gone, that she was really there, with him.
Chii's eyes opened slowly, then closed, then opened again. "Chi?" she said, as her eyes focused on Hideki's face. "Hideki!" She smiled, radiant in her happiness to see him.
"Chii, I love you," said Hideki suddenly, fiercely hugging Chii.
Chii was confused, and still somewhat asleep, but she hugged Hideki back gladly. "Hideki? What is the matter? Hideki is sad?"
Hideki shook his head, not letting her go. "No Chii, I'm not sad. I was just…. Afraid. Afraid you might be gone." He let her go and took a deep breath.
Chii stood up, smiling down at him. "Chii isn't gone. Chii is right here!" She twirled to show him just how much she was there, causing her night-shirt to flare up, flashing Hideki a full view of her white undies, complete with little pink bow.
"Chii!" said Hideki, getting up. "Come on, let's get dressed."
Chii nodded and started to pull her shirt up, causing Hideki to yell out for her to stop.
"Chi?" she asked, tilting her head confusedly. Since the night when they'd told each other of their love Chii had gotten used to changing in front of him without causing him any embarrassment.
"Chii, we can't do that for a while. Here, I'll turn my back and you change."
Chii nodded, confused but not really minding. When Hideki's back was turned she took off her shirt and pulled on the dress she'd gotten out of her closet. Chii's dress was white and fluffy, with a full knee-length skirt and fitted bodices. Slim pink ribbons laced up the front of the dress, but when she tried to laced it closed, she encountered a problem.
"Hideki," she said, unsure as to what to do now.
Hideki turned around and swallowed quickly. Chii's dress was unlaced in the front, and Hideki could immediately see why she'd stopped. Chii's original body had been slim and petite, and Chii had been perfectly proportioned. Yuki however, was taller than Chii had been, and somewhat fuller in the chest and hips. Where Chii's dress had comfortably laced up before, it now lay open, a lot of cleavage being visible.
"Chii cannot put on her dress," said Chii, trying to tie the ribbons tighter.
Although Hideki's hands were shaking a little, with his help they managed to tie the dress more or less closed. Although the dress was still obviously too small for her, at least she no longer brought to mind images of street-walkers.
Feeling his stomach rumble and presuming Chii must be hungry too, Hideki and Chii sat down to their breakfast, and got through it more or less without mishap. Afterwards, Hideki decided to take Chii to visit Yuki's mother. Part of his reason for the visit was to assure Mrs. Koishikawa of her daughter's well-being, but the bigger part was that he wanted to borrow some of Yuki's own clothing so that Chii could be properly dressed.