Not Unlike You

Chapter 9

Multiple tapping noises woke Miia up earlier than expected. It sounded as if Centorea was running in place down the hall. Now awake (and grumpy), Miia slithered out of bed and went out to inspect what could have interrupted her beauty sleep. To her surprise, the noise was coming from Adam's room, along with music in a language she could only assume was German, from the sound of it.

Of all the things she thought she would see upon opening the door, Miia didn't expect to see her Darling dancing around his room with what looked like a shrunken Suu.

The song ended, and before Adam could open his water bottle, he looked to his doorway, Miia clapping at his display of fancy footwork. "Darling, I didn't know you could dance. Why didn't you tell me?"

Adam, for the first time in a long while, looked at his feet sheepishly, his cheeks pink from being caught. "You never asked. Besides, while she's shorter, I thought I'd take the opportunity to teach Suu some skills she may need to know in the future."

Quirking an eyebrow, Miia approached Suu and inspected her. "Huh. I definitely remember her being taller than you yesterday." She then looked down and noticed that her bust was no longer dwarfed by the short Slime in front of her. Suu had definitely been "stacked" before.

"But why is she so small now?"

Adam suddenly put his hands on Miia's shoulders and led her towards the bed, motioning for her to take a seat. Next, he pulled a music stand and a medium whiteboard from his closet, with marker included. Within the span of one minute, Adam had drawn out what looked like Suu, rain, and various scientific formulas and diagrams that Miia couldn't wrap her head around.

"Suu has a viscous-like body structure that expands and contracts in accordance with how much liquid she takes in, but too much could possibly spell dissolution, if my tests were correct." Adam began to ramble on and on about how fascinating Suu's body was. While Miia was getting the answers she wanted, she also began to get jealous at how Adam was gushing about another woman that wasn't her.

Quicker than Adam could react, Miia snatched the young man with her tail and pulled him into a coiled-up hug on his bed; his face firmly pressed into her bosom. "What about my body, Darling? Isn't there anything you'd like to test on me?"

If he were any other man, he probably would have reached for her breasts and gone to town on the beautiful woman holding him close. Funny enough, he was not any other man. Adam hummed in thought for a few moments, unintentionally sending a pleasurable sensation through Miia's mammaries. "From what I can tell, your hair and tail match in color, your skin is very soft, and you never have body odor issues. You always smell like flowers, of which I am quite jealous." All of his praise was making Miia smile and blush like crazy.

"Oh Darling, you flatterer!" She planted a big kiss on his forehead and proceeded to rock back and forth in a state of utter joy. Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived, as who should appear at that very moment but Yukino, armed with two ice packs, as had (recently) become traditional.

After getting Miia away from her brother, Yukino dragged the shivering Lamia downstairs for breakfast. Meanwhile, back in Adam's room: he touched his forehead where Miia had kissed it, wondering why she did that. He hadn't done anything besides speak his mind, and yet she showed him a sign of affection like that. Confusing. Adam didn't understand.

With a tug on his pajama pants, Gregory retrieved Adam's attention, and led the way downstairs, distracting Adam from the strange train of thought he was about to wander down. Halfway down the stairs, a familiar scent hit Adam full in the nose, causing him to stop. His eyes widened, and he leapt the rest of the way down before running into the kitchen on all fours with Gregory and Suu following suit. What he found was worth the rush as he sniffed, stood up straight, and found a big stack of pancakes waiting for him at the table. Looking back at his sister, Adam tilted his head in confusion, much like a dog would.

"Surprised? It has been a while since we had pancakes, and I know that I can't make them as good as the old man, but I'd like to think I come close. Now hurry and set out the utensils, I've got a few more stacks coming up, and I expect to see a place set up for everyone."

A few minutes later, everyone was sitting at the table, enjoying their own stacks of flapjacks. Centorea didn't normally eat much besides fruit and vegetables, but the flavor in each bite had her considering trying something different more often. Miia had pancakes a few times in her childhood, and those times were quickly overshadowed by what was in front of her.

Gregory sat in his chair, munching food from his bowl, occasionally glancing up and around the table at everyone before grunting in satisfaction and resuming his meal.

Suu looked down at her plate, wondering what to do with the things that everyone else was shoving in their mouths. Her pseudopod waved back and forth atop her noggin before smacking Adam on the side of his head by accident. Something akin to realization hit her, and she picked up her utensils before digging into her breakfast with gusto.

The pancakes were delicious, Adam would admit, but unlike when his dad cooked them, there was something in them that just made the experience of eating them more enjoyable. Of course, being surrounded by those that cared about him in one form or another probably had something to do with it.

After breakfast, Yukino brought up the issue of Suu's lack of outfit. While appearing naked, her epidermal layer showed no extra features that would immediately indicate nudity. Either way, she couldn't go outside without something on, and to her knowledge, she didn't know if regular clothing would stay on Suu, with her being a slime and all. Adam pondered on this for few seconds before an idea struck him like lightning. Hastily, he ran for his shed in the backyard. Multiple knocks, some clangs and clinks, and many more noises emanated from Adam's small workspace. Centorea and Miia looked to where Adam ran and then back to Yukino, hoping for an explanation.

"He hasn't done this in a while, but back in the United States, he used to tinker and build all sorts of little gadgets to make us all smile. What he didn't make, he would draw out and write notes so he could remember to build it later. Before me and Mom came home to take care of my grandparents, he made a glove with a crossbow attachment for me. Of course, I had to have it mailed here since security at the airport was a bitch and a half. But I still have it. It's just locked up in a safe in my closet until I need it. So don't worry and just let this run its course. He'll be done before you know it, and we'll be pleasantly surprised."

While Adam kept himself busy, everyone went about their morning as usual. Yukino went to work, Centorea continued her training in the backyard, Miia joined her before getting bored and going to play the PS4, and Gregory went around to the front yard to keep a vigil eye on things until Adam was done with whatever he was doing. The neighborhood was relatively quiet, so there wasn't much for Gregory to see. The only thing of note was his next door neighbor, Ryuki, a black and white domestic short hair cat, sleeping atop the wall that separated their respective yards.

Before he got completely bored, he heard a tapping of paws on pavement and saw a member of The Watch that he hadn't seen in some time: his elder by 2 years, a black and brown Tibetan Mastiff named Allison. Unlike the other pets that made up The Watch, Allison rarely came by unless trouble was afoot, which was too bad, as Gregory had developed a slight crush on her, and loved having her around.

Pleasantries were exchanged as the two chatted in their doggish way.

Turns out that some weird, short, and hairy human had moved in next to her home recently, and she keeps seeing strange shadows on his roof too.

While disturbing, Gregory couldn't climb on a roof to save his life. He decided to ask one of his cat friends to check it out later, a decision that got him a playful paw to the head from Allison. They spent a few more minutes chatting about their humans and other such things before ending their meeting with a one-two stamp on the ground.

Heading back around the house, he saw that the workshop door was open, meaning that Adam had finished his project and was probably inside the house again. Indeed he was, as Adam was showing off his new project in the living room to a captive audience.

"Everyone. I have devised a simple solution to temporarily help with Suu having nothing to wear. Behold, Suu's Adaptable Undetectable Carrier of Excellence, or S.A.U.C.E. for short." Nothing was said as they all stared at what looked like a heavily modified backpack with more zippers than what could be deemed necessary. "Inside, S.A.U.C.E. is lined with a light coating of spray-on rubber, preventing Suu from soaking through the bag, and all the zippers open from inside and out, which will let her have a view from multiple angles whenever she wants. She'll be safe to observe the world around her, and we can keep a close eye on her wherever we go. Not to mention, I made sure to adjust it so everyone here can wear it, including Gregory."

Miia thought it could've been more fashionable, Centorea remarked on its design being non-obstructive for freedom of movement, and Gregory just sniffed it before flopping on the couch next to Miia and proceeded to take a nap. Adam grunted in frustration. "It was designed to be functional. At least you understood that, Cerea." Glowing from the praise received, Centorea was quickly overshadowed by a jealous Miia. "Hey Darling, why don't we take Suu on a tour of the local sights?"

So the intrepid group of mismatched housemates set out once again, this time to give a Slime a better understanding of her surroundings. Adam had forgotten his blindfold, though paid it no mind as Suu poked her head out of the bag while everyone pointed stuff out to her. She was mesmerized by all the sights and sounds, but her attention span was quite the short one.

Eventually, they all stopped for a short break, re-hydrating from a nearby vending machine. Suu ended up drinking so much that her bag felt a tad heavier than earlier, letting Adam know that her physical mass had increased once more. Unfortunately, this had left Suu with very little room to maneuver, so she just kept her head poked out of the topmost hole of the bag, resting her pseudopod on Adam's head.

"Oh shit, not you again!" That voice. Annoying, grating on the ears, and as obnoxious as ever. The punk from before in all his tan non-glory and ugly girlfriend had deigned to grace the public eye once again. "Got more freaks to surround your ugly ass with, huh? Makes sense, cuz no one else could get your creepy bones up, eh? Hahahaha!"

Adam just turned to stare this pathetic excuse of human waste in what eye contact he could muster. "Would it kill you to come up with some new material? Or are you trying to live vicariously through my so-called 'sex life' because you can't look your lady friend in the eye without wanting to vomit from the excess amount of makeup and perfume she needs to maintain some illusion of beauty, as I'm sure you've noticed that whatever she looked like before has probably been ruined by money spent so frivolously from your own pocket."

Everybody within hearing radius just stopped and stared at the confrontation happening. Some schoolgirls nearby had covered their mouths to keep from bursting out laughing, and others didn't even attempt to hide their enjoyment at the well thought out comeback, like the local handyman, who just walked by and high-fived Adam before moving on.

Turning his back on the idiots that seemed to be stalking him, Adam leaned down and unclipped Gregory's leash before turning back, hearing someones heavy footfalls approaching. Stupidity must run deep, because this punk, once again, decided to try and pick a fight, not expecting any retaliation. Big mistake.

With a twist and flick of the wrist, Adam sent the heavy metal clip of the leash into the idiot's forehead before beginning a flurry of whip strikes with his impromptu weapon. It was like a dance of both grace and violence, and no one dared to try and stop it. Miia had stars in her eyes at the display, and Centorea couldn't help but feel a familiar warmth in her bosom, her admiration for her Noble Master growing even more.

Like a one-sided massacre, it ended all too soon with one idiot down, his girlfriend nowhere to be seen, and the applause of a few bystanders, both human and otherwise. The glorious moment was interrupted by a whistle in the distance. A police officer was riding towards the scene on his bike, which meant a scene was about to be made more stressful, and Adam couldn't handle that, so he hopped on Centorea's back before the group cheesed it.

Once home, Miia went on a tirade about how cool Adam was standing up for them, which only stopped after a loud growl was heard. Turns out, the excitement of the moment had made everyone hungry, so Adam decided to prep some popcorn and have everyone rest in the living room until he brought everyone their own bowl. Some chill time was definitely needed, so what better way to relax than with popcorn and anime?

"Okay everyone, we've got plenty of options to choose from, so any suggestions on what to watch?"

Before options could be had, there was knock on the door. Excusing himself, Adam soon came back with a package in hand. Inside was a familiar DVD box set, and a letter trapped on top of it with a rubber band. As Adam took the letter, he handed the box set to Centorea. It was the entire Monty Python's Flying Circus series, which meant nothing to her as this was her first time seeing it in any form. Setting it down, Centorea looked toward Adam and was surprised at what she was seeing.

Adam's eyes were as wide as any of them had ever seen, his mouth was curled in the biggest smile possible, and tears were pouring down his face at an astonishing rate. "Master?" Centorea reached out to him, but was caught by surprise when Adam turned and hugged her tighter than anything she ever felt before. The letter slowly floated to the floor, landing at Gregory's paws. It only read two words.

He's Awake.

Author's Note

Thanks for waiting guys. This chapters been a long time coming. Though if I had to be honest, it would have come out sooner if I had a lot more reviews to read over. Nothing like "So good, want more" or anything like that, but actual well thought out opinions of my story and how much you like or dislike certain aspects of it. Reviews fuel me, and if you want more chapters in the future, you'll remember this.