"What… what the hell?!"
Three girls stepped from the swirl in space to arrive on the sandy shores of the Seablock. Kat, ignoring Maomao's shock for the moment, looked around with a grin. "Woah, it's bigger now! And green!"
Sure enough, their little island had transformed while they were gone. Thin reed-like grass grew in an area equal in size to what the island had been before. But, as if it had been pushed out by the grass growing from the center, a healthy sandy shore surrounded the plant life, effectively doubling the diameter of the island.
Completing the look was a handful of palm trees spread across the island. Kat made for the nearest tree, wrapped her hands around it, and planted her feet before shimmying up the few feet she needed to reach the fruit at the top, which was a large number of small yellow fruit clustered together.
Kat jumped back down, her prize in hand. "Grapes?" she asked.
"Those appear to be dates, in their unripe form," Ruru explained.
"No, seriously, what is going on? Did you guys drug me? No, I would have noticed that." Maomao was freaking out, looking all around at the ocean all around them.
"Unripe? Does that mean we can't eat them?" Kat asked with a frown.
Ruru shook her head. "On the contrary, they are quite edible. They have a high sugar content but are very nutritious."
"A dream, that's it!" Maomao declared. "This is just a dream, I'm still sleeping in the cell, and when I wake up they're going to hang me."
"...should we not explain the situation to her?" Ruru asked.
"Just let her get it out of her system for now," Kat replied distractedly as she pulled one of the small fruits off of the cluster. It was much more firm than a grape or tomato, being closer to an apple. She placed it between her teeth and bit down on it.
The flesh of it was crunchy and the taste was sweet, like a pear. But then her teeth hit something hard, and she pulled the fruit out to discover a half uncovered seed that was in the middle of the fruit.
"Gah. It's good, but that's a big seed." She pulled it out from the fruit and popped the rest of the date into her mouth.
"Date seeds can be used in numerous ways if processed correctly," Ruru explained. "Traditionally they are used for animal feed, but recent studies have shown they have potential medicinal properties-"
"Did someone say medicinal properties?" Maomao cut in, instantly appearing at their side, eyes latched onto the seed that Kat was holding.
Kat jumped in surprise. "Jesus, girl, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"
"What kind of medicinal properties?" Maomao asked, ignoring her in favor of interrogating Ruru.
"In its powdered form, it can alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation while increasing performance during high intensity cardiovascular training," Ruru explained. "Those same properties can be used to help aid those with certain cardiovascular issues and provide some minor relief of symptoms."
"Ooooh," the smaller girl replied as she turned to face the date seed in Kat's hand, eyes twinkling. She suddenly reached out and snatched it from Kat before turning and looking around.
"I need a mortar! Or even just some rocks!" She started rushing around the island, combing through the grass and sand as she looked for rocks.
"...this behavior is quite abnormal," Ruru commented as she watched her.
"Nah, this is pretty normal," Kat disagreed. "Everyone's got something they're passionate about, right? For her, it's drugs." Kat paused. "Okay, she's maybe a little weird, but that's what makes her fun!"
"How are there no rocks anywhere?" Maomao complained from across the island, hands digging through the sand.
"There aren't any under the water either!" Kat called out before she got any ideas about searching there.
Maomao sighed and pushed herself to her feet before making her way back to the others. "Do you have anything I can use to grind these?"
Kat looked to Ruru. "I could crush them into a fine powder using my hands, but the seeds must be dried and roasted before being ground for best results."
"That sounds like a good excuse to get a campfire going to me!" Kat replied cheerfully.
"Palm trees do not make for very good firewood," Ruru pointed out.
Kat shrugged. "Well, we don't have any other options, so we'll just have to make do."
"...are you sure it's a good idea to be turning one of the few trees around into firewood?" Maomao asked, tone more serious now that she'd calmed down a bit and the promise of new medicine was further out of reach.
"I mean, the reward said they'd grow super fast, right?" Kat replied, looking at Ruru.
"That is correct, though a specific time frame was not mentioned," Ruru confirmed. "I suggest attempting to plant a tree to see how fast it grows before cutting one down."
Maomao looked at the two of them, confused. "I mean, no matter how fast it grows, it will still be months, right?"
Kat grinned. "Did you already forget how we got here?"
Maomao's eyes widened, but then her brow furrowed. "Right. Dreaming."
"No, you're not dreaming." Kat rolled her eyes. "I guess we should probably actually explain things."
Kat handed the bunch of dates to Maomao and then quickly climbed up another tree to get another one for herself. Then all three of them sat down next to the grass, which was too tall to comfortably sit in, and started snacking on the fruits while Kat tried to explain the Catalog and what was going on, with occasional assistance from Ruru for the parts that Kat didn't understand very well herself.
They were less than successful.
Maomao sat on the sand with her lower legs folded under her, her face in her hands as she rubbed at her forehead. "So… you work for slavers?"
"Yep," Kat nodded casually.
"But like… really powerful slavers, more so than any emperor to ever exist," Maomao continued. "Slavers with resources that go to… different worlds?"
"I know the different worlds thing is probably a lot. I don't really fully get it either. How did Miss Liddel explain it again? 'Come up with a world in your head with any rules you want, and that world exists'."
"It already exists, or you make it?"
"It already exists… I think? Ruru?"
"My databases do not contain any information on the specific nature of the greater omniverse."
"We'll just say it already exists. So like… there's a world filled with nothing but beaches and girls in bikinis."
Maomao looked around. "Is that… this world?"
"Not yet, but I'm working on it!"
The apothecary gave Kat a look, but then shook her head. "Right. Getting back on topic. You two go to these worlds and… do things?"
"Whatever it is we've been hired to do by the client, yeah."
"And… that man hired you to save me?"
"Yep. That was our first job actually, and it was pretty exciting."
Maomao lifted her head back up and met Kat's gaze. "...how much did he pay?"
Kat shrugged. "We don't make the deals, our boss, or someone that works for her I guess, does that and collects payment. We're just the ones that get sent in."
"The Company has little use for most currencies, so it is likely that he made an agreement that did not involve money," Ruru added.
"He didn't seem regretful or anything. But he did feel… resigned, I guess." Kat cocked her head, trying to remember. "He didn't mention anything about the price though, and I didn't ask. Feels unprofessional, you know?"
Maomao sighed and then shook her head. "Nevermind. More importantly, why did you take me back with you? I can't say I'm very interested in being a slaver."
"Eh, we don't really do much with that part of things," Kat shrugged. "Except for the girls who join me, like you!"
"Technically speaking, you have yet to capture Maomao," Ruru pointed out. "Her presence here is not enough to count her among your retinue."
"Oh right! Ruru, give her a bracelet!"
Ruru dutifully materialized a Tempest Jewelry bracelet, one of the five they had stored in Kat's Pocket Space, and offered it to Maomao.
Maomao made no move to take it though, she just looked at it before looking back at the two of them. "Seriously? You want me to put on the magic bracelet that makes me your slave?"
"...yes?" Kat replied, unsure.
Maomao considered herself to be a realist. You didn't grow up in the red light district without being exposed to the cruel reality of the world that normally got swept out of sight. She'd gotten used to it, you could say, and never found it worth trying to rage at or fight against. She didn't just lay down and accept defeat, she took steps to protect herself where possible. But she knew there were times where going with the flow was better than fighting against it.
Being kidnapped and sold to the Imperial Palace was one of those times. She technically hadn't been a slave, but the distinction was a fine one measured only in the coin they paid her, some of which went directly to her kidnappers. And it was a limited time contract, so while it was far from ideal, she had accepted her fate without a fuss. Better to endure it and then go back home rather than try to escape or fight it and earn nothing except for a beating, or worse.
Though that came to an end after she was accused of assassination.
Her shoulders slumped slightly as she once again remembered that she couldn't go home. She wouldn't see her father again, or her sisters at the Verdigris House. But she hadn't just escaped the country. Her foreign rescuers, who were apparently also slavers, had pulled her into a world she was struggling to comprehend.
"Why did you even invite me, anyway?" Maomao asked, ignoring the bracelet that Ruru was still holding out. "If your employers are all that powerful, surely you don't need someone like me?"
"Just because they're powerful, doesn't mean we are, not yet anyway. But mostly…" Kat smiled, and there was something so oddly pure and radiant about it that Maomao felt her heart skip a beat. "You were a fun, talented, and cute girl with nowhere to go. Of course I wanted to bring you home with me."
Maomao's brain short circuited slightly as Kat's words didn't quite line up with her expression, and something else clicked for her. "You… you're like Pairin, aren't you?" she asked.
"Oh, the insatiable prostitute that Meimei mentioned? Yeah, pretty much, except I don't like guys at all, only girls."
"...and you want me to put on a bracelet that will force me to obey you?" The stare that Maomao leveled at her spoke volumes.
"I don't plan on doing anything like forcing you," Kat assured her. "Tell her Ruru, have I done anything to you that you didn't want?"
"I am willing to do whatever it is that you wish."
Maomao pulled back and Kat grimaced. "Okay, bad example. Ruru's just like that. But it's not fun if my partner isn't into it too, which is why I haven't done anything with Ruru."
"You have touched my boobs and stared at my naked body several times since we have partnered up."
"So I was a little tempted, but you said you were okay with it!" Kat sighed. "My point is, I'm not doing anything to force you into anything with the bracelets, right?"
"There are currently no rules programmed into the Tempest Jewelry," Ruru confirmed. "Meaning that there are currently no restrictions on what wearers can do."
"See! No downsides!" Kat declared. "And all sorts of upsides! Like uhh… oh, it'll heal you right up! And make you a lot more physically fit, but without making you look all muscly if you don't want to be. Or if I don't want you to be, I think. One of those. Oh, and we just got Wild Talent, which will help you identify new plants!"
"You do not have Talent Sharing for Wild Talent yet," Ruru pointed out.
"Shoot, right. Uhh. Ruru, tell her what the other benefits are!"
"Very well," Ruru nodded before turning to Maomao."Through Everlasting Talent, you will cease physically aging once you reach your peak maturity. For most humans this is in your mid-twenties. Your lifespan will become infinite, and you will not suffer a degradation of skills from lack of practice. Additionally, the Tempest Jewelry itself comes with a variety of useful functions, most of which are currently focused on the changing of your physical features. Further, as we do more jobs, more perks will be granted to us, adding more and more benefits such as Talents that increase your learning speed in certain fields, powerful protections, and more esoteric abilities."
"Also Sex Calibration, which lets you ignore all the un-fun parts of sex!" Kat added. "Like periods! If you put on the bracelet you don't have to worry about those anymore!" That had certainly been a selling point for Kat.
And indeed, Maomao paused. "...with no side effects?"
"Absolutely none," Kat nodded with a grin.
Maomao was extremely curious about how that even worked, and was definitely tempted, but she wasn't totally convinced yet. "And what happens if I say no?" she asked, tone serious.
"What, like refuse to officially join me?" Kat replied, to which Maomao nodded. Kat's brow furrowed. "Hmm. I dunno? I mean, if it turns out you don't want to be with us, then I won't force you to stay. I can't exactly bring you back to your world, but we could drop you off in the next suitable one? Or you could stay here and help out without becoming part of my retinue I guess." Kat shrugged.
"And what… you'll just leave me alone?"
"What? No, you just won't get all the cool benefits. I'll probably still bug you and I'll definitely still flirt with you." Kat grinned, utterly unashamed.
Maomao sighed, mentally reviewing her options, of which she seemed to really only have a few of. She mentally crossed off the option to be dropped off in another world- if that was something she would be willing to do, she'd have just gone with the man in the carriage. So she was stuck with the other two, and potentially more from the sounds of it. What she really had to decide was the shape of it.
To be free, but mortal? Or to be enslaved and never suffer her monthly bleeding again?
Maomao sighed and grabbed the bracelet from Ruru. "I just need to put this on?"
"Woo!" Kat threw up her arms in celebration. "You won't regret it, I promise!"
"I already do," she grumbled, but still she slipped the silver cuff over her wrist, where it tightened to fit snugly but not uncomfortably.
Maomao blinked at the sight, the second thing she had seen beyond her understanding of the world after the portal that brought them here. There were no seams in the silver band, nothing to indicate that it could tighten or change size, or anything at all aside from a simple blue gem. But it had, and Maomao was unsure if that made her more or less worried about her future.
"Welcome to the family!" Kat cheered, clapping.
"Technically speaking it will take three to seven days before she is considered captured," Ruru pointed out.
Kat slumped. "Even though she put it on willingly?"
"Correct. If she completely accepts it, it shall only take three days. If she completely resists it, it will take seven days."
Maomao internally guessed it would be four to five days then, as she still felt some doubts and hesitation about the whole situation.
"I can speed it up by having sex with her though, right?" Kat asked.
…Six days, Maomao mentally amended.
"No. Sex can be used to strip her of any resistance, but that will still take a minimum of three days. Reducing it further will require an upgrade where the minimum timer can be reduced to a theoretical zero by making them achieve sexual orgasm."
"That sounds pretty fun if you ask me, but if we don't have it then we don't have it." Kat shrugged, and then turned to Maomao with a lecherous grin. "Wanna give it a try anyway?"
"I'll pass," she replied coolly. Kat shrugged, not surprised, and Maomao shook her head. "I think I understand what's going on now, at least as well as I'm going to. So what now?"
"Good question!" Kat replied. She pushed herself to her feet and looked around. "This place is nicer than it was before, but still pretty basic. We should plant one of those seeds I guess, see if it grows. And then just relax a bit before we take on our next mission. Do we have any available, Ruru?"
"No new missions have been posted yet," the android replied. "However, we have received a bonus reward for our last mission, Martial Talent."
"Really? What for?"
"There is a note that only says 'Good job, semicolon, closed parenthesis'."
Kat's brow furrowed. "You mean a winking emoticon?"
"...Yes," Ruru replied after pausing for a moment.
Kat leveled a stare at Ruru, who did not react and simply looked back, before shrugging. "Well, I won't turn down more stuff."
"Is this another one of those Perks that you are paid in?" Maomao asked.
"Yep! Martial makes you good at fighting and stuff." Kat punched the air a few times, emphasizing her point.
"Strictly speaking it vastly improves the rate at which you learn skills and abilities related to combat," Ruru corrected.
Kat shrugged. "That's basically what I said. Probably would have come in handy when we were dealing with those guards, but oh well. Let's plant these seeds!"
Ruru took charge of the seed planting process, trying to add as much order to it as possible to better leverage the scientific process, though they only had so much room to work with.
One line of three trees was planted in the center grassy area, each one a few feet apart. A similar line was planted on the beach not far from it. Two more lines, one on the beach and one in the grass, were also planted, but this time with the seeds right next to each other. And then, finally, a few were planted in random spots decided by Kat based on nothing more than her gut feeling of 'good' spots.
While the temperature wasn't very high, it was still manual labor under the sun and in the dirt, and that left them sweaty and dirty. Except for Ruru, who didn't sweat, but her hands were still covered in dirt.
"I guess there isn't a bath available?" Maomao asked, glancing around. "Or even just a bucket of water and a cloth?"
"Well, there's plenty of water, but I think it's salt water," Kat said, then she frowned. "It didn't feel like salt water when I went diving earlier though."
"It is salt water," Ruru confirmed. "It has the salinity of an average ocean."
"Not the best for washing, but it's all we got," Kat said with a shrug.
"What about drinking water?" Maomao asked with growing concern.
Kat paused. "Uhh. Ruru?"
"Our current reserves of drinkable water are a single bottle and two water skins," Ruru said. "Approximately 43 liters. Enough for two adult women to maintain healthy hydration levels for at least three days. With emergency rationing and practices, that time could be extended up to ten days."
"Wait, when did you get the water skins?" Kat asked. They hadn't taken the time to go shopping during their last mission because all the shops had been closed by the time Ruru had returned from her scouting.
"I acquired them from the same inventory stores that I obtained the armor from," Ruru replied. "Hydration is an important part of maintaining health, especially in a tropical environment."
Kat laughed. "You stole it? Good job!"
Maomao just sighed and pretended she didn't hear that before remembering that it didn't matter anymore. She was already a wanted criminal there and she wouldn't ever be going back, for better and for worse.
"However, our stores are finite," Ruru continued. "We have no means of securing additional drinking water, nor do we have the materials required to create the means of securing additional drinking water. Accepting a mission and traveling to another world is the only method."
"That does give us something of a time limit, I suppose," Kat muttered. "Well, make a list of all the stuff we need, and we'll prioritize it during our next mission."
"Understood," Ruru replied, already creating several lists for different solutions.
"What if you don't get another mission before then?" Maomao pointed out.
"Nah, we will, my boss wouldn't screw us over like that."
Maomao sighed. "Fine. How about a change of clothes?" She looked down at her plain white outfit, one reserved for prisoners. "I can't say I want to stay in these while doing work in this weather."
"That's easy, just take 'em off." Kat followed her own advice pretty much immediately, once more stripping down to just her bikini that she wore as underwear. "I should have done this earlier, this feels great!"
Maomao hesitated, wary of her new owner's motivations, but in the end decided that she didn't overly care if Kat wanted to ogle her body, which she viewed as scrawny and unattractive. She started disrobing as well.
Maomao's underwear was different, something Kat definitely noticed as she immediately ogled Maomao's body, which she viewed as cute, though definitely in the need of a few hearty meals, because there was a difference between being skinny and starved.
Her top was essentially an apron, with a loop that she put on over her neck attached to a triangle of cloth that covered her chest, the tip of which reached down to her waist. Just like an apron, it was secured in place with two strings that reached around her back, where they were tied. On her bottom was a loose mini skirt that honestly would not hide anything at all should she do more than just stand still.
"Oooh, sexy," Kat said approvingly.
Maomao raised an eyebrow. "You have strange tastes. I believe what you're wearing is much more appealing."
"Hmm, maybe, but yours has a sort of rustic appeal, you know? It's different and new to me."
Maomao sighed and then glanced at Ruru. "How about you? Surely you're the hottest of all of us with all of that on?"
Ruru's outfit was surely the one that covered the most skin, and was predominantly black to boot, which absorbed much of the sun's heat. However. "There is no need," Ruru said. "My internal temperatures are perfectly regulated."
"Aww, come on, join us!" Kat teased. But then she frowned. "No, wait, you don't have a bra, right? I mean, going topless is okay too, but it might be distracting… unless we all went topless?" Kat glanced at Maomao.
"I politely refuse to remove more than this without good reason," she replied with a bow.
Kat clicked her tongue, brow furrowing. And then her face lit up. "Wait! Ruru, if I gave you a needle and some thread, could you fashion bikinis for all three of us?"
"I would need appropriate material as well, but yes," she confirmed.
"Great! Take out the tin from my bag and I'll get the material."
Ruru didn't understand how Kat would acquire suitable material for three pairs of swimsuits, but she followed her instructions and materialized the specified container into her hands from Kat's Pocket Space. It was a round tin container that was primarily blue and had depictions of various kinds of holiday cookies on it.
All evidence pointed toward it being a container filled with treats, but just from holding it Ruru could tell that the weight did not match what a tin filled with cookies would be. So she opened it up, revealing a chaotic mess of strings in different colors, a loose collection of thimbles, a pair of scissors, and a red pincushion with a dozen needles sticking out of it.
Ruru stared at it, unmoving, as she tried to discern the reason for storing sewing supplies in a cookie tin.
Meanwhile, Kat once more started climbing a tree, but instead of plucking fruit from it, she started pulling the large frond-like leaves from the top of it and dropping them to the ground. Once she had stripped the tree of about half of them, she jumped back down into the sand and then presented one to Ruru. "Here!"
Ruru looked up from the sewing kit and to the leaf that Kat was holding. "Leaves of palm trees are ill suited for making clothes," she said.
"Are you sure?" Kat asked. "These feel really nice."
Ruru opened her mouth to confirm it, but she paused as she took a closer look at the leaf that her master was offering her. The leaflets on it did not match what a date tree typically grew. They were small, softer, and much more bunched together.
Of course there were many factors to consider when making clothing items, but it was enough to give her pause and throw the validity of her information into question. "Please allow me to inspect one more closely," she said instead.
Kat took the sewing kit from her and gave her a leaf in return. Ruru then spent several moments running her hands over the leaf and holding it close to her face to better look at it.
Finally, she lowered it. "Without testing it I can make no promises for the durability, nor can I ensure that they will be aesthetically pleasing, but these leaves meet the minimum requirements to be used as materials for basic clothing."
Kat pumped her fist in the air. "I knew it!"
"How?" Maomao asked. "I've never seen leaves like that, but making clothes from them? Are you going to turn them into thread first?"
"That is an option, but it is not required. We have sufficient thread already to form these into suitable garments. I will get to work immediately."
"Hell yes," Kat grinned. "Oh, and hand me a towel? I wanna lay down in the sun for a bit."
Ruru pulled the towel from their storage and gave it to Kat, who took it and laid it out on the beach. She then laid down on it, settling into a comfortable position to soak in the sun's heat, and within moments was fast asleep.
Maomao blinked in her direction. "Did she just…?"
"I am more surprised that she has remained awake until now," Ruru commented as she started working on the leaf bikinis. "It has been approximately twenty two hours since the two of us first arrived here, and our mission to your world afforded us only a few hours of downtime, during which she did not sleep. The only sleep she has gotten was during the couple of hours she was unconscious after falling into the river."
"Jumping into the river," Maomao corrected. "But… in that case I guess it makes sense." She turned back to Ruru. "What about you then? Shouldn't you be just as tired?"
"I do not get tired, nor do I require sleep."
Maomao frowned. "Everything I know says that that is impossible, since all living things require sleep. But somehow I feel like you're going to tell me that's wrong."
"Correct," Ruru nodded. "Even among mundane lifeforms, many species do not require sleep, or have resting behaviors that significantly deviate from human norms. However, none of those apply to me, as I am not a living thing."
"I see…. Wait what?!" Maomao gaped at her. "What do you mean you're not a living thing?"
"I am what is commonly referred to as an android, though gynoid would be a more accurate term."
"That means absolutely nothing to me, I've never heard either of those words before."
"I am a robot."
"I don't know that one either."
Ruru searched for another way to explain. "I am… an artificial being, my mind and body created by human hands rather than biological reproduction methods."
Maomao stared at Ruru, her mind whirring. What Ruru described made no sense to her and was unlike anything she had ever heard of. Or so she thought, until she recalled something she recalled reading in one of her father's books.
"Like a homunculus?" she asked.
Ruru paused in her sewing, looking up the term in her databases. "That is not a wholly accurate comparison, but it is likely the closest one that you are familiar with. However, there were no organic components to my own creation. I am largely made of various kinds of metals."
Which was a massive oversimplification, but Maomao simply didn't have the context to understand a more detailed answer, and between her and Kat, Ruru was starting to get used to explaining things in incomplete but easier to understand terms.
Maomao, on the other hand, did not understand, not at all. But she had passed the point of fantastical world-shaking revelations she could handle today. So with unfocused eyes she just nodded. "I see…" she lied.
Conversation came to a halt after that, as Maomao didn't have it in her to ask any more questions that might lead to more things she couldn't comprehend and Ruru was not exactly a proactive socialite. She just cut and sewed the strange palm leaves that Kat had given her into the desired shape, quietly curious about how well it was working.
Meanwhile, Maomao idly picked at the grass they were sitting next to, wondering what kind it was. At just a glance, it was indistinguishable from any other reed, but when she started paying attention to it, she noticed little things that didn't match with the types she was familiar with. The color was slightly off, the tip of it had a different pattern to its seeds, and the texture was a little different.
Still, it was largely the same, and in her boredom she grabbed a few more and started bending them into shape, weaving them like her father had taught her when she was young. Without properly preparing the reeds it wouldn't hold up very well if used as an actual basket, but she was just doing it because her hands were idle and she couldn't roast the date seeds, so she didn't have anything else to do.
So while Kat slept, the two of the others crafted, and time passed.
Which is when another concern cropped up.
"I suspect I know the answer to this but… what about using the bathroom?" Maomao asked as she felt a familiar biological process make itself known.
Ruru looked up at her with her signature blank look and then looked out to the beach. She tried to search her database for relevant information, but she had very little on the practical and social ways to handle waste when on an island with no facilities and no tools.
"...Digging a hole and burying it is likely the most hygienic method available with our resources," Ruru finally answered.
Thankfully, Maomao was from a world where plumbing was reserved for those with significant money, and she was used to making do. So she just nodded and accepted that before going to take care of her business in the tall grass, which offered a modicum of privacy.
Afterward, as she got back, Maomao considered asking Ruru if she needed to do such things. But then she decided that asking such a question would only invite more upheavals of her understanding of the world and decided to just keep her mouth shut as she went back to weaving a small basket.
By the time that Kat stirred and pushed herself up, Maomao's first basket was complete and filled with date seeds. As she predicted, it was a little droopy, and she was concerned that if she put too many in there it would fall apart, but it worked well enough.
She looked up from the start of her second basket though as Kat stretched. Her gaze lingered on Kat's toned form with a clinical eye, noting just how much of an incredible shape she was in. Far too muscular to attract the attention of most men, at least by her world's standards, but objectively speaking her body was well trained and healthy.
"See something you like, Maomao?" Kat teased, catching her staring as she turned around.
"I do," the apothecary replied casually.
Kat was surprised, but her grin grew. "Would you like a closer look then?" Her tone was very obviously flirty as she walked closer to the two of them.
Though that went completely over Maomao's head, focused as she was on judging Kat's health. "Sure, I'm a little interested."
Kat, misinterpreting the flavor of Maomao's interest, was thrilled to see the other girl's seemingly sudden change in tune, and she briefly wondered if Ruru had managed to convince her somehow, but she put that curiosity aside. Right now, she had an opportunity that she couldn't afford to waste.
She came to a stop in front of Maomao. "Should I strip down further then, so you can see me better?" she purred.
Maomao nodded. "If you don't mind." In her mind, if she was going to join this group then her role would obviously be the doctor, so giving Kat an initial checkup only made sense.
Kat, on the other hand, was just eager to get naked in front of the new cute girl who seemed to be interested in having some fun. She removed her bikini with practiced movements and proudly stood there for all to see.
Maomao put a hand on her chin and stared at Kat. She spotted no rashes or hives, no flaking skin or other health concerns. There were a few small scars here and there, some faded more than others, but nothing unusual. She had a thin layer of fat over toned muscles, enough to make their shape out but not in an unhealthy way, though Maomao thought that a bit more fat would do her good.
Kat grinned, heart beating and a small trickle of warmth spreading through her as Maomao looked so closely at her. Kat was proud of her body, having dedicated a lot of her time and effort into making it something both attractive and functional, though the latter largely came naturally from her active lifestyle.
Visual inspection done, Maomao stepped closer and started touching Kat, running her hands over the other girl as she searched for lumps, soft spots, and other indicators of hidden problems. She started with her arms, moving on to her collarbone, and then down to her boobs.
Kat bit her lip and tried not to make any noise as Maomao fondled her tits. It wasn't the most skilled fondling she'd ever experienced, but she doubted Maomao had any real experience and she had put up with worse. Besides, a chance to teach another girl how to properly appreciate a woman's body was always appreciated.
But Maomao soon moved on. Far too quickly for Kat's taste, but Maomao hadn't sped through it. She had taken the time to thoroughly check for hidden lumps and sores and found nothing. So she moved down, quickly brushing past her abs before kneeling in front of Kat.
Kat's disappointment disappeared in a flash, replaced by excitement as Maomao's face was brought down to crotch level. The other girl reached between her legs as Maomao started checking her thighs.
Kat was certainly enjoying being touched, but she was starting to feel like something was off about the way Maomao was doing it that couldn't be explained just by inexperience. Her movements were too quick and confident for that.
It wasn't until Maomao stood up without going any closer to her groin that she started to put the pieces together. "You're very healthy and fit," Maomao reported as she stood back up.
"You… were giving me a checkup?" Kat asked, bemused.
"Yes? Why else would I be taking a look at your body?" Maomao gave her a look of genuine confusion.
Kat breathed in deep and tried not to let it out as a sigh. Now she was disappointed and horny, having gotten her hopes up that Maomao was finally showing interest. Kat wasn't above a bit of aggressive seduction, some girls just didn't know what they wanted until they had their first taste, but even she had lines she wouldn't cross. If the other girl wasn't enjoying it, then what was even the point? And unfortunately, it seemed that Maomao was only interested in drugs.
But Kat paused as she recalled something, a perk she had taken when she signed up but had completely forgotten about amidst all of the everything that had happened since then. A perk that would help her convince her newest girlfriend to take things a bit further, if Kat played her cards right.
"Well, while you're at it, there's one thing I'd like for you to check," Kat said with a smile. And then she mentally activated her transformation, causing a penis to appear right above her slit.
"What's that-" Maomao started before looking down and catching sight of the newly appeared appendage. She blinked at it. "Wh- where did that come from?"
She knew of hermaphrodites, one of her father's books had covered it briefly, mentioning that it was a rare mutation where sometimes a baby was born with both sets of sexual characteristics. But she had just given Kat a check over and there had been no sign of male genitalia, only female. There was no way she had missed something so big.
"I grew it," Kat replied as if it should have been obvious. "One of the perks of the bracelet. It's the real deal, by the way." Her grin widened. "Careful though. Its cum isn't normal. It's an aphrodisiac."
Maomao paused, eyes staring at Kat's cock. But then she looked up at Kat with narrowed eyes. "You might be the first woman with a penis that I've seen, but you're certainly not the first one that I've heard claim that."
"Yeah, but I'm not just some loser with an empty boast," Kat replied. "It's another perk from my employers, and surely by now you know what they're capable of, right?"
That gave Maomao pause, because aphrodisiac semen would be the least weird thing about the situation she had found herself in. She looked back down at Kat's penis and then frowned. "Where are your testicles?"
"Don't need them."
"How-" she started to ask, but then she shook her head. How she could produce cum of any kind without testicles was just another item on the list of impossibilities she was forced to accept. Instead she looked closer at the shaft, which was slowly growing harder and larger, with a clinical eye.
"How potent of an aphrodisiac?" she asked eventually, already regretting it.
Kat, however, was extremely pleased. "Dunno, I haven't gotten a chance to test it yet. Want to find out?"
Maomao looked back up and met Kat's cheerful expression with a flat stare. "Sure, go extract some yourself in a cup." Her attempts to have Maomao sexually service her could not be more obvious.
"Aww, come on, that's no fun," Kat pouted. "Besides, I've never masturbated with a dick before. Who knows how long that would take? Or what if I can't do it? Can't you help me out a bit?"
Maomao sighed, but her mind whirred. For the most part, she didn't have much of an interest in romance or sex. Perhaps it was growing up in a pleasure house, because it seemed to lose a lot of its appeal and became just a normal thing. One that she didn't feel she was particularly suited for.
Though that didn't mean she had no interest. She had the occasional urge or mood, but they were usually easily ignored. She'd also experimented with some aphrodisiacs in her time, they were a drug like any other after all, but those didn't really count.
Still… actually aphrodisiac emission? A human that could naturally, if what Kat did could be counted as 'natural' at least, produce an aphrodisiac? Maomao couldn't deny her interest as an apothecary.
The real question was how far she was willing to go to produce a sample, so to speak. But that wasn't much of a question at all, really. Maomao was a girl who inflicted poisons and wounds on her own body in order to further her understanding of medicine, and she had been raised by sex workers.
"Fine, fine," she said with another sigh. "I'll give you a hand."
"A hand is great!" Kat replied, excited and cheerful. "Or a mouth. Or even more." She winked.
"We're not having sex," Maomao said flatly. "And I fear what trying to put that in my mouth would do to my jaw."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Kat assured her. "That Sex Calibration thing I mentioned earlier makes sure that sex is all upsides and no downsides. You'll be able to fit it just fine, and it'll be faster! You're going to swallow it for yourself anyway, right?"
She was, though having it said so directly made her cheeks heat up. "F-fine! But if I feel any soreness I'm switching to using my hand!"
"That's fair," Kat agreed with a nod. And then she stood there, waiting, and Maomao fully processed what she had just agreed to do.
She gulped, looking back down at Kat's penis, which was fully erect now. Part of her mind wondered why she was reacting like this. She had agreed to something that was undoubtedly lewd, but she should have been used to that kind of thing, right? Certainly she had heard her older sisters talking about such things, and had seen it in glimpses down alleyways and into rooms with doors that weren't quite closed all the way, and those never phased her. But now, with a throbbing penis in front of her, she could feel herself reacting strangely.
She shook her head and then slapped her cheeks, clearing. She chided herself for being silly and then focused, once again kneeling in the sand in front of Kat as she forced herself to reach out and wrap her fingers around Kat's cock.
Kat shivered, cock twitching within Maomao's grasp. Outside of her initial explorations and Meimei's service, she had not used her cock much, and the feeling of it being touched was still fresh and new. It was a strange feeling, equal parts nostalgic and exciting, and she knew that she'd be using it a lot in the near future.
Maomao, on the other hand, wasn't quite as excited, though her curiosity was slowly growing. For all that she had heard things from her sisters, for all the lessons from Granny, and for all her medical knowledge and experience, she'd never really interacted with a penis like this before. She had a good enough idea of what to do, but no real enthusiasm.
At least, normally that would be the case, as Maomao had little enthusiasm for anything unrelated to drugs and medicine. But this wasn't entirely unrelated after all, as, if Kat was to be believed, she could ejaculate a drug. So, thinking about it that way, then what Maomao was doing was essentially just a specialized method of harvesting.
Having successfully convinced herself of that, Maomao's hesitation faded as she started using her hand to stroke Kat's dick. Her attitude shifted from hesitant to something closer to clinical as she took note of the texture, the warmth, Kat's pulse, and the way it reacted to her touch, collecting data so she might find the best way to extract the prize she was after.
Maomao's efforts didn't go unnoticed, and Kat let out a soft gasp as she felt Maomao's touch improve second by second, slowly bringing her more and more pleasure. Kat smiled as she looked down at the other girl, pleased to see Maomao discover this side of herself.
But Kat was greedy when it came to pleasure, and though she was enjoying it, she couldn't let Maomao continue like this. She had promised more, after all. "Are you not going to use your mouth after all?" Kat asked, tone teasing.
Maomao paused and looked up at her. "Oh. Right." She looked back down at the cock in her hands, considering it for a moment. Some of the hesitation and nervousness came back, but it was easier to push aside this time, and Maomao leaned in with an open mouth and wrapped her lips around the head of Kat's cock.
Kat sucked in a sharp breath of air as the warm wetness of Maomao's mouth enveloped her. It was a completely different sensation than dry skin rubbing against it, even when said skin were giant soft boobs. Kat hesitated to call it better though, as the sensations were simply too different.
What she did know for certain though was that she very much liked it.
"Ooh, that's it baby," she whispered, encouraging the other girl. "Just like that."
Maomao tried to give her an unamused glare, but since she still had Kat's dick in her mouth, it didn't quite have the impact it would have otherwise.
"Not a fan of dirty talk?" Kat asked, amused.
Maomao pulled back, freeing her mouth so she could talk. "Not when it involves calling me a baby."
"I wasn't literally calling you a baby," Kat explained, rolling her eyes. "It's slang for like… darling or whatever."
Maomao did not look convinced though. "Let's just skip the dirty talk."
Kat sighed. "Fine, fine."
Maomao glared at her for a moment longer before returning her attention to Kat's cock and placing it in her mouth once more. This time she didn't stop at just the tip though, and she slowly leaned forward to fit more of the other girl's shaft, just like she remembered her sisters telling her she should do.
More and more of Kat's cock was embraced by the wet and warm tightness of Maomao's throat, causing her to shiver in pleasure and let out a low moan. It was a sensation unlike anything she had ever experienced, and she wanted more and more.
Maomao kept going, her pace slow because she expected to reach her limit, for her jaw to hurt or her gag reflex, which her sisters had warned her about, to kick in. But no matter how far Kat's cock went down her throat, that never happened. Her mouth and throat felt almost uncomfortably full, but the key word there was almost. She didn't even have any issues breathing.
As Maomao's lips passed the halfway mark of Kat's shaft, she let out another moan and her hands twitched in Maomao's direction. Her body wanted to grab hold of Maomao's head and shove the rest of her length down the other girl's throat. But she held back, knowing she was already pushing Maomao as far as she could, and doing that would only ruin her enthusiasm for future fun times.
So she held herself back, clenching her fists and breathing heavily as Maomao slowly took Kat's entire cock into her mouth.
Maomao paused there, not having expected to get that far, and looked up to gauge Kat's reaction. There she saw her face scrunched up in a sort of frustrated pleasure, looking back down at her with lust filled eyes. Maomao's heart skipped a beat. Dangerous, she thought, because the sight was powerful enough to even entice her.
But she was here for a purpose, and pausing there didn't get her any closer to her goal, so she looked back down as she started to move.
Kat shivered as Maomao started bobbing her head up and down on her shaft. She looked down at the other girl, still holding back from grabbing her head and taking control. Kat had to admit, seeing a girl on her knees in front of you and sucking your cock was almost as good as seeing them between your legs as they ate you out.
And lacking in experience, Kat had no idea how 'skilled' Maomao was. She didn't seem to be, but she was certainly enthusiastic and it felt amazing, which was all Kat really cared about right now. She gasped and moaned as her cock slid in and out of Maomao's throat and as her sensitive undershaft brushed against Maomao's tongue.
Feeling the same pressure that she had with Meimei, so similar yet so different from what she was used to, she knew she was close. "Maomao, I'm going to cum soon," she warned her, cock twitching.
With a smug look of satisfaction and expectation, Maomao pulled back. She reached up and wrapped a hand around Kat's shaft and started stroking it, now lubed by her saliva. She didn't remove her mouth from Kat's cock entirely though, as her lips were still wrapped around the head and her tongue actively lapped at it.
It was enough, and within just a few seconds, Kat climaxed. She let out a moan as cum barreled through her shaft, powerfully enough for her to feel it, and shot into Maomao's waiting mouth. Though even though she was waiting for it, the apothecary made a muffled noise of surprise as her mouth was suddenly filled with the hot and sticky cum, not having been truly prepared.
She reflexively pulled back, swallowing the first of Kat's load and then coughing. But Kat hadn't finished cumming, and several more spurts shot out to land on Maomao's face before it ended.
Maomao coughed a few more times, clearing her throat of the remainder that had slipped down the wrong pipe. "That was-" more than I expected she was going to say, but it was right about then that she started feeling the effects. Her heart started beating faster, her head felt like she was starting to get drunk, and there was a quickly rising warmth in her lower belly.
She swallowed. "Oh," she said simply, sitting there in a daze. "That's… very effective."
Kat had, by that time, largely recovered from the high that came with an orgasm, and she looked down at Maomao with a growing amusement. "Yeah? How effective."
"Dangerously effective," she said, eyes growing more unfocused. She swallowed again and shifted. The heat in her belly was growing to the point where it was hard to ignore. "I- I'm pretty resistant to drugs. But this is much, much stronger than anything I've tried." Another swallow, and Maomao realized that her saliva production had increased and she was yearning for the taste of Kat's cock again.
Kat squatted so she could get a closer look at the squirming and flushed Maomao. "Mmm. Yeah, you definitely look like it's kicking in. Now what?"
Maomao blinked. "Huh?"
"You got the taste of the aphrodisiac," Kat explained. "Now you're horny. What do you want to do now? I would be more than happy to return the favor." Kat grinned, not even bothering to hide that this was what she wanted from the start.
Even in her daze, Maomao realized this. In truth, she knew it from the start, but had decided to do it anyway, out of curiosity. And now… now that she was here, feeling the burning need growing in her loins as the aphrodisiac affected her much more than she thought it would, it didn't sound like a price to pay. The offer itself sent a pang of desire through her as she briefly imagined it.
Maomao hadn't ever had much of a sex drive, but she had one now, and though she wasn't into girls, at least she didn't think she was, she was horny and only getting hornier.
She swallowed again. "That… would be appreciated."
Kat's expression lit up. "Really?!"
"Re-" Maomao started to reply, but Kat didn't wait that long. In a blur, Maomao found herself no longer kneeling. Instead, her shoulders and head were against the sand while her feet were in the air. She blinked, orienting herself.
Kat was kneeling in the sand and essentially had Maomao on her lap, the apothecaries thighs on her shoulders and her pussy right in front of her face, the small under skirt that Maomao wore completely unable to hide it at that angle.
Maomao could feel the blood rushing to her head, which certainly did not help when she was already having a hard time thinking because of the aphrodisiac. "Wait, wait, hold on a min-ah!"
Her protest turned into something halfway between a moan and squeak as she felt something wet run along her sex, and even lust drunk she had no problems figuring out that Kat had just licked her.
"When you- ah!- said return the favor- oooh!- I didn't think you were- oh!- being so literal!" Maomao protested between involuntary moans as the other girl's tongue probed her folds in a way unlike anything that Maomao had ever experienced.
The licking stopped for a brief moment, which Maomao used to catch her breath. "Head for head is only fair, right?" Kat replied, peeking out from between Maomao's legs at the nearly folded up girl. Her face was flushed, her hair disheveled, she still bore a few wounds, and she looked at Kat with confusion. But still, when Kat saw her, she smiled.
There was nothing more beautiful than a girl in the throes of pleasure.
Kat lowered her head and dived right back in, cutting off Maomao right as she was about to ask a question. Her tongue plundered Maomao's snatch with a practiced ease, deftly exploring every nook and cranny as she searched for the best way to make Maomao sing. Every girl was different, though there were common traits she had learned that helped guide her.
In short, Maomao was putty in her hands, and on her tongue. The apothecary had no experience being touched like that, neither by her own hand nor others, and she was under the effect of a powerful aphrodisiac. All she could do was shudder and moan, her cries echoing over the island and surrounding ocean.
Maomao's first orgasm surprised her, the theoretical knowledge she held not nearly enough to prepare her for the actual sensations, and her hips bucked in Kat's grasp as her voice rang out to let the entire empty world know of her climax.
And then she slumped over, as best as she could with how Kat had her nearly folded up in her lap, and tried to catch her breath. Only Kat hadn't stopped, which confused her. Wasn't the orgasm an end? It had been for Kat, so why was she still going?
Kat was simply enjoying herself.
Unlike Maomao, who wanted to experience Kat's aphrodisiac cum, Kat was in it for the love of the game, and there were few things she enjoyed eating more than the delicious meal before her.
Maomao tried to speak, to ask her why she was still going, but it was impossible to form coherent words when she just felt so good. She could feel herself headed for another orgasm, knowing it more intimately now, and the small part of her mind realized just why pleasure houses were so sought after, and why the Emperor had a harem so large that it required two thousand servants to support them.
Sex was the most amazing drug that she had ever experienced.
And this is just foreplay?! Maomao thought to herself before another orgasm washed over her and her mind went blank.
Neither girl could say how much longer they continued. The climaxes blended together as Sexual Calibration ensured that neither would get too dehydrated or tired by it.
In the end, it wasn't Kat's enthusiasm dying nor Maomao's objections that ended it. It was three simple words.
"I am done," Ruru said, her monotone voice cutting through the air.
Maomao froze entirely, ice running through her veins and washing away the haze in her mind as she stiffened. Kat paused as well, finally stopping as the two of them looked to the side, where Ruru sat just a few feet away, as she had the entire time.
Ruru looked back at them blankly, not even blinking. "I have finished the leaf bikinis you asked for," she repeated with clarification.
Maomao, who had completely forgotten that someone else was there, felt her face heat up in a way that had nothing to do with arousal, mortified at having been witnessed doing such things and having them done to her.
Kat, however, simply perked up and then untangled herself from Maomao before crawling over to Ruru, still completely naked. "Really? Gimme, I wanna try it on!"
As Kat started to put on the strange organic clothing, Maomao laid there in the sand and looked up at the sky, torn between regretting every choice that she had ever made that led to her arriving here and excitedly recalling the incredibly potent aphrodisiac that Kat could produce.
There were a lot of things she didn't know about how her life would be from here on out, but there was one thing she knew with certainty.
Her days would not be boring.
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AN: Martial Talent wasn't originally a perk offered by the first mission but in making plans for the next mission and the ones after I realized that she really needed it sooner rather than later, if only to increase the types of missions she can do. Next chapter will be some more housekeeping and playing around on the island, and then we'll move on to our next mission.