The Next Chapter: 14

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The Next Chapter
Chapter 14: How About a Lunch Date?

Money is...like electricity going through a wire. Like the rivers going into the sea, only to evaporate and fall back down to the mountains as rain. You spend it up, you get some back. Around and around in an endless cycle. Along the way, everyone gets what they want. That is how prosperity is meant to work. That is true wealth.

After learning how electricity really worked, how the water cycle and weather patterns functioned, and especially the way pollution and single-use resources interacted with all of those things, Nancy had come to find her parents' explanations a bit less compelling. But, as long as they or her big sister Valencia believed it—as long as it meant she wasn't really the one footing the bill—she wasn't going to argue. Anyway, Kyosuke must've been taught, at some point in her kitsune life, how to spend someone else's money.

"I want this one...and this one...ooh, this top's kinda like a kimono! You think this dress'd be cute?"
"Probably. Better try it on before you commit, though," Nancy advised. "Girl clothes aren't quite as 'one-fits-all' as it is for guys, you know."
"Right, right. Ooh, what about this one!?"

"I think that'd go better with a darker skirt. Maybe some stockings."
"Hmmn...yeah, you're right! I'll go look for some."

It was a good thing this place had shopping baskets. Otherwise Nancy would've probably been the one with a mountain of clothes piled on top of her when Kyo bounced her way over to the dressing rooms.

While waiting outside the dressing room's door, she said, "Hey, Kyo..."
"Eh?"
"Not to be nosy, but—just as someone concerned that people in OZK get along with each other...you seem a little nervous around Mary."

"Nervous? Are you kidding? Hahah...I'm terrified."

This last word was unexpected. "Uh—really? Why?"

"You've seen her power for yourself. Isn't it scary?"

"A little, I guess."

"No, I mean—think about how you felt when you saw that thing. Her power makes people feel that. But even if it didn't, well, do you know some magic?"

"Enough to get by," she understated.

"Then I'm sure you could feel how powerful it was, too! Right?"
"Yeah, but there's tons of powerful people in this world. I'm sure you don't cower around your, like, six-tailed relatives or whatever."
"Sure, 'cause those are my family. I know they're friendly, and want to protect me. And they're not constantly displaying their full power; it only comes out when it needs to.

"Mary's different. I don't know if she can't hide her power that well, or—what'd be worse—if she already is hiding most of it. To someone as sensitive to magic as your average fox, it's like she has that thing showing all the time. For me, being around her is like—like how a mouse would feel around a bear. Even if it doesn't notice the mouse, there's still the possibility of getting stepped on and squished!"
"Polaris doesn't seem bothered by her."
"That celestial was literally created to deal with her! She's way better at hiding it, but her power is pretty close to the same level. Besides, she has way too much pride to leave any room for petty emotions like fear. It really doesn't help that I never know how Mary's feeling or what she's really thinking. I can't tell the difference between 'calm and happy' and 'one little annoyance away from snapping'.

"Look, I can be civil. I can be polite. She's a friend-of-a-friend, and I honestly feel safe enough as long as Polaris is there too. But I can't help feeling afraid of her. It's just instinct. Anyway—" Kyo opened the door, appearing from behind it in a frilly dress that trailed about down to her thighs, white with some red ribbons.

"What do you think? I'm considering wearing this one out~!"

"Very cute—very you. Though, I didn't think that one had a hole in the back for tails."
"Not a problem for a two-tailed fox," Kyo said, shrugging.

"You already tried everything else on?"
"Yep! I've got a method." The kitsune picked up her pile of rejects (around a third of the whole) and set them down where the store workers could re-stock them, and then put the rest back in the basket.
"Great, let's go."

While they were checking out, Nancy said, "Y'know..you really don't come off as someone who was a guy literally yesterday. Including the way you shop..."
"I'm adaptable," Kyo said with a shrug. "It's fun taking on new 'roles'. Learned that from a pretty young age."

"Does that mean you're faking it?"

"Well, uh..is it fake if I'm really enjoying it?"
"..Fair." Guess you and Jay have that in common.

After a few more stops, they returned to the house. Nancy used a little bit of magic to help carry everything from the car to the door in just one trip, but decided it was Kyo's job to get all the bags the rest of the way to her room.

"..And that's pretty much the whole place! Cool, right?" A male voice Nancy was fairly sure she knew the identity of was saying.
"Yeah. This is some pretty sweet digs," a less-familiar woman's voice replied, as the owners of the two rounded a corner to the entryway.

"Oh, hi! You're back!" Jay had chosen a male form. It was very...pretty. He waved, and Nancy waved back. The other person was a slim, buff, white-furred wolf-girl in exercise clothes.

Kyo slid over next to Nancy, whispering: "I have never felt so attracted to a guy in my whole life..."
"I guess you better get used to it," she whispered back quickly, and then said, "Who's this?" She also took a couple of steps toward the pair to offer the newcomer her hand.

"This is Toka!" Jay said. "Ed brought her in!"
"Ed, really? Well, nice to meet you; I'm Nancy."

"Likewise—Tokanwa," she added, giving a somewhat aggressive handshake. "So you're in charge of this whole thing?"
"Weeellll..I wouldn't necessarily say that. I started it, but our official charter says there's supposed to be a 'high council' voted in at some point."
"Either way—you've got some rings that can turn girls into guys, temporary-like?"
"For our members, sure. Since we allow guys to join, and—well, I'm sure you've heard about the enchantment on the house." Nancy tried to more or less ignore the back-and-forth chattering that Kyo and Jay had started up by this point. They were mostly just exclaiming how cute each other were, which was adorable but not productive to listen to.

"Right, but—say a girl joined and wanted one of those? Is that allowed?" Tokanwa asked, tilting her head slightly.
Officially, the rings were specifically bought to help attract male members to the sorority. But there were enough of them for around half the house's occupancy limit, and Nancy knew a question whose answer would decide whether or not they gained a new member when she heard one. So she just shrugged and said, "I don't see why not."

"Sweeeet.

"Look, I've got an apartment with a lease right now. I'd like to apply to join you guys, but I'm gonna have to negotiate with the owner and stuff."
"Let me know if you have any serious trouble with them," Nancy said. "My family employs some very capable lawyers. Actually—let me give you my number so you can."

"Uh, sure," the wolf-girl said, looking slightly taken aback by the extremity of the offer.

---

At their lunch date, Ed sat across from L'hoxifel at a table. She struggled for a moment to come up with something to talk about. Then: "So...um...I tried jogging, this morning."
"Oh, yeah? How'd you like it?"
"...Less bad than I thought it'd be," Ed said eventually. "I ran into..like, an actual werewolf I guess, who seems to love it. She, might be joining OZK later, from what I can tell."

"Neat! Guess I'll meet her later, then," L'hoxifel said with a little nod.

"Is it..you think, dumb? To start an exercise habit, when there's ways to just get transformed fit?"

"Oh, no—not at all." She shook her head lightly. "For one thing, the rule of magic—or the world in general, really—is 'nothing without a price'. And in the full calculation, it's usually way 'less expensive' to just exercise than it is to repeatedly get magically fit. Plus, there's risks involved with getting repeatedly transformed to more-or-less the same appearance. Basically, wild magic effects get more and more likely. Prolly an issue with using changing magic to try to stay unchanging. Unlike technology, magic has to worry about conceptual hang-ups like that. Anyway—even for someone with the power to transform any way they want at will—what's the point of even having muscles and stamina if you don't ever use them?"

"I guess, it'd be that they like the look?" Ed suggested.

"There is that, I guess."

"I heard your roommate got a male form, by the way~."

"Mm-hm," she nodded. "Jay kept long hair, the furry ears and tail, and a pretty face, too. I wouldn't have thought that'd look right before...uh, all this happened, but it does seem fitting now."

"Are you planning on doing that soon too?"
"Yeah, I guess so." The wolf-girl paused a moment, taking a sip of her drink. "Don't want to take a ring until I know exactly how I want to look. I think I'd like, mostly how I did before...not any taller, but maybe at least as fit as I am now. I'm just...debating, whether or not to stay uh, 'furry'. I guess, uh...do you, like guys with that stuff too?"

"Well now~...you shouldn't make a decision like that based on what I like."

"I know. Just, curious."

"Hmmmn. Actually, I dunno. I haven't met too many guys with animal ears—girls either, before college, you know. Since I was a guy when I started, feeling that stuff out, you know, I more or less defaulted that way." The demon-girl smiled flirtatiously. "Who knows? It might even turn out I like wolf-boys better than girls~."

"Uh..s-sure..." Ed looked away, feeling her cheeks blush and her heart briefly race. L'hoxifel's giggle told her she'd been going for a reaction like that.

After a waiter came to take their food orders, it was the demon-girl who drifted the topic off to something a little 'safer', seeming to sense Ed's nerves. They continued to talk for a while about the things that magic and technology seemed to have in common, and the ways they could be made—or even had been made—to interact. She was fun to talk to—about basically anything, it seemed. Ed felt like they'd easily be friends if they weren't dating.

A while later, Ed paid the bill, and they headed out onto the street. A short walk out, in a less-crowded area, L'hoxifel stopped. "Psst. Hey, Ed."
"Wha—ack!" They'd been walking side-by-side, so the wolf-girl hadn't been looking; now the other girl was looking up at her with a slightly-blushing smile, and...

Her bust was at least two sizes larger all of a sudden. "Y-you uh..transformed yourself?" Although, after noticing that, her tail whipping back and forth behind her drew the eye even more.

"Heehee~. Just for a minute or two. But—pick me up? Lemme pet you?" she asked, each question a whisper. "It's not a good date if it doesn't end with some kinda show of affection, ri~ight?"
"Um..." Not that Ed had any idea. She guessed it was better to defer to the 'expert', and picked up the smaller girl into her arms. The larger breasts squished harder against hers than before, but were no obstruction to feeling L'hoxifel's heart race in time with her own.

Of course, then she went for Ed's fur. Hands were on her ears, and the demon-girl's tail wound itself around her own. "M-mrrfh...! Aah...mm~mnngh..." She nuzzled the demon's cheek affectionately, just letting herself enjoy these feelings. It was starting to sink in that this was real: A woman this smart and kind and beautiful actually liked Ed, and feelings like this could be theirs...whenever they both wanted!

"Pffft...super cute~," L'hoxifel said, her hands going from Ed's ears to her back and hair. "Hey—" her lips were maybe two inches from one of those ears, still, so even this very soft whisper was easy to hear. "Can I call you 'Eddy'? Just me?"
"Um..uh...rrfh..." She gave Ed a moment to process the question, but didn't stop sliding her tail up and down the wolf-girl's during that moment. "If...if I can call you 'Fel'. Then..s-sure."

"Heheh~...it's a deal." At this point, Ed noticed that their chests were pressing together much less tightly than a moment ago. "Spell's wearing off. I guess that's enough PDA for now, huh?"
"Um..r-right." She set L'hoxifel down after that, and already the demon-girl was back to her usual figure. She was still blushing too, but looked satisfied enough.

"So...Fel.....Let's uh, g-go back to the house?" Ed suggested.
"Sure, Eddy~." A couple of yards of walking later, she said, "Hahah~, I gotta admit. There was more to that spell than the physical shift. Actually, that was a side-effect. I just wanted a tiny bit more boldness, is all. Was it, too much?"
"Uh...n-no, I guess not..." The wolf-girl thought: There's no way I would've been brave enough to do that in public without being asked like that...

---

Camilla and Rob went to lunch together again. As this usual haunt of theirs was frequented by plenty of students, it had a corkboard out in front with loads of flyers for various school- and student-run activities. They paused in front of it for a moment, and something caught Rob's eye. "Hey," he pointed, "Look at this."

Looking for group! And a venue!

It was a letter-sized paper flyer with most of its space taken up by imagery that looked stolen from the cover of a DND book. This was very fitting, as whoever made the poster was, in fact, looking for people to play with. The contact information at the bottom was just an email address—but it was a student email address for their school, which revealed most of the name of the owner. It appeared to be a girl's name.

"Huh. You suddenly interested in that stuff?" Camilla asked.
"Not really, but—OZK is supposed to be a 'nerd sorority' above all else, right? What's nerdier than role-playing?"
"I can think of a few things, but...guess I catch your point."

"If they're looking for a place to play, we've got one. This might be a ticket to getting a few new members, right?"
"Hmmn, good thinking. I guess I'll reach out, see if there's any kinda reply."

---

Jay helped lug all of Kyosuke's new stuff to the latter's room, and then they, very naturally, went to OZK's kitchen and dining room to have lunch together. The kitsune knew this was dangerous, especially with how she'd felt as soon as the fox-boy started complimenting her looks in the new dress, but...it was a kind of danger she was beginning to like.

A short while into the conversation, Jay actually brought that up. "Hey—when I said I liked your dress. You said something like 'ay-toe'?"
"Ah. Uh. Heheh~." Kyo paused a moment to gather herself. "That's basically 'uhhm'. Turns out my native language comes out when I'm super flustered, and you saying that made my heart skip a beat or two."
"Oh. Heh, that's kinda cute too, actually."

Kyo made sue to immediately stuff some food in her mouth so nothing too dumb could come out. "Mnnf."

"So, hey—" He tilted his head slightly. "When I pet you this morning? Was that what happened then, too?"

"Mm..hmn." Well, she was probably going to want to bring this up at some point, after all.

"Oh! So, so—I mean, if you don't mind. What'd that mean? Just saying thanks?"
"Errh, no. That's be 'arigatou', or something including that. It was..." Maybe it was better to have it out in the open. "Lemme explain."

"Some foxes—ah, some kitsune, I mean. Like the idea of having someone as a 'master'. It's not—like, actually a master and servant relationship. Just a, special kind of game. Trying to find ways to please, or sometimes tease, the master, can help a kitsune learn and grow. A master who's 'playing along' well, though, does pretty much get the kistune's power at his or her disposal. Willing obedience, and coming up with fun orders, are the two sides of the game. It..has to be someone the fox really likes and trusts. And trying to 'cheat' or being too commanding can end super poorly for the 'master'. Soo, uh.."

Kyosuke paused a moment, twirling some of her hair around her left index finger. "To tell the truth, I reeeaally didn't think I was into that kinda thing. But when you were petting me, just then, there was definitely a part of me that yelled out 'that one! That's the master for me!' Uhhmm, I hope that's not too weird for you or anything."

"Awwh...it just sounds like you really like me, right?" Jay concluded. "I think I really like you, too!"

"Erk—" He'd said that with such a bright, straightforward smile, on the cute, handsome face this new male form of his had. Feeling her face burn up, Kyo said something very excitedly and quickly, then realized she was speaking the wrong language and repeated it a little more slowly in English: "Jay, you can't just suddenly come out and say stuff like that!!!"

"Huh?" He tilted his head a little bit again. "Why not?"

"W-w-we've barely even met at this point, for one thing! I mean...a couple of dates, talking a little bit. I am waaaay too far from knowing you well enough to get into anything too serious!"

"Errm..." Jay looked like he was thinking for a moment. Then he said, "Is this a cultural thing, or is it just that I'm clueless 'cause I've never been on any dates before this week? Like, uh, saying that you really like someone isn't supposed to be asking for any kinda commitment or anything, is it?"

"I..I guess not. But—but just suddenly saying it like that, making me want to jump across the table so you can pet me, is totally not fair," the kistune said, folding her ears back in a bit of pretend-annoyance.

"Oh. I guess, I'll try to be more careful, then?" During the pause between this and his next sentence, she made the mistake of trying to sip some water. "Like uh...only say something like that when you're in pouncing distance instead?"
"Pffffffh—!" Kyo launched into a brief coughing fit, and recovered out of that only into giggling.

When she could speak again, she started with: "Kistune-no-kami's sake, Jay, I had a mouth full of water!!!"

But the clueless look on the redheaded fox-boy's face already told her he hadn't done it on purpose. "Uhh...sorry?"

"J-just think a little about how someone's gonna react before you say stuff," Kyo advised. "I mean, if you conclude it's gonna be hilarious, then go for it, but maybe not when someone's gonna choke on their drink. The number one rule of pranks is that in the end, nobody gets seriously hurt."

"I guess that makes sense. Heh..you're not the first person to tell me to think before I talk, either," Jay admitted.

A little later, they finished up, and Jay grabbed the plates to go to the kitchen. Kyosuke thought about escaping while he was busy, but obeyed a desire seated much deeper than reason, and went over to wait for him near the door. It only took a moment for Jay to appear. "Eehto—ah. Ahem," she softly cleared her throat. "Since we're clear it's not a huge deal to say so—I do really like you too," she said.

"Awwh! Does that mean you want me pet you?"
"A little." The kitsune crossed her arms, feeling her ears lower and her tails both start wagging back and forth. "If you do it as a guy, though, I'm likely to go in for a kiss."

"Hmm...I don't think I'd mind that too much," he said, his own vulpine parts giving out some very similar body language to hers. "Okay, then—!"

So Jay picked her up and pet her. She pet him back much like that morning, curling her tails around his, and nuzzled his cheek for a little bit. Then she drew her head back enough to plant her lips on his. He returned the kiss gently but affectionately, matching the somewhat hesitant passion she was putting into it, and it was long enough to leave both of them breathless afterward. And she was left looking into his emerald-green eyes for a long moment afterward while they tried to catch their breath.

"Atash—uh, I. I'd, like to be put down, please?" she said after a moment.
"Sure," he said, gently placing her on the floor and taking a small step back. "Enjoyed it, though? I know I did!"
"Uh..heheh. Y-yeah. B-but I'm gonna run away now—!"

With that, she did. Her ears picked up Jay laughing in response to this sudden departure, so—at least he didn't mind it.

---

"Polaris..."

"What is it? I am presently occupied with a task requiring intense concentration!"

Mary knew for a fact that the celestial could multitask almost as well as she could. They were both back in their room on Saturday night; Mary was lying on the bed playing a game, while Polaris was busy messing with things in her dresser.

"Just. Answer me truthfully, will you?"
"What? When have I ever told you an untruth?"
"Once or twice. But anyway, really—are you...reducing your bust size over there? And changing all your clothes to match?"
"Th..that is..simply none of your business!!!"

...Which was a yes. "Pfft." Mary let out a brief puff of air, usually the closest she could get to laughing.