Rellawing

Hi everyone!  I'm going to aim for Wednesday and Sunday releases, if I can stay ahead of my releases with my writing!  Those are the best times when to expect more!  If I get way ahead, I may release some more in a given week!  Thanks so much for all your support!

Bathhouses in this world are really weeeird!

Edited by: Trismegistus Shandy
Beta Read by: Yuki Kitsune, M A Thermidor

Yuppies! Today, we went to the public bathhouse of Wilted Rose.  I’d been to lots of them before, so I wasn’t particularly worried.  I was happy to know that mixed baths aren’t a huge thing in this country.  I learned that there are many countries in this world. Since top sciency minds haven’t made up their mind about the name of the world, I’ll just go with Gardenia. It’s always sounded pretty to me!

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I purred and arched my back as I rubbed against Marigold-onee-sama!  I’d never been petted before! Japanese people are generally shyer, and I was too. I held myself back after a while so no one would think I was strange.  It’s not unusual to explore skinship, but I think I got so touchy my friends started ignoring me. They realized that I really enjoyed it. Marigold-onee-sama didn’t seem to mind it, and Iris-chan seemed to also enjoy her pets.  I wonder if she… no. I wouldn’t ask her about it, because I wouldn’t get an answer I could understand!

“Well, Aimi-chan, get ready!” Marigold-onee-sama encouraged me with a warm smile. “I want to see how you look in your dress! After, we’ll go to the bathhouse and we’ll have a meal later.  When Iris-chan has recovered, we can take a contract to make some money. My income has been poorer since Iris-chan contracted Funeral Plague. It sounds pretty frightening, right? It can be a terminal illness, but Iris-chan seems to be somewhat resistant.”

“R-resistant?” I looked at Iris the way she twitched and blurbed on the floor as usual. I had to doubt her resistance to the disease. “I-is it catching?”

Marigold-onee-sama sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know.  I’ve been taking care of her for three months, Aimi-chan, and I haven’t started to contract any symptoms.  Either it incubates slowly, or else it’s simply not catching, but people do contract it. We’re not entirely sure how.  It’s rare, really. Locals call it ‘Funeral Plague’ because Wilted Rose is located on the edge of the Wildflower Funeral Plains.”

“Wilted Rose? That sounds kinda sad, Onee-sama!” I exclaimed as I stood and lifted the burlap bag.  I was going to go, but my curiosity made me want to stay for an explanation.

“Oh, it’s the name of this small burgh we’re in.” Marigold-onee-sama laughed.  “I suppose you’ve never been on this side of the plains. I heard that there are some roaming Bushi Tribes on the other side.  Are you a lost member of one of those? When Iris-chan is better, we can cross the plains or skirt them, though it will take weeks of hard traveling to get around them.”

“N-no… I wanna stay with you!” I exclaimed as I charged over to her to throw my arms around her again, nuzzling affectionately.  “D-don’t make me go!” I mewed.

“A-awww,” Marigold-onee-sama laughed. “I was just worried that your family might be worried about you, but if you want to stay with me, you’re very welcome! You’ll be a great companion, Aimi-chan!” She hugged me tightly and I felt her rub her cheek against mine.  I felt a tingly sensation when she did. The sounds of my purring filled Marigold-onee-sama’s home.

Maybe I should tell her that she’s making a mistake?  Marigold’s heart is pretty big. Just because things are going well for her because of your bumbling, she doesn’t know just how bad things can be if she tries to take care of you, Aimi…

“Stalker-sama!” I exclaimed, purring more. “What do you mean?”

Marigold-onee-sama gasped. “S-stalker-sama? I swear it, Aimi-chan! I’m not a stalker! I just want to take care of you!”

I looked into Marigold-onee-sama’s eyes and blushed. “Ah, I’m sowwy, Onee-sama! I didn’t mean you!”

Idiot.  At least recommend to Marigold that she should try to make a small fortune with those stylidium lily tendrils. She’ll need it!

“You didn’t mean me?” Marigold-onee-sama asked me. “You’ve called me a stalker a few times now… do you have a split personality issue?”

“I didn’t call you a stalker, Onee-sama!  I have a voice in my head and she says things to me…”

“Oh, I see… It’s okay, Aimi-chan.” Marigold-onee-sama looked into my eyes, her own brimming with compassion. My heart fluttered when she spoke the following words. She had said them to me before, but they meant a lot!  “It’s not like I haven’t taken care of Iris for a few months now, but I promise you that I’ll care for you.”

My heart beat rapidly and my face felt like a furnace.  

Oh, good… you’ll fall in love with Marigold.  Your strange infatuation with me is misplaced, Aimi. It’s good that you found love.

Stalker-sama’s words unnerved me. She was always watching me! “N-nooooooo! I love you!” I exclaimed and fled to the washroom.  I closed the door behind me and as I did, I heard a confused Marigold-onee-sama stuttering.

“N-no? Y-you l-l-l-l-l-l…” she trailed off.

Ugh… Stalker-sama groaned.

(　＾∇＾)  (☉_☉) (　＾∇＾)  (☉_☉) (　＾∇＾) (☉_☉)  (　＾∇＾)

I blushed from my hair to toes as I disrobed in the wash closet.  I first unfastened the remnants of my school uniform skirt, and let them fall to the stone floor.  I lifted the torn uniform blouse up over my head and dropped it. I was happy to notice that my lacy pink bra was mostly unscathed, though the lower part of the right cup was torn. It still offered support and more or less fit in the same way it always had.  When I peered into the bag again, I noticed that onee-sama hadn’t bought me a new bra.

I unfastened my bra and rubbed my breasts where the wires usually dug in.  I took a moment to admire myself in the mirror. By now, my face had healed mostly, though there were scabs here and there.  I saw that I was prettier than I had been before. I had subtly different facial features. This was the first clue I had gotten that made me realize that I was now a different person.  My hair was a luminous silvery white color, and my blue eyes stunned me too. They were big, and reminded me of a clear morning sky. My eyes were previously hazel to a darker color. I squirmed and spun before the mirror, giggling. My bushy tail chased me.  “I look like an anime catgirl!”

I could tell that my face was really cute, too.  I hadn’t been ugly, but I was definitely cuter now!  As I inspected myself more, I was happy to notice that I was mostly human despite my silvery fuzzy tail and my cat’s ears.  My nose twitched and I bounced up and down. I didn’t have much in the way of boobs, though maybe they were a little more full now.  They did bounce as I leapt. Then I heard Onee-sama’s voice call through the door. “Are you okay in there, Aimi-chan?” The door rattled, and I heard a scrabbling noise.  I thought that Onee-sama intended to come in when I was totally naked! I clapped my hands to my blushing cheeks and I squeaked. “N-nooooo… I’m naked, Onee-sama!” I exclaimed. We were going to a bathhouse soon. Why was I so worried about it?

I heard Marigold explain the situation in a lame tone after a moment. “Um… sorry… it’s Iris, actually.  She misses you.”

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I put on the dress that Onee-sama had bought me. The bodice supported my small boobs nicely.  I always hoped they would get bigger, but all through my early high school years I saw no sign that they would grow much more.  Beyond boob-related concerns, the dress looked so cute on me, I broke into a dance again. The skirt was a little bit longer than the school uniform; because of that, it preserved my modesty more.  I bent over to see how much I could bend in public without showing something. I saw a suggestion of the outline of my crotch in the lacy white panties Onee-sama had given me. I was safe enough, but I resolved to kneel in this skirt if I remembered.  I noticed that there was something like a brush on the washstand, so I used it to carefully work the snarls out of my mane. When I was finished, I felt confident! I turned towards the door and opened it quickly. Poor Iris-chan fell backwards, thrashing and twitching. She looked like she’d been hit by a truck.

I gasped and knelt by her and comforted her.  “I’m sowwy, Iris-chan!” I exclaimed.

Marigold-onee-sama smiled at me. “She looks like she’s alright, she’s just stunned. Let’s go!” She swept Iris up in her arms, which made me wish she’d do the same thing to me!

“Y-you look nice in the dress, Aimi-chan…” Marigold flushed and squeezed Iris more tightly.

I squeed!

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We left Onee-sama’s home and walked up the street, and this time I had time to admire the buildings more.  The street was paved with reddish cobblestones. Most of the buildings around were a similar reddish color, though some were painted too. The main colors of the painted buildings I saw were green, yellow, red and orange.  Over some doorways, I saw things that looked like crude cloth awnings, which had different patterns and were made in many differing colors. We walked past the central grassy square. Iris twitched and struggled fiercely as she spotted it. She drooled and spluttered loudly.  I could tell that she wanted to go back to rolling in the grass, and probably to eat it too. Onee-sama carried Iris out of the plaza with a tight expression. She clutched her to her chest, despite her thrashing.

I could see that the sun was going to go down soon.  The skies were still a beautiful mix of blue and green colors.  I watched the stain of sunset colors start to spread throughout it. A lone fluffy cloud slid into sight.  Onee-chan led us towards a large bridge. She led us up onto the bridge and when we reached the zenith of it, I saw the world on the other side of the river that danced through the town.  I could see several things from that higher place. A smaller part of this town lay on the other side, but in the distance I could see the field of flowers that were the first thing I had seen in Gardenia.  The Wildflower Funeral Plains! I realized.  

She led us to a building as we descended the bridge on the other side.  It too had an awning over its entryway; this one was a delicate pink color with a motif of flowers with entwining green vines.  I looked around the office as we entered. Potted plants ringed it. I thought it looked really nice, at least until one of the people who ran the place walked over to a potted plant holding a cute rabbit-looking creature.  I smiled, and charged over to cuddle the cutie, but then I saw the plant snap up the poor animal in his hands. The man pet the plant affectionately as it crunched on the bunny-like creature. I fell to my knees, my lip quivering.

“Th-that little… b-bunny…”  I whined loudly. Marigold-onee-sama walked over to me and brushed her hand against my head, her hands still full with the twitching Iris.  I thought Iris looked a little amused, but her expressions twitched so quickly I couldn’t tell if she even really understood what was happening around her.

“Oh, don’t cry,” Marigold-onee-sama comforted me, still holding the hapless twitching Iris. “They’re tamed Dandelions… they still need to be fed, though. It’s a fad here on the edge of the Wildflower Funeral Plains with some. Personally, I think it’s too much trouble.  Come on, Aimi-chan. A hot bath awaits us!”

“Y-yes… okay!” I jumped to my feet, squeeing.  “Hot bath! Hot bath! Hot baaaath!”

She laughed gently as she led me to the front counter and the clerk looked at Iris with a tolerant but annoyed expression.  “Back already, Marigold?”

Marigold nodded and smiled. “This poor little one needs frequent bathing.  I trust that you don’t have a problem with it, still?”

“No, of course not, Marigold.  Do you collect misfits?” the woman asked Onee-sama. She looked at me for a moment and her lips twisted. “No, enjoy your bath.  I see that your hands are… full. Don’t worry about paying until after.” She gestured, bowing in a strange fashion. She nodded twice and jerked her head in the direction of the baths.  I blinked and smiled as I followed Onee-sama. We walked into a changing room then. I found that it looked somewhat familiar to me, so I knew what it was. Rows of wicker baskets lined a shelving unit, and piles of clothes lay in them.  That was a little familiar, but there were some really unfamiliar elements here, too. I saw vines growing through the walls here. That in itself wasn’t strange, but then I saw a sexy girl walk nude over to one of those vines. She tugged on it and suddenly a torrent of water poured from it, drenching her body like a shower head.  She rubbed her hands over her body and the sight of that made me feel tingly.

The reason I avoided bathing houses sometimes was that I’d caught myself staring rudely at other girls. I wanted to jerk my eyes away, but I couldn’t stop staring.  I saw something next that I wondered about. The world doesn’t work like this! I thought.

That girl tugged on another vine and a strange substance squirted out from the end of it. She reached with her other hand to squeeze the vine above her.  When she did, it stopped pouring water. She then started to rub the substance all over her body and through her hair. She went back for more periodically, and her whole body was lathered soon.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw Onee-sama had set Iris down and was disrobing. She unfastened her armor plates, and this was the first time I saw Onee-sama without that glorious armor!

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Notes from Aimi:

Yaaay! I got to see Onee-sama’s body! Is that kind of perverted? Iris isn’t bad to look at either… and the other girls who came to the bath were pretty cute. I expected to see a lot of old women, but for some reason there wasn’t one in sight.  How are the girls all so pretty?

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Marigold’s Notes:

You’re probably wondering why the bathhouse tolerated Iris-chan’s presence.  The truth is, I’d done them some favors. There aren’t many other licensed adventurers in Wilted Rose. It has something to do with the lack of resources combined with the high mortality rate.  Foolish new adventurers who wander into the Wildflower Funeral Plains don’t have much time to regret their decision. Speaking of which, I nearly ended up the same way, but Aimi-chan saved me, and meeting her really did push me to step up and become a stronger older sister! Even though she attracted a bunch of stylidium lilies!