"Blegh.. My pizza is late.. And seriously, he didn't have to take that many blood samples, it's all his fault that I'm so tired and hungry.. And I can't forget, when I see dad, I'm definitely going to kick him."

I grumbled angrily into my couch as I anxiously waited for my meal to arrive, while grouchily typing out a text message.

'Seriously that Chive, she had to go and immediately start blabbing everything about my condition.. Explaining to Dana until she was assured that I was fine was troublesome enough..

While ol' goblin Taizou's reaction is going to be as unpredictable like he always is, Mika's being a total pain in the ass about it.. That younger brother of mine worries way too much about me.'

As I turned over onto my back, I read the message to my brother out loud to myself, while trying not to remember the awkwardness of the past.

"Really, Mika, I'm totally fine. While what happened seems scary at first, Chive didn't diagnose any real danger from it, and I'll be continuing to get examined once a week until this is over with.

Besides, there's no way that Taizou didn't know about what was happening, since Chive reports everything significant to him immediately. If I was actually in any danger, the old goblin himself would have already taken action."

With a shrug and a sigh, I sent the reply and set my phone down on my chest, waiting for the next message to arrive.

'Seriously that Mika, while the fact that my body is changing into that of my avatar is definitely scary, it's not that bad. Getting turned into a sexy foxgirl can't be that much worse than puberty after all..'

My train of thought was interrupted by my phone vibrating, and I lifted it up to check who was sending me a message.

"What's Mika saying now.. Eh? He and Taizou are coming over to check up on my condition personally this evening? ..This'll be kinda really awkward since I've been feeling horny all day..

Not to mention that I'm pretty much out of ingredients that aren't tofu, so I should probably order japanese food since Taizou is coming, and make a side dish to go with it. Sounds like a plan..

And my damn pizza still hasn't arrived yet. Are the delivery people too busy fucking to deliver pizza or something? I might as well reward the delivery person with a Danaka Yoruk bar in addition to the tip.."

Just as my thoughts began to turn sinister, the doorbell rang, and I leaped up off the couch in a mad scramble to the door. the moment I opened it, I found myself staring at a remarkably familiar face, who happened to be the delivery man.

"Yo Com Queen, it's been a while. I really didn't expect to end up delivering pizza to you, you've changed quite the bit since I last saw you. Been howling at the moon lately? You've got a nice beastly look going."

Maintaining a poker face, I took the large box of pizza from his hands, stepped backwards, and immediately began closing the door without hesitation.

"Hey! Wait a sec Arata! It's me, the Limitless Part-timer, Sam Rasolardo! We're in the same lab team, remember? I was just cracking a joke because you're a werebeast!"

As he held up his arm, a vivid emerald green pattern coiled around his arm caught my eyes. With my curiousity piqued, I paused and replied.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember being acquainted with any philandering fungus or walking disasters.. But you said something about me being a werebeast?"

"Yeah, the yellow eyes are typical of werebeasts, and you've got a musky animalistic scent.. Hold on, in no way am I saying you smell bad, you actually smell pretty great! ..Arata?"

Without comment, I shut the door, locked every one of the dozen locks, and carried my pizza to the table, before hurriedly stripping off my clothes and checking my body.

"The fuck is a musky animalistic scent supposed to mean, huh? Go stub your toe and step on a lego, damn bastard! I smell perfectly fine and normal..

Just to be safe, I should take a good and long shower before Taizou and Mika arrive.. I'm not at all worried that I might smell weird. It's just properly grooming myself before meeting my family, yeah. This is totally normal. Not worried at all."

As I repeated it to myself over and over in an fervent effort to convince myself that I wasn't bothered the comment made about my scent.

"I'll.. Let my pizza wait a little bit. Pizza and garlic bread won't go bad in the time it takes to have a nice warm shower before a meal. And a nice bit of oil for my skin."

While humming, I grabbed a towel and hurried into the bathroom, feeling increasingly uncomfortable and agitated as I climbed into my shower.

"There's no way I smell like an animal, if I smelled bad I could definitely tell, right? ..If I smell like an animal, and spent two hours there with the doctor.. No way, no way.

I smell perfectly fine. I definitely smell perfectly fine. I'm not at all bothered that the philanderous mold said I smell weird. There's absolutely no way in hell that I smell like an animal."

My unease faded and I relaxed slightly as I savored the calming feeling of the gentle flow of warm water running down my skin, and reached for my scented shampoo as I used my fingers to comb my hair back.

While I worked up a lather in my hair, I began to feel something strange between my fingers. As I brought my hand down to look, my heart nearly stopped.

"This is obviously dream. No wonder it seems so weird. Only in a bad dream would someone say I smell like an animal, and have my hair randomly start coming out while I showered..

..I wish I was dumb enough to actually believe that sort of lame attempt at ignoring reality. Fuck me, one horrid thing after another.. Yeah, that damn fungus really is a walking calamity."

As I continued washing my head, my anxiety continued growing as more and more of hair came off, until all I could feel was short hair, which was somewhat relieving.

"At least I didn't go bald.. Thank god for that. While losing all the long hair I spent a long time taking care of is kinda upsetting, at least this much can be explained away as an image change.. If I were to go bald.."

I trembled at the thought and shook my head, before pulling the large clumps of hair away from the drain as I sighed while wanting to cry.

"Why did this of all things have to happen just hours before my family arrived.. It's all that damn philanderous walking disaster of a fungus's fault."

After disposing of the soggy mass of fallen hair and thoroughly washing my hands, I gathered my courage and stood before a mirror, before finally feeling somewhat relieved.

"What's left seems like it's about an inch long, but the hair loss isn't anywhere as bad as I expected.. It'd give me a tomboyish look, if my hair hadn't turned pink. Regardless, while it's a shame that they don't offer bruschetta in the deliveries, I might as well dig in and eat."

With my panic and anxiety settled, I felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I walked out into the living room.

As I sat down and opened up the box, the seductive scents of garlic bread and premium pizza were unleashed, leaving me almost drooling as I became acutely aware of my hunger.

Eagerly, I took a large bite out of the appetizer, basking in the rich, savory, and buttery flavor that was lightly accented with the stimulating tastes of rosemary, basil, and fresh garlic.

Carefully savoring the satisfying crunch of the crispy surface and the soft fluffy inside that held a faint but refreshing taste of sage and black pepper.

As I chewed, I grabbed a slice of of the pizza, and began to indulge myself in the enticing smoky aroma of a wood fire, with a hint of the fragrance of rosemary and garlic mixed within, before swallowing and taking a bite of the main dish.

Taking a long moment to enjoy the sweet and savory sauce, the slight saltiness of soft cheese, combined with the mildly gamey but rich taste of tender antelope, tempered with succulent vegetables and a faint smokiness left me in utter bliss.

Before I knew it, I found myself staring at an empty box, feeling mostly content with my meal, but still desiring more as I licked sauce off my fingers.

"Even though it was an entire family size pizza that I was planning on splitting between two or three meals.. Plus a big basket of the bread..

Nothing else drives home how much my body is changing as well as this.. Though I really can't tell whether this is good or bad, but it might end up taking a chunk out of allowance if I'm eating this much every meal..

I should probably take a quick nap before Taizou and Mika get here, it'll be hard to deal with those two in worry mode without being in peak performance myself."

After washing off the remains of my slightly messy meal, I curled up on my couch and closed my eyes, controlling my breathing as I put myself to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of a familiar dark world, surrounded by the hateful landscape I knew all too well. A place I used to adore.

The most detestable place in my world, the things that tormented me most, the wretched, abhorrant, repulsive, loathsome, vile, land. The city in which Tae disappeared, and I was born.

All around me, the silent and lifeless wreckage, the desolate ruins that been my home, the lively metropolis that had once been known as Berkeley.

"Good evening."

I spun around as I heard the familiar voice, coming face to face with of the person I wanted to see most. Everything I had wanted to say caught in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Hey hey hey, you promised me, that no matter what happens, you wouldn't cry for me, right? So what're you doing, crying now?"

His face, his confident smile, the earring I had given him, his scent, his presence, standing there in the clothes he had worn that day.

"..I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.. I'm a failure. I'm literally the worst. Even though I want to see you so much.. Please disappear, I beg you.. Even though I'm trying my hardest not to remember..

Can.. Can I.. Even though I'm not Tae, even though I can't be your Tae, even though I can't love you like she did.. Can you.. Pet my head, just like how you did in the old times?"

Before I realized it, I was already wrapped up in the familiar embrace I longed for, with his hand gently caressing my head.

"It's alright, it'll all be okay. Everything will be okay. Don't be afraid of the lightning any more, it won't take anything away. You don't need to cry for me."

"But.. There's no way it can be alright.. How can I not be afraid of it? After all, you're.. Dead. It stole you away that day, and my self.. Tae, as well. Let me mourn.. For you, and for myself.

When you gave me the ring that day, you couldn't imagine how happy I was.. And yet, I hate looking at it so much. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I..

I'm.. Afraid. Afraid of waking up. Afraid of accepting that I can't be Tae. Afraid of treasuring the time I spent with you. Afraid of losing myself again.. Afraid of accepting that you can't come back.

Even though.. This is just a dream. Even though I know.. You're not real, even though I've been trying to forget you, I.. Could you let me stay like this.. Just a little longer?"

While I wept in his embrace, a familiar sound rang out through the dark and lonely ruins, bringing my bittersweet reunion to an abrupt end.

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As I sat up groggily, I wiped the tears off my face, feeling somewhat confused until the doorbell loudly rang out again.

"Really.. That was the worst possible way for that horrible dream to end. But.. I guess, I feel a little better after properly crying it out."

The moment I opened the door, I found myself confronting someone who stood out like a dove in the center of a murder of crows.

With long and wavy crimson hair, eyes that sparkled like saphhires, and a body that looked as if it threatened to tear out of the clothes that were confining it, they took a deep breath, and spoke.

"By the power of muscle, begone you thot! ..Eh, Arata, are you alright? You look like you've been crying.. Were you reminiscing about Misha?"

I couldn't help but burst out into laughter, and dragged the visitor in the door, replying with a shrug and the best grin I could manage as he entered.

"A little. I was dreaming about him until you woke me with the door bell. As always, you've got the best worst timing, Mika. But, well, it's nice having you over. So I guess the old goblin still hasn't arrived yet?"

"Nah, we actually flew over here together, but as soon as he got out of the car, a bunch of ravens started trying to steal the buttons off his jacket for some reason. Not quite sure why, but gramps will probably catch up in a moment."

My younger brother's reply left me at a loss, completely unsure whether or not I had heard his statement correctly. With a raised eyebrow, I asked to confirm.

"Am I hearing things, or did you just say that that the old goblin got attacked by birds trying to steal the buttons off his clothes?"

"Fuahahahaha, did you think that mere birds could ever defeat one such as I, the great magician revered as the alchemist of life, the centurial earl, Kaigai Taizou!

..Also, Arata, my dear great-granddaughter, did you really need to ruin the grand announcement of my arrival by calling me an old goblin? While I may be old, I'm much more like a dashing elf, am I not? Here, have some chocolates."

I gave the old man an unimpressed look and sighed before replying, while carrying in their luggage with one hand and receiving the gift with my other.

"Well, since you flew here and you've got luggage, I guess you'll be staying for a little bit? Anyways, the guest rooms are a bit dusty, since it's been almost a year since any of the family slept over.."

"Forget about that for a moment, I want to ask, why did you get a lewd tattoo beneath your navel? When Chive said you gave up your humanity to become a hentai heroine, I thought she was talking nonsense..

But that tattoo of yours does make you look like a character straight out of a hentai. The strange thing, is that the tattoo looks surprisingly fitting on you. By the way, is there any of that pizza left?"

While attempting to maintain a poker face, I shrugged in respone to the old man, who stared long and hard at my mark as I was about to sit back down on the couch.

"Sorry, I finished that pizza for lunch. Me and Dana also depleted most of the ingredients the other day, and I wasn't able to really get shopping done since I went through a whole bunch of exams at the medical center.

While we're going have to either order delivery or eat out tonight, I do have a few snack bars left, so wait here and I'll bring some to you guys."

As I turned my back to my family, I couldn't maintain my neutral expression any longer, and broke out into the most malicious and sadistic grin I had ever had in my life as I walked into my kitchen.

"Snack bars.. Snack bars.. They were in one of the top cabinets, ah, here they are, heh. I never expected to have a use for these in my life, but turning into my own game avatar was also something I never expected to happen."

With a deep breath, I suppressed the overflowing anticipation, and carefully reduced the grin to a slightest smile I could hold as I carried out two for each of them.

"Ah, thanks Arata. Hmm? Danaka Yoruk? I've never heard of a Danaka Yoruk flavor before. Judging by the wrapper, it looks like a combination of hawthorn berries, blueberries, and brazil nuts?

Is that what a Danaka Yoruk flavor is, Arata? Seems pretty interesting, I don't think I've ever seen that combination in a snack bar before. It's always nice trying something new."

Maintaining my expression, I sat back down on my couch after handing the snack bars to them, watching carefully as my great grandfather the wrapper, and raised it to his mouth.

"Gafuhsubahrd!"

The moment he took a bite, his face twisted in wretched horror, a garbled and bizarre sound that I somehow vaguely understood escaping from his throat, as he fell off the coffee table he had sat down on.

"How on earth can anything taste so ridiculously horrible! What the actual fuck is a Danaka Yoruk supposed to be? Arata, tell me right now, from where in hell did you get this abomination? And why does it taste even more vile than the stench of surstromming?"

I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the old goblin wheezing from how utterly horrid the taste of the snack bar was, and replied with the utmost satisfaction.

"It came in a multiflavor snack bar pack from a nearby supermarket. Bought several boxes at the time since they were on sale. The Danaka Yoruk flavor was marketed as having an amazing and unforgettable taste, and boy, they sure were right about that."

As Taizou scrambled to his feet and hurried out of the room, I turned to smile at Mika, who was staring warily at the unopened snack bars as if they were actually active explosives that he held in his hand.

"Even if it's gramps who's more hardy than the world's toughest roach, that.. Is still a bit too cruel and unusual of a thing to do to your great grandfather, don't you think so, sis?

"It's because he's tougher than an iron slime that it's okay to do such a thing to the old goblin. He's over a hundred and fifty years old, survived being nuked, much less the dozens of other times any ordinary person would've died.

And he's still more energetic than a gold medal olympian. I think it'd be pretty believable at this point if someone came out and claimed old Taizou is actually immortal. So there's not really any way that a vile snack bar-"

I felt a sudden hard impact to the top of my head from behind, and turned to look pleadingly up at Taizou, as he furiously ground his fist against my head.

"That's a head chop for you! Don't give me that bull, Arata! That damn snack bar was almost worse than Nagasaki! Tell me right now, how the hell did you manage to find a snack bar with a flavor as horrible as the experience of getting nuked?"

With a shrug, I mischieviously grinned up at him, to which he sighed and replied with a voice full of exasperation, as he let go of my head while visibly annoyed.

"..Did you feel that turning yourself into a hentai heroine fit your lewd nature too well, and decided to go down the path of an kunoichi as well? Certainly, that snack bar is the most effective assassination technique I've ever experienced..

Now that I think about it, hentai heroine and kunoichi.. The two traits fit remarkably well together. This actually makes a lot of sense now given Arata's unchanging nature as an incorrigible precocious and perverted girl."

"Could you shut up about the hentai already? This mark is a side effect of the weird genemodding that I ended up getting from that coffin-like black machine over there, not a tattoo.

Also, the two of you seem pretty damn unconcerned about how my body has changed despite having come over to personally check up on me, what's up with that?"

I replied to Taizou's rambling with irritation, and finally asked the important question that had begun to eat away at my patience.

Mika shrugged, tossed aside the snack bars of mass destruction, and nonchalantly replied, while visibily trying desperately not to laugh as he spoke.

"That's because everyone in this room knows the fact that idiots are essentially invincible. Not to mention that one good look at the results shows that it's changing your body for the better. Ol' Gramps here even said-"

He immediately shut up as I heard the sound of cracking knuckles, when I turned to look, I found Taizou giving Mika a very kind smile that spoke volumes.

"What I said is unimportant, now, let's get to the actually important questions. Arata, in the event that the ongoing changes to your body are irreversible and you cannot return to being human, what will you do?"

I scratched my cheek as the obvious answer came to me without having to think about it, so I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and stated it out loud without hesitation.

"Dunno. I've never had a chance to be a non-human before, so I really have no idea what I'll do if that's the case. But I'd probably just keep on living with Dana. Other than that, I'll know what I want to do when I want to do it, that's all."

My response seemed to satisfy Taizou, who nodded, and he replied while stroking the air beneath his chin, acting as if there were an invisible beard hanging down.

"That's quite alright then. Oh, and by the way, at the range you're currently growing, you will likely need to replace your entire wardrobe every week or two for the duration of your growth period."

"You're kidding, right? Isn't growing that fast impossible? Unless it's a really nasty cancer or something, there's no way that should be possible.

I cocked my head to the side as I stared at my great grandfather, in the hope that he was telling a bad joke, but only received a stony and serious silence in response.

"Not impossible, but definitely abnormal. But everything about this situation is abnormal. Also, while I was flying over, I had Chive cross reference the genome analysis results and victim reports gathered internationally."

He gathered his breath, setting up a dramatic silence, before continuing while smiling irritatingly, seemingly trying not to laugh as he did.

"Your results were similar enough to sixty four other reports to classify you as a member of the same genus, and there were only eight members of the same species so far.

The reports also noted what the victims believed they were turning into, after cross referencing, the reports.. Congrats, you'll be able to sleep around without contraceptives and you won't need to worry, my dear vixen."

I groaned as he gave me his characteristic irritatingly smug knowing smile, while Mika just shook his head and sighed, before speaking up with a serious tone of voice.

"Sis, here's the actual important part. The real problem is that the genemods were Kaigai Quality, which means at least one of the six groups that can manufacture Kaigai Quality genemods either orchestrated or is heavily involved in this mess.

It'd be impossible for our GeneTech Division to get involved with something on this large a scale without our family knowing, since old man Taizou here still personally leads it, so we can rule out our Kaigai Biotech's involvement."

With a slight nod, and a nagging feeling that something was somehow wrong, I began pouring over the possibilities in my head, while starting to feel quite lost.

'In the first place, would there be any profit in doing this? In the short term, it's possible but highly unlikely, but in the long term, definitely no.

Casting suspicion on all of the six, and knowingly sparking an investigation of unprecendentedly large scale, where's the profit in that?

So that rules out any motive of profit, which should already rule out all of the six. So what motive could there be? A fetish for non-humans? No, that can't properly explain this incidient.

If it was just wanting to fulfill a fetish, with the tech they obviously have, they could make a harem of as many non-humans as they ever wanted, without ever making a disturbance. So to satisfy a fetish is unlikely as it being for profit..'

"As expected of a descendant of my noble bloodline, and the one who has the talent necessary to become my successor. You caught on rather quickly. Yes, your speculation is definitely right.

No matter what angle we look at this mess from, the motive, finance, scale, and sophistication of this case don't match up with eachother at all."

As he imitated the voice of a certain classic detective from ages ago, I watched my great grandfather furiously stroke an invisible beard.

"The answer to the question of the missing motive, is the skeleton key for this case, my dear vixen. The great question, why, why would the culprit spend so much money and risk so much danger to turn people into their created avatars?"

I replied to his increasingly excited rambling with a shrug, glancing over at Mika, who seemed to be busily searching for the TV's remote.

"My dear vixen of a great granddaughter, there is one thing you musn't overlook. There's no way that the machine system that genemodded you could ever be approved for sale without passing the governmental safety checks.

But since there is a hidden genemod system within, there's no way it could've passed the mandatory inspections and safety regulations checks legally.

So there's either been massive bribings of government officials to facilitate the unknown purpose behind modding away people's humanity, or at least one country's government is in on some kind of conspiracy involving it.."

I raised an eyebrow as he continued and sighed, before replying with the logical statement that brought the overly energetic old man's ongoing rambling to a grinding halt.

"If we can't even figure out a basic motive for profit, there's no way there's some giant conspiracy bent on stealing people's humanity is going on behind the scenes for some obscure goal.

So that can only mean that the culprits either bribed people, or the government inspectors were incompetant as usual. After all, unless it's something involving IC-66, the government isn't going to simply jump all over it immediately."

"Great granddaughter of mine.. Why must you be such a wet blanket all the time. Let an old man's young heart dream of conspiracies. Conspiracy theories are one of humanity's greatest traditions."

My response was plain and simple, I silently gave Taizou a pitying smile and patted him on the shoulder as if I was calming a kid who had been having a temper tantrum.

"Hey, uhh, Mika.. Your older sister is bullying your great grandfather. Do you mind helping me out with this troublesome girl that makes me worry all the time?"

Without turning his back, Mika replied in a blatantly uninterested tone of voice, while lazily browsing through the programs available on the TV.

"Gramps, if you properly stated your actual thoughts about the situation instead of rambling about conspiracies, maybe she would pamper you a bit. Also, an old fox like yourself has no business calling her a vixen."

My great grandfather's head snapped around so quickly to look at me that it looked as if he'd get whiplash, with an excited expression that somehow reminded me of a cat.

"Arata, is that true? Is Mika actually not tricking little old me into going out on a snipe hunt for once?"

"I guess.. Yeah. You are my great grandfather after all, and you did help raise me, not to mention that you did help Dana take care of me after the Berkeley Incident, since my parents were off planet.. So I wouldn't mind pampering you now and then."

As soon as he heard the confirmation, he turned, and without any hesitation, he immediately laid his head down on my thighs with a contented smile.

"If that's the case, I'll take a thigh pillow right now. Nice and soft thighs are the best pillow, Arata my dear, you've become a damn fine woman, you know that?"

From across the room, Mika commented with his voice dripping with obvious mirth, while he continued to browse through the TV schedule guide.

"Gramps, have you finally gone senile and started hitting on your on own great granddaughter? Also, sis, you should really get a better TV provider, some of the best channels aren't available.."

"As if! While I may be a weird old man who doesn't act his age in the slightest, I'm not some sort of pervert who'd hit on his own great granddaughter!"

I chuckled, before taking a deep breath and interjecting into the brief pause in their banter, asking the all important question that could reignite the oldest war in history.

"So you guys, I was wondering, what should we do for dinner tonight?"

Taizou's closed eyes immediately snapped wide open, and he spoke up with the most serious tone of voice he ever used, while he continued to rest his head on my thighs.

"I know a guy who owns a fine italian restaurant that's nearby, it's got good food and service, so how about we head over there for dinner?"

My living room's peaceful atmosphere suddenly turned tense as my younger brother turned his head and replied in an equally serious tone.

"Nah, it's not been long since we last had italian, and it's been ages since we had french food, let's have some of that for a change."

Taizou abruptly sat up, oozing the intimidating aura of veteran warrior ready to battle, climbing off the couch as he glared daggers at Mika.

"Haah? Choosing lowly french food over italian cuisine? Them words be fightin' words, you overgrown trap. Shall we take this outside and call it a duel to settle our dinner, eh, boy?"

My great grandfather's fiery retort set my younger brother's fighting will ablaze, and I interrupted their spat with the utmost seriousness.

"Hold on a sec you two! If you're going to be dueling it out to decide what's for dinner, first step outside, and second, let me set the mood and stage before you start."

As I guided the two warriors with blazing desire to battle out my back door, I continued speaking as they stepped down off my porch into the short grass of my back yard.

"I'll be giving the two of you a countdown on which to begin your duel, alright? We're starting the duel in Five.. Four.. Three.. Two.. One.. Mortal Combat!"

As I declared it, I began playing the classic tune at maximum volume with my phone's speakers, signaling the start of the great war to decide our dinner.