Part 4 (cont.)

All my muscles were tense, especially on my hands. Then, without warning, I felt a warm and wet touch on my lips. My eyes automatically blinked open as I saw Allison’s lips pressed against mine and his arms stretched out behind me.

I stood there until he released my lips and said softly, with a wink, “Gotcha first.” Despite his coy look, I could see a bright blush on his cheeks. I put a hand to my lips and tried to speak. I turned around to check if Lissa was looking. At least she wasn’t there.

Turning back, I was still aghast. Is this what Allison had been planning all this time? He gave a little nod and said, “Part one of the experiment. Now you go in there and see what kind of anime girl you are and we can do part two.”

My automatic question was, “You’re gonna….do that again when I come out, right?”

That got a little pout from Allison. “See…this is why I didn’t want to tell you what it was. Now you’re expecting it.”

And now Lissa started to peek around the corner. She asked in a far louder voice than I expected, “Did he kiss you yet?”

I whirled around and found myself looking back and forth between Allison and Lissa, both with their arms folded and smiles on their faces. I slumped at the shoulders and made my way into the bathroom because there was nothing else I could think to say.

With the door closed and locked behind me, I felt like I had a moment to assess all that. With what Allison had been saying before he asked about the experiment, a kiss was the most expected result. But then I never expected he would actually give me one. But then he had asked about a date and everything.

It was perhaps a bit more than just Allison being Allison and professed panamourous feeling. I batted at my hair. And here I figured dealing with turning into a living work of art of the opposite sex would be the biggest quandary on my mind for the day. And Lissa. Did she know what Ally was up to? What did she feel about it? Had Allison told her what we’d said to one another? So much. I took a breath and coughed out a bit of dusty feeling from the overhead air vent, which felt like it hadn’t been cleaned out in a long time.

I slipped the imitation device on my left ankle so it was snug enough to feel secure without being too tight. It clung comfortably. Then I pulled up the interface and went right for the random button.

First choice, long light-blue hair. I tried to pull up other details but that was all it gave me so far as the selection. My legs were starting to tremble a little. I thought for sure I would have pounding arousal as well but it seemed like everything was too confused to know what to do with all my feelings.

A blinking section of the controller simply said “Activate?” followed by YES/NO. I pressed YES and another screen popped up that said “Confirm?” followed by a brief explanation of what was about to happen. If I pressed YES again then I would…I would…be someone else. Almost instantly.

I had to sit on the toilet for a moment because of my legs. I took some time to clear out my bladder and wash my hands before I returned to the device. I kept reminding myself this was only the first go and I could turn back as soon as I turned it on if I wanted and if I didn’t know if this was the form I wanted to wear.

I leaned out the door and noticed Allison and Lissa were on either side of the hall with their heads poking out. Lissa was the first to frown and say, “Hey! You don’t have boobs yet. What gives?!”

I muttered a bit before spitting out, “I’m getting there. It’s a big deal.” Allison flashed her own frown and said, “Come on! I want to kiss a girl today too!” Lissa snickered and gestured at me with her hand before saying, “So yeah! Get the lead out. How many have you tried?”

With a frown, I tried to come up with an answer. Lissa sighed and looked at Allison. “He hasn’t even started…”

Allison quipped, “Girls prefer decisiveness in a man, especially when he decides to reality-alter himself into a cute anime girl.” They were enjoying this way too much.

I shut the door and went back to the controller. It was still on the same screen. All I had to do was touch it. I bent a finger down and almost caught it but I pulled my finger back right before touching. I took a breath.

I muttered to myself, “Oh for…geez. Come on…”

I wanted this. I’d said I was in love with this. So why wasn’t I leaping on the button with reckless abandon? Someone can love the idea of jumping out of a plane with a parachute for so many reasons…but then there was no way this was going to possibly kill me. Hopefully.

I paced a bit. Eventually, it was the knowledge I was holding up Lissa’s turn which finally did it for me. I closed my eyes and brought my finger down on the YES.

The moment which followed felt like a combination of a moment of vertigo and an electric rush through my entire body. It was too quick to point to anything in particular shifting or changing. But, when it was over, everything felt different.

I had to open my eyes. When I did, my immediate reaction was to stagger back in surprise. A girl, a Kinrae, looked back at me in the mirror.

Her mouth hung open with a flattened, dark-pink mark. Her eyes were huge, classical style with a C-tracing around the outside edge. Her hair and eyes were both a light, icy blue which glimmered like jewels even in the dim glow of the bathroom. And hair…there was so much of it that some even reached my…her legs. Her nose was so light that it barely showed up, even with a turn of her face.

She had on what looked like a warm, professional outfit with a dark-blue jacket and a white, collared blouse. Her dark blue, pleated skirt had a white section which showed from under it. Her legs were covered in dark-toned stockings with black boots at her feet. Her arms were narrow, more so than mine with thin hands and longer fingers. She had prominent, joined spirals in the center of her palms, the standard sign of an imitation. These spirals seemed a little lighter than the ones I’d seen in photos but that could just be because of the light in the room. And her chest…

It swelled outwards. A little bigger than Lissa’s. It curved the shirt and the jacket too. I felt it. I felt all of it. I stood there with the weights, the shapes, the softness, the forms, the feelings, the everything. She stood there with a blank look on her face as her hand roamed without touching. She stared at herself. I looked out.

She was me. I could’ve fainted right then. I could’ve tapped the device and undone it. So many things could’ve happened. But as I stood there and she stood there looking back at me, I felt a warmth all through myself which wasn’t just her attire. I felt what I had said in words.

I loved her. She was beautiful. She was so cute. She looked amazing. She looked mysterious. She was me.

I couldn’t resist smiling and the image in the mirror, my image in the mirror, smiled back, turning that little blob of dark pink into a warm crescent.

Then, I started posing. I leaned to one side and brushed my hair back. I tilted my head up with a smile. I held a leg up. I folded my arms in front of me. I narrowed my eyes a little. And, all these gestures, my partner in the mirror reflected.

Despite my icy hair, I had a warm blush on my cheeks. My head seemed large for my body but not unnatural for a Kinrae. My ears felt so warm with all that hair.

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I looked at the door and clenched my hands. Surely Allison was about to knock and offer some witty quip which might make me blush even more. I unlocked the door and pulled it open. Neither of them were in the hallway, not even peeking around the wall.

I took a few steps. It felt different but not unnatural. Things felt shifted about, moved, fuller, softer, different. But none of it felt bad. Well, the hair was more unwieldy than I would’ve preferred but it was kinda neat.

I crept into the living room and bent the edge of my massive eye over the wall. Unfortunately, the new balance of my hair had me stumbling away my ninja skills. Sorry, Quilla.

Both Lissa and Allison were looking at me. Allison gave a little clap and a wide grin before whipping out a digital camera. Lissa folded her arms and leaned back with a pleasant expression. She took out a digital camera as well and they snapped a photo at the same time before I had time to even consider a pose.

Allison’s first comment was, “After the experiment, it’s brushing and braiding time!” Lissa’s was, “Someone likes long locks. And excellent choice of boobs.”

I braced myself as Allison jumped up from the couch. He slipped the camera in his pocket. I knew what was coming. I could’ve closed my eyes and waited for it but I felt a sudden notion. I wanted to have a little fun.

As Allison got close to me, I suddenly leaned forward, reached my hands around him, and stole a kiss from Allison’s lips. I was a little shorter than him now but not so much that I had to stretch up to kiss him.

Inside my head, there were flashes of panic and confusion. But the kiss, the touch of it, the warmth, felt so nice. I held it for a little longer than Allison had held the first one then finally released him with a little dip of my head and a coy smirk of the sort he typically wore.

His eyes were wide and there was red on his cheeks for only a moment before he cracked a coy look of his own and said, “Well well, this is definitely a new side to Sean.”

Lissa gave a chuckle and added, “Aww and here I feel all left out.”

I looked to Lissa and told her, before a voice in my head could scream anything in protest, “I’d love to kiss you too, Lissa.” The voice I spoke with was so different in tone and feeling despite speaking in my own words.

Now it was Lissa’s turn for a look of surprise. She cleared her throat gently and offered, “I guess I deserve that...for messing with you lately.”

I shook my head, which had to be a much more careful act with all this hair, and told her, “I mean it without kidding. You’re my friend. You’re one of my best friends. And you’re beautiful. And for so long I’ve had the biggest, shyest crush on you. And and…eep…there goes my boldness…”

I cupped my mouth and crouched a little as my brain caught up to the words I’d said. I’d just wanted to kinda surprise the two of them in turn. But that much honesty... All my fears I’d said to Allison about what might happen. I was staring them in the face.

Lissa didn’t show the surprise I expected. Her expression was solemn and strangely calm. She gave a little sigh through her nose and said, “Oh Sean, even a blind llama without any legs could tell you had a crush on me. Sorry, that probably sounded super random. It is. Just a random discussion between me and Allison while you were picking a form. By the way, if this is what you wanted Allison to keep super secret about, then Allison is a secret ninja to make Quilla proud because he didn’t give me a peep.”

For emphasis, Allison made what I assumed was some sort of ninja pose. Then he crept out of the room and into the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone.

I looked around at the couch and then out the window before returning my vast eyes to Lissa, who laid her hand on the place next to her on the couch to beckon me over. I sat right where she gestured with my legs pressed against each other, a pose which told me just how much my body had changed.

Setting her hands in her lap, Lissa began, “You are my friend, Sean. And you’ve also got a sexy ass as a man.”

From the kitchen, Allison yelled, “Hear hear!”

Lissa continued, “Bouncing quarters off it. And wishing you wore more tight pants. And your hair? Gorgeous. Those warm eyes. The scruff on your chin. Your words. The way you lean back in a chair in class…” She cleared her throat again.

She gave a pause to all that as I felt myself blushing. “But Michael stirred many of the same feelings for me too. I loved him and our love created Quilla. For that, I am so deeply grateful we had our time together. But you’re not Michael. And I really suck at explaining this kind of thing…” Lissa dropped her head back against the couch cushion for a moment.

I tried not to read into her words. The voice in my head was begging me to make her drop this, out of fear of what would happen to our friendship. But I kept silent and just listened to her.

After a quiet moment, Lissa finished, “You are my friend, Sean….I could bring up our Thursdays, our fun chats, you and Quilla playing, class, everything. But for me, the happiest thing I could imagine is Quilla in my arms and you and me just enjoying a movie as we fall asleep.”

Allison peered in to watch. I wasn’t sure what to make of her expression. I reiterated to Lissa that she was my friend. I delighted on all the same things she did and I gave her my own accounting of her looks, “You have the most amazing hair I can imagine a woman having. You make all of what you call ‘cheapie clothes’ look so sexy. You’re so clever and smart and you’re a great mom no matter what you’re afraid of. I really mean it. Also, your ass gets no complaints from me and you have amazing boobs.”

It was out there with my heart pounding in my ears. Lissa shifted in her seat and leaned her head. She kept a calm expression as she said, “Well, you know how I feel about your boobs….” She glanced at my chest, which sent a strange feeling through me on top of so many strange feelings from my body.

She continued, “Actually, you look about the size I was back when I was nursing Quilla. I should have some old bras you can borrow.”

Her words immediately made me self-conscious of the fact I was right then wearing a bra under that white top. Although the top was thick enough that nothing showed through. Lissa also mentioned sharing other clothes for photos before she paused to blink and realized, “Oh, I should probably change now too. Gonna see if I can best you.”

I leaned towards Lissa, my screaming, internal voice starting to mount again as I said, “I’m sorry to ask for a kiss. Can’t wait to see how you look as a Kinrae.”

Lissa was starting to get up. She leaned towards me a little as well. She bent forward, gave a warm kiss on my cheek, and told me, “Don’t be sorry. And don’t worry. And I will be back in just a little bit.” She picked up both pieces of her device and walked towards the bathroom.

Halfway across the room, Allison peered out again and Lissa turned back.

Lissa noted, “By the way, I dunno if it was a random pick or not but I think that form looks nice on you.” And with that, she left.

I got a moment to glance down at the Kinrae body I had with all its crisp colors, artistic shading, and living lines before Allison used all his ninja skill to sneak over beside me with an enormous brush and a pink plastic tool with many points.

With a wink, he told me, “Brushie brushie time!”