Volume 14 - Onward and Upward, Chapter 99 - Copy That
After ComicMon, things quickly returned to normal around the Mountain Lily Inn. Haru happily returned to her job at Sam's butcher shop and Tsuen was thrilled to resume her personal training at Sports Club Kobold. Even though winter had ended, Quess was still helping out at the flower shop, leaving Iormu's hands full with Pwess.
Mara experimented with sewing, hoping to eventually be able to make some income from it, at least between gaming marathons. She still disappeared for entire days whenever any new game or MMO update was released. Of course, Yuisu was always busy helping any current inn guests and keeping all thirteen guest rooms clean and well-stocked.
This left Chione feeling somewhat purposeless, since she didn't have a job or a calling like the other girls. She had mentioned how she felt to her girlfriend Actia, and Actia had shared an unexpectedly wise piece of advice: "Life isn't a race to some specific finish line. It's okay if you aren't sure what you want to do yet, as long as you keep your mind open. You might find a new passion in an unlikely place."
That advice really stuck with her, so Chione tried to be receptive to new experiences. She'd already stepped outside her comfort zone when she stood on stage at ComicMon, and that experience already had an impact on her. As Chione paced the hallways in the middle of the night, long after the rest of the house had gone to sleep, she thought, I actually kind of liked being around all of those people at the con. I guess I finally see what Mimi meant about being an urban liminal. Though I still prefer to stay out of the spotlight…
She was pulled from her thoughts and her pacing when she saw someone in the living room, standing in the dark, looking out the window. The person was short, with cat-like ears emerging from wavy lime-green hair. Most importantly, Chione didn't recognize them at all.
"Uh, hello?" she called, cautiously. As a gargoyle, Chione had powerful protective instincts, so her first thought was to identify the potential threat. Then she would defend her housemates, with force if necessary.
The person turned their head slightly and glanced at Chione. Judging by their face and body shape, it seemed to be a liminal woman of some sort. "Hello," she said in a flat, unenthusiastic voice.
Chione watched the mystery woman closely. Even in the darkness, Chione's nightvision let her see that the woman's eyes were droopy, with dark bags underneath. Those eyes were also different colors: one green and one blue. Chione thought, I've heard of heterochromia, and that it's common in cats. I guess cat-liminals can have it too?
"Are you a guest of the inn?" Chione asked. She didn't want to assume the worst just yet, especially since there were two guest rooms inside the main house.
There was no response, and the woman just turned back to look out the window again. She stared upward at the crescent moon with a glazed look on her face.
Maybe if I open up to her, she'll open up to me? Chione thought. Then she said, "As for me, I live here, as an Exchange Program homestay."
Finally, without taking her eyes from the white light of the moon, the woman answered, "Yeah. I'm staying in the corner room for a couple days."
Oh, that's the one next to my bedroom. Hearing that put Chione at ease, but she still didn't know much about the mystery woman staying in the house. Chione kept up her approach of pairing each question with some information about herself, since it seemed to work. "I'm Chione. What's your name?"
"Aiko."
"You're up late. Are you nocturnal like me?"
Aiko shook her head. "No. I just like the moon. When I'm looking at it… well, it makes me feel like myself." The cat-eared woman turned away from the window, then walked slowly past Chione. "Goodnight, Chione" she said in that same flat tone of voice, then she continued down the hallway and disappeared into her guest room.
"Goodnight, Aiko," Chione said to the empty hallway. She blinked a few times, pondering the strange encounter, then shrugged her shoulders. Chione resumed pacing the hallways and her thoughts returned to their earlier topic. Maybe I should spend more time in town, to experience more of Japan's culture and people. If I'm with Actia, I don't even need special permission.
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The next day, while Chione was asleep and most of the other girls were off at work, Yuisu planned to do some repair work on the house. She grabbed some tools and supplies and made her way through the house toward the back deck, where one of the wooden planks had splintered and needed to be replaced.
On the way, she passed Mara in the hallway. The pink-haired arachne was shuffling lazily toward the kitchen. She looked barely awake, which was pretty typical for her in the morning. Yuisu waved and said, "Good morning, Mara." Eleven is still technically morning, I guess.
Mara didn't respond at first, so Yuisu tried again. "Morning, Mara. Crazy gaming marathon? You look even more out of it than normal." That girl always stays up way too late.
Mara finally turned and acknowledged Yuisu. She smiled awkwardly, and muttered, "Oh, right… Yeah. You know me and my marathons, yep."
Yuisu grinned and said, "Ha! Maybe that shared interest in marathons helped bring you and Tsuen together."
Mara looked completely lost. She just blinked and turned away. "Seeya, Yuisu."
Yuisu tilted her head in confusion. Was my little joke that bad? Or is Mara just feeling off today? She shrugged it off and resumed her trip to the back deck.
It took almost an hour to remove the old, splintered board and replace it with a nice new one. The new wood stood out against the rest of the deck, but Yuisu knew it would fade to match eventually, especially with all the summer sun the deck would get.
Once the job was complete, Yuisu went to the kitchen to wash up and make herself some lunch. To her surprise, Tsuen was there and she was hunched over and digging in the open fridge. The centaur was wearing one of her exercise outfits, as if she had just returned from a run, but she wasn't dusty or sweaty at all.
"Hey, Tsuen. You're home from work early. Is something up?" she asked.
Tsuen shook her head, sending her magenta hair swishing. Her short-cut tail swished in a matching motion that was really adorable. "Nah. I'm fine," she answered without elaboration.
Yuisu stepped up to the kitchen sink to wash her hands, then said, "Have you eaten yet? I was about to make myself some lunch, and I can whip you up a salad while I'm at it."
Tsuen blinked and wiggled her long, brown ears. "Ahh, salad. That makes sense. Sure. I would like that."
As Tsuen closed the fridge and made her way to the kitchen table, Yuisu raised one eyebrow. Now Tsuen's acting odd too? I hope she and Mara didn't catch the same cold or something.
Yuisu made two bowls of salad, using spinach leaves and a variety of chopped veggies. She topped them with croutons and a bit of shredded cheese, then turned to ask what dressing Tsuen wanted.
Tsuen wasn't at the table. In fact, she wasn't in the kitchen at all. "Tsuen?" Yuisu called. "Where'd you go?"
There was no response, so Yuisu shrugged and thought, Maybe she wasn't feeling well and had to run to the bathroom?
Yuisu dumped some tangy Italian dressing on her own salad, then sat down at the table to eat. As she devoured the delicious meal, her thoughts wandered to all the little tasks still on her to-do list, but she was also worried about Tsuen and Mara. Mara being tired was normal, but Tsuen was as healthy as a horse and it was very rare to see her so out of sorts.
When Yuisu finished eating, Tsuen still hadn't returned. Huh. I guess I'll put her salad in the fridge for later, Yuisu thought. She put some plastic wrap over Tsuen's bowl and put it in the refrigerator.
Then she moved on to her next chore, which was a big one: cleaning the hot spring area. She flipped the sign on the fence to 'Closed' and stepped inside, carrying a bucket, mop, and basket of other cleaning supplies. The work kept Yuisu busy and her mind occupied, so soon she had forgotten all about Mara and Tsuen's strange behavior.
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That evening, Yuisu was cooking dinner and the smell started to bring all the women in the house to the kitchen. Tsuen and Mara came in together, both smiling and looking much better than earlier, then Chione came after, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
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Haru arrived next, wearing a fashionable little black skirt and a blue tank top. She seemed eager for summer weather, even though it was still a chilly spring up in the mountains. She was cold-resistant enough to get away with jumping the gun a little.
"Looking good, Haru," Yuisu said with a smile. She never could get tired of seeing that beautiful harpy in her various sexy outfits.
Haru grinned and replied, "Thanks, babe. Want any help with the cooking?" She asked even though she knew that she couldn't be much use. Not having hands made harpies pretty ineffective at cooking in general.
"Actually, can you go ask Qwess and Iormu if they want to join us? I made enough for them too." Iormu was the only one of her little family that ate regular food, but of course the entire family was invited. Due to her size, she ate enough for three anyway.
"Sure!" Haru said, then pivoted on the spot and bounded toward the back door, her skirt flapping almost high enough for Yuisu to glimpse some panties.
Yuisu went back to preparing the large and diverse meal, until a voice from the kitchen table caught her attention.
"Haru? Why'd you change clothes?" Mara asked.
Yuisu turned around to see Haru at the entrance to the kitchen, wearing a white t-shirt and torn blue jeans. Yuisu shrugged off Haru's sudden change of outfit, though it was pretty weird of her to change right after being complimented on her previous clothes.
Yuisu asked Haru, "So, will the cabin girls be joining us?"
Haru fidgeted for a moment, her long talons clicking nervously at the floor, then she turned around and started to leave without a word.
She stopped when a voice called out from further down the hallway and around the corner, by the back door, "Nah, they're in the middle of watching a movie." The voice was Haru's.
"Uh, what?" Yuisu said. Then an expression of pure confusion appeared on her face as a second Haru rounded the corner and strode into sight.
There were now two Harus, each wearing different outfits but otherwise identical, staring at each other in the hallway.
Mara jumped up from her seat and skittered forward so she could see what was going on in the hallway. When she saw the two Harus, her six eyes went wide. "No way! Two fluffy harpy hotties?!"
The newer arrival, the Haru in a skirt, puffed up her feathers and stepped backward into a stable and cautious stance. Her eyes narrowed into a grim glare and her pointed ears were pulled back. She was tense and on edge, and perhaps even afraid. It was a side of her that Yuisu had never really seen before.
"Who are you, and why do you look like me?" she hissed in a low voice. If a question could kill, everyone in the room would be dead.
The other Haru must have sensed the hostility and terrifying power of the harpy before her, because she instantly dropped to the floor and curled in a ball, wrapping her wings around her legs. In a flat tone quite unlike Haru's normally silky voice, she shouted, "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"
Then, before everyone's surprised eyes, that Haru started to change. Her pure white feathers withdrew into her arms, her body and limbs shrunk in size, and her hair changed to a vibrant lime green. Furry ears pushed their way out of her hair, and a green tail emerged from her lower back. Even her clothes transformed into a purple sweater-dress that hung off both shoulders.
After no more than five seconds, an entirely different person was there, curled in a ball on the floor. It was someone that only two women in the room recognized.
"Aiko?!" asked Yuisu and Chione simultaneously.
The green-haired catgirl shivered in fear, still clutching her knees. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she repeated in her droning, drab voice.
Yuisu forgot all about the food on the stove and sprinted into the crowded hallway. Mara had already backed away from the confusing scene, but Haru still loomed over the cowering catgirl. Yuisu stepped between them and addressed Haru first, looking the terrifying predator straight in the eyes. "Haru, it's okay now. I know this girl," she pleaded. "Take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?"
Haru took a single deep breath and let it out slowly and found her tensed muscles unwinding. As her adrenaline faded, she rose from her combative crouch and took a few steps back. She still didn't trust the impostor one bit, but she was calming down, at least.
Then Yuisu spun around and kneeled down so she could be face to face with Aiko. She put one hand out, palm up, and said, "Aiko, are you alright? It's all okay now. No one will hurt you."
Aiko slowly lifted her head until her eyes, one blue and one green, stared into Yuisu's green ones. "I'm sorry," she said one more time, then finally broke out of her apologetic loop and added, "I didn't want to cause any trouble. I was just so curious… I just had to know what it was like…"
Yuisu put her open hand on Aiko's bare shoulder. "Apology accepted. We were just startled, that's all. No one knew you could do that, so it surprised us." She looked up and swept her gaze over the girls that were gathered around. "Isn't that right?"
Mara was quick to say, "Yep. I was surprised, but that was really cool."
Chione nodded. Now that she knew Aiko could copy other people's appearance, her comment about feeling like herself made a lot more sense.
From the kitchen counter, Tsuen called back, "It was surprising, but I'm fine now." She was saving the dinner from burning, even the meat, despite the look of disgust on her face. Even the smell of meat disagreed with Tsuen, at least when it was that close.
Yuisu looked at Haru last and Aiko cautiously raised her eyes too. After a tense moment of silence, Haru said, "It's fine. Don't do it again, at least not without warning me first." Then a shiver ran down her spine and she muttered, "Seeing myself like that creeped me the hell out."
The slightest smile appeared on Aiko's face and she whispered, "Thank you."
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Aiko joined the other women for dinner and between bites of food, they all talked and learned a little bit about her. She was a rare liminal called a copycat, which was likely related to dopplegangers. Copycats look similar to nekomimis or werecats normally, but they can transform into a perfect physical copy of anyone they've ever seen. That ability doesn't copy personality, however, forcing Aiko to observe the person's actions for a while first, if she wanted to mimic them convincingly.
Aiko also admitted to each time she had impersonated the other women at the table. Tsuen felt unnerved when she learned that while she'd been at work earlier that day, Aiko had impersonated her. Her brown ears wilted and she asked, "Why do you do it? Why would you pretend to be me? And in my own house, no less…"
Aiko frowned and answered, "As I mentioned earlier, I get so curious. About what it's like to have wings, or four legs, or six eyes. About what it's like to be someone else." She swallowed hard and added, "And… I'm never comfortable in my own skin. I hate being myself…"
Chione stood up suddenly. Her cyan eyes were wide and passionate. "I've felt that way, especially when I first started to change from a human girl to this." She waved a hand over her horns and her wings. "But you can learn to love yourself and your abilities, Aiko, like I did."
The gargoyle girl pushed her chair out of the way and walked around the table to stand next to Aiko. "Your ability to transform is part of you, so I think you are still you when you're transformed." She put a stony hand on Aiko's arm and said, "I saw how guilty you felt about impersonating the girls. Maybe you just need more positivity around your transformations, around your special ability. If you see the joy and excitement it can bring people, you'll feel better about yourself."
Aiko blinked her mismatched eyes and tilted her head. "O…kay? I'm not sure what you mean."
Chione stepped back, planted her hands on her hips and unfurled her multicolored wings. "Please copy me. I'd love to see that," she said with a cheerful smile.
Aiko smiled shyly, then nodded. She stood as well, then started to transform. Her furry ears twisted and darkened into curved horns. Small wings sprouted from her back, poked through her sweater, and grew out to full size. She grew taller and a bit bustier. Her hair shortened and changed hues until it matched Chione's, and finally her skin and face changed until they were a perfect match.
Surprisingly, she hadn't changed her clothes this time. The gargoyle-Aiko was still wearing a bare-shouldered purple sweater-dress, but it was a few sizes too small for her now. Aiko's Chione-sized breasts threatened to spill out of the top of the sweater, which was also barely long enough to cover her butt.
Aiko didn't seem to notice her immodesty as she spun around to show everyone. Chione flushed a deep red and covered her eyes with both hands. She couldn't bring herself to watch as her 'reflection' flaunted skin normally reserved exclusively for her girlfriend.
Mara put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. "Damn, Chione. I never knew you had curves like that. You should show 'em off more."
Judging by the pleasantly surprised looks on Haru and Yuisu's faces, they agreed with Mara's assessment. Tsuen's opinion wasn't readily available, as she was already glaring at Mara. Tsuen was quite used to Mara's antics so there was no real hostility behind it.
"Uh, um, Aiko? Can you please change the clothes to, uh, fit?" Chione stammered.
"Oh, oops. I'm not used to transforming on the spot like that, so I guess I forgot that step." Aiko smiled cheerfully at Chione, using Chione's own face to do it, and said, "Should I resize this?" She tugged at the strained top, briefly exposing even more cleavage. "Or change into your clothes?"
Chione blushed even brighter and blurted, "Doesn't matter! Just do something. I'm so embarrassed!"
"I'll resize this, so no one gets me and you confused," Aiko stated. Then the sweater-dress spontaneously lengthened and expanded until it fit properly. It covered her cleavage almost completely, and functioned as a real dress again, reaching almost to the knees.
Chione peeled her hands from her face and finally looked closely at Aiko's transformation. "Wow, you are amazing, Aiko." She was impressed by all the perfectly accurate details, and she secretly appreciated how great she looked in that sweater-dress, at least now that it fit. I'll have to shop for a dress like that the next time I'm in town.
Tsuen raised a hand and asked, "I'm confused. How can your clothes change too? Are they magic or something?"
Everyone else nodded as they realized what a great question that was.
Aiko smiled and said, "Oh, I'm not wearing any clothes. I saw a girl wearing this dress once and I really liked it, so I tend to transform part of my body into it."
Mischievous looks appeared on Mara's and Yuisu's faces at the same time. To Mara, Aiko's reveal meant that she could transform into any person with any outfit she'd ever seen. Mara wanted to see her as Tsuen in all sorts of sexy clothes. To Yuisu, it meant that Aiko was always secretly naked, which was a supremely sexy and empowering thought.
Neither of them had a chance to voice their ideas, as Haru beat them to the punch. She raised a wing and said, "I'm sorry about my reaction earlier, Aiko. Could you copy me again? I'd like to see that properly."
"Sure," Aiko said, already changing back into Haru-in-jeans.
After the transformation finished, Haru stepped up close and looked Aiko over with wide and curious eyes. She ran a wing over Aiko's wing, testing the accuracy of her feathers, then leaned in until they were nose to nose, admiring the copied details of Aiko's face. "Wow, this is very impressive. I can't even imagine all the applications for a skill like this."
Yuisu had also been inching closer and closer to the two Harus, watching intently. She was breathing hard and there was a curious look on her face. When Haru and Aiko were face to face, Yuisu mumbled, "It'd be so hot if you two kissed."
Surprised by the sudden perverted suggestion, Haru and Aiko stepped apart in a hurry. At the same time, Mara burst into laughter. Yuisu hadn't meant to say it aloud and she immediately clasped her hands over her mouth. Even Tsuen and Chione stifled giggles at Yuisu's slip-up.
"Hahaha, you're not wrong, Yuri-su! You're not wrong!" Mara bellowed as she fell to the floor, clutching her chest and rolling with laughter.