Becoming Monsters 1: Ch. 27

"I know you are all hurting right now, and not just physically," Miaka said as she opened a bottled water and sipped casually, smiling, "but this was actually both promising and productive. I'll develop a workout and practice regimen for everyone tomorrow. Until then, I understand there is a tight schedule to keep. Honoka!"

Honoka recovered at this point and tried to think about baseball or other unsexy things because watching all this fighting made her horny (Honoka would admit, though, linoleum made her horny). Nodding, she came over to talk to the owl woman with a slight bow instinctively coming out of her, this whole adventure reminding her of training with her mother. [Yes, sensei?]

[I think your Class is broken beyond belief], Miaka replied in Japanese, finishing her water and motioning for Honoka to follow as she walked towards the stairs. [You would take me in a fight any day if you learned how to...allocate?...faster].

[It is difficult, actually, and not just because of the Status headaches]. Up the stairs they went together. It was only when they reached one of the baths that Honoka realized what Miaka wanted, and she lost control of her erection as the Beast grew harder and harder inside her loose pants. [I scroll down to the right menu, focus on it then move the points around. I honestly don't know how to make it any faster].

Taking off her weapons at the door and putting them in one of the slots on a nearby cabinet, Miaka quickly shucked out of her sleeveless coat and pants, revealing a white fundoshi and tightly bound breasts with white wraps. The spotted blue patterns were mostly on her arms and back, leaving only a soft down of bright red on her chest, abdomen and thighs. Her knees naturally bent backward. Just below the knees, they went from red fluff to golden keratin scales, her calves meeting with three elongated clawed toes in front and a shorter clawed toe behind for balance. The bend of her knees wasn't very distinct and underneath a hakama, it wouldn't even be noticed. Now that Honoka saw her entire posture, it looked like the woman was always bent forward as if ready to pounce or take flight.

What the down of her body failed to hide - unlike the thicker feathers of her arms - was that this woman was built. Not the farmer's muscles of either Banda or Quinn or even the sexy tone of Diane like a fitness model. The closest comparison Honoka could make was if you took a woman boxer who lived on a steady diet of protein and creatine, then sucked all the fat out of her body: this was the result. Even through feathers, Honoka saw an eight-pack that the black woman wanted to bounce quarters off of. Her neck, shoulders and arms were the only part of her body that didn't quite fit the lithe fighter physique, those muscle groups bursting with mass and power and likely assisted the owl woman's ability to fly.

[I think I know a solution for that].

Honoka flinched, realizing she had been staring and fantasizing even as the owl woman grabbed some soap and washcloths and headed over to one of the shower stations. "Hold up," Honoka said in English, her breath gasping as she looked at the wall. "I don't...did I miss when I got sucked into the fanservice onsen episode of a harem anime?"

"Nah, we'd need a bunch of horny guys trying to peep on us if that were the case." Honoka didn't notice before, but Miaka sported a small tail fan of feathers she must keep tucked in her hakama. "Relax, nothing wrong with a couple of Japanese girls taking a bath together. It is practically a cultural requirement."

Which is when she unbound her breasts and slipped off the fundoshi.

In the back of her mind, Honoka took a moment of solidarity to bond with her fellow member of the A-Team, the most common problem of Japanese women striking down yet another genetically flat victim. They were still bigger than Honoka's, little bumps covered in feathers as pert, blue nipples poked through the red. And although most of her womanhood hid under the arterial-red down, a tiny slit of blue hinted between her muscled thighs.

No amount of loose pants could hold back or hide Honoka's erection at this point, and the young woman was black cherry red from her blushing.

However.

"I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable with this." Honoka then spun around and fled the bathroom, beelining directly to her room and locking the door.

********************

*knock knock* ["Honoka?"] It was Miaka.

The embarrassed and guilty woman lay on her bed and didn't respond. After a minute she rose and opened the door. Miaka wore clothing again, which Honoka was relieved to see. The owl woman also radiated a mein of conflicted guilt and seemed smaller in many ways.

"I'm sorry, I..." The usually formidable and forthright owl couldn't find the right words. Clacking her beak closed, she just looked soulfully at Honoka with those giant eyes of hers.

Honoka sighed, deciding on maturity and motioned for the kikiyaon to come in, though she pointedly left the door open and went to some cushions in the middle of the room.

Both seated, it took a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence before Miaka got the hint this was her rodeo. "Ok, I want to be very honest here, I'm not looking for marriage." She scratched the back of her head and hunched over like she wanted to disappear. "My first husband was a teenage mistake, we had it annulled a month later. I met my second husband while I toured the MMA circuit and, well, we were both fighters. He weighed a hundred pounds (45.3 kg) more than me and he was abusive."

Honoka pursed her lips but didn't say anything, letting silence be her response. Miaka continued, her voice sounded dull, flat.

"Then, the Change hit. I grew feathers, he remained human. Despite that, we actually stayed together for another two years and I thought things were improving. I retired from the ring and wanted to start a family. He told me he didn't want any kid of his to be some kind of creature. I put him in an arm lock and broke his elbow. Left for the nearest dungeon the same day.

"I've kinda been focused on delving since then. Its easier to punch mindless dungeon monsters than face my feelings. I thought I found...not quite a family, but a team of people with Leeroy's. Comrades. I wasn't a woman, I was a raid leader and a hardas...cot." She smiled shyly, catching herself there. Honoka gave a tentative smile in return.

"If I'd known they peddled in slavery and pedophilia, I'd have killed them all years ago. Not only do they keep it really, really well hidden, but they also have protection from government. Anything goes in a dungeon, right? They are lucky I only trashed their guildhall and broke most of their hands with a sledgehammer: I should have gone around the place with a pair of hedge clippers and made myself a necklace of bloody dicks."

Honoka winced in a purely reflexive manner. Not because she sympathized with the degenerates, just a natural response from anyone with male equipment.

"For six months, I've been trying to scrounge work. I'm radioactive down here, and no one wants to even be seen near me. I can delve by myself, but delvers make money from selling what they find. If I can't sell, I can't eat. Figured the only way to escape was return to Japan and try the Osaka dungeon. Then I received a call from Eve and you took me in."

Miaka paused. She wasn't crying, but it looked like she struggled to keep a lid on it. When she continued, her voice trembled slightly. "I am thankful for you all and doubly thankful I received a chance to make things right with Padmava. So, call me crazy, but the sexual atmosphere is rather thick around here and my biological clock is still poking to put a baby inside me. I know you are all married, you've explained to me there is no one-night stands or friends with benefits here, but in a moment which I hope doesn't end everything I wished to gain here, I thought, what the heck."

Kneeling, the woman swiftly brought her head down in a formal seiza bow. "I am sorry. If you want, I will pack my things and you will never see me again."

Honoka still didn't say anything, but she thought about today and hoped to make the right decision instead of something hasty or emotional. It was challenging. She had trouble even forming the correct words into something coherent.

"I want to make something clear," Honoka said evenly, still trying to say this appropriately. "It isn't that I don't find you attractive or think you couldn't join my family. If you wanted to make that step, I think we could move forward. I believe we could love each other. However, you don't want that and I respect you and your reasons. Which is why I hope you can respect my morals. I know it looks like a constant orgy around here but everyone involved is not only consenting, they are committed to the entire family. It isn't only about sex, it is about trust. And earlier, it felt like a betrayal. Not to you, but to me. I felt like I was about to betray my family and it hurt."

Miaka seemed like she wanted to say something, but Honoka held up her hand.

"At the end of it all, I need to believe I'm a Christian, that I follow His example. Forgiveness is a big part of that. So is keeping His commandments. You've told me you're sorry and you are willing to pay for your mistake by leaving. I don't want you to leave and I want to forgive you. I also don't want to betray my wives. Can you promise me this doesn't happen again unless you are willing to commit to marriage?"

"Yes." Miaka replied quickly, yet the conviction in her voice was like waves on a rocky shore.

"Good. Now," Honoka stood and helped the other woman to her feet, smiling with a bit of mischief on her lips, "we can still get your needs taken care of. Because of Diane's unique biology, she requires regular feedings and much like my necessity towards multiple wives, she requires more partners than even my harem can provide. I know it sounds contradictory after our little discussion, but to her, its like drinking water every day: it is Racial and we all deal with that."

"Your family is so weird," Miaka replied, yet she smiled while sagging a bit in relief.