“Don’t know.” Iris sent him a helpless shrug. “She seems to have something against men, though I have no clue what that something is. She seemed really enthusiastic about ferrying us until she saw you, though, so whatever beef she’s got with guys must be serious.”
“Then it seems we cannot use this ferry to traverse the sea,” Phoebe spoke with that formal tone that she always used. “Do you know if there are any other vessels traveling across the sea?”
“There aren’t,” Iris informed them. “I’ve already checked. It seems there’s been some problems happening in the Caspian Sea recently. I’m not really sure what those problems are. No one seems willing to talk, and even when I use enchantments, all I get is useless information about monsters.”
“Do you think the problem could be a yōkai attacking ships?” asked Kevin.
“It could be,” Phoebe said. “There are some yōkai who prefer living in the sea to living on land.”
Kevin ran through a quick list of all the yōkai he knew that lived in the sea. There were amabie, or mermaids; ō-amemasu, but they lived in freshwater lakes; and bake-kujira, a skeletal whale that was said to be eighteen meters long and very aggressive. That one was possible, but it was also unlikely. There was only one bake-kujira as far as he knew, and it drifted along the coastline of Western Japan. Were there any other ocean-faring yōkai that he knew about?
“What are we supposed to do, then?” Menippe asked, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “If we cannot travel across the sea, then we cannot rescue Kevin Swift’s mate. Unless we find another way to China.”
“Not possible.” Kevin shook his head. “I’ve already considered every method of infiltrating China, and this is the only one I’ve found that gives us three-to-one odds of success.”
“What do the other methods give us?” asked a curious Thoe.
“Less than one hundred-to-one odds.”
“Hey now,” Iris interrupted before their conversation could continue, “you guys don’t need to worry about any of this. I’ve got a foolproof plan to get us on that ship.”
“Really?” Phoebe inquired. “Please share it with us, then? I am interested in knowing of your plan.”
Iris’s eyes gleamed like twin bloody moons pulsating with the light of an unknown star. She turned to Kevin, who stared at her for several seconds, comprehension slowly dawning within his mind—along with horror.
“No.” He backed away from the vixen. “Oh, no. Not happening.”
“Oh, yes,” Iris hissed out that last syllable like a woman having an orgasm. “You know this is something you have to do. There is no other choice. Kevin Swift. Stud. It is the way of all harem protagonists.”
“Don’t say it!” Kevin’s voice sounded shrill, even to his own ears. “If you value the friendship we’ve fostered since meeting, then you won’t say it!”
“In order to gain safe passage through the Caspian Sea, you will dress up as a girl,” Iris said, her eyes gleaming in triumph.
“!!!”
***
Kotohime looked up from the supply manifest she had been reading. The tips of her ears pointed straight up in the air; her tails, likewise, became riots of activity. She looked around several times as if searching for something, which attracted the attention of Abercio.
“Is something the matter, Kotohime?”
“Perhaps,” Kotohime mumbled. “I could have sworn I just felt a sense of overwhelming despair through the force.”
“You do know that we don’t have the force, right? That’s Star Wars.”
“Of course,” Kotohime mumbled. “It was just a figure of speech.”
***
Within her luxurious prison, Lilian looked up, eyes narrowed, ears pointed toward the ceiling. Her lips curved downwards in an intense frown as she concentrated on something beyond her line of sight.
“My Kevin senses are tingling,” she murmured. “I have the feeling that my sister has just done something to embarrass and humiliate my mate. I will have to get back at her for that.”
Knowing that there was little she could do to Iris right then, Lilian went back to drawing several large phalluses all over Jiāoào’s face.
***
“This is so humiliating,” Kevin grumbled to himself.
“Come on, Stud.” Iris’s voice came from the other side of the stall that he was in. “What’s taking so long? Get out here so we can see how you look.”
“Don’t rush me,” Kevin snapped.
“I also wish to see how those clothes we picked out fit you.” Phoebe’s voice came through, muffled slightly by the door between them.
“Not you too!”
After Iris revealed her plan, Kevin had been unwillingly dragged into the nearest female clothing store. He’d fought them. Of course, he had. However, Kevin was still only human. He couldn’t overpower even one yōkai, much less six. While Iris had wrapped her tails around his wrists, the five yama uba had pushed, prodded, and cajoled him into following.
And that was how he found himself in this changing room.
“All of us want to see how cute you look,” Iris said. “Now hurry up and get out here. The ship leaves in less than an hour.”
Several seconds later, Kevin emerged from the changing stall. His face flushed in shame as every female in the store stared at him. Considering this was a female-only store that meant everyone was staring at him.
“S-stop staring at me like that,” Kevin mumbled, grabbing his right elbow with his left hand as his embarrassment reached a plateau.
“Uhuhuhu.” Iris’s quiet chuckle made his already flaming cheeks turn into a bonfire of color. “Well, don’t you look cute. I think those clothes fit you well.” She nodded several times, eying him up and down. “You look surprisingly good in girl clothes.”
Indeed, Kevin was no longer wearing the clothing of a man but a woman. He wore a large sundress that kept his broader than average shoulders hidden. A bra stuffed with padding hid his normally defined pectorals, and also gave him DD-sized breasts. They’d also given him thigh-high socks to wear, which did an admirable job of hiding his somewhat hairy legs. He was only grateful that he didn’t have much hair to begin with because he was sure these socks would chafe if he did.
“He does take to these clothes surprisingly well,” Thoe added, her vibrant locks of pink, artistically styled into a series of curls, bouncing as she nodded. “What do you think, Phoebe?” She received no response. “Phoebe?”
Everyone looked at Phoebe, whose eyes were locked on Kevin. The blond yama uba gazed at him with surprisingly flushed cheeks. Kevin didn’t know what this girl was thinking, and he honestly didn’t want to know. In an effort to hide his body from her leering eyes, he covered himself with his arms.
“I believe this means she likes your outfit,” Euryale assured him. Kevin was definitely not assured. Not in the least.
Shrrrkchuhk!
As one, all members of Kevin’s entourage blinked when a most unusual sound emitted from somewhere.
“What the heck was that?” Kevin wondered, eyes panning the room in search of the sound.
“I do not know.” Phoebe finally snapped out of her “Kevin in girl’s clothing” induced trance long enough to answer him.
“An enemy, perhaps?” suggested Thoe.
“It sounded like something broke,” Menippe mused to herself as she twirled a strand of hair between her fingers.
Iris held one of Kevin’s arms to her breasts. “I’m scared, onee-chan.”
“It’s onii-chan, not onee-chan, dang it!” Kevin paused, but only long enough to take a breath. “And who the heck is onee-chan?!”
***
Iris and travel by sea did not mix, Kevin soon discovered.
After Kevin had changed into girl’s clothing, they had spoken to that woman again, informing her that they had ditched him and were bringing a different friend along. The woman had stared at him with gut-squeezing suspicion. However, she had let them board her ship
nonetheless. That had been one hour ago.
He sat crouched behind the poor vixen, holding her hair away from her face as she vomited into the toilet. She’d been doing that a lot lately, vomiting. The vessel they were on, a semi-large cruise liner, swayed slightly as it sailed through the Caspian Sea.
“Are you going to be okay?” Kevin asked as Iris retched some more.
“What do you think?” was the biting reply.
Kevin bit his tongue. He knew that she was only being this rude because she felt sick, so he tried not to let her snappish response bother him.
“Maybe you should head outside,” Kevin suggested. Judging from the grimace he received, Iris didn’t agree with his idea.
“What? And be subject to all that salty air and even more rocking? No thanks. I—”
Iris never finished her sentence. Her body shuddered like it was undergoing epileptic seizures. Kevin grimaced as more vomit spewed from her mouth like a fire hydrant. He tried to ignore the acrid scent of barf wafting through the air, but it proved difficult. It stung his nose in the most unpleasant of ways, making him nearly throw up as well.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better,” Kevin said.
“Just… keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll be fine, thanks,” Iris muttered.
“Okay.” Still holding her hair with one hand, Kevin resumed gently stroking her back.
“You really are too nice for your own good,” she mumbled under her breath. “Really, you make it so hard…”
Kevin frowned when he heard her near-incoherent mumbling. “Did you say something?”
“I said I like your clothes.”
“… All my hate.”
***
Kevin leaned against the railing, looking out at the ocean. The Caspian Sea was the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. He didn’t know its exact size, though it certainly seemed quite large, stretching out far beyond his line of sight. A remnant of the Paratethys Sea, the Caspian Sea had become landlocked around 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic uplift and a drop in the sea level.
As he stared out at the seemingly endless waters, which glistened with the coruscating light of the sun, his mind wandered to his mate, still locked away in China.
Lilian would probably enjoy going on a cruise. She’d probably pretend she was a Straw Hat Pirate or something.
Thoughts of Lilian had been a constant ever since their journey began. She never strayed far from his mind. Even when locked in combat, even when her sister did something—tried doing something—to him, even when Phoebe declared that he would be helping impregnate her people, his thoughts remained solely focused on the girl who’d captured his heart.
“There you are,” a voice said from behind him. Kevin turned his head to find Phoebe, dressed in a pair of brown shorts that showed off milky thighs and a white shirt with “I <3 Baku” on it. She walked up to him and placed her hands on the railing. Her lips were curled in a smile that displayed excitement, the kind a child might show when seeing something new. “This vessel is so large that it took me ages to find my way around.” She turned to him. “I have been looking for you.”
“That so? Is something up?” Kevin inquired.
“No, I do not believe so.” Long locks of blond swayed as Phoebe shook her head. “I merely wished to find you.”
“I see.” Kevin turned back to gaze across the endless expanse of blue.
“How is Iris feeling?”
“Better. She’s at least managed to fall asleep. I suspect she’ll adjust to sea travel after she wakes up, though by then we’ll probably have crossed over. I hear it takes about three hours to cross the sea.”
“I have been hearing the same,” Phoebe confirmed.
Silence ensued. Kevin wasn’t really bothered by it, as he preferred to be left to his thoughts right then, but Phoebe seemed uncomfortable. She kept glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. Every time he caught her, she would look away. Furthermore, she had clasped her hands together, rested them on the railing, and was twiddling her thumbs. It was all very suspicious.
“I was wondering if you would permit me to ask a question?” she started again, causing him to turn from the ocean scene.
“Sure.” Realizing that Phoebe wouldn’t be leaving him alone any time soon, he leaned his back against the railing and looked at the blond girl. “What do you want to know?”
Phoebe coughed into her hand. After squaring her shoulders, she thrust out her chest and gave him an imperious look that made a trickle of sweat run down his face.
“I wanted to ask about your mate.”
“My mate?”
Phoebe nodded. Before Kevin could answer her, a strange, yet familiar noise echoed across the deck.
Shrrrkchuhk!
“Okay, seriously, what the heck is that noise?” he asked.
“I do not know,” Phoebe said. “It is a most unusual noise, however.”
Looking around, Kevin could see nothing that would let him know what that strange noise was. A bunch of women stood around the deck, some playing games while others swam in the pool and still others talked. Polydora, Euryale, and Menippe were present. It took him awhile to find Thoe, but he eventually noticed her some distance from the others. He didn’t notice that Polydora was glaring at him, or that she’d been doing that for a while now.
“Well, whatever.” Kevin shook his head and turned to Phoebe again. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know what she is like.”
“What she’s like, huh…” Kevin looked up at the clear blue sky, his mind wandering to Lilian and the times they had shared. His lips curled unbidden into a soft smile. “Lilian is one of the most vibrant people I’ve ever met. She’s enthusiastic, headstrong, and always loves to try new things.”
Phoebe frowned. She drummed her fingers against the railing, her face seemingly agitated by something. He wondered what she was thinking, but then…
“Is that why you want to make babies with her?”
Kevin resisted the urge to facepalm. “I am way too young to be thinking about procreating with anyone. My relationship with her has nothing to do with baby making.”
“But… what else is there to a relationship if not producing children?” asked the confused Phoebe.
“What about, oh, I don’t know… love?”
Phoebe tilted her head. “What does love have to do with anything?”
It was something that he was beginning to notice with this girl, with all the yama uba: they didn’t seem to have any concept of love. Kevin didn’t know how to explain it. The concept of love just seemed foreign to them. Their only thoughts seemed to be on producing children and nothing else.
“Just everything,” Kevin said. “Love is the single most important reason to be with someone.”
“It is?” Phoebe hummed. “This is news to me.”
Kevin finally pressed a hand to his face. “Of course, it is.”
“Back to our original topic,” Phoebe shifted gears. “Are those the reasons that you… love your mate?”
Kevin thought about the question, churning it over like one might a Rubik’s cube. “Not really. I mean, sure, those are some of the reasons I love her, but they aren’t the only ones.”
“What are the other reasons?”
“There are a lot of reasons,” Kevin admitted. “I could tell you that it’s because she and I share the same interests, or I could mention how she always gives her all in everything she does; how she makes me want to be a better person, a stronger person, one who’s worthy of being her mate. I could talk about how cute she looks when her nose scrunches up whenever she’s thinking, or how enchanting her eyes are when she’s excited. I could talk about her beauty, the expressions she makes, the way she gets riled up when Iris slips into our bed at night, or how her nose bleeds when she’s thinking ecchi thoughts.”
Those last two reasons caused Phoebe to blink. “Um…”
“Don’t ask,” Ke
vin said when he saw her incredulous gaze. Phoebe slowly nodded and didn’t ask, allowing him to continue. “I could list a million reasons, and it still wouldn’t be enough to tell you why I love Lilian.” He shrugged. “It’s not as if there is any one reason, so I guess, if I had to pick a single reason, I would say that the reason I love her is because Lilian is Lilian.”
Phoebe’s brow furrowed. “Because Lilian… is Lilian?”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
It was clear to Kevin that Phoebe really didn’t see. He didn’t blame her for that. His explanation hadn’t been the best, but trying to explain something like why he loved someone was like trying to explain how the universe came to be. It wasn’t something anyone could truly answer with any certainty. You just accepted it for how it was.
“You have given me much to think about,” Phoebe said. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Kevin watched as Phoebe walked off. When she disappeared from sight, he turned back to the sea. However, his gaze was not on the ocean. He stared into the distance, at something far beyond his mortal sight.
I wonder how Lilian is doing right now…
***
“… And then I woke up in Beloved’s arms, and it was the best feeling ever!”
Sitting on a chair that she had pulled up to the bed, Lilian regaled Jiāoào with tales of the many things that she and Kevin had done together. Considering she had nothing else to do and no one else to talk to, this was the only thing she could do to keep herself occupied.
Jiāoào, for his part, said nothing. He would occasionally blink, and a few times Lilian thought she saw him staring at her, but it was always hard to tell. His eyes were glazed over like a corpse. Only his breathing let her know that he was, in fact, still among the living.
“Let’s see, what else should I tell you…” Trailing off, one hand cupped to her chin, Lilian tried to think of any stories she might not have told Jiāoào yet. “I believe I already told you about the time Kevin and I shared a Christmas Eve dinner together… and how it was interrupted by Iris. I also told you about when Kevin and I broke into Stephanie Meyer's home because we thought she was a yōkai in disguise… Ah! What about—no, I told you about that, too. Huh…”
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