Comfort Zone

Chapter 12 - Hot Springs

Suzuka blinked her eyes open, greeted with the sight of Harumi's sleeping face.

"Waking up like this every morning... wouldn't be so bad."

Suzuka placed her hand gently on Harumi's cheek and kissed her. Harumi hummed as her eyes fluttered open. Seeing Suzuka, she smiled.

"Waking up like this every morning would be wonderful," Harumi sleepily said, before yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Suzuka had Harumi in front of her and Neko behind her, trapping her. Warmth and softness surrounded her.

"How would I sleep with four people at once?" Suzuka wondered, her thoughts going in silly directions, having only woken up recently. "Would I have to sleep on one with another on top of me?"

Suzuka couldn't figure it out and ended up asking Harumi, who giggled.

"I suppose it depends on who the four are," Harumi said. "People could take turns each night being hugged by you and hugging you. Or they could separate into smaller groups. If we consider the ones currently closest to you — me, Nanmei, Asahi, and Hikari — then Asahi and Nanmei could sleep together separately. Or maybe Hikari could squish us all into a pile, wrapping us all with her tail."

"Sounds complicated."

"I agree. It'd be much easier to only have me."

"Easier, for sure," Suzuka mumbled.

Harumi stroked Suzuka's hair and kissed her forehead. "Let's get dressed."

"In separate rooms."

Harumi giggled. "Okay, I'll go into the bathroom to change. Do you need clothes?"

"I have some."

Harumi got out of the bed first, which then allowed Suzuka to escape. Neko yawned and rolled over.

Suzuka swiped her hand through the air, bringing out a set of clothes from within a ball of fire.

Harumi raised her eyebrows. "You're much closer to Asahi than I thought! I can't believe she actually taught you magic."

"Nanmei bullied her into it."

"Ah, that makes more sense. Okay, come out when you're done changing!"

Suzuka waited until Harumi had left the room, shut the door, and she heard Harumi's footsteps going away. She then looked over her shoulder, confirming that Neko was facing away from her, before finally changing.

Afterwards, Harumi's mother served them a very traditional breakfast, apparently not surprised at all that Suzuka was present.

Suzuka rarely ate breakfast. The warm atmosphere brought about by Harumi and her mother gave Suzuka a deep sense of comfort. She was again reminded that marrying Harumi would make her part of their family.

"Um, sorry if this is a sensitive topic," Suzuka said. "But, Harumi's father...?"

"He's a gumiho," Fuyumi explained. "He's currently back in Korea. He was looking for gumiho partners for Harumi, but now, he's waiting to bring the gumiho here for her wedding."

"Ah, I see! Can kitsune, gumiho, and huli jing all breed together?"

All three could be called nine-tailed foxes, with the names mainly only identifying their place of birth. Kitsune came from Japan, gumiho from Korea, and huli jing from China.

"They can, and it's fairly common. Since our individual populations are rather small, we often have joint meetings in one of our countries for mingling. Maybe I'll take you to one some day."