Comfort Zone

Chapter 16 - Discovery

Suzuka stirred awake the next morning, the musky scent of a fox surrounding her. She blinked the bleariness from her eyes.

Harumi stood on the other side of the room in front of a full-length mirror doing poses, her two tails twisting around in various ways. She hadn't dressed yet. The motions gave Suzuka quite the show.

"What are you up to?" Suzuka asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, good morning, Suzu!" Harumi spun around and beamed. "Since I have two tails now, I thought it would be cute if I could make them into a heart shape. But, well, easier said than done."

"You'll get there." Suzuka yawned. "And you're always cute."

Harumi giggled and pranced over to the bed, jumping onto her knees next to Suzuka. "Want me to help you wake up?"

Suzuka glanced around the room looking for a clock. "What time is it? Do we have time before school?"

"Plenty!"

"Mm, well, you did just evolve, it'd be good to make sure you have lots of mana."

Harumi smiled, placing a hand on Suzuka's shoulder and pushing the girl down. "You don't need to make an excuse."

It was even better the second time.

Not only had Harumi's skills improved, Suzuka's body had grown a bit accustomed to the activities. The discomfort and pain of the first night had vanished completely, leaving only love and pleasure.

After Suzuka had been thoroughly woken up, they washed off, changed, and headed to school.

Following their usual routine, they split up after entering the school, with Suzuka going to find Nanmei and Harumi joining her other friends.

Nanmei glanced up as Suzuka entered the stairwell. "Ah, it happened, huh?"

Suzuka flinched, then pouted. "Why do all you monsters have such a good sense of smell!"

"It's not your scent," Nanmei replied, shaking her head. "Even if you have any of that on you, Harumi's scent overpowers it. You just seem less burdened today."

"Is that so?" Suzuka asked, sitting down next to Nanmei.

"It's hard to explain. So, how was it? Do kitsune live up to their reputation?"

Suzuka frowned, tilting her head. "Well, I enjoyed it, but I don't really have any other points of reference?"

"Want one?" Nanmei immediately realized what she'd said. "Wait, forget I said that."

Suzuka glanced over shyly. "Um, I don't have plans to immediately get with someone else, but uh, if I did you'd be high on the list?"

"Eh?" Nanmei's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Well, yeah."

Nanmei placed a hand on her chest. "You're okay with someone like me?"

"I mean, you're attractive, and you've treated me well." Suzuka glanced away. "If I say more this is going to sound like a confession, so let's leave it at that for now."

Nanmei gulped. "Sure."

The hellhound lit up another cigarette, desperately trying to calm down. When they had kissed before, Suzuka had said she wasn't sure if she'd want to go further. Nanmei couldn't help but get excited from the sudden change.

Suzuka had been watching Nanmei's changing expression. She folded her arms on her knees. "You like me that much?"

"I'm at the age where I think about that stuff a lot, and you're certainly my type," Nanmei said carefully. "Plus, you treat me normally."