Volume 3 - Speedy Centaur, Chapter 17 - Where There's a Will, There's a Way

By dinnertime, Yuisu had forgotten all about Haru’s surprise. Simultaneously preparing meals for two carnivores, a vegetarian, and herself took all her focus, not to mention a lot of time. After they finished eating and cleaned up their dishes, the girls went their separate ways.

Tsuen was an early riser, so she usually went to bed shortly after dinner, while Mara scuttled off to play video games. Now that they had reliable internet, Mara had thrown herself into the world of MMORPGs and the other girls saw a lot less of her lately.

Yuisu rinsed her dishes and set them in the dishwasher, then started towards the living room. Haru caught up to her and walked with her, until they approached Haru’s room. Haru opened the door and blatantly pulled Yuisu in with her.

“Huh, what’s up, Haru?”

There was a mischievous grin on Haru’s face. “Oh, you’ll see…” she said as she closed the door behind her. She stalked forward menacingly, her hips waggling side to side in a short grey skirt.

Yuisu stared like a deer in the headlights. I should have known something was up. Haru never wears a skirt, since she doesn’t want to flash people as she flies.

Haru stopped and undid the large buttons along the front and shoulders of her harpy-customized blouse. The black shirt fell away and revealed the royal purple lace of a magnificent push-up bra. It made her breasts look significantly bigger than normal, and they practically spilled out of the top of the bra.

“Like what you see?” she asked in a sultry voice.

Yuisu nodded vigorously, too overwhelmed to speak.

Haru smiled broadly. “I’m glad. I got these just for you, you know, since I didn’t have any sexy underwear to show off for you.”

Yuisu stepped forward and ran her hands along the curves of the bra. It was strapless, but had a wide main band to still provide real support for Haru’s breasts. Yuisu gave them a squeeze, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the bra did little to dampen their natural give.

Haru leaned forward and whispered into Yuisu’s ear, “I wouldn’t want to distract you from your current fun, but I feel I should mention that I have matching panties…”

Yuisu hopped back a step and started to paw at Haru’s skirt. “Oh yeah? I’d love to see them, or more accurately, see you.”

Haru chuckled and pushed Yuisu’s ineffective hands away. She unsnapped a line of buttons down the side of the skirt and dropped it to the floor. She carefully stepped backwards out of the skirt and struck a pose with one wing at her hip. “Well, how do I look?”

Yuisu’s heart was pounding as she looked Haru up and down. The panties did indeed match the purple-on-black scheme of the bra, and there was a heart motif patterned into the lace. Four heart-shaped silver buttons held the wide side straps in place on the front. Yuisu’s mouth hung open and a bit of drool glistened on her lip. “You look”—she swallowed hard, then continued—”amazing. Like, beyond amazing. I don’t even know what to say, or do.”

Haru grinned and spun around. She waggled her bottom at Yuisu, showing off the cheeky cut of the panties that emphasized the tight shape her butt. In the back center, a little heart-shaped cutout gave a peek at a bit of butt cleavage.

That’s enough looking, Yuri-su thought as she crept up and grabbed Haru from behind. She wrapped her arms around Haru’s toned stomach and nuzzled at her neck. “You are beautiful, Haru.” She kissed Haru along her shoulders and neck while running her hands over Haru’s chest. “And I want you so much right now.”

Haru turned her neck and kissed Yuisu on the lips. After a deep kiss that seemed to last forever, she pulled away and whispered, “If you want me so much, take me.”

Knock, Knock, Knock!

Yuisu sat up and let out a wide yawn. She had just opened her eyes when a voice called from the other side of the door.

“Haru? Are you in there? I looked everywhere for Yuizu but I can’t find her.”

Yuisu glanced around the room and realized for the first time that it wasn’t her room, at least not anymore. It still felt so familiar that she hadn’t even noticed at first. She looked down and saw Haru’s naked form still sleeping next to her in the pillow-nest. Yuisu also noticed the she was naked too.

Tsuen called out again. “Haru? Please wake up. Agent Will is on the phone and he wants to talk to Yuizu, but I can’t find her. I don’t know what to do!” A hint of panic had crept into Tsuen’s voice, making Yuisu feel awful for the poor girl.

Yuisu grabbed Haru and tried to shake her awake. Come on! Wake up, Haru! She thought at Haru, as if it would help. We can’t have Tsuen see us like this!

“Sorry Haru, but I’m coming in,” Tsuen said as she opened the door. The room’s shades were drawn and the light from the hallway poured into the room like a spotlight right on Haru’s nest. From her high vantage point, Tsuen got an eyeful of two naked women in what looked like a close embrace. It was actually just Yuisu trying to shake Haru awake, but Tsuen didn’t get a chance for a closer look.

Tsuen’s lips drew tight in a look of consternation. Without another word, she slid the door closed and stiffly walked away. In the utter silence that followed, Yuisu heard Tsuen’s voice from the kitchen. “Sorry, Agent Will. Yuizu and Haru don’t seem to be available right now.” Her panic was gone, replaced by a stony resignation. “Would you like to leave them a message?”

Tsuen was silent for a moment, then said “Uh huh, got it. I’ll let everyone know. See you in a few minutes.”

Huh, a few minutes… A few minutes! Yuisu jumped to her feet. She scoured the room for her clothes, but couldn’t find her underwear. They must have been recklessly tossed somewhere. She pulled on her shirt and shorts and poked Haru with her foot. “Get up Haru. Agent Will is on his way right now.”

Screw it. Every woman for herself! Yuisu joked to herself as she left the room. Haru could play this off like she slept in, but I need to get ready.

“Coffee anyone?” Yuisu offered, pouring herself her third cup. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, after all. Haru yawned and nodded, looking incredibly tired. Yuisu smiled at that. Haru’s nocturnal nature is helping. She looks far more sleepy than me, so they won’t think we were sleeping together. She glanced surreptitiously at Tsuen. As long as Tsuen doesn’t blab about it…

“I’ll take some too, miss Nakahara.” Agent Will turned to the woman seated at his right. “How about you, Polt?”

The kobold woman waved a large furry hand. “No thanks,. I’m plenty awake.” Polt had doglike ears as well as a short muzzle with fangs that were prominent when she spoke. She wore a light jacket over a red shirt with ‘Sports Club Kobold’ written on it.

Tsuen sat on the other side of Polt, and she was peering up at the kobold with a strange kind of reverence. Polt was wearing running shoes and tiny running shorts, so Yuisu guessed that Tsuen and Polt shared the same primary hobby.

Yuisu passed out the cups of coffee and sat down across the table from Polt, between Haru and Mara. “So what’s up, Agent Will? And what brings Polt out here?”

Agent Will took off his sunglasses and set them on the table. He had plain brown eyes and the kind of face you couldn’t help but forget. “I’ve got something important to say first, then we can talk about her offer. If that’s alright with you, Polt.”

Polt nodded. “Yep! That’s fine with me,” she said in a upbeat tone.

Agent Will bowed his head. “First, I want to apologize to all four of you. I’m very sorry. I’ve made some mistakes and handled your introductions poorly. Part of the difficulty was due to me being too far away. I’ll be relocating my office to town soon, so I’ll be directly on hand. Or wing, I suppose.”

He smiled at his feeble joke, but Yuisu was going down a different line of thought. “Is this you doing an introduction properly? Is Polt moving in too?”

“Ha! Hahaha!” Polt’s laugh was short and clipped, almost a bark. “No, no, no! Forget about me for now. This part has nothing to do with me.”

“Huh, sorry then,” Yuisu said, embarrassed. “Please continue, Agent Will.”

He nodded and continued, “Well, I also wanted to apologize for something else. I haven’t been upfront about something major. You’ve probably noticed by now, but all the girls I’ve assigned here for homestay are…” He paused, then proceeded delicately, “Shall we say, homosexual.”

Yuisu and Haru were unsurprised by the statement and nodded knowingly. Mara glanced at Tsuen and grinned like she’d just won the lottery. Tsuen’s eyes darted from side to side, then down to the table as her face flushed red.

Agent Will took a deep breath. “That was an intentional move on my part.”

Yuisu had to stop herself from scoffing. Of course it was, you perv…

Mara had no such restraint. “Ha! It figures,” she said under her breath.

“I know that participating in a cultural exchange can be very stressful. Fitting in and learning all the new customs is hard, and being accepted as a liminal in Japan is already hard enough.” He met eyes for a moment with each of Haru, Mara, and Tsuen. “But, when I saw in your files that you were gay, I knew you’d have an even harder time ahead of you. Japan has come a long way, but it still isn’t very accepting of homosexual people, despite what our entertainment industry would have you believe.” He winked at Yuisu.

Wait, does he know about my manga collection? she wondered.

He gestured with both hands toward Yuisu. “So I found a wonderful and accepting host who could emphasize with your life experiences. Being up here out of the city should also reduce any potential run-ins with bigots.”

He clasped his hands, interweaving his fingers, and lowered his voice. “Now, I don’t want to speak ill of your homelands, but most liminal cultures are even less… progressive… than Japan when it comes to sexuality. Reproduction is a matter of survival or extinction for your species, and being different than the norm is often prejudiced against.”

He smiled and gave a wink. “But here, among other women like yourself, I hope that you can find kinship, and perhaps even love.”

At that, Polt sniffed the air and directed a knowing wink at Yuisu and Haru, who immediately blushed bright red.

“I am obligated to remind you all about the ineffective and unenforceable part of the Interspecies Protection Act that forbids intimate relationships,” Agent Will said in a formal tone.

Yuisu tried to keep a straight face, but her distaste for that bit of the act was hard to hide.

Agent Will smiled. “I’ve managed to get most of my superiors to turn a blind eye to this household, but until we can push through an amendment to the Act itself, don’t go flaunting it around town. The paperwork involved would be a nightmare.”

Yuisu visibly eased. “You got it, Agent Will. I hadn’t realized how much you were looking out for all of us. Thank you so much for all of that.” The other girls nodded and muttered their own brief thanks.

Agent Will put his glasses back on and grinned. “Never let it be said that my only goal was to put a bunch of lesbians in the same house because it would be sexy.”

Haru scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You had to go there, didn’t you? And you were doing so well, Agent Will,” she teased.

“Ahem,” Polt cleared her throat. “I do have a lot to do today, so if we can avoid getting too off track…”

“Of course, of course.” Agent Will seemed happy for a change in topic. “Well, that’s it for me.” He gestured to his right. “Polt, take it away!”