Volume 17 - Like Family, Chapter 136 - A Day In The Life

October 30th, Noon

The sun was high in the sky and shining directly on the closed curtains of an apartment window. The blackout curtains did their job and kept the sunlight from reaching the bedroom and its sleeping occupant. Then a rectangle of light appeared on the nightstand, followed by a loud alarm.

From a large wooden box next to the bed, a single pink tendril lashed out and flailed blindly at the phone's touchscreen. After a few seconds, it found its mark and the alarm went silent. The room was dark and silent again for five more minutes. When the alarm rang out again, it was a hand that fumbled for it, reaching out from under the covers.

"Ugh, mornings are the worst," Mimi said after she stopped the alarm, ignoring the fact that it was no longer morning. Then she rolled out of bed and dropped directly into the wooden box, cushioned by the amorphous tentacle-like portion of her body that permanently occupied her chest. Sometimes she slept inside the familiar and cozy chest, but other nights she wanted to stretch out in bed.

She wore an oversized white t-shirt over pink boy-short panties, and her largely useless legs were covered in white thigh-high stockings. The combination actually showed less skin than the outfit she had usually worn back at Yuisu's house. Now that she was a bartender, Mimi got more ogling attention than even a high-sex-drive mimic wanted, so she found herself dressing a little more conservatively than she used to.

Yawning, she grabbed the joystick of the electric dolly that was installed underneath her chest, then pushed forward. The cart rolled smoothly out of the small and sparsely decorated bedroom. She maneuvered directly to the apartment's one bathroom, then scowled in displeasure. It was occupied.

"Hey, Brutus, I need to use the bathroom," she said to the closed door.

"One sec," a deep voice called back. "Gotta finish my hair."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Hurry up. I know you don't have anything going on today worth dressing up for."

"Uh huh, one second," he mumbled.

After numerous seconds, Brutus had yet to emerge and Mimi's very limited patience had run out. She grabbed the door handle and flung it open.

As expected, Brutus was standing in front of the mirror. He was wearing black athletic shorts and a white undershirt, and he was fussing with his short bleached-blond hair. It was gelled forward and up, but he was eying it and turning his head side to side in a way that suggested he wasn't entirely happy with it.

"Time's up, Brutus." Mimi said as she rolled through the wide doorway. The ground-floor apartment had been built with wheelchair access in mind, which was perfect for Mimi. "You should leave and take your hair supplies with you, because I'm going to pee whether you're still in here or not."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled. He grabbed his gel, two different combs, and a hand mirror, then squeezed past Mimi's cart to escape the bathroom. Under his breath, he added, "You'd think a girl would understand the value of looking your best."

Mimi quickly replied, "And you'd think a guy could get ready quickly. You always take forever."

As Mimi closed the door in his face, Brutus winked and added one final retort, "You can't rush perfection, Mimi."

She scoffed, but she was smiling. Brutus seemed like a narcissistic 'bro' sometimes, but he was actually a good man and a great Exchange Program host. Mimi's time with him had been far better than her time in Tokyo, and she really enjoyed having a man in her life that wasn't trying to hook up with her.

After using the toilet, Mimi undressed and stepped into the shower. Before closing the curtain, she used a tendril to gently close the lid of her chest to keep water from running inside. The pink tendril of 'hair' that connected her to the chest stuck out like a long tongue.

Normally, Mimi took her showers in the early morning after work, to wash away the funk and splashed liquor that accumulated over her shift, but last night she'd been too exhausted to bother. As she washed her body, she thought, Those dumb college kids are getting annoying with their costumes… She used the same body wash on her 'hair', since it was actually closer to skin than hair.

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later half expecting Brutus to still be fiddling with his hair. Instead, he was at the apartment's tiny stove cooking up some delicious smelling afternoon breakfast. Since Brutus and Mimi both worked late shifts at the nightclub, they shared the same offset sleep and meal schedule, whether they were working that day or not.

"Thanks for cooking," Mimi said as she rolled up and grabbed a freshly served plate of eggs, bacon, and fried spam. The protein-heavy meal was perfect for Brutus's bodybuilding needs, and for Mimi's bodybuilding of a different kind. She was taking her mother's advice and directing all her extra nutrition into the bottom of her wooden chest. She was growing new tendrils there to eventually be able to move her chest around under her own power.

She took a fork from the silverware drawer and sat down on the edge of her chest, after withdrawing the several-inch-long teeth that ringed it. She devoured a bite of eggs then waved her fork at Brutus and said, "So what's with you and spam, anyway? You cook it with like every meal."

Brutus picked up his own plate in one large hand and made his way to the kitchen's two-seat table. While the table was small, the chairs were big enough to fit the towering Brutus and his even taller previous homestay, Kyle. Then Brutus answered, "It's a Benihana family tradition. My mom grew up in Hawaii, where spam is a core part of the culture, so she uses it in a lot of recipes."

Mimi shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of fried spam, which was rich and salty and crispy. She supposed it was tasty enough, at least when properly prepared.

After breakfast, Brutus left for his daily jog. With the cool fall weather, early afternoon was actually a nice time for exercise, but in the hottest part of summer, he would rearrange his entire schedule so he could jog in the morning. That was also when the most single women were out…

Jogging wasn't something Mimi was interested in, or even capable of, so she spent the next couple hours reading boring books about human society, for the Exchange Program. Like all Interspecies Exchange Program Homestays, she had a long list of requirements to fulfill during her one to two year enrollment. So far, she'd already checked off several, including becoming fluent in the local language and finding employment.

4PM

Mimi and Brutus were making their way down the sidewalk, heading back from the grocery store. Mimi's electric motor was able to keep up with Brutus's long strides, but only barely. She would also need to plug it in to charge when they got back home, since long errands used up a fair amount of the battery.

An hour earlier, during the trip out to the store, the duo had encountered a few people and Mimi had actually been almost friendly with them. In the case of one handsome centaur walking with his human host, Mimi had been far more than friendly. She had laid it on so thick that there was no mistaking what she wanted.

Brutus, along with most Exchange Program staff, understood that some liminal species were hardwired to seek out a lot of sex. They also understood that it caused far less hassle when their sexual partners weren't human. Therefore, the Program tried to support, or at least not get in the way of, physical relationships between liminal homestays. That had left Brutus with the incredibly awkward duty of talking to other host, checking whether it was alright for the two liminals to hook up.

Mimi had ended up with the centaur's phone number and a dreamy look stapled on her face for the entire time they were shopping. Mimi finally came back down to Earth on the return trip, falling right back into her standard abrasive attitude.

She was leaning forward in her chest, tucked snugly into a crescent of grocery bags, as she rolled forward. "I'm not a pack animal, you know, and all these bags are uncomfortable," she complained, more venting than actually expecting anything to change.

"Sorry, Mimi," Brutus said with a shrug. He was carrying an assortment of bags of his own, hanging along his forearms and in his hands. "I did try to take all the bags with sharp boxes and frozen stuff. If you want, we can look into getting a cart or wagon for future trips."

She glanced backward, imagining how silly it would look to tow a cart behind her chest. "Ugh," Mimi groaned. "I don't want to be a train either."

Then she noticed it: about twenty feet behind Brutus, someone was trailing them. Given her chest's fearsome teeth and Brutus's imposing size, she was more used to people avoiding them than chasing them.

A minute later, when they were crossing an open park, Mimi looked back again and confirmed it. A young girl was definitely following them, shyly and ineffectively hiding from sight. She seemed to be curious about Mimi's liminal nature, her electric cart, or both.

"Hey," she called up to Brutus. "Can you tell that kid to scram? On the long list of things I am not, 'zoo exhibit' is at the very top."

Brutus peered over his shoulder and quickly spotted the girl, who was only elementary-school age. Then he turned back to Mimi and said, "She's not hurting anything. Looks like she's just curious about you. If you want her to go away, just humor her and talk to her for a second."

Without responding, Mimi cranked her joystick to the left and spun around on the spot. Then she yelled, "Hey kid! What do you want?"

To the little girl's credit, she bravely stepped forward and stammered, "Um, y-you're a mimic, right?" As she spoke, she brushed her long black hair back from her face, revealing an eager smile. "I read that your treasure chest is actually a big mouth that can e-eat animals whole."

"Or annoying kids," Mimi muttered quietly. Then she said, "Yeah, I'm a mimic. What of it?"

"Can you show me your other form?" the girl asked.

Mimi blinked. The 'giant mouth' aspect of mimics was common knowledge, and it was obvious from the large teeth that ringed her chest, but most humans didn't know that mimics had a non-humanoid form. That knowledge tended to harm mimics' ability to get along with humanity, so they kept it rather private.

And yet, this kid not only knew about it, she was genuinely interested in it. It was actually kind of nice for mimic-kind's lesser-known side to be appreciated, so Mimi found herself saying, "Sure. One sec." She started grabbing bags of groceries from her chest and handing them to Brutus. "Hold these for a bit."

Once all the bags were passed off and she was sure no other people were around, Mimi crouched down and closed the lid of her box, disappearing inside. Everything went still for a bit, though there was an unsettling shifting, squelching sound coming from inside the box.

The girl stared in intense anticipation. Even Brutus had no idea what to expect, since he'd never seen Mimi's other form.

Then the chest flew open with a roar that sent spittle flying and shook the few remaining leaves on nearby trees. Dozens and dozens of teeth were fully extended to over eight inches long, but they weren't the most eye-catching thing Mimi had going on. From the center of the chest extended a wet pink tongue about five feet long that lashed wildly through the air.

Brutus was startled and the little girl screamed in terror, adding her volume to Mimi's. As the roar ended, the massive combat-capable tongue lolled to the side, revealing a pair of distinctive red and purple eyes shining in the darkness of the monstrous treasure chest.

Then the girl's face broke into a wide smile and she ran away giggling. "Thanks, lady!" she called back. "You're really cool!"

Mimi didn't respond, since she had closed up again and was busy reforming her preferred body. Mimi's shapeshifting abilities mostly consisted of moving mass around inside herself, which she occasionally used to adjust her curves and bust size. During the encounter with the little girl, Mimi's human-like body had actually been in the chest all along, but she had borrowed most of its body-mass to fill out the giant tongue.

Once Mimi reemerged as her normal self, her skin slightly shiny with saliva, Brutus said, "Thanks for that. You really made that kid's day, you know."

Mimi wordlessly rolled away, leaving him overloaded with bags of groceries. She'd never admit to it, but she'd actually enjoyed being able to show off that form, which didn't have any practical purpose in the modern and relatively peaceful world.

Brutus tried to keep up until a bag containing eggs started to slip down his forearm and he stopped to catch it. "A little help, please?" he begged.

Mimi turned back and glared at him with her mismatched red and purple eyes. "Only if you promise that we'll go shopping earlier next time, while the little kids are still in school."

Brutus grinned. "You've got a deal."

8PM

Things were finally starting to pick up at the Wild Life. Brutus and Mimi had both started their shifts at 6, but weekdays were always slow at first. Kyle was also there that night, working the front door, but Mimi's BFF Chione had the night off.

While the ever-chipper gargoyle wasn't in attendance, several of her housemates were. Yuisu had arrived with Haru, Mara, Tsuen, and even Rem, but then Haru and Yuisu zipped off to the dancefloor. It turns out it was Mara's birthday, and she wanted to celebrate it with her girlfriends. Yuisu was their ride and Exchange Program chaperone, but she made sure to leave the trio to themselves.

Mimi rolled up to their corner of the bar and said, "Well if it isn't my rival Mara and the rare Tsuen, and you're dressed up. What's the occasion?"

"Don't forget Rem," Mara said seriously. The little arachne was wearing a white and black gothic lolita outfit, complete with a frilly skirt, while Tsuen was wearing a simpler yellow dress cut just above all four knees.

"Rem?" Mimi asked. "Who's that?"

"Me!" came a cheerful voice from Tsuen's shoulder. A doll-sized woman was sitting there, wearing a sleek and sleeveless lilac dress. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails, right next to her cat-like ears.

"Oh, I think Chione has mentioned you. Sorry for not noticing you, Rem. I'm Mimi." She gave a small bow towards the tiny new acquaintance.

Mara's six eyes blinked in unison. "Am I already drunk and hearing things, or did Mimi just apologize? And what was that about me being your rival?"

Tsuen put a hand on Mara's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, as if to say 'Stay on topic, Mara.' Then she smiled at Mimi and finally answered her question, "We're here to celebrate Mara's 22nd birthday. It's just the three of us, since we're dating now."

Mimi looked from Tsuen to Mara and back up to Rem. She was pretty sure she knew what was going on, but she was struggling to come to terms with it, mostly because it didn't fit her understanding of Tsuen. The Tsuen she had known was far too jealous for such an unusual relationship. Then Mimi thought, I guess my understanding was out of date.

She updated her impression of Tsuen, then smiled and said, "Well, happy birthday, Mara. Let me know if you girls need anything at all."

Mara stood tall on her stool, so she could match Mimi's height. Mimi was a petite woman, but standing in her chest gave her an additional six inches. Then Mara broke into a wide smile and said, "Thanks Mimi! You're a great friend!"

Mimi shook her head, feeling her cheeks growing hot. "Nah, it's just my job. So, can I get something started for you three?"

Mara ordered a canned coffee while Tsuen picked a fruit-filled cocktail, complete with a tiny umbrella. Rem didn't order anything, since she was content to sip at Tsuen's drink.

Mimi whipped up the cocktail, delivered it and the coffee, then said, "I'll leave you girls to it. Have a good time!"

The alcohol, or caffeine in Mara's case, loosened the girls' lips and got a lively conversation rolling. While Rem was too small to risk the dance floor, they had plenty of fun there at the bar. Rem even grabbed the tiny umbrella from the cocktail and held it over her head.

"How do I look?" the gremlin asked, striking a fashion-model pose on the bar.

"Pretty good," Mara said, "Though the umbrella's a bit too small."

"I think the umbrella looks cute, like it's more for fashion than function," Tsuen said. Then she looked at Mara and added, "And it reminds me of the umbrellas you and I gave each other."

Rem's expression faltered. She was a latecomer to the relationship, and sometimes she felt a little left out. She sat down and nibbled on piece of pineapple that she'd plucked from Tsuen's drink, withdrawing from the continuing conversation about their special parasols.

Mara was alert enough to notice Rem's situation and quickly said, "I know! I'll make you a proper parasol that will match ours!"

That brightened Rem's expression in a hurry. She said, "That sounds wonderful." Then she went to set the piece of pineapple back in the drink only to find that Tsuen had already finished it off. Rem shrugged, then ate the rest of the alcohol-laden fruit.

After that, Tsuen and Rem become quite tipsy, flirting and directing the conversation in surprisingly lewd directions. For once, Mara had to be the responsible one. She left some cash on the bar, tucked Rem into Tsuen's cleavage, then lead them away from the bar to find Yuisu. Her motivations weren't entirely pure however, since she was eager to get home and into bed with her frisky girlfriends…

11PM

Not long after Mara and her crew left the Wild Life, the local college students arrived in force. Just like the previous night, many of them were wearing costumes. Halloween was fast approaching and the bored young men and women of the small agricultural college were having a blast dressing up as monsters and hitting up the local liminal club.

Of course, the club's owner Korbin had considered banning costumes, but while the students were being a little culturally insensitive, it wasn't from a place of malevolence. They enjoyed being interesting liminal species, if just for a little while. And Korbin couldn't ignore all the extra business it was bringing in.

To deal with the sudden influx of customers, far beyond a normal weeknight, the manager on duty called in Chione and another human bouncer, Ryuichi. Since most of the patrons were humans, merely dressed like liminals, Chione wasn't particularly busy. She was watching from next to the bar, wings tucked in and eyes wide open, in case any trouble actually involved a real liminal.

"Oh, Chione, there were some interesting women in here earlier this week, two dragonewts," Mimi said. "Well, they were way more interesting the first couple times they visited. When they came back with their boss, they were super straight-laced."

Chione leaned in closer. She wasn't big on gossip, but she didn't have much else to do. "Oh?"

"Oh yeah," Mimi continued. "They were flirting with nearly everyone, sometimes the both of them at the same time. They were all over a lizardman one night, and with a kobold couple the next."

Chione raised an eyebrow. "And why are you telling me this again?" She had already moved past her crush on the strictly straight Mimi, but hearing her talk about bisexual escapades was still rather awkward.

"Doh, my bad. I brought it up because you'd probably like one of the dragonewts, the one with yellow scales and orange hair. I think her name was Apricot, but maybe that was just a nickname…" After a second of pondering, Mimi resumed, "In any case, she had a cute, quiet personality and small perky boobs that looked great in a club dress."

Mimi put a hand on Chione's shoulder and said, "That's your type, right?"

Chione wasn't sure where Mimi got that idea, but she just batted Mimi's hand away, saying, "I'm perfectly happy with Actia, thank you very much."

Mimi grinned in a way that revealed that the whole conversation had been just to get that reaction out of Chione. Mimi had a strange way of checking up on Chione's relationship with her girlfriend. "What's she up to, anyway? Did getting called in on your night off interrupt anything fun?"

"She's at home, raiding with her guild. Mara bailed on the raid and they were short handed, so Actia couldn't get out of it," Chione answered. She wasn't too upset about it, since Chione had been called in to work anyway.

Mimi smiled, leaned close, and whispered, "I think I know why Mara bailed. She was here with her girlfriends earlier, and they got pretty frisky right before they left. I bet they're burning a hole in their mattress right now."

Chione pushed Mimi away with one hand, shaking her head at the innuendo. "You and your gossip." She stepped back from the bar and said, "I'm gonna check in with the other bouncers. Be back in a bit."

2AM

While there was no law-mandated last call time for bars in Japan, the Wild Life stuck to a 2am closing time. There just wasn't enough business in such a small town to justify staying open later than that. Nocturnal liminals complained about it on occasion, so Korbin was looking into other options.

"Chione!" Mimi called out across the empty and well lit room. "Can you do a sweep of the booths for me?" If needed, Mimi could roll to each booth and gather used glassware and wipe them down, but it was more efficient for her to focus on the work she could reach from the bar.

"Sure thing, Meems," Chione called back.

Mimi cringed at the dumb nickname. She knew that Chione was using it to get back at her for the teasing earlier. But part of being best friends was putting up with some good-natured ribbing.

As Chione dropped off an armful of pint glasses at the bar, she said, "Tonight actually wasn't too bad. The costumed humans were pretty respectful, I thought. I even saw one guy getting advice from a vampire on how to look more realistic."

Mimi wasn't as optimistic. "Tonight was never what I was worried about. Tomorrow is Halloween, and I'm expecting a lot more people and a lot more trouble."

Chione beamed, her smile radiant. "Don't be such a grump, Mimi. I think it will be fun, like a mini ComicMon."

"If you say so," Mimi said. Then she glanced around the room and saw that there wasn't too much cleanup left to do. "Brutus and I can handle the rest of this. You should head over to Actia's. She's probably done with her video game thing, right?"

Chione's eyes lit up and her smile somehow got even brighter. "Ooh, thanks, Mimi! You're the best best friend a girl could ask for." Then she pulled Mimi into a hug that was far too tight. Sometimes Chione didn't know her own strength.

Rather than complain, Mimi just shapeshifted her body-mass around until it didn't hurt and said, "You're welcome, Chione. I love you too."