Punk Fuuka (Comm)

Fuuka Yamagishi didn't want to try and push her negative feelings onto others simply because it might have made her feel better. She didn't think that would have been the right thing, or the fair thing, to do. She wanted to make the people around her happy and accepting of her, after all. If she went ahead and spilled every unpopular thought that might have popped into her head, she would have likely turned everyone away from her in an instant. But Fuuka was a good girl. She might have wanted to ask Minato out because she had always watched him from afar, always admired him, always crushed on him. But instead he approached Yukari and courted her instead. Right in front of Fuuka, too. Obviously he hadn't done it with any intention to harm her, and Fuuka knew that, but it still made her poor, weak heart to ache so terribly.

She was shockingly naive and innocent for a young woman at her age in many ways. Ironically, she was still very book-smart even when she wasn't street-smart, getting many of the highest grades in the school behind true geniuses like Mitsuru Kirijo. It was hard to believe that there could be two sides of her that were so different in their experiences and capabilities. One could almost go as far as to say that Fuuka was 'emotionally stunted', but that might have been harsher than it needed to be. Natsuki knew this pretty well about Fuuka. She used to bully the young woman, so she was already highly versed about her weaknesses and her failings. However, those days were long since over between them. They were friends now, and Natsuki had come to understand just how wonderful and sweet a person Fuuka really was, and she appreciated her all the more because of that. Natsuki didn't want Fuuka to have to feel like it was 'responsible' of her to keep her feelings locked up and her shyness holding her back from doing whatever it was that she wanted to do. Just because she was down and out about losing her crush didn't mean she had to swallow the pain, take her lumps, and deal with it. She deserved the chance to let out those feelings inside of her in a way that would at least be fun too. Like going to a party. That always helped Natsuki blow off some steam. It just so happened that some of her older, college-age friends were looking to hold a get-together at a local bar with a really big room in the back. Perfect for shenanigans. Natsuki had never invited Fuuka to one of those parties before because she had been unsure how the shorter, more straight-laced woman be able to handle it.

"Eh? You want to know if I'd be willing to go out with you and your friends tonight?" Fuuka's eyes widened several times their original size.

She was genuinely surprised to hear such an offer. She had not thought that she would be asked of such a thing by Natsuki. They had been friends for a good amount of time, but their after-school lives were very, very different from one another. Natsuki went out with friends, indulged in underage drinking and liked to hit on cute boys she saw walking down the street. Fuuka, on the other hand, tended to go straight home to the SEES dorm after school and read a book until she fell asleep. She'd never gone out and had fun at night before. The only 'fun' she had at night...well, that was something that Mitsuru and Akihiko had asked her not to discuss with Natsuki, for the sake of confidentiality. Natsuki wasn't supposed to know about the Dark Hour.

In any case, the point was that Fuuka and Natsuki did different things after school. Aside from getting dinner at a local fast food place, which was only BEFORE Natsuki went off gallivanting into the city. Natsuki had decided, for Fuuka's own sake, that it was time to make a change.

"Yes, Fuuka, I want you to come with me." Natsuki nodded her head briskly. "I think you would really enjoy it. You don't get out to see a lot of people, do you? Except me and those few guys you live with in that special dorm. Anyway, you should do it! Don't back out of this, Fuuka!"

"I-I'm not! I'm not backing out of it!" Fuuka stammered aloud. She gulped so hard that it actually almost hurt her. "I...I would like to go with you, Natsuki."

"I'm glad to hear that, Fuuka." Natsuki chuckled. "Actually, if I had to be honest," Natsuki rubbed the back of her head, grinning sheepishly. "I had actually thought you would turn down the offer when I made it. You didn't seem like the type who would be willing to do this even if it was brought up by someone you trusted."

"Hmm...yes, you're right, I probably would have reconsidered many times before, but right now I could really...um, use a change in my life...yes, I guess that's one way for me to put it...and I'd like to take your offer seriously. I think I might be able to have some fun if I try it!"

Natsuki couldn't help herself any longer. She threw her arms around Fuuka's head and pulled her into a deep hug. Natsuki rested her chin on top of Fuuka's head. The shorter woman was given a rather meaty, warm face-full of cleavage. She tried to push free of her friend's grasp, but Natsuki refused to let go of her until she decided she wanted to let go.

"Oh, Fuuka...you are just so adorable...like seriously..."

"Um, th-thank you, Natsuki, but I...I would really appreciate it if you let me go...p-please..."

Fuuka and Natsuki went to the party together later that very night. It was being held at a bar that allowed people to drink without having to present identification beforehand. Obviously that was something that was actually discouraged by the government, so of course it was illegal in numerous ways, but the owner of the place had enough trustworthy people under his belt that he didn't have to worry about anything. Natsuki brought Fuuka right over to her friends so that she would be able to properly introduce her to them. She had actually told them all about Fuuka beforehand, several times in fact. However, this would be their first chance to get to see her in the flesh. However, Natsuki was very protective of her dear friend and her innocent, demanding that things be done in such a way that would not make the young woman upset in any particular way. Although they were going to be spending time at a bar, Natsuki had told them that it would be better off if they didn't drink any alcohol this time around. After all, it wasn't something that they should force onto Fuuka, plus it might make her uncomfortable if anyone was to get drunk around her. So for once they had to switch out the beers and the wines for simple sodas and bubble drinks. They wanted Fuuka to be able to feel comfortable around them and to have a good time too. From what they had been told by Natsuki in the past, Fuuka had gone through a lot of trouble in her life. More so than any of them ever had to deal with. There was a shared desire to make things fun and relaxing.

"Hey there, Fuuka!"

"Hello, Fuuka! It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh, you're that really cute girl that Natsuki keeps talking about all the time, huh? Ha ha ha! Nice to get to meet you, Fuuka!"

"Aww, look at you, I just want to pinch your chubby little cheeks! I-I mean, if that's okay with you, Fuuka,"

Fuuka herself nervously waved at the group of people sitting on the massive two-sided couch in the bar's back room. She had never been out this late before doing something like this. She might have stepped outside once late at night to go and purchase a book she forgot about or to buy a late dinner, but she'd never gone hanging out with friends at this time. Fuuka chuckled nervously. She had put on a cute pink blouse with a plaid overcoat and a long skirt. She didn't have very good fashion sense, to be honest, but Natsuki and the others weren't going to judge her for it. One of the other women there, lying up against her boyfriend and wearing a miniskirt that left nothing to the imagination, grabbed a nearby fizzy cola and tossed it for Fuuka to catch. Fuuka scrambled to grab the can as it flung towards her head. However, it was a light throw, one meant to be as gentle as possible. Fuuka was able to safely catch it without a hitch. When she popped the can open, she took her first big drink and the soda poured down her throat. Truth be told, she hadn't drank soda in a long time. She didn't normally think about consuming it at all. She hadn't had an interest. But now that she was able to drink it alongside people who wanted to befriend her, alongside someone she trusted like Natsuki in this brand new setting, Fuuka suddenly felt a lot more comfortable. Comfortable enough to consume these super-sweet, high-calorie sweets without a moment's pause. The others cheered as they watched Fuuka chug the drink. It made her nostrils burn and her throat burn as well, yet the sweetness and the flavor of the drink was so addictive, Fuuka just wanted to keep having more and more of it. She couldn't bring herself to stop for anything.

"Ha ha ha! Look at her go! Come on, Hikari, she makes you look like a lightweight!" laughed one of the men, slapping his girlfriend on the shoulder.

"Hey now, that's not nice! Come on, you're just being nice because you think Fuuka is cute!"

"Eh, she is cute, but sorta like the kind of cute that makes you...that makes you want to PROTECT, you know?"

"Hmm? Really?" the woman looked over at Fuuka and stared at her for a few seconds. "Okay, I think I can see what you mean...she really does give off that sort of 'little sister' aura, don't you think?"

A larger, black-skinned man who did not look the slightest bit Japanese waved Fuuka over to his seat. "Hey, how about you sit down with me, little lady? I got some snacks for you, if you're hungry!"

"Ha ha ha, oh, Terry, you're always so friendly!" laughed Natsuki, though she was somewhat nervous letting Fuuka walk out of her defensive reach regardless.

"Th-Th-Thank you all so much for letting me come here and have fun with you all! I, um, I will do my best to stay entertaining, so please don't mind me! I'll try my hardest!"

"Here, why don't you come and sit right on my lap?" A larger woman, literally large in terms of width, patted on her knee.

"Come on, Debubu, don't go and start trying to get this girl on your side already!"

"Hey, my name is Dabebora, as my parents named me! Please don't twist my name around into something unflattering!"

Fuuka didn't know where to go, honestly, and she felt slightly overwhelmed at the number of options being presented to her. In the end, she dragged her feet over to Terry's side, as he had been the first one to ask her over. The large dark-skinned man laughed brightly as Fuuka sat down beside him. He shoved a huge bowl right into her face. At first Fuuka didn't know what to do with it. When she checked it more closely, she realized that it was supposed to be snacks. Lots of big candies and popcorns and even chips too. Fuuka didn't eat these things very often. She certainly didn't have them lying around very often. It was hard to consider if this was stuff she should really eat or not. She had thought she had avoided them for a reason back then. Now she was suddenly hungering for them.

"Uh, is it really alright for me to eat this? I mean, there's so many people here and I don't want to keep it all to myself."

"Oh, don't worry! We brought more than enough for everyone! Come on, don't be shy! Eat up as much as you want!"

The others didn't mind it anyway. They would have been more happy if Fuuka ate more than anything else. She was just so cute the way she sat there, looking so awkward, feeling so awkward, not being sure what to do. Her innocence was really something else, on a whole different level altogether. Fuuka dug her way through the bowl and shoved some of the food right into her mouth. Just like with the soda, she had not tasted anything quite this delicious in a very long time. It was so good. She chomped her way through a handful of popcorn and chips at the same time. She moaned a little into her hand. She licked away the salt and the grease that had managed to gather on her fingertips. Natsuki felt something stir inside of her the longer that she watched Fuuka. She wanted to see this girl do more of this. She wanted to get her to eat more, to be precise. She needed to keep on eating more. It would make her happy. Fuuka had such a pleasant expression on her face as she ate her way through the bowl of food. She looked adorable. It made Natsuki want to...it made her want to...give her a great big hug!

"Okay, Fuuka, you eat as much as you want, but you can tell me if you start to feel full, okay? You don't want to get a tummy ache!"

Fuuka understood that very well, but she still felt like eating more anyway. She was so hungry and the food was so good. The others around her kept on encouraging her in the best ways that they could. They let Fuuka have all of the soda that she wanted. They pushed her to eat more snacks and more sweets as her desires demanded it. She was basically spending the whole night glutting herself without a care in the world. It was so unlike how she usually behaved, and yet Fuuka was really finding herself to be enjoying it more than she thought she would. In fact, she was LOVING it.

"So what do you usually like to do, Fuuka?"

"What keeps you busy? What are you into?"

"Hey, do you want to try some of this lipstick? I bet it'd look really cute on you!"

Fuuka wasn't used to being fawned on like this. It was very weird and yet it also felt very good at the same time. She really did like it.

"Hey, what else do you want to eat? We can order anything that's on the menu here, so don't be afraid to go nuts with it, okay?"

"Huh? Really? Are you sure? I mean, I'd still like some more soda...and the tempura on here sounds really good..."

"Okay, we'll order you some tempura! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself, okay?"

Fuuka was definitely allowed to relax, and relax she did become. She couldn't describe herself as anything else BUT relaxed, to be honest. It was so nice to be looked over and pampered like this. She was so used to having to work to such extraordinary lengths to get any level of respect from those around her. There were those at SEES who seemed to like her for who she was, but she had to awaken to a Persona herself before she could be accepted into living at the same dorm as them anyway. Natsuki had become her friend after she had gone through the effort to save her. It wasn't like Fuuka regretted any of those things and she didn't feel like she would ever do something different if given the chance to make a different choice. However, it was nice that the people here were okay with her right from the very get-go. She didn't have to do anything beforehand to prove herself.

"Hey, Fuuka, do you want to see if you can chug this whole soda? I bet you can do it in one big gulp!"

"Hey now, don't try to make Fuuka do weird stuff like that, you might hurt her tummy, you know!"

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right about that, huh?"

Fuuka was quick to interject. "Eh? I-I can do it! Don't worry! It's not a problem at all! I can stomach it just fine!"

Fuuka pushed herself to eat it all despite the fact that she was already very full of pop and snacks. So full in fact that her stomach started to show signs of bloating. However, she had on a nice blouse that really stretched, so it was able to cover her torso rather well. Natsuki didn't notice the bulge of her friend's gut at all. Fuuka herself was happy to keep on eating as long as it earned her praise and lots of cheers from the crowd. There was no beer ingested at the party because of Fuuka's presence. It was almost like having a kid there, except she happened to be the exact same age as they were. Fuuka was their friend, their confidante, their best little buddy, their mascot. She had become so many things and more all in the span of a single night. Fuuka drank until she felt like she was on the verge of puking. She gorged herself on numerous tasty snacks of all sorts. The kinds that she had never dared try before because she was afraid they might upset her tummy. When she started to doze off and fall asleep, one of the guys offered her his coat to be used as a blanket. Natsuki let Fuuka lay her head on her lap. The whole group seemed to be adamant when it came to making Fuuka happy. The whole party turned out to be specifically about that and almost nothing else. Fuuka yawned into her hand as she laid her head back onto Natuski's offered lap. Her legs were so warm and soft. She had really nice thighs, Natsuki, and now Fuuka could inspect them much more closely than she ever had before.

"Aw, is she falling asleep? That's pretty adorable!" laughed one of the women.

"Yeah, it's even more cute than when YOU fall asleep at our parties after drinking too much!" laughed her boyfriend, earning him a strike in the ribs.

Fuuka didn't want to fall asleep in front of all of her new cool friends, but she didn't think that she could handle keeping her eyes open for much longer. Natsuki stroked her head, running her fingers through the smaller woman's teal-blue hair. Fuuka ate another few pretzel sticks and drank some soda. When Natsuki reached further downward and gave her belly a stroke, Fuuka couldn't help but burp out loud.

"Ooh...e-excuse me...ah, how embarrassing of me...mmph...N-Natsuki, I'm sorry..."

"Eh? What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong, Fuuka! Like I said before, we want you to relax! So you don't have to apologize for anything at all!" Natsuki grabbed a pastry off of a passing dish and held it over Fuuka's mouth. "Doughnut?"

"Oh, I shouldn't...but...um, okay, why not?" Fuuka opened her mouth and accepted the treat, chewing it up in three big bites. The rest of the crowd laughed at how adorable it was. After eating the doughnut whole, Fuuka burped one more time, a little softly but still loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. She slowly started to close her eyes, her sleepiness finally beginning to get to her. She couldn't stay awake for anything. She was so exhausted and she was so full and so warm and so...so light at the same time. It felt almost like she was floating around in the middle of the air. Natsuki rubbed Fuuka's tummy a few more times. She could feel that little ball of tightness underneath her fingertips. It was so soft and yet so unyielding at the same time. Natsuki knew that Fuuka's belly would be back to its normal, flat size by tomorrow, though. That much was obvious. But still, for it to get as big as it had gotten, she must have eaten a lot. There were several times where Natsuki had gone out to use the bathroom and left Fuuka with the others to their own devices. This was probably the result of that. Natsuki slipped a finger into Fuuka's belly-button and wiggled it back and forth.

"Eep!" Fuuka's eyes snapped wide open. "N-Natsuki, please don't do that!"

"Hee hee hee! Sorry, Fuuka! I just couldn't help it! You're really cute!"

"Ugh...I'm full, that's what I am..."

One of the women reached into her pocket and removed a small bottle. "How about some of this? I always take this when I get headaches or stomachaches!"

"Oh, yeah, you use that whenever you drink too much-" once again, the boyfriend had to suffer. His ribs were left aching greatly.

Fuuka was nearly in tears over how touched she was by all of these acts of generosity towards her. She had only met these people a few hours ago and she felt as close to them as anyone that she had met thus far in her life. When she finally gave into the needs of slumber, she did so just as the clock hit midnight. The party had been so focused on them gushing over Fuuka, it didn't seem like there was anything left to do once she went to sleep. Natsuki decided to take Fuuka home. She had Terry, the foreigner, help with carrying her back to the dorm. They didn't want to force her to wake up and make her walk the whole way. She'd probably pass out somewhere. Natsuki wanted to keep Fuuka safe.

"I'm definitely going to have to invite her out again, don't you think, Terry?"

"Heh, you really should! This girl's like an angel or something! She brings a smile out in EVERYBODY!"

It was true that Fuuka was indeed very good at doing that. Natsuki was rather glad she had made the choice to bring Fuuka along. Now that she could see that it wasn't scary or intimidating to hang around her friends, she might be willing to do so more often. Her buddies certainly seemed interested in getting to have Fuuka hang around more often at their sides. They thought she was adorable, almost like a playful little puppy, and teasing her with lots of snacks and drinks and treating her as if she were as pure as the salt coming from the Earth, it made everyone feel some level of joy on the inside. It was unprecedented that she could bring feelings this strong and prominent, but Fuuka had that air about her. That child-like, innocent, helpless and hopeless air that made you simply want to take her into your arms, hug her tight, wrap her up in a warm blanket, sit her down in front of the TV, and feed her snacks until she fell asleep on your shoulder. Natsuki shivered as she imagined engaging in such a scenario with Fuuka. It sounded like such a wonderful thing to do. It made her knees quiver with anticipation for it. Maybe one day she could convince Fuuka to do that. She was a pretty open-minded person once she felt comfortable enough in her surroundings.

"Hey, you should tell her about the rave we're going to this weekend! I bet you that she'd love it!" Terry laughed out loud. He had a really loud laugh. So loud that he almost woke up the young woman in question that he was carrying in his arms. Fuuka stirred a little, but she did not open her eyes or actually say anything. Instead she just yawned aloud and pressed herself against the large man's chest. She used his pectorals like they were a pillow.

"Oh, I dunno about a rave. That sounds like it would be kind of intense for her. All of the loud sounds and bright flashing lights and the people everywhere. It's worth considering, but I don't want to overdo it right away." Natsuki shook her head. "We want to take this nice and slow to get her more comfortable."

"I hear ya, I hear ya."

Fuuka was returned to her dormitory a little before it hit one in the morning. Natsuki used the key she was able to fish out of Fuuka's pocket to unlock the front door and get her inside. They managed to avoid waking up anyone else who lived inside of the dormitory, which was a good thing, as Natsuki did not think she would be able to explain to Fuuka's dorm-mates why the girl was passed out or bloated up so obscenely. Terry placed her into her bed after Natsuki opened the final door to let him through. Fuuka yawned once more. Natsuki could barely hold back the urge to go 'awww' over how adorable she was.

The next day, Fuuka woke up with a pretty heavy headache. She hadn't touched a single drop of alcohol that entire time, yet here she was feeling like she was under the influence of a hangover. It was kind of funny to imagine it, but when Fuuka tried to laugh over how silly it was, she was suddenly overtaken with a sharp pang in her forehead that made her instantly regret ever getting involved with it in the first place. Fuuka sighed out loud. She took a few pills to try and soothe the pain that was rampaging through her skull. She sent out a text to Natsuki to see how she was doing, to know if she was happy with how things had went last night. Fuuka really did want to make a good first impression if it was possible for her to do so. She cared a lot about what her friends thought about her.

Fuuka, however, was given a phone call instead for Natsuki to express what she actually felt about the situation last night. "Hey, Fuuka, how are you doing there, cutie pie? You feeling better tonight? Did you get a good rest?"

"Y-Yeah, I did, but Natsuki, what's going on? Did I miss something? I don't understand why you sound so happy. Didn't I fall asleep in front of you all?"

"Oh, you did, but we're not upset about it or anything. I think it was really cute honestly. So did everyone else! I really liked it! They said they liked it too!"

"Eh, it seems so weird that you were okay with that. I wasn't embarrassing at all? I ate so much and I drank so much that I sort of, um, passed out because of how full I was."

"Heh, it's okay, Fuuka. Honestly, you have nothing to apologize for."

"I don't?" Fuuka was surprised to hear that. She was ready to offer up a great deal of apologies for what had happened.

"No, of course not! In fact I was talking with the others and they really want to be able to hang out with you again too! I told them that you would want to, um, maybe go to the rave with us? You know what a rave is, right?"

"Eh? A rave, seriously?" Fuuka didn't really know what a rave was. But she didn't want to turn down another chance to hang out with Natsuki and her friends outside of school. It had been the most fun she'd had in ages. It wasn't scary or nerve-wracking or tentious like those times when they went into the tower of Tartarus. Going into a rave with Natsuki and all of those nice people seemed like something she would be able to handle. She wanted to do it so she could see what it was really like. Going out and having fun was something she wanted to do again. Even if it meant ignoring her studies for the time being. She wanted more of those yummy snacks too.

Fuuka changed all of her available plans at the time so that she could be able to go out with Natsuki. She turned down an offer by her friends at the book club to read the newest novel of their favorite fantasy series. She turned down a chance to go to the cooking club, which was something she had been getting into lately...though to be fair, she didn't actually bother with it ever since her feelings for Minato went crashing down. Fuuka needed something to really get all of these feelings of inadequacy off of her chest. Natsuki offered her the chance to do just that. Fuuka took that chance and she had no intention of letting it go anytime soon. She was desperate to hold onto it and get the most that she could out of it. She was a little pitiful to be desiring this much attention, she had to admit it, but she couldn't go and pretend like that wasn't the truth of the matter. She needed Natsuki to make her feel happy as she did make Natsuki and her friends happy.

"Thank you so much for inviting me out again, Natsuki! Really, I can't thank you enough! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Of course, Fuuka! Just keep acting like your sweet, adorable, cute self and there won't be any problems! If you want to have fun, just say so! If you want to go out and try something new, say so, and we'll do it! We'll follow your lead from start to finish! No problem at all!"

"Heh...th-thank you...but I'll try not to be too demanding...hee hee hee..." Fuuka chuckled nervously to herself, rubbing the back of her head.

Fuuka was given the chance to explore her life in a way that she never thought would be possible for her before. She was able to eat like she never had before. She was able to drink like she never had before...as long as it wasn't alcohol, of course. She was able to dance like she never had before. Fuuka opened her mind, and her mouth, to some many amazing possibilities like she never had before. Natsuki and her friends were more than happy to give Fuuka everything she could possibly want. If she was hungry, they would push food towards her. If she was thirsty, they would push tasty and sugary drinks toward her. If she wanted to get out on the dance floor or buy some cute new clothes, they would be more than happy to give their best effort to give her what she wanted. Fuuka indulged and she certainly started to pay the price for the sake of this indulgence of hers.

Fuuka started to put on some weight before she even realized what was happening to her body. She started to get a little chubby around the middle. Fuuka was a small girl, not that tall at all. She had such a small waist that most of the people that Natsuki knew could pick her up very easily. She was basically as frail as anyone could possibly be, like you could snap her in half with little more than a flick of the finger. Yet she began to get soft as her eating habits picked up to a whole new level. She was gobbling up snacks by the bag-full every night while under the caring watch of her friends. She drank more soda pop in the passing few months than she did in the several years before her life. It had its effects on her, very heavy effects. Fuuka liked to eat, but she didn't think she ate as much as she did right now. She could tell that the snacks she ate were supposed to be bad for her. It really wasn't that hard to figure out. It said so right on the list of ingredients on the back of the bags. But she still ate it anyway. Fuuka was encouraged to do it, after all. They kept on telling her to do it, that she should have fun with herself. Whether it was a rave (which Fuuka got more accustomed with as she went to more of them) or a trip to the bar, she was still able to have her fun as long as she could eat.

Fuuka ended up with a soft layer of chub on the lower half of her belly. It was a doughy, droopy roll of blubber, the kind that hung down low in front of her crotch. She could grab it between her fingers and actually squeeze it. Fuuka saw it without warning one day when she went to go and wash up in the restroom. She had been a little aware of her weight gain because of her previous touches and brushes with it, but she'd never acknowledged it for real until now. Fuuka's bottom lip started to tremble as she inspected the chub on her person. The softness didn't end at her belly. Her arms, her legs, even her face had gotten softer too. Fuuka grabbed her cellphone and called up Natsumi. They were supposed to meet up at the train station so they could go into the city together, but now Fuuka wasn't so sure if she could do this anymore.

"What's wrong? You gained...what did you say...w-weight, Fuuka?" Natsuki asked into the phone after Fuuka wailed through her first explanation.

"I-I don't know what happened, Natsuki, but I'm so afraid! I didn't think I'd ever get fat like this...ahh...I can't go out...I'm sorry, Natsuki, but I'm going to have to stay here...a-and practice my crunches..."

"Fuuka, you don't have to do any of that. Believe me."

"W-What?"

"Fuuka, why don't you take a pic of yourself and send it to me? I want to take a look at it, okay? To see what's going on here."

Fuuka didn't want to send a picture of her body to Natsuki. She was only in her underwear after all and the chub was so prevalent. It wasn't actually half as obvious as she feared to believe it was, but the poor young woman was basically stuck in hysterics and on the verge of a breakdown. Her mind wasn't in the best place to being able to make many obvious connections. She slowly, shakingly took the photo as instructed, however, so that she could be able to send it to her friend. Fuuka continued to whimper to herself as she awaited a reply from Natsuki about the photo. She wanted to put on something nice and go out, but she was afraid nothing she wore would be able to hide how obvious her belly was. Of course she was really overthinking things, as she had plenty of long, loose-flowing outfits that would be able to hide how big she'd gotten from just about anyone. However, she wasn't in the mood to think about that. She felt like she had turned into some kind of gross blimp, to be honest. Fuuka buried herself under her bed covers for the longest while so that she wouldn't have to think about what she had become. Yet her mind could not focus on anything else. It made her feel like crying, to be honest. She took in a deep, long breath to try and calm down. It didn't work.

Suddenly, Fuuka's cellphone began to ring again. She picked it up, ready to answer as need be. "H-Hello?"

"Hey, Fuuka, it's me. I saw that pic you sent. That's some really cute underwear you have! I never thought you'd wear that sort of stuff with the frills! It looks adorable on you!"

"N-Natsuki! Please! I-I mean, sorry, thank you for complimenting my underwear, but that's not why I sent you that picture anyway! I need to hear from you what you think about my weight gain! I look gross, don't I?"

"What are you talking about? You mean that little bump on your belly? That's what has you up in a tizzy, girl? Are you for real?"

"O-Of course I'm for real! Natsuki, why are you talking to me like this? What are you getting at?" Fuuka didn't mean to snap, but she was getting annoyed with Natsuki dancing around the subject. She wanted to hear her opinion on how gross, bloated, and swollen she looked.

"Fuuka...that 'belly' of yours...it isn't a problem. Like, at all. It's seriously not. Didn't you know, girl?"

"Didn't I know...what...?"

"Didn't you know that curves are in right now? I thought one of my friends told you!"

Fuuka raised an eyebrow. She had a hard time believing that to be the case. "You...um...wait...what? Curves? I'm not...uh, I'm not curvy, Natsuki...I'm just gross and flabby now..."

"No, I'm serious! Curves are in! Really! You should come out and see me with the other guys! They'll all tell you the same thing! I've been looking to gain a little weight myself, but it seems you got to it faster, Fuuka! That's really cool of you! You must be pretty proud of it!"

"I...I'm...uh, I don't understand..."

"There's not a lot to understand about it. You're a little chunkier than you used to be, but that's okay! You still look really cool, Fuuka! You're the 'in thing' right now!"

"W-Wow...the in thing..." Fuuka sat up in bed, pushing the covers off of her. She looked down at her belly and pinched the side of it. She was actually able to grasp a small wad of fat between two of her fingers. This was supposed to be a good thing, then? She found it hard to believe. It almost sounded like Natsuki was making things up so that she would be happy, even though it sounded like such a falsehood. Fuuka squeezed her belly again. As ridiculous as Natsuki's claims sounded inside of her brain, Fuuka couldn't deny that she liked what she heard in the end. She wanted to believe it, through and through. She wanted to believe in Natsuki too. Fuuka took a few more seconds to think it over. She let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"O-Okay, Natuski, if what you're saying is the truth, then I'll do what you need me to do. I'll go and...g-get ready to go out with you guys. I want to still have fun with you all. I've been enjoying it so much so far."

"I know you have, Fuuka, and we've all been enjoying having you here with us too. We'd hate for you to feel like you'd have to stop spending time with us because of something as silly as getting a little curvy. Come on, you're a beautiful young woman! You should be proud to show yourself off like that! Come on! Don't be afraid about it! Look, if you come over now, we'll go and do a little shopping to find you something cool and sexy for going out before we meet up with the others! How about that?"

Fuuka brightened up a little more when she heard about that. "I-I would like that. I would really like that a lot, thank you! Thank you so much, Natsuki!"

Natsuki chuckled into the phone. She looked down at her bag and pat it, feeling the snacks rustle around inside. She had more than enough to keep Fuuka happy and full during the entire shopping trip. That girl had a bigger appetite these days than she probably realized. It was all part of what made her so adorable, though. It made Natsuki want to keep feeding her, as it did for other friends in her posse too. They all wished to keep Fuuka around with them for much, much longer if it was possible. She was like a little shining beacon and they were drawn to her light. Natsuki couldn't wait to see her soon. They were going to have so much fun together it was unbelievable.

Fuuka was encouraged to keep on eating, being told again and again that she did not need to worry about her weight gain for anything. Fuuka was quickly convinced that curves were indeed 'the in thing' and that she should be proud of her appearance for what it was. She had absolutely no reason to be ashamed or afraid of how she appeared. Fuuka took that claim to heart and believed it without any question anymore. She WANTED to be able to believe it and so she chose to do so. In the end, whether it was true or not for real didn't matter. It made her happier and more confident in herself. That was more than she could have asked for.

"You should wear this, Fuuka! And this! And this!"

Natsuki pushed her own style of fashion onto Fuuka, which the smaller woman accepted with glee. She exchanged her usual robes, coats and other modesty-retaining outfits for things that really showed off how 'curvy' she had gotten. She went to a rave with Natsuki and her friends wearing a short, shredded black and red tee that exposed her flabby tummy and a pair of cargo shorts that really hug her bottom. It was the kind of get-up she never would have worn outside in front of anyone else, but Natsuki had convinced her to do it. It made Fuuka feel so happy too. It was like she was really 'living' when she got to mess around and behave so naughty like this. For Natsuki and the others, it was as common as ever, but for Fuuka, it was like getting to step into a whole different world. An incredible experience like no other. She bought several more short-cut t-shirts and short pants so that she could show off her curves to everybody. She wore them even in some of the cold weather months, just because she was so proud of how her body had blossomed into that of a proper woman's.

Fuuka loved it, but she wanted to go even further. Natsuki presented her the opportunity and she took it like a Shadow takes a human's sanity. She was gluttonous for it, this possibility of becoming 'better'. Fuuka continued to change, though the changes didn't always go as deep as one would expect. She started to get less shy, for one thing. She opened her mind to different possibilities and different choices, being more willing to say 'yes' and accept what was being offered to her. When she saw a cool tattoo of a butterfly on Natsuki's leg, she expressed interest in getting a tattoo as well. Natsuki took Fuuka to a tattoo parlor so that she could get one of her own. Of course, Natsuki didn't want Fuuka to actually get a tattoo. She was too cute and too innocent to wear that kind of look well. So she convinced the tattoo artist to instead use a fake, stick-on tattoo that would eventually wash off if scrubbed hard enough with soap.

"Y-You know, I'm a little nervous at the idea of getting a tattoo, so maybe one that I can remove when I visit my family would be best," Fuuka admitted it herself after seeing that tattoo needle for the first time.

"You know what, Fuuka? I agree with you completely. You should probably stick to fake ones for now." Besides, imagining her precious Fuuka with a tattoo on her arm or her leg was really almost too hard for Natsuki to swallow. She had a hard time imagining it and accepting it. Fuuka was even more adorable TRYING to act cool and tough than if she actually was cool and tough. It was such a sweet, cuddly juxtaposition of opposing mindsets and behaviors, it made Natsuki want to grab the nearest pillow and squeal happily into it.

"Hey, do you want to try to smoke a cig, Fuuka?" asked one of the guys one night, offering the box to her.

Natsuki gasped out loud. She ran right over, slapped the box out of the man's hand, and grabbed him by the shirt cuffs. "Fuuka, if you'll excuse me for a moment,"

"Um..okay?"

Natsuki dragged the offender off to the side so that she could speak to him in private. She spoke in hushed whispers, but the words she chose in particular to express her feelings for that moment were not ones chosen lightly. To try and get Fuuka to smoke actual cigarettes was practically a crime in itself. When the two of them returned to a very puzzled Fuuka, the man instead reached into his pocket and offered Fuuka a brand new box, but it was clearly different from the box of cigarettes that he had been holding before.

"S-Sorry," the man tried not to glance at Natsuki during any part of his apology, "Uh, how about an e-cig instead? They're a lot safer for you and they have about the same effects as a regular cigarette, even if they're a bit cheaper."

Natsuki crossed her arms and nodded her head. She was rather protective of Fuuka and she felt like she had every reason to be. Fuuka was her dear friend, and though she wanted to try the 'cool' new things she was learning, it simply did not fit her personality in the way she believed. Natsuki wanted to encourage Fuuka, obviously, but she didn't want to let her go TOO far out of what would be right for someone like her.

That was also the case when it came to Fuuka getting a piercing as well. "Um...so...there's going to be a hole...m-made inside my ear?"

"That's how a piercing works, yeah." replied the man in charge as Fuuka sat herself down into his chair.

"It sounds...a little dangerous..." Fuuka wanted to be brave and try new things, but her courage could only get her to get so far, unfortunately.

Natsuki chuckled a little to herself. She leaned over to the man and whispered into his ear, "Just make it one of those clip-on piercings, okay? Nothing that'll actually harm her. That'll make her happy and it'll make me happy too. I'll even toss you a little extra if you do that instead of really piercing her."

Of course he took the offer as it stood. When Fuuka walked out of the shop with her chubby belly bouncing to her steps, she was all giddy and excited about the new earrings. They were so cute and sparkly and pink! She thought they looked great. Natsuki thought they did too. Fuuka was told a few minutes later that they were only clip-ons, which she admitted was the best choice after all. She had no desire to get sick from potential infection with holes in her ears.

"Th-Thanks for doing that, Natsuki. I still think these earrings look r-rather nice on me. Don't you agree?"

Natsuki reached out and gently grasped hold of one of Fuuka's ear lobes. She rubbed it in between her index finger and her thumb. Fuuka winced a little. Natsuki used her other hand and brought it downwards, towards Fuuka's belly. It was a soft, pudgy little belly. It wasn't really all that big. It was definitely there, though, and the layer of plumpness that coated it had only managed to grow thicker and thicker as the days of her debauchery went forward. Fuuka winced again, actually moaning a little as well, when Natsuki pinched her tummy. It wasn't really a pot-belly yet either. It was almost there, but it was just kind of a jiggly, pillowy plump tummy. The sort that you could breathe in and out and watch it jiggle all the while at the same time. Natsuki liked it. It really reflected Fuuka's sweet personality quite well.

"You've changed in a couple of ways, Fuuka, but I think it's all really nice. You haven't done a single thing wrong this entire time. In fact, you're basically just perfect, you know? Heh, does that sound kind of weird, coming from me?"

"Hmm, m-maybe a little bit!" Fuuka said, before chuckling nervously. Then she said right afterwards, "I-I'm sorry, Natsuki, I hope you don't take that as an insult, I didn't mean it that way..."

"Hee hee hee, you're fine! You're fine! If there's anything you still need to work on, it's your meekness, but you've really come out of your shell as of late, so you haven't done anything wrong! If you keep working on it like you have, you'll get there one day!"

"Get there? G-Get where?" Fuuka tilted her head.

Natsuki finally let go of Fuuka's ear and Fuuka's tummy at the same time. However, she had the biggest, brightest smile plastered right onto her face. She looked rather happy with what she had to say. She knew all about Fuuka's interest in Minato. She had listened to the entire spiel and she was well aware of how this poor young woman felt about the transfer student. Yet he had gone with Yukari instead. Though Natsuki did not think that meant that things were over for Fuuka, that she had no chance to ever win his heart. It just meant that she would have to try harder to prove that she was the better fit for him. And in Natsuki's belief, she was really doing much, much better at that than she ever would have before receiving their help.

"You might be able to get that boy you like to turn his head your way, if you know what I mean."

"Eh? Wait, what? Are you...are you talking about Minato?" Fuuka's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, that kid. I don't really know him myself, so I don't know what he likes or dislikes, but girl, I can tell you one thing and it's that I bet he'd totally fall for you when he sees how cool you've gotten thanks to our help. Though really, you did most of this on your own, so you deserve the majority of the credit, right?"

"I...I...oh gosh..." Fuuka brought her hands to her face. Her cheeks started to grow brighter and brighter until they were blazing red. She imagined her and Minato walking together and talking together. She imagined them holding hands together. She imagined her being courageous and confessing her feelings for Minato right in front of him. She imagined them doing all sorts of amazing things together. Like eating out at restaurants, going on walks in the park at night when the lights were out, playing video games or having study sessions in each others' rooms. Fuuka felt her heart thump like a drum inside of her chest. It was such an amazing thing to conjure up inside of her brain, it actually made her feel genuinely light-headed. Natsuki chuckled. Fuuka's embarrassed reactions were so cute, it made her want to squeeze her and pinch her.

"You think we should maybe go and get a little more preparation done? I bet we can probably get you some nice coloring for your hair to really make you stand out more! You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Natsuki slipped a hand around her friend and grabbed her hard. Really gripping her in a spot where she had the most softness on her person. She gave it a pinch and a tweak. It made Fuuka yelp out loud, but she wasn't necessarily mad at the other girl for the touchy-feely stuff. It was all in good fun.

"Y-Yeah, that sounds like it would be good...thank you...Natsuki, you really have been so kind to me and you've helped me with so much. It's almost hard to believe. You've made my life really take a huge turn around. Thank you so much!"

"Ooooohhhh...Fuuka!" Natsuki grabbed the other woman and hugged her as tightly as humanly possible.

Fuuka laughed out loud as the other woman squeezed her tighter and tighter. She really did love that level of affection Natsuki was willing to share with her. She didn't even mind that her soft, chubby belly was pushing into Natsuki's much slimmer, flatter figure. Natsuki didn't mind it one single bit. With every passing day, Fuuka seemed to get a little fuller and softer in some form or another. Her butt was wider, her stomach had more prominent love-handles, and her arms were soft as everything. She had to have put on an extra few pounds in the past three days alone. How much she weighed, Natsuki didn't know for sure, but she was definitely loving how plush her friend had gotten. She needed more big friends like this in her life.

She let the hug linger for a little while longer. Then she kissed Fuuka right on her big forehead. Natsuki dragged Fuuka along to the next place to prepare for Fuuka's eventual date with Minato. It didn't really have any pretense in reality, but they were going to make it happen regardless of what they had to do.

"Hey, what color do you think you'd like to do to your hair? I mean, teal is adorable and all, but I bet we can spice it up a bit!"

"W-What do you think would be a good way to spice it up?" Fuuka asked, blushing a little as Natsuki ran her fingers through her hair.

"Hmm...ah...yeah, I think...I think I got it! Red! A nice little streak of red would look great on you!"

"Oh, that would be so nice! Thank you, Natsuki!"

Fuuka was brought straight back to Natsuki's place rather than anywhere else. Natsuki had more than her fair share of different hair care products in her possession, given how much she cared about keeping her hair in proper shape. She had some different dyes too, including several she had never tried herself. It wouldn't be all that hard to dye a few strands of hair on the front in contrast to an entire head of hair, after all. She figured she wouldn't need help with it. After all, it wasn't like she was a natural blonde, so she had experienced in this. Fuuka was nervous about the whole thing, so she tried smoking on an e-cig...and eating a whole box of chocolate chip cookies over the course of several hours...to keep herself in a calm state of mind. The snacks certainly tasted good and it made her want to keep on eating them. Natsuki never said 'no' in this regard, so she was more than happy to push another basket-load of snacks and treats, all of them rather sugary and fattening, onto Fuuka's lap as she continued to doll her up.

The next day, Fuuka went to school with her new scarlet-red stripe in her hair. It drew heads immediately, though this was nothing new for Fuuka as of late. Her change in attire, her new earrings and even nose ring, her softer and pudgier body shape, her friendliness with 'bad girls' like Natsuki, and her new 'attitude'. Well, about as new of an attitude as a girl like Fuuka could hope to develop at least. When one of the male students strode past her and casually bumped his shoulder with hers, she spun around to confront him. It almost looked like she was about to run right after him, but instead she called out to him with a 'warning'.

"H-Hey, you better watch where you're going...or I'm gonna...I'm gonna report on you!"

Fuuka still wasn't really all that very good at this whole 'bad girl' thing that she had gotten into lately. Natsuki knew this. Her other friends knew this. The whole school could tell that as obviously as anything, but no one wished to correct her for her behavior. She seemed so adamant in behaving this way and she was trying her very hardest to make it work for her every time. It was literally nothing but adorable. To see her try and barely be able to achieve even half of the effect she was clearly going for with her behavior, it was hard to say that it was a bad thing, because it had such an opposite effect on those watching her. It made it next to impossible to look at her as anything but a cutie-pie. It was like a puppy barking at you. The puppy thought it was being so cool and tough and demanding, but you can't help but go 'aww' and want to scratch it behind the ears. Poor Fuuka didn't know how little effect she had on others, though. No one dared to tell her.

There was only one person in all of Gekkoukan High that did not seem to see Fuuka's behavior as some sort of cute joke. Only one person who, in spite of her genius-level intellect and commanding presence as a leader, was still so out of touch with the 'average teenager' that she would think that Fuuka was actually becoming a problem child. Mitsuru Kirijo was not only one of the older students within the ranks of SEES, one of Fuuka's friends as a result, but she was also the student council president. It was her duty to ensure that the other students of the school followed the expected rules and kept in line. She did not like what Fuuka was doing and seeing her waltz into school with that red stripe in her hair was almost too much for her to handle. She didn't want to allow the girl to go around with that new look for a second longer. However, she didn't have it in her to tell Fuuka to stop, either. She did ultimately care about Fuuka as well, but she simply had less patience for it than others might have. She turned instead to another one of the SEES members, Minato Arisato, to act as her confidant and discuss it with Fuuka for her.

"You know her very well after all, Minato. I'm afraid that I...well, I am not as closely connected with the other SEES members as I'd like to be. I fear I may come off a little 'uptight' at times, or that was how Takeba once put it. She likes you already. She would be more willing to listen to you than she would be willing to listen to me."

Minato thought that Mitsuru was greatly overthinking this entire situation. Whatever was going on with Fuuka, it wasn't a bad thing. She was having a good time and she deserved to continue to feel good about herself. She had been so quiet and shy before, but she'd really come out of her shell as a bigger person (in some ways literally) thanks to the help and convincing of her friend Natsuki. Fuuka deserved to be happy. There was no real need to approach her and tell her that what she was doing was 'wrong' in some way. Minato knew this, but regardless he still did as he was asked by Mitsuru. He didn't have anything else to do anyway and he would have liked a chance to talk to Fuuka again face-to-face. He strode out into the hallway, leaving the student council room. However, as he did, he came across another one of his friends, Yukari.

"Oh, hello...Minato..."

Minato nodded at Yukari. Yukari just turned her head and continued walking. Things did not go so well for their relationship after the first few months. Yukari was almost as uptight as Mitsuru was, but in a different sort of way. It made it hard to really relate with her like he wanted to. She kept on getting mad at him for minor reasons and she didn't seem to have an understanding in his taste of music, among many other things. That wasn't something Minato could do much to fix, unfortunately. He might not have had a whole lot of choices except to simply take it as it was and learn from the mistakes. He and Yukari were basically done as a couple. Not that anyone else in SEES knew about that yet. Especially not Fuuka.

Minato approached Fuuka while she was getting a soda out of one of the school vending machines. He watched her from afar as she tore off the top, downed the whole thing in three big gulps, and released a pretty hearty belch right after. She had some talent for it, no doubt. Junpei would probably be impressed. Once he made sure that she was done with her drink, Minato approached her. This was the first time he was looking at her closely since she had started taking on this new persona of hers. She looked pretty cute, and she wore the 'piercings' rather well on her. That extra softness on her body was actually more endearing than anything else. That belly of hers had become an actual gut, a soft and yielding paunch that hung down in front of her body. Her shirt had rolled up somewhat to expose her tummy even while she was in her school uniform. Her skirt hugged her thighs, making them bulge out even more around the stockings. Fuuka had gained a soft layer of chub around her cheeks, chin and neck as well. Even her arms were plusher. She was a genuine fatty nowadays.

Fuuka looked up at Minato with an obvious blush on her soft cheeks. She really was no good at hiding her feelings around him. It was difficult to tell if she did that on purpose. She was still the same girl in the end like she had always been, apparently. That was a good thing honestly. Minato already liked Fuuka as she was.

"Oh...h-hello...Minato...I didn't see you there..." Fuuka blushed so heavily she almost looked like she was about to experience heatstroke. She reached up towards her hair and began to fiddle with the clump of strands that had been dyed red. It was either a subconscious gesture or she was trying to subtly get Minato to notice the dye in the first place.

"Fuuka, are you doing alright? Mit - uh, I mean, I was worried about you lately. I thought you were acting a little different than what I'm used to seeing."

"Eh? M-Me? I was...uh...I wasn't doing anything wrong, Minato! I've been as happy as I've always been! In fact, I think in some ways I've gotten...better..."

"Oh, is that so? That's really great to hear." Minato said.

"You...you think so? It's really great?"

"Yeah, of course it is. As long as you're enjoying yourself, that's what really matters."

Fuuka stood there in silence, trembling so fiercely that it made her chubby belly jiggle from underneath her school uniform. She didn't know what to do or what to say. She wanted to tell Minato how much she liked him, how much she admired him, how much she loved him. But as far as she was aware, he was still with Yukari, and she didn't want to do something that could be insulting to their relationship. Fuuka looked around the hallway in hopes of finding someone who could help her, like Natsuki. Unfortunately there was no one around.

"Hey, Fuuka, do you mind if I hang out with you and your friends tonight? I think that would really help me get a better understanding about these new changes of yours, right? I'd like to get to better know Natsuki and the others myself too."

Fuuka felt like she could potentially faint at any moment. What Minato asked from her was simple enough, sure, but if Natsuki had been here, she would have called what they were about to do a 'date' for sure.

When Natsuki found out about the fact that Minato would be accompanying them on their latest outing, she immediately sent out texts to all of her friends to tell them that they need to make a last-minute change of plans. Originally they had intended to go out to a popular underground sushi buffet and then belt out songs in karaoke until their lungs gave out. Now that they knew that the guy that Fuuka fancied was going to be in on the whole thing, it was time to go to the next level and help out their newest, shyest female friend. Instead of karaoke, they were going to go and do something that none of them had gotten the chance to do in a while. There was a pretty nice love hotel located in the center of the city that, while no one really liked to talk about, was still a pretty popular place to visit. Natsuki didn't tell Fuuka about the love hotel the entire way there. There was no way she wanted to risk spoiling the surprise. Plus she sort of assumed Fuuka would recognize the place as soon as she saw it anyway, and she'd get the hint on what she was supposed to do with Minato.

"Hey, Fuuka, glad you can make it! Are you ready to have some fun tonight~?"

Natsuki had her arm around her new boyfriend as she waved both Fuuka and Minato over. The group, split up into four couples counting Fuuka and Minato themselves, all stood outside of the foyer of the building. Minato knew exactly what this place was. Fuuka, on the other hand, did not know even in the slightest. She huffed and puffed as she walked alongside the blue-haired teen. She wasn't very much in shape anymore. You only needed to look at her one time to get an idea of that.

"This place looks like fun!" Fuuka giggled out loud.

Natsuki couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, it's a lot of fun...I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Fuuka...and you too, Minato. As long as you both behave yourselves."

"Oh, why wouldn't we?" Fuuka laughed again. Then she looked over at Minato, accidentally made eye-contact with him, and quickly whipped her head away out of embarrassment.

They all headed inside, where they each purchased a room to share. Fuuka had no idea what was going on. At one point she tried to follow after Natsuki and her boyfriend, but Natsuki told her that she needed to go to her own room, the one indicated on the key she had been given. Minato didn't say anything. He didn't want to freak out Fuuka by telling her the truth, but he wondered at what point she would finally come around to realizing it herself. The two of them entered their room together. Fuuka's jaw dropped. The bed was shaped like a massive red heart, big enough for two people to fit on it. There was red all over the room in the form of decorations, glittery strings hanging from the ceiling, even lights that shined down on their heads was a sort of low, sensual kind of light. There was a box of condoms sitting on the nightstand, along with a bottle of lube and a few other 'accessories'.

Fuuka's entire body went as rigid as a board. Her blood ran ice cold inside of her veins. She couldn't believe what she was seeing right now. Finally the young woman had been able to make sense of what was going on here. it also helped, or maybe it didn't, that she could hear some sounds coming from beyond the walls that were VERY similar to moans of pleasure and bed springs creaking. Fuuka fell to her hands and knees, the air suddenly stripped from her lungs.

"Oh...oh my God...this is...this is a love hotel, isn't it?"

Minato placed a hand upon Fuuka's shoulder. "Yeah, it is. We already bought the room though, so we can't leave for a while."

"Ah..." Fuuka's heart felt like it was literally going to implode in on itself. "Oh...no..."

"Hey, we don't have to actually do anything anyway, you know? I'm not going to force you into it, Fuuka."

"Oh...okay...I...I don't think I'm ready for that sort of thing anyway..." Fuuka chuckled weakly, though in reality she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

"Let's sit on the bed and relax, how about that?"

"Um...M-Minato..." Fuuka inhaled sharply.

"What is it?"

"Can we...can we just cuddle then? Would that be okay? I'd...I'd like to be able to cuddle you...a-at least..."

"Yeah, that would be fine."

Fuuka was happy to get the chance to hold Minato in her arms, even if it was entirely platonic with no romantic intentions behind it. She listened to him breathe, felt the weight of his arms around her, and she pressed her face deep into his slender chest. Her plump body was certainly nice to get to hold as well. It was hard to believe that this was all really Fuuka. Minato tried to put his hands in a position where it wouldn't seem too awkward or imply something inappropriate. Yet everywhere he touched he felt nothing but softness. Fuuka had changed so much, and probably for the better too. Minato closed his eyes, Fuuka closed hers, and the two of them laid there in a state of quasi-slumber for an unknown amount of time.

The only thing that woke them up was a knock on the door telling them that their 'time' was up.

"So did you have fun, Fuuka?" Natsuki grinned once the two had rejoined with the rest of the group in the foyer. Natsuki's hair was noticeably disheveled.

Fuuka looked up at Minato. Her cheeks burned brighter than a thousand suns. "We had...fun..."

"Oh, that's so great! I'm so happy for you, Fuuka! Come on! High five!" Natsuki laughed, holding up her hands. "You're a real woman now!"

Fuuka returned the high five, though she looked back at Minato again with an apologetic smile. She didn't have it in her to tell Natsuki the truth. That was fine. Minato couldn't blame her for that. It was probably better that she didn't admit what had really happened. For everything Fuuka had done to change her image, she was still the same girl in the end. She couldn't evolve THAT much in such a short period of time. But still, Fuuka was Fuuka, and Minato automatically liked her for that simply as she was. Fuuka might find the courage one day to go further with him, and he would find out if it was something he really wanted to do with her too, but for now, she was still a good girl in the end. A good girl who tried to look bad...damn, Minato had to admit, that DID have a lot of charm to it.