Haru and Ken walked back home together, rather than taking the bus - they'd covered the majority of the distance getting to the ice-cream shop, and it was a pretty nice evening out. Or night, rather, as it was getting pretty late...but it was Saturday tomorrow - there was no rush.
They alternated between laughing with each other about the movie and thoughtful silence. Haru didn't know what Ken was thinking, but her mind was occupied by the question she hadn't been able to bring herself to ask: if a cure was found...should she change back?
She couldn't believe she was even pondering that, and even now she was hardly taking the idea seriously. Yet...as a girl, as...as Haru, she had been talking with people, making friends, getting back into music...things she'd never done as Harry. She felt so afraid when she'd had to go back to school like this, yet she was displaying more courage than she had before...
Why was that? She didn't feel any braver. Certainly she didn't act very daring, or even all that outgoing. She was still...still quiet and shy, yet she wasn't crippled by it like she had been. Was it just...were those qualities less off-putting in a girl? Or did her unusual appearance draw people's interest more? Was people's interest in her making her feel less insecure?
Or...was she looking at it the wrong way around? Did she feel less insecure, and that was why she was having less trouble interacting with people? Was there something about...about being Haru, a young woman of Chinese descent with a third eye, that made her feel more...what, interesting? Did other people see that in her, and reflect it back in the way they treated her?
She didn't know. Social interactions had always confused her, and even now that she seemed to be doing better at them, she still couldn't comprehend the principles involved. But...she was happy not to be so alone, so hidden away, and she didn't want to lose that...if she became Harry again, would she?
It wasn't like she didn't want to go back at all... She'd only been a girl for three weeks now; this body still felt strange to her, with the pain it put her through that her mother said was perfectly normal, or the feelings it instilled in her at the sight of...a scruffy young fox-boy...
But...she didn't hate it, not like she felt she did at first. Maybe the strangeness was beginning to wear off, or maybe she'd just been overly emotional from the stress of her change - or maybe it was the positive feelings about her new friends - but for all the unfamiliarity and confusion, it didn't seem like the end of the world anymore.
"Hey," Ken said, pointing upwards, "isn't she in our school?"
Haru looked up to see a winged figure...an angel-girl, soaring gently overhead. "Yeah, I think so," she said. "She's one of the older students, I think...she seems to get around a lot. I wonder where she's going?"
The fox-boy shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "The direction she must've come from...that's out towards the edge of town, I think. What was she doing out there...?"
Neither of them really had any idea, so after a bit of speculation they decided to keep going. "Uh, hey," Ken said, "you cold?"
Haru realized, as she thought about it, that she kind of was. Maybe it wasn't quite as nice out as they thought...the air was cool and moist, and that made her feel a bit clammy. It must've rained while they were in the theater. How had Ken guessed, though...?
Wait, her nipples were...they were poking out again. Gah! What didn't set them off!? She blushed. "Um...yeah, kinda..."
He took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. "N-no, it's not that cold!" she protested.
He laughed. "Ah, don't worry. I'm a little hot anyway...walking around after sitting still for a couple hours kinda does that to me."
She accepted it without further protest - it did feel a little warmer this way. And...it smelled kinda nice, too...
Haru tried not to think of why that would be, and they resumed their walk home. They arrived at her house first, and Ken followed her up to the door. They stood there for a minute, a little lost for what exactly to say. "Uh, well," Ken said, "thanks again for coming with me. It was a lot of fun having you along. Um...see you at practice tomorrow?"
Haru nodded. "See you then. And I had fun too...thanks for inviting me."
There was another brief pause. "Um...good night," Ken said, smiling but looking like he wasn't sure if something else was supposed to happen before he left or not.
"Good night, Ken," Haru said, smiling. The fox-boy grinned a rakish grin and turned to go. Haru watched him leave, tail gently swooshing as he went, and then went inside the house.
Her mother was sitting in the recliner in the living room. "Well, you certainly took your time about getting back, honey," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Did you have a good time?"
Haru nodded. "Yeah. It was...it was fun."
"Well, I'm proud of you for getting out and trying things. And...whose jacket is that?"
Haru looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing it. "Uh, it's Ken's...he let me borrow it because it was a little cold, but I forgot to give it back...I guess I'll give it to him at practice tomorrow."
Her mother looked greatly bemused, the twinkle becoming a full-on gleam. "I see. That was very kind of him - make sure to thank him for me when you see him, okay?"
The three-eyed girl was a little confused...what was her mom thinking? "Uh, okay..."
The drive back out to the mall went smoothly as before; Steve didn't get another tingling sensation. Whether that was because she was done changing or because the moisture level seemed to have gone down now that the rain had been done for a while, she wasn't sure, but either way, she wasn't complaining.
Less comforting, however, was the arrival at the mall. She was wearing only a T-shirt and her built-in skirt...and the place was full of night-side people trying to get all their shopping done and still have time enough for a bite to eat before they'd have to worry about the sun rising. Steve felt extremely self-conscious as she walked with her mother towards the entrance, petals brushing gently against her legs.
Thankfully, there was nobody there who would recognize her...in fact, while the petals around her waist and the flower on her head got some odd looks, nobody even seemed to realize she was new to being a...a girl...
Her mother took her to a clothing store - thankfully, while it was clearly geared towards women, it was more of a sensible, every-day clothing shop and not some kind of boutique...she couldn't deal with that. not a chance. The saleslady there was a little surprised, but smiled pleasantly - this was hardly the first time she'd had a human parent bring their newly-transformed child in for fitting.
"Hello!" she said. "Can I help you find what you're looking for?"
Steve's mother smiled. "Yes, thank you. You see, Steven here was just transformed recently" - well, that wasn't exactly true, Steve thought - "and she doesn't have much clothing that will fit her...especially not with the petals around her waist."
The saleslady nodded. "Mm, I suppose not. I think we should get her measurements first, and then we'll see about finding some new clothes along the lines of...what? General day-to-day stuff, I presume?"
Her mother nodded, and the two older women led her into a fitting room, where she was instructed to undress. With only one piece of clothing on, that wasn't hard, and presently Steve stood naked before a mirror, The saleslady looked at her nipple-flowers. "Oh, that's interesting...hmm."
Her mother nodded. "Yes, I was going to ask about those - Steven mentioned that they were being chafed by her sweatshirt...is there something she can wear to protect them?"
The saleslady shrugged. "I'm not really sure," she said. "We can certainly have a look, but I'm told that they can get rather uncomfortably squashed by brassieres, at least in the cases I've heard of. Nothing injurious, but not very comfortable."
Her mother frowned. "Really? But what do other plant-girls do, then? Surely they can't just..."
"Go topless? Actually, yes," the saleslady answered. "From what I'm told, that's becoming somewhat accepted practice for a variety of transformees who have difficulty with normal clothing for whatever reason. And really, Steven probably isn't in great need of support. It might be the simplest solution."
Steve gaped. What? She couldn't seriously be suggesting...!? It was unnerving enough going out like this!
Her mother was clearly surprised. "I...hmm. I'm surprised I haven't heard of that. Well, in any case, I'd like to see what we can find for her, just to keep all our options open. I think Steven's a little too human for that, in my opinion, so if we can manage it..."
"Of course," the saleslady answered. "I'll make sure to see what options we can offer you. Steven, would you do me a favor and raise your arm? Thank you."
