Robert pretty much just stood in place as the saleslady helped her try the different arrangements; first the pair of double-brassieres, then the three-and-one arrangement. She felt so embarrassed even acknowledging her breasts, let alone trying to shop for them...
"Please, sir, at least loosen up a bit," the saleslady said. "We have plenty of mannequins already, thank you very much. I want to see how this fits on you."
Robert flushed and tried to drop into a bit more of a casual stance; she wasn't normally this stiff, but this whole experience was just so alien to her...it was weird enough even having breasts, but to feel the cloth and padding tucked around them...and to look in the mirror and see how they looked when they were supported and shaped...she had a prow like a ship with this support, how could she even hope to hide it?
"Well," the gynoid said thoughtfully, "I'm going to guess that the three-and-one was the way to go, but how does it feel to you?"
"Uh...I, um, I...guess so...?" the devil-woman said. It did feel less awkward to have one single support structure for the upper three pairs...the lowest breasts were small enough that the support was hardly more than a padded, cupped belt cinched around her waist.
The saleslady looked her over again. "Yes, I think so," she said. "Though that lowest pair...that does poes a bit of a problem. I'm sure you've noticed that it's very nearly right on the waistline?" Robert nodded.
"Which means," she continued, "that you either have to put the waistband of your clothing below them, or cover them up with it...no wonder the poor things looked a bit chafed. The bra should help with that a bit, and your underwear can certainly go underneath them, but I'm not sure you really want your pants riding that low..."
Robert shook her head; she'd seen young women wearing their pants halfway down their buttocks, and...and...whatever else she had to be as this, she was not going to dress like that!
"Right," the saleslady said. "I guess that's just something you'll have to live with...though honestly, if I were you, I'd just wear a dress. No waistband to worry about."
Robert blinked. "P-p-pardon?"
It was already dark out by the time Hiro got back to Hedgeton. That wasn't really a problem, he was perfectly capable of tracking obstacles without relying on visible light, but the darkness didn't help his mood any. The black shapes of rocks and tree stumps looming up out of the terrain at him weren't so terrifying when he could tell what they were and where they were, but now they were just annoyances. At least the moonlight illuminated the occasional crystal spire nicely.
He looked up at the moon. Strange, how it shone with the same cold white light as ever. Wasn't it simply illuminated by the sun? Shouldn't it be all soap-bubbly too? Perhaps somehow its materials only reflected the normal light? He wondered, if it did reflect the iridescent sunlight, would that be enough to change people at night, too? That'd be something else...there would be no real escape, would there? If that were the case everyone would simply have to be changed, and that would be it. Not that it mattered to him...
Hiro wasn't particularly surprised when he arrived on the edge of town (Hedgeton being one of those small towns with a pretty clearly-defined endpoint) to find his father waiting for him. That was fast, sure, but he had replied back mentioning that he'd gone to check out the anomaly...still, he...she must have really booked it over here. He cringed, awaiting some kind of stern lecture for his actions...as much as he hadn't been a model child before, he'd never gone so far as to actually run away...
He was surprised, then, when the cyborg-girl rushed up to him and embraced him. It was a strange feeling; she was visibly (and palpably) a young woman, yet the hug was still the gesture of a father to his son - of Hiro's father to his son. She held him for a long moment, somehow feeling like the protective, stronger figure despite the fact that she was six inches shorter than Hiro now, then let him go. She looked him in the eye; there was no anger, just...just worry. Hiro felt awful; even in trying to avoid hurting his family, he'd hurt them...
"Are you hungry?" she asked. "Must've been quite a walk. Let's get something to eat."
Some minutes later, they sat in a little streetcorner diner, waiting for their orders. Hiro's dad had expressed disappointment that the night-side breakfast specials didn't start until 7:00, but the waitress was kind enough to let her have the breakfast skillet anyway. She sipped at her coffee and gazed across the table at her son.
"Hiro," she said, "I'm glad you reconsidered. And I'm very glad you're safe and sound. I know you don't care for this, but rash decisions like that aren't the answer."
Hiro nodded sadly. "I just...I just wanted to find a cure..." he muttered.
"Of course you did. There's nothing wrong with that, lots of people would like to find one. But it's not worth risking yourself for, especially when it's something you don't even know has a reasonable chance of yielding the desired result."
"Isn't it?" Hiro asked bitterly. "People stare at me, avoid me, treat me like I'm a monster..."
She frowned. "How many people actually do that, son?" she asked. "Is it really a whole lot, or is it just a few that really get to you?"
"I...I dunno," he muttered. "But...Dad, I'm afraid...I might actually be one."
She stared at him. "Hiro, what on earth makes you say that?"
He sighed. "I...I've been...mistreating people...I abused even the little power I do have...when I turn off my emotions I start to act without...without a conscience, and I wonder if that's not really just me, unleashed..."
His father sighed. "Hiro Hibiki," she said, "do you want to know what you are? You're a teenage boy with an unjustified inferiority complex who tries to prove himself to people who wouldn't know real manhood if it kicked them in the ass. You're exactly like I was at your age, and like a lot of other guys your age are. I'm not going to say you don't have legitimate reasons to be unhappy with your change, but this 'I'm a monster, therefore I suck' talk is just the same thing you were doing when you started hanging out with...whatsisname..."
"Julian," Hiro said. "And, uh...that's over."
"Good," she said, smiling slightly. "Hiro, son, you're still thinking self-respect is something you can earn from other people by proving some kind of prowess. You need to realize that your life has value, no matter what you are. You matter to me, to your mother, to Hitomi, but you also matter because you matter. You don't need to validate your right to exist by proving yourself a badass. And maybe you do have real problems because of your change, but I honestly think you can surmount them, at least until a cure is found. In any case, I definitely don't want to see you willing to throw everything away just because you're having a little bit of trouble."
Hiro frowned. In some ways it seemed like she didn't get it...but it didn't seem like she was blowing him off, either. There were plenty of reasons he wasn't fond of this form, even besides the fact that people didn't react well to it! But...it did feel good to hear her say all that...
"Thanks," he said. She smiled and nodded as the waitress arrived with their food.
