LIGHTNOVELONLINE Volume 3 – Chapter 11
❖ 11 ❖
“Lord Suzume, it’s me, I’m coming in.”
At the sound of a gentle knock at my door, followed by Radiata’s never-gentle voice, I slowly started to wake up, feeling…honestly, really good. I didn’t know what had come over me the night before, but the worst of it had long-since passed, and I felt extremely refreshed and at-ease.
What happened to me last night? I felt really warm, then really naughty, and…
I felt my cheeks burn up a little, too shy to delve into my own memories of the night before. God, inhibitions make everyone so adorable. And did I seriously just call myself ‘naughty’? Am I a toddler?
Well, embarrassed or no, it didn’t matter much. Suzume’s bed felt extra comfy and soft today for some reason, and I was going to savor that, so I pulled the covers up and over my head. I got the feeling I didn't have more than a couple of seconds before Radiata would force me up, but well, I could get a lot of lazing done in just a few seconds.
Mmm, it’s so snuggly…
Snuggly? C’mon, brain, get it together. You can do better than that.
…Even if it really is super snuggly…
I rubbed my cheek against my cushy pillow, and before I knew it, a loud voice snapped me back to reality.
“Lord Suzume, it’s time to wake up. The day awaits.”
“Nuh-uh, five more minutes…” I yawned, my sleepy voice sounding so cute and sweet that I kinda wanted to give myself a hug.
“...Lord Suzume?”
“Mmm?”
“...No, it’s nothing. Nothing at all,” Radiata answered. “Regardless, those five minutes would be better spent hard at work, wouldn’t you agree?”
I pulled the covers more tightly over me, hoping that made my answer clear.
“I’m comfy, stop being a meanie,” I argued, busting out the harshest insult I could.
“‘Meanie’?” Radiata responded, clearly caught off guard by how low I’d laid her. Nobody can handle getting called something that intense. “Need I remind you, Lord Suzume, that you haven’t overslept even once over the course of your entire reign?”
“But I’m comfy!” I pouted, unsure what she wasn’t getting about this. Did being snuggled up not take priority here?!
“And no matter how much of a brat you may be about things, you are a king. Work awaits. I’ve prepared a fine feast for you this morning too, if that’s what it takes to motivate you.”
I heard my tummy rumble, crying out for Radiata’s cooking, and realized that she had me beat.
Fiiiiiine.
I suppose I had promised that I’d do my best to play my part… I wasn’t going to back down on that.
“I’m up,” I grumbled, lifting the covers off of me. “Even though five more minutes would’ve been perfect…” I said, letting out a small yawn as I looked up at her.
“L-Lord Suzume?!” she gasped, looking totally shocked.
Ohhh, I bet she realized how rude it was to force me out of bed! Mm!
“Gonna let me get more sleep?” I asked.
“Y-you…”
“Ehehe, I’m just kidding,” I giggled. “I’m still sleepy, but a bath and some food’ll he-eeeelp!!”
I tried to shuffle out of bed, but it seemed like sleeping had killed a lot of my muscle memory from the night before. My talons, somehow, didn’t reach the carpet at all, and before I could even try to steady them, I was tumbling straight for the floor. Thankfully, my collision course was interrupted by none other than Radiata herself, who caught me and held me tightly against her body.
“A-are you unharmed?!”
Nuh-uh, it was scary!
I…I didn’t want her to see that though, so I did my best to be brave.
“Uh-huh, I’m fine. I-I must’ve been dizzy, that’s all. I…hm?”
I looked up into Radiata’s eyes. She was so worried…
But…that wasn’t what got me. No, instead, I was struck by something else entirely.
“R-Radiata?”
“...Lord Suzume…”
“Did you get…bigger?”
She felt gigantic against me. Not like, her boobs had gotten bigger, or she’d gotten a little taller. No, instead, I felt as though I were gazing up at Hisoka at full size, as though I were nothing more than a child next to her.
An impression that only grew stronger as she hoisted me into her arms, glaring at me with all the scorn I’d longed for, yet that suddenly made me feel…kinda frightened, honestly. She looked…really mean…
“...Do you really need to ask?”
“W-wait a second…” I mumbled, gazing around my room, noting that it looked even bigger now too. “Y-you didn’t grow at all, did you?” I said, pointing at her.
“...I did not.”
“Then that means…” I looked down at my hands, noticing how tiny and cute they suddenly seemed. “I GOT SMALLER?!” I cried, dismayed at how shrill my voice sounded now. I’d been through this song and dance before. It had freaked me out then, and it was absolutely having the same effect now. “What’s going on, I’m teensy?!” I shouted, resisting the sudden, very strong urge to cry.
“I know that you’re pathetic, that much has been made abundantly clear to me…” Radiata growled, before sitting me back down on the side of my bed. “Yet I allowed myself to stay hopeful after your performance yesterday.”
“Y-yeah…?” I said, reaching for a pillow to hug as she looked down at me, suddenly feeling like I really needed some comfort. I wanted to cry, I liked when people were mean to me, but right now, it all felt so unfair…
“Yet never, in my worst nightmares, did I expect you to be so pathetic that you’d die within your very first day, Rina Saeki!” Radiata yelled.
“D-died?!”
“Died! Burnt to a crisp!” she shouted, before pulling a sweater over me that felt like a gigantic blanket on my body. “And now you’ve been reborn, right before work! This is a disaster, Rina Saeki!”
As she said that, she held up a hand mirror for me to look into. It took a moment for me to comprehend what she was showing me, my eyes struggling to focus on the mirror as she berated me.
And yet the moment I did, I understood just what had freaked her out.
“That’s me?!”
I hadn’t just gotten smaller, I’d become younger, too. Gazing back at me from the mirror was little more than a chick, a baby bird, a child.
Overnight, I’d gone from being a fully-fledged ruler to little more than a hatchling, unfit to rule over anything.
“B-but that’s impossible! I shouldn’t be little!” I cried, my shrill, piercing voice and the deeply childish thoughts I’d been having all morning suddenly making a distressing amount of sense.
I heard a loud thumping on the door, and nearly leapt right back into bed, desperate to hide away.
“Lord Suzume, are you unharmed?!” came the loud, booming voice of Hisoka from outside the room, followed by her banging on the door.
“She’s fine, Hisoka!” Radiata shouted back. “Don’t come in, we’re-!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Hisoka had burst right in the room, spear at the ready.
“-busy…”
“Intruders?!” Hisoka cried, eyes darting around the room. “How dare you attack Lord Suzume in her private chambers?! Have you no…shame?”
And then, her eyes landed on me, and her expression shifted from raw determination, to utter confusion.
“...A child?” she asked, letting out a small sigh before walking towards me and picking me up by the scruff of my collar.
“H-hey!” I cried, feeling like a helpless kitty next to the towering behemoth that was supposed to be my loyal attendant. “Y-you can’t just pick me up like this, Hisoka! Y-you’re supposed to be nice to me, and-”
“These are the King’s chambers, young lady,” she cut me off, speaking in a stern tone that reminded me of nothing so much as a teacher. “You won’t be punished, but I’ll have to escort you to your parents.”
“My mommy and daddy wouldn’t even recognize me like this, I- w-wait, I didn’t mean to say thaaaat!” I cried, cursing out my childish brain.
“They wouldn’t recognize you?” she asked, before shaking her head and heading for the door. “Nonetheless, you can’t remain here, so-”
“Hisoka!” Radiata shouted, stopping her just before she’d walked me outside. “That’s not some helpless lost child. That’s your king,” she explained.
“My…king?” Suzume furrowed her brow, holding me up in front of her face and looking me over curiously, before a flash of realization hit her. “Wait, this face…”
“I-it’s me, Hisoka!” I said, feeling my eyes starting to well up. “I’m Rina!”
“But you’re so cute…” she muttered, that last word coming out as little more than a whisper, as though she was too shy to let any softness break through her stony demeanor. “That’s really you?”
“As you can see,” Radiata started, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Lord Suzume has been reduced to a mere child by Rina Saeki's incompetence.”
That was when the dam burst.
From the moment I’d first woken up, my brain had been beset by childish thoughts and feelings, forcing my words into a much cutesier mold. Where my usual self would’ve loved all the insults, and almost definitely would’ve begged for more, to my newly childish brain, it was all so…so…
“So meeeeean!” I wailed, as tears streaming down my face. “You’re such a meanie, Radiata! I’m not pathetic, I’m incop-, commo-, i-inky…”
My face turned bright red, as I was undone by my inability to even pronounce a simple word.
“I’m not a dummy!!!” I bawled,
“D-don’t start crying!” Radiata yelled. “It’s extremely unbecoming for a king, a-and…and I don’t know how to silence crying children!” she growled, her harsh tone and harsher words only making more tears flow.
“Fret not, Radiata. I used to volunteer at the orphanage in my hometown. Children are my forte.”
“I-I’m not a little kid, I’m not! I’m a grown-up!” I insisted. “A-and I’m a king, so you’ve gotta respect me, and-”
I was silenced by the feeling of Hisoka pulling me into her breast, firmly holding me as close as she could.
“Mm, that’s right, you’re a big girl. A brave king who everyone loves,” she said, petting my hair and speaking in a calm, relaxed tone. I…I knew what she was doing, I knew that my acting like this with me, she was treating me more like a child than either of them had thus far, and yet it…it was nice. I-I really wanted her to keep going.
“I-I am…” I said, my sobs turning to little more than sniffles. “S-so don’t forget it. You have to be nice to me…” I pouted.
“But of course. I’d never do anything less,” she said, giving a small, throaty chuckle before looking down at me with a calming smile.
Look, I’d been mommied before. Haqua could be the most loving, pampering presence in the world, and Rhody exuded an endlessly sweet, motherly aura that was so easy to get lost in.
But what Hisoka was showing me now was nothing like that. She looked so cool, so confident and strong. And she had such a firm, even grip on me that it felt like all my cares, worries, and fears were flying away.
I know it’s stupid, but all I could think when she looked at me like that was that it felt oddly…paternal.
And then she raised me high up above her head.
“Wha?! H-Hisoka?!” I squeaked.
“You’re a king who towers high above everything!” she said, grinning as she gently tossed me into the air, before catching me back in her arms.
“Hi-Hisoka, you can’t!” I argued, feeling intensely embarrassed. “Y-you’re treating me like a kid, and- wahhh!” I cried, gasping as she tossed me a little higher, letting me look down at everything below me.
And despite how embarrassing this was, despite how cutesy and kiddy and stupid I knew this to be…
I couldn’t help but feel excited, and a small laugh left my throat as she kept on going. Up and down and up and down and…
“This is absurd…” Radiata mumbled, but I didn’t care. I was having fun.
“And as your servants, we’ll always be there to show you all the love and respect you need, little Rina,” she said, pulling me in close before kissing me on the forehead. “So there’s never any need to fret, OK?” she asked.
I looked up at her, and a small “uh-huh…” spilled out of me before I could stop it.
“Good girl,” she smiled, lowering me down to the ground. “We’re so very proud of you for being so brave.”
“Yeah!” I said, grinning and placing my hands up on my hips, confident that everyone was impressed by how cool and brave and smart I am. “I’m a big girl! And that’s why…why…umm…”
I think, as I looked up at the towering figures of Radiata and Hisoka, something cracked in me, and I realized exactly what had just happened.
“Wh-what the hell was that?!” I wailed. “I was acting like a little kid!” I shrieked, burying my face in my hands. “This is no good! R-Radiata, you can fix this, right? I can’t have a stupid kid’s brain, I can’t!” I pouted, distressingly aware of how much of a brat I must’ve seemed like.
“I must admit, you have a talent for this, Hisoka,” Radiata said, completely ignoring my distress. “You got her to stop crying in an instant.”
“All part of the job, Ma’am,” Hisoka said, blushing softly as she gave her a nod. “And Rina, no bad words. You want everyone to respect you, right?”
“Uh-huh, I do, so- W-wait! Gah, get outta my head…” I grumbled, deeply dismayed by the hold Hisoka somehow had over me. This was humiliating for sure, but with this stupid child’s brain, I couldn’t even begin to enjoy this.
“Good girl,” Hisoka said, crouching down to gently pat my head.
“And as for you,” Radiata said, taking care to not show me too much disdain. “There’s nobody who can fix this but yourself. So hop to it. Immediately.”
“B-but how?!” I asked, hurrying over to stand on my bed so I didn’t feel too small next to them. “I didn’t want to wake up so teensy!” I yelled, flapping about my stupidly big sleeves. “And you’re saying I died?! There’s no damn way that’s true! If I did, I wouldn’t be standing here right now!”
“Language,” Hisoka said, sending a small shiver down my spine.
“...Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Rina Saeki, do you not understand the body you inhabit?” Radiata asked.
“Not even a little bit!” I yelled. “Are you gonna tell me this is normal for harpies?!”
“A harpy? Is that what you think you are?” Radiata scoffed.
“I only learned demons exist this year! You were so quick to tell me that you're a jorōgumo, but I was just meant to know what Suzume is?!”
Radiata buried her face in her hands, let out a massive sigh, then looked back at me.
“A phoenix, Rina Saeki. Lord Suzume is a phoenix.”
What?
“A…phoenix…?”
“You know what those are, don't you?”
Of course I did, how couldn't I? Was there a person on Earth who didn't? Yet even as I'd discovered that demons were very much a reality, my mind filed away things like phoenixes as the stuff of myth and legend. A being that dies, only to rise from its very own ashes right away was…my mind just couldn't wrap itself around that being every bit as real as me.
I gave Radiata a dumbfounded nod.
“So then, all that talk about nothing being able to kill Suzume, it was true?”
“Why would we lie about that?” Radiata asked.
“I-I just thought it was- I dunno, part of her image! You're so friggin' worried about people usurping her, so you spread stories about her being immortal!”
“She’s cranky,” Hisoka said, holding out some crackers. “Do you need a snack?”
“Yes please! Those look yummy, Hiso- Gahhhhhh! You can’t just do that to me!!” I cried, burying my face in my hands as my stomach gurgled, begging for the snack that I worked so hard to refuse. “I’m not cranky anyway, I’m-”
Dammit. She had me beat.
“Sorry, I'll try to stay calm…” I mumbled, blushing furiously.
“I should think it clear now, that not a word I've spoken about Lord Suzume is false,” Radiata said, clearly holding back as much frustration as she could. “She is a phoenix, and until she returns your body, you will share in every bit of her power, and yet possess nothing that makes her great.”
“Guh…” I groaned, silently wishing she'd tear me down even harder. “But wait, how'd I die?! I was fine yesterday! Well, mostly, anyway. I was tired, sure, but-”
“Old age.”
“Wha?”
Radiata's words stopped me dead.
“The oldest physical age her body permits, at least.”
“That doesn't clear anything up, dammit!” I yelled, as a look at Hisoka's pouting face made me feel intensely guilty. “I didn't look a day over 20 when I woke up in her body. There's no way I could've…”
Wait.
After I'd finished with work, I'd…I'd noticed her clothes feeling tighter, like her body had become a little curvier and fuller. I started getting so tired, too, and when I looked in the mirror last night…
I swear I saw an older face staring back at me. "Cougary" was the word I'd so eloquently chosen.
And now, it was all clicking.
“Was there a time yesterday where you were overcome by an intense heat, Rina Saeki?”
“Y-yeah…” I nodded.
“And, much as it pains me to ask, that was accompanied by…intense arousal?”
I couldn't bring myself to answer that one verbally, so I just gave her a small, shy nod. She had to know what I'd done last night, though on that front, at least, she was understanding.
Suzume must've told you just how hard that feeling is to deal with, huh?
“The end of a cycle, there can be no question,” she sighed. “In exchange for unending power, Suzume's body runs through a cycle of death and rebirth rapidly. She rushes from childhood through to middle-age before dying and returning back to where you are now,” Radiata said, pointing at my pathetically small frame. “Over hundreds of years, she has slowed this process to last a full year where it was once but a few weeks, with her childhood lasting just a single day each cycle.”
“A full year?” Hisoka asked. “Then the annual Day of Cleansing…?”
Radiata nodded.
“The day she returns to childhood, where she retires to her chambers until she is at an age where none would notice anything amiss. Precious few are privy to this secret, Hisoka, so hold onto it tightly. If word gets out, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
“R-right, I’ll do my best, Ma’am,” she said, her voice quavering and turning into a small squeak for a moment. Clearly, she felt more than a little burdened by such a big secret, but she held as firm as she could, determined to prove how dedicated she was to keeping it private.
“Of course, that wasn't due for 10 more months, but Rina Saeki, you…”
“H-how is this my fault?!”
“How is it not? You take her body, and in a single day, you've gone through the entire cycle! There is nothing to blame but your presence in her body.”
I wanted to argue so, so badly. I wanted to call her a meanie, a dummy, and anything else my kiddy brain could conjure that’d show just how wrong she was.
And yet, I couldn’t. Even with my thoughts and actions so obviously hampered, I knew that she was right. Even in another body, my nature as a dumb mutt did everything it could to be as pathetic as possible.
And so, it had reduced me to this.
“Lord Suzume has never taken a single day off from work outside of the Day of Cleansing, and now you come along and…and do this!”
Not a single one? But that’s awful…
But even so, as much as I wanted to argue about how hellish that sounded, I…I couldn’t. Suzume obviously took a great deal of pride in being there for her people, and I was about to derail that.
Though considering she ran away from her own body…
If I tried to say anything to that effect, it’d only make my case that much worse. So I fell to my hands and knees, and offered the best apology I could.
“...My bad.”
I don't need to tell you just how deafening the following silence ended up being.
“...That's all you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m serious! I’m really sorry! M-my brain’s telling me to start crying again, it wants me to pout and say that you’re being super duper mean and…guh, I hate it. I barely even feel like myself,” I said, holding back a sob. “But I really didn’t want this! I wouldn’t have let this happen if I could stop it! I want to do right by you and Suzume, because even if I was pushed into this, I'm putting my trust in her to do right by me! So…my bad, OK! I’m sorry…” I said, sniffling.
“An apology won't suffice, Rina Saeki. This is-”
“Ma’am,” she said, her voice even firmer than usual when she was at her massive size, “Rina didn't know about Lord Suzume’s body, and even if she did, there's no way someone new to all that could control it. The same goes for you and me both.”
You’re so nice, Hisoka…
“I- well…”
Radiata couldn't argue that point, much as she obviously wanted to.
“She obviously regrets that it came to this, and clearly wants to do what she can to fulfill her role as king. I know you want things to go smoothly, but yelling and adding to her stress at a time like this only harms things for all of us. So please, for all of our sakes, try to calm yourself.”
Radiata let out a loud sigh, and the wall crumbled, dwindling down to a height barely bigger than my own as her shyness returned in full force.
“S-sorry! I’m sorry! I'm not trying to be rude, I swear! But little Rina’s so scared, and-”
“You're fine, Hisoka. I needed to hear that,” she said, before facing me. “My apologies, Rina Saeki. I let my temper get the better of me.”
“I-it's fine,” I said, not used to seeing her bow to me and not just the body I occupied. “I get where it's coming from, so…”
She nodded, and let out a glum sigh as she pulled out her phone, hurriedly typing something.
“It's unprecedented, but today shall be a day off for Lord Suzume.”
“But you said she's never taken one, right, so I can't-”
“Being seen in that state would be far more damaging than a single day of rest,” Radiata said. “I shall tend to any affairs I can and spread the word that you're attending to highly important, and incredibly sensitive, business. You should, if all goes well, return to adulthood by the end of the day.”
“But I can't just leave all that to you, Radiata, you already do so much…”
“Focus on rest, My Lord. Though work went well yesterday, you’ve been under a great deal of stress, haven’t you? We’ll spend today allowing your soul to settle into its vessel. My hope, baseless as it may be, is that that may extend the eternal cycle that you’re bound to.”
She shot me a soft smile as she said that, casting aside all her anger to trust me completely.
I didn’t feel like I’d earned that, but I wasn’t about to squander it.
“Right,” I nodded, looking as serious as my bratty face would allow. “Then just you watch, I’ll be back to a big girl before you know it!” I said, trying to ignore how cutesy that sounded. “Shit, I bet I’ll fit this sweater before you’re done with lunch,” I grinned, placing my hands on my hips as my way-too-long sleeves flapped about uselessly. “And then I’ll stay that way the whole time I’m stuck like this! I’m not gonna let you, or any of Hell’s people down!”
It felt weird, to know that quite so many people were relying on my presence. As much as it’d be in my nature to let them all down, I had to prove that I could, if nothing else, fake the appearance of competence. I wanted to get right back into it, and show Radiata that while I was absolutely pathetic, I could deliver the goods when I needed to.
A lofty goal for someone who’s now too young to even swear without getting side-eyed, but well, let’s hope that stays temporary.
“Very good, don’t hesitate to call for me if you need anything, Lord Suzume,” she said, handing me a spare smartphone. “Far be it from me to give an order to a king, but while you remain so unpresentable, you are to not set foot outside of your chambers. An easy task, no?”
I looked at the amenities that surrounded me. I’d been a little too high strung to really take it all in yesterday, but now that I’d be forced to settle in for a while, it was easy to appreciate just how loaded Suzume really was. This room was practically a mansion unto itself, filled with enough to keep even the most depressed NEET happy for decades.
“Mm, I’ll be set!”
Besides, it’s not every day you get to snoop around a king’s room. Who knows what she might be hiding in here.
I couldn’t help but smirk, eager to dig more thoroughly into the bratty king who stole my body. Oh, this’d be so fun~!
“And to cut whatever foolish idea is in your head off right this instant, you’ll be accompanied all the while.”
“What’d I do?!”
“You know very well what you were doing, Rina Saeki,” Radiata said, smiling victoriously. “Hisoka. At attention.”
“M-ma’am!” she saluted, clearly still too freaked out from defying Radiata to return to her larger size.
“You’re clearly good with children, so for today, you’ll be Lord Suzume’s babysitter.”
“I-I’m not a kid! I have a big girl job and everything!” I grumbled, kid brain kicking in hardcore and making me sound way, way brattier.
“Y-you mean it?! I can look after little Suzume?!”
“H-hey, did you hear me?” I asked, getting no response.
“Indeed. Spend the day with her however you wish, and ensure that she doesn’t leave her room. Her faculties are clearly reduced, so she needs you by her side.”
“I-I really don’t need to be tended to! I said I wouldn’t leave! I-I won’t let kid brain get the better of me, I promise!”
“I’ll do my best!” Hisoka nodded.
“I-I’m right here, you know…?” I mumbled, feeling more like a lonely, ignored kid with every passing second.
“I’m confident you will,” Radiata smiled at Hisoka.
“Oh, we’ll have a great time, won’t we?!” Hisoka cried, rushing over to sweep me into a tight, loving hug as she lay on the bed beside me. While she was smaller, her almost fatherly, cool allure completely vanished, replaced by an overwhelming, gentle sweetness.
I hate how much my brain seemed to love both.
“Ah, but it’s better if I watch over you like this,” she said, before growing to a towering height once more, holding me in her arms all the while. “Nobody will be able to lay a finger on my king with me around,” she said, kissing me on the top of my head.
“G-good, you’re my guard, after all, you have to protect me,” I said, too proud to admit just how much I loved her embrace.
“Wonderful, you two seem to get on famously already,” Radiata nodded. “Then take care, both of you. Enjoy the day, little Suzu,” Radiata said as she reached the door, flashing me a deeply satisfied smirk before shutting the door behind her.
“That girl’s dangerous…” I mumbled, shivering slightly as a tingle ran down my spine.
“Mama Radiata just wants you to be happy,” Hisoka said, her cool, smoky voice making me feel like I was about to melt, though I imagine it would’ve done far more damage to Radiata if she’d heard that.
M-Mama… I thought, my mind flashing back to how good I’d felt in Radiata’s arms.
“H-Hisoka, you know I’m in my thirties, right?” I muttered, mustering up every bit of maturity I had within me.
“Mm, but right now,” she said, holding me up to look down at her cool, reassuring smile. “You’re tiny enough that even this is too big for you,” Hisoka chuckled, grabbing at one of my stupidly loose sleeves.
“Th-that’s not the point…” I squeaked. “I’m an adult, I have an apartment and a job and partners and-”
“Of course, I understand,” she smiled. “But a king wouldn’t want to be seen in clothes that are too big for her, would she?”
Oh no, don’t do this to me. Don’t make the kid brain flare up! You’ll-
“A king’s got to look lovely for all her subjects, don’t you think?”
I gave a small, shy nod, as my childish thoughts came back with a vengeance.
“Uh-huh…”
Gahhh! Hisoka, that’s no fair!
“Good girl,” she smiled, setting me down gently and heading for the closet. “Now let’s see, if this happens every year, Lord Suzume’s bound to have some clothes for when you’re that small,” she said, rifling through its contents. “Ah, found it!”
Hisoka turned back to face me, holding the most cutesy, childish outfit I had ever seen.
“You’ll look adorable in this, little Suzu,” she smiled calmly.
Dammit.
Instantly, I knew I’d be powerless to resist. The childish brain wanted so badly to look pretty, while what lingered of my adult self wanted only to be humiliated.
In short, all of me wanted this.
Not a moment later, Hisoka was smiling down at me proudly, filling up her phone with countless pictures of me in my stupidly cutesy dress as I blushed like crazy.
“You’re so, so cute,” she said, keeping her voice low, like she was a schoolgirl too embarrassed to admit she was playing with a kitty on the way to class.
“This is ridiculous!!!” I cried, trying and failing to hide my face away from my gigantic babysitter while my kiddy heart begged me to try and show off a little more because it was just so proud of how lovely I looked.
I felt ready to actually explode. Considering I’m a temporary phoenix, maybe I could make that happen. That’d be nice. I’d just burn away and then-
Dammit, I can’t even wanna die! I’ll just come back even younger! Then they’ll be babying me. No way, no way! I’m not letting that happen! I’m getting back to adulthood immediately, you got that?!
I was in for a long, long day.
Maybe it was crappy of me, but for a second, all I wanted was for Suzume in my body to be humiliated every bit as badly as me. Knowing my partners, I’d probably get my wish.
Shit, she’s lucky.
