Tempting Bora
"Gah!"
I was poking around online when I stumbled onto something unbelievable. Snacks and ice cream, printed with Rumi's own illustrations — and if you bought them, they said, a raffle would award you a high-quality bromide, one of those glossy collector's prints.
Then I remembered I'd been banned, after stuffing myself with far too many snacks and far too much ice cream yesterday. I wanted that bromide so badly I could taste it... and yet, to have any chance of winning the prize, I had to buy the snacks and the ice cream. A perfect contradiction.
"Uuugh..."
I cursed myself for eating all that yesterday for no good reason. If I just hadn't gotten caught, that bromide would already have been mine!
Even so, I couldn't give up here. Eyes sparkling, I set about devising a plan. The operation's name was Tempting Bora. I'd stick to her side and melt her heart with my ultimate aegyo, and if I pulled it off, maybe she'd lift the snack-and-ice-cream ban.
I'd have to pick a spot for the date too, of course, but I could figure that out when the time came. I wasn't going out because I wanted to play. This operation existed for one thing only: Rumi's bromide.
Morning. The instant I opened my eyes, I rolled out of bed and, out of habit, headed off to brush my teeth. Then I stole a glance at Bora, who had come into the room. She always slipped in like this in the mornings so we could eat together — she'd watch TV, and once I was ready she'd take me down to the dining room.
Looking at her, I hesitated. I didn't think I'd ever once asked her to go out and play with me. Usually it was Bora or Haru who simply announced that we were going somewhere.
Still, for Rumi's sake, I had no choice. I steeled myself and spoke.
"Bora!"
"Mm. What's wrong, Hana?"
Her eyes stayed glued to the TV. She didn't even turn my way, and that only made me more anxious — it felt like she wasn't going to listen. I still had to say it.
Drawing strength from my dinosaur pajamas, I gathered myself and tried again, louder this time.
"Bora!"
"Hmm?"
"Let's play outside!"
Bora's eyes went wide. Fair enough — I was a hardcore homebody. I'd never in my life asked to go out and play, and her face said she'd just heard something she couldn't possibly have heard.
Watching that expression waver, I smiled a triumphant little smile. Push just a bit harder and I was sure I could get us out the door. Cooped up in the room all day was boring anyway, so going out to play wasn't a bad choice.
Wagging my dinosaur tail from side to side, I crept toward her, then latched onto the leg of the standing Bora and clung there tight. I tipped my head back, put on the wateriest eyes I could manage, and said it.
"I... I want to go out and play with you, Bora!"
She looked down at me stuck to her leg like a cicada, then smiled and ruffled my hair.
Maybe because I'd taken the dinosaur hood off, I could feel her fingers in my hair with perfect clarity. I pressed the body clinging to her leg even closer, then tacked on a line that felt like something I'd seen in a comic.
"Not with Haru, and not with Baldy — I want it to be just the two of us, you and me. Can't we?"
It sounded a little like a confession, and I was embarrassed. The moment the words were out I ducked my head... then snapped it right back up and fixed her with a pleading look.
"Nngh..."
Bora stared at me with the face of someone barely holding something in. Her cheeks had gone red — was she angry? But then she scooped me clean off the floor and spoke.
My tail, dangling in midair, swayed this way and that. She looked at me and said it.
"If we're going out, we'll need to get ready, won't we?"
She carried me to the bathroom.
"You're really coming out with me, Bora?"
"Of course. If it's what you want, I should do it. I just need to tell the staff real quick. You can wash up by yourself, right?"
"Yeah!"
With that she headed for the office. I watched her back as she went, clenched both fists tight, and spun them in little circles. Operation success. It was only stage one, but I'd fastened the first button without a hitch. Everything still ahead of me would be easier than this.
I surrendered myself to the running shower. I had to wash fast and change — though, long as my hair was, the water refused to come out of it.
After a rough wash I came out and started drying it.
"Argh!"
Long hair or not, it simply would not dry. Useless hair dryer. Still, a few minutes under the blast got it mostly there, and I finished it off in a ponytail, the only way I knew how to tie hair. In the mirror I saw myself in nothing but a light tee.
All that was left was getting dressed. I hunted through my underwear for the pair that looked the most grown-up, but nearly everything had some anime character printed on it. I considered the ones with Rumi on them, then decided that was far too childish a taste. In the end I put on plain white panties with nothing on them at all.
Then I went into the closet. I was about to throw on a colored tee and pants the way I always did — but today was a special day, wasn't it?
I took a deep breath and prepared to put on a skirt. Wearing, with my own two hands, a skirt that Bora or Haru usually had to beg and beg before I'd even consider it left me a little embarrassed. But today I had to look as pretty as I possibly could. If I was going to ask Bora for something, I needed to be ready to melt her heart as thoroughly as I could.
That meant a pretty, cute outfit. I put on a yellow hoodie that made me think of a baby chick, and a yellow skirt to match. Color-coordinated from head to hem, I looked exactly like a little chick. It was warm enough outside now that I didn't need thick stockings.
Even so, baring my legs outright was a bit embarrassing, so I pulled on a single pair of thin black stockings. These days I seemed to wear stockings more often than socks.
Dressed and tidy, I stepped outside to find Bora already finished getting ready. The lab coat was nowhere to be seen. In ordinary clothes she was radiating every bit of the tremendous femininity a woman her age could show off.
Unlike me, who could manage cute at best, Bora was a woman through and through. I was jealous, for no good reason. Of course it wasn't that I envied being womanly — what I envied was the grown-up charm she gave off. I had absolutely never once had my heart stolen by feminine allure!
"Oh my! Hana, don't you look nice?"
"Yeah!"
As expected, Bora had an eye for these things. The moment she saw the outfit I'd worked so hard on, color bloomed across her face.
"All ready, Hana?"
"Yeah! I'm perfect, Bora."
I hesitated between my dinosaur bag and the one with Rumi drawn on it. The Rumi bag felt somehow childish, so I chose the plain dinosaur bag instead.
Today I had to go on a grown-up date, which meant I had no intention of bringing along anything a little kid would like.
"Cute bag, Hana."
Bora complimented the one in my hand. Cute? This dinosaur bag could let out an incredible roar. It was a scary, fearsome bag...
"Nnngh..."
"Come on, let's head out! It's been a while since I had a date with you, Hana."
"I like playing with you too, Bora!"
Saying so, she picked me up, and I went still in her arms. Being held like this lifted my view, and it felt good. Getting to see the world from a grown-up's height was, secretly, even better than I'd expected.
Cradled against her, I could finally leave the building. Whether it was because I was still young or because of some other problem, whenever I tried to go out alone the security guard would call the office to report that I was leaving, so I had never once made it out by myself. Usually Bora or Haru, once they got the call, would come fetch me at the entrance. Even at night the guards seemed never to sleep, standing watch the whole time, so slipping out was difficult. If I truly set my mind to it I probably could have left — I just didn't want to go out alone badly enough to try.
Downtown wasn't right outside, either. You had to drive quite a while before the city even appeared, and there wasn't much around the Starlight Research Institute building for someone to do on their own. It wasn't a complete wasteland with nothing in it, but close enough.
And so, still held in Bora's arms, I got into the car. She seemed to be getting stronger by the day. Was it because she'd eaten that apple last time and grown younger?
The walk from my room to the car wasn't exactly short, yet she carried me the whole way without seeming to strain at all, not even breaking a sweat by the time we reached it.
"Let's go!!!"
I shouted it from the passenger seat with everything I had. We were going out for the first time in ages, and my heart was pounding.
Somewhere along the way, I had long since forgotten my goal completely.