Honesty (reality change, unaware, various)

[Slope3001]

Really good so far!

[RiskyRacoon]

Chapter 5 - Out of her depth

As I heard Aaron close the door, I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction, raising my hands behind my head as I laid back in bed. Honestly? This parasite thing wasn't as hard as I worried it was gonna be. Everything was mostly back to normal with a few simple phrases.

As long as I considered what I wanted, and what I meant, the parasite worked wonders. When I said "Speaking is a very natural thing for almost everyone" the parasite had made it so. Hell, maybe I'd even cured a few people of their muteness? You're welcome!

Next had been making Aaron my girlfriend, which was simple enough. "Aaron is my girlfriend." Boom. Easy as cake.

And then there was trying to make everyone not-like Aaron. I hadn't really noticed how much I'd changed in response to that little mistake. I'd had to think about that one quite a bit. I wrote down a few things I COULD have said, but then I realised, I have my phone, and the internet. So I should just say the inverse of 'normal', right?

Turns out, 'normal' has a lot of definitions, but then I thought back to the way I was using it, and found 'average' which led me to find 'atypical'.

But then I thought, Kiran, you're overthinking this. "Aaron isn't normal" I said. Boom number two, baby. I was certain it had worked, because I'd certainly changed back. But then it wasn't really 'boom' because I checked online and... Uh...

Well, if I was to describe what I saw, it would be, inhuman.

SO to fix this second fuckup, I looked online for some anime people, and the weight of my fuckup could be felt again. Most anime weren't even human anymore, but I was able to track down a couple of girls. A big, heavyset type, with big boobs and butt and stuff, as well as a thin, twiggish girl. I was like, inhaling to speak when I realised that this might turn everything into anime.... I didn't stop myself, though. "Human women range between these two body types". I almost didn't say women, either. Close call.

Yes, I did the same for men, and surprisingly it didn't turn everything anime. Maybe it was something about saying 'body types' instead of bodies? I was totally a natural at this.

And finally, listen. I'm a huge weeb. Don't fucking judge me. I wanted catgirls. So I just said that "human girls have cat tails that match the colour of their hair" and I said "girls can dilate and contract their pupils into slits at will" it's not a big deal, nobody got hurt, and everything got like 10x cuter.

Plus, I stopped there. It wasn't like I was giving into the urges or anything, I just wanted catgirls.

I was busy feeling proud of myself when I heard a knock at the door. It'd only been a minute or so since Aaron left. Who could that be?

====================

After leaving Kiran's last night, I kinda realised that I... didn't know what was happening anymore. After getting rid of the parasite, it had been total whiplash. I was on this super windy what, like, school? But everyone was way older than I was when I was at school, and like, everyone had houses here? Super confusing.

That implied that I was supposed to have a house too, but I didn't know where that was. I briefly tried saying "I know where my house is" and like, that didn't work because obviously I don't have the parasite anymore. Life was gonna get a whole lot harder. Well, harder than it was before I was kidnapped by the organization and made to say things and not say things and stuff. Like, that was awful. Awful.

But like, now I couldn't just go places, I'd have to walk.

Ugh, my poor untrained feet...

At least I still had my shapeshifting! That was a total win!

I'd accidentally gotten it one day when I got into an argument with one of the caretakers at the orphanage. They said "You can't be looking like that, you're too young" and I said "I can look however I want" and BAM! Instant shapeshifting!

I loved being able to turn into other people and other things. My eyes were the only thing that were a problem, like, I can't see if I turn my eyes into something else. I dunno why that happened. Maybe it was something else that I'd said at another time? No clue. Nada.

So, after wandering around for a while and seeing the sights, I realised that I would probably need to stick to the people that I knew. After curling up on a bench and going to sleep, I was awoken by the sound of Aaron running off out the door. If Aaron was awake, then maybe her boyfriend was awake too? I knocked on the door, and greeted him with a shivering smile.

"Hai!"

"Good morning?" Kiran asked, wiping his bleary feminine eyes. It was weird. Kiran was most certainly a girl, with those curves and voice and hair and pretty ears and tail, but like, he was a guy. I was confused about that. But, whatever! Sometimes I was a guy!

"How are yo-hoo-hoo?" I chirped, feeling the bite of the cold wind. He cocked his head at me.

"You're... Cold."

"Yeah, I like, didn't know where to go so I just like, sat there." I pointed over to the comfy little bench, and when I looked back to Kiran he was staring at me like I was crazy. "I... I didn't know where to go." I repeated, suddenly embarrassed. Was that a weird thing to do? After shaking his head in disbelief, he stepped out of the way.

"Come in, god." I did so without hesitation. It was way warmer in his house!

====================

"So you just sat there, all night long?"

"Uh-huh!" The pinkette smiled. She was looking a lot different than yesterday, though I guess that applied to everyone but Aaron. I'd just finished making the poor girl a cup of coffee. Ivy was snivelling and pale, and I felt awful for her. I mean, of course she didn't know what to do. I hadn't known what to do when I'd made everyone's voice suck. Ivy stood at about 5'4, with a youthful face and eyes that seemed to always be smiling. Her eyebrows matched her pink hair, which hadn't occurred to me yesterday. Did I accidentally change that somehow? Or was this the fixed version of her?

I guess there's no point in worrying about that now.

Aside from that, she actually had a pretty nice body, she was slim in the waist, but had a moderate chest and a good ass. It might be better than Aaron's, actually. After last night of having it snuggled up against me, I felt pretty confident that I knew her ass well.

And obviously, the cat ears and tail were cute too.

"Weren't you... Cold?"

"Mhm!" She nods as she sipped her coffee, before "bleh" as she held her tongue out, screwing up her eyes. I flinched, before I hazard a guess.

"Hot?"

"Yea." She put the coffee mug down, grumbling slightly at her burnt tongue.

"Why didn't you... Y'know... Knock? Or call someone? You have a phone, we took your number yesterday."

"Well, uh... I don't... Recognise anybody on here?" She pulled out her pink phone again, safe in its pink case with a cat face on the back of it. It had a pink case last night, but the cat theming was new. "It's all like... I dunno, who's even called 'Johan'? Like, what kind of a name is that?" She sighed, putting her phone away.

"Well... They probably know you?" I offer, sipping my own coffee, not having learned from watching Ivy just how hot it would be as it scorched the inside of my mouth, causing me to do that 'hafashafaha' as I swallowed the bitter beverage. Ow. "You could try texting them or something?"

"Yeah, I thought about that, but like, what would I even say?" Her eyes rolled off to her right side as she pouted. "Hi, I don't know where I am, can you come get me? Oh, sorry, you're my ex girlfriend? Wrong number."

"What makes you think you have your ex-girlfriend's number?"

"Well...." She shrugged. "I'm just worried I'll look like an idiot." She puts her arms on the table, stretching them forward as her forehead lowers to the tabletop. "I just don't know what to do."

I took a moment to stare at her, taking in her situation. She had a point, obviously. I wouldn't want to randomly call the people on my phone and ask for help.

"Also" her head lifted. "I kinda... I guess I kinda hoped that if I ever did lose the parasite, my family would come back...." She sighed again, lowering her head again as she shook it against the table. "I'm so fucked...." I couldn't help but pull up a chair, putting my arm across her.

"Hey, that's no way to think." I started, as she turned her head to look at me, but refused to lift it. "It'll take a while, maybe. You'll make mistakes, maybe. Embarrass yourself, probably." I cocked my head for the last part. "But you'll get through it. And you'll get to live again." I offered a smile to sweeten the idea, and wasn't really prepared for the cuddle that followed, tensing up slightly as she wrapped her arms around me, and buried her face into my shoulder.

"Mph." I heard from her, seeing her tail flicking slowly back and forth as she nuzzled against me. It took a couple of seconds before I felt the wetness of her tears against my shoulder, when I took to gently patting her head.

"Everything's gonna turn out alright." I said softly, and hoped that it would. For her, yeah, but for me too.

====================

After spending about half an hour using me as a cry-pillow, I figured out a few things. First of all, Ivy hadn't washed herself in years. She explained that between all the drugs and conditioning, they must have found time to clean her, but she couldn't really remember much. Second of all, she seemed not to have too firm of a grasp on social norms, taking a particular interest in going through my clothes, since she didn't know where her own were. I would have offered them to her, but like... That's my offer to make? When I pointed it out she apologized, but it was clear she meant no harm, so I wasn't phased. I also took note of the fact that Aaron's clothes were here, too. I guess she'd moved in?

Next came the shower, and Ivy didn't seem to take to it well.

"So, uh... This knob turns it on?"

"Mhm."

"And... This one adjusts the heat?"

"Yep."

"I.... I don't know, what if I slip over?" It had taken explaining about 3 times to get Ivy to the point where she was open to the idea of showering. I'd demonstrated how it worked, but she was clearly very afraid of doing this on her own.

"You won't."

"But what if I do?"

"Then you'll get back up." I cock my head. "It's really not that hard. I shower every day, everyone does."

"Well... I know... But I just..."

"Look, you need to shower, you're starting to stink."

"I don't smell that... Oh... Oh god." Ivy was covering her nose and mouth now, and a couple of seconds later, I had to stop myself from gagging. I hadn't meant to do that! She smelled like a damn skunk!

"You stink a normal am-NOPE" I was quick to catch myself. That was close. Ivy spluttered slightly, grimacing.

====================

"Don't say things are normal, it doesn't work like that."

"Then tell me how to fix it!" I moved to the other end of the bathroom, unhooking the window and opening it. It helped, but not much.

"So, you said that I was starting to stink... Say that the stink is stopping, and say it exactly like that."

"The stink is stopping" I repeat, and after a couple of seconds, the smell goes away, leaving me gulping at the unfouled air like a fish. "Thank god..."

"Did you feel it?" Ivy asked, straightening up and sighing with relief.

"Feel what?"

"Huh..." She shook her head. "Never mind. I think you'll feel it eventually."

"Feel what, Ivy?"

"Well, when I was using the parasite, I could almost like, feel it grabbing onto my brain?" She stared at the ceiling for a second, raising her hands up before lowering them slowly onto her head, and then suddenly clamping them down against her skull. "Like when I was talking, it was holding my brain steady, guiding my words out of my mouth." She dropped her hands, staring back at me. "It's like everything else would fade away for a second, let me form my words better."

"No, I haven't felt anything like that." I profess. "It feels like I don't even ha-" Ivy clasped her hand around my mouth, while her other hand slammed my jaw shut, my tongue barely dodging the closing gate of teeth. Her eyes met mine with an intense inferno within them.

"You don't wanna say that." She blinked for a second, before pulling back, recoiling with a suddenness at what had just happened. "I'm.... I'm so sorry, I-"

"-It's alright, thanks for the save." I said after a gulp. "So, are you gonna shower or what?" She looked back to the shower with apprehension. "Would you feel better if I stayed in here while you did?"

"Yes." She nodded back at me.

"I'll just sit here and... look at my phone the whole time."

"Why?" I blinked at the question. That should've been obvious? "What if I need your help?"

"So... Then, just ask for it."

"But why won't you look?"

"Because I'm trying to respect your privacy?" I give her a quizzical stare. She blushed a little, offering a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, I... Right! I have... Lady bits and you're a boy, right?"

"Exactly." I nodded, taking a seat on the closed-lidded toilet and pulling out my phone. I heard her fiddle around with the shower knobs for a few seconds, whispering which one did which to herself. I almost looked up when I heard her yelp as the water started flowing, but I hadn't heard her slip so I assumed it was fine.

====================

Well, that hadn't gone particularly well.

I walked out of the exam hall with a sigh, lamenting over the unanswered questions that I just couldn't bring myself to try my hand in guessing. It's one thing to guess in the real thing, but frankly, the purpose of a mock exam was to learn from your mistakes, and if I was guessing, then either I wouldn't be making a mistake at all, or I wouldn't be able to learn from it. A guess is a guess, after all.

So, with a heavy heart, I'd left a bunch of questions blank, in the hopes that I'd be able to more thoroughly study over the coming few days. Unfortunately, as I pulled out my phone to discover, that would be far from the case.

'Ivy is here'

Why? Didn't Ivy have a life to go and live? I really thought last night would be a one-off type thing, so I asked further.

'Why is she there?'

'She didn't know where to go last night, and she still doesn't know what to do. Can you help?'

I supposed it was my duty, right? If Ivy didn't know what she was doing, and I and Kiran were the only ones that knew, didn't we have some type of responsibility to her? Perhaps I could pose the question to one of the ethics students as a purely hypothetical scenario. That's another thing; is it best to keep this ability a secret, or to seek someone who could help?

Not just anyone, of course. I wouldn't want Kiran to end up in Ivy's prior predicament. But someone who seemed to know a thing or two about wordsmithing or something? I knew a couple of friends of mine were majoring in English. Perhaps they could help in ways that I simply couldn't? It wasn't like I'd been that much help up till this point. Kiran had still managed to mess up yesterday. I was getting side-tracked, back to Ivy's situation.

'We should take her to the information desk. Maybe we can make up a story about her hitting her head or something, and ask where she lives?'

'I was thinking she can crash here for a while.' I blink a few times. But if Ivy was there, wouldn't that make things a little awkward? Me and Kiran were an item, after all. Not to brag or anything, but the sex was fairly frequent.

'Are you sure she won't be bothered by our activities?' I questioned back.

'I'm sure she won't mind joining in or something' he replied back. I blushed. Was this Kiran's way of organizing a threesome? Then I remembered just how strange Ivy had been yesterday, and shook my head as I walked, head firmly planted in my phone at this point.

'Ivy barely had any idea what was going on, and you just said she didn't know what to do. What you're saying sounds a lot like taking advantage of her.'

'I meant like video games and watching anime? What the hell were you thinking?' Okay, false alarm, but that just left me more confused. Since when did I play videogames? Anime was fine, in moderation, but.. Ah, whatever, yesterday had been a stressful day for Kiran. I decided to look past it.

'Well, we can put the spare room together when I get there and figure things out. She could stay at my place, though. It's not like I use it anymore.'

'Can I call you right now?' Kiran made me roll my eyes sometimes. If I was actively texting him, of course I could call. I dialled his number and called him myself.

"Why are you so hung up on her staying with us?" When the words left my mouth, I realised the kind of accusation that it sounded like. "I didn't mean it like-... Make me understand."

"Well, uh..." Kiran's voice was low. "She didn't know how to work the shower."

"What?"

"Yeah, she made me stay in there with her." I stopped in my tracks. So he WAS cheating on me? "I mean, I didn't look or anything. I was just on my phone."

"Uh-huh. A likely story."

"No, it's really not like that, she-"

"-If that's how you feel about her, Kiran," my voice had picked up its tone. "I'm happy for you, but fucking hell you're so dumped."

"For god's sake, Aaron."

"You're not talking your way out of this Ki-"

"-Now you're going to shut up and listen to me!" He said, and immediately, my mouth closed. I tried to open it again, but no sound came out. Asshole! I couldn't even take the phone away from my ear, and I knew that I sure as hell was going to be paying attention now! I was hurt, deeply. "Okay. I'm sorry, but you're jumping to conclusions." I heard him let out a long sigh, as I heard Ivy's chirpy smooth voice say something in the background. Kiran replied, and after another noise from the pinkette, Kiran's voice returned.

"She doesn't know how to cook, Aaron." I listened, but that didn't mean I had to care about what he was saying. "I had to basically dress her myself, she has no idea about... well... anything, really."

I snorted through my nose, as tears began to well up. I'd really thought Kiran had cheated on me, and the relief that he wasn't had pushed me over the edge. I gulped and sniffled.

"Are you... Okay?" He sounded surprised, but I couldn't respond. I wanted to apologize, he deserved an apology. God, how could I be so jealous? "Uh... You can speak again."

"I'm sorry Kiran." I immediately blurted out. "I thought, I thought... God, I'm so sorry." I needed to get somewhere more private for this, the tears were rolling down my face now.

"Just... Get back here, okay? We'll talk about it. I'm not upset, I know how it sounded." He sighed, before offering an "I'm sorry too. There were a million better ways to word that."

[Vended]

Very original! I can't wait to see more. :]