Chapter 7 (2): The adventurers again
Months passed, and graduation approached, and was reached. A bit before then, or rather, the week before, Tuare had informed me of her party's disbanding, due to Irene marrying her girlfriend and settling down to help her run her inn, well, to act as a guard and receptionist, the twins going off on their own without a trace, and Van finding a wife, well, two, of his own, so he joined their party as their third member. That left Bradley, Shion, and Tuare (as Ninya) so, we all got together (save for the twins) for a big reveal. More accurately, she asked them all to gather in one spot, and said that she'd come with me. However, she went to say goodbye to them while wearing a dress, her breast size fully displayed with as much modesty as one could get with those huge things.
"Well, first things first. I guess I should introduce myself properly. My name is Tuareninya Lars, and, well... as you can see, I'm a girl... always have been. I'm sorry for hiding this from you all, but... I forgot how I was dressed and was acting for the first while, and then it was just too hard to say it... that's the big secret behind my never wanting you to see me naked or whatever. It's not that I have some huge scar or something" (Tuare)
"Yeah, it's just that you have some huge boobs" (Bradley)
"Permission to kick this asshole's face into next week?" (Tuare)
"What? Nonono-" (Bradley)
"Request denied" (Van)
"Thanks... you're a real friend, even if you are the kind of lucky bastard who should just explode" (Bradley)
"Instead, please kick his face into next month" (Van)
"Hey! Wait! I said wai-" (Bradley)
Tuare did, actually, kick Bradley's face, though he only flew backwards a few feet with a broken nose, which she casually healed while making sure that he felt all of the pain it'd normally cause him, compressed into a minute or so.
"So, what, is that all? I put aside some time for just that? So what if you're a girl. It's not like it really matters. You are still you, after all" (Irene)
"I kinda guessed it a while ago, considering that the entirety of Ryuu's harem was female save for you" (Van)
"I just knew because of the smell. It's hard to hide the fact that you bleed every month at around the same time. I figured it was just a cut the first few months, but then I noticed a pattern, and sniffed more. At that point, I was sure of it, but you already know that much" (Shion)
"Shion... two things... first, the minor one. You knew but didn't tell us?" (Van)
She shrugged, though that was a bit hard to tell through her baggy monochromatic clothing.
"It wasn't my secret to tell. The same was true about her being a half-demon. It didn't matter, so why say it when she clearly didn't want you to know?" (Shion)
"Fair enough. However... what do you mean by 'sniffed more' and knowing by the smell? What kind of nose do you have to do that?" (Van)
"I'm half beastkin. I don't have the ears or the tail, but I can shapeshift and I have the nose, hearing, and eyesight of a black catkin" (Shion)
As she spoke, I got a bit of an idea, so I interjected with a playfully evil smile on my face.
"Don't forget the occasional verbal tic" (Ryuu)
"Don't bring that up nyaw - damnit! Whenever it gets mentioned, I start to slip up. I hate this!" (Shion)
"I like it. It's cute" (Tuare)
"Cute it may be, but it's still considered disgraceful in most cases" (Shion)
"Anyways, is that it for what we are here for?" (Van)
"Almost. I think it'd be nice to meet up now and then, for old time's sake. What do you say?" (Tuare)
"I'd love that. I'll be here for a long while, so stop by and have some fun sometimes, okay?" (Irene)
"I'd like that... geez, I hope to find someone to be with... hey, Shion? Wou-" (Bradley)
"Not a chance. I would like to see all of you again later, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing for now. No party, but I'm not good enough to go solo..." (Shion)
"Of course. By the way, I'm assuming that you'll be joining Ryuu's party? Six girls, no guys, B rank... that's going to be a first to everyone. I can't think of any female-only party above C rank, save for the A rank star duo and a few solo adventurers. You'll be the talk of the whole country, especially once you show off that godlike teamwork like when you took out those goblins" (Van)
"Yeah, let's do that. And hey, next time we meet like this, I might introduce you to my children, or at the very least, I'll have actually gotten married, unlike someone I could name" (Ryuu)
"That hurt... you wound me..." (Bradley)
"Damn, I was hoping to do more than just that... maim, perhaps?" (Ryuu)
That got a laugh, and that laugh was what we parted on. Perverted Dwarf and Friends was officially disbanded.
The next week, graduation. It was a small ceremony, but one that was held nevertheless. Not much was supposed to happen, besides each student's rank being announced, and each one saying what their plans might be, if they were so inclined. My room was the last on the list, and as I was stepping up, a cold wind blew, despite the summer heat, as a rift opened in the air of the courtyard nearby. From it, four demons stepped out, and kneeled while facing my direction.