I, Rina Saeki, had dealt with many trials in the past few weeks. I'd gone from cool and gorgeous to tiny and pathetic in my sleep, waking up to a distinct lack of humanity and an even more distinct fondness for getting bullied and treated like an absolute bitch. I'd been mommied to hell and back by a succubus who loved making me moan in both shame and pleasure (both at once, most of the time), I'd been treated like a milk cow by my lovable kouhai, discovered that I'm polyamorous, started dating my kouhai and my dommy mommy GF succubus, gotten my nipples pierced by my own subconscious desire, and found out that tails feel really amazing when they're stirring you up.
…So really, no trials. Zero. Not a single one. All of that stuff was incredibly fun. Life couldn't have wound up any better, really. Haqua and Mio were amazing, I was glad to be with them, and I'd have said I enjoyed life for the first time in a very long time.
But the point stood! I've gone through a lot! Things might not have been hard, but they'd been busy, and that counted for something, right?
Besides, it all paled in comparison to what I'd soon face. Anyone who knew what I was about to do would have their blood run cold, terrified just to think about being in my shoes right now.
Because I, Rina Saeki, the world's biggest loser dog, was waiting at a bar to have a drink with my boss.
…
Dammit, you'd find it scary if you knew how mean she used to be! She's nice now, but I still remember when she seemed ready to bite my head off! If she'd suggested this stuff a while back, I'd be getting fired if I was lucky!
…
Look, I find it nerve-wracking, OK?
But if you wanna keep looking at me like that, I don't mind… You must think I'm so pathetic, right? An absolute loser! A bitch, waiting to get disciplined! Hopeless, a wreck! Gonna spank my butt and call me a bad girl? Maybe tug my nipple rings a bit, and…
"Uehehehe…"
"Ahaha, looks like someone's in a good mood, hm?"
"Hwha?!"
I bolted upright as my boss's voice reached my ears, and she took a seat by my side.
Guh, damn, I kinda lost myself there… Turns out nervous anticipation makes my mind go places.
As does everything, these days. It takes very little effort to get a former human with crumbling inhibitions fired up, y'know?
Anyway, my boss, the devastatingly gorgeous Iori Kizaki, ordered us a round of drinks, then smiled at me. We'd come to a pretty busy karaoke bar a little ways away from our work. Iori was keen to get away from where anyone else might know her and just blend into a crowd for the night, and I was more than happy to oblige. If she wanted to cut loose tonight, I'd be happy to help.
…Not in that way, perv. As a friend.
But damn, she looked sexy tonight. She always did, even when she was awful, but ever since she'd turned things around she'd made an effort to look amazing without feeling inapproachable, and fuck, was it a lot tonight. Her short skirt tightly hugged her amazing thighs and firm, lovely butt, while her blouse was buttoned just low enough to give me an incredible view of her full, heavy chest and a very, very slight peek at her red, lacy bra. Her boobs weren't as big as Haqua's, and they came nowhere even close to Mio, but they had a weight and maturity to them that really got me going.
But I'd have to keep all those feelings down tonight, hard as that would be.
"Chuhai's OK, right? Doesn't pose a problem for succubus constitutions?"
I shook my head, and flashed her a cocky grin.
"Turns out succubi can handle way more than humans can! Might not nourish me the way it did when I was human, but I bet you could feed me poison and it'd barely tickle, these days.'
"I'll have to keep that in mind, I've been perfecting my poison recipe," Iori said, as the bartender brought us our drinks.
"You have?!" I asked, staring at my boss, then looking at my own drink with a great deal more suspicion.
"...I must have been truly terrifying in the past if you sincerely believe that, Rina," Iori chuckled. "All that confidence sure faded fast. You crumbled at basically nothing. Good to know how easy it'll be if I ever want to tease you."
"Ehehe…" I blushed. You'd think embarrassment wouldn't be part of a succubus's diet, but when you're as much of a glutton for punishment as I am, then there's no sweeter taste than shame. "Go easy on me, Iori. I'm still new to us being friends. Or go as hard as you want, y'know? Really put me in my place! You wanna hear me bark? Well all you've gotta do is-"
I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth and looked straight down into my glass.
Dammit! You can't say stuff like that in front of your boss! She'll think you're lower than low, and…ehehe, that'd just be awful!
"Look," I squeaked, too embarrassed to even look in Iori's direction. "When your inhibitions start falling apart the way mine have, it's hard to filter what you say, and sometimes pervy thoughts just push their way forward, so…"
"Don't worry," Iori chuckled. "I can't say I know what that's like, but I know it's not really in your hands. You're fine, Rina. Becoming a succubus must be tricky, so I'm happy to help make it easier on you."
Iori, you're amazing…
For real, the turnaround she'd had from ice queen to perhaps the most warm, understanding person I'd ever met was nuts. The hell was I ever nervous about?
Still, I pushed down the part of me that really wanted to tell her it'd be okay if she decided to really hammer in how pathetic I am these days, just mock me for it and call me all the dirty names she wants. After all, she was being nice and I wanted to accept that, no matter how fun the prospect of more bullying might be.
"So, Mio tells me you'll be going on a trip soon."
"Mhm!" I nodded. "It'll be my first vacation in…"
"Far too long," Iori cut me off, remorse from her old ways kicking in. "That's on me, of course, and I really can't apologize enough. So take all the time you need for this vacation, OK? You've earned it. To think about how much relaxation I've already stripped away from you, I-"
"Hey, none of that, Iori," I stuck out my tongue, and must've looked so damn bratty doing it. "You've turned over a new leaf, right? I know I was a little nervous earlier, but…I dunno, keep walking with your head held high, OK? Don't beat yourself up."
Iori flashed me a cool half-smile, then took a sip of her drink.
"In that way, you haven't changed at all…" she mumbled.
"Eh?"
"It's nothing," she shook her head and smiled. "So, where are you headed?"
"Hell."
"...Hell?"
"Capital 'H'!" I nodded. "Uhhh, I think so, anyway? Haqua mentioned that there's a few of 'em, so I guess it's not the hell, but it's a hell? Maybe? Demons live there, so uhh…"
"The doggie brain's having some trouble, huh?"
"Wan?!" I barked, completely caught off guard as she started lightly petting my head.
"Ah, too much?" she pulled back, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "I said I'd try teasing you a little, but I might not have the nerve for it, ahaha…"
I couldn't help but laugh at that, grinning and nudging Iori in the side.
"No way! Keep it up, Iori! You already got me to bark, I bet you'll be a pro in no time, and- what the hell am I doing? Am I seriously trying to get my boss to treat me like a dog?" I groaned, downing my chuhai. "Two beers and some karaage, over here!" I called for the bartender without a second thought.
"Succubus urges really are tough to resist, huh?" Iori laughed.
"You have no idea. They've even hit Mio hard! She's become a real beast lately! She's sweet as ever, but she'll suggest the wildest stuff out of nowhere, and I'll drop everything to go along with it. And my body changes to match what she and Haqua want, y'know? So even on a genetic level, I'm just built to give in! A real loser dog through and through!"
I sounded…extremely proud of that fact. Not that I'm not, but y'know…
Iori turned her head away, and I could see her cheeks turning pink again as her breathing got just a little heavier. Was she…excited?
No way, I had to be seeing things wrong.
"As long as you're having fun," she said. "And I hope you'll keep having fun in whichever hell you're visiting. I'll hold down the fort while you're gone."
Instantly, her expression turned pretty glum. Iori, for as long as I'd been working for her, had never had any friends, from what I could tell. At this point, she was pretty close to me, Mio, and Haqua, but if all of us were gone…
I wanted to invite her to come with us, I really did, but I just didn't know if Haqua's sister Adri would be OK with that. That's a big part of why I came to get drinks with her. I wanted to show her a good time before we headed off for a while and left her all alone.
…Again, not like that. I'm a complex girl! There's more to my life than just sex!
…In theory…
"Hey Iori, what do you like to do for fun?" I asked, as our order arrived.
"Fun?" the question threw her for a loop.
"Mhmm! I wanna know what you're like outside of the office!" I grinned, popping a piece of karaage into my mouth.
"Boring," she sighed. "Before Haqua came along, I'd convinced myself that relaxation was, guh, 'weak-minded'..."
"Damn, the Kizakis don't mess around, huh?" I asked, putting the bottle of beer to my lips and taking a long sip. "Puahhh! That hits the spot!"
"Careful, your tolerance might've shrunk alongside your body, y'know?"
"S'fine!" I grinned, already feeling tipsy. "We came here to have fun, after all!"
"True, I suppose," Iori smiled, quickly finishing off her chuhai before getting started on her beer. "And yeah, my family's…ridiculously uptight when it comes to public image and all that crap, honestly. So I'd stay home, drink wine and put on some music, that's about as exciting as my life ever got once I entered the working world. I'm trying to get better about cutting loose these days, but…I don't know where to begin, if I'm being honest."
"We're kindred spirits, huh?" I asked, lightly patting her on the shoulder. "Well, that's OK! I'm learning to live again, and you can too!"
Iori smiled, and happily sipped her drink.
"Everyone was a teenager once, right? What'd you used to do for fun back in high school? Any clubs you were in?"
"Volleyball," she nodded. "I doubt there's any teams that'd be jumping up to take me now, though."
"No way! You're in great shape! I bet you'd still crush it."
"Ahaha, well thank you. As for less team-oriented hobbies, though…"
"Yeah? There's gotta be something, right?"
"I used to love karaoke. I'd sing enka ballads all the time," she chuckled. "A little odd for a high schooler, I suppose."
"No way! Back when I was in school, I had a senpai who…hmm?"
My head felt kinda funny, and I don't think I could pin it on the fact that I was drunk off of a chuhai and half a beer. To be honest, work had sapped so much from me that I could barely remember a thing from my high school days.
Whatever I was thinking of faded fast, and I changed what I was saying.
"Anyway, lots of people love enka! And hey, if that's something you love, then I've got some very good news about this place," I grinned, pointing over to the unused karaoke machine in the corner of the bar.
"Oh, no way, absolutely not," Iori shook her head as her cheeks turned bright red.
"C'mon, cut loose!" I chuckled, reaching up to put an arm over her shoulder. Lemme tell you, not an easy feat when you're as runty as me. "We'll have a few more drinks to get you in the spirit of things, and then we'll getcha beltin' out some enka for the crowd, how's that sound?"
"Your tolerance really did go down the drain, huh?" Iori chuckled.
"Puahahaha! Yeah! I'm pathetic in that way, too!" I cried, my cheeks turning even redder as the booze flooded my brain. "So c'mon, let's have fun!"
"Honestly," Iori sighed, then smiled. "I should make some human friends, succubi are a terrible influence on me."
With that, she ordered another, much harder round of drinks, and barely half an hour later, Iori was standing by the karaoke machine with a mic in her hand.
"Woo! Go Iori! You've got this!" I cheered as her song started playing, sadly too drunk to feel embarrassed about all the stares I was getting.
Iori, who, unlike me, could actually hold her drink, still looked a little nervous, but despite it all, she flashed me a dorky thumbs up, and started singing.
"Like leaves blown by the wind, my dreams slipped through my fingers…"
"Ohhhh, you've got a great voice, Iori! Wowowow!" I drunkenly cried, tapping my thighs along to the beat as if I was hearing the most exciting song ever recorded.
"On a woman's journey, touring Ise, heartache is my only companion…"
She was killing it, just like I knew she would. By the end of the first verse, she had the entire bar watching with rapt attention.
Only thing is, she saw just how captivated everyone was. She missed a line, and looked ready to run away.
Gotta step in!
Nodding, I dashed to her side with a beer in hand and took the second mic, continuing the song for her.
"I wish the babbling Isuzu River, would carry these memories away…" I sang. My voice wasn't even a scratch on hers, but I gave it my all. I wanted her to feel good.
And amazingly, it worked!
"On a woman's lonely Ise journey, because even now, even now I still love you…" we sang together, gazing into each other's eyes.
"Hey, who the hell let the kid sing? I'm listening to her, pipsqueak, not you!" A drunkard yelled.
And I get that he was saying the kind of thing I'd normally love to hear, but no way was I letting this prick get in the way of our song.
Besides, even I have standards. They aren't high, but they're there!
"Well too friggin' bad, duuumbass! You're gettin' both of us!" I shouted right back, then hurled my beer in his direction.
The song kept playing, but as the bottle narrowly missed him and shattered against the bar, I swear you could hear a pin drop.
"Uhh, uhh…" I scrambled around for an excuse, and didn't find one, so I did all I could think to do.
"People say sorrows fade with- h-hey! You can't drag me out! I'm singing! My bottle didn't even hit him, so I didn't do anything wrong, ya jerks!"
Iori sighed, and followed closely behind as I was practically thrown out into the street, bringing our time in the bar to a very abrupt end. Much as I hated that she had to stop singing, I'll be real and say that I hope her audience was extremely disappointed.
Those jerks don't deserve Iori's voice anyway!
"Friggin' assholes! Go to hell!" I screamed, kicking a lamppost in frustration.
"Even while you're there?" Iori laughed, making me redder than red.
"Go somewhere even lower! I don't give a shit where, just have an awful time!" I yelled, really putting them in their place.
"Attagirl," Iori chuckled, taking me by the hand.
"Wanna head on home, Iori?" I asked.
"No way!" she grinned. "I'm having far too much fun to let it end now!"
I grinned, and squeezed her hand tightly.
Man, I really am a bad influence on you, Iori!