The former Demon King, now going by Rina Saeki, had been huddled against her bedroom wall for hours now, completely unmoved by the commotion around her, as women she understood to be her partners, yet who suddenly felt like total strangers, debated what to do and where to go from here.
She'd claimed this life for good. Maybe she'd told herself, at one point, that this was just a temporary escape, that the spell she'd cast wasn't quite so permanent as she understood it to be, but those were all lies. Every single word was a fabrication designed to make her spur of the moment escape plan feel less daunting than it had truly been.
No, she didn't want to leave Radiata, and there was much about her position she truly had loved, once upon a time, but that no longer mattered. She'd made her decision, the die was cast.
Radiata, now, was someone else's maid, and the people she'd truly cared for were no longer hers at all. She was just a face in a crowd, a succubus too small for most people to ever notice.
And that was all her heart had yearned for. She wanted the freedom of a life less extravagant than Suzume's, so why did her heart ache this way?
Her stomach let out a loud, pained growl. She was starving, yet though this was undeniably her apartment, she was too scared to wander through it and get food, convinced that anything she did would just make this situation worse.
So she lay there, and shut her eyes tightly, unsure if she'd ever feel ready to open them again.
It doesn't matter if it's permanent, I…I shouldn't have said all that to those three. I shouldn't have been so cruel.
She would say that such behavior didn't suit a king, but she wasn't one anymore, and even when she was…well…
Radiata was right, she'd always been like this. She'd always been a selfish brat.
"Mind if I take a seat?" came a warm, gentle voice, carrying with it a delicious smell. Despite her determination to huddle in place and interact with nobody, she couldn't help but look up to see Mio smiling gently down at her, carrying a bowl of food.
"G-go right ahead," Rina muttered, her stomach growling again at the scent.
"Ehehe, good thing I made dinner, right?" Mio giggled, sitting right by Rina's side, snuggling up close to her. It was a chilly night, and she wanted to warm her up at least a little. "It's just some instant ramen, but it's tasty, I promise!"
"You don't have to give me anything…"
"Hmm, I know I don't have to, sure, but just 'cuz I'm a demon, that doesn't make me evil, ehehe... I'm not gonna let a poor puppy go hungry."
"Then…you don't have to sit with me, if you don't want to…" Rina mumbled, taking the bowl and gazing down at its contents. It was instant, sure, but she'd clearly worked hard to make it as tasty as possible, adding all sorts of things from the kitchen to really bring out the best in the meal.
"Right, right, but I do want to, is the thing," she giggled, patting Rina's tummy as it started to growl again. "And I want you to eat, too, so unless you'd prefer me to handfeed you…"
Rina's ears perked up, it was a shockingly tempting offer.
"Ehehe, you're so cute," Mio giggled, petting Rina's head as the succubus reluctantly started eating her dinner.
For a little while, they just sat there in silence, Mio watching as Rina slowly poked at her meal, before her hunger got the better of her and she absolutely tore through the bowl in no time at all.
"You liked it?"
"It…it was delicious…" Rina mumbled, as her eyes grew blurry with tears. "It's…it's far more than I deserve, too…"
"Hmmm, you think so?" Mio pressed a finger to her cheek. "Nobody else did! They all helped me pick out what to add to it, ahaha. Maybe it was a little overstuffed because of it, but they all wanted you to enjoy yourself, you know?"
"E-everyone did? Even Haqua?"
"Mhmm! Our whole family," Mio grinned. "Nobody wants you to feel sad, ehehe…"
"You…you heard what happened earlier, right? You know that I'm…I'm not-"
"Not my Rina?"
"Y-yeah…" she responded. "I'm just someone who stole her away…"
"Mm, I heard it all," Mio nodded. "I was so surprised, ehehe! I had a feeling things were a little different, but all this time, I've been teasing a king! Wow! I feel like I deserve a medal!"
Rina grumbled.
"I'm…I'm being serious…"
"So am I! I don't think anyone's ever made a king get as milky as I did! Gosh, you really leaked…" Mio giggled, cupping a hand to her cheek as she drooled, lustily.
"Is this really the time…?"
"Hm? We're succubi, right? Isn't it kinda always the time? I saw how excited you got about being fed. You're just as thirsty as I am, deep down."
"Th-that's all this body's fault!" Rina argued.
"And it's your body now, right? You said so yourself, so all those feelings are yours!" Mio teased, giggling as Rina blushed and turned her head away.
Mio sat there in silence for a moment, resting a hand on Rina's knee. She knew what she'd said, of course, but she wasn't going to push things in that direction. Not now, when she was going through so much.
"You know, it's funny, I…I didn't realize what was going on, all this time, I know that, but I feel like such a dummy for it all now," Mio giggled. "When body swapping's something that only exists in fiction for most of your life, I guess you don't really look for signs that it's really happened, you know? But even so, gosh, I kept thinking that something must've happened to my puppy. I was having just as much fun with her as ever, but I could tell something was different all the while. And when I went to that book signing, this king I'd never met before seemed so familiar to me! Just sitting next to her made me feel warm and safe, just like my senpai always has, ehehe…"
"I'm a bad actor, I suppose. I hoped I might fool you all, but…well…"
"Hmm, no, I wouldn't say that. Honestly, even thinking back on it, there's times where it's hard to imagine that my Rina wasn't here! Though maybe that's because you two are pretty similar, ahaha. You're both very needy sweeties."
"We're not at all alike… She's better. She's made all of you happy, but all I've done is tear down the only people who care about me…"
"Ehehe, agree to disagree, I suppose," Mio laughed, petting Rina's hair softly. "Seems to me like you make plenty of people happy. I saw how Radiata poured her heart out for you. Even if she was hurting, nobody goes that far for someone they don't re~ally love, you know?"
"B-but I threw that all away. I threw those feelings right back at her…"
"You acted up, and gosh, you really should apologize to her, but I think she knows that it was coming from a place of pain, too. I'm sure that if you spoke to her again, she'd take in everything you have to say. Love that strong doesn't die so fast, trust me. But maybe I'm just a romantic, ehehe…" she giggled.
"There's…there's nothing else I can say to her again. She's Suzume's maid, not mine. She and I should never cross paths. I'm just a normal OL, so-"
"Suzu? Can I call you Suzu?" Mio interrupted.
"M-My name's Rina now. B-besides, only Radiata can call…Suzume that."
"Sure sure, let's use that for now, then, Ri~na~," Mio teased, running a finger along the length of Rina's thigh, just to make her squirm a little. "You're still you, you get that, right? Doesn't matter what name you use."
"I'm not though. I'm Rina Saeki, now and forever. I can't be a king again, I can't be Radiata's lord, or even her friend. That's Suzume's life, not mine."
"Haqua told me you're a phoenix, is that true?"
"...Suzume is, yes."
"Wow! So you've died and been reborn a bunch?!"
"...Suzume has, yes. Countless times. She's aged, died, and seen no end of childhoods over the years. It's…a pain."
"Wow! That's pretty amazing! You must make a super cute kid! Gosh gosh gosh, Rina's probably gone through that too! Haaah, I wanna see that so bad…"
"...Suzume's very adorable as a child, yes," Rina replied, feeling oddly…proud? No, surely not.
"So then when Suzume dies and gets reborn, that's still her, right? Like, when you- er, she wakes up after that, do you think she treats every day up til that point like someone else lived it?"
"...She…would not, no."
"Right! Because all those memories and experiences and all that's still there, right?" Mio grinned, her thick, heavy tail swaying slowly and gently behind her. "So then why would you being in a different body suddenly change who you really are?"
Rina didn't really know what to say.
"I mean, you've almost definitely considered this before, but even if it might not feel like it, I think it really is that simple," Mio smiled. "If you're stuck in that body forever, that doesn't mean that you have to stop being you. If you miss that life, then go back to it."
"It isn't that simple at all!" Rina spat. "If…if the former Rina Saeki came back to you as a phoenix, bearing a completely different body and all the expectations that come with it, then surely you'd understand that things can't simply be as they were before!"
"You think so? I knew her as a human, you know that, right?"
"She…didn't use magic to hide her prior identity? I knew she was a former human, but nothing escapes the reach of the throne, so…" Rina asked, completely befuddled.
"Oh, Haqua did that, sure! But it didn't work too well on me, and then Haqua undid it before she made me a succubus too! Apparently it's because I'm super powerful or something, ehehe…"
Wait, you were a former human too?! Rina thought. A-and if you're that powerful, then…
The realization hit her like a truck, and she buried her face in her hands.
The power spike we felt was Mio?! So I really did take a near-powerless body…
It was becoming clear that a great deal more escaped the throne than Rina realized.
And that means, if I'd been correct, it might have been your life I stole…
Rina felt horrible thinking about that.
"And yeah, things have been different since we changed, so I can't say her having a new body wouldn't affect things," Mio mused, her eyes gazing at the ceiling. "But we're still us, and all the feelings we shared for each other never faded for a second. She's still my Rina, my lovely moo cow, and my puppy. She's the senpai who freed me from a life of bullying years ago, and brought me so much happiness that I don't think I can ever pay it back. It doesn't matter what she looks like. To me, she'll always be my hero!"
Her smile was bright. Blindingly radiant, in fact, filled with a sincerity and strength that even the greatest king couldn't hope to match.
"And if that means that sometimes she's gotta sit on the throne and play king, then that's OK! I'll be there to milk her as soon as I can~! Haah, that body'd look so good with nipple rings, too…"
It was bizarre, seeing her talk so warmly about something so depraved, but that was just how Mio was. She'd never faced a day in her life with any kind of insincerity, and clearly she wasn't about to start now.
"So no matter what body you're in, I know that Radiata will accept you. I know that everyone will, really. Deep down, they'll all know it's you. No, it won't be the same again, but that's no reason it has to be worse, right? In fact, if you ask me, I bet now's a chance to make things even better! Can you imagine how excited Radiata'll be to have a succubus as bullyable as you? Ohhh gosh, doesn't that sound perfect?"
Despite it all, despite all the hurt she felt…
Rina couldn't help but crack a small smile at that.
"You'll always be loved, because you'll always be you," Mio smiled softly, and leaned in to kiss Rina's cheek.
"But…" Rina muttered, doubt creeping in. "What if she doesn't? What if she rejects me? I've…I've done something terrible, Mio. It'd be fair if she hated me after all that. It'd be fair if all my people hated me, knowing I tried to abandon them."
"Ehehe, I wouldn't worry about that. I've spent plenty of time around you lately, I know you're plenty lovable," Mio giggled. "You don't have to decide what to do right now, though, OK? Take your time, get all your thoughts in order, and the way forward'll come to you," she said, standing up and heading for the door.
"W-wait, where are you going?" Rina called, reaching out for her.
"Just giving you a little bit of time to clear your head, that's all. I'll be right here if you need me, all of us will, because…even if we didn't all know it was you in there, you're important to us too, I promise."
Rina felt ready to cry.
"I-I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this kindness… So why…why are you being so nice to me?"
"Call it thanks for all the milk," she giggled, before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her, leaving Rina all on her own.
"You can't leave me with an answer like that…" Rina said, chuckling softly despite herself.
Mio had helped, sure, but Rina would be lying if she said that had fixed things. She still felt hollow, small, and completely unsure of herself. Mio made fixing things sound so easy, but…that was just naivete speaking, surely. It couldn't be that simple. The damage she'd done couldn't be undone quite so readily.
Still, she felt strong enough to pick herself up off the floor, at least. She couldn't go far, but a few steps was all it took to get up onto the bed, where she flopped over and pulled out her phone with a melancholic smile on her face. A part of her wanted to text Mio to thank her for the food and the talk, maybe apologize to Haqua and the others while she was at it. No matter what kind of life she'd lead from here on out, it was clear that she needed to do a lot to really smooth things over. Yet she didn't get far. Just typing out a couple of words had her anxiety get the better of her, stifling any attempt at saying something before it had really begun.
So she distracted herself with other methods. It was self-flagellation that spurred her, convincing her that she needed to really reckon with her sins, but she found herself making her way to the phone's photo gallery to see what kind of life she'd taken away, and what she'd be inheriting if things truly couldn't change.
!!!
And to her great surprise, sitting at the very top of the heap, amongst countless photos of Rina with her partners in situations ranging from heartwarmingly sweet to endlessly depraved, was Radiata.
She went by Yamada then, in a disguise that was strikingly beautiful, yet hid so much of what made her so alluring away, but that face was unmistakably the one she'd seen every morning for countless years.
There she was, wearing a smile unburdened by even the slightest bit of sadness, looking at a sparrow with no end of love and warmth in her eyes.
This was taken when she was undercover, when she had to pose as a totally ordinary human being, and hide away and all allegiance to Suzume.
And yet still her feelings as she gazed upon the bird, and who they were truly directed at was crystal clear. Even in the depths of her self-loathing, the demon king who wasn't couldn't even try to argue against them.
Every word Radiata had shared with her was true. She loved her to no end. Not as a king, not as some radiant, almighty being who commanded everyone's respect, but as a deeply flawed, bratty, impatient, cocky demon, who so desperately wanted to be understood.
Radiata had always been there, just as the woman who's body she'd stolen insisted her to be.
"I-I can't believe how stupid I've been…"
Rina- No, Suzume wept, her tears flowing hard and fast as she realized just how blind she'd been, all this time.
I want to go back…
No matter how lonely she felt, she'd never once been alone, and she knew that, if she approached Radiata again now, she never would be again.
I want to go back!!!
She cried harder than she had in all her years, yet the smile she wore was more brilliant than any the people of hell had ever seen.
She had found her path forward. No matter what body she might be stuck in, she would go back. She'd fix this. She'd make sure that she, Rina Saeki, and all those who loved them both would all find the happiness they deserve.
She didn't have the slightest idea of how to do that. She was flying completely blind, but that didn't frighten her in the least. She was Suzume, after all. No matter what might try to keep her down, she'd always get back up and keep on going.
As the exhaustion of the day overtook her, she started to doze off, unable to keep her red, puffy eyes open even a moment longer. But that suited her just fine. She'd rest, for now, and when she awoke, she'd attack this with everything she had.
Radiata, we'll be together again soon.
I swear it…
❖❖❖
I woke up in my room, but…at the same time, I really didn't.
I get it, I know that sounds stupid, but…there was a haze over everything, turning the far corners of the royal chambers into an indistinct blur, while my body felt…weird, floaty.
Wait a sec. Is this a dream…?
Succubi were intimately familiar with dreams, of course, in a way few other living beings ever could be. We could dive into the dreams of others and twist them to our liking, giving any unsuspecting victims the dirtiest fantasies imaginable and harvesting all the lust we could possibly want without ever waking anyone up.
Well, most succubi could. I was…weird. Instead, my consciousness and the dreamer's kinda…mixed together, giving us a weird amalgamation of each other's thoughts, feelings, and desires, which of course, had the weird knock-on effect of making it very hard to act like me some mornings. Guh, the amount of times I'd spent acting like a mini-Haqua, or becoming every bit as gentle and motherly as Rhody…
But wait a sec, that doesn't matter anymore. I'm not a succubus at this point. I'm a phoenix, my dreams are just like anyone else's now. They should be weird, indistinct, and intangible, the product of a brain sorting through masses upon masses of info.
So why then, was this dream so distinctly not like that? Why did it feel so alive, as though I'd been transported to another realm entirely, one free from the constraints of reality, yet every bit as real as Earth, Hell, and everything in between.
To put it a little more bluntly, why the hell am I having a succubus dream, dammit?! Is my head taunting me over what I lost?! Is that it?! Is my own brain working overtime to really hammer in how awful I feel?! I'm a king now, well and truly, so why does it feel like my brain's digging up an all-new way for me to be pathetic?!
"Dumbass, you've gotta give up the mutt stuff! Learn how to act like a king's brain, you got that?" I grumbled, flopping back onto my dreamy, extra soft pillow. "You kept me a phoenix in here, so start giving me phoenix dreams. Whatever those are meant to be…" I murmured, feeling my tailfeathers getting smushed up beneath me.
Still, this is the first time I've looked like this in my dreams, too. I guess some part of me's accepted that this is just how it's gotta be from now on…
Feels kinda sad, though. Like more and more of me's slipping away… Guh, I hope this dream picks up soon…
I pulled the covers up over my head, rolled over to my side, and-
"Guah?!"
-saw my old body, sleeping right by my side.
"M-Me?! Or, uhhh, n-not me! She's Rina, and I've gotta be Suzume, but…but this is a dream, so maybe we're both me and-!"
"Noisy hag…" the other me grumbled, before clutching onto my arm and hugging it tight. She, uhh…hoo, she was still half-asleep, but her brat power was already off the charts! Guh, my succubody feels tiny next to this one, too! The feeling of those teeny, perky titties pressing into my arm was killing me.
Wait, wait! You can't dream about sleeping with yourself! Stop clinging to the past, dumbass! Wake up and dream about something more kingly! I thought, slapping my cheeks to try and force myself out of here.
All I did, though, was make enough noise to make the other Rina stir…
"Radiata…?" she grumbled. "Ehehe, you're in here with me? Mm, this is a good dream…"
Wait, Radiata?!
I did a double take, making sure that I had not, in fact, turned into my maid. Anything could happen in a dream, I suppose, but thankfully(?) I was still very much Suzume, which meant that the other me had to be really out of it.
But wait a sec, she called this a dream too, right?! The hell kinda dream has everyone else in it treating it like one, too?! Unless…
Dammit, this dream being like this is all because of her.
"Oi, get it together, Rina Saeki," I grumbled, flicking the center of her forehead. "You're in the presence of a king, so treat me like one."
"Owowow!" she cried, recoiling away in shock. "That hurt dammit! Why the hell are you being so mean to…me?" she frowned, furrowing her brow when she realized what I looked like.
"Yeah yeah, you. You're the one who switched our bodies, so you don't get to be surprised by this."
"Wait, what happened?! W-why are we sharing a bed?! I was in the apartment a second ago, and- Are these my chambers?!"
"You forget what you said to me when you kicked me out? I'm Suzume now, so they're my chambers. At least be consistently bratty."
"N-no! Listen, I-!" She looked like she had something she really wanted to say, but the more she looked around, the more confused she became. "This feels so strange…I feel like I'm floating or something… D-did someone drug us?!"
"Kukuku~!" I laughed, blushing a little when I realized I sounded exactly like the king I now was. "Listen, it took me ages to figure out what was going on when this shit started happening to me, so I'll spell it out for you. We're in a dream. Your dream, I think, or maybe mine. You hopped into my consciousness while I'm sleeping, and now we're, uhh…merged, at least until we wake up."
"M-merged?! Oh shit, have I made things even worse?! B-but wait, that makes no sense, we're clearly separate, and-?"
"Yeah, look, I'm not good at this either," I grumbled. "Normally we'd be sharing a body in a dream, but you've made it manifest differently, if I had to guess. Our bodies are separate, but…I feel like I'm getting an awful lot of your thoughts right now. I really do want to be treated like a king right now…" I admitted. "And you…probably want to be spitroasted."
She blushed like crazy at that. Mm, dead on. Guess that explained why she was acting so bratty. But really, calling me a hag?! The nerve…
Not that I didn't like that, of course…I wasn't fully gone.
"And unfortunately, that means we're denied our proper bodies, even in a dream. Haaah, you really want me trapped on the throne, huh?" I asked, sighing as I admired the feathers on my arms.
"Listen, I swear I'm not doing any of this on purpose!" she cried.
"I know, I know. You'll hate this, but I'm gonna go easy on you," I laughed, petting her hair and watching her grumble. "There's little we can do to control any of this, so…til we wake up, we're stuck together, and when we wake up, well…"
I didn't want to say it, but I had a bad feeling about things. Our thoughts getting mixed up like this probably would make our switch even worse. I'd still wake up as Suzume, but now I'd have a king's mindset swirling around my head, ridding me of even more of me, while she'd probably forget what it means to be a king entirely.
I'm sure she hadn't meant to do this, but a part of me was worried that all she'd done was further sealed in that we couldn't go back to being us.
"We'll be back in each other's lives" I smiled, not willing to tell her everything.
"Phew, as long as nothing else changes…" she admitted, biting her lip. Guh, I really didn't want to lie to her, but…I couldn't bring myself to steal away the relief she felt.
"Well," I started, picking myself up from the bed, "I probably can't go very far, but after everything in the apartment, I doubt you wanna see much more of me. I'll get out of your hair til we wake up, OK?"
As my talons sunk into the indistinct, barely-there floor, I set off to leave, not that I got very far.
"W-wait a sec!" she cried, grabbing my wrist as tightly as she could. God, she felt so weak and ineffectual, it was…kinda precious, honestly. Did everyone else see me this way, as this tiny, adorable, pathetic little creature?
Who am I kidding? Of course they did.
"Listen, I have no right to say any of this, after how I treated you and everyone else. If everyone hates me for the rest of time, then…then I'll deal with it, but…" she looked up at me with a fierce, determined expression. Whatever she wanted to say, she was deadly serious about it.
"I want to give you your life back, Rina Saeki!"
My heart fluttered a little. Did…did she seriously just make my body look cool?! She was so sincere and serious that I felt something but…
Gah, no, get it together, me!
"You can't, remember?" I asked, laughing softly and turning away to hide my blushing face. "You said it yourself, that spell you cast was permanent. I'll always be Suzume, you'll always be Rina."
"That's not true, and you know it!" she yelled. "The spell's permanent, yes, but that doesn't mean our lives can't be our own! Y-you've changed before, but you're still you. I've died countless times, and I'm still me. Even if I'm weak, and small, and powerless, and pathetic forever-"
We both shuddered a little, god, it felt good having my old body get lashed like that… Haaah, I really was the perfect bitch…
"-then that doesn't affect a thing! I'll return to the throne, I'll guide my people, just as I always have and I'll…I'll tell Radiata how I really feel! Maybe it won't be the same, but I'll show everyone who I really am inside! And so what if you're a phoenix now?! Haqua and Mio both told me they'd be fine with that, because they know who you really are, Rina Saeki! You can still be a mutt, no matter how regal you look!"
Guhhhhh, this girl really knows how to hit the spot…
"See, you're getting excited!" she smirked, looking every bit like the brat she'd always really been. "A prissy-looking girl like you getting bent over and railed?! Ohhh, I bet you can't wait! You can say you wanna be treated like a king, but I know that you want to get bullied too! And that body can take all the bullying in the world!"
That…yeah, I'd had that thought. Haqua and the others could do anything they wanted to me, and…and…
"Uehehehehe…" I laughed, right alongside her, before shaking my head, my better judgment telling me that it just couldn't be that simple. We were stuck being each other, now and forever.
Getting my hopes up would just make it worse when everything inevitably comes crashing back down, just as it had in the apartment.
"I-I bet I know exactly how you're feeling, y'know? You're telling yourself there's no way it can be that easy, thinking up all sorts of reasons to make yourself feel worse. You're giving into so much despair because it's easier than trying and failing, am I right?!"
"The hell?! Are you reading my mind, runt?!" I barked, watching her shudder with pleasure at the insult, her stupid, bratty hips looking annoyingly fuckable as she did.
"We just know each other better than we think, especially with our thoughts all messed up!" she smirked. "A-and that's why I know that you want this, too! You want to take my word, even though it's worth less than dirt after all the shit I pulled, and…and you want to be you, Rina! Every bit as badly as I want to be me, no matter what I look like!"
I let out a loud, heavy sigh, and flopped back on the bed by her side. She'd caught me. Maybe it didn't do for a king to give into this kind of flight of fancy, but…
Well, Suzume was doing just that. She believed it with all her heart, so maybe there really was no more regal an act. One that'd see us living the lives we'd come to miss so dearly.
My pessimism about how we'd wake up be damned, how could I not want to go along with that? I…I believed her, wholeheartedly. I believed we really could be us again.
I wrapped my arms around her, and hugged her tight.
"I'd like that, a lot, Your Highness."
"Suzu," she said. "Call me Suzu."
I smiled, and kissed the top of her head.
"Suzu, then. It suits you. Bratty name for a bratty girl."
"H-hey!" she barked, squirming adorably in my arms. "I don't have to take that from you, you damn mutt!"
With a cocky smirk on her face, she pulled her hand back, before giving my tits a huge, firm slap.
"Ah~!" I cried, tempted to cover my boobs and protect them from another attack, but secretly desperately wanting more.
"Oh-ho, you like that, huh? Haaah, you're such a loser," she laughed, sticking out her tongue at me. "Guess it's up to me to show you just how much fun you can have in that body, huh?"
"Oh, that's how you're playing it, pipsqueak?" I grinned, meeting her gaze head on. "Then I'll have to show you all the joys of a body that's just built for sex! A needy, breedable little bitch of a king!" I yelled, before pulling her into a deep, passionate kiss, and our clothes simply melted away. We didn't need them anymore.
Could she taste my feelings towards her, all the anger and bitterness that I'd felt over these past few weeks over what she'd done, and all the joy and ecstasy that had come to replace it in this short time with her? Maybe it was shortsighted, maybe I was getting too excited too easily, but I couldn't help it. The woman who'd stolen my life was now fighting to give it back to me, and I wanted to reward her for her kindness.
And, if I can be totally real, to punish her a little for being such a damn brat.
And shit, did she kiss like one. There wasn't an ounce of technique in what she was doing, just the desire to make me squirm, forcing her tongue as deep as she could and moving it with a distressing amount of vigor. Fuck, it felt so good. I could feel her giggle in the back of my throat as she pushed me back a little, and I just knew she was thinking about how pathetic I was, getting trounced by someone as teensy as her.
Well too bad, dumbass, I love losing!
I let her keep going like that for a while, letting out soft, flustered moans as her long, bratty tongue lashed around mine. Haaah, fuck, my body really was made for sex. Just a kiss and I was completely hooked on her. I don't think I'm much of a narcissist, but right then, I'd say that getting fucked by myself was more or less all I'd ever wanted.
Honestly, I'd have let things stay that way this whole time, but after all she'd done to me?
Well, I couldn't not wipe her smirk off her face.
So the moment I felt her strength dip even a tiny bit, I pushed back. She was so light, it was no trouble at all. One second she was gaining on me, the next I'd lifted her into my arms, hoisting her up by her wide, squishy, ultra-slappable ass.
…Look, maybe I'm becoming a bit of a narcissist, but it's all Suzume's fault, ya hear?!
And god, the way she started to squirm. Just that little bit of work and she was already starting to melt in my arms, quickly realizing that she wasn't half as in-control as she thought she was. I could see so many adorable emotions written on her face, but frustration and excitement won out over everything else. She was pissed I'd taken charge, but fuck, did she want to see where it was going.
So despite all my bottom-y mutt instincts, I was determined to show her exactly what I was capable of when I went for it, pinning her down on the bed and popping a finger up her tight, eager pussy.
"Mmphua~!" she cried, pulling her head away so she could breathe. I didn't give her more than a second though before I got back to kissing her as deeply and passionately as I could. Her teeth were pointy and sharp, a particularly bratty touch that Haqua seemed to adore about me, saying they gave my body a suggestion of danger and strength that I could never hope to match.
And honestly, I…I really got it. They made my tongue prickle a little as I kissed her, filling me with a feeling like I was tempting fate by sticking my tongue in a tiger's den, but that just made it so much more satisfying to completely defang her by burying her in so much pleasure that she can't even think about doing anything rebellious.
I was going down a strange road. Turns out, I might like bullying myself just as much as my partners do. It's a good thing Suzume craved it every bit as badly as I did. The way her lips squeezed tightly around my fingers while she bucked her hips as if trying to pull me in deeper made me lightheaded, it was so fucking cute. She was so desperate, she wanted to be absolutely stuffed.
"Nnnh~!"
I smirked as I popped in a second finger and bullied her clit, basking in her perfect, wonderfully high, pathetic moans. Fuck, was I always so tight? Was my clit really this perfect for pinching and squeezing? There really wasn't a single inch of me that wasn't built for pleasure. It was like I was made to be everyone's perfect onahole.
Hoo, fuck…
I felt woozy. We were embracing our new bodies, I understood that, but for that second, I really missed my old one. I wanted to be used like a toy so bad… Still, if I can't be that anymore, then the king definitely can. So I fingered her harder and harder still, faster and faster, pouring all the feelings I'd let build up all this time into every single thrust as I lowered my head down to her chest and tugged on her nipple rings with my teeth, pulling them this way and that while I twisted them vigorously.
"Fuh~ck!" she moaned, as she came like crazy, a torrent of her juices spilling out of her. I had to know how she tasted, how I tasted, so I dove between her thighs to find out, sticking my tongue as deep inside her as it could go.
Oh my god.
I'd fucked a succubus once before I became one myself, and in that time, I think I'd started to lose sight of how good they are at this. They are lust incarnate, demons whose entire beings revolve around giving and receiving pleasure.
And naturally, that means there's nothing and nobody else, on Earth or in Hell, that can come anywhere close to matching what they have to offer in bed.
So it follows that the second I got a taste of her, I damn near lost any sense I might've had. It awakened a fierce, gnawing hunger in me that I knew nothing else could sate. I had to have every single drop she had to offer, or I'd surely die.
At least, that's what my muttbrain made it feel like.
"Rihh~na…" she moaned, bracing the sheets. "You're a beast…"
"Nuh-uh, not even close…" I said, as I licked a trail of her juice off her squishy inner thigh. "Just that right now, as we are," I smirked, wondering if I looked even halfway as impressive as Haqua, "You're even weaker, smaller, and more pathetic than me. You really think I'm not gonna seize an opportunity like that?"
That was all it took for her to cum again, to lavish me in more of her incredible ambrosia. She was painfully weak to insults now. She might take the throne again, but she'd always be a mutt, just like me. We'd never fully rid ourselves of each other's influence, not that we'd want to.
"But see, what's amazing about succubi, is that while you'll always be pathetic, nothing's saying you have to be small. That body can be a real bombshell, y'know?" I cooed, making all my desire as clear as possible, determined to reshape my chewtoy. Her body trembled for a moment, her thighs grew far squishier around me, and before I knew it, I was looking at a Suzume that perfectly-resembled my human self…succubus additions aside, of course.
"Y-you made me older…?" she gasped, in a voice every bit as tired and worn down as mine used to be. Good, good, she had an OL's fatigue, she'd be a blast to fuck.
It was bizarre, a real hammering in that she'd well and truly taken on my appearance in a way I just couldn't anymore. Maybe Radiata could whip us both up a pair of disguises if we ever felt nostalgic, but I'd never truly have that body again. It just wouldn't be the same.
But Suzume, well, there wasn't an inch of her that was anything but, and I could appreciate it all so deeply. Instantly, I could feel how much tighter the inside of her pussy was, how it didn't quite feel as tight and needy as it did in her brattier form. It felt a little bumpier, too. I'd never noticed just how thoroughly becoming a demon had changed me, but it really was as if those halves were just completely different people, with totally different allures. Some might mourn that sudden loss of youthful vigor, but they just don't get it. They don't get how much more potent she tasted now, like a fine wine, aged to perfection. Her moans were so much deeper and throatier now, making me painfully wet as they grew louder and louder with every lick.
But what really drew my eye was the way those fat, full titties flopped about. No wonder Mio was so obsessed with making me her cow, with the rings on those boobs, she looked like livestock, through and through.
And after what she'd done to my chest, well, I couldn't resist giving them a firm, powerful…
*SLAP!*
"Ahhh~! Rina…" she groaned, biting her lip harshly.
"Fuck, I love this, Suzume…" I cooed, reaching down to kiss her again. "I'm almost grateful you stole my body, there's no way I'd get to experience all this otherwise…" I cooed, caressing her cheek.
"Stupid friggin' hag…" she grumbled, her brattiness not diminished at all by her body looking older than mine.
"Ohhh, still gonna insult me, chewtoy?" I grinned, biting down on her chest to really hammer in her position. "Alright, if you're gonna be like that…"
I let my desire flood into her once again, railing her as her body continued to shift. Her boobs swelled even more, her tail grew ridiculously fat, and soon I was fucking a decidedly more pathetic version of sweet, lovable Mio, gazing up at me with all the adoration the real Mio had shown me when we first met.
"S-Senpai…" she murmured lovingly, reaching up to suck my chest, before shaking her head. "N-no fair, you can't keep messing with meEE~!" she squealed, while I eagerly kneaded her adorably sweaty boobs. I knew exactly what she was doing. She was arguing, but the look in her eyes made it clear that she was desperate for more. She wanted to feel like she had no control here, that everything about her hinged on the whims of an ultra-horny mutt.
So as much as I wanted to keep going at it with this particularly pathetic Mio, I had to show her more, deeper pleasure. I railed her, and her body changed even further. I contemplated making her each of my partners, but nah, I could be with them anytime I wanted after this, and I knew it.
So I went a little more playful with things, shifting her body into each and every stupid scenario my brain had yearned for since I lost my humanity. The kind of stuff that existed only in ero-doujinshi. Once Mio had faded away, I was being straddled by a very eager, very bouncy cheerleader who grinded her lips across mine as vigorously as she could.
"Let's go, Rina! Cum as hard as you can for me, 'K? I'll cheer extra hard, just for yoouu~!" she cried, squeezing and shaking my boobs around like they were pom-poms while I fingered her lovely butt, not giving her a second to rest before she turned into a peppy, full-figured magical girl with very fat thighs.
"I-I'll never lose to a demon like you~!" she gasped, as I effortlessly pushed her down and spread her legs wide before shoving her own wand as far inside her as it could go. "Fuahhh~! Using my own power against me is so, so wonderful~!" she said, her expression changing in a heartbeat as her body grew skinnier, paler, and decidedly disheveled, and I turned her into the very picture of a desperate, horny shut-in, the wand turning into a massive vibrator at the same time.
"Guhehehehe~! Fuck, this is so good…" she groaned, taking the vibe into her own hands while I bit down on her painfully hard nipples. "MMmmmf~! Fuck me, harder and harder, pleaSE~!" Suzume gasped, wrapping her arms around my head and holding me as tightly as she could, right before her body turned mature, warm, and motherly.
"Ahh~! M-mommy's not~ NN! Th-those rings aren't mine, sweetie, Mommy swears! It's no good for someone my age to wear something like that~!" she squeaked, faltering as I caressed every inch of her body, squeezing her pudgy belly and drinking all the milk her boobs had to offer. Her personality and form were so pliable, a sure sign that she was embracing each and every bit of this. I could keep going forever, make her look like just about anything that had ever made me even the slightest bit horny, but well…
This dream had to end at some point, and she hadn't done a thing to me. That couldn't stand. So I grabbed her by the tail.
"NNh~?! Mommy's sensitive there, so- Ffha~!"
I cut her off, and shoved it right inside her pussy, letting her body dwindle back down to its usual bratty form as I plunged it in and out, in and out. Fuck, my succubody was amazing, I'd miss it dearly. Still, I kept going, moving faster and faster, harder and harder until-
"Rinaaa~!" she cried, tensing like crazy before her body just couldn't hold on any longer, and she came for me, her thick, sticky juices splashing against my skin, giving me plenty to savor while she caught her breath.
And fuck, did she need it. She was in a body that could absolutely take far more than mine, but if you looked at us now, you'd never know it. I was cool and confident in a way that truly didn't suit me, while she was sprawled out on the bed, trying to gather up what little strength her bratty body had in it.
"Gonna leave me wanting, huh? After all that talk, you sure lost to this hag real easily, didn't you?" I smirked, flicking her nipple. "Well hey, hardly a surprise. You're pathetic, after a-"
"Shut the hell up, you damn brat!" she cried, before her tail wrapped around me and pulled me down flat onto my back, not giving me a second to breathe before she slammed her ass right down on my face. "You got cocky, huh? Forgot who the real king is around here so you thought you'd treat me like meat?" she said, running her finger along my inner thighs where scale met skin.
Guh, fuck~!
It-it was barely anything at all, it was foreplay at best, and yet it sent jolts of pleasure screaming through me, making every part of my brain light up all at once.
"Then let me remind you who's really in charge, huh?"
Fuck, she knew every sensitive spot on this body. She had me.
"Oooh, there we go! That's the sound!" she cackled, looking like a picture-perfect shitty brat as I let out a distinctly undignified sound.
"Loser succubus like you, and you didn't even think to prod and tease the boundaries of this regal body? Endless possibilities for lust, and you pick the plainest, tamest ones," she spat, sending a jolt of pain and pleasure through my body as she tugged on my feathery pubes.
"I-I've done plenty," I gasped, even though, truth be told, Radiata and Hisoka had been the ones to really blow my back out.
Ya know, as much as a self-healing phoenix's back can get blown out, that is.
"Really? Then tell me, o noble King, have you ever thought about the real differences between a phoenix and a lower being? About what happens when a phoenix reproduces? When it fucks?"
I let out another small, pathetic moan. Of course I knew what it meant. I'd had to stop my brain countless times from falling into fantasies of egglaying. But surely she didn't, she couldn't-
"Mmmh~!" I cried, as she shoved three of her fingers inside me, running her bratty fingernails against my clit.
"Ordinarily, we might have to work at it, you know? It'd take some effort, but we could make you a fine mother in time," she giggled, pulling out her fingers and licking them off, one-by-one. "But you showed me that in a dream, none of that matters. Anything I want, I can have in an instant. Isn't that right, sweetie~?"
She adopted the sweet, motherly tone she'd carried a moment earlier, now wielded with far more aggression than the docile housewife I'd fucked with her own tail could've ever carried. She rubbed her pussy against my face once more, making sure I could never forget her scent, her taste. It was all mine, and yet, the strength she carried it with made it feel like it couldn't possibly belong to me.
"Mm, burn that into your mind, your soul," she grinned, standing up above me, letting her juices drip down onto my face. "Most mutts never come anywhere this close to royalty, you know? But you, well, you're special. And I'll have to reward you," she smirked, "by satisfying you more than anyone ever could."
She lay back down, caressing me gently before lowering a hand down to my butt, running her fingers through my tailfeathers. Fuck, it felt so good. More moans spilled right out of me, sounding for all the world like birdlike chirps as she teased the base of my feathers, before plucking one right out.
"Ah~!" I gasped, the suddenness of it all catching me far more than any pain it might've left. As much as I wanted to bite back, I knew that if I let her see this through, she'd completely, utterly defeat me.
And shit, I wanted that so bad.
Slowly, she lowered her hand down between my cheeks, teasing my butthole with her fingernails, little by little, enough to really make me squirm.
Fuck, fuck, just put it in already!
I couldn't ask it out loud, but I was begging for it, fruitlessly bucking my hips as though it might get her to move faster.
Instead, she placed another hand on my belly, and looked up at me with a cocky, shitty smirk.
"You're all mine, Rina."
"I- Nn?!"
I tried to talk back, tried to lean in and kiss her and show her how much I wanted to be her property, her pet, and anything else she wanted to treat me as.
But the moment I did, I felt a cramped, bloated feeling in my belly, and started to wince.
"Y-you didn't…" I groaned, my heart pounding with pleasure as the realization sunk in.
I didn't look any different, my tummy wasn't swollen, or anything like that.
But I felt it, deep inside me.
There was an egg, just waiting to pop right out.
"That's right! I didn't do anything~!" she grinned, kissing my belly before popping her finger right inside my ass, making me feel even more stuffed.
"Nnnh~! Fhuck~!" I moaned. It felt like my senses were on fire, as though my whole body had become one giant erogenous zone, with not so much as an inch of me that wouldn't scream out in pleasure at the slightest touch. "B-but…"
"No really, I didn't! I'm a shitty liar, even if I pulled the wool over your eyes," she giggled, pumping her finger in and out. "All I did was tease you a little, get you all hot and bothered, and well…"
She reached her hand between my thighs, and eagerly teased my entrance, as though she were trying to coax the egg out.
"Your brain did the rest. You must've been so desperate to give me an heir! Ahahaha, I'll take good care of you, Rina! Wanna be my queen, huh? Is that it? You wanna give me lots and lots of kids~? Ahahaha, you're so cute! Just what would Haqua think if she saw you now?" she laughed, grinning like a total piece of shit. I wanted to argue with her, to insist that she was lying, and that this was all her doing. But I knew that wasn't true. My heart had yearned for this ever since I woke up as a phoenix. It had been begging for a chance to make this happen, to humiliate me so deeply that I'd never recover from it.
Besides, even if I could argue against her, my body simply refused. I felt too cramped and strained to muster more than a stupidly flustered squeak, leaning into her grasp for comfort. Despite it all, despite her teasing and how much of a brat she'd become, an increasingly emotional part of me begged for the warmth that only she could provide.
She was a king. My king. She'd protect me.
"Su-Suzume, it's…it feels so big…" I groaned. "Your fingers, too, it's- nnn~!"
In response, Suzume shoved her finger deeper inside my butt, making me squirm that much more.
"And it's never coming out if you don't force it," she smirked, before kissing my cheek. "So go on, show me that cute little egg your body's been taking care of, hmm?"
The shame her form had given me was hitting me hard. I knew, on some level, that this wasn't anything like human pregnancy, and that whatever happened in this dream wasn't real, but…but it just couldn't work up the nerve to go the rest of the way. I felt like if I did, if I popped out an egg, there'd just be no coming back from it.
And yet, fuck that sounded good. Fuck, that'd feel good. My heart wanted this so bad, there'd be no greater proof that I was still a needy, yappy bitch no matter the body.
So I tensed myself, shuddering as her fingertips rubbed my puffy lips, and not a moment later.
*pop!*
"Ahhhn~!" I cried, as an egg flew right out of me, landing gently in Suzume's hand. For all my worry about it, for as much as it felt like my body was screaming out for release, it came out…shockingly anticlimactically, with what felt like no effort at all.
"Th-that's it…?" I groaned. "Just that-"
*pop!*
"Nnnnh~!"
"Th-there was another onnNNE~?!"
*pop!*
It felt ridiculous, in no time at all, three of the fucking things came bursting right out of me, where Suzume laughed at the sight of each one.
"Ohh, you'll make a fine mother indeed~!" she smirked. "Look at these cuties, hmm?"
"Th-there's so many!" I winced, feeling yet more spill out of me. It felt as though this would never end.
"And I'll be here for each-" she smirked, plunging a second finger in my butt, as yet another egg left me.
"Auhh~!"
"-and every single one!"
"Nnnaah~!"
"So let out plenty and plenty for me, OK? Say my name, and never forget that you were laid low by a runt!"
I tensed again, my body was begging for release, absolutely screaming for it.
"Suzume, thank you~!!!" I squealed, before she kissed me deeply on the lips, plunging her tongue deep inside me as my body was drowned in pleasure.
I'd never moaned quite as loud as I did that night.
My face was on fire, as we lay together in the aftermath of it all, the reality of what we'd just been through hitting me like a truck.
"I can't believe I did that…" I groaned, rubbing my face against her side as I tried to ignore the small mountain of eggs I'd laid. "Kill me, OK? Just stab me right through the heart. I can't live this one down, there's just no way. That's how a mutt like me deserves to go out, so embarrassed that she can't even walk…"
"Too bad," Suzume chuckled, petting my head softly. "You're immortal. You'll carry this forever. You'll always be a mama in my heart."
"Stupid fucking brat…" I grumbled, hugging her tightly.
"Mmm, just like you," she nodded, and kissed the top of my head.
We lay there in silence for a few moments, just basking in each other's warmth. For as much as we'd both changed…it was made crystal clear now that we're more alike than we ever could have realized when we first met. And now, we fully understood the bodies we'd inherited.
They wouldn't ever stop us from living as ourselves.
That was why, no matter how much our minds might change for this dream, no matter what effect it might have on us, if any at all, I knew that I'd gotten my life back.
Bird or no, I'd be back in Haqua's arms in no time, just as Suzume would sit her bratty butt on the throne again, reclaiming her reign for good.
"Suzume," I mumbled, keenly aware that the dream was going to end soon. I pushed my shame as far to the side as it could go, and gave her a soft smile. "Thank you for everything. Thank you for working so hard to give me back my life."
"No," she shook her head. "Thank you, Rina. If you hadn't come by earlier, I…I would've given up entirely."
"We're both pretty good for each other then, huh?" I grinned.
"Brat," she said, sticking out her tongue, before chuckling softly. "But yeah, I guess so. Good thing, too, because you're never escaping me. I'll sneak into your dreams all the time, no matter how far apart we might be."
"Good! No way I'm letting the person who stole my perfectly bratty body go unpunished!" I laughed, hugging her that much tighter as the world around us grew less and less distinct. I let out a small yawn, and knew it was time to go. "And if you ever make Radiata cry again, well…"
"Never again," she smiled, yawning alongside me. "See you soon, Rina."
"Take care, Suzume…" I smiled, shutting my eyes and dozing off against her chest. "Thank you so much…"
Tomorrow looked so very bright.
❖❖❖
I was woken, much to my surprise, not by Radiata, but by the sound of baby birds chirping happily while their mother fed them.
"Pfff…"
I bit back a laugh, thinking on my dream. I'd been so worked up before I woke back up, but now, I just found it extremely funny. Suzume had humiliated me so bad, and it felt incredible.
Haaah, we really need to do that again sometime. I wanna see more of that magical girl form, her twintails were so long! They'd make perfect handlebars… Ugh, I wish I could try that sometime…Haqua'd tease me so hard…
I felt my body twitch and shudder a little, as a shiver ran down my spine. I picked myself up, looked out the window at the baby birds, and slowly made my way to the bathroom.
Another perfect day to protect the peace! I won't lose to anyone this time, no matter how good it'd feel to get stuffed full of my own staff… M-maybe I should…
I looked down at the magical staff down in my hand, and imagined squeezing it between my full, squishy thighs. Suzume'd looked so happy when I did it to her, so…trying it out for myself wouldn't be so bad, would it?
N-no! Get it together, it'll be way more satisfying if a villain does it! I-I mean, I won't let anyone do it to me, no matter what!
Feeling particularly cocky as I folded my arms beneath my massive chest, I hurried to my cramped, tiny bathroom, brushed my teeth, and flashed myself a winning smile as I struck an energetic pose.
"Mm, perfect as ever! Magical Rina won't ever lose!"
In the silence that followed, filled with nothing but the sounds of the cute little birdies chirping away, I gazed at my bratty face and my plump, stupidly sexy curves squeezed into a magical girl outfit that looked like it was made for someone half my size, striking a pose that nobody out of their tweens would be caught dead in.
And I let out a loud, ear-piercing shriek.
"What the hell happened to me?!?!" I cried, cradling my poofy twintails and my actual tail protectively.
I recognized that reflection, of course. I'd fucked it just last night. I was a bratty, cocky magical girl with a burning desire to get defeated and stuffed full by demons I was supposed to fight.
But beyond that, I was me. Not a king, or a phoenix, or any kind of bird. I was a succubus, through and through.
B-but why?! How?!
And wait a sec, was I back in my apartment?! I was, wasn't I?!
"I assume you had a nightmare, Suzume? After the note you left things off yesterday, that's hardly a surprise, I sup…pose?"
I heard Haqua's voice as she stepped through to the bathroom, only to freeze as she saw me, completely caught off guard in a way she never was.
"Trying a new look, are we?" she smirked. "Is this an icebreaker? An attempt to smooth things over after what you did? You gave yourself a body so bratty that I'd just have to bully it, hm? A valiant attempt, but-"
"H-Haqua!" I cried, running into her arms and hugging her tight, briefly stunned by the feeling of my curves squishing up against hers. "Haqua, I'm back! I'm back! I don't get how, but I'm back!"
"You're back? But then…" she froze, and soon, my body dwindled back to its usual, ultra-bratty, runty form. "It's really you?!" she gasped.
"Mm!" I nodded, wiping tears out of my eyes. "It's Rina! Suzume and I switched back!"