The loud, rhythmic music drowned out the moans and yells that came out of half the rooms. Only a few of them actually had closed doors, but everyone was too into their drunken festivities to mind. In fact, some even wanted others to watch, to heighten the pleasure.
Evan Andrews sat on a barstool, chugging down porter while glaring at his phone. It was his third mug of the evening, though he'd partaken of other liquor earlier. He was well and truly sloshed, but it only made the sensation in his heartburn hotter.
A video played on the screen, volume turned down. On it was shaky footage of a swordfight, one that prominently featured his obsession. Not that he would admit that, even to himself. He glared at the action, and all the while marvelled at her exposed body. Sure, she was clad in protective gear, but it didn't extend down to her legs. And her skirt rode up every now and then, especially during the three-on-one fight, when she whirled all over the place. He felt a flush suffuse his face, even as he bit his lip.
It was truly evident now. Lilibeth had Altered. It hadn't been obvious before, even back when she suddenly rebuffed him. Sure, he might have overstepped, but the two of them had done that and more. He didn't expect that reaction at all.
He itched to change the video on his screen. He even thought about spreading it out, but he realised early on that it wouldn't work. Lilibeth's Alteration had changed her physically enough that the dozen or so sex tapes would come off as a poor attempt at a fake. But what was he to do?
His awkward attempt early last Season caused him to get kicked out of varsity Battle Ball. Thankfully, that didn't quite disqualify him from his membership in the Brothers to Victory fraternity, especially since he applied during the Invitational and his expulsion only happened once the semester started.
"Effing Stoner…" he muttered, cursing. That cheater had the hots for his Lily and he was probably the reason why he got muscled out. Just because the Andrews family wasn't high up in the conglomerate…
Stonereiz wasn't a subordinate, but a business associate of the Daublin-Lawsons…that must be why.
"Didn't Lily say she wanted out of that system? So why was she going for Stonereiz? Why follow along? Curse her! He should have made things more clear!
It was just too easy to keep her by his side, string her along until he was good and ready. Who told her to leave?!
There were tears running down his cheeks. And snot down his lip. He wiped them off with his sleeve, growled to himself, then pushed the mostly empty mug away. He staggered towards one of the hallways, he wasn't sure which one it was, and the frat house was as big as a mansion, definitely bigger than home, but not quite as big as Lawson's estates. Still, one would assume such a large space would have obvious bathrooms, wouldn't they? He nearly just went on a wooden wall, when a hidden door opened and out came one of the girls that usually supported Trinity's sports teams. The girl was blonde and had blue eyes, just like Lilibeth, but unlike his ex-paramour, this one, while pretty, was nowhere near the level of beauty Lily once had. Comparing that to Lily's current beauty was an insult.
Something must have shown on his face since the cheerleader wrinkled her nose and snubbed him, but all the while, her hips swayed enticingly as she walked away. He couldn't help but whistle in appreciation, but the girl just sniffed and muttered, "As if!"
Evan spat a curse, but his bladder reminded him that he really needed the bathroom. After he relieved himself and puked for good measure, he staggered out of the bathroom, left a mess on the floor, and power walked out of the frat house. He'd been of a mind to go home to his apartment and wondered if he could afford a streetwalker, but dismissed it out of hand.
One of the reasons why he was so obsessed with Lilibeth now was that every other girl he tried to get on with, even the ones he paid for, paled in comparison. Literally, he barely felt anything from them except for momentary relief. Which then built up to another frustrating feeling that only got worse the more times he tried to ease it. What did she do to him?
It was well past midnight, but the streets near Trinity University were safe. There were roaming security patrols and anyone without a student ID was asked to leave the premises, if not brought to the station.
He was still dizzy from the drink, and somehow, on the way to the dorms, he'd gotten turned around. He found himself in a wooded area, probably the university park in the middle of the academic oval, but he managed to stagger off the beaten path and into the muddy grass.
"It hadn't rained, so why so much mud?" He muttered. Well, condensation was a thing, so it was probably that. He looked for a lamplight to guide him back to the oval and he thought he found it. There was a bluish blob a few dozen paces to his right, and he made his way there. His shoes got stuck in the mud and he had to wrench it up hard to keep moving. His shoes came off the mud with a loud slurp, and as he moved, he thought the light ahead of him bobbed up and down too. Also, why were there colours swirling around him?
Ah, blessed darkness. The cool touch of the mud against his hands was soothing, but the sharp blades of grass irritated him. Ow. One poked him in the eye!
It took a moment to realise that he was on the ground, and even so, his mind was a kaleidoscope of strange colours. He pushed up and off but almost collapsed from being nauseated. This went beyond being drunk!
Then, the cooling shadows covered everything, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He managed to get up, and soon realised that he was still where he thought he was, but how did he even get here? And…was that the sun rising?
Did he just spend the rest of the night with his face in the mud? He reached up for his face and his fingers registered a thick crust of mud.
"Perfect…" he muttered. His back squicked as he felt something slither under his shirt, and he flailed at it, even though logically, his fingers wouldn't have the reach or leverage to get at anything in the middle of his back. Except they did. His finger seemed to elongate, darken, and then they scraped the mud off as well as the creepy crawlies on it. He shredded his shirt too, but was too distracted to notice. Instead, he was staring at his fingers. From the second knuckle down, there was only inky darkness. They were in the shape of claws, but even as he looked, they stretched and lost their rigidity, looking more like tentacles than fingers.
His breath came in ragged gasps as he stared at how different they looked, and how obvious they would be to anyone who looked! His social life was over, and he would be forced to hide or join the Protectorate! Somehow, he willed the ten tendrils he had as fingers to shorten and thicken, so that they looked like fingers once more, except they were pitch black.
"This can work, just need gloves…" He muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He scurried to his dorm room, where he could use his Battle Ball gauntlets to hide.
Even while he was panicking, he couldn't help but think… he had powers now. He was sure Lilibeth was also Altered, except hers was a vanity type that everyone loved looking at.
And now he was just like her. Somewhere inside him was a little man rubbing his hands in anticipation. But right now, he had bigger problems to consider.
____________
"Lily? You in here?" Scarlett called out.
Yuriko peered out of the glass divider. The shower sent a rainfall of steaming hot water down at her and washed away the soap and lather from her hair and body.
"Right here!" she called out.
Scarlett pushed the bathroom door open and peeked around the doorway, while Yuriko rolled her eyes. "I've got nothing you haven't seen before, you know," Yuriko teased.
"Yeah, but none of the ones I've seen are as perfect as yours," Scarlett mumbled, her cheeks flushing slightly.
Yuriko couldn't help but grin as the smol woman was slowly, but surely, overcoming her biases. She wasn't sure if Scarlett would be attracted to any other woman other than Yuriko, but since neither of them could knock each other up, anything that happened would only be for fun.
"Why thank you," Yuriko said warmly, "I love your body, too."
"Oh!" This time, her face turned the same shade as her name.
"So, did you just come in here to ogle me?" Yuriko prompted after a couple of minutes. She finished rinsing off and was drying herself with a towel. She could have used her Animakinesis, but some rituals should be done just for the sake of it.
"Ah, yeah…wait, no!" Scarlett said as she shook her head. "There's an offer for you."
"Through Pixel Fairy?"
"Well, they are your exclusive agents. For now."
"I don't see the point of playing around with other agencies," Yuriko said.
"Yes, they're good to us, and our pocketbooks," Scarlett grinned. Now she was ogling Yuriko's bare body openly.
Yuriko smirked and stretched, and now, she caught a whiff of Scarlett's arousal. She didn't do anything though, and just put on her clothes. A couple of weeks had passed since she joined both the HAMA and fencing clubs, and she enjoyed the exercise. A lot of the members took videos of her practice and her spars, and there was talk of having her become an instructor. Captain Walter Richards had his pride, though, and wouldn't accept anything other than sparring with her. Captain Kyra Hays all but offered the captaincy to her, but Yuriko declined.
"You'll compete with us, won't you?" Kyra asked anxiously.
"I will," Yuriko said, "As long as it doesn't compete against my work schedule."
"We'll make sure to book well in advance, so please make sure to keep competition dates open!"
"I can't make any promises, but I will help train you and the others," Yuriko said.
None of the club members were Altered Humans with any kind of power. There may be some hidden, but they either didn't have any kind of power that stood out, or they were keeping things hidden. Either way, Yuriko enjoyed teaching swordplay to them.
Competitive fencing was bound by stringent rules, but that only made things easier to teach. Absent several considerations, the few sabre, foil, or epee trajectories were easy enough to master. It was the mindset, the sinking of one's self, into the Ennoia of the Sword that Yuriko enjoyed teaching.
No, she couldn't directly teach an Ennoia, but she could lead them to the door. It was up to them to walk through it.
"What was the offer?" Yuriko asked Scarlett.
"Hmm, they're asking you to audition for a role in a movie. They didn't give the title, but it's a historical fiction and the female lead does some action star things."
"Another acting gig? They know I'm not good at those," Yuriko complained.
"Well, they said the role suits your personality," Scarlett smirked. "Or they built the role for you."
"Why audition then?"
"Just in case someone better applies?"
"Right."
"Anyway, Darrel said the talent fee's pretty good."
"How good?"
"Seven figures."
"Hmmm."
"And it will be an entry to the Torch Awards."
"Alright, let's do it."