A small change, and a big one

No, nothing was wrong with her limbs. No strange color, no warped flesh, no mutated and chopped up parts. The only sign of anything being wrong was a small surgery line where her limbs had been lost, the ring going around the entire limb, complete with small x’s over it. A scar to remind her of what had happened.

“Along with making me look a bit like a Frankenstein.” She muttered as she started to hose down.

"Well time to dress.", she thought as she dried off with a towel, not bothering to cover herself just yet as she walked towards the bedroom.

With a sway in her step, thoughts turned to the man she woke up with. If the guy was alright, he wouldn’t look. But she knew most guys couldn't resist. After all she knew she had it. Just didn't like how some people tried to make that ALL she had. Even the strange interview that probably lead to this set up was more considerate about that.

Granted looking through her wardrobe, seemed like they were also more than willing to make that an option for her. While she still had her normal outfits, changed to fit her new sizes; there was plenty of alluring and slinky wear to pick from. Even a few more showy evening dresses than her usual ones. Her lips pursed in thought, annoyed at how much they seemed to cater to them while trying to push them together. Everything to live a normal day to day life, while at the same time making it so they could enjoy each other.

Even the bathroom seemed designed to make sure there was JUST enough room for two in the shower and bath. Like Cupid didn't want to **** them together but leaving just enough hints was starting to...

A noise from the window alerted to her something going on. Like a loud bang followed by several honks.

“A peak couldn’t hurt.” She muttered, throwing on some quick clothes as not to expose herself when she went to the window.

---

Cole took a long sip from his coffee mug. The caffeine was helping to get him up and going, a little smoother than the jolt he had from that energy drink. But having one after the other was like...,

"Like having cold cereal after flapjacks." he muttered to himself as he reached for the bottle.

He poured a few drops into the cup before giving it another sip. Tasted pretty good now and had that brief surge of energy he was looking for. He poured about half the bottle into, mixing it with some extra cream before making a cup for the woman. Her name was.... Rumi right? At least that's what the voice had named her. Rumi Usagiyama...., that was Japanese right? Was that where he was, Japan? That'd be a little weird if that was the case but..., waking up to a bunny girl was weird enough anyway.

Noticing a newspaper on the table, he carried over the cups and put them down, flipping up the paper in his hands. He was hoping to see if it could tell him where he was when a shout from the bedroom got his attention. Sounded like cursing, but the tone didn’t sound angry or scared.

“More like, shock?” he thought as he got dropped the paper back to the table and jogged to the room.

She was standing at the window, leaning out to get a better look of something outside. The sunlight(plus some caffeine) let him get another good look at her.

The tight hot pants clung to her legs, showing off each and every curve of those toned ass while displaying her fit legs. For her chest she wore a what looked like a mix between a bra and crop top that no doubt probably pushed her breasts to eye catching levels. But while she was the type of figure that would appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated or some other magazine, it wasn’t her body that drew his attention. Well not ALL of it.

Her hair was up.

Rather than the long wavy hair from before, it was tied up in a small bun pressed against the back of her head. Honestly it reminded him of the tail that was still visible through her pants. And with her hair out of the way, he got a good look at not just her body, but her ears. They really were her actual ears. Even had a protective layer of fluff at the base which he thought was more of her hair at first.

She looked…, different like that. It was hard to put into words. Maybe he was just a short haired gal kind of person or maybe with the hair out of the way he got a good look at how fit and firm her body was. He didn’t really know. But that one change made this woman, who was already a looker in his eyes, one hell of a knock out.

(Artist Shout Out)

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/4474733?q=shosho_oekaki

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/4641189?q=shosho_oekaki

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/4869141?q=shosho_oekaki

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/5742546?q=takatsuki_ichi

Oh and for how her limbs look; https://static1.e621.net/data/sample/11/00/110029b2af8cd96f03f623df97e8d582.jpg

I was inspired by an artist named Cala over on pixiv who is actually the main reason I thought to do this branch in the first place, them doing the last image with the arms(Image on pixiv is age restricted). Shosho Oekaki and Takatsuki Ichi also are sources of inspiration/outfits for her so give them a look. Between these three, you should be able to picture what I'm reaching for with my descriptions for her. Hopefully I'll do them justice. ((Artist Shout Out Over))

“HEY HEY! Earth to lover boy!"

“Huh..., right uh what’s up.” Cole had finally processed that she was waving for him to come over. She hadn’t even turned around to look at him but those ears probably alerted her that he’d come in.

“Come here, look at this. Tell me I’m not crazy.” She called, waving an arm to motion him closer.

“Eh?”

He moved closer to her and… it was hard not to get lost in his own thoughts that close to her. There was a smell to her that was inviting honestly. Was it her soap or shampoo, maybe conditioner for that long hair. But something about her smelled… really good. He couldn’t pin the smell down though, it wasn’t fruity more… wild and a little ‘woody’?

“Kinda like when dad took me camping…” he mused before trying to get his head on.

He peered over her shoulder which was rather easy to do given the difference in their height. Below him was just what he’d expected from a busy inner city street. Cramped two lane road with several vehicles sitting in traffic. Across the way was a series of shops and above them apartments or offices. A decent sized sidewalk was between the road and stores, with a few trees placed here and there, planted in gaps of the concrete.

Currently the most interesting thing was a pair of trucks trying to shift away from each other, their drivers yelling at each other with an angry honk coming a few cars behind them. He didn’t see what the big deal was. About to voice this, he felt a pair of hands on his head.

“Not that. THAT.” The woman gripping his head grunted, turning his to the right to look down the street.

At first he didn’t see anything wrong. Just a rather long street with a mix of tall and short buildings lining the sides before ending in the star of another block of at apartments as the street turned. But behind that row of builds were more buildings. Distant yes but still tall enough to tower over the closer building.

And towering over them all was a monolithic sized skyscraper with shaped angled top and a sharp metal point at the tip. A building that if you knew what is was, you’d instantly know it just by looking at it, and just where you'd have to be if you were seeing it now.

“That’s…. that’s the Empire State Building…” Cole muttered, his voice shaking as the realization crept in, “We’re in… New York...”

“Why the hell are we in New York?!?!?” the woman cried out. Her grip on the railing growing tighter and starting to bend the metal.

“I don’t know! don’t yell at me…” Cole pulled her back and slammed the window after a few faces started to look up due to the sounds.

“New York. Fuck, why not put me in London. That would at be… Wait is New York or London further from Japan?” She paused she she tilted her head.

“Dunno, I never really studied Geography. No idea why they dropped us here.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure we’re not in my world.” Rumi said casting another look towards the window, “I didn’t see any one that looked like well..., me. And physical alterations are pretty common where I'm from.”

“If were in my world, should be able to call my folks.” Cole said as he moved over to the nightstand.

Sure enough, his mobile was there inside the little drawer. He noted it even had a charge this time and seemed to be fully repaired. Chalking that up to more Cupid's work, he quickly dialed his parents. Thoughts of how he'd explain this swam through his head. The call connected and he was about to speak when a bit of doubt came over him. Someone answered but the voice was different. Just to be safe, Cole thought to ask if this was the McKay residence.

This prompted a quick "Wrong number sorry." before hanging up. He let out a large sigh that slowly petered out. A hand coming up to scratch the back of his head.

“Well, not in my world either. Damnit. The hell is going on…”

“Shower.” came a voice beside him.

“Eh?”

She had come up beside him faster than he'd expected or even heard. The woman grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the bathroom. God her grip was firm and how easily she pulled him… the hell did she bench?

“You aren’t doing anything else till you shower. Now get in there or I’ll hose you down myself.” she explained as she walked, talking firmly and quick as to not let him get a chance to speak, “Treat yourself, take a soak. Process things. Spinning your wheels won’t do you any good right now.”

“You’re… probably right. Should take a moment to breathe. How do you remain so calm?” he asked but the woman just shrugged with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh, I’m not. Kinda flipping between annoyance, frustration and excitement. I mean whole new world; that pretty kickass. Not happy about the reasoning behind it but puzzling it over and over till your head is a worn out rubik's cube won’t help us.” she twirled her fingers around each other to help get the point across.

“Fair enough… I guess?” It did make a level of sense to Cole now that he was thinking about it.

“Just take things one fight at a time and your fight is with soap and a wash cloth.” she moved behind him and gave him a pat on the back to send him on his way.

“Okay okay. Guess I should while it’s still warm.” He said taking steps towards the bathroom on his own.

“There you go. I make some breakfast for us while you clean up.” She said weakly waving a hand, “Just don’t expect five stars meals from me.”

“Only if you do the same. Wait….” He paused and turned to her, “Can you eat meat?”

“I’m like a rabbit but I’m not A rabbit.” her grin widening but her eyebrows tilting down, “I’ll let you off cause you’re in over your head but unless I start it, knock it off with the rabbit refs, got it?”

“If you don’t start in on the earth and dirt puns cause of my name; deal.” he offered a hand.

"Deal."

Their hands clasped together with a slap and hearty shake between them.

"Cole McKay."

"Usagiyama Rumi. Yeah we hadn't been properly introduced." she gave him one more light push, "Now get in there, you could use a hose."

Before he could say anything, Rumi headed off to the kitchen, looking for supplies. And she wanted to get some distance between them anyway. Something about him was starting to smell. A.... good smell.... a weird inviting smell. Hopefully a hose would help get rid of that smell on the guy.

"UGH.... it's gonna be a long day with this heat..." She thought as she fought to keep her urges down.

If Cupid wanted to give them a 'new life', they should have enough food to last awhile. At least before the first expected 'market' visit. Cracking open the cabinets, it was pretty well stocked for two people. Not just in good but appliances too. Honestly the only thing she probably couldn’t make here was BBQ.

And since this was her first time eating something not hospital food in a good while, she was gonna go a little wild. Just needed a little thing to wet her lips before she got going. Her head turned from left to right, looking for the one thing she'd asked from the guy... er.., Cole.

“Oh, hey there’s the coffee.” Rumi thought as she finally saw the cups.

She walked over to the table and grabbed one of the cups. Stopping for just a moment, she gave it a whiff. Smelled safe enough, and Cole had some coffee already. Probably. Should be okay to drink.

“Bottoms up.” She said downing about half the cup.

A sharp shiver made her straighten up, her eyes going wide. Blood felt like it burned through her veins and her muscles pulsed with energy. For just a brief second, her entire body felt like an overly coiled spring. Only to slowly un-tighten itself as a refreshing ‘ah’ escaped her lips.

“Hot damn. Either the stuff in this world is strong, or that guy can brew one hell of a pot. Damn, might just keep him around for that.” She was thought as she took another sip.

The second one wasn’t as strong but the first hit was a hell of a wake-up call anyway so didn’t really matter. Between the coffee and the shower, she hadn’t felt this invigorated in weeks. The match making was a wash but maybe Cupid could go into vacations instead she thought as she took the cup back with her. One small extra sip before she put it down and got to cooking.

Never realizing the small bits of green around the rim weren’t a decal.

---

He lost track of time in the shower. Really needed it due to the stress but his living arrangement meant he couldn’t take long showers. Just jump in, hose off, and bounce out. Lingering in the gym shower wasn’t particularly allowed. Getting some glares from the other members at least if you did.

By the time he got out, he smelled something really good coming from the kitchen. Tossing his clothes back on he made his way to the kitchen. Seeing the woman, err, Usagiyama... or was it Rumi? He'd ask later as the apron she was in nearly stunned him into another stupor. Just the way it clung to to her body, but then again she’d look good in anything at this point

“Oh hey… sit down champ. Got you a bowl in a sec. Might wanna reheat your coffee though.” She said not looking up from what she was doing.

“Ah yeah. Good idea.” Came the muttered reply as his eyes watched her twitching ear.

Soon enough, he was flipping though the front page with warm coffee in hand. Maybe there was something to this kind of life. A brief scene of this moment, just with someone else in her place, passed through his mind before something else entired his mind. A brief flash of the woods again..., and that smell again. A clink drew his attention. He’d get to the paper later, food now. He put it away as he got ready to… dig…, in?

“Come on eat up, it’ll get cold otherwise.” She exclaimed between her own bites.

The guy had one hell of a dumb stuck look. Like he was processing something. She looked at his food and shrugged.

“Look I don’t know what you liked so I made up something easy. It’ll fill you up till lunch no problem."

“…. Okay but what is it?” he asked, poking at it.

“Its a breakfast bowl you twit.”

“Okay but what IS it??” he asked a bit more forcefully.

Before him was a bowl of rice, with a mix of greens and other condiments. What looked to be sliced bits of fish, grilled seemingly, was on top of it and a small bowl of broth by the look of it was it the side. It didn’t look too bad just… perplexing. This was differently something foreign to his usual palette. He went to give it a poke with a fork, before seeing she hadn't given him one. Only a pair of sticks...., hang on.

“Okay, hold on. What did you say your name was?” he asked giving her a look.

“Usagiyama Rumi. Why, name ringing a bell or something?” she put her bowl down to better focus on Cole.

“Just trying to process stuff. Japanese I take it? Had a few friends that were but never treated me to home cooking like this.” he gestured towards the bowl.

“Really, with your Japanese I figured you were one of those Otaku guys or a tourist.” she shot back with a grin. Said grin started to fade as the reaction to what she said wasn't what she expected.

“My what?” He asked when he finally picked his jaw off the floor.

“Your Japanese." she plainly put as she picked her bowl up again, "It's what you’re speaking now.”

“I’m… what I… wait.” He picked up the paper and spread out front page tapping it, “Can you read this?”

“….. Hero returns… Yankees smash Soxs.” Rumi said as she tried mouthing out the words before voicing them.

The two shared a dumb founded look. Speaking Japanese and reading English? Just what the hell was….

“Cupid.” They both said together as Rumi went back to eating and Cole grabbed his own utensils.

“If I had to guess, Cupid made it so we can both understand stand each other.” Cole grumbled as he tried to get the chopsticks to work before giving up and going for a fork, “Can’t really have a married couple unless they can talk to each other.”

“Same time…” Rumi started, her mouth half filled, “Part of that understanding must have bled into our brain or something. So, we both kinda picked up a second language in passing.” She took a sip from her broth then coffee, "I learned some English in school but rarely put it into practice save for reading a few books or shopping."

“Oh really? Languages usually is an elective in high-school. I took some German and a Spanish course.” Cole explained as he chewed on his own food, moving his tongue experimentally over the food, “Think we could pass as well learned tourists or something.”

The food wasn't bad; rice to him was just rice though maybe this one was a little drier to him. It clumped together pretty easy though. The fish was pretty good even if he couldn't really tell what type of fish it actually was. He really wasn't much for sea food though if he was going to be stuck here with her, he'd probably have to get over it. Or take over cooking more.

“Clears up some confusion, I guess. The place look like a mix of both Japan and American apartments.” Rumi said, adding she only seen American apartments in fiction or news.

“Kinda didn’t have a place to be honest. But it does remind me of some apartments I’ve been in.” Cole explained.

This earned a hard 'clank' noise as Rumi put her bowl down and gave him a glare. He wasn't entirely sure what he had done to earn the anger.

“Don’t tell me I got married to a dead-beat lout. I told that dumbass interviewer I wasn’t…” she started up, her voice raising.

“Whoa whoa whoa...," Cole interrupted, holding his hands up, "Look I don’t want to talk about it… but it’s not like I was a dead beat by choice.”

“Mmm hmmm…” she sat back down and picked up her bowl to finish eating, glaring at him over the rim.

“Look just…, I was currently living at a gym cause a family friend helped me out. I’m working there to get on my feet again.”

“Hmm, well. Guess I can’t blame you for falling on hard times, I guess. Least you’re still working and not trying to take it.” Rumi grumbled, her voice softening but her eyes still glaring.

“What like a criminal? I’m not that ****…”

“Good. If there’s anyone I hate more than doomed gloomers, it’s spineless punk asses that take from others.” A low growl escaped her throat.

“My folks were hard workers so I can get behind that." He took a big shallow, both for his food and his courage," Look end of the day so long as we’re stuck together; I’ll try to pull my weight to help. But in all things, you seem to be a couple weight classes higher.”

“So long as you’re willing to try, that’s all I care about. I’m not expecting much or perfection just a willingness to stand up.” her eyes seemed to come alive as she talked. A shine to them and certain energy entered her voice her voice

“Wait aren’t you a hero?”

“And?” She slammed her bowl down, “I will stand up for you and others, putting my life on the line so you don't have to. I want to know that fire is there in your soul. The fight in your eyes and the backbone to when push comes to shove, you’re shoving, and hard.”

“…. So, you want the little kid to stand up to the bully, but you’re more than willing to kick the bullies’ teeth in if he starts swinging.”

"YES Exactly!" she cried as she pointed an finger at him, before sitting back down. She had jumped out of her seat in excitement, "Maybe not a one to one thing but the idea is. Like you don't need to actually be the one to stop the bully or even beat him up; I just want to know if I wasn't around to beat up the bully, you'd do something about it rather than praying for me to make it."

"A very 'What would this hero do' rather than 'please can a hero save me' I suppose." he said as he put his own bowl down, "I know a few comics that would probably be up your alley."

"So was it good?" She said, leaning forward as she rested her chin in her hands.

"....Ah.. what... yeah it was... pretty good." he thought about his words carefully, "As I said I don't usually eat this kind of stuff so I don't have a fair benchmark. Compared to what I've had recently though, yeah it blows it out the water."

"That's good. I usually don't cook for my bed mates." she grabbed both bowls and walked back to the kitchen to put them away. She gave a chuckle when she heard the guy finally process what she said.

"...OH... well... that's"

"OH I'm just messing with you a bit. Chill, if we can't have a good chuckle what's the point." she said as she walked back and started to pull him out of the chair, "Considering everything; it could be WAY worse. At least you seem to be sensible. I could have ended up with some stalker fanboy."

".... I suppose you probably do have those.... wait how 'known' are you? Cause in stories I know there's usually a 'fake identity'." He asked as she finally got him to his feat.

"Well enough to go on talk shows ya lug. Now come on." she said as she gestured towards the staircase.