Of society offenders who might well be underground, and who never would be missed

After everyone left the spa, Nick pulled Kim aside to check and make sure she was really okay with this.

“Huh?” Kim looked at him with a confused expression on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with you and Dani going on a nature walk? I’m the one who suggested it, remember?”

Nick shook his head quickly. “No, not that, that isn’t what I meant,” he replied. “I mean, the whole, uh… Dawn thing.”

Kim blinked. “…Huh.”

“What?” Nick asked, confused. “What’s with that ‘huh’ you just did?”

A small smile touched Kim’s lips. “I think I get it now,” she said, reaching up and patting him on the shoulder. “You’re all twisted up in knots because you’re worried I’m going to see this as a repeat of last round, right? Where Rose decided to take Dawn up on her offer of a threesome instead of me, and as a result, I ended up tagging along with Dani, right?”

Nick slowly nodded. “…Yeah,” he admitted. “It did cross my mind.” The fact that he was having another threesome with Dawn… it was kind of hard to avoid the issue, wasn’t it?

Kim laughed and shook her head. “Nick, believe me- I’m fine with it,” she assured him. “It’s not like I could take part anyway, right? I’m going to be working in the shop this afternoon, so I can’t exactly tag along on your date. …No, have fun! It should be a good time.”

She glanced over at Dani and Dawn, who were both waiting awkwardly on the curb for the two of them to finish their conversation.

“Besides,” she continued, turning back to him, “this sort of thing? It’s not anything new. I already had my time with Dani last round, and it was pretty intense- let Dawn have a turn. …Oh, but if you still feel guilty, maybe swing by after you’re done with the walk and convince Dani to buy something?”

The two of them shared a laugh, knowing that getting Dani to go clothes shopping would be next to impossible. It was a sign to Nick that Kim really was okay with this- and that made him feel a lot better about the situation.

“Thanks for being so cool about everything,” he said sincerely, favoring her with a smile. “Really, it means a lot to me.”

She batted her eyelashes. “Of course I would be cool,” she replied, placing her hands on her hips. “You know me!”

Then, she leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Now, you go off and have some fun. Dawn’s gonna need it,” she giggled, before skipping off to go pick up lunch before heading off to her job for the afternoon.

Nick watched her go with a lighter heart, feeling much better about this whole thing. He turned to Dani and Dawn, who were both giving him expectant looks still.

“Everything okay?” Dawn asked, sensing Nick’s earlier apprehension had been eased slightly.

“I’d say better than okay,” Dani teased, elbowing him in the side. “You lucky dog, you!”

Nick just laughed off their comments. “It’s fine,” he assured them both. “Nothing to worry about, I promise. Just… having a nice time, that’s all.”

He took Kim’s advice to heart, and decided to focus on having fun with the both of them. “It’s kind of weird, you know?” He said as they headed towards the far exit of the Shopping District, leading out to the island proper. “We’re the three people from our high school, heading out together.”

“Dude, why do you have to make everything weird?” Dani sighed in exasperation while giving him a good-natured smile.

Kim was riding an okay high. She’d had fun working out with Nick the way she did, and was appreciative of how the two of them had parted on good terms. Even though she’d like a bit more one-on-one time with him, she knew that it wasn’t her day, and that she’d have to remain patient.

But getting to see how flustered he got when she was hanging around naked and showing off her trim body for his eyes had been quite an enjoyable treat, and it brought a smile to her lips just thinking about it.

After all- it wasn’t every day that you got to spend having a guy look at your naked body. …Well, unless you worked in a boutique like this one, where the dress code mandated wearing underwear only. But Kim was fine with that.

Heck- she didn’t see what the big deal was in the bath, either. They were supposed to be naked. Who even cared if Nick checked out her body or not? That was just fine with her. He wasn’t like all those leery old customers back at her previous jobs who could have been her grandfather but were looking at her with lecherous eyes.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only person here who remembers that we have cameras watching our every move,” Kim said, stretching her arms over her head and pushing out her small boobs in the process. “Why bother being shy about our bodies when the whole audience is leering at us? Just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

With that being said, when she heard the familiar ding of the bell, she hastily dropped her arms to her sides and stood up straight. Just because she didn’t mind being looked at, that didn’t mean she wanted to look unprofessional.

But, when she saw who it was, she felt like she shouldn’t have bothered.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Kim murmured halfheartedly when she saw Vivian walk into the store. “What happened, a blueberry puke on your shirt or something?”

“It’s tie-dye,” Vivian said proudly, puffing out her chest to present her shirt looking its best. “And, for the record, it’s not just me, I’ll have you know.”

Kim hadn’t even noticed the other woman slip inside behind Vivian, she was so quiet. But then, that went with the territory, didn’t it? The mute Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin slid over to the counter with a gleam in her eye, her pale lips parting in a silent giggle.

“…Don’t see you two together very much,” was all Kim could say when she glanced away from her friend and back to Vivian. She raised a curious eyebrow. “…And why are you here, for that matter? You’re both staying in the Fashion Suite, you don’t need new clothes.”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Come on, Kim, nobody needs new clothes,” she scoffed. “It’s all about shopping for fun!”

Kim blinked. “Uh… homeless people? Refugees? People who lost their homes in flooding, fires-”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Vivian said hastily. “That’s not what I-”

Kim started counting on her fingers. “Earthquakes, hurricanes, economic downturns-”

“Yes, you’ve made your point,” Vivian said, hanging her head. “I’m sorry for my insensitive comment. You’re right. There are people who need new clothes all over the world. It was wrong of me to say that when I know it wasn’t true. I was trying to say that you can go shopping without needing new clothes, but the way I worded it was very insensitive, and I apologize.”

Kim blinked. “…Thank you, Vivian, that was very big of you to acknowledge that,” she said, genuinely impressed by the other woman’s sincere apology. It wasn’t that Vivian was a bad person- she was just a little thoughtless sometimes. Like a white guy not knowing how disheartening it was to be an asian woman in the service industry and be the target of repeated sexualization and skeevy stereotyping like she was. Sometimes, they just didn’t know.

That didn’t make it better, but it didn’t make Vivian herself a bad person, or prejudiced against the impoverished.

Baby steps. She’d have to learn a little at a time.

“…So, that’s what you two are here for, then?” Kim glanced at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin for confirmation. “Clothes shopping?”

The mute assassin cheerfully nodded her head, willfully ignorant of the intricacies of the class conversation that had transpired between the two women.

Kim still thought it was an odd pairing. “Let me guess- your checklist, right?”

Vivian’s eyes widened. “Hey, you’re clever! Well done, sport! How’d you come up with that? Not even good ol’ Amy figured that one out before I told her!”

Confused, Kim mouthed to herself, “Amy?”

Then, she shook her head and pressed forward. “Eh. I mean, I’ve got more than my fair share of compulsive transformations,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be driven to do stuff you wouldn’t normally.”

Like work at a boutique. Okay, that one wasn’t compulsive. But Kim had felt a bit of a tug on her soul from her 100% Completion transformation today, since she suspected that seeing her body (along with the bodies of Dawn and Dani) had in fact given Nick an erection. The only way she’d been able to keep from giving into those urges to “take care” of his problem had been because she hadn’t actually seen his cock.

If that had happened, Dani or no Dani, she probably would have helped him out right there in the hot spring. Or brought him over to a bush or something.

“Well, I’ve been trying to work through my list,” Vivian said, checking her list out for options. “Got something for each girl in Nick’s harem on here, believe it or not.”

“Oh, really?” Kim leaned forward, intrigued. “That sounds like a lot of stuff to get through in one round, Vivian.”

She laughed. “Ah, you’re not wrong there.” The heiress shook her head and folded the list back up before slipping it into her skirt pocket. “But, I doubt that will be the case,” she mused. “Most likely, Echo gave me something for each girl because this is the first round I’ve got the transformation. The next rounds it will probably be smaller and more selective. That’s my hypothesis, anyway. But, you never know, it could add even more tasks.”

Vivian gave Kim a rueful shrug, and Kim winced.

“…Yeah, next round,” she murmured. Her eyes darted over to the clock briefly. “Who knows how many more of these we’ll even have to get through?”

Vivian bit her lip. “…Hard to say,” she agreed. “I mean… Rose, she could end it all right here, right now, couldn’t she?”

Silence filled the store. A deafening silence that made Kim shift uncomfortably from one foot to another as she mulled over what the other woman was saying.

“…She won’t, though,” Kim finally replied with a shake of her head. “I mean… it’s Rose. She and Nick… they already decided, so-”

Vivian held up her hand to stop Kim from saying anything more. “Yes, you’re right,” she said. “I know, it’s Rose. That’s not anything we’ll have to worry about with her.” She shook her head. “They’ve already made their decision.”

Kim eyed the other girl carefully. “So, why bring it up?”

It was times like these when she couldn’t help but be suspicious of Vivian. But then, it was Vivian’s fault for behaving so suspiciously!

Vivian looked at Kim, and pinched her lips together tightly. “…Maybe I shouldn’t have,” she conceded, and shook her head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

Kim saw the look of hesitation and doubt in Vivian’s eyes, and realized why she was acting so worried. Because Vivian WAS worried. The heiress was incredibly worried about, well, everything, and she didn’t have the heart to tell the woman that it would be okay.

Frankly?

Kim wasn’t even sure she knew what “okay” looked like herself.

Then, Vivian’s somber expression gave way for a chipper smile, and Kim realized that the conversation had reached its conclusion.

“No sense in getting all sour over everything, now is there?” Vivian asked, shaking her head and flashing a grin. “We’re not here to talk about how long we’ll be stuck in this place, are we? No, of course not! Right?”

She turned to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, and the mute girl shook her head swiftly and puffed up her cheeks.

“We’re here to go clothes shopping!” Vivian agreed.

“Clothes shopping, huh?” Kim couldn’t exactly say she had a problem with that, if that’s what the two girls were after. “Well, works for me.”

She noticed that Vivian’s smile was a little more strained than usual, though. “…As long as you’re okay with it, I mean.”

“…It’s been a rough day,” Vivian admitted. Her smile slipped again and her shoulders sagged. “Before we came here, I was helping Amy out in the classroom, and, well…”

“…You mean Amelia?” Kim raised her eyebrow.

Vivian waved her hand dismissively. “If that’s what you want to call her,” she replied. “Not a concern of mine. Anyway…”

She swung her head around and looked at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. She had a doting smile on her lips, like someone genuinely fond of the other girl, which was a good sign in Kim’s eyes.

But Kim also noticed the way the light dimmed with a tiny trace of agitation.

“…Let me guess,” Kim said, holding back her smile, “she wasn’t a very cooperative student, now was she?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin snapped her head around and opened her mouth in a silent, scandalized gasp, covering it with her hand. Then, she gave Kim the most innocent, “You don’t think I would really do that, do you?” puppy-dog look that Kim had ever seen from her.

And that was saying something.

Yup. Right on the money.

Kim would have had a good laugh at Vivian’s expense if the heiress wasn’t standing right in front of her. But, that was fine, she figured Amelia was probably already having one herself. Enough laughter for the both of them, anyway.

“I tried my hardest,” Vivian said, her shoulders sagging even more. “But, it’s like she refuses to learn sometimes. In the end, we got there, though. She can write the letter ‘O’ at least.”

“Oh, really?” Kim laughed at her private joke and glanced over at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, who winked back at her. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re making progress,” she said to the other girl.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded playfully. Then she turned to Vivian with an expectant look in her eyes.

“Looks like she wants to go clothes shopping,” Kim advised the tired heiress. “Aren’t you happy that you and your roommate are getting along so well?”

Vivian stood up straight. Now that Kim said it? Yes. Yes, she WAS in fact happy that she and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin were getting along well enough that she could go clothes shopping with the other girl!

And, even better?

Nothing revitalized her than shopping for new clothes! …Well, except for riding on her horses. And maybe a little target shooting.

Vivian was a woman of many hobbies, and she was quite proud of it.

“Let’s go, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin!” She said without missing a beat, acting as though that were the mute girl’s actual name. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded diligently and followed her down the aisles to pick out new clothes.

Kim was happy for the both of them, she really was, but in the back of her mind, she wondered if there was maybe something more that Vivian wasn’t telling her.

There was.

After all, Vivian’s task wasn’t just about helping the assassin pick out new clothes, no- she also had to help her get along with other people!

But that wasn’t what Kim was thinking about right now.

She said that she had a list of helpful tasks for each of the girls in Nick’s harem, right? Kim thought as she watched Vivian work. Well, that includes me, doesn’t it? But she conveniently didn’t mention that there’s a task on that sheet with my name on it. So what is she hiding?

Kim wasn’t sure if she wanted to know or not. If Vivian didn’t tell her, then it must have been because she suspected that Kim wouldn’t have a great reaction to it.

...

She might have been right about that, to be fair. But Kim wasn’t trying to be petty here, especially when she could see that Vivian was putting in a serious effort.

Kim appreciated the effort of others. And she genuinely hoped that people could be rewarded for their hard work.

If Vivian was going to apply herself, then Kim could support her.

It would be rather hypocritical of her not to.

Vivian herself was also thinking about helping out Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin as best she could. But, that was easier said than done where the assassin was concerned.

Helping her shop for clothes that looked nice?

Easy.

Vivian made girls look amazing for a living! …Or, well, for a hobby that she got paid for, anyway. She didn’t actually need to do anything to have a living.

…But that wasn’t really the point. The point was that this was Vivian’s passion, and she would devote herself to helping the mute killer look cute!

If only it was as easy to accomplish the rest of the job.

• Take Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin clothes shopping and give her pointers on how to behave casually around other girls to help her make friends.

Vivian wanted to help her make friends, and that seemed like it would start with behaving casually- if the assassin could do casually.

“What do you want to wear?” Vivian asked, focusing on the easy part. “You’ve already got a lot of bimbo style clothes that you seem to like, and the black leather just looks fabulous on that trim figure of yours, but is there something else you’re interested in?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stared at the heiress without blinking for a few seconds. Then she turned and pointed at the lingerie section.

Vivian blinked. “O-oh, well, that… that’s certainly a choice, I suppose,” she conceded.

When she’d pictured taking the assassin clothes shopping, she’d been assuming they’d be buying casual outfits or the like.

But lingerie?

Sure, Vivian could do lingerie. Her brand covered all manner of clothes, including eveningwear! But…

The eager look in the assassin’s eyes made Vivian wonder if she would have to be trying on any herself. And suddenly, she wasn’t so confident.