Tainted Gestalt: Keitaro Talks to Lelouche

Keitaro wasn’t sure how long he’d laid there in that room focused on nothing but staying himself and only himself. But he wasn’t there anymore.

He was back in that white place. Nothing but all encompassing white. He pushed himself off the floor.

“Ah. Good. You’re awake.” Keitaro flinched and jerked around to find that same confident purple eyed foreign boy from earlier. “Take it easy. You’ve just had flashes from six or seven other lives, and that’s bound to send anyone reeling.”

Keitaro shook his head, **** to right himself after that utterly confusing completely disorienting experience. “You don’t seem all that affected,” he said. “What’s your secret?”

“Oh, I was,” the boy said with a casual shrug. “But I appear to have better mental discipline, and recovered much faster than yourself. That’s all. As you no doubt saw, the others are all rather distracted at the moment.”

By this point Keitaro had managed to drag himself back onto his feet. But as with so much else in his life, lousy timing played a factor when -

He was being swung through the air by something black, white and fuzzy. It planted him on his feet, so that he was staring up at a tall man with a long moustache, staring intently at him...

He was in his living room (yet it wasn’t his at all) with a giant ogre in a tiger print suit, great big tusks and horns atop his head clasping a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“And you are-”

“We chose one human at random by computer.”

And he was back in the white space with the boy-Lelouch he suddenly remembered- resting a hand on his shoulder, “That’s the danger of letting your mind wander. Try to focus entirely on your current situation. Think of it as an anchor in the real world but the moment you start looking inwardly you’re caught in a current that pulls you towards the others. Our minds are no longer our own solitary domains.”

Keitaro nodded tightly, feeling awkward and not sure how to respond as he stared at the golden fleur de lis like symbol emblazoned on Lelouch’s collar. He found it rather easy to imagine it as an anchor.

Lelouch continued speaking. As his voice was easy and smooth, Keitaro was jealous of the other boy’s composure, “As you no doubt saw, the others are all a little preoccupied at the moment. And so shall I in another. You, however, seem to be rather free, so it might help all of us if you did a few tests for me.”

“What kind of tests?”

“Well, based on Ranma’s reaction I believe that my body changing into that of a girl’s was due to coming into contact with water-”

“YOU CHANGED INTO A GIRL?!”

Lelouch’s purple eyes narrowed slightly at Keitaro’s outburst, “I take it you haven’t been spending much time in my head lately. I wonder which one- No matter. The point is that we all need to know if the phenomenon is universal or perhaps it has something to do with Ranma’s presence. We also need to know the nature of the transformation: what exactly causes it and how long it lasts.”

While Keitaro wanted to help he wasn’t at all anxious to experience that. He wanted closer contact with with the fairer sex but not quite that close. “Why- why don’t you just ask this Ranma guy?”

The other’s lips thinned, “He’s being rather uncommunicative which is to be expected given the situation. Most of the rest are still in denial as to the reality of our new condition. Please, won’t you help us all out? I’m sure you’ve now recognized that some of us are in the midst of quite dangerous situations. This information could quite frankly be vital is our survival.”

Keitaro gulped recognizing the silent implication, that he was quite safe alone back in the Inn while Lelouch and that Shinji kid were apparently in the middle of war zones. As for the others, they all seemed to be caught up in their own things as well. Doubtless ignoring the voices in their head and the insane imagery flashing before their eyes. Keitaro really was the only one free to do whatever he wanted right now, so it did make sense that he was the only one that could safely ascertain the nature of this transformation.

“What do you need me to do?” he asked, still very wary.

Lelouch grinned at him, a reassuring gesture that made it all seem a little less risky on his part. “Find some water. Splash yourself in the face with it. See? Nothing too terrible at all, is it? After all, you are bound to have to wash your face or bathe at some point, and it would be preferable to all of us to know in advance if anything is amiss.

“Now. If you will excuse me, I have a war zone to escape.”

With the blink of an eye, Keitaro was back in the manager's room. "Water," he said. "I need water."

He scrambled out of the room trying to ignore the sounds of planes firing missiles off in the distance. It didn’t take a tremendous stretch of imagination to see how the sort of change Lelouch described could easily get him - get any of them - killed!

Keitaro moved down the hallway, his head swiveling around. Bathroom. Bathroom. Or kitchen. Wait, would Grandma have had one in her room? Had he seen a kitchen back in the main foyer? He twisted around-

-in his seat as a tremendous roar seemed to shake the car around him and even his very bones. Through the rear window he could see a monumental wall of fire incinerating the already ruined cityscape, the enormous wave of destruction seemed to be sprinting towards them turning entire buildings into wisps of ash in seconds. Something boxed his head, and he caught flash of a woman in the driver’s seat as she shoved his head down towards his lap.

Fear and adrenaline had Keitaro running down the hallway careening into walls before he even realized he was back in Hinata. He collapsed against a door sending it swinging inward as he fell to the floor, gasping for breath and shivering. Was- Had that kid, Shinji- Had he died? Could he have even survived that? That had been like an atomic bomb! What-what would have happened had he still been in Shinji’s body if-

Keitaro shoved the thought away. He didn’t want to think about it. No, he really didn’t want to think about it. Thoughts were dangerous now. They’re how he got drawn away into other people’s heads. Focus. Focus on what’s in front of you. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at the room he’d half fell into. A bathroom! Lucky...

Keitaro got up and padded over to one of the sinks, slipping his bag off his shoulder to rest upon the floor next to the counter. He reached out and turned the faucet on, only to spend the next few moments simply staring at the flow of water. This was silly. There was no way simply getting some water on his skin was going to change him into a girl. The very idea was absolutely absurd. Maybe it was possible in some alternate universe but that sort of thing just didn’t happen here. It was impossible. Water was just hydrogen and oxygen. He was made up of seventy percent water already! So why was he still staring at it?

Keitaro passed his hand through the water confident nothing would happen though the speed at which he did so belied that lingering terror and doubt that was rather inevitable given the strange things he’d seen so far in the last half hour. His eyes flashed to the mirror and he sighed, seeing the same old average face staring back at him. Wow. He looked bad. His face had a sickly pallor to it, was shiny with sweat, and his eyes were puffy as if he’d been crying. Okay, maybe there’d been some tears once or twice during that ordeal.

Without thinking about it, Keitaro cupped some water in his hands and leaned down to bring it to his face. He rubbed the water into his skin before reaching blindly for one of the hand towels hanging nearby. In the midst of drying his face, Keitaro froze suddenly remembering why he was even there to begin with.

Ever so slowly he raised his face to look into the mirror.

Huh.

A girl with a gobsmacked expression was staring back at him. Sea green hair covered her forehead and fell about her face. He shifted his head and so did she, revealing a braid falling past her left shoulder. He could feel it dangling against his upper back. “I’m a...I’m a...I’m a girl.” Keitaro uttered as he leaned over the sink towards the mirror turning his head side to side with wonder. An awfully cute girl. Keitaro was finding it rather hard to wrap his mind around it. After several moments of intently studying his or her face, Keitaro found his attention inevitably drawn southward.

He pulled out the collar of his shirt and felt his face instantly flush. Boobs. Just- boobs. Right there all perky and cute just hanging there...

Keitaro swiftly looked away, releasing his shirt suddenly feeling apprehensive about being caught checking out the girl’s breasts. It was foolish especially since there was no one here but his reflection and she looked as guilty as he felt but he couldn’t help it. He found himself once again distracted by the girl’s looks and after a long moment sighed, “Gosh, I’m moe...”

It was a weird thing to say about himse- er, herself but it was completely true. Keitaro pushed the now ill fitting glasses further up the nose, where they had slipped a little from a suddenly smaller (cuter, some might say) shape. Completely and thoroughly moe, specifically of the meganekko variety. What a thoroughly terrifying curse this was, to turn a loser like him into such an adorable woman! What a terrible realisation this was, that this was probably the closest Keitaro Urashima would ever get to an attractive woman!

So now what? How was he supposed to contact Lelouch-

The sink and mirror and the bathroom around Keitaro dissolved to be replaced with a claustrophobic cocoon of dark metal, blinking lights, and various buttons, switches, and levers. There were several small screens but his attention was fixed on one showing a digital map, a green grid covered in flashing symbols and notations that he couldn’t understand. As usual he wasn’t in control of what he assumed was Lelouch’s body and he watched his (Lelouch’s!) index finger tap a gold circle atop a light blue line (a road or river?). A small text box popped up and saw that the symbol was labeled ‘Supply Train’ (ah a train track). His hand reached up to brush aside hair from his eyes impatiently and Keitaro noted the long violet locks were everywhere, dangling over the incredibly stuffed chest of the uniform he was wearing-

He became aware all of a sudden that Lelouch was speaking, the sensation of someone else talking through what felt like his lips decidedly off putting even now, “-take the secondary line,” a refined and confident female voice said. “The main has been compromised! Terrorists are readying explosives-”

A gruff voice crackled in his ear, “WHAT?! Oh damn-wh-well why don’t you clear’em out? You’re a knightmare unit right?”

“That’s not my objective. You’re fortunate I spotted them and bothered to alert you.”

“But- but my cargo is -”

“About to be destroyed by terrorists if you don’t get moving. I suggest you get to it.”

A finger reached out and flipped a switch, putting an end to the sputtering protestations before they could gain ground. The gaze fell upon another screen, which showed an outpouring of soldiers from a train all heading towards another point.

“That should do the job... Who is that? I can feel you rummaging about in there! Identify yourself! Immediately!”

It’s- It’s me! Uh. Keitaro! Can you-um hear me?

“Yes. Though it’s highly disconcerting to have my inner monologue hijacked. Did you learn- I can see that you did. Water on the face is the trigger, it seems.”

How-

“We seem to be able to share memories. I haven’t figured how to do it consciously but I just got a flash of your last few moments.”

Oh...okay. What should I try, to change back? It’s-you don’t think it’s permanent, do you?

Keitaro’s feet-er Lelouch’s feet pressed down and back upon the machine’s pedals as his hands pulled on two covered control sticks that for some reason gave the impression of a horse’s reins, and Keitaro felt a jerking motion as the vehicle they were in lurched forward and the view screens changed to reflect the movement.

“No. I’m sure it’s not. Try drinking water. Try splashing your face again-different body parts. Immerse yourself entirely. Change the temperature. Try dirt instead or ice or some other medium. Experiment. Or better yet just relax and concentrate on Ranma. Spending time in his head will no doubt lead you to the answer eventually. Either way, it might be better if you didn’t spend much longer in mine. I’m about to become rather preoccupied.”

Lelouch’s point was definitively underlined as Keitaro was slammed into the seat by a nauseating **** and then his stomach lurched into his throat as the distinct sensation of falling hit him. One viewscreen showed buildings rushing past, that they were falling fast, and it was suddenly very easy to focus on being somewhere else, particularly the inn.

And just like that he was. Back in the hallway- wait, hadn’t he been in the bathroom? He was moving- HIS BODY was moving on its own!

except it wasn’t really my body was it? It was her body whoever she was. Cute girl. I definitely did not peek at her breasts. Nope, not me. Seriously though, where am I? Some random place in Japan or like that guy said some parallel reality? Of course, the far more likely option being I’m drooling catatonic at my desk and this is just a very detailed dream. Question: Why is my imagination so damned boring? An empty boarding house, really? Still, it was certainly better than having to sit through a second commencement ceremony, this one with a principal who has an unhealthy obsession with monster references. Oh and miles better than insane explosions going off constantly for no apparent reason! I think I just heard some voiced in that direction-should I go towards or away-

Keitaro had patiently waited for a break in the other’s thoughts as the guy directed his body to slowly wander down the hallway, carefully pushing open doorways and look inside as he went along. But as it quickly became clear that an opportunity to politely interject wasn’t likely to arrive, his frustration finally boiled over, Hey! This is Keitaro and you’re in my body! Please stop controlling it.

His body paused its exploration.

Definitely the sort of thing she’d say if she was aware that I was doing this. Though why I gave her a boy’s name is beyond me. I wonder what the etiquette is for sliding into other people’s bodies. Should I have just stood there doing nothing? Certainly that guy from Quantum Leap wouldn’t have ever accomplished anything had he refused to make use of the body he was in. Maybe-

Keitaro pulled his hair in frustration, the emotion quickly evaporating as he realized he’d actually pulled his hair in frustration. Even better, that constant monologuing mental voice was blessedly gone! He moved his arms, turning his hands over and back, reveling in the sensation of his body responding like normal. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that guy taking over like that. Oddly enough the most annoying part was that some other guy had looked at his girl’s breasts. What an absurd thing to be jealous about! Especially since they weren’t his girl’s boobs they were his boobs. Oh ew! He’d been ogling Keitaro’s boobs!

“Either that boy has problems, or I do...” Keitaro said, before wincing at the sound of her own voice. “Maybe it’s both of us.”

The annoying thing was, now he was gone from the bathroom. If he was going to try out a few experiments, that seemed like the best place to do so... Except... That boy’s wandering feet had taken him to a sign that quite clearly indicated that within there was a hot spring.

Perfect.

Keitaro stepped inside quite certain that even if this didn’t work (which it probably wouldn’t) it would certainly help her relax. Honestly, a bit of a bath in a hot spring sounded like just the thing she needed right now.

Several minutes later after slipping out of her clothes in the small changing room adjacent to the open air baths, she was padding over to the water.

Keitaro was more than a little distracted by the sensation of walking about nude as a girl. Her boobs, though small, were bouncing and jiggling and the absence of anything between her legs was extremely odd to experience. She kept her focus on these unique sensations as a measure to keep her mind in her own head as only moments before she’d found herself in a crowded classroom within the body of that blonde girl, Usagi. She’d been freaking out over a failed exam and while Keitaro could definitely sympathise with her worry about how her mother would react, she really couldn’t afford to be hanging out in Usagi’s head while her half naked body stood around doing nothing back here.

“Well hello there, cutie!” declared an enthused feminine voice and Keitaro froze in alarm. Two girls- Two very naked girls were reclining against the side of the grotto. They were looking right at her and their boobs were just-floating their happily atop the water.