Teddie

(chapter originally by doragom333 on writing.com)

"Yuki-chan!? Half-naked and only wearing rags? I must be in a beautiful dream."

"Oh no..." Yukiko groaned, the color draining from her face upon seeing the colorful costume bear costume that was Teddie. Why, of all people to see her like this, did it have to be that perverted bear? Teddie was a good friend, sure, but he was very unbearable at times, pun fully intended, as he himself would say; especially around the girls of the group. And if the sight of them in swimsuits was enough to excite him into a frenzy...

"Don't worry, Yuki-chan. I don't know what happened, but now that your precious Teddie is here, everything will be a-okay!" he said, arms outstretched running to embrace her in a likely to be less-than-wholesome manner.

"Hey! Back off!" Yukiko said, reacting just in time, smacking Teddie right in the face with her fish.

"BLECK! Ah-Achoo!" Teddie sneezed. "Ah! It got in my nose! Noooo!"

"Sorry, Teddie," Yukiko apologized, bringing the fish to cover her as well as she could. "But you were out of control."

"Achoo! Ugh," Teddie moaned, wiping his nose. "This definitely isn't a dream then. But, but that means..." Teddie's eyes lit up. "Yuki-chan really is almost naked in front of me. What wonderful series of events could have led to this?"

"There's been nothing wonderful about it!" Yukiko growled. "Except for catching this fish, that is. This whole day has been a disaster with those horrible cats aren't letting me get home with my hard-earned catch."

"Cats are trying to steal your fish?" Teddie asked. "Well, I can see why. That fish is eeeenormous! I'm getting hungry just looking at it."

"And in trying to take it from me, they've been picking me apart, reducing me to this!" Yukiko continued, presenting her bare, scratched up arms and legs.

"!!! Those monsters!" Teddie gasped, becoming incensed with rage. "How dare they even lay a single claw on that precious skin of yours!"

"I was lucky though, making it in here. Chie and Yosuke are still dealing with most of them, and Chie's been with me since this all began," Yukiko let out a sigh. "Oh, Chie, you're probably just as messed up as I am right now..."

"Chie-chan too?" Teddie said, his pupils dilated. "All caught up with those awful mangy felines? We need to save her!"

"And Yosuke also," Yukiko said.

"Right, him too," Teddie said dismissively.

Yukiko shook her head, yet smiled all the same. Same old Teddie.

"All right!" Teddie said, waddling to the door. "Stick behind me, Yuki-chan, I'll be your shield!"

"I can't!" Yukiko shouted suddenly, stopping Teddie in his tracks. "I'm still, you know... exposed?"

"Yeah?" Teddie said, obviously thinking nothing was wrong with escorting the young girl half-naked across town back to the inn.

She suppressed the urge to smack him upside the head.

"And those cats still want me and my fish?" she continued. "Do you really want to risk all those beasts clawing me, scratching me all over to take what's rightfully mine?" Yukiko said, doing her best to appeal to Teddie.

"Hm..." Teddie said, pondering. "Now that you mention that, that is a problem... Oh, I know! You can wear me!"

While Yukiko was taken aback by Teddie's blunt solution, he put his arms to his head and lifted it off in one swift motion. As soon as the head disconnected from the neck, the costume collapsed in its shape, draping the smaller dimensions of Teddie's auxiliary human body, a young blonde teenager wearing fancy clothes.

"Oh," Yukiko said in understanding.

"I'll go ahead to help Chie-chan," Teddie said, shrugging off the costume and setting his bear head down on the floor. "A bunch of cats shouldn't be a problem for the great and studly Teddie. RAWR!" he roared, charging out the door.

"Whew, finally," Yukiko sighed, stepping into Teddie's costume. Fortunately, she and Teddie's human form were around the same height, so the costume was able to fit her with little difficulty. The only problem was, once again, how to deal with the fish. Teddie didn't have any pockets large enough to put it into, and she couldn't effectively carry it in her hands...

...There was nothing else for it. Yukiko set the fish down in the costume, next to her leg. It felt weird, but it would be the safest place to store it on her way home.

Or would it? A sudden thought just rang in Yukiko's head. Thinking back to the summer trip, Teddie, in costume form, had once eaten 11 bowls of ramen, including her own when she wasn't looking, but it had all vanished in just a few hours. The costume was Teddie's actual body, after all, and since he was talking about eating the fish earlier... she needed something to keep her fish safe in case he got hungry!

Knowing time was of the essence, Yukiko checked the paper towel dispenser. "Empty!? When are these things ever empty? Rrgh..."

Paper towels weren't an option, and there was no way she was going to use toilet paper to wrap up this precious food. Seeing no other solution, she took off what was left of her shirt and wrapped the fish inside. "There, just good enough," she said, satisfied with her work, setting it in Teddie's costume. As she put it on, she caught glance of her reflection in the mirror, and let out a whine. She was a wreck, what with her hair all messed up, her clothing reduced to just her underwear and bag, and her only other coverage being a lifetime supply of cat scratches along her arms and legs. "Stay strong Yukiko, you can get through this," she said as she put on the head.

Wearing Teddie was very... strange. Though the material didn't feel very thick on the outside, inside it was quite warm, despite her lack of proper clothing. Maybe the costume still indeed functioned as Teddie's main body even when he was outside it. Yukiko quickly banished that thought away before she completely grossed herself out. As for sight, she could actually see pretty well in front of her, despite Teddie's eyes being fairly spaced apart. Another thing to not think too much on, she noted. As for getting around, her movement was hampered a bit, even if the fish wasn't resting alongside her leg. After a few paces to get used to the costume, Yukiko slowly pushed the door open and walked outside.

"Yukiko!" a shout and hug instantly greeted her. "Just where he said you'd be!"

"Chie!?" Yukiko gasped in response, nearly thrown off-balance by Chie's tackle. Chie was a bit worse for wear, her tracksuit looking more like a vest, now torn along the front and hanging open, and her shirt underneath had taken some damage as well, but her shorts and everything else was just as fine as before; far better than Yukiko's current situation, the more-naked girl noted with some jealousy. "Where's Yosuke and Teddie? And the cats?"

"Oh man, it was brutal," said Chie.

"Oh no!" said Yukiko.

"Oh? No, not the fight," Chie backpedaled. "We took care of the cats easily enough, even if we got messed up a bit during the fight, but right as we got done chasing them out the stairs, Teddie comes charging in."

"Mmhm, that sounds about right."

"Yeah, well, he thought he was going to be a hero and save us with his big entrance. But not only was he too late, Yosuke then tore into him for slacking off for the past 3 hours, forcing him to do all the work and being **** to deal with this catastrophe by himself."

"Catastrophe?" Yukiko repeated Chie's unintentional pun, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Yeah, so now he and Teddie are off doing damage control upstairs. I do not envy either of them right now, especially Teddie."

"Oh... we really shouldn't have come here," Yukiko winced in sympathy.

"Well, shit happens," Chie shrugged. "I'm just glad Teddie gave you something so that you wouldn't be walking home in your underwear. He better not have perved on you too hard in there, or else-!."

"Yeah-what?" Yukiko gasped. "You know?"

"Those cats were fierce," Chie said, looking awkwardly aside. "It happened right as we helped you get onto this floor."

"So Yosuke also..." Yukiko said. Chie couldn't see it, but Yukiko's face was as red as her flame skills. "You're right," Yukiko said sternly. "Those two should be just fine. Let's go."

With that, Yukiko and Chie made their way out the other side of Junes and back onto the streets. It was now fully nightime, the only lights coming from streetlamps, the moon, and the stars. They were nervous walking the darkened pathways, dreading the possibility of another attack, but not a single sight nor sound of cat was to be found.

"Whooo..." Chie sighed. "The inn's only a couple streets away. Looks like we're finally in the clear."

"Yes," Yukiko agreed. There was still cooking the fish and seeing how it would work, but that would be a trial for another day. This ordeal was nearly finished. She was especially grateful for this stroke of good luck. She felt like thanking Teddie for this later, especially in lending her himself. Unfortunately, any notions of thanking Teddie for the use of his body were about to go up in smoke, as it was about to cause a problem of its own, despite them being so close to safety. As they turned the next street corner-