Don't touch me if you don't love me, sweetheart

A shiver of terror ran down Kim’s spine and she started to shake. No… no! It can’t be! Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… she just touched me!

Even if the mute killer couldn’t verbalize any orders, Kim would still feel compelled to act in her best interest. To submit herself to the other girl’s wishes and comply with her in any way. As her heart began to pound, she realized she could already feel herself start to become submissive. She was giving in! Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was influencing her, controlling her, trying to turn her into… into…

…

Wait! She’s always wearing gloves! When Kim’s eyes landed on Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s gloved hand, waving at her, she knew that her transformation hadn’t been triggered yet. The assassin was just pleasantly smiling at her while giving her a wave, like nothing had happened.

Because nothing had happened yet.

A sigh of relief escaped Kim’s lips and she slumped into a chair like a deflated balloon. That probably took several years off of my life! She thought, shivering a little as she imagined what might have happened had things gone differently.

Meanwhile, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin just looked confused. She tilted her head to the side and squinted, trying to figure out what was the matter. Why was Kim looking so upset and tired this early in the morning?

It was Rose who stepped in to explain things.

“Don’t worry about Kim, she’s okay,” she said, catching the attention of the slender girl in leather. “She’s just got a punishment transformation that’s giving her a bit of stress right now, that’s all. But she’s going to be just fine!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s eyes widened in surprise, and she nodded quickly. She might not have fully understood what Rose meant, but she could get an idea.

“Yeah, anyone she touches, she’ll be incredibly submissive to,” Sylvia explained. “It has to be skin on skin contact, though. That’s why she freaked out before- she thought that when you poked her shoulder, her transformation was going to trigger, and she was going to become your sex **** or something like that I guess.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth fell open. She turned to look at Kim, wearing a questioning expression like she was wondering whether or not that was really true.

“Personally, Kim, I think you’re making too big a deal out of this,” Sylvia said, placing her hands on her hips. “Remember, you’ve got a lot of friends here! Nobody’s going to use your transformation against you,” she assured the other girl.

“Would you?” Rose asked.

“Eh, not the point,” Sylvia scoffed, waving her hand. “What I’m saying is that everyone really cares about you! They wouldn’t want to do anything to upset you. And even more importantly, no one would want to risk making Daddy angry by taking advantage of your condition! And I think Dakota understood that when she gave you that transformation. She wouldn’t actually be mean like that.”

“Yeah she would,” Kim bluntly replied. But she could see the logic in the rest of Sylvia’s reasoning. “You do have a point though,” she agreed. “Maybe I’m overthinking this. But at the same time, I still don’t want to feel submissive to someone, you know?”

Rose and Morgana both nodded, seeing exactly where Kim was coming from. She’d said it before, and it had made sense then, too. Even without someone trying to take advantage, it still wouldn’t be great, being influenced like that.

“I still think we should test it out, just to be sure,” Rose admitted. “But I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to do something like that.”

Kim nodded, grateful that Rose could see her side of things.

Before she could verbalize that, though, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face suddenly appeared in front of her. She was so close they were practically nose to nose, and she gazed deeply into Kim’s eyes.

Kim jerked back out of reflex. The assassin was too close for comfort given her current transformation, and Kim didn’t want to take any chances!

Her move was so sudden, her chair tipped back, and she banged her head.

“K-Kim!” Morgana rushed to help her up, but just as she reached out her hand to the other girl, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin sprung into action. She tackled the goth to the ground and pinned her flat, holding her arm against Morgana’s throat as she twisted her lips into a furious snarl, glaring down at the pale girl beneath her.

“Haa… ha… hyeeeeeeee!” Morgana screamed like a banshee and nearly passed out on the spot.

Kim scrambled to her feet and cried out, “Hey! What are you doing?!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked up at Kim in confusion, and lightened her grip on the other girl. The perplexed expression on her face froze Kim on the spot for a second, and she tried to process what she was looking at.

But she was way too confused to make any sense of the situation right now.

“Hey, uh, I think I get what’s happening,” Rose said. She was good at reading the room, if nothing else. “I think Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was just trying to help. Is that right?” She looked cautiously over to the dark-haired girl.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin smiled, and nodded in cheerful agreement.

She was still pinning Morgana to the floor of the Banquet Hall, but she definitely looked happier about it.

Marley sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration. “Okay, I think I get it.”

“What? What’s going on?” Sylvia looked frantically around at everybody, trying to make sense of the situation herself. She had no idea what was happening.

“She was trying to protect Kim, right?” Rose explained. “Morgana was about to touch her, so she reacted and knocked her away.”

Kim gasped. “Wait, what? Is… is that true?” She looked at the assassin for clarification, finding it hard to believe that was the case.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded again, her eyes glowing with fierce loyalty.

“I… I didn’t… mean to…” Morgana stammered. She was able to breathe, at least, and it wasn’t like she was in any pain. But having the other girl sitting on top of her wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.

Kim sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, um, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, it’s fine. Morgana wasn’t trying to do anything. She was just trying to help me. And you please let her up?”

The assassin obediently dismounted the girl, jumping to her feet and standing at attention in front of Kim. She scanned around the room like she was assessing the others for threats, something that Kim wasn’t exactly comfortable with either.

She sighed.

“…Thank you for trying to help me,” she said gently. “But it’s fine. I don’t need a bodyguard to keep me safe.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin scowled. She crossed her arms over her chest and sharply shook her head.

“I don’t think she agrees with that estimation,” Rose pointed out, helping Morgana to her feet.

“Gee, thanks, Rose, I couldn’t have figured that one out on my own,” Kim sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes.

What a mess.

While she appreciated that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was trying to keep her safe, she’d just taken Morgana down to the ground with an arm bar and nearly choked her out. (Something that hadn’t triggered the island’s anti-**** countermeasures, curiously enough…)

That kind of behavior wasn’t exactly something Kim could endorse, especially not in her name. She looked disapprovingly at the assassin, and expected to see some type of contrition from the other girl for her actions.

After all, with how loyal and obedient Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin seemed to be, it would make sense that she’d feel bad for disappointing Kim and making her upset, right?

But no, the other girl just looked back at her with a defiant gleam in her eyes.

So it’s not that she’s loyal. She’s still willing to behave on her own if it means helping me, even if it’s not help I want.

Kim shivered. That was a scary though in and of itself.

Then the other girl’s expression softened. She was still frowning, but it looked just a little bit contrite. By maybe a hair.

“Guys, I think we just got a little too heated here,” Marley said, stepping in and trying to play peacemaker. “Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin did something wrong, but for the right reasons. And she was just trying to help.”

The assassin nodded cheerfully.

“…At the same time, though, she also attacked Morgana, who was also just trying to help, even if the method of helping might not have been fully thought-out,” Marley followed. “Which definitely wasn’t okay. I think it would go a long way if she apologized for overreacting like that. Does that sound fair? Can you say you’re sorry?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stared blankly at Marley and then pointed at her mouth.

Rose burst out laughing and Marley’s face turned red. Even Kim found a bit of amusement at that little misstep.

“I… err… you know what I meant!” Marley groaned, shaking her head in exasperation. This was a lot wilder than she’d anticipated. “Look, um… I get it, okay? Sorry. I know you can’t really apologize with your words, but, um, maybe there’s something else you could do? To show you’re sorry?”

She was really trying here.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin sighed a silent sigh, and slumped her shoulders. She turned and looked over at Morgana with an exasperated expression on her face.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, she extended her hand. That was a surprisingly tender gesture from such an aloof girl.

Morgana wasn’t sure what to do for a moment. Should she take the assassin’s hand? Obviously, right? She was trying to apologize after all.

And Morgana knew quite well what it was like to get carried away and do something you regretted later, thinking it was the right thing to do.

So seeing that it would be mighty hypocritical of her to not forgive Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin when she was trying to forgive herself for doing something far worse, she nodded, and accepted the other girl’s handshake.

She fully expected the assassin to transition the handshake into a flip or some other martial arts move to get her on the ground again, but when that didn’t happen she was pleasantly surprised.

Instead, the assassin tilted her head to the side and flashed another smile, one that made Morgana smile right back.

Maybe… maybe this really wasn’t so bad after all.

“Well, that’s settled then!” Sylvia chirped. “Everybody’s friends now! So I’d say it’s about time to get some breakfast!”

Kim couldn’t agree more. The reason she’d come down here in the first place was because she was hungry.

“I’m starving,” she said, rubbing her stomach.

“Couldn’t you have just stayed up in your room?” Rose pointed out. “If I’d been afflicted with a transformation like yours, I would have just holed up in my room all day and had the faeries bring me food.”

Sylvia glared at her. “Not sociable!” She snapped.

Kim shook her head. “No way, that would just feel wrong,” she replied. “I mean, having them waiting on me, bringing me food? It just feels so wrong. They’re basically slaves! I mean, not exactly. But you get it, right?”

If Kim started relying on the faeries for everything, that would make her feel like one of those spoiled rich people who never amounted to anything, getting waited on by their servants. And while some could be good people, she didn’t want to compromise her morals for general convenience.

“Good morning all! How are you feeling today?”

Speak of the devil, Vivian Carrington strolled into the Banquet Hall with a pleased grin on her face, strutting about like she owned the whole damn hotel.

Kim swallowed her bile and walked over to get an omelet.

“Hey Vivian!” Rose greeted the heiress with a wave. “You’re looking nice as always!”

“Why thank you, Rose!” Vivian chirped, fluffing her hair a bit. “I try my best.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin regarded the heiress with suspicion for a moment, and then moved over to Kim, following behind her like a loyal dog. One with a countless number of confirmed kills.

Vivian raised her eyebrow curiously. “…Well, she seems even more guarded than usual,” she pointed out, though the others couldn’t be sure if she was talking about Kim, or the assassin.

“If you mean Kim, yeah, she’s got a punishment transformation that she’s dealing with,” Sylvia pointed out.

Kim whirled around and grimaced. “Sylvia, shut your mouth!” She snapped. “Don’t tell Vivian of all people that!”

“Huh!? Why?” Sylvia looked completely lost.

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. “Do I really need to spell it out for you?”

Vivian’s mouth fell open and she held her chest, putting on a great expression of faked pain. “Why Kim, I’m wounded,” she said, shaking her head. “I thought we buried the hatchet yesterday, on the beach? Did that sandcastle mean nothing?”

Kim glowered at her. “…While I appreciate the fact that you were diligent in helping make the sandcastle, that doesn’t change things,” she replied. “I still don’t find you particularly trustworthy, not with your track record.”

Vivian smirked. “Well… fair enough, I wouldn’t say I’m THAT trustworthy. But I’m not out to get you, Kim, I swear.”

Well… Kim could believe that.

“…Fair enough,” she admitted. For all of Vivian’s goading and needling, she wasn’t actively hostile at least. “Look, I’m just having a bit of a problem right now, that’s all. So if you want me to trust you, then don’t come within five feet of me, okay? Social distancing please.”

Vivian shrugged. “Sure, fine with me. But you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Sylvia was dying to say. There was nothing she liked more than sharing transformation details with people. But she refrained, for Kim’s sake.

But Kim herself had changed her mind. While her kneejerk reaction had been to keep Vivian in the dark, to keep the heiress from abusing her transformation and turning her into a submissive servant, she realized that maybe the threat wasn’t as big as she was making it out to be.

After all, it was only temporary. And if Vivian took advantage of her transformation, it would prove to everyone else that she was a bad person!

So Kim was willing to gamble that Vivian could be trusted… provisionally.

“I got a punishment transformation for using my Sick Day transformation again today,” Kim said, sighing in exasperation. “So if anybody touches me, I’ll become submissive to that person for the rest of the day, until someone else touches me. Like a fawning puppy.”

She made a sickened expression, like she was going to throw up in her mouth.

Vivian looked surprised. She nodded thoughtfully at what Kim had said. “So… you’re worried I’m gonna touch you, then?”

Kim winced. She hadn’t said that in so many words, but that was the general idea, yes.

She nodded slightly, and Vivian laughed.

“Ah, don’t worry about that, Kim!” She held up her hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it. We’re cool, remember?”

“…Yeah,” Kim said dryly. “We’re cool. Right.”

She still didn’t want Vivian anywhere near her. But she could acknowledge that the heiress at least might not be actively out to get her.

Maybe.

“So you’re wearing something that light, even though there’s a chance that someone might accidentally bump into your shoulder or something?” Vivian stroked her chin. “I like that, Kim! So daring of you, nice!”

Kim blushed. “It-it’s not daring! It’s just… I used my Sick Day transformation so I could actually wear what I wanted to wear, for once, and I don’t want to have to change into something else just to feel safe!”

Talk about changing her mind. She had just been about to go do that before Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin popped in.

Luckily, Rose had her back. She completely agreed. “That’s right! It might be safer that way, but Kim wearing what she wants is also important!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Vivian nodded. “Like I said, massive respect. It takes some real guts to flash your own style loudly to the world!”

Kim frowned. She wasn’t exactly thrilled, being the target of all this praise from the heiress. But she wasn’t going to complain, either.

She cleared her throat. “Well, anyway, I’m going to go eat breakfast now,” she said. “Thank you for agreeing to not touch me.”

Kim was loathe to thank the spoiled girl for anything, but she still appreciated it. Even if it was the bare minimum behavior she should be afforded as a fellow human being.

Vivian was happy to oblige. She was still curious, though. “Is that why Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin is so wary?” She asked. “Following you around like a guard dog? Aww, that’s so cute! I’d be jealous, but Octavia is so great.”

Kim glanced warily at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. Over the course of the conversation, the other girl had piled a mound of ice cream onto her plate, and was waiting dutifully beside Kim with bright eyes.

All that was missing was a wagging tail.

“…Are you seriously going to eat ice cream for breakfast?” Kim asked the other girl.

She shouldn’t have been surprised by the nod that she received in return for her question.

Vivian laughed. “I like your style,” she agreed. “And hey, today’s your Sick Day, right? It’s the time for doing what you want to do! Nothing wrong with a little ice cream for breakfast on your day off, in my opinion!”

Well, Kim didn’t regard Vivian’s opinion very highly. But at the same time, she remembered what happened when she first came to this island, and how she’d had to be convinced to actually indulge herself for once, instead of being to stolid with her food choices.

Maybe Vivian had another good point. Ice cream sure was delicious.

“…Fair enough,” she admitted with a sigh.

“Nice!” Vivian punched the air. “Nothing better than doing what you want on your day off, that’s what I always say! Let’s have some fun!”

Kim shot her a dirty look. “You’re a billionaire,” she pointed out, her good mood falling. “Every day is a day off for you if you want it to be.”

Whelp. So much for the good vibes they’d been building up. Still, Vivian didn’t seem all that bothered by the other girl’s statement. She just laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

“You know… I’m not gonna lie, you’re not wrong,” she admitted. “While I certainly work hard, my schedule does have a lot more flexibility than yours does. And that’s why I’m trying to encourage you to actually enjoy your day off, Kim! Don’t you think that’s for the best?”

Kim frowned. “Well… like I said, you’re not wrong…”

Regardless of Vivian’s position, her words still made sense. And as much as Kim didn’t like giving the other woman credit for anything, she could still appreciate where the heiress was coming from, even if she didn’t appreciate so many other things about her.

And ice cream WAS delicious.