Dawn had arisen over the sleepy little town of Hinata City, cresting over the horizon and waking the residents of the humble little resort town.  As the sun slowly made its way up and over the landscape, bringing its golden glow to the world and warming the landscape, the increasing glow of the sun's light began stirring the numerous inhabitants of the town awake and ready to face the day.  Among those residents, of course, were the inhabitants of the Hinata House dormitory, which had increased in size (and number) over the past day-and-a-half, roughly speaking.

Of those residents of the Hinata House dorms was its manager, one Keitaro Urashima, currently sleeping in the bed of one of his tenants, one Kaolla Su and her older sister, Amalla Su.  All three were sleeping within the same bed, Keitaro in the center with each of the Su sisters flanking him in a very intimate embrace as the morning came.

As Keitaro awoke, he became aware of such an embrace as he blinked his eyes open and took in the sight before him.  From what he could recall, he had fallen asleep in Kaolla's bedroom after having a brief one-on-one with her over a number of issues, one of them being the state of affairs between the two of them exclusively.  After all, he and Naru were dating, and he didn't want to commit an act of infidelity against her, given how the two of them were trying to make things work with regards to their relationship over the last few months.

In any case, as Keitaro stirred awake, he found himself in the embrace of both of the Su sisters and couldn't help but blush at the level of intimacy he was experiencing.  Most of Keitaro's mornings would simply be of him waking up alone in his bed in his own room, as he and Naru still slept in separate rooms up to this point.  So the fact that he had awoken in the presence of not one but two beautiful women was almost more than his mind could fathom.

Upon stirring awake, Keitaro was puzzled as to how he was going to get out of bed without waking either woman who was clutching his side quite securely.  Given his nature of being as considerate as he could towards others, Keitaro tried his best to avoid giving discomfort or hardship in any way whatsoever.

"Well," gruned Keitaro quietly, "here goes something."  He had a pretty good idea how this attempt at escape was going to go, but he figured that he couldn't stay in bed all day long, not with his managerial duties to tend to.

As he started to push himself up to get into a seated position, Keitaro was surprised to find out that the Su sisters' arms had let up and plopped down on the bed as Keitaro freed himself from their embrace.  He was rather surprised that they had loosened their hold on him easily enough, as he figured that they would wish to keep him in bed for quite a while longer.

Just as he was getting ready to slowly extricate himself from their entanglement of legs, Keitaro suddenly found an arm from each side draping across his chest and playfully pulling him back down flat onto the bed.

"Why, good morning, Keitaro," said Amalla with a giggle.  "How did you sleep?"

Keitaro was somewhat surprised by how forward Amalla was at that moment.  He glanced briefly at Amalla's smiling face for a few seconds before turning to see if Kaolla was also awake.  Sure enough, Kaolla's smiling face greeted Keitaro alongside her sister's.  Both Su sisters were wide awake.

"I...uhh...I slept well," replied Keitaro.  "Did I wake the two of you?"

"Not at all," answered Kaolla with a grin.  "We were already awake before you woke up.  We just decided to pretend we were sleeping to see what you would do when you stirred awake."

"Oh...I see," said Keitaro.  Even if the Su sisters were actually sleeping, chances were slim that Keitaro could have left the bed without stirring either of them awake, given how entangled his body was within their arms and legs.  It would have been a minor miracle for him to sneak out of their bedroom under those circumstances.

"How does your wound feel?" asked Amalla.

"About the same as yesterday," answered Keitaro.  "A bit sore, but not too tender.  I just need to avoid any heavy labor or anything too physically demanding and I should be back to full strength within a few days."

"If anything, you should avoid doing ANY work at all, given how recent that wound is," replied Amalla.  "Wouldn't you agree, Kaolla?"

"Indeed," Kaolla chimed in.  "You should be on a strict regimen of bedrest and lounging for at least a week if not longer.  I can provide you with some mild painkillers while you heal, but it'll still take several days for your skin and muscles to repair themselves.  During that time, you are barred from doing any strenuous physical activity, especially heavy lifting."

"I'm barred?" asked Keitaro with a cocked eyebrow.  "Forgive my reaction, Kaolla, but I'm not sure you have the authority to keep me from doing my job.  I am the manager of the dorms and there are daily chores and tasks that need tending to.  So while I appreciate your concern, I'm  afraid that I'm going to have to insist on letting me do my job as manager."

"Oh?" asked both Amalla and Kaolla with an amused tone of voice.

"Are you sure you could even get out of this bed right now?" asked Amalla.  "Forgive me my bluntness, Keitaro, but I doubt you could remove yourself from this bed unless Kaolla and I both ALLOWED you to leave.  We are big girls after all," Amalla finished with a chuckle.  The look on Kaolla's face basically read agreement with her sister on that statement.

"Besides," followed up Kaolla, "I seriously doubt that just the two of us are against you doing any hard work whatsoever.  I imagine that if we were to put it to a vote, then everyone in the dorms would be against you doing any type of physical activity that would risk endangering your health or opening up your wound.  Shall I go get the others and we can see for ourselves?"  Kaolla's tone of voice basically spelled it out for Keitaro: If he insisted on doing his managerial duties, then all the women (all of whom were bigger and stronger than him) would overrule his decision.

"Ughhh," sighed Keitaro, "look, ladies, even if you have a point on me avoiding doing any strenuous or hard work, the work still needs doing.  If not me, then who is going to check on the day-to-day maintenance issues?  We can't just leave things stagnant, otherwise problems will start building up over time."

"We can handle several of the daily chores and tasks around the dorms," replied Amalla.  "Things like cooking, dishes, laundry, taking out the garbage...I'm sure us girls can handle the little things like that.  And as for the more ‘hands-on' tasks that are more physically demanding, I have just the thing to help out with those sorts of chores."

"W-what is that?" asked Keitaro with genuine curiosity.

"Well, by around this time, we should be getting a ‘special delivery' of sorts.  A small contingent of servants from our homeland are making their way directly to Hinata House as we speak.  I imagine that they should be here within an hour or so, given their last status check.  They must have crossed over into Japanese airspace by now."

"H-how do you know this?" asked Keitaro with surprise upon hearing this.

"They're riding on one of my mecha-Tamas," answered Kaolla, "like the one that I had sent to pick up the groceries in town.  I've had some of them constructed or sent to Molmol to help out with transportation services and hauling heavy cargo loads.  So Amalla and I had one arranged to deliver both supplies and personnel to help assist with the day-to-day tasks around the dorms.  So whatever jobs need doing - changing light bulbs, fixing the plumbing, tending the gardens, fixing roof tiling, cleaning the baths, etc. - just leave it to them.  All they need is a little instruction and they'll be tending to those jobs as if they've worked here for years.  So there's no need to worry on that topic."  Kaolla finished her explanation with a cheerful grin.

"Well...I...uhh...that's..." Keitaro was at a loss for words regarding this boon of good fortune that had landed in his lap.  It was basically a deus ex machina of sorts that had just descended upon Hinata House and provided a solution to problems regarding labor, especially when it came to Keitaro's current physical condition.  This reaction brought forth a giggle from both the Su sisters, who couldn't help but find Keitaro's state of being tongue-tied to be rather adorable.

"While I appreciate the assistance, ladies," said Keitaro as he got his thoughts together, "I really can't impose this upon your people.  I don't want to have to make others do the work that I should be doing, so I..."  Before he could get another word in, Amalla decided to put her foot down in the midst of this conversation.

"Oh, Keitaro," she said, "you REALLY are such a ‘goody-two-shoes' sometimes.  It's really no imposition whatsoever.  Our servants are used to everyday tasks that need tending to, whether it would be back home in Molmol or overseas.  To deny them the means to be of use would be a minor insult to them, especially since they came all the way over here.  And rest assured, we don't treat our workers like slaves.  They won't be run ragged or working without breaks in between their tasks.  So please, stop being so darn considerate and just let them be of assistance here at the dorms.  It's like Kaolla said, you really shouldn't be exerting yourself right now while you're recovering, so our servants can pick up the slack in house chores while you get some much needed rest and relaxation."

"And if you're concerned about compensation for their work," said Kaolla picking up where Amalla left off, "you need not worry yourself over that either.  The royal family makes sure that our servants are adequately compensated for their work.  In fact, being a servant for a member of the royal family is a somewhat coveted position among Molmolian culture.  The reason is because the pay and benefits allotted are higher than most other jobs in Molmol.  So you see, our servants will not be inconvenienced during their time here at Hinata, so please don't worry yourself over them, sweet though that it is for you to do so."

Sensing that the Su sisters weren't taking ‘no' for an answer when it came to Keitaro continuing his managerial duties, he decided to take the path of least resistance and relent.  ‘No point in arguing any further, I guess,' he thought, ‘especially in the presence of women who are much bigger and undoubtedly stronger than you.'

"Well now," said Amalla, "since we've resolved that little issue regarding chores and labor, what say we head downstairs and get something to eat?  I for one certainly have an appetite."

"Sure thing," agreed Kaolla, "I've got a hankering for some bananas right now.  What say we make fruit smoothies when we get downstairs?  After that little shopping trip, we should have enough fruit to go around.  I'm sure everyone will appreciate that."

"Sounds like a plan," said Amalla with a smile.  "Let's get out of bed and get dressed then.  I figure by this point that someone else will probably be up by now."

As the Su sisters got upright and out of bed, Keitaro couldn't help but notice a few things.

For one thing, when their feet hit the floorboards of Kaolla's room, they made a particularly strong ‘thud' of a sound.  The thing was that they didn't seem to be stomping the floor by their movements; it simply appeared that their weight was so great - given their larger size - that it was only reasonable to deduce that the floor would groan in response to change in their weight (not that Keitaro would ever point this out of course; he knew enough to not comment on a woman's weight under any circumstances).

Another thing he noticed was that the bed appeared to creak particularly loudly as Amalla and Kaolla made their way off of it.  While it could have been somewhat reasonable to understand such a thing, given that there were currently three occupants within it, Keitaro recalled that the beds at Hinata House were rather sturdy overall.  So even if there were three people laying within it (rather close up to one another at that), the bedframe should not protest too loudly in response to their movements...which it was doing just that.

Yet another thing that caught Keitaro's eye:  When he was seated upright and attempting to get out of bed earlier, he couldn't help but notice that both Amalla and Kaolla's legs appeared to extend well past the foot end of the bed frame.  Whereas their feet (or at least Kaolla's feet, given that she was the shorter of the two) should have ended somewhere near the edge of the bed frame, each of the sisters had their feet well past that point, hanging off the edge around their ankles...and that was with their legs bent while they rested in bed.  If they had straightened out their legs, then how far would they extend over the edge?  At the shin?  At the knee?  It was difficult to tell at this point, but things definitely seemed off.

The last thing he noticed was the sight of the two towering Molmolians who stood before him, once they got out of bed and stood upright.  As the sisters got out of bed, Keitaro couldn't help but notice that neither of them was wearing anything at all.  The realization that he was sleeping in the same bed as two nude women made him flustered (along with being aroused, much to his embarrassment - damn you, evolutionary biology!).  Upon the sight of their naked bodies, Keitaro diverted his eyes and spoke up once more.

"Uhh...ladies, you currently aren't...uhm...wearing anything right now," he said with a growing blush on his cheeks.

"Oh, I usually sleep in the nude, Keitaro," replied Amalla with a sultry grin.  "I hope that doesn't upset you too much.  I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable in any way over that little tidbit.  I just tend to be more comfortable not wearing anything when I'm ready to fall asleep."

"Uhhh...okay then," said Keitaro, who was currently flustered upon hearing about Amalla's preferred sleeping arrangements.  ‘This woman is going to give me a heart attack with the way she tempts me, I swear,' thought Keitaro in self-reflection upon this tall, dark-skinned, silver-haired beauty.

"B-but Kaolla," continued Keitaro, "weren't you at least wearing some underwear before going to bed?  Why are you naked too?"

"I am?" asked Kaolla in genuine surprise.  Upon glancing down at herself, sure enough, Kaolla wasn't wearing anything at all.  She was just like Amalla at this point, standing tall and proud, her body brimming with both muscle and ultra-sexy refinement for Keitaro to feast his eyes upon (though he currently was diverting them out of a sense of gentlemanly behavior).

"Huh...I could have sworn I was wearing them before going to bed," stated Kaolla in confusion.  "I wonder, if by chance did they..." Kaolla proceeded to check the bed, scanning the sheets for any sign of her bra or panties.  Sure enough, she found them...or what was left of them, as they were now tattered remains.  Apparently, the straps on both garments had snapped apart sometime during the night, which explained why they had fallen off of Kaolla's body and rendered her nude by morning.  If that was the case, then that meant...

"Well, well, well," said Amalla with that trademark grin of hers, "it looks like my little sister is becoming my ‘not so little' sister now, wouldn't you agree Keitaro?"  Keitaro's response was to simply keep avoiding eye contact while blushing furiously at the sight of these two amazons who towered high above him while he sat in bed.
"I suppose I should check on the latest figures," sighed Kaolla as she reached out for her tracking device which monitored all of the ladies of Hinata whenever a shift in their size occurred.  She couldn't help but notice that the device appeared significantly smaller as she held it, given that she had to be careful with pushing the buttons on it so as to not hit two keys at the same time.  It was just a reminder of how much larger she was becoming, along with everyone else at Hinata House, and how the world appeared to be rapidly shrinking around them all as the days wore on.

‘I guess I really SHOULD try to get working on an antidote soon, or at least something to either slow or stop the growth,' thought Kaolla in reflection.  ‘Otherwise, navigating through the dorms is going to become something of a chore in and of itself in the next few days at this rate.  I just hope the other girls are handling this okay.'

"Oh, dear..." sighed Shinobu as she struggled with her latest bit of clothing.  Despite all of her physical exertions and her wishes for some compliance, none of her clothes would fit her body at all...not without straining against her and most likely tearing apart within minutes after forcing them on.

"Why does this have to keep happening?" moaned Shinobu at her predicament.  From her viewpoint, the experience of continued growth was more frightening than enjoyable.  The realization that her body would swell in size and stretch ever more in length by several inches every few hours...well, it was a lot to emotionally process from Shinobu's perspective.  While girls like Sarah might find the experience to be the coolest thing to ever happen to them, Shinobu was of the more worried sort.  The idea of living in a world that appeared to be regularly shrinking around her made her instinctively concerned and filled with worries and fears.

Getting dressed was becoming difficult enough in and of itself.  It was only by the grace of Kaolla's 3D clothing printer that the ladies of Hinata weren't forced to cover themselves with bedsheets or large towels by this point.  There was also the matter of food.  If the growth rate continued, then pretty soon every girl and woman at Hinata House would be consuming several thousands of calories every day...even ten thousand calories or more if they kept getting larger and larger over the coming days.  Such a caloric intake would be necessary if the ladies found themselves standing at what...ten feet tall or more?

Speaking of height, there was also the issue of living arrangements within the dorms themselves.  Given that the bedroom ceilings were nine feet high, what would happen once all of the girls reached that height or surpassed it?  They would be reduced to either sitting or crouching when inside the building, lest they strain their heads and necks against the ceiling.  The common room's ceiling was a bit higher, given the room's total area (around 12 feet high, Shinobu guessed), but if the girls surpassed that height, then there would be virtually NO room in which any of them could stand upright.  Such a notion brought a tingle of worry up and down Shinobu's spine.

And as for sleeping arrangements, the beds were becoming increasingly smaller - and thus more cramped - for all of the ladies at Hinata House, especially when they were being shared between two or more women.  It would only be a matter of time before the enlarging mass of the evergrowing ladies ended up demolishing the beds, which would be particularly unpleasant if it happened in the middle of the night (which was quite possible, since growth episodes tended to occur during night hours as well as during the daytime).

Then of course, there was interaction with the general public to consider.  What were people going to say or do when they came within the presence of a group of women who towered over everyone else by several feet?  What would happen when that group of women were all ten feet tall?  Or twelve feet?  Or fifteen feet?  Or even more?  How would Shinobu's parents react at the sight of their daughter towering over them so much that their heads would be no higher than her bosom?  Or her waist?  Or her knees?  Or lower even?  How would the families and close friends of the other Hinata ladies react at the sight of their enlarged bodies?

What would Shinobu's classmates say if they saw her the next time in school, assuming she even planned on returning to class once the weekend had passed?  Would they stare in shock and fear?  Would they call her a giant freak?  Would they run to notify the cops or the authorities and have her locked up in the interest of public safety?

All of these thoughts and considerations were swimming through Shinobu's head as she pondered the long-term ramifications of growing into a towering amazon.  It was why she was so insistent with Kaolla on producing a vaccine of sorts to reverse the growth (or at least stop it) as soon as possible.

There was also one other consideration Shinobu was pondering regarding this whole slow growth process in which she and the other women in the dorms were experiencing:  Keitaro Urashima.

It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret as to what Shinobu Maehara felt about Keitaro Urashima.  The girl was outright smitten with the man who was her dormitory manager.  While initially this was considered something akin to a classic schoolgirl crush in which Shinobu would probably grow out of, over time all of the regular tenants at Hinata became aware that the young woman had fallen head-over-heels in love for Keitaro.  The only obstacle to Shinobu confessing her feelings for Keitaro was really Shinobu herself, given that she knew that Keitaro and Naru had now become an item at this point and she didn't want to come between them.

Ever the pure-hearted maiden that she was, Shinobu's philosophy regarding romantic love could be summarized in one statement:  "I want my beloved to be happy, even if that meant that happiness couldn't be shared with me."

Yet now, with Kaolla's little growth hormone having affected all of the Hinata ladies, Shinobu was reconsidering her options regarding her romantic pursuit for Keitaro.  While she was alarmed at the rate in which she was growing, she also saw the potential benefits laid before her.  Prior to the growth spurt, Shinobu had a very modest figure for a girl of her age.  Her curves weren't nonexistent, yet still very humble in appearance, and her bra size was no greater than a B-cup, so she figured she would be doomed to catch Keitaro's eye with feminine charm and alluring sexuality compared to girls like Kitsune, Mutsumi, or Motoko.  Even Naru had a more impressive bosom than hers (before the incident in the hot springs), so Shinobu's personal epiphany in light of all of that was something akin to "How could I even HOPE to compete against that?".

However, that was then, and things had changed significantly since then.  Whereas Shinobu was at the lower end of the five foot range less than two days ago, she was now well over six-and-a-half feet tall (if not seven feet tall by now, given the overnight growth spurt she had along with all the other women).  And her body had certainly developed from that of a young schoolgirl into something more along the lines of a supermodel.  Her hips, her waist, her legs, her rear end, and most profoundly (in Shinobu's opinion) her breasts had all become refined and reshaped to evoke lust and raw animalistic desire.

‘Will Keitaro-senpai find me attractive now?' thought Shinobu as she examined her body, heaving her substantial bosom in her hands - which she noticed had become QUITE sensitive to touch the more her body grew.  ‘Will he see me more as a woman than just a young lady?  Could he finally return the feelings I have for him?  Oh, if only he knew how hard he makes my heart pound just thinking about him.  Sometimes I get dizzy if I think about him for too long, especially...if we were in a bedroom...lying together...underneath the sheets...'  As Shinobu daydreamed about getting into some rather "steamy" content with the man she loved unconditionally (and getting red in the face in the process), a tap on her shoulder pulled her out of her pubescent fantasy.

"Shinobu," asked Nyamo, "are you okay?"

The blue-haired, blue-eyed girl turned around to face her counterpart, who was practically a mirror reflection of Shinobu except for the darker complexion which Nyamo had (around the same shade of tanned brown skin similar to the Su sisters).  And also like Shinobu, Nyamo was sporting an equally seductive body, with the same enhanced bosom and other lovely feminine features as well - all of them enhanced even more so after another overnight growth spurt which had also rendered her too big for her clothes.

"I...I'm fine, Nyamo," replied Shinobu.  "I've just had a lot on my mind, given the last day or so.  It's been a lot to take in, what with this growth spurt we've been having as well as Keitaro getting himself hurt."  Nyamo nodded in agreement, given her generally quiet behavior.

"Do you think Keitaro will be okay?" Shinobu asked as she turned to her roommate with worry in her eyes.  "I really wanted to see him when he was brought back to the dorms, but Amalla insisted that he was okay and needed to rest.  A part of me feels that I should have persisted and at least have gone to see him.  Maybe I should have run off with the others last night, before anybody could have stopped me."

"I trust Amalla," replied Nyamo.  "She's...a trickster sometimes, but she has a good heart.  If she says that Keitaro is okay, then I believe her.  I think if something really bad happened to Keitaro, then Amalla would have told us so, so I'm not going to worry about it until something new happens.  Besides..."

"Besides what?" asked Shinobu with innate curiosity.  It was rare for Nyamo to speak for more than a sentence worth of words, so Shinobu wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to hear more from the girl.

"I...I don't think Amalla would lie to her future wives about something like that..." said Nyamo with a faint blush.  "If she really wants for everyone to get married, then trust and honesty are very important for that to work."

Shinobu went wide-eyed upon hearing Nyamo say such a thing.  It was getting her quite flustered reliving Amalla's proposal in the hot springs to all of the women present.  The very idea of her trying to get married to literally EVERYONE at Hinata House was making Shinobu dizzy.  Was she dead serious about that plan?  Forging a harem between one man and thirteen women?  How would that work?  Could it work?  Apparently from Amalla's perspective it already had, given her marriage situation back home in Molmol with King Lamba Lu and however many women were part of his royal harem.  And now Amalla wanted even more people to call husband and wife (er...wives)?

Shinobu took a moment to get her thoughts together before addressing Nyamo once more.

"Say...Nyamo?" said Shinobu.

"Yes, Shinobu?"

"Do you...are you...uhh...I mean...ugh, why is this so hard to say? [deep breath] Do you like Keitaro?"

There was a pause lasting for perhaps five seconds or so, before Nyamo responded.

"No," said Nyamo with a calm tone of voice.

"N-no?" asked Shinobu in shock, not expecting that answer.  "D-do you hate him then?"

"Of course not," said Nyamo with a grin.

"But you said you didn't like him either," replied Shinobu.  "So I don't get it.  You don't hate him, but you don't like him either?"

"I could never hate Keitaro," Nyamo clarified.  "And I don't like Keitaro...I love Keitaro."

"So..." replied Shinobu, "when you say ‘love', do you mean..."

"I'm IN LOVE with Keitaro, yes," answered Nyamo, "and I know that you are in love with him too.  And I think that's wonderful."  Nyamo finished with a calming grin.

"B-but how can that be wonderful?" declared Shinobu with skepticism dripping in her voice.  "How could you be okay with falling in love with the same man that I am in love with...that other women are in love with?  How could such a thing be ‘wonderful' in your eyes?  I just don't understand..."

"When Keitaro gets married to everybody, or when all of us get married to each other, I think we'll find a way to work things out so that everybody can be happy."  In her explanation, Nyamo didn't skip a beat or falter at all in the confidence she had in her answer.

The Pararakelse islander girl simply left Shinobu befuddled.  It would seem that Nyamo was perfectly fine with Amalla's (and Kaolla's) harem plan that was pitched last night.  Hell, Shinobu wondered if Nyamo happened to be more talkative if she would have voiced joining in on the plan on the spot in front of everyone.

"Nyamo..." said Shinobu as she pondered how to word her response correctly, "are you honestly okay with the idea of having to share Keitaro with twelve other women?  Wouldn't you get...you know...jealous...of not having him all to yourself?"

"I'd want to spend as much time as I could with him, that is true.  But I would have you and the others to keep me company while I waited my turn.  In time, I think I can learn to love you and the others like I love Keitaro.  Of course, I'd expect to have quality time with Keitaro, whether one-on-one or as a small group, but I'm not so mean as to keep anybody else from finding happiness with him too.  Especially none of you.  You're all good people, and I just want all of you to be happy and find love...and I think we could make that work between all of us and Keitaro."  Once again, Nyamo was succinct in her explanation and Shinobu was taken back by how open-minded and big-hearted the dark-skinned girl could be.

"N-Nyamo...how can you...be so...open...to such an idea?" Shinobu asked with incredulity.

"I am simply a young woman in love, Shinobu," replied Nyamo with that calming smile of hers.  "I love Keitaro enough that I'm okay with being in a harem.  If I get to be with him for the rest of my life, then that's fine by me.  Besides, I'd get twelve very pretty...no, beautiful wives to spend time with as well.  I like to think that's not a bad deal all around as far as marriages go."  She finished her justification with a giggle.

"Nyamo...you certainly surprise me sometimes.  Make no mistake about that," replied Shinobu.

"And what about you, Shinobu?" replied Nyamo.  "What do you think about joining in on the harem that Amalla and Kaolla suggested?"

Once again, Shinobu was caught off guard by Nyamo.  The notion of being married to both one man and several other women did cross Shinobu's mind, if she were being honest with herself.  Hell, even before Amalla's little proposition in the baths, Shinobu would have been more than content with being Keitaro's mistress with Naru as his legal wife.  She was smitten with the man after all, so what was another woman but a minor inconvenience in the worst case scenario?  While Amalla's proposition would just extend that scenario to include SEVERAL women, Shinobu wasn't outright against the idea upon hearing it.  Would it seem odd?  Sure.  To outsiders, such a custom would seem like something that occurred on another planet.  Yet Shinobu knew enough of history and other cultures to know that polygamy wasn't THAT farfetched of a notion.

Polygamous relationships were somewhat common in large parts of the African continent, as well as the broader Arab-Muslim world.  Then there was polyandry within the Himalayan nation of Nepal.  Even in the United States, the Mormon religion practiced polygamy in its infant years until Utah applied for statehood and was forced to give up the practice.  And supposedly, the bible figure King Solomon supposedly had 700 wives and 300 concubines (look it up!).  What was one man married to 13 women compared to that?

After pondering Nyamo's question, Shinobu gave her answer.

"I...I admit it seems a little...odd, the idea of all of us being married to Keitaro.  But...when you think about it, would much really change in the big picture?  All of us already live together here at Hinata House, and we're all close with one another like sisters, more or less.  The only thing that would really change is that we'd all be in bed with one another, with Keitaro in the center of it all.  While I would rather be exclusive with Keitaro, I'm not so cruel and selfish as to deny others who are good people to find love as well...and not one of you here is a bad person.  Everyone here has their quirks and their faults, but I wouldn't consider anybody here to be a bad person.  Even Sarah, for all of her mischief-making, is a good person, and Naru and Motoko are trying to turn over a new leaf and abstain from any violence against Keitaro.  So...I guess what I'm trying to say in summary is...while I'm not crazy about the idea of a big group marriage, I'm not necessarily against it either, if that makes any sense."

Nyamo replied with a big smile and an equally big hug, pressing her bosom against Shinobu's as she did so (and making Shinobu blush at the nipple-on-nipple contact that resulted from the act).

"You know what, Shinobu," said Nyamo as she embraced her light-skinned mirror image, "as far as deals go, I'll take it."

Meanwhile, in another dorm room within Hinata House...

"Well, it's official," said Kitsune, "I'm pretty sure that none of our clothes are gonna fit, which most likely means what I think it means."

"You believe we've grown again?" inquired Mutsumi.

"I'd bet a hundred trillion yen that we've all grown overnight," replied Kitsune with outright assurance in her voice.

"Oh goodness," Mutsumi responded with a troubled voice.  "What are we going to do?  At this rate, we'll keep growing and growing until we can no longer fit inside Hinata House.  Then what will happen?"

"Well...hopefully Kaolla will have somethin' figured out before long.  If anybody can fix this lil' problem, it'd be her."

"I hope so," muttered Mutsumi.  There was a momentary pause before she decided to take the conversation elsewhere.

"Do you think Kei-kun is doing alright?  I really wanted to go check on him last night, but I felt that crowding around him might have caused a problem."

"I trust that Amalla and the others had things under control," replied Kitsune.  "I figure that she and Kaolla would take good care of Keitaro after that dustup in the marketplace.  I was a lil' surprised that all them other girls went and tagged along, but I can understand to a point on why that was."

"Oh?" Mutsumi inquired with a raised eyebrow.  "How so?"

"Well, Naru is Keitaro's girlfriend, so it's only natural that she would storm off to check on him when that lil' beepin' device went off.  And Kanako's got it bad for Keitaro when it comes to love, and I don't mean love of the familial kind either.  So between the two of them, it was only natural for them to act the way they did that night."

"What about the other girls?" asked Mutsumi.

"Well," continued Kitsune, "given that Amalla and Tsuruko were with Keitaro in the marketplace during that scuffle, I suppose they wanted to go check on him the moment he recovered, maybe outta a sense of responsibility for him gettin' hurt back there.  And given that he was in Kaolla's room recoverin' up to that point, it makes sense for Kaolla to join in and see how he was doin' the moment he woke up."

"And Motoko?" asked Mutsumi.  "What about her?"

"Well..." Kitsune paused for a moment before choosing her next words.  "Motoko was also with Keitaro at the marketplace, so I suppose she went alongside the others to see how he was doin'.  From what I recall, she looked real concerned about her sister when Tsuruko bolted towards the dorms, so I guess she wanted to make sure her sister was okay as well as Keitaro.  And besides..."

"Yes?" Mutsumi asked, curious to see what Kitsune was getting at.

"Motoko...she's got it bad for Keitaro as well."

"It?" inquired Mutsumi with confusion.

"Love sickness."

"Motoko...is in love with Keitaro?"

"I would bet so," explained Kitsune.  "She tends to hide it pretty well now and then, but I'd wager that she's had strong feelings for the guy for some time now, probably the last few months at least.  I can tell by the way she blushes sometimes whenever she's real close to Keitaro or his name is brought up in conversation.  I hear that she's also thinkin' of enrollin' into Tokyo U, which happens to be the same college that Keitaro has been tryin' to get into.  Quite a coincidence, dontcha think?"

"I suppose you have a point there, Kitsune," replied Mutsumi.  "I honestly just hope Kei-kun is going to be okay with so many women practically throwing themselves at him.  Who knows?  He may very well end up with everyone wanting to be with him at the way things are going."

"E-everyone?" replied Kitsune.  "I don't know about that now, that would be a lotta girls to manage."

"Well, let's go through it then real quick, shall we?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, for starters, Naru is in love with Keitaro, obviously.  There's also Shinobu who has a crush on him, as well as Motoko who seems to harbor strong feelings for him as well, given what you just told me."

"Right," said Kitsune in a sort of ‘Go on, I'm following your logic' tone of voice.

"Then there's Amalla and Kaolla, who both are in love with Keitaro too, especially after hearing it straight from them in the hot springs last night."

"Yeah, so that makes five so far."

"I have a feeling that Nyamo seems drawn to him as well.  I've no solid proof of it, just a woman's intuition on that one."

"Okay, well let's say the girl DOES have feelings for Keitaro.  That still makes six women, which while I would say is certainly a lot, that's not everybody at Hinata."

"Don't forget Kanako as well.  She may be Keitaro's sister - well, adoptive sister anyway - but that hasn't stopped her from loving him as more than a brother."  Kitsune had to admit that Mutsumi had a point there.  Siblings or not, Kanako would always be smitten with Keitaro, no matter what.

"Alright, so that brings us up to seven so far, but seven ain't thirteen," said Kitsune trying to state the obvious.

"Well, I'm not sure yet about Haruka, Tsuruko, Sarah, or Mei at this point.  I don't really know any of them very well and haven't spent time with them closely, so I can't tell as to whether they harbor feelings of love for Keitaro or not.  At the very least, they all seem to be on good terms with him."

"Okay, so leaving them in the ‘maybe' category, that's at least four women who aren't necessarily in love with Keitaro," replied Kitsune.

"Then there's us..." said Mutsumi with a blush, figuring that she would have to bring up the two of them into the equation sooner or later.

"Whoa there, girl," said Kitsune sporting a blush in response, "How do we factor into all of this?"

"Well...I'm pretty sure you know of my feelings for Keitaro, dear Kitsune," replied Mutsumi with a blush and a smile.  "You know that I care deeply about Keitaro, and I always will, no matter what."

Kitsune knew exactly what Mutsumi was getting at.  The woman was one of Keitaro's two ‘promise girls' from their childhood years, alongside Naru; the two little girls who pledged to get into Tokyo U alongside Keitaro so that one of them could marry him and live happily ever after.  Kitsune had gotten to know Mutsumi's character well enough to realize that the Okinawan woman was content to hold an unrequited love for Keitaro, giving up her chance for romance in order for Keitaro and Naru to have their ‘happily ever after' together.  It was a selfless and touching trait which Kitsune deeply respected Mutsumi for, seeing such an act as almost saint-like in its nature.  She knew that if Mutsumi were serious in pursuing a relationship with Keitaro, she could probably get him to fall in love with her and dump Naru in the process.  Yet Mutsumi simply had too big a heart to initiate such an act.  She wanted the man she loved to be happy, and she also wanted the woman she had come to love as a sister to also be happy.  So it was that she put their happiness before her own.

"W-well, I know that you have strong feelings for Keitaro and all, but how do I factor into this?" asked Kitsune.

"It's the little things I've picked up on," replied Mutsumi.  "The way you blush in his presence.  The way you stare at him longingly when you think nobody else is looking.  I saw how you put your finger to his lips when we were in the common room together.  The way you wanted to be of help to him, and especially your tone of voice when you told him so.  I'm pretty sure you have strong feelings for Keitaro; you just don't want to act on them outright, probably for the same reason as me."

"T-the same reason as you?" asked Kitsune, with mild confusion in her voice.

"You don't want to hurt Naru by trying to take Keitaro away from her." Mutsumi elaborated in a calm tone of voice.

Much to Kitsune's surprise, Mutsumi had more-or-less figured out her emotional state regarding Keitaro Urashima.  The Okinawan girl might come off as ditzy sometimes, but she was more astute than she let on.  It was almost frightening in a way how observant she could be at times.

"Well...I...I don't...I mean...I like Keitaro and all, but..." Kitsune was at something of a loss for words, blushing and feeling the need for a shot of sake to calm her nerves.  Mutsumi seemed to catch onto this and decided to press the issue and address things right now.  She cleared the gap of distance between the two of them, her footsteps thundering gently as she walked across Kitsune's room and stood directly in front of her.  A moment later, Mutsumi had wrapped her arms around the small of Kitsune's back, bringing the woman into an embrace and pressing her H-cup breasts against Kitsune's G-cup breasts.  The act caught Kitsune off guard, yet she didn't holler or try to remove herself from Mutsumi's warm, comforting embrace.

"M-Mutsumi," said Kitsune with a startled tone of voice, "what are ya doing?"

"Getting to the bottom of this, dear Kitsune," she replied with inherent calmness in her voice.  "I just want to know one thing right here and now while we're alone:  Are you in love with Keitaro Urashima?"

To say that Kitsune was taken aback by Mutsumi's question would have been an understatement.  The normally fox-eyed girl had her eyes wide open by the abruptness of the question thrown at her, with her face sporting a rather distinct blush at that moment.  It normally wasn't within Mutsumi's nature to be so inquisitive with the others, especially when it came to matters of love and romance.  However, after a moment of deep eye contact between both girls, Kitsune took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then reopened them halfway of their original opened state.

‘No more putting it off, I suppose,' thought Kitsune as she exhaled.

"Yes," replied Kitsune with a straight face and less intense blush on her cheeks.

"Really?" asked Mutsumi with a slight tone of surprise in her voice.

"I am in love with Keitaro," responded Kitsune.  "I've fallen in love with the little goofball, alright?  I can't say exactly when it started, and I doubt he knows how I feel about him, but I've started thinkin' about him more and more over time.  I didn't wanna be open about it, cause he's with Naru now and Naru's my best friend.  How would she feel about me tellin' her that I've got my eye on her man?  How would Keitaro react to me spillin' my heart out to him?  I don't wanna make things weird between us.  I don't wanna ruin the relationship we have by putin' all that out on the guy.  So I decided that I'd snuff out those feelings the best I could, hopin' that they would die out over time and that I'd move on from fallin' in and out of love.  I figured it was for the best in the long run, since I didn't want to hurt Naru by competin' with her for the same fella, okay?"

Mutsumi took it all in, knowing that Kitsune was being dead serious at this point.  After all, it wasn't within the sake-drinking girl to spill her guts in such detail like this.  Such a thing was a rarity, and so Mutsumi would provide her full attention as she listened to Kitsune lay it all out for her to hear.

"Kitsune, thank you for telling me all of that," replied Mutsumi, still holding the girl in her embrace.  "But there's something you should know in light of all of this."

"And what's that?" Kitsune replied back, tearing at the eyes a little and sniffling from opening up her heart to another about her romantic pursuits.

"There's a way for you, me, and everyone else to be happy," Mutsumi said with a smile.

"You can't be serious," Kitsune replied with skepticism.  "You're REALLY thinkin' about Amalla's little plan she was pitchin' in the baths the other night?  Ya wanna form some kinda group marriage or whatever with Keitaro?"

"Is it really such an outrageous proposal?" insisted Mutsumi.  "We already have come to know and love Keitaro over the last few years.  Would things be so different if we all were married to him, or at least his mates and partners for the rest of our lives.  After all, marriage is mainly just the state recognizing the joining of two people together as partners.  While I would certainly love to get married to Keitaro and have a big, beautiful wedding, I'm happy enough just getting to be with him and grow old with him, having children with him and spending as much time with him as I can while I'm on this earth.  And I also wouldn't mind you, Naru, and all the others getting to do the same with him as well, figuring that most if not all of you are in love with him as of now.  Think about it.  We're already one big family as it stands.  The only real difference that would occur would be that Keitaro would be EVERYONE'S lover/husband and not just Naru's, and I like to think that with just a little persuasion, Naru could come around to accepting things that way."

"You REALLY think that Naru would be okay with no longer being Keitaro's exclusive lover?" asked Kitsune.

"Oh, she'd certainly be hesitant.  I don't doubt that at all," replied Mutsumi.  "But over time, if we get her to see that everyone here at Hinata is of a good heart and willing to share as one, then I like to think that Naru will be accepting of a Keitaro-centered harem.  I imagine that Amalla will certainly do her darndest to make that happen, given that she wants to be married to everyone here and not just Keitaro."  Mutsumi finished her explanation with a chuckle, just imagining the idea of her, Amalla, and Keitaro in bed together engaging in numerous three-way sexcapades.

"I...I dunno," replied Kitsune.  "It all sounds a lil' too good to be true.  I mean, even if I were to join in on this harem plan of Amalla's, I have my doubts that everyone who's got the hots for Keitaro is gonna truly be okay with one big, group marriage of sorts.  One fella with two or three women would be one thing, but in this case we're talkin' one fella with as many as thirteen women.  That sounds like a bit much, dontcha think?"

"I don't know," replied Mutsumi with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "I can't help but think of it as a sort of ‘Shangri-La' of sorts - one man in an all-girls flower garden.  The thought of it...kinda makes me a little hot just thinking about it.  And it wouldn't be just Keitaro, mind you.  We'd all have each other to keep company while we waited our turn to have Keitaro to ourselves."  Mutsumi finished with a rosy grin as she looked Kitsune deep into her eyes, letting the fox-eyed girl know just what she was implying.

Mutsumi's implication was clear enough for Kitsune to understand, though it certainly made her eyes go wide and her eyebrows rise up instinctively, such was her surprise at hearing Mutsumi's two cents on the topic.

"M-Mutsumi," replied Kitsune, "you honestly can't be serious about what you're gettin' at.  Are you talkin' about..."

"Yes, indeed, my dear sweet Ki-chan," the Okinawan girl interrupted with a grin.  Her response got a heavy blush upon the fox-eyed girl's cheeks as a reward.

"Mutsumi...are you serious about this?" asked Kitsune.  "You're talkin' about you, me, and ALL the other girls gettin' intimate with each other as well as Keitaro.  I seriously doubt that they would ALL be into that sort of thing.  Amalla sure, and maybe Kaolla and one or two others come to mind, but THIRTEEN women who are willin' to get freaky with one another as well as Keitaro.  That just sounds too good to be true."

"What's wrong, Ki-chan?" responded Mutsumi with a cutesy little pout, "Don't you like me?"

"I never said that."

"Do you think I'm not pretty?"

"O-of course not...you're a knockout in the looks department if ever there was one, especially when it comes to your curves and the ‘heavy artillery' you're packin', so to speak."

"Do you think I'm a bad person at heart then?"  Mutsumi wasn't letting up with her line of questioning.

"N-no, you're as sweet as they come.  You've got this air of maturity and patience about ya that I find admirable.  It's like ya've got this super motherly vibe about ya that calms folks, ya know?  It's one of those features about ya that I admire."  Judging by her tone of voice, Kitsune was wavering in her responses to Mutsumi's line of questioning, which was just what the brown-haired, large-bosomed Okinawan girl was hoping for.

"Hearing you say all of that makes me VERY happy, Ki-chan," replied Mutsumi.  "And just so you know, I think you're very pretty too.  You've got a great figure and pretty big boobs too, though I'm sure you're probably aware of that.  And while you might go a tiny bit overboard with the drinking and partying now and then, I certainly find you both fun to be around and very sweet in how you carry yourself.  I know that you don't want to hurt Naru's feelings and to be there for her as a friend, and frankly, I don't think that being in love with the same person is a betrayal against Naru.  If you, me, Naru, and everyone else are all in an understanding and open relationship with Keitaro and with each other, then I don't believe that there should be any real animosity between one another...aside from a little play-fighting and some occasional jealousy over wanting some one-on-one time with Keitaro maybe.  But other than that, I think we can make it work out between all of us, and like I said earlier, I know that Amalla is going to do everything in her power to make that very outcome happen.  She's the type of woman who once her mind is set on something, it's probably impossible to make her give up on it...and in her case, she wants EVERYONE here - Keitaro and the rest of us as well.  And if I'm being honest, I'm perfectly okay with that outcome."

After hearing all of this, Kitsune was at a loss for words.  Normally, Mutsumi Otohime wasn't one for long speeches and explanations.  But given that the topic was about romantic love and resolving matters of the heart between essentially EVERYONE at Hinata House, the woman apparently decided to lay her cards on the table with her current roommate.  After taking in everything she just heard, Kitsune responded with one simple statement.

"I...I think I need a drink right now," she said as she made her way towards her mini-fridge for another bottle of sake.