Chapter 0 - Introductions

Extra tags: sfw

The sun shone brightly over the city in the late morning. The sun pierced the  A large cathedral in the distance chimed eleven. The sound carried a long way, enough that a residential area half a mile away could hear it, albeit faintly. The neighbourhood was a huge oval with a cross running directly through the centre.

Two figures walked down the outside of the oval. One was a tall man, at 6ft5. Looking at his face, it was clear that he needed a shave, but he had beautiful azure eyes and fluffy dark brown hair. The white wolf symbol emblazoned on the front of his baggy hoodie stood out in contrast to the black of the fabric. Underneath the hoodie, just visible from the lowered zipper, a bright orange shirt could be seen. His tracksuit pants were an equal black, with white lines running up the sides. His figure ended in two black trainers with bright orange laces.

The other was a short girl. Waist-length dark-purple hair covered the right side of her face, which was scarred from burns suffered long along. A single purple eye peeked from the left side. On her head, she wore a black beret tilted to the right side of her face. Lower down, her attire was made up of a long-sleeved dark denim jacket over a light-pink frilly-necked blouse and a pair of long black pants. Black shoes finished the image. She was stepping on tiles, avoiding the gaps filled by dirt.

The girl spoke "K-Keza, what if they-"

"They'll love you, Hanako." The man told her.

"How d-do you know that?"

"They know that if I love you, there's a very good reason for it. Not just anyone gets into the house, you know."

"L-let me remind myself." Hanako told him "You l-live with 4 other w-women and a feminine man, and y-you love all of them? Equally?"

"Yes." He confirmed.

"And n-now you'd like t-to include me as one of th-those women?"

"Yes." Keza thought he detected fear in her tone "You can still back out if you want."

"N-no. I know I love you too..." She answered "I'm just wo-worried you won't love me as m-much when I'm alongside them..."

"I could never do that to you. Not ever." Keza answered. "Here we are."

The house was a regular two-story nearly at the corner of the street. A bright orange car sat in a driveway in front of a huge window jutted outwards in a curve. A dark green door was placed to the right of it. Two windows sat on the second floor. One was mosaic patterned, the other smooth. A final window was placed in the roof, slanted to match it.

Keza led Hanako inside. A staircase covered in green carpet led upstairs, but there was otherwise nothing noteworthy aside from the many pictures along the staircase wall. Keza pushed open the door to the left and Hanako timidly followed. 

The living room was large. A large TV sat in the corner on a table, with a games console and a large set of games underneath it. Two black sofas with white spots and two grey swivel chairs dotted the room, most of which were occupied. An arctic nature documentary was on the TV.

"Welcome back, Keza!" Two of the girls called to him in unison.

Keza smirked "I see that Curie won the RPS contest for once. Much as I hate to deprive her of her first love, I need your full attentions." The girls all turned towards him, the TV volume becoming silent. "I'd like you to meet a new addition to our family here." Keza stepped to the side and Hanako walked into view. "This is Hanako Ikezawa. She's from Yamaku Academy. Now, I know you'll all be excited over our newest member, but she's very shy. So, I want you to introduce yourself one by one, and leave it there. You can get friendlier as time goes on. Is that all clear?"

All of them nodded in answer. The elf cleared her throat. "I'll start: it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ikezawa. I am Alexandra Arvernus." Alexandra's long blonde hair carried a definite tint of orange. Two pointed ears stuck outwards, a golden hoop dangling from each. Her light green eyes gleamed slightly, contrasting her crimson lipstick. She wore a dark-blue nightrobe that fit her curvaceous form well.

"Bonjour, Miss Ikezawa. I am Curie." Curie had short black hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a long dark-blue dress with little white dots all over, giving it the impression of a small galaxy. A pair of black heels rested next to her feet.

"Hey! I'm Emily, and I'm from Stardew Valley." Emily had blue hair and eyes that blended surprisingly well with the bright red from both her lipstick and ankle-length dress. A pair of dark blue boots covered her feet.

"I am Elena. It is very nice to meet you!" Elena's hair was styled like Curie's, but it was a platinum blonde colour that stood out against her light brown skin. She wore very little compared to the others: merely a white two-piece bikini-like outfit. However, she also wore many multicoloured bands on her neck, arms, wrists, shins, and ankles.

"H-hello. I'm Bela Imari." Bela was a feline, and it was almost hard to tell that he was male. He had a pretty face and a slender torso, but wide hips and shapely legs from there on. He wore a frilly light-blue dress that reached halfway down his thighs with a floral pattern and a pink bowtie. A pair of light blue trapeze boots completed the look.

"It's v-very nice to meet you all..." Hanako told them, managing a small smile. 

She began to go from person to person, giving a handshake. Bela answered it with a smile of his own. Elena seemed to want to pull her in for a hug, but contented herself with a grip of the shoulder instead. Emily clasped Hanako's hand with both of hers, lightly running her fingers over Hanako's knuckles. Curie smiled and slightly bowed her head. 

Alexandra smiled slightly as she shook hands with Hanako "I understand the nervousness, but you've got nothing to fear from us. Keza loves you, and I know we'll come to love you too."

"Ah, fu-" Keza's hand met his forehead with an audible slap. "Sorry Hanako. I forgot Alexandra has an empathic touch." 

"What does th-that mean?" Hanako asked, worried.

"She can sense your feelings by touching you." Bela answered.

Alexandra let go of Hanako's hand. "Yes. And I can sense a lot of... well, you already know. I'm sorry."

"Please don't..." Hanako asked, sounding slightly scared. "Don't be sorry. I don't like it when..." There was a slight pause while Hanako tried to pick her words. "...when I'm being pitied..."

"I understand. I promise not to think of you that way." Alexandra bowed her head slightly.

"That might be harder than it sounds for her, Hanako." Keza told her "Alexandra is like Lilly-she's motherly by her very nature. Just tell her if she's making you uncomfortable."

The elf spoke up again. "If I may ask something, Hanako?"

"S-sure."

"Could you come sit on my lap?" she beckoned slightly.

Hanako hesitated. "W-what?"

"You're long overdue for some physical affection, sweetie. Ten years overdue."

"You can trust her, Hanako." Keza told her, before Hanako could refuse outright "She's good at comforting us when we need it. I know you're not good with others, especially strangers, but I swear on my good health that she just wants you to feel loved. This is the best way to do it, in her mind. Although Alexandra, you could have phrased that much better than you did."

Hanako thought this over for a while. Alexandra opened her mouth to speak at some point, but a gesture from Keza stopped her. The other girls and Bela had turned their attention towards the now-unmuted TV, mostly out of respect for Hanako's privacy. There was a long silence, broken only by the voice of the announcer. 

Finally, Hanako spoke "...Can you p-promise me you won't d-do anything... without asking me f-first?"

Alexandra made a cross over the right side of her chest with a finger, not taking her eyes off Hanako. The short girl slowly made her way over to the elf. She placed a hand on the sofa arm beside her and turned herself around, setting herself on Alexandra's thighs. Hanako leaned back and her head contacted with the elf's chest. With the nightrobe covering them, her breasts felt very much like fleshy pillows.

Keza took the empty seat on the sofa next to Alexandra and Hanako. He thought he saw Hanako smiling slightly, but couldn't be sure as her head was turned downwards. Her left hand was folded over her right to hide her scars, though she didn't need to. Old habits, Keza supposed.

After a minute or so, Alexandra spoke again, much quieter "Hanako, do you mind if I brush your hair?"

"I-I guess not..." At Hanako's answer, Keza handed Alexandra the hairbrush from the table by the sofa's side. Hanako leaned forwards and the elf began to slowly brush the student's hair, down to the very end at her waist. Hanako sighed in answer, looking like she enjoyed it.

Keza wondered for a moment how long it had been since she'd felt a mother's love. He also breathed a very slight sigh of relief. Introducing Hanako had gone much better than he'd predicted. Now there was a new member of his house, and he got the feeling things were only going to get better from here on.