When Aya calmed down enough to understand the situation, she was ecstatic. She planted a big kiss on Jiro’s cheek and didn’t even complain when he sneezed all over her. And while she didn’t forgive Umiko for sinking her boat, she decided not to press the subject.

“I’m sailing home right now.”

“Right now? It’s dark out.”

“I want to show the Hinomaru father as soon as possible,” she said. “Knowing my old man, he’ll probably break down into tears. Want to come with?”

Jiro shook his head. “I have to tell Kaori and Yui about what happened.” Plus, he didn’t exactly relish explaining to the crazy man what kind of games he had been playing with his daughter.

“Alright … Don’t miss me too much, Jiro.” Aya blew a kiss from the docks. “Come find me after you get back to Koko Town. If it’s with you, we can play ‘flip my skirt’ anytime.” Then with a wink and a wave, she unmoored her ship and headed off into the dark.

Which left Jiro alone with Umiko.

The giantess scratched her head. “Umiko sorry,” she said sheepishly. “Umiko go somewhere far away. Where Umiko no hurt human.”

Jiro smiled despite himself. He was growing to like the yokai’s stuttered speech. “You don’t have to do that, Umiko. You can come to our bathhouse in Koko Town anytime. Right now, we don’t have a bath your size … but I promise we’ll figure something out. I have a feeling we’ll be getting a large loan from a rich lizard woman very soon.”

“Jiro promise?”

“I promise.”

Umiko swept Jiro up into a giantess hug and buried him in massive breasts. At human size, she would have been a G cup at least. At giantess size, it was more like 100G. She smelled faintly of sweat and oil. Jiro resisted the urge to blow raspberries into her tits and instead pushed the massive mounds away.

“I’m sorry Umiko. I want to talk more, but I have to find my friends.”

It was only after Umiko had plunged into the sea that Jiro realized what he had said. He had called Kaori and Yui his friends, not his employees. And he had done so on instinct, not from calculation. He scratched his head and looked up at the night sky. Here in Japan, it was starting to feel like things might turn out ok.

Jiro got lost several times in the unfamiliar city, and when he finally found his way back to the restaurant where Kaori had parked their car that morning, the shop lights were dark and the shutters were down. He found Kaori waiting on the steps with her arms crossed. Her hair was wet and she was dressed again in a traditional Japanese yukata.

“Jiro, where the hell have you been?!” Kaori said. “When I said to meet back here in the evening, I didn’t mean half past midnight! I thought something happened to you! And where’s Aya?”

“Sorry Kaori … It’s a long story …”

“Well tell me as we walk. I left Yui all alone in the guesthouse.” She walked past him with a swish of wavy hair. He caught the scent of lavender and shampoo.

As Kaori led Jiro through the dark streets, he filled her in on what had happened. With the fishing problem solved, Sheena would be willing to give them a loan to repair the bathhouse. Yet, Kaori did not seem happy to hear the news.

“What’s wrong Kaori?” Jiro asked. “Aren’t you happy for the bathhouse?”

Kaori frowned. “Yes, but …”

“But …”

“Something is weird about this whole thing. What happened to Yui on the cliff. And then this giantess yokai you mentioned.”

“You think something more is going on?”

“I don’t know. But I’ve been around spirits and kaiju and yokai all my life. They can be aggressive or stupid, but rarely are they so intent on harming humans.” She shrugged. “But maybe it’s just my imagination. A freak incident. Come on, the guesthouse is this way.”

Kaori led Jiro into a traditional building. It was clearly several decades old, Jiro could tell that even in the dark, but the inside was well-kept and fashionably furnished. The hallways were lit with red paper lanterns that cast beautiful shadow patterns on the walls.

“Pretty nice, huh?” whispered Kaori, putting a hand on Jiro’s shoulder. “It’s giving me some ideas for how to furnish the bathhouse when we get back … With the boss’s permission of course.”

Jiro swallowed. Kaori sure was good at getting a man to do what she wanted. It was like she could read the manual for manipulating him right off his face.

“Shhh,” said Kaori with a finger to her lips. “The owners are asleep already. Our room is upstairs. Try not to wake anyone.”

“Our room?”

“Of course. Do you think we could afford more than one?”

Jiro gulped. He suddenly remembered that Kaori and Yui liked to sleep naked. And, after the incident on the cliff, who knew what kind of terrible and erotic thing could happen?

“Here’s the room,” whispered Kaori, stopping before a sliding door. “Try not to wake Yui.”

They slid the door open quietly and tiptoed inside. The curtains were open, and enough moonlight filtered in to show the three futons laid out on the floor. All three of them were empty.

“Where’s Yui?” whispered Jiro. He had expected to see her naked body sleeping there, and now he felt shortchanged.

“Hmm,” whispered Kaori. “That’s strange. She was sleeping there when I left. Could you turn on the lights? They’re by the closet over there.”

Jiro stepped cautiously over, careful not to trip on any bags or furniture in the dim light, and flipped the switch. The electric lights flickered briefly and lit up.

Yui dropped down from the ceiling. She landed on Jiro’s shoulders, knocking him to the floor. She was completely naked. Her irises were jet-black, and her hair floated around her head, defying gravity. Immediately, she mounted him and wrapped her legs around his neck and arm like a vice. Jiro spluttered and tried to resist. It was no use. Yui was too strong. He could feel her naked thigh pressing his shoulder into his jugular vein, cutting off the blood flow. Her hairless mound pushed up against his chin.

“ARGHH! She’s possessed again!”

“Relax Jiro! She won’t kill you right away. And be quiet or you’ll wake everyone up!”

“I c-can’t breathe!”

“Hold on. Let me find a good angle to kiss her …”

“Just save me already ... rnarngh … mmphhfh ... ACHOO!”

“Be quiet!!”