Akari and Preitha woke up, exhausted and bruised from the previous night's events. They walked into the bathroom and examined themselves in the mirror.
"It really is so different," Akari said, running her hands down towards her legs.
"It is..."Preitha replied. "My mother always hoped I would get curves....not sure how she'd feel about this."
Akari put her hand on Preitha's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll love you as much as I do. Well almost."
The two attempted to find clothing to put on and came to a quick realization.
"Uh Akari, you weren't kidding." Preitha said. "None of my dresses fit me anymore." She was a size 4 before the transformation; by her estimation, she had become at least a 12.
"My baggy t-shirts feel like they're choking me," Akari said, walking wearing a white tee skintight against herself.
"Do you have anything we could wear temporarily?" Preitha asked.
Akari ran to her closet, and found a chest full of some of her father's old clothing. For some reason, he had just left it at his apartment. She didn't miss him per se, but found it odd he hadn't attempted to contact her in the last two months. "It's not pretty, but it's gonna have to do for now." Akari said tossing her a men's dress shirt and pants.
After a couple of minutes, they got dressed. "I look ridiculous." Preitha said. "No, you look sexy," Akari said as she inexplicably slapped Preitha's ass. "Where did that come from?" Preitha replied, amused. Akari shrugged.
"TO THE MALL!" Preitha said out loud.
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They walked into the Myrtle Megaplex, unsure where to go next. "Where do you usually go for your dresses and skirts?" Akari asked. "It's on the second level." Preitha replied. As they walked further in, they noticed a new sign.
"Jagged Fist, The one stop clothing shop for those who wish to rock out"
Akari suddenly felt herself get giddy with excitment. "Pree, let's do it!"
Preitha was apprehensive. "I've never worn that kind of clothing before."
"We're 21, why not try something new?" Akari responded "Besides, we can't go really into that punk bar looking lame, can we?"
Akari and Preitha rode the escalator up to the Jagged Fist. Dimly lit, they were approached by a store employee as soon as they walked in, a girl maybe a year older than them with a bleached buzzcut. "Hi, how can I help you two?"
"We were, uh..." Akari trailed off.
"We want to look like sexy rockers," Preitha countered. "Just crazy cool."
The girl smiled. "That shouldn't be difficult. Everything you're looking for should be in the back,"
Akari and Preitha headed towards the back of the store. They saw countless racks of clothing filled with everything you could think of for a rock show. Band t-shirts. Jackets, Fishnets. Preitha's eyes lit up when she saw one section in jacket. "Leather" she squealed. She ran over to the racks and grabbed an entire handful of things before running off to the changing room. Akari was a little more tentative, going through several different racks before she found an outfit she liked.
After a few minutes, the two walked out of the dressing rooms. Preitha had found a black crop leather jacket, which she wore over nothing but a bra. She paired it with tight black leather booty shorts, and long black leather boots. Akari walked out wearing a see-through red mesh top, paired with a bra underneath, a very short black skirt, fishnet stockings, and black platform boots.
"Oh my god Pree!!" Akari said stunned. "You look amazing."
"Kari, you're not wearing a bag over your chest," Preitha laughed. "Finally showing that body of yours."
They rummaged around the store for another 30 minutes, picking out outfits for the next week. They paid for their clothing and walked out. Finding another mirror, they spent a couple of minutes looking at themselves in the mirror before Preitha frowned.
"What's wrong Pree?" Akari asked.
"Something feels off." Preitha said. "It feels like we have to do something else."
Akari started twirling her hair, when it suddenly hit her. "Our hair!" she yelled,
"Oh my god, that's it." Preitha interjected. "We can't be punks with long, black hair."
They ran to the mall's salon, Q Beauty, which said "Free Hair and Makeup Transformation Today!" on sign outside. As they walked in, the owner of the salon asked if they would be interested. "YES," they said together in a squeal. The owner specified one condition; they would allow anything to be done to their hair.
"Absolutely," Akari agreed. "Just one thing. Make us look punk rock."
Akari and Preitha were sat next to each other in the salon. Looking at themselves in the mirrors before they were covered, they held each other's hands. "To whatever's next" Preitha said. "To whatever's next" Akari agreed. The two felt their hair be put into long ponytails. In a matter of moments, they suddenly felt their hair being cut. Soon, several inches fell to the floor. Preitha looked at the pile of hair next to her and began to hyperventilate. "Pree, it's okay" Akari held her hand again. "We've got this."
The next few hours became a blur. Akari and Preitha were blindfolded, prevented from seeing each other. Both felt more of their hair cut off, followed by a burning sensation which they interpreted to be bleach. "Oh man, this sucks." Akari whined. They sat patiently as goops of liquid and foils were put in their hair. Following a trip under a dryer, they felt their hair get washed again and styled.
The blindfolds were taken off and what seemed like pounds of makeup were put on their face. Preitha stuck to mascara, while Akari had never worn makeup in her life. After what seemed to be like an eternity, Akari and Preitha were told to stand up and close their eyes. As they staggered towards each other, they were told to stop.
"Okay. Now open" the owner said. Akari and Preitha did so and gasped.
Akari now had short, slicked back teal hair that stopped just below her ear. She wore purple eyeshadow, thick black eyeliner, paired with light blush and blood red lipstick. Preitha now had a bright pink pixie cut with bangs that hung over her face. Her face was adorned with red eyeshadow, black eyeliner, brown blush, and dark purple lipstick.
"Oh my fucking god 'Kari!" Preitha said. "We look so fucking hot."
Akari stood there, before exclaiming "We are ready to fucking rock,", sticking her tongue out.
The two gave their thanks to the salon owner, grabbed their stuff, and went to their car.
As they were driving, they couldn't help but look at each other.
"21 feels so good," Preitha said. "I'm not my mommy's special Indian princess anymore."
"I'm not my father's miserable failure anymore." Akari replied.
"We're fucking badasses 'Kari"
"I think tonight, we show Hawkspite just how badass we are!"
The two continued to beam over their new looks. Preitha, in the driver's seat, felt a sharp pain in her mouth. When the two pulled over at a gas station, Preitha pulled out a pocket mirror and examined closer. Inexplicably, one of her back teeth had sharpened into what looked like a fang?
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Mr. Chesterton sat in his apartment, pouring through some more papers. His plan had worked to perfection. Akari and Preitha were already preoccupied as horny 18-year-olds. They would be infinitely more preoccupied as even hornier 21-year-olds with money. Of course, Chesterton thought, they're gonna have some other things to be worried about soon enough. That concoction wasn't all sugar and spice.
More importantly, he believed he had found a lead on who Hiraku Kagawa's generous deity was. He wasn't sure, but if his hunch was right, this deity was very old, very powerful, and very spiteful.
"Inanna," he said in a whisper.