"So... do you like being an Animalian?" Venus asked to Tsukiko Usagi.
The Earth Day concert was fun, though with the big event for Animalia being at the Japanese colonies this year, she had to be grateful that the people in Japan had a strong enough education that they were good with more than just their own language. As her Japanese was fairly weak with only a handful of words that shew knew, and her ability to catch things like grammatical shifts, slang, and other related things in Japanese was even weaker. So, Tsukiko's answers in English were very helpful.
"I love it!" the pink furred and green haired Rabbit Animalian said with a broad smile, "it's actually brought me closer to my grandkids... That's actually where some of this started."
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The music was peppy and energetic, and an elderly Tsukiko was happy to rest on a coach while two five-year-old girls hopped up and down trying to sing to the music being played on the CD player. The music wasn't exactly what Tsukiko had grown up with, but it was peppy, and in some ways she liked peppy. People generally felt that the seventy-year-old woman should be focused on more traditional music, or at least old jazz or rock music. Music that wasn't written like it was generating energetic sports cheerleaders.
"I'm sorry if these two wore you out, mom," said the man that stood near the doorway, observing the two girls bounce up and down while Tsukiko could only sit and watch from the couch. The Japanese was excellent, which Tsukiko expected from her son, but he also sounded needlessly worried and pained, which Tsukiko had also expected. He'd worried over her ever since her husband died. "They didn't make you run around too much, did they?"
"I'm not worn out," Tsukiko answered, "and they're smiling... which makes me happy. It makes me remember when you were little."
The man looked down with an embarrassed look on his face, "you were younger then, mom. And... I... I don't want to lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere," Tsukiko answered, "not when I have a son who has two wonderful daughters..."
"Who you can't run after," her son said weakly and almost mournfully.
"Just seeing them smile and dance to the music is good enough for me," Tsukiko answered.
"You could be an Animalian," one of the girls commented, "they say you get younger when you become one."
"Oh, a bunny, gramma, you could be a cute bunny," the other agreed, "and grandma's apartment here allows pets, so they'd let an Animalian for sure."
Tsukiko chuckled a little bit at that. There were a great many apartments that didn't allow for pet ownership, because of allergy issues and the requirements that also came with pet ownership. However, the superintendent for Tsukiko's building did allow for pets, though pet owners had to follow some hygiene requirements and use the outdoor park that was across the street at least once a day. When she raised her son, she and her husband had a small dog that was the light of the family's life, and she had fond memories of her son playing with the dog after school and on holidays. However, shortly after her son began high school, the beloved pet got sick and could never recover, with the vets thinking it had been some form of cancer. While the dog had never been her pet, the dog's death had deeply saddened Tsukiko as the memories of seeing the dog play with her son ran through her mind. That was partially why she had no pets now. Though, the thought of being a Rabbit Animalian seemed interesting, as rabbits were different from dogs.
"And was the interest in a rabbit?" Tsukiko asked to the girls who paused in their dancing.
"There's a little shop called "bunny burrow" between your apartment and dad's," the first said, "dad's apartment doesn't allow pets..."
"And we get to play with the bunnies there," the second agreed with a smile, "they're so cute with their floppy ears and all that."
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"So, you became a Rabbit Animalian because of your grandchildren's suggestion?" Ariel asked.
"Yes... and it was fun," Tsukiko admitted, "though, I'm afraid my breed isn't anything too fancy... And I think the Horizon people that handled my conversion said it was a generic white Domestic Rabbit. Which created a very nice form... but not quite something that would fit with J Pop... and since I knew I'd get my youth back and knowing some of the songs and anime themes my granddaughters liked, I also saw that as something else to work on."
Tsukiko said with a smile and hoped into the air before landing with a loud "thud" on the floor and in some magical girl pose, though a different pose from the one used earlier. Hatsane rolled her eyes a bit at the theatrics but also expected it to be part of Tsukiko dealing with RHS. However, it also served as an alert and the sound of footsteps soon followed. Two five-year-old Japanese girls then ran in through the door each with the head of a pink and green rabbit on their cheeks done in face paint.
"For I could dye my fur and my hair easy, and be the star for my granddaughters," Tsukiko said with a smile and lifted both young girls up, one in each arm and then nuzzled her Lapine nose to the cheek of each and earning delighted squeals from both of them. Their hands soon reached up to play with Tsukiko's ears. "Their father is a bit worried about my renewed energy... and the prospect of finding a boy bunny that might be looking for a beautiful lady... but I still love him and my granddaughters, and it's THEY who I sing for..."
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"Mother!" her son gasped in shock and holding his hands over his daughters' eyes as Tsukiko posed in a pair of shorts and a shirt that was clinging far tighter to her new curves than had been expected.
The Horizon office in Tokyo, and which Dr. Miyamoto managed wasn't as big as their main offices in Lyre/Animalia. Some of it related the original plans for an Animalian colony in Tokyo. The initial plan was for a specialized apartment complex being built that would be built to house at least Animalians based on modern megafauna in Tokyo. With the city's population and the intention not to destroy the parks and not having the open space to build a new building. Thus, moving people to build a complex that would safely house Animalians and not lose space for those not wanting to convert remained time consuming. Some progress was being made on offering ways to move people and arrange for the massive construction process, though, presently many of the international trade tensions also had Japan stalling that project because of all the trickle-down effects of a global trade war. But since Tsukiko's apartment did allow for pets and rabbits weren't large enough to require a structural redesign, Tsukiko wouldn't have to move full time to Heiya Island or any of the other island colonies. And this clinic could handle her vaccinations.
"What? Matt..." Tsukiko smiled to her son, Yamato, "Don't you think I look good now? Young and healthy? And all sorts of energy! You can't complain about my health anymore."
"Mother..." Yamato answered, "it's not about your health... It's that you're dancing around in clothing that is far too tight in front of your granddaughters. If I'd done that in front of you... you or dad would have grounded me."
"That was different," Tsukiko answered.
"It's also a bit more my fault," Dr. Miyamoto spoke from the background, "your mother's conversion went well... but she's also a bit... bigger than what we expected from a Rabbit Animalian. Thankfully, everything IS covered, and she won't bounce out of anything."
"And it's just shorts and a shirt," Tsukiko then added, "nothing skimpy... though, that might help attract a boy bunny..."
"I don't need to hear that... your granddaughters don't need to hear that!" Yamato gasped.
"There are boy bunnies?" one of the two girls asked.
"There are male Rabbit Animalians, yes," Dr. Miyamoto answered them, "though, courtship among Animalians can be very similar to courtship among Humans, so it isn't something that just goes with the flip of a switch. And they will also likely agree with your father that at your age, that exposing you to such flirtation wouldn't be proper."
"That's only because he doesn't want to share the stories on what he wears to impress their mother," Tsukiko giggled.
The two young girls then looked up to their father, which freed their eyes from his hands. They could also see a heavy blush in their father's cheeks and his eyes looking wider than normal. It also gave them a look at Tsukiko in her Animalian form. Her hips and bust were noticeably bigger and the shirt and shorts she was presently wearing was tight enough that the growth in her physical measurements hard to miss. Her hair was long and flowing, and presently back to its original black, which contrasted with her snow-white fur. Her ears weren't super long, but they did stand erect on her head as she gave a toothy grin that let them see her enlarged incisors. Neither girl really understood why their father seemed so flustered. Everyone knew the Animalians to be big and exciting.
"Kari and Yumi weren't born then!" Yamato said back with his cheeks still flushed with a blush.
"You never know what happens... when the jade comes to get you... when you have your love shown... and you can't hide your smile's trappings!" Tsukiko actually sang in a bright and peppy tone that Kari and Yumi both caught onto.
"That was great... like a Pop star!" Kari said to Tsukiko.
"You sing great, grandma!" Yumi added.
"And more than just lullabies," Tsukiko answered.
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"I think I've heard the band that used those lines," Hatsane said slowly, "or at least heard it after getting into it."
"It's from our favorite, gramma knows all their songs!" Yumi smiled.
"Jade..." Sera said slowly, "was that part of what got you to dye your hair green?"
"And my fur pink," Tsukiko nodded, "it made for an attractive quirk and a fair number of people came to see me get started just for that advertisement. My son's advertising firm even helped with that. He may not be ready for me to be young again, but he's still a good boy. And these two know that when grandma finds someone that may be their new grandpa, that there will be things they can't be around for. Until then... I'm happy to sing and have my songs relate to the love for my family and all the joy that comes with it."
There were some nods and acceptance of that, though, there was also some thought that some of what drew many fans to Animalians getting into the musical profession was the hope that the Animalian would have a wardrobe malfunction, like the one Rabbit Animalian did in the Year of the Rabbit contest.