More Hot Springs Episode

Kyle’s legs gave out from under him as he began to convulse. Whatever foul liquid Meredith had injected him was coursing through his veins and fast.

He felt his limbs grow shorter and his clothes start to fit wrong, getting tighter in the chest and hips. Brown hair began to lengthen and fly everywhere as Kyle rolled around on the ground, the grunts of pain rising in pitch.

Kyle also hear a sucking sound from below the waist, his imagination running wild on what was happening. As the pace of the changes slowed, Kyle gasped for breath on the ground. With a voice unmistakably female they said, “What the heck, Meredith?!”

“I think you’re more of a Kylie right now,” Meredith surmised. She was taking out a measuring tape and measuring Kylie’s new sizes. “You’ve got a bigger bust than I would have expected.”

Kylie couldn’t believe this. “What am I supposed to do looking like this?!”

“Several things…” Meredith teased. “But I think there’s one that everyone would appreciate.”

-----

This was so embarrassing. Not even the Office Kylie – now in a blue bikini – or the Peasant Kylie – in a matching one-piece with hair blocking one of her eyes – had anything they could say as Kylie was escorted with only a small towel to protect herself.

Meredith grinned as she brought Kylie out into the hot spring, much to the confusion of everyone present. “Ladies, may I introduce Kylie Wheatsman.” She winked at Kylie before jumping into the hot springs water blow, her towel flying into the air once she cannonballed in.

Everyone else continued to stare before Fiona developed a nosebleed so intense it nearly rocketed her head into the rocks behind her.

Abagail looked her up and down, before looking to Meredith. “…This isn’t permanent, right?”

“No! I would never make that mistake twice…”

“Good. Because that would make this really hard to appreciate.” Abagail gave Kylie a healthy thumbs up.

Kari remained quiet, but it was hard to tell from where Kylie was standing if her blush was from the heat or something else.

“Come on in.” Meredith pat the water. “No one’s going to bite – unless you want them to.”

Kylie carefully moved her towel to block anyone from getting too good of a look at her form as she quickly slid into the hot spring. She quickly dipped back above the water, sighing. “…Ok. Maybe this was worth the trouble.”

----

Apart from the gender swap, Kylie was enjoying her time in the hot spring with the ladies. Other than the initial reaction, everyone seemed very comfortable with having her there. No one was keeping their distance, they were treating her like one of the girls.

They were even kind enough to help give her a massage, though everyone was arguing over who got to go first before they let Abagail have the honors.

“Oh goooooooood,” Kylie moaned. “That’s the spot. My shoulders are so tense.”

Abagail had to exercise more than a little self-control.

“You know,” Meredith pointed out, “we never learned much about your old life.”

Kari agreed. “You did not ever disclose its existence to us until Meredith arrived. If it was a matter of shame…”

"Would you have believed me if I told you?” asked Kylie. The silence was deafening. “See?”

“Would you be willing to tell us? What was it like?”

Kylie shrugged, biting her lip as Abagail got in a deeper massage. “In a word: Disappointing.”

----

Office Kyle stepped out of the subway car, trying to shake loose the newspaper that had stuck itself to her shoe.

He loosened the blue striped tie around her neck and popped open the top collar button as he made her way out of the station without even looking. It was a trip he’d done a thousand times; the thousand and first didn’t offer anything new.

It was nine o’clock in the morning sharp when he sat down at his cubicle and logged into the computer. He carefully placed a plastic bag full of today’s lunch next to the keyboard – half a ham and cheese sandwich and the cheapest instant ramen cup she could find – and chugged a bottle of caffeinated soda before settling in to work.

-----

Everything felt the same. The small talk with coworkers. The too-tight dress code that required business attire for a job where formality didn't matter. The bags under his eyes. The two-day old stubble on his face. The bosses making unreasonable requests not understanding the amount of work it would take. Taking it without a fight.

Lunch was the only reprieve Kylie got from the day’s monotony. He pulled out the latest volume of the manga he was reading and picked up where he left off. Isekai provided a welcome distraction from his soft little life.

It was fun to imagine what he’d do with such an opportunity. To be the hero with such grand powers!

But this was the real world, and he was just Office Kyle. And when lunch break was over, he knew all he had to look forward was his tiny little apartment and some reheated lasagna.

-----

Kari had taken over massaging Kylie’s back, her soft hands doing wonders for Kylie’s nerves. “It’s why I was so excited when I found out I’d been isekai’d,” she told everyone. “I thought I was going to get all this cool overpowered nonsense. And I’ve had some of that. But when I found out I was a peasant, I was disappointed that I thought my second life was going to be just like my first one. That I’d be some meek little thing that didn't matter again."

Fiona asked, “Are you still disappointed?”

Kylie turned to look at the four women with her in the hot spring. A witch, an elvish princess, an oni, and a… a…. a whatever Meredith was.

Office Kylie shrugged. “You know, we’ve hit a lot of genre fare that we didn’t expect. Are hot springs episodes normal for an isekai? I feel like they are when they're matched with something else but I can't put my finger on it.”

Peasant Kylie didn’t care and made sure Office Kylie knew it. “I just want to savor this moment while I can.”

Real Kylie smiled. “No. I think I’m happy with the life I’ve got now.”

And she was ready to defend it with everything she had.