Dina Grey was a short tough-looking woman. She also looked utterly exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally.
Still, she carried as big a smile as she could manage as she shook hands with Caramel.
"Caramel?" She looked delighted at the name. "I thought that was just the name of your business. It's a sweet name…"
Caramel gave a polite laugh at the joke. "Thank you. I originally called the store something else, but recently we started to expand, and my business partner thought Caramel was a great name for it."
'I agree. It's got a nice sound to it." She turned to me, sticking her hand out. 'Is this your business partner?"
"Bexley," I said. "My name is Bexley Finch. I'm just an investor, mostly."
"Don't sell yourself short," Caramel said. "A lot of what I'm doing now is his idea. We're trying to use the Internet to expand our reach a bit more. And define our new brand in a way younger people can relate to."
"Sensible," Dina said. "I tried, but I don't think I was very good at the whole Internet thing."
"I was hoping we could help each other on that," Caramel said. "When Bexley suggested we partner with a fashion company, we wanted someone who had potential to break out. And I wanted someone local and more real. I don't trust those big companies full of faceless people."
"I'm not sure what to say," Dina said. She had a coffee in front of her. She picked it up and sipped, gathering her thoughts.
We were in Dina's office. It had been cleaned in the morning and the whole room smelled of a mix of citrus and cedar scents mixed with coffee.
The three of us were seated around a small table Shadowpaw had acquired. The seats were plush, I thought. Shadowpaw had really built a taste for more expensive items lately.
"You do most of the designs yourself?" I asked.
"Yes," she admitted awkwardly. "I didn't really want to have a store, growing up. I wanted mostly to just design clothes. I love that part of the business. Everything else, though… It takes a lot of time."
I nodded. "Ever thought of just handing the store off to other people and dedicating yourself solely to design?"
"All the time," she said with a near-frantic burst of laughter. "But the bills need paying, right? You know how it is."
"I do," Caramel said, reaching out to touch Dina's hand in sympathy. The gesture seemed to work to relax the woman's shoulders. "I did the same here. I opened it thinking I could do what I loved most and just make great pieces. In the end, I spent too much time behind the counter and had to rush everything. Or order in premade pieces."
"It's the worst," Dina agreed. "I want to do more. But there's not enough money coming in. It's why I agreed to see you. It'd be nice to get some attention. For both of us, I imagine?"
As the two chatted about how hard it was to run a business in the fashion industry, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her life looked hard. According to Shadowpaw, she'd never had time to even think about dating.
Or having a family.
She'd thrown herself into work after leaving college, and had never paused to breathe.
Now, halfway to forty, she was beginning to fray.
How long before she had a breakdown?
A year?
A month?
I listened as Caramel outlined our goals, hinting at our plans to create a new bold image. Dina seemed open to joining forces but was guarded in her enthusiasm for it. She was afraid we were going to take advantage of her.
That was understandable. She was a small fish. So were we. And small fish only got to be big fish by eating other small fish.
Finally, I thought I'd heard enough. Dina had pretty much confirmed everything Shadowpaw had said about her supply chain.
I leaned forward, catching her eyes.
"It's okay," I said, speaking to her fear. "Everything is going to be okay from now on. I promise. You won't ever struggle again."
"Oh?" She looked at Caramel, who was beaming at her. Her fingers twitched nervously.
She obviously thought I was weird. But I needed her to know. I needed her to understand why.
Why I was going to do what I had to.
"Your skills will improve in ways you won't believe. I've already checked," I told her. "And there's some really awesome fashion-related skills we can open up for you."
"Umm… Okay…"
"And not only will you be helping yourself, but you'll also be part of something which will change this world forever. And I mean that, Mina." I smiled at her, proud of what she was going to achieve.
"Sorry," she said. "My name's Dina."
I nodded. "Not anymore."
"What?"
'Transform to Neko."
When I opened my eyes again, we were in the Workshop.
Mina stood in the little screen in front of me. Still dressed in the neat, but old, business suit she'd been wearing. It was grey, like her last name had been.
"Grey is such a boring colour for you," I told her.
She started, unable to see me from where she was. "Who are you? What have you done to me?"
"You're inside the Neko Customization Workshop," I told her, pleased to see she wasn't screaming or demanding. "This is where we'll adjust your appearance before finishing the Transformation."
"Transformation?" Her eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
"I chose you, Mina, to be a Neko."
She froze. "Neko? What is that?"
"You might know it as a catgirl."
"Don't be ridiculous!" She scoffed. "There's no such thing."
"You were talking to one."
"What? Caramel?"
"Yes."
"She… She's a catgirl?"
"Yes."
"She doesn't look like a cat."
"She was wearing a wig."
"A wig?"
"To hide her ears."
Mina let out a choked laugh. "Hide her ears?" She looked around, but I know that all she saw was darkness in all directions. "You put something into my drink, didn't you?"
"No. Do you like cats, Mina?"
"Dina."
"As I said. Not anymore. Your name is Mina. I like it. You look like a Mina."
"You're insane."
"Most likely." I opened up the breed selection. "What kind of cats do you like? Siamese? Burmese? Tell me your favourite cat."
"What? Umm. Devon Rex."
"Oh! Curly fur! I haven't got a Devon Rex Neko yet." I dropped down the menu and selected it. "Good choice, Mina."
She yelped as her body warped suddenly, her human ears disappearing and her Neko ears popping into existence on her head. They were the basic format, with cute curly hair. Grey, though. I didn't like the grey. I'd have to change that.
Her tail, thin and with the same short curly fur on it, also whipped out behind her.
She spun like a kitten chasing its tail as she realised something was different.
"What the fuck?" Her voice rose a few octaves and I considered turning off the audio. "What did you do to me?"
"Like I said. We're making you into the best Neko we can make you." I leaned forward towards the screen, feeling my mouth go dry. "Now. What kinds of boobs would you like?"
She froze. Her head slowly turning towards where my voice was coming from.
Her eyes narrowed.
"I can change the size of my breasts?"
"Yes, you can."
Mina blinked. "What else can I change?"
"Anything," I told her. "Anything you want."