Chapter 8 – Transition


Tayuya looked down at the naked form of Kin, preparing to re-activate her chakra-induced deafness, in case of another attack. However, Kin stayed unmoving, eyes closed. Tayuya slowly knelt down, and placed her hand on the figure's forehead. It was warm, but that may have been due to the chemical she was held in, as a quick check revealed that to be about the same temperature. Tayuya stood back up, and turned away.

"Stab her through the heart" Tayuya stated gloomily, walking over to the remains of the other Kin clone.

"...Right." Oshime stated quietly, unsheathing her sword.

Tayuya reached into the pack attached to the rear of the now goo-filled pants, and removed her flute. She placed it gently into the holster on her own waist, and stood up, keeping her back away from what was about to happen.

"Wait!" Oshime shouted, causing Tayuya to turn around, "She's breathing!"

Tayuya rushed back over to Oshime and Kin, looking down at the girl, who was indeed breathing, despite not doing so a few moments ago. As Tayuya looked down, Kin's eyes began to open, sending both Tayuya and Oshime into a pre-emptive stance, ready to strike in case the clone attacked them. Instead, Kin sat up and looked at each of them, and the weapons they were holding, curling up with a scared look on her face. Oshime and Tayuya relaxed their stance as they saw tears begin to form in her eyes, slowly sliding down her face.

"Umm, are you ok?" Oshime asked, lowering her sword.

"I dun wanna get hurt..." Kin mumbled, still crying.

"Err, what do think is up?" Oshime whispered to Tayuya, "Is this an act, or what?"

"It's not an act, that's for sure." Tayuya replied, "We must have interrupted the cloning process before it was complete, so she isn't mentally up to the level she should be. Same reason she's nude, I'd assume."

"So, what do we do? She isn't exactly a threat, then." Oshime responded.

"I know, but...she's still an abomination of science." Tayuya answered, anger in her voice, "She isn't human, she's a mass of goop and stolen DNA."

"Tayuya..." Oshime said, seeing her friend's face, "I understand."

Oshime walked over to the blubbering Kin, sword raised in the air. Tayuya wanted to turn away, but found herself watching, albeit reluctantly. Oshime looked down at Kin, her sword beginning to shake as her hand did. She closed her eyes, hoping that this would make the deed easier, but she continued shaking, unable to bring her blade down.

"I can't do it," Oshime stated, "I'm sorry, Tayuya."

"I should have expected that..." Tayuya replied, annoyed at the feeling of relief she felt.

"Do we really have to?" Oshime asked, "Sure she's a clone, but she's completely harmless."

"...Fine." Tayuya replied, "But what are you going to do with her. Leaving her here just insures a long, drawn out death, instead of a quick one."

"Take her with us?" Oshime suggested.

"...Fine, but make sure she won't get in our way." Tayuya replied, not wanting to admit that she liked being around Kin again, especially a Kin that was not trying to kill her.

Oshime smiled, and bent down to touch Kin on the shoulder. "It's ok, we aren't going to hurt you."

Kin's tears stopped, and she looked up at Oshime, "You're not?'

"Nope, we won't." Oshime replied, giving her a smile, "Now, do you know what your name is?"

"Umm..." Kin closed her eyes, and scrunched her face up as if she was thinking deeply. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, "Kin! I'm Kin!"

"Very good." Oshime replied, "Ok, how about your age? Do you know how old you are?"

"Umm..." Kin retook that facial expression, taking a bit longer this time, "Seven...teen?"

Tayuya nodded to Oshime, who looked at her when Kin responded.

"Good job." Oshime replied, "What else do you remember?"

"Umm...nothin'..." Kin responded, saddened as if she had disappointed Oshime.

"Hmm, that's ok. You'll learn things soon enough." Oshime replied, patting Kin on the shoulder.

Kin smiled, but that quickly faded as a puddle of liquid spread out from under her location.

"Uh-oh..." Kin simply stated, not sure exactly what she did, but thinking that she was not supposed to do it.

Oshime first thought that it was goo, afraid that the premature activation left her unstable, but soon realized the less severe, all too familiar truth.

"Looks like she forgot potty-training, as well." Tayuya replied, smirking.

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you." Oshime replied, smirking as well, "You need a change as well."

"...Shut it." Tayuya replied, annoyed at her own lack of foresight.

"Hehe, well, Kin, let's get you cleaned up and then I can clean up Ms. Grumpy over there." Oshime stated, moving Kin a few feet to the side, away from the puddle.

Kin let Oshime control her, not sure what she was doing, but trusting her all the same. Oshime laid Kin against the ground, and placed her pack on the ground. Kin stayed silent, watching as Oshime removed a wipe from the pack. She watched as Oshime brought the cold wipe between her legs, and shivered as it made contact. After a few seconds, she felt something sprinkle onto that area, as Oshime powdered her. Kin giggled as the powder was rubbed in, kicking her legs a bit. Oshime removed a diaper from the pack and slid it under Kin's legs, taping it snugly around it.

"There you go, Kin" Oshime said, smiling, "Now to change Grumpy."

"Shut up..." Tayuya threatened, laying down.

Kin smiled, and sat up, thinking deep in her mind that she was not supposed to be wearing such a garment, but did not care. She sat on the ground, watching as Tayuya grumbled at Oshime's words.

"Oooh, I wanna help!" Kin shouted, shuffling over.

"Hehe, ok, you can help me." Oshime relied, smiling.

"Oh god, kill me now..." Tayuya muttered.

Oshime removed Tayuya's wet diaper, and tossed it away, not caring about finding a garbage can in the enemy's base. She removed another wipe from the bag, and handed it to Kin.

"Ok, now rub the wipe across her skin in this area." Oshime told Kin, pointing.

Kin wiped Tayuya as Oshime explained it, albeit a bit clumsily. After she had finished, Oshime pulled Kin's hand away, signifying that it was finished. Oshime then handed Kin the baby powder container, and instructed her in the pouring of it. Kin poured a bit too much, but Oshime said nothing about it, merely taking the bottle from her after Kin was done.

"I'll do this part, ok?" Oshime asked.

Kin nodded, and watched as Oshime began rubbing the powder in, wondering why Tayuya's grumpiness seemed to fade away as she did. After a few seconds, Oshime stopped and removed a diaper from the pack. She placed Kin's hand on it, and slid it under Tayuya's rear, showing her how to tape it up.

"Good job, thanks for helping." Oshime stated, as if speaking with a child, which she may as well have been doing anyway.

"Do I get to help with you now!?" She excitedly asked, big smile on her face.

"Heh, sorry, but I don't wear diapers like you two do." Oshime replied, "But you can help me change Tayuya all the time, ok?"

"Ok!" Kin shouted, much to the chagrin of Tayuya.

"Was I killed in the previous battle?" Tayuya muttered to herself, "Is this the hell I was sent to?"

Oshime ignored her complaining, and slid a new pair of pants up the redhead's legs. Tayuya stood back up, and looked over to Kin, who was still clad only in a diaper.

"What about clothes for her?" Tayuya asked, trying to veer the subject away from herself.

"Hmm, well, she's probably close to your pant size, but shirt size seems closer to mine." Oshime said, giving Kin a onceover.

"Seems right to me." Tayuya replied, "What about bra size?"

"Probably a little less than mine, but I don't have any spares." Oshime replied, "Not a big deal, though."

Oshime removed a purple shirt from her pack, as Tayuya grabbed a pair of black sweatpants from her own. Oshime helped Kin into the outfit, although the latter did make it a bit difficult. Nonetheless, Kin was fully clothed shortly after, looking over her clothes. The look on her face said that she liked them, which Oshime was glad for, but Tayuya did not really care.

"Can we just go already? We have a mission to complete." Tayuya said, a bit annoyed.

"Fine, fine, let's go." Oshime said, helping Kin to her feet.

The three walked over to the door to the next area, Kin waddling due to the diaper in addition to her inexperience. When they reached the door, Tayuya opened it, surprised it opened so easily. As they walked in, they saw a square room, quite a bit smaller than the previous one, but still pretty big, with what appeared to be an upper level, although it was too dark to see it clearly. Despite the size of the room, the floor consisted of a single, thin path, which led towards the other side, right over a dark pit. Both girls looked around for any semblance of an opponent, but could see no one. They hesitantly walked forward, single-file, Kin looking genuinely afraid of the room, but not saying anything. As they approached the center, they remained silent, but stopped again. They looked around, once again seeing nothing, until Oshime felt a tingling feeling in her head, mostly concentrated to the right side. A split second later, Tayuya felt the same thing, except more to the left side. Before they even had a chance to figure it out, the world went black. However, they regained their consciousness just a split second later, not even enough time for their bodies to fall over. They both felt a bit odd, but had no time to ponder, as they realized that this room was more dangerous than they thought, and hurried their forward motion, despite Kin's scared whines. Once across the path, they quickly entered the door, revealing a well-lit hallway. Tayuya still felt that something was off, and now that they were in a room with better lighting, felt that she should say something.

"Was I the only one that felt something weird back there?" Tayuya said, except her voice sounded different; familiar, but different.

Oshime noticed this, too, and turned to face Tayuya. Her eyes widened as she did, amazed by what she saw. Oshime's disbelief only grew as she looked herself over, realizing why she felt odd.

"What's wrong, Oshime?" Tayuya asked, turning towards her, "No answ-"

Tayuya's eyes also widened at what she saw, which happened to be herself. Oshime looked back to Tayuya, which happened to be herself at the moment. Oshime recognized why she was waddling a bit, the thickness between her legs due to Tayuya's diaper.

"What the...?" Oshime mumbled, looking herself over again, "We've switched bodies..."

"I...wow..." Tayuya sputtered, unsure how to react to this development.

Tayuya looked over her new body, unable to resist the urge to fondle the larger breasts she now possessed. Oshime glared at her, which seemed apt for the body she now possessed. Tayuya stretched her new legs, feeling the lack of a diaper for the first time in about three years. After a few seconds of twisting herself around to experience that feel from other ways, Tayuya went back to "her" breasts, moving them up and down with cupped hands. Oshime just shook her head, and examined her own new body.

"So this is what it’s like to wear a diaper..." Oshime mumbled to herself.

She twisted and turned as well, testing the unique feeling between her legs. She noticed the lack of weight on her chest, and turned away from Tayuya to examine her new breasts. She had felt them up before, of course, but now that they were hers, she wanted to test what it was like to have them. After she finished, she turned back around to see Tayuya examining the hands that once belonged to her. Suddenly, Oshime noticed a small stain spreading across Tayuya's crotch, staining her blue pants.

"Gah, Tayuya!" Oshime shouted, pointing, "You're peeing!"

Tayuya looked down, seeing the stain spread, unable to stop it before her new bladder had emptied itself.

"Oops, I guess I'm not used to having bladder control again..." Tayuya mumbled, blushing.

"Oh great, you just ruined my favorite pants..." Oshime replied, "Just lay down..."

"What? No way am I wearing diapers again!" Tayuya shouted, "I've been in them for three years. I want some time back in panties, however short it may be."

"It's my body and my clothes." Oshime replied, "I don't want you ruining any more of them."

"Oh well, my consciousness." Tayuya remarked, "Besides, I've got bladder control again, so I just have to get used to it."

"And I don't want you potty-training with my panties as training pants..." Oshime replied.

"I'm not going to wet any more pairs, I'll be fine." Tayuya replied.

"Sorry, but I'm not willing to risk my clothes on that outcome..." Oshime responded.

"...Fine...but you owe me." Tayuya replied, not sure she would be able to stay dry even if she tried, "I'll expect you to 'try' a little harder after this mission."

Oshime looked confused for a second, but realization dawned on her, and she gave a bit of a smile.

"Heh, ok." Oshime replied, winking, "Sounds fun."

Kin had been watching the whole time, confused as to why they were acting like this, but not questioning anything. Tayuya sighed, and laid down on the cold ground. Oshime knelt down, and slid her wet pants off of her, followed by her wet panties. With a sigh, Oshime discarded the panties off to the side. She felt a bit odd about changing her own body into a diaper, even if she was not inhabiting it at the time. Kin watched with a curious look on her face as Oshime wiped and powdered Tayuya's current body, before taping a diaper onto it.

"Hey, you said you didn't wear them!" Kin shouted, looking at the new Tayuya.

Tayuya and Oshime looked at each other, knowing that Kin would not understand the truth.

"Umm, it's just temporary." Tayuya stated, "I'll be back to regular underwear soon enough..."

Oshime removed a new pair of pants from her old pack, and slid them up Tayuya's legs.

"If you can show me that you can use the toilet while in my body, I'll let you wear my panties." Oshime stated, almost as if to a child.

Tayuya stood up, and looked at the end of the hallway, seeing the door at the end. They continued walking, Kin right behind them. As they approached the end, the floor suddenly gave out in front of them, each jumping forward to save themselves. Tayuya, not used to being in a more acrobatic body, overdid the jump, nearly crashing into the wall that was right past the small section of safe floor after the pit. Oshime, on the other had, did the exact opposite, having to grab the side of the pit, lest she fall to oblivion. She managed to pull herself up, a bit nervous of what could have happened. Kin, having been behind the other two, was still trapped at the other side, legs shaking as she looked at the drop.

"We can't trust her to jump that, can we?" Oshime asked.

"Not with her mind in the state she's in," Tayuya replied, "She wouldn't know how much force to put into it."

"True..." Oshime replied, "Just jump back over the pit with my body, pick her up, and leap back over."

"And why can't you do it?" Tayuya asked.

"Because you overjumped the pit, I underjumped it." Oshime replied, "My body is more acrobatic, so you have a better chance at using it."

Tayuya sighed, knowing that she was bested by her logic. She leapt back over the pit, overjumping by a smaller margin than before. When she had reached the other side, she lifted the frightened Kin off the ground, who hugged her tightly. She turned back around, and leapt again. She compensated for the additional weight, landing right in front of the door to the next room. Tayuya placed Kin on the ground, although she was a bit reluctant to let go. Oshime opened the door, revealing a simple, empty room.

"Hmm, I wonder what's inside..." Tayuya muttered.

"Only one way to find out..." Oshime responded.

The three girls entered the room, hearing door slam behind them. They looked around for any sign of an opponent, but saw nothing.

"I wouldn't have expected you to make it this far." The mysterious voice said through the loudspeaker system, "No matter, you won't be leaving here with your life. "

Suddenly, a figure fell from above, landing on his feet. He stood up, and looked at them. He had blue hair in a wild mohawk design, reaching down to his mid-back, with blue stubble covering the rest of his head. Mixed with the stubble were a few rows of braided yellow hair, as well as a yellow patch on the part of his mohawk right above his forehead. He had a couple of lip piercings, along with a few in each ear. His eyes were hidden by his shades, which also covered his eyebrows. He was shirtless, with an almost-glowing white tattoo of a bird on his arm. He had two sheaths on his back, about seven feet long each, the topmost one with a sword hilt sticking out of it.

"Heh, you're my opponents?" He asked, "I wasn't told I'd be fighting a couple of chickies, but as long as I win, it doesn't matter."

"...'chickies'?" Tayuya questioned, anger growing.

"Don't worry, let's just fight. It won't last long, what with you being a couple of girls, and all." He stated.

"Just shut up and let us kill you." Oshime replied, getting into stance.

"Hehe, we'll see about that. You may call me Ixero," He remarked, "Here is where your journey ends."

-~-

When Anko opened the door to the next room, the girls saw a hallway that continued forward for a long while.

"Be prepared for traps." Anko stated, "You never know what might be ahead."

Both girls nodded, and followed their mission leader down the long hallway. Sakura hated how her tattered pants could no longer subdue the crinkling sound, hearing it echo repeatedly with every step down the hallway. It also did not help that her head was buzzing slightly, but that scared her more than it annoyed her. She was afraid that she was regressing again, but felt no different, just a buzzing in her head. She continued forward, on the lookout for any traps she might come across. Ino kept her eyes on Anko's feet, since her being in the lead would mean that she would activate a trap before the younger two girls, thus giving Ino enough time to react. However, they continued forward, not encountering any traps. Unfortunately, the end of the hallway never seemed to come. After five minutes of walking forward, no end in sight, Anko stopped.

"What's wrong, Anko sensei?" Ino asked, remembering to add the "sensei".

"Something's not right..." Anko replied.

She removed a kunai from her pack, and scratched the Leaf Village symbol on the wall of the hallway. She placed the kunai back into her pack, and continued walking forward. Ino and Sakura looked back to each other, and began following Anko once more. After about another minute of walking, Anko spotted the symbol she had scratched into the wall.

"It's the same symbol!" Ino shouted, "How is that possible!?"

"It's a genjutsu." Anko replied, "Relatively common, but I don't believe it'll be as easily broken as it usually is."

All three kunoichi placed their hands together into the same handsign, and shouted "Release". When they opened their eyes, they were still in the hallway, scratch-mark intact. However, that did not prove effectiveness or not, so they walked forward once again. As before, after a minute or so, they re-met their simple marking, signifying the failure of the genjutsu release.

"Hmm, as I figured..." Anko stated, "Well, time for better measures."

"Such as?" Sakura questioned, "You have any ideas?"

"Just this," Anko replied, turning around.

Without warning, Anko knocked their heads together, causing each to flinch and hold their heads in pain. Anko quickly knocked her own head against theirs, causing pain to each. Suddenly, the entire hallway began to sway and tremble, although Sakura and Ino were not sure if that was due to the genjutsu fading or head trauma. However, the swaying ended, revealing the three to be standing right in front of the door they entered in, the marking on the wall next to them.

"Ow..." Ino muttered, holding her head, "Couldn't we just have sliced our fingers with a kunai or something."

"Nope" Anko replied, not showing any visible pain from the headbutt, "It needed to be simultaneous pain, since it was a group genjutsu."

"Then why did you clack our heads together first, before the simultaneous attack?" Sakura asked, trying not to show the few tears in her eyes.

"It's hard to headbutt two heads at the same time," Anko replied, "I just had to make sure that one of you wouldn't move out of the way."

Ino mumbled something under her breath, which would not be flattering if it was heard by its intended subject.

"What was that?" Anko questioned, getting up to Ino, "You want to continue on from here in the nude?"

"N-nothing, never mind!" Ino replied, scared of the threat, "Sorry..."

"That's what I thought..." Anko replied, continuing forward.

The three girls walked forward, recognizing as they made progress this time, the door far in the distance getting slightly closer as they continued. After a few minutes, they reached the door, surprised at the lack of other traps. Anko pushed the door open, revealing a square room, with fenced ledges around a dark pit. Anko saw a door on the other side, and walked across the ledge towards it. As they got close to the door, Anko glanced down into the pit, and was surprised to see three figures walking along whatever ground the darkness obscured. Anko signaled for the two to come over, and pointed down towards the three moving figures. They could not be discerned due to the darkness, but there were definitely three of them.

"Ino, could your Mind Transfer jutsu reach one of them from here?" Anko whispered.

"Yes, but it'd be very hard to aim from here." Ino replied.

"That's ok, we can take the chance. We need to get some recon info from the enemy." Anko whispered, "Besides, if you miss, we'll just take your body with us and protect it for the few minutes that it is without a consciousness."

"I'll give you a simple signal if I make it in." Ino stated.

Ino nodded, and placed her hands in a square formation. She aimed towards one of the figures, and quickly jerked her hands forward. Her mind launched from her hands, invisible and silent, quickly flying in a straight line towards where the figures were. Ino saw the figures come up close, but could not discern their looks due to the speed she was going. She felt half of her mind pass through the head of one of the figures, but not enough to take her over. Part of Ino's mind latched on to the first target, however, while the rest continued forward. The remaining part of Ino's mind passed partly through another person's head an infinitesimally small period of time after, grasping onto that body as well. Ino's mind was unable to hold onto both of the two weak connections, and tried to let each go, but doing so in an awkward manner, having to deal with a missed attempt. Ino's body had slumped over the second she had released, currently without a mind to call its own. After a second, Anko saw two of the figures stop for a second, before continuing ahead. Anko gave it a few more seconds, before assuming that Ino's jutsu was unsuccessful. Anko nodded at Sakura, who lifted Ino's body onto her back.

"We can't risk staying in this room." Anko whispered, releasing a snake.

The snake somehow squeezed under the very thin opening under the door to the next room, before turning back and slithering up Anko's arm. The snake came up to Anko's ear, and hissed a few times before dissolving.

"The next room is a hallway." Anko whispered, "We can hide in there while we wait for Ino's mind to return."

Sakura nodded, and carried Ino to the door, which Anko opened. Sakura walked inside, hearing the door close shortly after her. She propped Ino up against the wall, turning to look at Anko.

"How long does this usually take?" Anko asked, referring to Ino.

"I'm not sure," Sakura replied, "All I know is that it's a 'few minutes'."

"I'd figure two girls as close as you would know more about each other's abilities." Anko replied, sitting against the opposite wall.

"Err, what do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"Aren't you two...'together'?" Anko asked.

"What!? No!" Sakura shouted, shocked at even the allegations.

"But what you two have been doing, and the way she's...'attended' to you..." Anko replied, referring to the diaper changes, "I assumed that you were dating."

"Of course not!" Sakura replied, "The whole village knows how much I love Sasuke, as does Ino."

"I figured you two would be hiding it, so you used Sasuke as a fake love interest so that people wouldn't think you swung that way. I mean, it was so over the top, I thought it couldn't be anything but fake love." Anko stated, calmly, "Plus you two could use your pretend attraction to Sasuke in order to fake a rivalry, thus lessening the chances of being outed even more than they already were."

"You've really thought this through..." Sakura muttered, "I'm...not sure how to respond to that..."

"Heh, it's ok, I guess I was just jumping to conclusions." Anko stated, "But, what I want to know is, if she isn't your girlfriend, why is Ino the one changing you? Can't you do it yourself?"

"Well..." Sakura started, unsure if she should tell the truth, "Ino discovered that I was wearing a Pull-up, and began basically blackmailing me with that info..."

"I can't say I approve of blackmail..." Anko replied, "But it's also not really any of my business unless it hinders the mission. Hmm, just let me know if it gets too severe, kid."

"Ok, Anko-sensei" Sakura stated, glancing over at Ino.

As she finished, the floor suddenly dropped out from under them, a surprisingly delayed trap. Anko, quicker on her feet, leapt out of her sitting position, grabbing Ino before she plummeted, and landed on the other side. Sakura made it across, as well, but not as easily as Anko made it look. As they landed, that part of the floor fell as well, catching them by surprise. This time, they stumbled, but ran across the floor, each section beginning to fall. The opening to the next room came in to view, but the tiles were falling faster than they were running. Anko knew Ino was weighing her down, throwing her into the door opening, and into the next room. Anko leapt immediately after, followed by Sakura, landing through the doorway, right on Ino's stomach. Sakura landed right at the edge of the doorway, an inch shy of missing. Anko picked Ino's body back up, hoisting her over her shoulder. She looked around the current room, which was just a cavern, complete with stalactites and stalagmites spread around the ceiling and floor, respectively.

"Heh, what kind of challenge is this?" A female voice asked, "One of my opponents is already unconscious."

Anko turned to see a girl about Sakura's age with pink and purple hair tied into a sloppy bun. She was wearing a simple tracksuit jacket, white, with green sleeves. Her navy short shorts had the same heart symbol that was on each sleeve of her jacket. Sakura went into attack stance, preparing for a possible.

"Well, I'll just kill you two, either way." The girl stated, "Slithers, put Blondy down, so you and Pinky can fight properly."

"Slithers...?"  Anko mumbled.

"Pinky!?" Sakura shouted, much angrier than she should be due to her nickname being mostly a simple observation.

"Hmm, well, oddly disproportionate anger, but let's do this." She stated, "I'm Yuri Zaregoto, not that you care. Time for you to die."