Million Dollar Challenge

The coolness of the summer forest wrapped around my body, and I caught myself shivering. Even when I just stood still, I felt how under the fabric of my white hoodie my breasts trembled on their own, impossible to control. Though of course, I was glad at least I had that on me. I still couldn’t believe this was my body. Mine! The tight black thong rubbed between my ass cheeks so much that every second was a test and at the same time a reminder that all this was real.

— You coming? — a woman’s voice with a slight accent rang out.

I turned around. In front of me stood a catgirl with ears that seemed to have a life of their own. She was holding a branch like a staff and looking at me with a smirk. Just like me — or so she claimed — she was a twenty-nine-year-old programmer from Osaka. A man, damn it.

— I… maybe we should stop here? — I mumbled, feeling my thighs rub together awkwardly again the moment I took just one step toward her. My ass swayed, and the thin strip of the thong dug deeper, like it was mocking me on purpose.

— Ha, Mel, you’re already tired? — the catgirl grinned, rolled her shoulder, and her black ears twitched in my direction. — It’s only been a couple of hours. And we’ve got the whole night ahead.

I exhaled heavily. Mel. That’s what she kept calling me, even though I made it clear my name was Michael. Michael Johnson! Damn it, thirty-five years of being a man. Only now that name sounded ridiculous as I walked barefoot through wet grass, my ass in these stupid black thongs swaying so much that I felt every inch of fabric cutting into my skin.

— Michael. My name is Michael. Stop calling me that, — I breathed out in my voice that now sounded more like some spoiled college girl than a grown man from Seattle.

Akira burst into laughter, her ears twitching under the hood.

— Did you hear yourself, Melody? — she tilted her head slightly, squinting. — “My name is Michael”… ha-ha. You could call yourself Bill Gates and you’d still be Mel to me. You’re exactly like her.

I flinched.

— Like who? — I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, but it came out even more pitiful. She… he never told me why they started calling me that.

Akira dragged out the pause. Her narrow eyes glinted, and she licked her lips in a way that sent a shiver racing through my body.

— Like Melody Star, — she finally said with a satisfied smirk. — Porn actress. American. With an ass just like yours now. And the same cute little face.

I froze, as if I’d been struck.

— Wh-what? — my tongue tangled, my breath stumbled. — Oh, screw you…

— Let’s check, — Akira smirked and darted toward me. Her feline grace was so unnatural that I didn’t even realize right away she was human. It looked like some beast had just slid across the wet grass toward me.

— Hey! — burst out of me, but it was already too late. She yanked up the back hem of my hoodie, and cold air brushed against my fully exposed ass. I squealed and bent forward a little, instinctively trying to cover myself with my hands, but no chance. Akira was already crouched behind me, almost pressed up close, staring at my butt like it was some rare artifact in a museum.

— Well, well… — her fingers hovered dangerously close to my skin, and I shuddered. — Ha! I knew it. You even have the same tattoo!

I spun my head over my shoulder in confusion.

— What tattoo?!

She pointed right at the base of my lower back, and I felt her nails lightly scratch across my skin. I arched my back, hissing at the sudden sensation, and tried to shake her hand off.

— Two roses and this inscription, — Akira said with a satisfied smirk. — Exactly like Melody Star. I wasn’t wrong.

I froze, like I’d been nailed into the ground.

— What inscription?! — the words flew out in a breaking whisper.

Akira pulled her finger back, but grinned like a cat that had just caught a mouse.

— “Sweet Sin.” Right above your ass, tiny little letters. Ha, that’s her trademark!

— Fuck… — my breath caught. I yanked my hoodie down, but it stretched across my breasts, making me feel even more how the soft fabric wrapped around the curves, pulling tight over my nipples. I squeaked in helpless anger and shame, lowering my hands, but Akira was already laughing into her palm.

— Wow! What an honor! — her voice rang with delight. — Never thought I’d be walking through the forest with the famous Melody Star. You know you’re nominated this year for Best Video, — Akira finished, narrowing her eyes slyly. — I read it in the news right before… — she waved her hand at our bodies, — well, you get it.

I swallowed, my throat so dry I could barely force out a sound.

— I… I’m not her, — I squeezed out, and my voice cracked so pathetically I would’ve laughed myself if it hadn’t been so humiliating.

Akira twitched an ear and flashed a predatory smile, showing her white teeth.

— Of course, of course, Mel, — she stretched out my “new name” like she was tasting it. — By the way, maybe that’s some kind of “advantage” for you? Think about it…

I frowned, not understanding what she meant. "Advantage"? What the hell kind of advantage could there be in this.

— What do you mean? — I asked, pressing the hem of my hoodie against my thighs to at least cover up this ridiculous “new body.”

She snorted and walked ahead, lazily swinging her stick as if it really was some kind of magic staff.

— You still don’t get it? — her little hair-tail swayed. — The voice said: each of us has her own advantage. Mine is obvious, — she tapped her ears and smirked. — And yours… Well, we were clearly told no sex. But rules can be interpreted… differently.

I swallowed, feeling my breasts sway again under the hoodie. Yeah, when we all ended up here, we only heard one dry rule: twenty-four hours. Don’t give in to temptations. A million dollars if we endure. That each of us has some kind of “bonus.” But no one ever explained what that “advantage” really meant.

— Shit… — I exhaled, looking away. — We’d better just keep going before you drive me insane.

Akira quietly snorted and moved farther down the path, her hair-tail swaying side to side, and her ears twitching at every sound of the forest. I followed behind, holding the hem of my hoodie against my thighs, but I could still feel how my ass was half exposed. Every step reminded me I was in these damn thongs, and that my body now lived by its own rules.

We pushed through the thickets. Damn it, I didn’t even really know what we were looking for. Or rather, I did — we had to find some kind of beacon, probably. We figured that out at the very start, when we saw the pictures on the wall in that place where we woke up. Fuck all of this. I was supposed to be at home right now, watching random crap on YouTube, not this. But who knew that the “spam email” I opened for a laugh, offering to join some game, would turn out to be THIS!? At best, I thought I’d catch a virus. But no. Instead, after I clicked the button, I blacked out, and then…

— Hey… you hear that? — Akira suddenly whispered right in my ear. How the hell did she do that, she was just several steps ahead of me.

— What the… — I exhaled and turned around, but she was already standing a couple steps away again, smirking. — Don’t do that again!

— Get used to it, — her ears twitched like they caught something. — Over there, by the stream. Someone’s there.

I listened too. At first — only the rustling of leaves and the chirping of insects. But then… yeah, laughter. A woman’s laughter. Light, ringing, like straight out of a shampoo commercial.

My heart sank straight down.

— The others? — I asked, feeling my palms grow sweaty.

Akira nodded.

— No, just three. Let’s see what’s there, — she whispered and slid forward so silently I barely had time to blink.

I carefully followed her, trying not to step on dry branches with my bare feet. We crouched behind the bushes by the stream, and I bit my lip without meaning to.

There really were three girls at the water. No, not just sitting there. They were laughing, splashing, and… playing with things I’d only ever seen in porn back in my old male life.

— Fuck… — slipped out of me, and I pressed my palm to my lips.

Closest to the water was a blonde with short hair and a toned body. Droplets glittered on her skin like she had just been swimming. In her hand she held a clear dildo, sliding it along her thigh while exaggerating her movements. I didn’t know all their names, but I remembered this one was from Germany, we exchanged a couple of words right at the start.

Next to her, sitting on a rock, was a tanned girl with thick black hair in a braid. She was teasing her belly with a pink vibrator and laughing with an infectious giggle. I think she was from Turkey.

And the third one… shit. I felt my new body betray me, my nipples hardening. At the edge of the water, kneeling, was a redhead with long hair, her breasts bouncing with every move. She was holding something like a butt plug with a fluffy tail, pressing it against herself, then laughing and showing her friends. Her name was Sofia, she was from Argentina.

— Holy shit… — I breathed, feeling the thong dig deeper between my ass cheeks. I squeezed my legs together, but that was a mistake. Heat spread between them, like my body itself was mocking me, showing me who was in charge now.

I leaned forward a little, as if that could help, and instantly felt my breasts sway inside the hoodie, my nipples aching against the fabric. I clenched my teeth and whispered:

— Fuck… — my breath hitched, and I could even hear it leaving my chest with some stupid, almost girly moan.

Akira jumped right on it:

— Want to join them? — her sly whisper brushed my ear, and I flinched, but at the same time a faint moan escaped my lips.

I didn’t even realize how it slipped out. Thin, high-pitched… definitely not a man’s. Fuck. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, but my hand still jerked down helplessly to my stomach and froze on the hoodie.

— C-careful, — I breathed out, feeling my thighs press together on their own as the thong dug in deeper. My hand slid lower down my stomach, almost to where the thin fabric cut into my skin. My breathing turned ragged, my breasts rose softly under the hoodie, my nipples pressing hard against the fabric, and all of it only made the heat inside worse.

— Quiet, Mel, — Akira suddenly covered my hand with hers and pressed it against my side. I whimpered at the shock, jerking my fingers back like I’d been caught stealing. She leaned close to my ear, her breath tickling my neck. — They’ll hear you.

I swallowed hard, unable to tear my eyes away from the redhead by the water. Her breasts glistened in the sunlight, and every burst of laughter from her felt like it pushed me toward them. My body trembled, and I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore.

Akira squeezed my hand tighter.

— Hey. Want to lose? Think about what’ll happen if you break.

I exhaled sharply. The words from the beginning came back — “don’t give in to temptations.” But they never said what exactly would happen if we failed. Only that “there will be no million.” And who knows if we’ll even find anything. We don’t even know what to look for. Maybe, maybe…

— Hey! — Akira’s hiss cut through my thoughts. She shook me by the shoulder, forcing me to turn and finally tear my gaze from the redhead by the water.

I barely held back a moan, because the sudden pull made my breasts bounce under the hoodie, my nipples painfully stretching the fabric. I turned to her, my whole body shaking, my mouth open, drool slipping from it — though of course I didn’t notice.

— Let’s go, silly girl, — her ears twitched, her lips curling into a mocking grin. — Mel, God, you should see yourself right now.

— L-let’s go… — was all I could breathe out, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I didn’t even have the strength to react to her “Mel” and “silly girl.” My throat burned, my breathing was broken, my breasts under the hoodie rising and falling like I’d just been running. I wiped the drool from my lips with my palm, and the gesture felt so humiliatingly feminine I almost hissed in anger at myself.

Akira snorted and yanked me by the wrist.

— While your head still works at least a little.

I obediently stepped after her, feeling the thong dig painfully deep again between my ass cheeks. The forest around me felt unreal, like a dream, but Akira’s firm grip on my wrist dragged me back into reality.

— Just try zoning out again, — she muttered without even looking back. — Next time I’ll just knock you on your ass.

I swallowed and nodded silently, realizing that if I didn’t stick close to her, I wouldn’t stand a chance.