Curse of the Shrine Maiden

Title: Curse of the Shrine Maiden

Author: Esprit

Pairing: Remy/ Logan

Time: unspecified comic book universe

Disclaimer: All of the X-Men belong to Marvel comics and no profit is being made by the creation or distribution of these stories.

Author’s note: A few of the phrases are written in both the Japanese using Romanji (English characters, but Japanese spelling) and in English. The Japanese pronunciations are written in bold, so you can skip past them easily if you don’t care about how it would sound. I do not speak Japanese fluently, so there are many sentences that are not grammatically correct, or not translated at all. All English translations are in <carrots>. The sentences that are formatted like, “<Sentence,>” are said in Japanese, but only the translation is put down for saving time, or lack of knowledge on how to translate that particular sentence.

Pronouns: There will be a lot of pronoun mix-ups in this story, so I’ll give the heads up now—the author will always use the pronouns that apply to the physical gender of the character. Characters may use the improper pronoun to refer to someone else because of the way humans think and imagine someone. Most of these mix-ups should be relatively easy to sort out through context.

Curse of the Shrine Maiden

Noroi no Sha Otome

Chapter 1 (shoo ichi)

The shrine was ancient, older than Logan could tell, from what he observed as he and the other two assigned to go in entered the cave. He didn’t smell the Juggernaught in the cave, so that meant he hadn’t beaten them to the Gem of Cytorakk that Cerebro said was in this cave.

Jugg’s gem had been stolen—again and they’d been asked to come find it with no clues as to where to begin. The Blackbird’s computer told them a huge energy source was in the cave and that was most likely where the gem was.

Gambit and Iceman hung back at first, but when an odd looking obstacle came to block their path, Remy lit up a card. The structure was a wall that was full of holes to the point that you could see beyond the wall, but no one could fit through them. The cave seemed structurally sound enough to not collapse at the explosion that would be caused, so Logan didn’t complain as Remy made ready to throw the card. He and Iceman just moved back a couple of paces.

The explosion rocked the cave and the entire stone obstacle came crumbling down. Gambit jumped back to avoid being squished, but was only very nearly missed by some of the cave roof. Covering his mouth to not inhale the dust being thrown up, Gambit leaned away from the exploded wall.

Logan’s vision was clearing enough that he could see a living white light stream come up from behind Gambit and wrap itself around him and quickly envelope him. Remy started screaming in pain and fear.

“Gambit!” Logan cried, but was at a loss for what to do for the trapped young man. The light was so bright now that he couldn’t even see where Gambit was inside it and Gambit’s screams had stopped. Logan was hoping that the young man was still alive.

Then the light began to take on shape and a human figure could be seen through the powder that billowed through the cavern. Logan hoped that it was Gambit, but the more he looked at it, the less it seemed to look like Gambit. Then the light started to fade and Logan could make out a feminine figure floating in the air amidst the dust. It slowly lowered to the rocky ground as the light faded and Logan could see then that the figure was without clothing.

Tentatively, Logan approached the figure. It was definitely a woman. She woke, her eyes opening to reveal red on black. Gambit’s eyes. She was obviously disoriented and propped herself shakily on her arms. Looking down at her form, she suddenly burst out, “Minaide!!!” <Don’t look!> in an unfamiliar voice. She sobbed and continued, curling up on herself, “Minaide yo!” <Don’t look at me!> Logan turned his gaze from her, then turned around and took a few steps toward Bobby who was standing frozen in place. He saw that Bobby didn’t understand what was being said, so he motioned for the young man to turn around. He did, unable to turn his head from the woman until the last second.

Logan slid off his spandex shirt and tossed it gently over his shoulder. “Nani atanda?” <What happened?> came the voice again.

“R-Remy? Daijobu ka?” <Remy? Are you all right?>

“Daijobu janai! Heiki janai! Watashi wa—ona? Watashi wa otoko! Otoko! Otoko!” <I’m not all right! I’m not fine! I’m—a woman? I’m a man! A man! A man!>

“Remy, wakarimashita, demo ore tachi subeki mamade irunai.” <Remy, I understand, but we must not stay.>

Remy was silent behind them, but Logan heard the cloth sliding over skin. “Skoshi mijikai.” <Little short.>

“Kyoka suru naosu.” <Let me fix it.>

Remy threw the cloth toward Logan. Picking it up, he slit the midsection off it so the outfit would be a muscle shirt cropped short and a mini skirt. He hoped the spandex wasn’t too loose.

“Sukato desu!” <It’s a skirt!>

Bowing his head, Logan said gently, but loud enough for her to hear, “Subete boku motteiru desu.” <It’s all I have.>

She didn’t respond to that, just put the strips of fabric on. “Sumimasen.” <Thank you. (Sorry to inconvenience you.)>

“Doo itashimashite. Temo ii mieru ka?” <You’re welcome. May I have permission to look?>

“Mmm,” she said in a shaky, affirmative tone. He turned to look at Remy, but then tried to avert his eyes as he went to help.

“Dekiru ugoki ka? Kurushindeiru ka?” <Can you move? Are you in any pain?> he asked as he bent down to grab her arm to help her up from her now kneeling position.

“Skoshi muzukashi ugoki desu… ore ga yureru….” <It’s a little hard to move… I’m shaking….>

“Boku ga anata saseru.” <I’ll carry you.>

Remy turned her head away from Logan and looked defiantly at the rocks on the ground. “Sumimasen.” <Thank you.>

“Ii yo, Remy.” <It’s okay, Remy.>

“Ii wanai, Logan. Watashi dekinai kiritsu.” <It’s not okay, Logan. I can’t stand.>

“Moo. Ikimasho.” <Geeze. Let’s go.> Remy nodded and allowed Logan to pick her up. Logan tried not to look at Remy as much as possible because he knew it made her uncomfortable and her exposed skin made him feel uncomfortable. It was smooth and soft, but he knew it belonged to Remy, his drinking buddy and friend—not a woman.

“Bobby, let’s go,” he said authoritatively and began to jog from the cave.

“What’s up with Gambit?” he asked worriedly.

“We’ll find out when we get back to the mansion. Fer now—shut up.” Bobby had no trouble keeping quiet all the way to the Blackbird.

“Where’s Gambit?” asked Scott when they got on board the jet. He said it questioningly, looking around for Gambit.

“Boku wa Gambit, momokuno kissama!” <I’m Gambit, blind asshole!> Remy exploded. Scott drew back, surprised by the outburst.

“Remy, shikkarishute. Scott wakaranai.” <Remy, pull yourself together. Scott doesn’t understand.>

Remy grumbled in Logan’s arms as Logan set her in a seat. Gambit slouched and curled into a ball. “Get us outta here, Slim. There’s nothin’ in there.”

“That’s Gambit?”

“I’ll explain later. Get us home.” Scott started the jet and began the flight all the way across the globe to America. Everyone was silent. Logan went to sit beside Remy and made sure she was fastened in for take off. Remy didn’t like Logan’s hands on her and stiffened, but allowed Logan to strap her in. Logan made to change his seat, but Remy grabbed his wrist.

“Sarunai… onegaishimas.” <Don’t leave… please.> Sitting beside Remy as they flew, they didn’t touch, but Remy seemed more calm with Logan beside her.

“Boku shitteirunai anata hanase Nihongo,” he said after about an hour of silence.

“Boku hanase Nihongo?”

“Ima, hai.” <Now, yes.>

“Boku fushigi ni omouita minna hanase henna.”

“Karera ga hanase aigo.” <They’re speaking English.> Remy put her head in her hands.

“Doshite? Doyatte kore okoru ka?” <How? How did this happen?>

“” Remy curled up into a ball again on the chair.

Hank had a robe waiting for Remy when Logan brought her down to the Medical Lab. “Oh, Remy… what happened?”

“He can’t understand you, Hank. We came to the end of that cave and he was hit with this light. It… changed him, so now he can’t understand English either.”

“<Logan, what are you saying?>” Remy asked.

“<I’m telling Hank what happened,>” he explained in Japanese. Remy nodded her head in acknowledgement.

“Bring him in, won’t you?” Logan guided Remy into the Med. Lab and stayed to translate.

Eventually, after two hours of testing and looking at the stats on the Shi’ar equipment, Hank said the words Logan didn’t want to translate for Remy. “There’s nothing I can do for you, Remy. You’re a fully functional female.”

Logan gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. Remy reached out to touch Logan to get his attention because his eyes were closed as well. “Logan? Warui nyusu, ne?” <Logan? Bad news, hunh?> she guessed. “Hank dekinai kawaru ka?” <Hank can’t fix me?>

“Hai,” <Yes,> he said. Her hand fell from Logan’s shoulder.

“Arigatou, Hank.” Hank looked to Logan.

“He said, ‘thank you.’”

“How do you say ‘you’re welcome?’”

“Doo itashimashite.”

“Doo itashimashte, Gambit. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“<Hank says he’s sorry.>”

Remy shook her head and the longer than usual hair draped in front of the feminine face. “<It’s okay, Hank. I need to accept this.>”

“<That’s an admirable attitude to have, Remy.>”

“” Logan chuckled at her energetic attitude… even if it was not necessarily cheerful.

“My only recommendation at this point is that Remy get some rest. This has been an awful shock to your system.”

“<Hank says you should get some rest. I agree with him, but I think you might want a shower first.>”

Remy’s eyes snapped up to Logan as she shouted, “Hentai gigi!” <Dirty old man!>

Logan’s posture stiffened and he left the room without another word. Remy puffed out a breath and hopped off the exam table to leave Medical. Hank said something but she didn’t pay attention. She went straight to her room and when the door was closed behind her, she curled up in a ball at the foot of it and the stress came pouring out if it’s own accord.

Remy stood in front of her full length mirror hours later looking at the strange face that stared back at her. The only things that were the same on her were her hair color and her eyes, and even they were shaped differently. They looked… rounder. The hair that used to be down to just past her shoulders was now down to her waist. Her manly chin was now this delicately curved thing and her lips were bigger. The nose that used to be a study of lines and angles was now rounded—was that what they called a button nose?

Slipping off the robe that Hank had given her she looked over the rest of this strange body, noting the breasts and that far more hourglass shape with hips than before when her chest was wide and everything had come to a vague triangle shape. Her legs were far more woman like although they still had hair on them.

Remembering the pain that she experienced just before this happened to her she guessed that this was still her body, as opposed to someone else’s. Why did this happen? Was it because of the wall? It was just a wall—why did she have to be punished for blowing up a wall? Hugging, the new body, Remy went away from the mirror and hid under the covers in bed.

Remy didn’t come out of her room for two days. Even after the comment she made the other day, Logan was beginning to worry. He decided to go lay some soup outside her room so she could eat. Warming up a can of Campbells and putting it in a bowl he walked up the stairs to Gambit’s room.

Knocking on the door, he said loudly, “<Hey, Cajun—you alive in there?>” There was no response. Since he wasn’t in the habit of knocking down ladies doors, he set the food down and said, “<There’s soup out here if y’ want it,>” and left sighing to himself.

On his way to bed though, he saw that the bowl was there, but the soup was not. That was comforting in that it meant Remy was still alive.

The next morning Logan was unwilling to let her lock herself away forever and decided it was high time Gambit came out. “Cajun!” he shouted knocking on the door. “<You can’t stay in there forever!>”

“”

“<Gambit, come out. We’ll figure out a way to change you back, but in the mean time you need to deal with this—>” he was about to say, like a man, but refrained. That would have shot the Cajun into hysterical fits if he felt out her condition with any accuracy.

“<Deal with it? How?>”

“<You need to be able to function as a woman. That means you need to eat and you need to train. Don’t let this get the better of you.>”

The door opened and Remy stood there with a look that was almost a pout in a t-shirt that hung very loose and jeans that were a touch too long. The face she had on wouldn’t have seemed so much like a pout had she been in a masculine form, but those lips were so full and luscious now—don’t go there, Logan, he warned himself. “”

“<She’ll understand.>”

Hoping that Logan was right, Remy nodded and turned to follow him downstairs. Everyone was there and looked at Remy as she came in. “<Everyone’s staring at me,>” Remy whispered to Logan uncomfortably.

“<It’s okay,>” he said back. “Look, people have heard about what happened to Gambit.” Remy ignored what he was saying and went about getting breakfast and Logan’s eyes followed her feminine figure as she moved. She seemed to retain all of the grace he heard the women talking about, but never noticed—never chose to notice until now.

Logan was unaware of Rogue’s eyes following his line of sight. She frowned deeply at Logan as he spoke, continuing to gaze at Remy.

“I think I’m the only one here who speaks Japanese, so if you wanna speak to Remy, talk to him directly and I’ll translate, just make sure I’m there when y’ wanna blab at him. This is just until he gets better.”

“How’s he gonna get better?” Rogue asked hotly, staring at Logan. Cringing at the sound of her angry voice, Remy slammed the fridge door after pulling out the milk.

“We’re lookin’ into it,” Logan assured Rogue.

“You don’t think he can change back, do you?”

“I never said that,” Logan challenged.

“Ah think ya don’t want him ta change back!”

“That’s enough!” Cyclops shouted. They fell silent. “Gambit,” Remy looked up at the sound of her name. “I need you down in the Danger Room so we can test you in your new form. Logan?” Logan translated.

Gingerly, Remy nodded, then turned to the cereal she was pouring milk onto. Looking around for utensils, she opened the drawer with silverware while everyone else went back to their own breakfasts. “Logan—?” she asked. Logan stopped and turned to her. “Dokko wa hashi ka?” <Where are the chopsticks?>

“Hashi?” <Chopsticks?>

“Hai.” <Yes.>

“Naze?” <Why?>

“Taberu.” <To eat [with.]>

“<We don’t keep chopsticks in the house, gumbo. You’ll have to use a spoon.>”

“<Spoon?>”

“<Yeah, a spoon.>” He went and picked one up for her from the drawer.

“<Oh! Right, spoon. Thank you.>” She sheepishly went to eat her cereal at the table. Her cheeks were getting hot from the stares other people were giving her, the men in particular, but Rogue was staring at her too.

“Rogue… gomennasai. Hontoni gomen.” <Rogue… I’m sorry. Really sorry.>

Rogue had absorbed enough of Logan to understand the simple Japanese phrase Gambit said. “It’s all right, Remy.” She tried not to look at the woman who used to be the man she loved.

Remy had only taken a couple of bites before she lost her appetite. How can I keep going when the woman I love doesn’t even acknowledge me anymore? How can she love me like this? Remy got up from the table, leaving the cereal to soak. She headed down to the Danger Room instead.

Logan looked to Rogue. “You know you’re just pushing him away by actin’ like that, right?”

“That’s not a him, that’s a her. Ah can’t see Remy in there any more when I look at… her.”

“If he becomes a man again, Rogue, you won’t have a chance with him,” Logan warned.

She was silent at that, looking away from Logan. Either she didn’t believe that Remy ever would be a man again, or she didn’t care if Remy’s masculine form was restored. Logan stalked away from her and went to follow Remy.

Catching Remy before she got to the Danger Room, Logan shouted, “Remy, mate!” <Remy, wait!> Remy paused for him then kept walking, pacing her shortening strides to Logan’s. “<I’m sorry that Rogue acted so childish toward you.>”

“<I’m not sure I don’t agree with her assessment though,>” she said calmly. Logan thought about Rogue’s assessments and feared which one she agreed with. He feared that Remy heard the comment about him not wanting Remy to become a man again. He swatted the thought from his mind and focused.

“<Wait, can you understand the English being spoken around you?>”

“<No, but I can tell that she fears I’ll never be the man I was again. With no touching… all she has left is what’s to see… and if what she sees is revolting….>”

“Anata wa serunai.” <You’re not revolting.>

“<Logan, if a man came on to you and said he was your girlfriend—what would you do?>”

The question gave Logan pause. “<Suppose sex would have to be different….>” he mused.

“Shinjirunai,” she said in a tight voice and increased her pace.

“<What’s so different about a person on the outside from what’s inside? What changes?>” he called to Gambit’s back.

“<Logan, what do you see when you look at me?>” she asked turning around and putting her hands on her hips.

“<Remy Le Beau.>”

“<Who is…?>” she coaxed further response.

“<An X-Man and a friend of mine.>”

“<And?>”

“<What? Do you want me to say you’re a beautiful woman? You are! There—you happy?>”

Remy paused and blushed. “<Yes, well, the woman part.>” Remy sobered and continued, “<Rogue also sees a woman. She sees someone who can’t be more than a friend to her. I think… she may see some of herself in my appearance too. I think it scares her.>”

“<Remy, if a man came onto me and said he was my girlfriend, I’d be scared, but I wouldn’t push him away and dump him. I’d at least give him a chance.>”

“Anata wa tsuyoi soshite yasashii.” <You are strong and kind.> That was apparently more than she could say for Rogue. She didn’t say anything more and continued through the Danger Room doors. “Scott? Dokko iru no?” <Scott? Where are you?>

“Logan, come up to the Control Room, please,” came through the speakers just as Logan entered behind Remy.

“<Remy, I’m going upstairs. Scott probably wants to test your performance. Don’t get nervous because you’re still Remy Le Beau—man or not.>”

“Arigatou, Logan.” <Thank you, Logan.>

Logan left the Danger Room and met Scott in the Control Room above. “Wha’ cha’ got planned?”

“First I’m going to test his basic combat skills to see if he still has his wits about him. Then I was thinking of checking his thievery skills to make sure those are still intact.”

“He’s gonna need a new uniform,” Logan mentioned as he watched Remy take a natural posture in the center of the Danger Room in the t-shirt and jeans she had on. Logan’s cheeks felt only mildly hot as he thought about her womanly figure in a new uniform, but he pushed it out of his mind reminding himself that Remy was at heart very much still a man. He doubted that Remy would don a woman’s outfit to say nothing of the tight fitting spandex women chose. She would also probably not appreciate the thoughts Logan was having about her… but she was beautiful.

“Just tell him the simulation is about to begin,” Scott said annoyed. Logan spoke into the communications system and Remy nodded.

The simulation hadn’t been rough… but it proved one thing—Gambit was less strong as a female. Her scores in feminine form were forty-five percent lower for overall effectiveness than when in masculine form. Scott and Logan were holding a meeting about the session while Gambit showered. Logan made the case to Scott that she wasn’t used to the new body and that she still had psychological issues to work out, but that didn’t stop Scott from suspending her from active duty. “I’m not about to put him in a position where he can’t follow orders until they’ve been translated. There’s no time for that in combat.” Logan agreed with Scott’s reasoning. It was far more of an issue than just decreased effectiveness—the main problem was this strange language barrier.

“<Remy,>” Logan said in the hallway after Remy came down from the shower to hear the conclusion of their test. “<You’ve been removed from active duty.>”

“Uso!” <No way!> she cried. “<What am I supposed to do with my life if Rogue won’t look at me and I can’t be part of the X-Men?>”

“Learn English,” Logan said sternly.

That stopped Remy because it was the first time Logan had spoken English to her in days. She couldn’t understand him. “<The main problem is that you don’t speak English, Remy. If you learn to understand what’s being asked of you, maybe you’ll improve enough to be back on the team. Until then, you shouldn’t come with us on missions.>”

“Wakarimashita. Gomen, Logan.”

“Ii yo. Benkyo aego.” <It’s okay. Study English.>

She nodded. “<Teach me.>”

“Yoshe!” <All right!> “You and I are going to do heavy immersing,” and he repeated his sentence in Japanese.

“Wakarimas.”

“I,” Logan said, gesturing to himself, “understand,” he said slowly. “Wakarimashita.” He waited a beat. “<Say it.>”

“Waka—“

“Chigou!” <Wrong!> he shouted. “I…” Remy looked at him funny. “Ai…” he pronounced more Japanese-like coaxing a repeat (“Ai” is actually a word in Japanese —love).

“Ai?” <Love ?> Remy’s face grew pale. “Ai nani?” <Love what?> “Suki nani?” <Like what?>

“<Remy, just repeat after me,>” he said frustrated. “Ai underushitandu.” Remy repeated that Japanese pronunciation flawlessly.

“<But what does it mean? I don’t love underushitandu… whoever that is.>”

“Remy! ‘I understand’ <means> wakarimashita!”

“Maji?” <Really?>

“Hai!” <Yes!>

Remy sighed. “Ai… dare boku wa suki?” <Love… who do I like?>

“Ai <means ‘I!’> Boku, ore, watashi, sesha!” (Several forms of “I” in Japanese.)

“Soo ka.” Remy sighed. “Boku oboiterunai.”

“<Say ‘Ai,’ Remy.>”

“Ai.”

“<Say ‘Ai underushitandu.’>”

“Ai underushitandu.”

“<Okay. You are love.>”

“Hai?” <Really?>

“<Whenever you want to say ‘I,’ say ‘love.’>”

“Ai,” Remy paused. “Soshite anata?” <And you?>

“You…” he stopped to think before adding, “<Unless you mean ‘dear.’>” (In Japanese “anata” is both “you” and “dear” depending on the context of the phrase.)

“<Why would I be calling you dear?>” she huffed. “<Logan, this is really hard. I’m usually very good with languages.>”

“<Then maybe that’s part of your transformation.>”

“<Which means I should concentrate on finding a way to turn back into a man. Will you help me, Logan?>”

“<Yes. I will help you,>” he said gravely. He had a sneaky suspicion that he would be getting himself into a mess, but for Remy, he was willing to take that risk.

“<Then we should go to Japan, right?>”

“<Yeah, but we can’t take the bird; the X-Men may need it so we have to fly commercial which means you need an alternate identity.>”

Remy moaned and didn’t look happy bout that news. She did start having ideas about how to get one though. The Thieves Guild had many avenues through which she could get one… but the request had to be delivered securely. “<Tell Jacob Gavin Jr. to come to the mansion. I need a courier.>”

“<You got it.>”

“<Then we need to draft up some documents.>”

“Yokai.” <Roger.>

Chapter 2 (shoo ni)

Logan stared at what Remy had requested to be typed and said, “<We should change this to ‘Remina.>” Logan was typing everything since Remy couldn’t read English either.

“Remina?” Remy looked at Logan from beside him where she stood.

“<You should still have an excuse to respond to your old name.>”

“<Oh? And what do you think my last name should be, smarty pants?>”

“Bell.”

“<Why?>”

“<It needs changed,>” Logan grumbled. Remy nodded her acceptance and Logan changed the name from ‘Alexia Le Beau’ to ‘Remina Bell’ on the paperwork.

“Ima shiawase ka?” <Happy now?> Remy asked folding her arms over her chest.

“<You don’t have to listen to me if you don’t want, but I might call you Remy out of reflex and somebody else might too if they figure out who you are based on your eyes. Or would you prefer to be called Alexia over Remy?>”

Remy bowed her head. “Iie.” <No.>

“<Okay then.>” As usual, Logan made sense, but Remy was so confused and frustrated that she barely knew what to do. It was aggravating to be reminded of that constantly. It made her feel… inadequate; like she couldn’t stand up to the pressure.

Not seeing the things Logan wrote on the computer, she watched, staring through the monitor, as the papers that would need sent to the Guild Lawyer were completed.

‘Remina’ was waiting by the door with a manila envelope full of documents to be processed and forged. They were being personally carried to her lawyer by a friend who happened to be in a similar situation to her.

When the doorbell rang she jumped, though she’d been preparing to face this person for some hours. Taking a deep breath, she got up from the chair she’d dragged over and opened the door. Her mouth hung open slightly as she saw a young man standing on the porch. Shades hid her eyes, but her expression was still evident. “Jaku?” she asked in a very Japanese sounding accent.

“Excuse me?” he asked, smiling at the woman a little.

“Jaku Gabin desu ka?” <Are you Jake Gavin?>

“Hai,” <Yes,> he said, bowing slightly to the stranger. “Hajimemashite.” <Nice to meet you.>

“Ore wa… Remy,” she said taking off the sunglasses to reveal her unique eyes underneath.

Jake’s smile turned perplexed as she spoke, then formed a frown as he looked into Remy’s eyes. “Remy… Le Beau?” She nodded, looking down.

The burst of laughter was something she was expecting, but she thought after his frown that he might spare her. As it turned out, he didn’t. Laughter had a unique effect on people. It could cheer or infect, but it could also stab like a chilled knife.

Remy supposed that she deserved that, mostly because it was Remy who caused the shapeshifting Courier to be stuck in the resting form of a woman. He was starting to be able to shapeshift into a man more often, but was still confined mainly to the feminine form.

Sighing, Remy said, “”

“You deserve a lot more than I could give you, Remy,” he chuckled.

“”

“What? Really? Er… maji?” <…really?>

“Honto da!” <Really!>

“Naze?” <Why?>

“<It’s part of the transformation.>”

“”

“<Guess so.>”

Jake shuffled his feet a little as he waited to be addressed officially. Remy came out of her thoughts and handed the envelope to Jake with a grimace. “<Take this to the addressee listed on the envelope. I don’t want any record of this letter being sent, Jake. Don’t even put the trip on your expenses; add the loss through taxes onto my bill.>”

“<Okay. I’ll make it a priority.>” Remy frowned at Jake. “<A quiet priority,>” he clarified. Nodding, Remy backed away from the door and Jake started down the porch stairs. Closing the door behind her, she sighed and leaned against it for support.

“<Things get sent off?>” asked a deep voice from across the room.

“Hai.” <Yes.>

“Ii.” <Good.> Logan looked at the worried expression Remy had on. “<Now get your butt down to the Danger Room.>”

Remy looked like she was taken aback at his instruction. “<What?>”

“<I’m going to get you used to this new body of yours whether you like it or not.>” Remy hadn’t been her cocky self since the transformation and Logan figured that a big part of that was that she was unfamiliar with her body, but that the psychological stumbling blocks were far more like boulders. “<Now move.>” If the two of them were going to go to Japan to try and cure Remy, she had better be able to take care of herself.

Remy stepped away from the door and headed down to the Danger Room where she knew would be a beating.

“<I’m just going to have you run an obstacle course today, Remy.>”

“<An obstacle course?>”

“<You really are in bad shape if you think you can’t handle that.>”

Remy’s face showed an emotion akin to indignance as she glared at Logan’s vague form up in the Control Room. “”

Logan started the course and sat back to think about what she had taken to calling him. Every time she called him ‘old man’ he could feel his age. He wasn’t sure if she meant to insult him or if she was playing with him. Had it been Remy in masculine form, he wouldn’t doubt its meaning and there would be no need for this awkward hurt. When it was ‘Remina’ calling out this nickname she had adopted… he couldn’t help but feel hurt. He didn’t know why.

Really, he shouldn’t care what she thought of him; he was just training her and helping her because as the only person on the team who spoke Japanese it was his responsibility….

He didn’t have to put up with this if he didn’t want to. As the resident feral of the X-Men he’d been known to disappear for lengthy periods of time—even at inconvenient moments, leaving people in the lurch. The urge to leave left pretty quickly when he saw Remy breezing through the obstacle course like she was flying. She had a smile on her face for the first time in days and it made Logan so happy that he wanted to hug her— and kiss her—but that thought brought him to a dark place in the back of his mind where an urge lurked without authorization.

When this happened to Remy he had sworn to himself that he would never look at her that way—never want her that way because he knew she could never want him back and he would never want to hurt her—his friend.

The urge to leave tugged at him strongly again, but why should he leave Remy when she was making so much progress? She would get no where without him. He also understood that sometimes when stress was threatening to crush you that you needed someone to take it out on. Since Logan was the only one she could talk to, Logan was it.

He tried to promise himself that he wouldn’t leave her when she needed his help. It was going to be a feat, since he was attracted to her like he was with Jean, but he would have to keep reminding himself—this was Remy Le Beau—a man.

Remy came out of the Danger Room sweating and smiling. “Tanoshi deshita!” <That was fun!> Her legs felt a little wobbly and she breathed heavily. She was going to be sore tomorrow, but she almost looked forward to it. She went to find Logan and he was in the Control Room above still looking out at the now empty Danger Room, deep in thought. “<How’d I do?>” she called up.

Logan was jerked out of his thoughts and looked at Remy at the bottom of the stairs. “<Fine. You did good.>” Remy smiled at him and Logan knew that it was going to be hard to keep the first half of his promise to himself. Logan growled and turned back to the Danger Room walls to hopefully give Remy the cue to go away.

Remy saw the way Logan’s face transformed into this drawn frown as he looked back at the Danger Room. He was troubled about something. She didn’t think it was her performance; it was much better than her last. “<What’s wrong, Logan?>”

“Nandemonai.” <Nothing.> Remy didn’t believe him and her brows drew together, but he had said that it was nothing, so that meant he didn’t want to be pried at. If it concerned her, he would let her know. She trusted Logan to be straightforward with her, so she left it at that and turned from the stairs to go up the hall to the elevator.

Hope you know what you’re doin’, bub, he said to himself after Remy left.

Football night was something all of the men in the mansion, excluding the Professor would gather for and make loud noises and huge gestures during. As the season drew on, the games and the bets got bigger. Hank said that they were on an exponential climb, but Remy didn’t believe Hank when Logan translated it. They were midway through the season, but this was a game major bets were riding on because they were both teams that half the X-Men loved.

The guys were crushing the couch and had all of their beverages and snacks scattered about the room. Remy had left during half-time and come back to a full couch. Logan had stolen her spot. Putting her fists on her hips, Remy stomped over to Logan and said, “<Outta my seat, old man.>”

“<You snooze, you loose,>” Logan said dismissively.

“<Oh, yeah?>” Remy decided that she would just need to teach Logan a lesson and turned around and plopped right into his lap, none too softly either. Logan oofed at the sudden pressure and put his hands up around the thin arms—one hand still holding his beer bottle. “<Now I have a great view. Thank you, Logan.>” Remy took a beer from the side table and swigged off of it, leaning back into Logan.

“<Kid, you had better get off of me!>” Logan shouted at her.

“<You stole my spot; it’s only fair retribution.>”

“<I’ll move, damnit, now get off!>”

“” she said obviously flirting with him, wiggling her hips a little, and Logan couldn’t believe it.

Grabbing a fistful of auburn hair, Logan pulled her head back toward his and said low, so no one could hear his tone, “<If you do not get off my lap, you will be severely sorry, Remy Le Beau. I am not kidding around.>” He could smell her hair and that didn’t help matters any. The shampoo was clean and mildly floral scented.

“<What are you going to do to make me sorry?>” Logan pulled tighter on her hair and Remy slid her hips on his lap to lean closer to him and relieve the pressure on her scalp.

That was when what Logan feared would happen, happened. He felt his pants getting slightly tighter and knew that Remy could feel the stiffness across her little round ass and she stilled on his lap. “<That,>” Logan said flatly and let up on Remy’s hair expecting her to get off of his lap immediately.

“Gomannasai, Logan,” <I’m sorry, Logan,> she whispered and got off the couch and left the room completely.

Once out of the room, Remy put her face in her hands and felt a fist squeeze at her heart. She didn’t want to hurt Logan; she had just been playing around. She felt comfortable with him enough to do that. Now she realized that she was being a little shit to do that to him. She knew what it was like to be a man and have a woman fall all over you, whether you had a good deal of interest in her or not. It was still sexy. If the woman didn’t return your interest, it was torture.

The thought that she might return Logan’s interest and solve the problem did not even enter her head. That Logan might have any affection toward her also was something she was keenly oblivious to.

Logan spent the rest of the night quiet, not actually paying attention to the flow of the game—just thinking about Remy on his lap and the way she felt. Thinking about the way she stayed in his lap for just a moment before getting up casually and leaving the room. She didn’t make a scene, which he was grateful for. She didn’t even call him a perverted old man, which was something he had to admit he was expecting. Frankly, he wasn’t even expecting the, “I’m sorry, Logan” he got from the misrepresented boy.

As much as he tried throughout the night, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and when he finally dragged himself to bed that night after several beers, his thoughts invariably went to what that body felt like on his lap; the way Remy squirmed in his lap a little with well shaped thighs and butt. Sleep was no where in sight and Logan needed to get his mind off of this so he could sleep and he wouldn’t face Remy tomorrow looking like death warmed over and could train with her.

His hands found their own answer to his problem and before he knew it he was freely imagining what Remy’s current body was like from what he’d glimpsed and felt. Drifting with the thoughts of her body, his imagination responded by making this private little fantasy more interactive and Logan was kissing her and fondling her. It had admittedly been a long while since he’d had a woman, but in his mind’s eye the woman Remy was in his dream was so much better than what he remembered women being like. Remy was strong and receptive. She enjoyed his strength, enjoyed being marked.

After it was all over, he realized that it was his fantasy of Remy that he desired; what he thought she would be like in bed, not Remy. Remy would never be like that with him. Remy was after all, at heart, very much still a man.

Remy was so horny she could barely stand it. She had been up all night fighting this urge to explore her body. It had been three weeks since her last orgasm in any form and she wasn’t about to stand for this any longer. Remy knew what to do with a woman’s body; she had brought so many women to orgasm it wasn’t even funny. For the first week of Remy’s transformation she had been unwilling to touch her body beyond washing it. As a man, he prided himself on the knowledge of the human female, but as a woman, she was very scared of this body she was in.

Logan had made her curious about what it felt like to be a woman and to feel… full. I can’t believe I’m craving dick, she said to herself, although admittedly, the thoughts were in Japanese. She still thought of herself as a man, even though she was definitely not.

Her hands slid under her shirt and glided across her smooth belly and up farther to caress her braless breasts. They were nice and soft. It felt particularly nice and a touch ticklish when she grazed a nipple with her finger tips. Remy shuddered. Not caring any more, she shed all of her clothing in rapid succession so she wouldn’t be hampered by it.

Looking over herself, she realized that she retained most of the marks and freckles she had when she was a man. At least they were familiar. The large, firm breasts on her chest though, were definitely not familiar… although, they were nice. Squeezing one experimentally, she felt how it gave the nipple a teasing sensation and made her tingle all the way down to the organ she hadn’t started thinking about yet. That was a larger step.

She played with her breasts a little to see what felt how and what was best. What was best was when she would squeeze the breast, gently pushing in and playing with the nipple at the same time. That was great. The breasts felt the same; there was no difference in sensation from one to the other. They felt great when fondled together, too.

She felt so hot—then she felt a distinct movement sensation from… somewhere inside her, down toward her opening. That was creepy. She checked the area only to find that it had obviously been liquid that was moving there. It was much hotter than her surface temperature and was slick. She knew what that was. It excited her even more and she slid her fingers inside herself. There was a rough patch just inside that felt great when she rubbed against it and she couldn’t help but jerk her hips—even the jerking of the hips was incredible, the muscles in the area squeezing sending pangs of pleasure ricocheting around her body. Thrusting fingers in and out of the hole, she felt amazing. No wonder women loved this so much.

Moaning slightly she tried to be quiet, more because she didn’t like the sound of her new feminine voice than for any other reason. She felt free to hiss and buck all evening long though and finally, well into the night, she could feel the walls inside her clench hard and a surge of pleasure wash through her. She wasn’t sure if she had come or not, but it felt good enough to exhaust her.

Logan didn’t have to smell very carefully to find traces of woman sex from Remy’s door. He even heard the little hitching of breath from inside, but he walked on past and continued down stairs for his two am snack trying not to think about the woman in the bed moaning, probably naked. Logan didn’t need that image after the ones he had of Remy already tonight. He made sure to drink lots of water in an attempt to cool himself down from the inside.

Morning brought a moody Gambit downstairs and Logan raised an eyebrow at her. “<Sleep all right?>”

“<I’m fine, leave me alone,>” was the curt response from behind the fridge. Logan wasn’t going to try to get on her bad side; his reasons for staying were barely keeping him there as it was. His promise to himself had altered from ‘no being attracted to Remy,’ to ‘no being attracted to Remy in front of Remy.’ That was a major distinction and one he hoped he could keep now that he had an outlet for it.

With Jean, this wasn’t so hard, because he could freely express his attraction to her and she was used to it—thought it was healthy and some other psycho junk like that, but with Remy… she wouldn’t stand for a man being attracted to her, even if the body Gambit was residing in was female.

“<After you’re done with that, meet me down in the Danger Room. Everybody else is in there now and you and I are up next.>”

“<You’re going to train with me?>” she asked hopeful.

“<Not just yet. After today though, I might.>” Remy nodded and smiled to Logan.

“” she said around a mouthful of toast.

Oh, those lips. Logan had to shake himself out of his musing. He finished the last of his coffee and headed down stairs.

Remy followed him with her gaze until the man was out of the kitchen. She hadn’t realized what a predatory walk Logan had. It was sexy.

The Danger Room session Logan had planned was much like the last obstacle course, with completely different obstacles naturally, otherwise Remy would get bored. This time, he was going to add in some Shi’ar monsters and a robot or two so she could have something to destroy and flex her powers on.

Remy creamed it. There was not an alien left standing and the last robot there was got destroyed in a fiery ball that exploded while Remy was in mid flight to the end of the course. Remy seemed very pleased with her performance and was nearly jumping with excitement. “Logan, dekita! Dekita!” <Logan, I did it! I did it!>

“<You sure did, kid. Why don’t we take it easy for the rest of the day.>” Remy nodded and calmed down, composing herself as she walked out the doors.

“<You want to go down to Harry’s tonight and have a few drinks?>” Remy asked Logan when they were out in the hall. Logan stopped abruptly as if he’d been smacked. He looked carefully at Remy’s smiling female face and reminded himself that it was Remy Le Beau, not Remina Bell asking him out and that they were drinking buddies. He wasn’t sure if he could keep himself away from Remy if they did go out for some drinks.

“<Remy, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.>” Remy’s face turned a frown out of a smile in a heartbeat and Logan was almost sorry he refused her.

“<Why not?>”

Logan opened his mouth to say why, but he couldn’t tell Remy that he was attracted to her. He had better come up with an excuse quickly, and one that was believable, too. “<Scott has me on night watch and I’m supposed to stay on the grounds tonight after dinner.>” He would have to arrange with Scott to have that done or he would be in real trouble.

“<Oh, I see. Well, I guess we’ll just have to do it another time,>” she said and walked past Logan with a sinking heart.

Remy wasn’t at dinner that night and Logan had ample time to arrange that he do the night watch, but it made him worry about Gambit that she hadn’t come down to dinner. He decided that he would have to take a plate of Jeannie’s fried chicken up to her with some mashed potatoes. The kid needed her strength. He was less than willing to admit that he was feeling sorry about what he’d said earlier and that he wanted to apologize, but since he couldn’t, he might as well gesture that he cared about the woman.

“<Don’t get the idea that I’m room service or anything!>” was all he shouted to the room when he left the plate by Remy’s door. He hadn’t bothered to knock knowing that it would only be awkward if Remy did actually answer the door. Logan could hear the small sobs coming from the room and his eyebrows lifted at that. He must have really offended the kid.

Remy went out that night without Logan, or anyone; he assumed the Cajun was going to Harry’s to get smashed, but hoped that she would at least take it easy.

Gambit was brought home by Harry’s bar tender, Mike who knew where all of the—more unusual people in the area came from. Logan thanked Mike for his trouble as he took Gambit from him. He had to carry the unconscious body to Gambit’s room and tuck the sleeping woman in. He brushed the sweaty hair out of Remy’s face as she slept, looking just like a woman. Sighing, he went back to watch, thankful that he was able to keep himself from taking advantage of the woman as she slept.

Chapter 3 (shoo san)

Logan had seen Gambit snappy from a hang over before, but this was ridiculous. Half way through the day she was so unwilling to be around people that she punched a wall and locked herself in her room. She had shouted at everyone, whether they said something rude to her or not. The only person who came away unscathed was Jean. She even yelled at Hank.

About to go tell her what an attitude problem she was having, Scott was going to drag Logan up there and have him translate a lecture, but Logan convinced him that the kid was not only having a hang over, but that she got upset yesterday over something Logan did. He was nonspecific about the incident.

“Fine, Logan. I’ll let it slide this time,” Scott said and went back to examine the damage that was done to the wall. He was willing to let it stay damaged until Gambit could fix it.

Letting Remy cool off was probably the best course of action. Besides, Logan didn’t know how to deal with the unreasonable demeanor Remy sprouted all of a sudden. It bothered him all that night. Meditation took the edge off of his worry so he could sleep, but the feeling that something terrible was going to happen was still in the back of his mind even when he woke up the next morning.

It was around noon when Logan heard the faint screams from Remy’s room. He was at lunch and the men’s dorm rooms were just down the hall and up the stairs. It was a feminine voice so that meant it could only be Remy that was screaming. This was not good. Logan left his sandwich lying on the table and called Hank with his communicator badge that Scott was adamant that they always wear. “Hank, something’s wrong with Remy. Get up here and take a look at him.” Logan didn’t bother knocking, he just opened the door. It offered some resistance, so he ended up cutting the latch on the lock so he could get through the door to Remy who was writhing on her bed, holding her stomach.

“<Remy, what is it? What’s wrong? Remy!>”

Remy looked up at Logan with pained eyes and moaned a little. She looked awful. Then Logan smelled blood. Just as Logan’s worry peaked, Remy cried out and curled in on herself like someone was killing her and Logan didn’t know what to do. He saw no wound.

Hank burst through the door at that moment and saw Remy curled up like that and took a deep breath, then let it out like a relieved sigh. He put a big hairy hand on Logan’s shoulder and said softly, “Logan, will you go ask Jean for a heating pad and some pain reliever. I’m sure we can make Remy more comfortable through this.”

“What?” Logan looked shocked that Hank could be so casual about Remy being in so much pain. Remy never screamed like this—never.

“I did say that Remy is a fully functioning female, did I not? I believe she is menstruating.”

“Yer shittin’ me,” Logan said, almost comforted by his assurances. A small smile appeared on Logan’s face and he smirked at Remy. “<Remy, it seems you’re the only man alive to experience women’s menstrual cramps.>”

“Nani?!!” <What?!!> she shouted, outraged.

“Would you also start some tea, Logan?”

“Yeah, Blue, you got it.”

When Logan got back upstairs with a heating pad in one hand and some cool water and pain reliever in the other Hank had positioned Remy with several pillows at the head of the bed so she could get comfortable. “Logan, would you mind plugging that in?” he asked referring to the heating pad.

“Sure. Here are the meds… Jean gave me two Naproxin Sodium.” He handed the two little blue pills to Hank along with the water and Hank gave them to Remy. There was no complaint from the young woman and she eagerly swallowed the pills. She grimaced in pain when the pills were swallowed though. Temperature seemed to affect the pain a lot, Remy observed when the cool feeling washed through her and her muscles spasmed afterward.

“Wise for the first cramps ever. I believe that a majority of Remy’s reaction to these cramps was fear. She has calmed down since you told her she was menstruating. Although, she does seem to be a bit more grouchy.” Logan smirked again. Running the heating pad over the night table, he handed it to Remy and she took it from Logan.

“<What am I supposed to do with this?>”

“<It will get hot in a minute. Put it where it hurts.>” Remy looked at the pad, then shoved it under the covers, scowling.

“Arigatou,” <Thank you,> she muttered.

“Doo itashimashite.” <You’re welcome.> Logan looked at Remy and smiled to himself again. He was feeling much better now that he knew nothing was wrong with Remy. “I had better go check on that tea,” Logan said to Hank before he left.

“Would you mind sending Jean up here when you’re down there?”

“Wouldn’t mind too much,” he said casually on his way out.

Jean was taking out sugar and herbal teas to put on a tray for Remy when Logan got down to the kitchen. “Ya heard, did ja?”

“Well, after you asked me for a heating pad and pain reliever and after Remy acted yesterday, well—it was kind of obvious. Oh! That reminds me, he’s going to need some napkins.” She left her tray on the counter and ran off to parts unknown. Or rather, Logan didn’t want to think about it. He knew what was going on—he’d been around too long not to be aquatinted with feminine problems of this sort, but this had taken him a little by surprise. He didn’t think Remy would have to go through this.

The kettle started to scream at him and he took it off the burner and poured some tea into a mug, setting it onto the tray Jean had prepared. Taking it upstairs, he met Jean along the way. “I don’t know if he’ll use them, but if he’s like this for long, he’s going to have to use something,” she said by way of explaining the sanitary napkins she brought up.

“Just don’t show him a tampon; he might jump out the window,” Logan warned.

Jean chuckled. “I’m sure he’s more well-adjusted than that.”

When they entered, Hank turned to them. “Ah, Jean, would you mind—“ she held up two small, square, pink wrapped packages and Hank stopped. “You read my mind, Jean.”

“For once, I didn’t. I just figured he was going to need them.”

“Well, we can leave those for her if she feels the need to use them. I wouldn’t address it right now because she’s still in a lot of pain. I doubt she’ll be able to move comfortably for another hour.” Jean moved to put the pink packages on the night stand.

“Ouch,” commented Logan.

“There is little beyond this we can do for her. What’s best is that she sleep.”

“Namunasai, Remy,” <Please sleep, Remy,> Logan advised.

““ she hissed in and drew up slightly, as if trying to get away from her midsection, “itai.” <hurts.>

“” Remy nodded, relaxing back down into the bed, the pain ebbing for a moment.

“<How long will this last?>”

“Good question. Hank, how long’s he gonna be like this?”

“The pain could last anywhere from just today to several days from now.”

“Days?” Logan questioned.

“”

“<Blue is going to keep giving you medicine, don’t worry, but you might be like this for a couple days.>”

“<Days?>”

“<That’s what I said.>” Logan wanted to help her, but there was really nothing he could do. “<We can’t do anything but let nature take its course.>”

“<This is not nature! This is a Vodoun hex and I want out of this body now!>” Remy shouted. “<Logan, help me,>” she moaned, nearly sobbing, curling up again.

“<We’ll do everything we can, Remy. Rest now. I’ll be back to see you and make sure you’re okay. As soon as your papers are back from the lawyers, I’ll book us a flight to Japan.>” Remy nodded feebly. Jean was offering her tea and she took it with a shaky hand to sip at it.

Remy’s papers weren’t expected back from her lawyers for another week. She wasn’t going to be happy about this, but hopefully they would have her cured before another one of these blasted times of the month came around.

Logan went back down to finish his lunch because he was still hungry, and was passing by a calendar when he noticed one of the little moon phase markings in the squares. Today’s was hollow; the full moon. Knowing that the phases of the moon didn’t tie in directly to women’s menstruation, he wondered if he could keep track of Remy’s… irritability by the phases of the moon, or close to. That would be nice.

After his sandwich was done, he decided to go see Remy and see if she was hungry. She had been sipping on the tea and was all out by the time Logan got upstairs. “<You gonna be okay?>” Logan asked her. She nodded slightly.

“”

“<That’s good, kid. You feel up to eating?>”

Remy grimaced. “” Logan nodded and lowered himself onto the edge of Remy’s bed slowly.

“<This okay?>” he asked, knowing that the minor shifting of a surface under a menstruating woman could cause her to go berserk. Remy nodded. “<You want me to read to you or anything?>” Logan thought being confined to bed would be the worst thing in the world. Never having a problem with physical things, it wasn’t often an issue for him. Remy shook her head.

“<Tell me, Logan… that was a shrine we were going into when we went to look for the jewel of Cytorakk, right?>”

“<That’s right.>”

“<What kind?>”

“<Shinto, by the look of it.>”

“<Do they have magic?> she asked curiously and tired.

“<Maybe not like we think of it, but they do have it. Most Shinto don’t use a lot of magic; just reading the future and some prosperity rituals—stuff like that.>”

“<Who would want to turn me into a woman?>”

“”

Remy only had to deal with three days of the pain with brief respites in between. She didn’t move far from the comfortable bed during that time, and Logan stayed with her and talked with her, making sure she didn’t have a lack of tea or food when she could stomach it.

When the fourth day rolled around, Remy took the longest shower in history, at least in her history, and wasn’t down for food until two in the afternoon. When she finally came down though, she was smiling. That was a good sign. “Logan, ikimashio?” <Logan, shall we go?>

“<Where?>”

“Nihon!” <Japan!>

“<Remy, we can’t go to Japan until we have your passport. It should be just a few more days.>”

“Shimatta!” <Damn!> Remy huffed.

“<Do you want to go out, though?>” Logan figured that being cooped up for three days Remy was ready to get out of the house and have some fun.

“Hontoni?!” <Really?!>

“Hai,” <Yes,> Logan smiled to her. Remy whooped and nearly did a backflip, but there was no room in the kitchen, so she refrained. Chuckling to himself, Logan said, “<How about going out for dinner and taking it from there, hunh?>”

Bouncing off the walls, Remy went to do her chores for the day, which included the repair of the wall she had smashed a hole in, so she could get ready for dinner. This would be great!

Logan wasn’t so worried about Remy’s excitement about going out for dinner; it was natural after being cooped up in the house for that long. What worried him was his own excitement about the impending evening. His desire to keep Remy happy was something that was tickling him with delight now and he knew that it wasn’t healthy for that kind of feeling to be fostered and not acted upon. He’d end up pining.

This was getting dangerous. He had better make some things clear to Remy over dinner tonight. This needed to be addressed and he was hoping he didn’t get slugged during the course of the evening.

Remy was ready to go and had apparently borrowed some of Jean’s clothing to go out with; Remy was wearing a skirt. It was a nice, knee length flowing little thing with a matching blouse at the top. The black ensemble worked very well with Remy’s complexion and hair color. Logan stared at her for a full two minutes and Remy started to blush.

“<Logan, don’t stare at me.>”

“<Oh, sorry,>” he said shaking himself out of the deep, private thoughts about Remy in a dress. “<But, you look wonderful.>” Logan was glad he had chosen the jeans without holes and a shirt that wasn’t stained and beat up to go out with.

“<Thank you.>”

The only thing Logan didn’t see on Remy was any trace of makeup. Jean would have to do some pretty hard convincing on that one—and get her to stay still for long enough.

“<Shall we go?>”

Nodding, Remy took a step toward the door and out of reflex Logan reached to open it for her. Remy stopped in the doorway and looked back at Logan. Shyly, Logan looked away from her questioning gaze and Remy nodded to herself, continuing through the door. Kicking himself for acting like a jerk, he followed Remy out. Remy was still a man—he didn’t need to have somebody treat him like a woman—but why the dress?

Logan’s jeep was thankfully one of those vehicles that could be unlocked with the push of a button. Scott had made it clear that all of the cars they had would have that one feature so that if they needed to get into them quickly there would be no shuffle of confusion about the doors. Thus, Remy was able to open her own door for the car and Logan didn’t have to feel like a chauvinist ass.

The restaurant and bar Logan chose was a casual little place in town and Remy seemed to feel very shy when being treated like a lady by the staff, but was only getting rosy cheeks and presenting a shy hunched posture with hands clasped in front of her.

“Can I start you off with a few drinks, sir?”

“Water and coke for the lady and a beer for me. Thanks.”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter said was off.

“<What do you feel like eating?>” Logan asked Remy.

“Shirunai,” Remy said distractedly as she watched the live band that was on the opposite side of the room over near the bar. They were playing a rockin’ song that was easy on the ears.

“Anata wa bando suki?” <Do you like that band?> Logan asked. Remy turned her attention to Logan and smiled.

“<Anything would be good at this point, but they aren’t bad.>” Logan smiled at Remy’s response. At least he could do no wrong for now. He would wait until they were well into the food part of their… outing—it wasn’t a date, to address the feelings on his mind.

Their drinks were brought to them and Logan ordered for them both after Remy finally decided what she wanted. Remy seemed to be having fun just watching the band and the few people who were dancing to their music on occasion. Logan was watching Remy have fun, wiggling in her seat, like she was itching to dance.

“Logan, mite!” <Logan, look!> Remy whispered to Logan and pointed at two men who got up at the start of a new song and began dancing together—kind of like swing. They weren’t half bad and both of them looked decent. The crowd went quiet, but the band kept playing for the couple and a few of the other patron couples sat down. The men kept on dancing though until the song and their dance was finished.

To Logan’s surprise, Remy started clapping for the couple as they went to sit at the finish of the song. Logan joined in the clapping for the band and couple right after Remy did to make her feel better, but it helped spark applause from the rest of the crowd.

Remy seemed very pleased after the couple’s display and Logan was very curious about her reaction. “<Good dancers,>” Logan commented, hoping to ignite a conversation.

“<Brave dancers,>” Remy responded. “<And good,>” she amended.

“<That didn’t bother you?>”

Remy seemed to draw into herself at that question. Logan admitted it was phrased far more like an accusation than a question and was sorry he’d phrased it that way, but it’s just the way it came out. Not only could he not take it back, but he was curious about the answer. All Remy ended up saying was, “Iie.” <No.> Then Remy looked up to Logan. “<Are you surprised?>” she asked curiously.

“<Surprised?>”

“<That it doesn’t bother me.>”

“<Well, Remy,>” Logan started with a hint of a smile creeping up on his face, “<you are the most sexually displaced person here and I figured those issues would bother you.>”

Logan was leisurely taking a sip from his beer, waiting for Remy’s response. “<Well, I had been getting curious about what receiving penetration would be like,>” she said very quietly. Not quietly enough that Logan couldn’t hear her and Logan’s drink came spraying out his mouth and some from his nose.

“Uso!” <No way!> he coughed trying to cover up his face.

Remy leaned over to Logan, concerned, handing him a napkin. “<I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.>” Logan couldn’t get his mind around what Remy had just said, much less move onto what she was saying now. Did Remy really want to—no, that didn’t make sense. Even if she was curious about it, it didn’t make her want to actually go through with it and even if she did want to go through with it, that didn’t mean she wanted Logan to be the one to do it.

Remy got more concerned the longer she looked at Logan’s face as his expression changed from shocked, to perplexed, to angry. “<Logan? Are you all right? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Logan?>”

Logan came back to the table on, “” and was forced to notice that Remy was very concerned about his behavior.

“<It’s okay, Remy. I just wasn’t prepared for that.>”

“<I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Should we leave?>

“<Are you kidding? The food hasn’t even come yet. You’re lucky that it hasn’t, otherwise I’d have choked instead,>” he said with a reassuring smile. Remy’s returned smile was wan, but it was a start.

Their food came a few minutes later and Logan must have been hungry because he dove into his food and didn’t look at Remy for several minutes. Remy took less advantage of the awkward silence mostly because the butterflies in her stomach were objecting to the thought of food. She picked at her food, looking at it and contemplating how mad she’d made Logan with that little comment.

The friendship they had was a little forced, Remy could tell. Why Logan forced himself was really beyond her; the man could do what he wanted. Maybe he felt… responsible for what happened? That didn’t make sense; it was Remy’s own stupid card that broke the wall. Whatever the reason that Logan stayed with her, she was grateful for it. She just hoped that it was enough to get them past that stupid remark Remy made just now.

Remy chanced looking up at Logan and Logan felt eyes on him. Tentatively, he looked up at Remy and their eyes locked. Remy’s stare was so uncomfortable and scared, it made Logan wonder what she was frightened about. It made him put his fork down.

“Remy, kowai ka?” <Remy, you scared?>

“Kowai? Iie,” <Scared? No,> she waived off and stared eating again.

“Remy,” Logan said seriously and that prompted Remy to look up at him. “<It’s normal for you to be curious about that sort of thing… now that you’ve got the body for it. I’m sorry that I reacted badly, but I was surprised. Please don’t let my reaction bother you when you—if you… think about it some more.>”

“” Remy went back to poking at her food like she was going to eat, but didn’t. The butteflies had become tied to an anchor that was dragging them all fluttering down her gut. She really didn’t want to eat now.

Logan wasn’t sure if he had made things worse by saying that, but he needed to reassure Remy somehow, but he got the feeling that he didn’t do such a good job just now.

“Atashi wa hoshi sake,” Remy mumbled.

“<Unfortunately, since you don’t have an ID, you can’t have any.>” Logan told her. “<Why do you want it anyway?>”

“<None of your business,>” Remy said looking away from Logan and back toward the band. Logan sighed.

“<Remy? Remy, come on, we need to talk.>” That gave Logan Remy’s attention. “<Why the dress, Remy?>”

“<That’s what we need to talk about?>”

“<Not specifically, but it’s not making it any easier for me to think of you as a man instead of a woman I’d like to date.>”

Remy’s mouth dropped open. Logan felt like he’d been punched as soon as he realized that those words actually came out and he glanced at his mostly empty plate. “<You want to—>“ Remy asked.

“<I’m sorry, Remy. You’re beautiful and if you were wearing jeans like any normal guy, I don’t think I’d have as much of a problem, but it’s still a problem for me. That dress is kind of confusing, too.>”

Remy could see why. She had no clue that Logan felt that way. She knew that Logan found her aesthetically pleasing, but so did the rest of the guys at the mansion. Remy had wanted to try out being a girl for a night and half thought about wandering off to pick up a guy, but with this confession from Logan… Remy’s plans changed totally.

“<I’m sorry, Logan. I just… wondered what it felt like.>” Logan nodded. Of course the dress wasn’t for him. Remy wouldn’t think like that. “<I’ve been wondering that about a lot of things lately.>” Like you, she finished to herself.

“<So you said.>”

“<Am I making you uncomfortable, Logan?>”

“<Yes.>” That made Remy shut up.

“<Why?>” she asked in a tiny voice.

“<Because I don’t want to think of you as being open to these things. I don’t want to think of you as a woman—you’re not. At least you’re not going to be for long.>”

“” Remy stood from the table and left the restaurant.

Logan went to the counter to pay for their meal so he could go after Remy. She was in the city without speaking the language, without any ID to let people know where she came from—if this were Japan it’d be dangerous. As it was, here in the states, he feared for Remy’s life.

Remy skipped down the street to a bar and tried to find a rather helpless looking guy that was hopefully Japanese. She doubted she’d find someone just like that, but the bar was the right type. It had quite a few yuppies and their larva inside. Remy looked around for someone fitting her desired description, and came upon a young college student who looked like he had the right facial structure to be Japanese.

Sauntering up to him, she wedged her way to the lonely looking young man not having been carded at the door. “Nihongo o hanashimasu ka?” <Do you speak Japanese?>

The young man turned to look at Remy and smiled brightly. “”

“<Lucky guess. A very,>” she said, scooting closer to him seductively, “<lucky guess.>”

The young man introduced himself as Jonathan Takahashi, descended from Japanese, but brought up in the states. He was going to school in the nearby university and was here in town to visit some friends and have a good time. Remy hoped she’d be able to share in that good time. All of their conversation was in Japanese—Jonathan’s half broken though. Remy didn’t mind. It was the closest she was going to get to having a conversation.

Remy explained to Jonathan when asked that she was out looking for a good time as well this evening and hoped that Jonathan would be willing to share it with her. Jonathan smiled at her and asked if he could buy Remy a drink. Remy thanked him, smiling and asked for a Midori Sour. Jonathan almost laughed. This one was a real character.

“<Can you not speak English?>” Jonathan asked Remy when her drink was served.

“<No, I can’t.>”

“<Wow. You must be having a difficult time.>”

“<Not since I found you to talk to,>” she smiled again.

Logan was out the door and smelling for that shampoo of Gambit’s. She left only three minutes before Logan was able to get away, so the scent was still relatively fresh in the air. He followed it down the block and the smell ended after he hit a bar. Well, it made sense for the Cajun to go there, since she was pissed. Logan entered the bar and after he looked around saw that it wasn’t exactly the Cajun’s style of place, but a cursory glance at the bar found her leaning in on—a guy!

Anger boiled inside Logan’s veins and he stomped up to the pair at the bar. Remy was just finishing a bright green drink out of a too thin straw when Logan came up. “Ah, sensei! Sashi buri, ne?” <Ah, teacher! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?>

“<Not really. You belong back at the school, young lady.>”

“Ano hitto wa katai shiri!” <He’s such a stiff ass,>” she complained to the man she was trying to pick up. Jonathan smiled at Remina then at Logan.

“Hajimemashite,” <It’s nice to meet you,> he said, half bowing to Logan in his seat.

“Look, kid, I’m sorry to burst in on your fun, but Remina needs to get back to her school,” Logan addressed the boy in English, grabbing Remina by the arm slowly, so as not to seem violent or angry.

“I’d be happy to drive her back tomorrow; she really does want to stay out.”

“It’s non-negotiable. She’s not supposed to be out in the first place.” The boy seemed to sober.

“I see. I’m sorry.” He turned to Remina and said, “Anata hanashii deshita.” <It was good talking to you.>

“Omae mo.” <You too.> Remy smiled, “Goshuso sama.”<Thanks for the drink.>

“Yurukonde.” <My pleasure.>

She left quietly with Logan, but was frowning by the time she had looked away from the boy. They were out on the street, Logan still holding Remy by the arm. “<Why can’t you let me do this?>”

“<That’s not how you go about it, damnit! Picking some stranger up in a bar you’re likely to catch something or get hurt.>”

Remy stopped. “” she purred, leaning closer to Logan’s ear. “<And you would never hurt me, right?>”

“<You can’t be suggesting that we—>“

“<That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.>” Remy experimentally licked the edge of Logan’s ear. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he tried to focus on why this was a bad idea.

“<Do you know how complicated that will make things?>”

“<At this point, Logan, I don’t care,>” she said and ground against Logan.

Logan’s sensible side was insisting that this wasn’t a good idea, but Remy was appealing to the side opposite the sensible and appealing hard at that. Logan didn’t know how much longer he could take this and decided that no matter what, he should get Remy home. “<Get in the car,>” he said pushing Remy toward the jeep that was a number of feet away. Remy sighed and stepped over to their vehicle, climbing in when Logan unlocked it.

The ride home was silent and Logan thought Remy might just let the subject drop when they headed up the stairs to the mansion door. “<Logan, what are you afraid of?>”

“Kowai?” <Afraid?> he asked turning from the door to face Remy instead.

“<You must be afraid of something, otherwise you’d take me upstairs and ravage me,>” Remy spoke softly to Logan, being turned on by her own words.

““ Logan tried to get hold of sane thoughts, but the thought of ravaging Remy blocked any threads of sanity he might have been able to grasp.

“Ikimashio ka?” <Shall we go?> Logan could smell how much she wanted this. If Logan had any doubts that Remy was a woman, they all vanished when he smelled the hot musk coming from between his friend’s legs. It was like Logan was paralyzed and Remy leaned down to kiss him. At the touch of her lips, Logan was absorbed in the feelings rushing through his body and his hands became free to move.

Remy guided them up to Logan’s room and once there Remy got freer with her hands too. At that point it was safe to do anything she wanted and Logan was at the top of the list.

Woman she might be currently and man she might have been in the past, but above all Remy considered herself a lover and a lover who knew how to please her partner. Including men in that definition of ‘partner’ was a bit of a challenge, but she had extensive knowledge of herself when she was a he and started extrapolating what she thought Logan would like.

Her self image was beginning to broaden and she wanted to feel Logan inside her and to make him cry out with abandon; she wanted to make him lose control. Sucking his tongue into her mouth, she groped the bulge in his jeans and began to unfasten them. Grunting softly into her mouth in response, his hands reached up to her breasts reflexively and his desire to show her how good sex could be was evident in the way he put just enough pressure to be exciting, but not enough to cause any discomfort. He pressed her up against the nearest wall—trapping her.

When his mouth was released, it fastened onto her neck. Breathing in strongly as electricity ran through her body Remy became excited by this treatment. It wasn’t often when someone would be so strong with her, certainly not back when she was a man. The animal nature boiling just under the surface of her friend and teammate made her want to get wild.

His jeans were finally open and Remy reached inside to find what she wanted. To her pleasure she found that Logan was hard for her, but also that he felt very thick through his boxers. Sliding down the wall out of his grasp she reached in and pulled him out. Logan gasped at her touch and put a hand against the wall to stabilize himself.

“Oh….” He moaned out as Remy slid her mouth over his leaking head. Encouraged by the sounds he made, Remy took more of him into her mouth and had her hands fondling his balls. That was about when he noticed his pants were down to his knees and he couldn’t remember how they got there. “Remy….” He moaned again tilting his head back.

Letting up, Remy didn’t want to let this party end so quickly and she quelled Logan’s protest with a kiss. With gentle hands, she encouraged the riddance of clothing and a repositioning to Logan’s bed. She took care of her own outfit as well, throwing it casually across the floor. Logan was lying down on his bed with Remy straddling him when they made it there. Leaning down she kissed him deeply again and Logan was having a hard time controlling himself as he grabbed her hips and squeezed her butt. He could smell how wet she was and reached around her butt and felt in between her legs, farther into her pussy lips to find her soaking with cream.

“Logan!” she shouted, breathless and wriggling at his hand. She needed to feel him inside her now. She was itching to have her pussy be filled to the brim with him.

Grabbing his swollen manhood, Remy positioned herself above him and Logan stopped her decent just before she made it to his head. “<Remy… are you sure about this?>”

“<I’m very sure, Logan,>” she said with determination.

He reached up and brushed a coarse hand against a smooth cheek, then drew her down for a kiss where he sucked her tongue into his mouth and he guided her the rest of the way down onto his hard rod.

Remy moaned in discomfort, but it was swallowed by Logan. If there was discomfort, then that was probably Remy’s hymen and that couldn’t feel good. Logan pumped up into her, after a moment of letting her accustom herself to his presence, spreading her natural lubrication, making it feel much better than the hopefully brief pain.

Gasping at his motion, Remy looked entranced when Logan looked at her face, lit by the moonlight. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes closed, looking at something beyond Logan’s comprehension. He liked her face like that—like she was in awe.

Smiling to himself before hand, he grabbed her back and rolled over onto her so she didn’t have to work. She felt nice and tight as he withdrew almost completely and slid back into her. Her body writhed against his and she made plenty of noise for him and he was growling and grunting into her ear. She started squeezing her muscles around his cock and he could hardly believe how tight she got.

Remy felt… complete as Logan filled her to the brim. The pistoning motion made her insides churn with feelings of delight. He looked so damn sexy when he held himself above her and moved back and forth in throes of passion. They stared at each other in the faint moonlight and she thought then how incredibly beautiful he looked.

In all fairness it was Remy who started the biting. Latching onto his clavicle, she sank her teeth in. He didn’t know if her intention was to break his skin or not; frankly he didn’t think she was paying attention. The pain only accompanied the pleasure; it didn’t interfere. He kissed her and as he tasted blood his thrusting into her became wilder and he started reciprocating in marking her more—on the slender neck, smooth shoulders, and luscious breasts.

Remy was screaming and Logan wasn’t quite sure if it was in ecstasy or pain or both, but she didn’t stop him. “Logan! Sugoi, Logan!” <Logan! It’s wonderful, Logan!> Her shouting spurred him on and he couldn’t hold out much longer.

“Remy! Ii ku….” <Remy! I’m coming….> he groaned as he thrust sporadically into her and released his seed.

Gripping his shoulders with nails like claws, she dug into his skin as an energy she never felt before made her warm inside and sent her own muscles spasming in bright throes of pleasure.

Logan breathed heavily into her ear, barely able to keep his substantial weight politely on his elbows. She rocked up into him a few last times, in the fading wash of her own orgasm, eliciting aftershocks that ran through his whole body.

“<Was that everything you hoped, Remy?>”

“<Yes, Logan. It’s incredible.>” He leaned up to look at her expression. “<Thank you for sharing this with me.>” She was smiling at him as those eyes sparkled and glowed in the dark.

Rolling to the side of the bed, he waited for Remy to get up and leave like he was sure she would. She followed him over and snuggled up beside him, her arm thrown over his chest and one leg curled up across his hips. He heard a happy sigh in his ear and heard her heart flutter and slow down. Then her breathing evened out. She was sleeping on him.

Logan’s heart sank as he thought about how temporary this feeling was going to be. Hugging Remy to him, he wished that it didn’t have to be temporary, but life was never that kind to him. Not sure whether he’d be able to get to sleep or not, he tried to still his body and quiet his mind so he wouldn’t disturb Remy.

Remy woke up feeling warm and secure. Shifting a little in early morning wakefulness, she hugged the sleeping body next to her. “Ohio gozaimasu,” <Good morning,> she mumbled into Logan’s ear.

She felt Logan jerk awake and he looked over at her. “Hmm?”

“Ohio gozaimasu, Logan. Atashi ga anata issho ni mezameru suki.” <Good morning, Logan. I like to wake up with you.>

Logan didn’t know how to take that. He was sure that she meant it, but he didn’t know how he should react. Fear filled his heart. This was so complicated already. Remy saw the apprehension on his face and her expression became worried. “<Logan… what’s wrong?>”

“<Remy, are you… okay with me still?>”

Smiling, Remy understood what was wrong. Propping herself up on one elbow, she asked him, “<Logan, would you go out with me?>”

“<What?>”

“<Will you go out with me?>” she asked again.

“<Are you sure?>” Remy nodded. The beginnings of a smile formed on his face and he reached up to caress Remy’s face. “Dai suki.” Remy’s smile broke out suddenly and Logan thought it was much like a sunrise.

“Dai suki, Logan,” she said as she leaned down to kiss him.

“Demo….” <But….> he said after they parted.

Oh no!

“<What happens when you become a man again?>”

Remy’s face angered and Logan could tell he’d asked the wrong question. He still needed to know. “<You’re the one who was telling me how you wouldn’t mind if your mate suddenly changed gender on you!>”

“<Remy, I’m not asking about my reaction; I know what mine will be—I’m asking about yours!>”

Remy grew quiet and looked at Logan. I just made love to you and you’re asking me that? “<Okay, Logan. I’ll tell you what—I’ll go and experiment some and I’ll come back tonight. If you have my ass and I like it, I’m sure I’ll like it as a man. Problem solved.>”

Logan blinked at Remy’s openness. “<Most women don’t like that.>”

“<Do I look like most women to you?>” Logan smiled at that. No, Remy certainly didn’t look like most women; she was quite a bit prettier than most. Didn’t make love like most women either. Remy was pretty wild and lively as he replayed the night’s activity in his mind.

“<Okay, Remy, you’ve got a deal. If you come back here tonight and can tell me honestly that you like it… I’ll go out with you.>”

Remy hopped excitedly on the bed and jumped off of it to gather up her clothes. She wasn’t sure that she would like it, but she knew that she was curious, so today’s experimentation would have to be pretty in depth.

Shoo yon (Chapter four)

Remy was downstairs looking for Jean when Scott found her. “Remy? What are you doing without Logan?” Remy scowled at him, her lip sticking out in a little pout. Scott reminded himself that he shouldn’t be doing this to the man—er, woman and tried to piece together a question from the Japanese he’d been picking up from Logan. “Logan—doko ka?” <Logan, where?>

“”

After Scott heard Jean’s name he didn’t try to decipher the rest; he’d let her deal with it. He called to her telepathically and motioned for Remy to stay in the kitchen until she got there. Using the hand signals for combat to Remy had been pretty effective when giving the woman commands around the mansion, but he didn’t have enough of them to communicate everything he wanted to say so he didn’t get to use them often.

Remy waited in the kitchen after Scott walked off and Jean appeared a few minutes later. She smiled at Remy and asked, How did your date go?

It was incredible, Jean. I have to ask you another favor and I hope you can help me out. I need some things… from an adult shop, Remy bit her bottom lip lightly as she spoke to Jean telepathically. The language barrier wasn’t present with telepathic conversation, so Jean and Logan were about the only people Remy could effectively talk to.

An adult shop?

I need a vibrator, she admitted shyly. Jean could see the woman’s complexion reddening and her posture was very different than Remy Le Beau had ever born. She didn’t think she’d ever seen the woman so nervous, even when she had been a man.

I see. Anything to do with a certain feral Canadian?

Well… I might as well tell you. We had sex last night.

Wow! That’s a really big step, are you all right?

The sex was a new experience, but I… I’ve grown a lot closer to Logan over the past few weeks and I can’t imagine being without him, so when this curse is lifted… I want to be with him still. I just need to prove to him that I can still be with him when I’m a man. I think I might need to convince myself of that too. So, today is experimentation day, but I obviously can’t purchase anything because of my complete lack of an ID. Will you help me, Jean?

Of course! I’m afraid that I might over do it with what I get you… is that okay?

Like I said, experimentation day. I’ll need—ahem, instruments of different sizes so I can see how much I can take and what I like… and I’ll need some gay porn too. God, Jean… do you think this is okay?

Remy, it’s okay if you are comfortable with it. I’ll support you however I can. It’s not wrong to do these things and certainly not wrong to experiment with them. Through their conversation Remy could sense that Jean was getting excited.

Do you want to watch the videos with me?

Remy thought she heard a mental squeal and saw Jean try to hold in a giggle, but nodded fiercely to the question. Remy smiled at her.

When Jean returned, she was carrying a bag that looked like it could have been full of ordinary things from a grocery store, but the bag logo was certainly wrong and there was a thin box sticking up out of the top hinting at its contents. She rushed to Remy’s room and closed the door behind her looking like an amateur thief who’d just pulled of their first pinch. She was breathing just a little too heavily to have not run up the stairs and Remy smiled at her tentatively.

I think this is going to be good, she smiled conspiratorially.

They put on a video and sat on Remy’s bed to watch it as the men gathered for a truth or dare game that was a little more structured than most, with cards and a spin dial. It wasn’t clear whether or not the men actually liked each other from their banter and the reluctance with which they fulfilled their tasks until the very end of the film when, after clothing was dared off and a few small favors had been exchanged, the three of them had sex.

Won’t Scott get mad at you for being in here with me? Remy asked.

If I’m contributing to making you gay, I don’t think he’ll mind.

Remy scowled at the bed when she heard that. Being gay… it sounded so… crass—unappealing—cliché… wrong. It sounded wrong to Remy’s mind and she couldn’t figure out why. She didn’t disapprove of it… maybe it was the way Jean was thinking Scott would react; like all of a sudden she would become less threatening if she were gay. Remy didn’t plan on becoming less dangerous, especially in combat, and she still liked women. Even as she was sitting next to Jean she was tempted to lean over and brush her lips against Jean’s cheek, then her lips.

Jean had as close as one could get to a front row seat to the Cajun’s thoughts and was flattered at the thought about a kiss, but refrained from mentioning that she heard the thought or encouraging it. She did sense the confusion in Remy and decided that she probably needed a hug and so reached over and wrapped her arm around the other woman’s shoulders.

Returning the hug, Remy wasn’t sure on how to react. Jean… I’m not sure I can do this if it will change the way everyone looks at me.

It might change some views of you, but it certainly won’t change mine. When you change back, you’ll still be the same sexy man who walked into this house and tried to break me and my husband up, she smiled at Remy. Remy snorted.

It was a robot, Jean!

I know, but it doesn’t change the fact that you were being flirty at that time.

But now when people tell the story… they’ll think that I went after Scott…. I don’ even like Scott.

I know. You could always classify yourself as bisexual. That’s acceptable and a term people are familiar with if you feel the need to classify yourself at all.

I don’ want to have to… but people are always looking for something to identify with.

It’s up to you, Remy. You don’t even have to address it until you feel comfortable. The question you should really be asking in all of this is… do you love Logan?

I don’t love anybody, Jean. I like Logan and I want to be around him and I want this.

But you’re willing to consider the possibility and you want to have sex with him, right?

That’s what I said.

There you go, then. You want to pursue this, so you just have to deal with other people as they come along. Are you willing to let them decide your potential happiness for you? Jean said the right thing and a small smile appeared on Remy’s face and it was clear that she wasn’t willing to have that happen.

Thanks, Jean. She looked at Jean’s smiling face and asked, Can I have a kiss so I can say I was close to stealing you away?

Jean let her go and feigned shock. Remy! I thought you were running after Logan.

Remy smiled shyly at Jean. This video is making me tingle… and I just wanted to assure myself that I still liked women.

The urge to kiss me should be plenty for you, then.

Scott wouldn’t mind it, if I’m still a girl, would he?

Yes, he would. Now, I think you should watch the rest of these by yourself and get to experimenting. Let me know how it goes. Remy nodded and gave Jean a last hug before letting her go.

Putting in the next video, she sat back to watch and was given a lot more hard core session this time. She liked it quite a bit and broke out the dildos that Jean had gotten her to experiment with. After removing her clothes, the smallest one was what she tried first with a generous amount of lubrication that Jean also got for her. The videos were hardly instructional, but Remy could extrapolate what to do.

Watching as a man’s cock disappeared into another man’s ass cheeks, Remy inserted the small plastic tool into her ass and found that she had to relax her muscles there quite a bit in order for it to even go in. There was a little bit of pain, but mostly just the sense of intrusion. She was pretty hot and worked up though so the sensations in her ass were making the rest of her body tingle, especially her clitoris, which screamed for attention. Rubbing the small nub, she moved the dildo back and forth in her, trying to mimic what was displayed on the screen. The sliding motion felt good in tandem with the rubbing of her clit and she found herself wanting to experiment with more.

She took out another dildo of larger size and slid that one up her pussy, being doubly filled now and she could hardly believe the sensations running through her body. She watched the penetration from a close up camera angle and decided that she liked it when the image made her think of Logan sliding his huge cock up her ass and she came from it, imagining what it was going to feel like. The dildo in her ass was squeezed out by the force of her contracting muscles and the pop sent aftershocks through her convulsing body.

Coming down from the high, she caught her breath and watched as the man on the screen had an orgasm, shooting cum all over the well-used backsides of his partner. That was just act one and Remy paused the video so she wouldn’t have to miss anything. She wanted to jump right back into it, but needed to recover. She lay back on her bed and thought about Logan and the way his cock had felt inside her last night. He was pretty big, and there had been pain in this strange body when he first entered her. Remy was certainly old enough to not have had a hymen were she actually a girl, but this body oddly enough had one. She wondered why. It didn’t really matter because after the pain had faded, it was great, especially when her clit would rub up against Logan as she slid over him.

Remy eventually got back to the video and continued her experimentation, this time being a little bolder. By the time dinner rolled around Remy was very spent and figured she had better stop if she wanted to convince Logan that she liked this.

Remy took a nap before dinner and when she woke up, she was not only starving, but feeling rested enough for her audition. She smiled at that thought and hauled herself out of bed. Heading down stairs after taking a thorough shower, she kept her eyes peeled for Logan. He was bound to be at dinner and she’d be able to gage if he was going to stick to his promise. She sat down at the partially populated table, really hoping that Logan would show up. Bishop was about to sit next to Remy and she put her hand down on the chair beside her trying to say that it was saved, but in hind sight, she thought that she might have offended Bishop. She smiled at him, trying to convey that she wasn’t telling him that she didn’t like him, but didn’t think it entirely worked. She cursed her inability to communicate—wait, it cursed her, actually and she huffed and put leg casually over the other seat, waiting for Logan.

When Logan came down, Remy removed her leg and Logan went to the seat that was free on the opposite side of the table until Remy cleared her throat loudly while staring at Logan and he paused in mid crouch. She flicked her eyes to the seat next to her and smiled at him. Only the bare hint of a smile touched Logan’s face as he rose casually out of the half-crouch and strode around the table to sit next to Remy instead.

Rogue raised an eyebrow at this and Remy leaned over to kiss Logan on the lips. Jean smiled at the other end of the table and when Remy broke away, she said, “Kon ban wa, koishi.” <Good evening, lover.>

Rogue just about lost it. She stood up from the table and marched out of the room shouting, “Ah can’t believe you!” waiving her hands about. Remy didn’t need to have translated what she said.

Scott, who came in as Rogue left, raised an eyebrow above his glasses and asked, “What was that all about?”

Remy looked inquisitively at Logan and he translated what Scott said. “So ka?” <Is that so?> she said and leaned in to kiss Logan again. He smirked against her lips and thought that she was enjoying shocking people. That was fine by him, and he kissed her deeper. Remy was smiling brightly as dinner commenced.

Logan was tired of translating things for Remy by the end of the meal, and in a lot of cases took to answering for her, especially when it regarded their relationship. When dinner was through, Logan finally said, “Look, ‘twenty thousand questions’ is over, okay? Goodnight,” he said and got up. Remy got up with him and followed him out of the kitchen.

“<They’re going to think you run the show for talking so much, Logan,>” she complained jokingly.

“<When you get yer old body back, Remy yer gonna give them and me hell, so don’t worry about it.>”

“<Why would I give you hell?>” she asked innocently batting her eyelashes.

Logan shook his head and left that one alone. Remy followed Logan to his room and he stood in front of the door, uncertain about letting her in a second time. If he were to ever refuse her… now would be the time. If he let her in tonight… he was pretty sure they would be dating by morning. Logan had passed by Remy’s room earlier that day and could smell clearly what was going on inside and had slunk past trying to ignore it. Remy noticed the immensity of the moment, but she didn’t let on and leaned in to kiss Logan, deeper than any of the kisses shared earlier at the table. These were kisses just for Logan.

There was a tremble in Logan’s hand that he suppressed as he turned the knob and led them into his room. Once they were in, Logan wasn’t the only one who seemed nervous as Remy’s heart rate picked up and her breathing became shallower. He left the lights off, as there was plenty for both of them in the small room from the waning moon outside. Reaching out to touch her arm, he seemed to spark the passion in her at the contact. She kissed him inside the room and seemed to want little to do with the T-shirt and jeans she had on. She was working on getting rid of Logan’s clothes before he knew it. “<Slow down, Remy,>” he said gently. “<We’ve got all night,>” he assured with a smile, even though he felt nervous on the inside.

Nodding against his neck she hugged him. She had almost been afraid that Logan would run off—that she wouldn’t get the chance to prove herself to him. She tried to breathe deeply and calm down. She knew that he could probably hear and smell her nervousness. Kissing him again, she was slower this time, removing his clothing, feeling his skin as she did, putting little kisses on newly bared flesh. Logan moaned a little as his clothing was removed for him sensually.

Gently, Logan guided them over to his bed and he sat, pulling Remy onto his lap. Remy straddled him and smiled in the moonlight. When Logan opened his eyes and saw her… she seemed like a different person. Until that moment, he had seen her a little with Remy’s face super-imposed and with his personality in mind. The way the moonlight hit her face made her look so beautiful. This was Remina Bell in front of him and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Although the assurances given to Remy slowed her down, she didn’t stop long. She stared at Logan for a few moments, but staring only made her want to kiss his lips… made her want to cause his eyes to roll back in pleasure. Kissing him deeply, she leaned into him to the point where he was forced back onto his bed. Sliding her hips over his, Logan found that not only were they both bare, but Remina had shaved! She was completely smooth and it felt so sexy and wet against Logan that he could hardly intimate how much of a turn on that was.

Struck with a deep desire, Logan guided her off of him to lay her on the bed on her back. She looked at him with bright red eyes as he leaned in to lap at her practically soaking pussy. Her skin felt so smooth and smelled so fresh… if a bit like shaving gel, and he had to keep the urge to eat her down. Letting his tongue slip into her slit, Remina writhed under Logan.

Gripping her legs, Logan moved them apart and folded them against her a little, allowing him access to places deeper than her sweet pussy. The shout that Remy made when Logan’s tongue ghosted along her puckered hole was enough to startle Logan out of it. He smirked up at Remy guessing that she liked that, especially judging from how she was grabbing the sheets. Delving a little deeper this time Remy couldn’t help but buck on Logan’s tongue; it felt too good for her to control the reactions her body was having. Not even in playing with herself did she experience a feeling like this!

Begging incoherently, Remy needed more of Logan. Her hands ran through his short hair, and she pulled him up to her to kiss him, tasting feminine musk—which was all too familiar to her, actually. Reaching for Logan’s hips, she didn’t say what she wanted, but it was obvious enough. Logan complied and placed his legs on either side of her face and went back to his wet treasure between Remy’s legs. Logan’s return to that spot made Remy arch off the bed and start lapping at Logan’s balls. Her tongue lapped gently to his leaking cock and she guided it into her mouth with her tongue.

Squinting in pleasure when his cock was slipped down her throat and the musk in his nostrils, so turned on, Logan had to hold himself back to keep from coming. It had been forever since he sixty-nined with a woman. His hands caressed her thighs as he sucked on her clit. Moaning around his cock, Remy sent vibrations to Logan and felt her internal muscles clench hard. Logan sucking on her there felt remarkably similar to having his cock sucked on, actually… well, back when she had a cock. The sensation was a little less satisfying… like she could ever get enough if it.

Licking at a little juice that seeped down through her folds of skin, Logan leaned up from her and gently deprived her of his manhood. Remy squeaked a little, but Logan repositioned himself and kissed her mouth. Sighing contentedly, Remy sucked on Logan’s lips. Wanting more of him, Remy pressed her hips up into his, brushing her muff against his cock. With a moan, Logan eased into position and slipped into her soaking wetness making Remy cry out softly.

“Logan,” she moaned and undulated her hips gently against his. Smiling, Logan slipped out of her sopping flesh and drew Remy’s legs back up to her, giving him better access to her ass. Remy’s breath caught in her throat in anticipation, but she didn’t object. That was what they were there for after all. Logan only rubbed himself up against her opening, teasing her. He would need to stretch her a little before hand, and he would need more lubricant than anything she could provide.

Quietly, Logan asked, “<Remy, did you bring anything with you to make this easier?>” Remy nodded and reached for her jeans that were at the floor beside the bed. Out of the front pocket, she pulled a small sampler vial of lubricant which she handed to Logan. Kissing her as he lubed up his fingers, Logan’s hands gently skirted to her puckered hole and he started gently rubbing it with his slick fingers. Slowly, he inserted one and Remy’s hips bucked up at the intrusion.

“” she assured.

“<Let me take this slow,>” he said. He was partly nervous about her, but he was also nervous about himself. He’d had anal sex before and had been worried then too. Part of him feared that he would get too carried away and end up hurting his partner. As it stood, he seemed to be doing fine controlling himself. Slipping another finger in to join the other, Remy wiggled on his fingers. Leaning in to suck on her nipples, Logan scissored his fingers back and forth inside her and she shouted and bucked. Smiling around her soft breast, Logan twisted his fingers inside her more and used his free hand to brush her clit.

Remy didn’t like the idea that this would take a long time. From the way things were feeling, Logan was going to feel great inside her! Her hips moved in silent communication that she wanted more. Logan removed his mouth from her breasts and slid down to suck at her clit again and Remy’s hips were all over the place. “Logan, haiyaku!” <Logan, hurry!> Remy moaned out.

Smiling around her little pleasure nub, Logan gave it a final lick before concentrating on the lube next to him. Stretching Remy, Logan’s fingers left briefly to coat his cock with the lube and he was teasing her again. Wrapping her legs around him, Remy pulled Logan into her and he gasped at the unexpected heat and grip. Her muscles were spasming around his cock and Logan really liked the unique sensation especially as she worked her hips around.

Leaning over her, his lips closed over hers gently and he started to move in and out slowly. After three strokes Remy thought she was going to go crazy. He was going so slowly! Keeping his own rhythm, Logan didn’t let his pace be influenced by Remy’s pleas or jerking. “Logan… Moto haiyai,” <Logan… faster!> Nibbling at her ear, Logan was loving the way she was enjoying this. He had been afraid that she wouldn’t… that it would just be too strange. The only way to road test it was to go slow and Logan was determined to find to his satisfaction that she enjoyed it. That of course meant that Remina was squirming under him and boy that turned him on!

It wasn’t long before Remy’s pleas and squirming made Logan lose his control and his slow pace. Running his fingers through her hair, and plunging his tongue into her hot mouth, Logan was on his way to coming inside her. Remy’s hands went to Logan’s ass and held it as he fucked her hard. The impact sent vibrations through her that she loved and Logan’s caressing tongue was making her feel like he was devouring her.

Coming hard inside her depths, Logan’s manhood spasmed inside her and Remy could feel it and reveled in it. Holding onto him as he climaxed inside her, Remy kissed him, and he returned the kiss with a sense of urgency, still filling her with his seed. He had been pent up all day thinking about this evening.

Logan needed to pant and so broke the kiss, breathless in Remy’s ear. She sighed in his in return and figured that she liked it. Smiling up at Logan, Remy watched him as he, still panting, brushed the hair out of her face and caressed her cheek. The look on his face was almost one of worship and she wondered where that came from.

Catching his breath, he kissed her again and gently pulled from her. She moaned as he did feeling the small pop that sent a shudder through her. Lying beside her, Logan ran his hands along her breasts, knowing that she didn’t finish. “<You didn’t get to come,>” he observed.

“<It still felt really good, Logan,>” she explained.

“” he said objecting a little.

Remy smiled at him and put an arm over his as they lay facing each other. She would give him a moment, then they would be able to go again if Logan wanted to. She certainly wouldn’t mind it, but she didn’t know if Logan would be up for it. Kissing him across the pillow, Remy said seductively, “<Ready and dripping when you are.>”

Logan smiled at her. She was cute. Brushing her cheek, Logan rested next to her and pulled her head onto his chest in a hug. When she was there with him, he felt like maybe this relationship would last. She seemed happy in his arms, she seemed happy when he was with her out on the town, she seemed happy and relaxed when they were just hanging out and she was improving in her fighting skills. Part of him wished that Remy would stay a woman forever, but he squelched the feeling hard, reminding himself that this was not her natural form and that she would be the same person she was before when she became a man again.

Looking at her again, his worry showed through. He had been big and brave for Remy’s sake when he had told her that he wouldn’t turn his back on his mate if they suddenly changed genders… but would he? He had never been in that situation… and he had never been attracted to men. He recognized Remy’s beauty as a man, but it was so… different when she was a woman. She was so soft against him. Would Remy be this soft as a man? Did that matter? Would biological attraction come in and foil this whole thing for him?

Regardless of whether it would, he wanted to try with Remy. She was being playful with how she was nipping at his nipples and he smiled at her, almost laughing at the teasing expression that was on her face in the moonlight. Kissing her again, he felt himself start to stir as her tongue ventured out to caress his lips and his mouth opened up invitingly for her.

Hardening against the thigh that was resting over his hips, Logan undulated his hips slightly to point it out to Remy. Smiling with their lips pressing, Remy broke away from Logan and latched onto a nipple of his and started tugging on it. Moaning, Logan was enjoying her attention and frankly could go all night like that, just being hard for her. Snaking his hand down in between them, Logan caught a full breast in his hand and started pinching Remy’s nipples. She whimpered loudly and Logan felt teeth graze his nipple. He liked that.

Out of curiosity, Logan felt down between Remy’s thighs to see how wet she was. The soft folds of her flesh were slick and he slipped his fingers inside her. Her hips bucked into him at that and she tensed up, still sucking on him. Prying her up, he rolled her away from him and scooted up behind her. “” he whispered into her ear.

Backing her round ass into his crotch, as if to say she had noticed that, Remy moaned into the air, her head tossed back lightly, her hair spilling all over Logan’s pillow and the scent wafted over to Logan’s sensitive nose in force. Breathing in heavily, Logan’s fingers went back to Remy’s pussy and delved in, testing the cries Remy would make. “<You ready?>” he asked.

The way she said yes was not the normal way a Japanese person would say yes. The word was the same, ‘Hai,’ but it was far more drawn out and soft—not cut off sharply at the end. “Haaaiiihh,” <Yessss,>” was the breathy response and Logan pushed up to her dripping entrance. Relaxing as he pressed up against her, Remy welcomed him in and he slid in so easily, Logan was actually surprised.

With Logan’s fingers inside her vagina, Remy actually felt it incredibly easy to let him into her ass. Logan started gently rocking into her and she smiled as the pleasures mounted on each other. When he started moving his fingers inside her too, Remy was almost too shocked at the complimentary pleasures to do anything about it, but she quickly recovered from the shock and started bucking on his shaft. Logan’s fingers drew her cream up along her skin to her clit and rubbed it. Remy screamed loudly at the concentrated sensation from that spot that was almost too much to take! Deciding to take it easy on her, he changed his tactic and went at it from the sides, letting it glide between his first two fingers as he slid them into her waiting flesh and back out again.

Panting before long, Remy wasn’t going to last through this one. Logan felt so incredible inside her—this felt better than the sex they had the night before! That thought sent shudders through Remy and when he stuck his fingers particularly deep and rubbed along her inner walls, scissoring his fingers, Remy convulsed around his fingers and his penetrating cock.

Logan had not been expecting that hard of a clamp on his dick when she came and the shock of the incredible sensation threw him over the edge after her as he slid through that impossibly tight canal. Grunting softly in her ear, Logan thought he sounded like a choking animal rather than a man in climax. Remy was alternating loud cries with soft uncontrolled whimpers as she trembled against Logan’s body. He held her tight through it, hands caressing her shapely sides as his orgasm finished inside her with a final thrust, then stillness.

“<Ooohhh, Logan,>” Remy said after a moment. “” she trembled out.

Logan smiled brightly at that. That was quite a compliment coming from someone who had been around the block as much as Remy Le Beau. “<Good,>” he said breathlessly in her ear.

Falling asleep just like that, Remy felt so satisfied she could hardly stand it. Sleep felt like a byproduct of the swell of endorphins that rushed her brain and Remy welcomed both.

Chapter Five

(Shoo Go)

Logan came out of the airport, walking casually with Remina close behind. She was walking straight, and far more confident in herself than she had been back in the States. It may have been an optical illusion because she was also the tallest person for a good hundred feet although, her demeanor was different too. She seemed more comfortable even when they got on the plane. "<So, Remina, can you read the signs?>" he asked her.

She looked at him and smiled. "<Yes, Logan. I can finally understand what the people around me are saying. It's relieving. I was always worried back at the mansion that people were talking about me and I wouldn't be able to understand them. At first I could tell when people said my name... but then they stopped saying my name.>"
 Logan grinned. "<They weren't talking about you behind your back. Don't worry.>" Logan guided her to the train station several blocks away and they boarded the cramped vehicle. Remina smiled occasionally when someone would say something funny and Logan couldn’t help but watch her.
 "<What do you think of it here?>" he asked.
 "<The weather reminds me of home,>" she chuckled lightly.
 "<It’s summer, what do you expect? The heat can get pretty bad, but I don't need to worry about that with you, do I?>"
 "<You don't need to worry about this bayou boy—er... hmmm,>" she smiled and looked away from him. "" then she looked back at him. ""
 "<We're here to put you back, right?>"
 "<Of course.>" Remina grew quiet and watched the scenery go by. It took a few hours, to get to the place they were headed, and a few transfers, but the scenery gradually changed to rural country and Remy wondered about this mysteriously peaceful place.
 "<Hey, we're here,>" Logan said when they got to the place he thought was closest to that shrine they had invaded. They got off of the train and Logan started walking down a small dirt road.
 "<Um... Logan? Where are we going?>"
 "<We gotta see if there's a place we can stay tonight,> he called back to Remina who was standing perplexed at Logan just walking off into the sinking sun, down a road that seemed to lead to a small community.
 "<You mean there might not be?>" she asked.
 Logan smirked. "<What did you expect—a Hilton?>"
 Remina ran to catch up with Logan and once she did, she could talk to him better. "<It's not like I'm an anti-cultural xenophobe. Don't they have places for visitors out here though?>"
 "<Who would want to visit a place like this?>" he asked as they came into closer view of the place they were headed. "<There might be one truck in this whole town,>" he said, and meant it. The homes were all very old looking in the Japanese style, with rice-paper doors and windows. There weren’t many of them in the “town” as they approached. Most of the town was a small dirt road that held the market and a few other buildings that looked a bit more modern… or western, and Remy couldn’t tell the function of them.
 "<Wow,>" Remy remarked. "<So... how are we going to do this again?>"
 "<First we find a place to stay, then we have to go around and talk to the villagers about the shrine and see of there are any old legends about it.>"
 "<And that will help us... how?>"
 "<Remy, most legends have some basis in fact, but others of 'em, are downright true.>"
 ""
 Logan chuckled at her. "<Why’re you scared?>"
 "<Because... what if we find out that I can never... be a man again?>"
 "<Then we'll have to find a way to live with that, Remy, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.>" That didn't raise Remy's spirits, but she was comforted in Logan's assurances, subtly given as they were, about everything being all right... no matter how things ended up turning out.

The little old woman at the small inn that the place had was a very kind lady, but Remy wasn't sure about her. Something in her demeanor gave her the creeps and she couldn't figure out what it was. She was just a nice lady who was actually very polite and trying to serve her guests as best she could.
 Remy was surprised that the little place was even open, considering how often she said she got visitors. Apparently, they were only the third guests she had all year. The lady owned the place from what she could tell and so wasn't having too much trouble with keeping it, but she had to have a side job to survive if Logan and Remy were only the third guests she had all year.
 Logan decided to start his research right away and it touched Remy that he would do so, but she hoped that they didn't offend any of the inhabitants or that the people didn't become suspicious. Remy was pretty sure that she wouldn't exactly receive a warm welcome from the people if they knew that she had desecrated one of their shrines... even if it was on accident.
 "<Miazaki-san,>" he asked the old lady. "<We are doing some research on the old Shinto shrine that is up in the mountains near here. My colleagues back at my school tell me that there are legends associated with Shinto shrines. Does yours have any?>"
 "<Oh, of course,>" she said. "<But they are so old that none are to be believed.>"
 Logan smiled at the old lady. "<Legends seldom are, are they?>"he observed. "<But they give insights into the cultures of the past. Won’t you tell me and my friend about your legends here?>"
 "<As you wish,>" she said and then launched into a tale about the shrine that as Remy listened, she became upset, but tried to hide her emotions. "<It was said that the family of the shrine at the time, the Sasaki Clan, came into conflict with another clan. The clans were the only government in this region at the time and the people who controlled the shrine, controlled the town. So you see, the clan who wanted to control the town first tried to take over the shrine. There was brutal war between the two families and the townspeople tried to avoid the conflict for fear of their own lives. Many people at that time didn't even have well distinguished clan lines, so there was no reason for them to fight.
 "<The most serene and wise of the Sasaki Clan, and also the youngest, rose up when her family was in the midst of battle and called for a stop to the fighting, saying that the shrine was more important than their control of it and that they were desecrating it with blood and violence. Her own clansmen listened to her wise words and ceased fighting, but the opposing clan took that moment to attack and slaughtered her entire family. None escaped.
 "<As the young maiden lay dying with her own blood spilling on her sacred ground, she as the last surviving member of her clan proclaimed a curse on any who would enter into it and desecrate it ever again, as well as those who already had desecrated it. The opposing family dwindled so much that their name is even forgotten. There was a new shrine erected for the people inside the town, but the one up in the mountains remains un-entered, with the cries of the slain still echoing through the mountains.
 ""
 "<That's an incredibly detailed story, Miazaki-san. The story must have been passed down for generations.>"
 "<It most certainly was, especially if you were the daughter of the local shrine.>" Her intonation said that she had been.
 "<Did the legend ever say what form the curse would take to those who desecrated the shrine?>"
 "<Not that I can remember, but it was a long time ago that I heard this story. I do hope that your research goes well. You may ask the priest at the current shrine on the other end of town. He may remember more than I do about our little shrine up in the mountains.>"
 "<Thank you very much for your story. We will be sure to mention your name in our report,>" he said.
 "<There is no need, but thank you for listening. It has been along while since I have had company. You are both very polite for foreigners,>" she observed.
 Logan smiled at her and bowed slightly. ""
 "<That explains it. Please let me know if you need anything else of me. I will be downstairs.>"
 "<Thank you so very much,>" he replied formally to her and bowed again. Remy bowed in kind and echoed Logan in thanking the woman.
 Once she left the room, Remy turned to Logan in the Japanese looking space and said, "<That woman gets the biggest tip in history.>"

Logan smiled at her and nodded his assent. "<We still have some more information to find out and we still have no clue how to undo the curse.>"
 "<Logan, we're making progress on the first day. This is better than I expected,>" she smiled. "<We could be back home within a week.>"
 Smiling back at her, Logan kept her gaze for longer than she expected. He kept looking at her and she didn't know what to say. "<What is it, Logan?>"
 "<I'm going to miss that beautiful face of yours,>" he said quietly. Remy blushed.
 "<I'm sorry, Logan. Didn't you like my other face?>"
 "<You're just... different now. I like who you were, but I’m going to miss you like this.>" Logan broke eye contact and unfolded their futon and got ready for bed. When Remy got back from down the hall, having used the bathroom second to get ready for bed—dang this was an old place—Logan was in bed and she thought nearly asleep. She was very wrong as Logan welcomed her into the bed and she found him naked under the covers.
 "<Logan,>" she purred. He kissed her pretty hard and she didn’t understand why he was suddenly so passionate, but she enjoyed it. Then she got to thinking and she didn't like the thought that he was being so passionate because he knew that he wouldn't get to see her again—this way. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she vowed to not push Logan away after she had returned to her original gender. She kissed him just as passionately, hoping not to lose him
in the transformation.
 Their love making that night was smooth and hot, each clinging to the other as if it were their last night with each other. Remy was scared afterward, but during, she was enraptured beyond her ability to think clearly. She felt desperate in her emotional and physical need.
 Deep in the afterglow, they held each other close and after the bliss started to fade was when the thoughts of fear started flying through Remy's mind. Would she lose Logan after all? After all of the assurances he kept giving her on his reaction to her original form... would he be able to give her the same kind of love? She didn't know, but the thought brought out the smell of fear in her and Logan held her more tightly when he smelled that tell-tale scent and heard her heartbeat pick up again.
 "<Shhh,>" he cooed to her. "Daijobu," he said. <It is all right.>
 "<How do you know, Logan...? How do you know it will be?>"
 "<Just trust me,>" he asked. Remy nodded and placed her face on his chest and tried to go to sleep. She wasn’t very successful, but she gave it a valiant effort.

Logan was up much earlier than Remy ever let herself get up at and cursed the Japanese paper windows. Hadn't they ever heard of curtains? Remy threw the blankets over her head and tried to sleep under them undisturbed. "<You hungry at all, Remina?>" he asked.
 "<Not for whatever that is,>" she said grumpily from under the covers. The room smelled like miso soup. Remy didn't much care for the stuff. The old lady must have brought breakfast while she was still asleep.
 Logan snorted quietly and asked, "<Well, then what do you want?>"
 "<Eggs would be nice. Or maybe some sausage. Hmmm. Don't they have spicy things in a place like this?>"
 "<I'd have to go to the local market and see what I can't find, but I doubt they would have anything you'd be familiar with, Remy.>"
 "<Would you do that for me?>" she asked poking her head out of the bed to look up at him hopefully. That would give her a little extra time to sleep and it would give her something to look forward to when she decided to wake up.
 Logan sighed and crossed his arms. "<You should at least try their food. You might like it. You also might offend them by not trying it.>"
 "<Oh, you're such a spoil sport. Fine, I'll try it when I wake up.>"
 "<You are awake,>" he observed.
 "<Oh, no I'm not! I still have a good three hours left of sleeping to do.>"
 "<How can you still be tired?>" he asked, amazed at her ability to sleep. They didn't go to bed all that late.
 "" She crawled back under the covers and tried to tune out Logan. He ate, pretty quietly, although there was an occasional slurp, and by then, Remy was asleep.

When Remy woke up the next time, Logan was in the room still, but he was unpacking something from a plastic bag. "<Hmm? What do you have there, Logan?>"
 Logan looked over to her and said, "<Oh, good. You're awake. I thought you'd sleep all day; it's almost noon.>"
 "<So?>"
 "<So, do you want to get researching this curse or not?>" Remy was quiet for a moment.
 ""
 "<And I thought you would be anxious to find your cure.>"
 "" I'm still scared. How can I think that after the night we just had that you won't just change your mind about me? Some part of me wants to be a woman still, so you will love me the way you did last night forever.
 "<Remy, I can't tell you enough that everything will be okay, can I? One moment you're worried that you'll never get to be a man again and the next you're worrying that you will be a man again?>
 "<Logan, I'm worried about... how you'll really feel. I mean, you’ve never had sex with a man before, have you?>"
 "<No, I haven't, Remy.>" He let the bag alone on the small table that was in the room and went over to Remy who was still in bed, propped up on one arm. "<But I need you to know... that it doesn’t matter to me.>"
 "<How do you know?>"
 "<Trust me, please, Remy. I know how I feel about you and I’m not backing out now.>" That made Remy smile a little and nod.
 "<Thank you, Logan.>" She appreciated the soothing voice and words.
 "<All right. Are you going to get up so we can go do some more research, or are you going to stay in bed all day?>"
 "" she smiled.
 "<Get your pretty ass out of bed, Remina,>" he ordered. She laughed at him and got up, feeling much more rested. Logan had gone to the grocery store as it turned out, and had gotten Remy something to eat, but Remy didn't quite know what it was. It was noodle based whatever it was.
 She dragged herself over to the table to examine what Logan had gotten for her. "<What is that?>"
 "<That is the most American thing they had there.>"
 "<Ramen is American?>" she protested. Logan laughed at her.
 "<Nope. So that must say something about everything else they had in there, mustn’t it?>"
 ""
 "" Remy looked at the bowl. "<I'll go heat it up for you and you can eat it in here. Get ready to go and you can eat before we leave.>" Remy nodded and got up stretching as she worked out of the blankets.

Remy and Logan went to the shrine that was across the town where the lady at the inn directed them to go. There was a young man working at the temple and he greeted his visitors with a smile. "Herroo, frieendsu," he said in the most accented English Remy had heard yet and she didn't understand what he said, but figured that she might not have understood even if she had been able to understand English at that point.
 "<It's all right, we speak Japanese,>" she said to the young priest. The priest bowed slightly and smiled shyly.
 "<We do not often get foreigners out here and my English is very rusty,>" he said.
 Both Logan and Remy smiled at the young man. "<We were hoping that you could tell us a little about the Shinto shrine that's up in the mountains. The elderly lady at the inn here said that it was once run by the Sasaki clan.>"
 "<That must have been hundreds of years ago. Did she tell you the story about the Shrine Maiden and her curse?>"
 "<She did. We were interested in hearing more about the shrine and this curse, if you could tell us. We are students of anthropology at a school in the United States and had an opportunity
to research shrines of Japan for our school.>"
 ""
 "<So, one would presume that she would not use violence in order to carry out this curse,>" Remy suggested.
 "<Almost certainly not, and a curse that is not of violence would certainly be of misfortune. Our people are very superstitious and feared the curse, so the shrine has been abandoned since before the establishment of this shrine which has been run by the Miazaki
clan since the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate.>" That was a long time, Logan thought. Since the early sixteen hundreds.
 "<So no one has ever entered the shrine since it was abandoned?>" Logan asked.
 "<Well... there was my great, great grandfather's story about going up into the mountains to hunt and stumbling upon it. He was a young man at the time and said that he got a very cold and unsettling feeling when he entered the shrine, which is really only a cave with overgrown statues any more. I am certain that if you wished to visit the shrine that you would be welcome to, but it would be wise not to desecrate it or remove anything.>"
 "<We would never attempt such disrespect,>" Logan said to the young man, bowing slightly. Remy was wearing a frown at the words Logan chose to use. Remy hadn't meant disrespect by destroying the wall in the shrine, but he supposed that, given what happened to this
lady, if she truly had such powers, he could see why she would do such a thing. Really, Remy probably got off lucky if all he got was transforming into a woman and a language barrier.
 "<Thank you. Please let me know what you find. I am interested in the shrine, but am unable to find time to go.>" Logan also sensed the fear from the young man and was wondering how serious this legend really was if he was afraid to go up there.
 "<We will be sure to come see you again. Have a good day,>"he said as they left the shrine.
 "<Did you really get anything from him, Logan? It didn't sound like there was much to tell if I'm the first person to ever desecrate the shrine.>"
 ""
 "<Okay, lead the way. I don't remember where exactly it is,>" she said as they headed up into the mountains to find the place again.
 Logan lead the way up into the mountains and they couldn't even see the village by the time they got to the place the shrine was at. The shrine was just the same as they had left it, although a bit clearer of dust now since the explosion was several weeks ago. Logan pulled aside the shrubs that were in front of the shrine statues to try and analyze them. They were komainu, statues that guarded the entrance to the shrine, but they were undistinguishable having been worn away by the weather. "<How are we going to find anything, Logan? When did the Japanese start writing even, and why would they have written anything down about the curse?>"
 "<Japanese stared writing things down in Chinese in the early seven hundreds. Depending on when this shrine was built, which I don’t think we'll be able to tell, they may not have even been writing yet. We may have to rely on verbally given clues.>"
 Remy was very hesitant to even go near the entrance to the shrine, much less enter it. Logan was going in and searching all around to see if he could find anything. The outer area had nothing in it, just like when they first came in, but beyond the lattice wall of rock that Remy knocked down, was a table that looked like a worshiping center. Logan didn't know why there would be a blockage to the place of worship, and decided to take a better look at it. The lattice looked to be made out stalactites and stalagmites, which was very odd. Logan had never seen this type of formation before-- it certainly did not get there naturally.
 He should have seen the signs before they came in here, all determined to save Guggernaught's hide and blew things up. He should have stopped Remy from blowing things up, but he was too anxious to get the hell out of there, just like the rest of them were.
 Logan looked back to the worshipping area and looked around in the crannies, trying to find something. There was really nothing there. He was half expecting to see bones of the long dead family in this room that had been sealed off, but he guessed that when the curse was issued that the family probably saw the light-- maybe even the same light Remy saw, and buried the family in the town's burial grounds.
 Logan went back outside and found Remy sitting on the ground far away from the shrine. She didn't seem to like the place and Logan could understand why. He wouldn't want to be reminded of the place traumatic things happened to him either. "<I'm not finding anything in there that's of a whole lot of use.>"
 "<It's okay, Logan. Maybe I should just give up,>" she said depressed.
 "<It's a little early to be giving up. We haven't eve talked to every person in this village. And then there are specialists in shrines out there in Japan who might have heard of this curse or know
how curses are generally thwarted. There are lots of possibilities, Remy.>"
 Remy looked up at Logan and smiled at him. "<Okay. Can we go back to the hotel? I feel a little drained from coming here.>"
 Logan was a little worried, mostly because Remy didn't usually get this tired so quickly, but thought that it could be emotional strain as well and so nodded, and headed back down the hill to the village. Remy got up and caught up with him, feeling much better by his side.

Their second day was just as uneventful, but Logan and Remy were talking to may people in the village from farmers to the local market owner to see if anyone remembered anything about the shrine. It wasn’t surprising that most people didn't know much about the shrine. It was a forgotten piece of a history that hey knew they had, but were very far removed from and slightly fearful of.

Remy came back feeling exhausted and Logan wasn't feeling too good about what he dug up, but he was far from hopeless. He had learned that some people thought that the family feud was caused over the frowned upon love between the two youngest of each clan and that each family was fighting for supremacy, but Logan thought that smacked a little too much of Romeo and Juliet to be something that actually happened. Families didn't usually oppose one another for the position taking care of a shrine though, so there had to be another reason that they would want to possess the shrine.
 Feeling that he wanted a more knowledgeable opinion on the shrine and its history, Logan decided that he wanted to go into Tokyo and search for an expert on the individual shrines of the mainland and their legends. He didn't know if he was going to find one, but there must be a historian somewhere who knew what happened based on the verbal legends of the area.
 "<Can I come with you, Logan?>"
 "<Sure, but I thought you were getting tired.>"
 "<It's the place I'm feeling weary from. Maybe that's part of the curse. I don't know, but I want to get away from this place.>"
 "<Okay. We'll set out tomorrow and we might come back if we need to. Besides, they have McDonalds in Tokyo so you can actually get something to eat that you like. I'm betting you're tired because you haven't been eating.>"
 Remy made a face at Logan and crawled under the covers of the futon. Logan smiled at her and finished his tea then went to get ready for bed. Remy was asleep by the time he got back to the room.

Logan decided to be nice and wake Remina up in a fashion he hadn’t tired yet-- kissing to wake her up. Her response was to moan into his lips and let her eyes flutter open. She was happy to see him and hugged him tightly. "<I'm still tired, Logan. Can we go later?>"
 "<If we go any later, we'll never get to Tokyo and back on time.>"
 "<That doesn't matter. It's not like our room's going to be given away while we're gone. We can just stay there over night instead and come back here.>"
 Logan sighed. "<Whatever you want, Remy,>" and he got out of bed to do morning exercises and meditation while Remy slept some more. It was several hours later before Remina woke up and felt like going anywhere. She seemed eager to be in Tokyo, but not eager for the journey. "<You're just going to have to get up and come with me. Come on, Remy, you're scaring me. You're being really lethargic, here.>"
 "<Oh, fine,>" Remy huffed and rolled out of bed, trying to get awake enough to coordinate her activities. She wanted to wait until they got to Tokyo to eat, which didn't surprise Logan at all. Logan had had his usual two bowls of miso soup that morning, so the innkeeper lady would at least think that Remy was eating her soup.
 They headed out some time around one o'clock and had to wait at the train station for a while as they had missed the earlier one. They were definitely going to have to stay overnight in Tokyo, and Logan ran back to tell the lady at the inn that they wouldn't be back tonight, but that they would definitely be back and that he would be happy to pay her for the reservation of the room even though they were not staying there. The lady tried to refuse his offer, but he kept on insisting in the Japanese style and she eventually accepted. He was glad she did, because if she hadn't he might have missed the train.
 It arrived about five minutes after he had come back from the inn. Remy wouldn't have left without him, but that would have meant that they would have to go tomorrow and would have wasted another day entirely, which Remy was still having mixed feeling about.
 They talked on the train when there was no one there, but when things started to get crowded, their conversation waned, gravitating toward the mundane and superficial topics and eventually stopped altogether.

Tokyo was as bustling as when they left it and Remy felt energized pretty much as soon as they got back into civilization, which strengthened Logan's theory that it had simply been Remy's
unwillingness to eat the Japanese food that had been making her tired. He could hear Remy's stomach growling rather loudly at him and as soon as they stopped to transfer in a more populated area, he took Remy to a McDonalds where Remy ordered a feast and stuffed herself.
 "<Ah, now that's food!>" she commented after she had eaten her fill. Logan had a little, but he wasn't near as much of a pig as Remy was. There were trains coming more often in the more populated areas, so they didn't have to wait long for the next train to show up and Remy was reenergized beyond belief and Logan saw that he was going to have to take Remy out that night to get her tired or he'd never get any sleep with the way she was chattering on.
Logan looked around at the universities and asked about historians specializing in small, stand alone Shinto shrines. He didn’t have much luck on the first day, mostly because people were all
going home at about the time they reached Tokyo and found the colleges. "<It looks like we're going to have to try again tomorrow. We should sleep here so we can get an early start tomorrow and so you can actually eat some food.>"
 "<Well... what do we do in the meantime?>" Remy asked.
 Logan smiled at her and said, "<You like dancing, right?>"

Remy stumbled into the hotel room, which was far more western than what she was expecting in Japan, and leaned up against the wall, waiting for Logan to enter after her. Once the door was closed, he swept her off her feet and laid her down gently on the bed. "<You're pretty drunk,>" he observed, smiling at her.
 "<That's what happens when you take me to a bar, Logan,>" she smiled back. She stretched comfortably in the bed and watched Logan over her. "<You coming to bed?>"
 "<Yeah, I'll be there in a minute.>" He went off to get ready for bed, expecting that Remy was going to be asleep by the time he got back, but was pleasantly surprised when he came back out and she wasn’t looking all that tired—except for being exceptionally drunk, and that she was also wearing little under the covers.
 Logan smiled at her and slid into bed next to her, kissing her gently. "<You weren't planning on going to sleep, were you?>"
 "<I'm still Remy Le Beau when it comes to night life, Logan.>" Logan smiled and resumed the kiss, this time initiating foreplay along with it.

"<Remy? Come on, I need you to come with me,>" he said to her as she slept, dead to the world. He wasn't sure if he should have exhausted her so much last night, now that he thought about it. "Remy? Remina!! Okite!” <Get up!> he shouted and she started awake.
 "Nani…?”<What?> she asked looking around.
 "<We have to go. We have research to do today. We're going to split up so we can cover more ground. We both know the questions we need to ask. Play time is over. We need to get serious about this.>"
 "<Why can't we just take it at a leisurely pace?>" she asked.
 There wasn't really a good answer to that... except.... "<Remy, do you want to have to experience menstrual cramps again?>"
 Remy flew out of bed in response and got ready for their excursion into Tokyo. She was ready in about half an hour which was pretty good considering it usually took her half an hour for a shower alone.
 They split up and went to various universities throughout the extended Tokyo area. Logan found a history professor at Tokyo University that was willing to talk to him and made an appointment with him for that afternoon.
 "Hayashi-san, hajimemashite," <It's the first time we meet, or nice to meet you.> "<I am Logan of the Xavier's School, a private institution in the United States and I was hoping that you would help me find out about a little shrine in a village called Kisa. It was said to have a bloody legend associated with it and I am here to learn all that I can about it, especially about the curse the villagers have told me about.>"
 "<Hmmm... I do not know about this little village that you speak of, but there was a bloody legend told about a small town called Fanoshima, which is a ways south of here. It is the only bloody legend that I know of that is associated with a Shinto shrine, and it did have a curse involved.>"
 "<Please, tell me about it. What happened to cause all of the bloodshed?>"
 "<There was a powerful clan, the Kurokuda's, if I am not mistaken, and they had a young son who was very rebellious. This young man ran off into the wilderness to escape his family and
happened upon a young shrine maiden in Fanoshima whom he fell deeply in love with. This is corroborated by journal writings from that family about him disappearing for a few days and having to search for him until he returned. His family, having thought him dead, were
happy to see him and he was not disposed to tell them where he went, knowing that it would only mean trouble for both him and his love.
 "<In those times, a noble like him could only marry a woman of prominence, so he stole a portion of his family’s wealth and took it to the young maiden to hide in the shrine for use in coming to power in the village. She was upset with him for bringing it to her because she wanted nothing more than to maintain the honor her family had of taking care of the shrine. She did not want to accept his gift and he left it there in the shrine, vowing to come back and make her an offer of marriage with his parent's permission. She would need the substantial dowry to prove to his parents that she was worthy of marrying.
 "<The shrine girl's name is unknown, but it isn't really important for the legend, since it probably is only loosely based on what actually happened. This girl had several siblings and when they found out about the riches that had been placed in her care, they coveted them and wanted to keep them for the family, not have them be given back to the Kurokuda clan from which they came. She tried to persuade them to allow Kurokuda's plan, but they didn't listen to her
and bound her away in her home with the gold still in the shrine.
 "<When Kurokuda came with a proposal of marriage to the shrine maiden, her siblings told the young master that they had not a little sister and that he had been deceived when they heard he had given her a large monetary gift. The young Kurokuda slew all of the priests in the temple searching for her and his money, not believing that they didn't have his bride to be. The shrine maiden escaped from her home and made it to the shrine just in time to see all of her family had been killed by the hand of the man she loved.>"
 That sent a pang of guilt through Logan as he listened and he couldn’t help but think of Mariko and fighting her father, though he hadn’t killed the old man.

"<Feeling the incredible loss of her entire family, she cursed his violence at the shrine that had been desecrated. Angered, he killed her in a rage and with her dying breath, she cursed him to never find the love he sought and to never wield a sword again. That particular line of the Kurokudas did die out, but it is unclear if it was the curse that was at fault, or simply natural selection or disease.>"
 "<I heard from a villager, who told me a very similar story, that the curse effected anyone who would commit a violent act or desecrate the shrine. What form do you think that would take... so I can scare some of my students out of violence,>" he smiled.
 The professor laughed at that. "<It would depend on the act and probably on the mood that the spirit of the caster was in that day. The spirits of our ancestors stay around in the Shinto religion, and one who has cast a curse on a place must take the responsibility of guarding it so the curse is maintained.>"
 Jackpot!! "<Ah. I see. Well, thank you very much, you’ve been very helpful in my research. Please take care,>" he said as he left.
 "Kyotsukete. Siyonara.” <Take care. Goodbye.>

 Remy and Logan met at their hotel room, Remy was there before Logan, waiting for him. "<This is hopeless. There's no one out there who has even heard of that little village!>"
 "<Yeah, but I got the feeling that it was called something else a couple hundred years ago, or that the town was moved, or something, but I'm pretty sure I talked to somebody about the same
place. The legends are pretty similar, and it'll at least give us something to work from.>"
 "Hontoni? Nani omae mitsukedasu ka?” <Really? What did you find?> Remy asked excitedly.
 "<A legend about a shrine maiden whose family was killed by the man she loved over some gold. She cursed him to never fall in love and to never wield a sword again. That sounds like the stories that we heard in the village.>"
 "<It does sound like that. So, did we find out what we have to do in order to get the curse taken off?>"
 "<Not yet, but I have an idea about how to find out. We’ll have to go back and try to communicate with her. If she won't talk to us, then I'll see if we can't find Dani Moonstar or something and see if she can help us.>"
 "<Oh, great. So, you're going to try and talk to the person who put the curse on me?>"
 "<That's the only thing left to do, Remy. We can't find out any other way. We can tell why the curse is activated, and that someone had it once, but his line died out so it was obvious that the
curse wasn't removed from him. Trust me, Remy, please?>" he asked.
 She looked at him seriously and nodded. "Ii yo, Logan. Ore, omae shin’yoo suru.” <Okay, Logan. I trust you.>" She got up from her place on the bed and kissed him.
 "<Get some sleep. I want to get some groceries for you that you can eat while we're here in town so you don't get too tired on me again.>"
 "<I'll try not to, Logan, but that place....>" she yawned. "<Just thinking about it makes me tired. It's the slow pace of the place. I mean, come on, it's a village. I'm a city boy—er...girl.>"
 "Ah. Wakata... onezumi kara numa.” <Yeah, I know…swamp rat.>
 "<Hey, that’s not fair!>"
 Logan smiled at her and went to relax on the bed beside her. "<Why not? You could call me all sorts of things.>"
 "<Yeah, but I don't,>" she pointed out, mock offended. "<I’m going to have to start and it's going to be your fault.>"
 Logan laughed at that one and turned to pick up the remote for the TV. Remy placed her hand over his and said quietly, "<There’s nothing on,>" and placed her face very close to his. "" The placement of her hand turned into a caress and Logan would much rather watch Remy than anything that could possibly be on a screen. He had been pretty pleased of late, and Remy was a large part of that. It had been a long while since he had a relationship that was solid and lasted any length of time and Remy was turning out to be good for his general mood. He was still nervous about how long their relationship would last, because in his life… something always seemed to come up.

Shoo Roku

(Chapter Six)

“Come on… pick up,” Logan urged the person on the other end of the telephone. Remy was in the shower and Logan was on the phone to X-Force back in the states. He needed to use the phone in the hotel while they had it because he didn’t think the little hotel they were staying at in the tiny little village even had one. The phone was picked up and a masculine voice answered.

“Hello?” Logan recognized Forge’s voice and huffed a little.

“Hey, Forge, it’s Logan. Danni happen ta be around?” he asked casually.

“She’s in the middle of a training simulation. It’ll be out in a few minutes. Can I have her call you back?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m in Japan though, so take down this number, would ya?” Hearing an affirmative grunt on the other end, Logan waited for Forge to find something to write with.

“Okay, shoot,” he said and waited. Logan read the number off to him and thanked him before they hung up. Sighing, Logan hoped that she would be able to help them. He knew that Dannie’s mutant abilities didn’t have anything to do with communicating with the dead, but maybe she could pull some astral strings for them to get in touch with this pacifist priestess with her history of being a Valkyrie.

The call took ten minutes to be returned and Logan thought that was actually a really good turn around time. “Moshi-moshi?” <Hello?> he said into the phone in the native greeting.

“Uhh, Logan?” asked the familiar voice of Danni Moonstar.

“Hey there, Danni. I was hopin’ I could ask a big favor a you,” he started off. Danni was a little nervous by the sound of that but listened to Logan’s request. He tried to be concise about it, but it ended up taking a good amount of time to explain everything. Remy came out a little ways into his explanation and was drying off and brushing her hair and being gorgeously naked in the room with him. Logan smiled at her, but kept talking to Danni. Danni thought it was kind of a tall order, once he explained it to her.

“You really think I can do something?” she asked doubtful.

“You got friends in high places, right?” he asked.

“It doesn’t work like that, Logan. I’m not even sure the Valkyries would have kept track of such a person because she sounds like she was hardly a warrior. I can see what I can’t find out, Logan, but I really think you might be on your own on this one.”

“Anythin’ ya can do ta help out would be great. Lemme know if ya think ya’d be of any use an’ we’ll fly ya out here if need be.”

“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”

“When?” Logan asked. If they were going to have to stay at the hotel, he needed to know for how long.

“Give me twenty-four hours to get back to you,” she said. She would have to meditate a lot tonight and see what she could find, but she had been out of touch with the Valkyries, so she didn’t know if she was even in their good graces any more.

“We’ll be waitin’,” Logan said and they hung up. Calling the front desk, Logan then asked to prolong their stay and the desk clerk told him that there would be no problem and that they should stay as long as he liked. Thanking him, he hung up, then looked at Remy.

“<We’re staying then?>” she asked hopefully. That meant she could eat still! Logan laughed at her hopeful tone.

“<Yeah, we’re stayin’. Just fer another day, then we’ll probably have ta go back ta that sleepy little town ya hate so much,>” he said, kind of taunting her.

“<Well, as long as we get groceries to last us, I think I’ll be fine.>” The place still unnerved her, but she would be able to stick it out some more.

Logan took Remy out again, the evening they were in Tokyo and Remy was just as wild as the last time they went, but she burned out a lot quicker this time. Remy was rowdy and fun loving again that night. She was the tallest person in the club they were in and Logan was only just keeping himself from laughing. Getting into the hotel late at night, he found that there was no message from Danni, but he hadn't really been expecting one that soon after he had called her.

Tucking Remy to sleep again… wasn't so much of a chore. It was an interesting experience because Remy was asleep for half of it and Logan just got to look at her body… his body. It was getting harder and harder to remind himself that this was Remy Le Beau… a man who up until this incident had been nothing more than a team mate and occasional drinking buddy. Her skin was so smooth and her breasts moved gently up and down with her relaxed breathing. It wasn't too often that he just got to look at her for as long as he wanted, and he took the moment to watch her sleeping in the underwear he had gotten her down to.

Not too long after he had enjoyed looking at her, did his hands start to itch with wanting to touch her. The smooth creamy skin felt so soft to his touch as his fingers caressed lightly over her chest. Her breasts felt particularly nice, still pushed together by the bra she was wearing. Fingers caressing lightly over her cleavage, he wondered… would he miss this when it was gone? Remina had been so beautiful that night, dancing like she hadn't a care in the world.

Why should she care? They seemed to be well on their way to figuring out how to reverse this curse. Remy would be overjoyed when they found a way to appease the priestess of the ancient shrine. Would Logan? He wanted Remy to be happy and he felt so selfish for wanting her in the first place, unsure of how well he could love her… when she was a him.

Letting his face dip onto her chest, Logan ran his lips along the path his fingers had just taken and he let his tongue slide out over her cleavage, feeling it slide in between her breasts and be pressed at softly from both sides.

Was all there was to a person their body? Would Remy be so different when he no longer had breasts that made Logan feel this way? Had Remy been so different as a woman from what she was as a man? She had participated in the football night… which was actually the first time he had felt the hard tug of attraction to her. She had been angry about her strange body—she had been offended when Rogue brushed her aside. In the Danger Room she still spit fire, once she got used to the different capabilities of her new form—heck she used a majority of the same moves. Scott and he had compared her training sessions to one of her old ones.

What made her so different? Remy would be hurt if she found Logan was thinking these things about her. After all, he had professed not to care about gender. What did that mean, anyway? Logan had never found himself attracted to a man before, how would he magically start?

"Mmm….'lo?" Logan found himself awake and talking before he realized that the phone was what had woken him up and that he had moved to get it practically in his sleep.

"Logan? I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"It's okay, Danni. What have ya got for me?" he asked, much more awake and able to listen. If Danni had any news for him, he would have to be alert for it.

"I contacted Freyja last night and she told me that she couldn't get in touch with this person, but that you could try to by meditating at the place where her presence was the strongest. If you want to get in touch with her, she'll know you're trying to contact her. Chances are that she is watching over the cursed even now."

"Thanks, Danni," he said and was a little disappointed that the Valkyries couldn't help them, but what did he expect really? The priestess had been opposed to violence—why would Odin want her in Valhalla? "I appreciate it." He would have to think of something to do for her when they got back to the states.

"It's not a problem, Logan," she assured sweetly and they said their good-byes and hung up.

With that information, he was going to take Remina back to the shrine today and hopefully meditate until they were able to get in touch with this priestess. Logan figured that it would take a long time, especially if Remy were the one who needed to contact her. Glancing at the clock, he found that it was still pretty early and he should probably let Remy sleep so when she tried to meditate, she could actually be rested and clear-headed enough to do some good.

Laying back down, Logan tried not to get anxious about getting in touch with this woman and hoping that she had the spiritual strength left to lift the curse…. What if Remy were stuck as a woman? She had asked him that and he had responded in a pretty much 'don't worry about it' tone. If she were stuck as a woman, would he be happy?

The thought of Remy staying a woman actually made his heart flutter with excitement. He wanted her to stay a woman. He didn't want Rogue as competition and the other men in the mansion certainly wouldn't go after her because of their associations with Remy when she was a man. Trying to push the thoughts from his head, Logan remembered Remy when she was a man and asked himself if he could be attracted to him. He needed to be okay with her turning into a man again, otherwise their relationship would be over when she returned to the form that was rightfully hers.

Logan thought what seemed like for hours until Remy stirred next to him. He looked at the clock and found that it had indeed been two hours since the phone call. He may have been drifting in and out while he had been thinking but he was awake then and he rolled over to look at Remy's still sleeping face. She was so beautiful. His hand caressed her face and her eyes flitted open.

Smiling at him, Remy loved the way he looked at her when they were alone. It made her feel special. "<Good morning, Logan,>" she whispered.

"<Morning.>"

Stretching in bed, her body rubbed against Logan's and his hands reflexively traveled her sides as she did. Looking at him with a smirk, she asked, "<How much longer do we get to stay?>"

"<Danni called this morning and said that we should try and get in touch with the priestess at the shrine. We should leave today and try it when we get there.>"

"<Contact her? How?>" she asked. The lady had been dead for hundreds of years.

"<We're going to have to meditate at the shrine to see if there's something we can do to appease her. She's an upset spirit, so I'm guessing there's something she wants,>" Logan said, hoping that what he said was true. From what he found out about this priestess, she would probably demand a vow of passivity and that would spell life-changing things for Remy. If she requested something like that, Remy might have to leave the ranks of the X-Men….

Logan hoped that it didn't come to that and the priestess had something they could do and have done with in order to get the curse lifted. Looking at Remy, he wasn't about to tell her any of this, not wanting to scare her. Frowning, Logan was pretty sure that Remy was coming to at least similar conclusions. "<Hope you're right.>"

The trip to the little town seemed to take longer to Remy this time. Maybe she was just afraid of what she might be asked to do. From what she knew of this priestess, she might conceivably be asked to lead the life of a monk and Remy wasn’t so sure she could live with that. Would she prefer to be an X-Man over being a man? That was something Remy had to think about pretty heavily and she was trying to decide what she would and wouldn’t be willing to do on the way to the little village again. She wanted to ask Logan about what sorts of things she might be asked to do, but really, how would he know any better than she would?

Finally arriving at the sleepy little village, Remina wanted to go to bed, but Logan wouldn’t let her. “<Come on, Remy, you’ve been draggin’ yer feet this whole time. It’s not that much of a hike. I thought you were excited about this.>”

Remy sighed and walked up the hill with Logan. Before long, they were sitting on the ground in front of the shrine. “<We should ground ourselves before we meditate,>” he said and closed his eyes. Remy followed suit.

Finding it difficult to ground herself, Remy finally got to a place where she felt stable enough and started to meditate, clearing her mind. Beside her, Logan was concentrating on calling the priestess with all of his thought.

It was… what Logan might have guessed to be an hour, but really couldn’t tell, when he started hearing a voice and didn’t let himself freak out. He had enough telepaths mucking around in his head to know when someone was trying to hurt him and not. The voice was not trying to hurt him, but called out to him. “Okoraseru hito,” <Offender,> she called him.

“Meiyo, kooki na miko-san,” <Honored and noble priestess,> he began placating. “<We wish to explain our mistaken transgression and seek redemption in your eyes.>”

The voice manifest itself more strongly in front of Logan and he opened his eyes. Since he couldn’t really move, he bowed in place when he saw her. “<Offender, how do you wish to seek redemption in my eyes?>”

Remy’s eyes opened too and she bowed when she saw that Logan had. The image of the priestess was ghostly, but the woman was beautiful in her white shrine robes. Staring at her in awe, Remy suddenly realized what Logan had about Japanese women. “<By whatever means that are reasonable,>” Remy said quietly. The ghost’s attention was turned to Remy and an angry eye was placed upon her. “Onegaishimasu!” <Please!> she said bowing and clapping her hands over her head in the Japanese gesture of pleading… which was more like the European gesture of praying hands.

The eyes of the woman softened while Logan watched the ghost look at Remy. Remy really did seem sincere and the lady looked back to Logan. “<What explanation is it that you wished to give?>”

“<The destruction of this shrine was committed in search of an unrelated object of power for the life of… someone we know. We realize our transgression and would like to repair the damage done.>”

The priestess looked at Logan. “<You understand why I am cross at the destruction of my shrine?>” she asked, a little surprised that he would be able to know the history of her people as they were both obviously gaijin. She had seen the history in his thoughts.

“<We studied what happened here at the time of your life,>” he explained.

“<Then you also understand my opposition to violence,>” she asked, fear and hurt in her voice.

“<We do.>”

“<My shrine is no longer used. My only wish is that the offenders take and uphold a vow of passivity,>” she demanded.

“Miko-san, <this is something that neither I… nor my companion will be able to do,>” Remy spoke up. “” she said at the anger evident on the priestess’s face, “<but our lives are fraught with danger. Above all, we have taken personal vows that mandate that we protect others with our every ability. As others will use violence against us… we must use violence in return.>” There was silence in the mountain air a moment. “<Is there any other way that we might appease you and show that we meant no harm?>”

“<There is no other way,>” she said determined.

“<Then… I will stay a woman,>” Remy said to Logan and Logan looked shocked at Remy.

“Remy….” Logan said, wanting to reach out to her.

“<And,>” Remy said determinedly, looking back at the ghostly form of the priestess, “” Remy got up from her sitting stance, her knees aching, but blood still flowing and started away from the shrine.

The form of the priestess floated in front of Remy, but Remy kept walking. “<Why do you do this?>” the priestess called after Remy.

At that, Remy turned. “<Because you are such, miko-san, if you choose to not look upon the hearts of the people who would willingly make amends for what they have done.>” Remy kept walking.

“<Wait….>” the priestess called. Remy stopped. “<Let me… look into your heart. You are not… easy to see into,>” she explained. Taking a deep breath, Remy tried to relax all of her mental shields and to power down bio kinetically. She felt the spirit of the priestess reach inside her and her breath caught. Tears pricked her eyes as she saw that the priestess contacted her depths. Remy was crying by the end of it because she had seen what a horrible person Remy was… now she was sure not to grant her absolution no matter what she did. Part of it was selfish sorrow… and part of it was a sorrow for all of the things she had done, so many deep shames.

Looking back at the priestess with tearful eyes, Remy started to descend the hill into the valley. “<Remina-san,>” the priestess said. Remy turned back to her. “<Remina-san… I will grant you pardon if you restore my shrine and live here while it is being restored,>” she said, her voice also full of emotion.

Blinking at her a little, Remy stepped back up toward the shrine. “<Why do you grant me this generous concession?>” she asked, a little baffled, and a little sarcastic as to the generosity of it. As Remy saw it, she had nothing to do with the horrible things that happened to the priestess and shouldn’t be punished for something that happened hundreds of years ago. When you break a window, you replace the window… not vow to never pick up a baseball bat again.

“<You asked me to look into your heart, and I have seen everything that I need. I do not share your beliefs of violence, but I will accept your need of it. Contact me daily, Remina-san,>” she said and faded away into nothingness. Remy was blinking at Logan when she came out of the trance she felt like she had been in looking at the apparition.

“<She said yes, Logan,>” Remy said happily.

“<Yeah,>” Logan said, his voice full of mixed emotions.

“<You’re upset, aren’t you?>” she asked, feeling struck in the gut. She knew Logan wasn’t going to appreciate her as a man, she knew it! Remy started to feel more tears in her eyes since they had been there so recently.

“<Hey, don’t you start, okay? I’m not upset about you getting’ yer old body back,>” he assured… although, he wasn’t certain if he were lying or telling the truth. He wanted to be telling the truth, but his heart’s reaction to hearing that Remy would be changing… made him think that he might have been lying. “<I’m gonna go an’ see if I can’t rustle ya up a sleepin’ bag, so I’ll be back soon, okay?>”

“<What?>” She asked Logan, perplexed. “<Why?>”

“<Yer gonna need ta live here, an’ ya don’t need ta freeze at night, so I’m getting you a sleeping bag. If there is one in this town,>” Logan amended and rolled his eyes at the sky. He headed off and Remy didn’t follow him because she felt she probably should stay… but she also didn’t want to be around Logan just then. As much as her heart told her that she loved him, it was difficult for her to think that he was nothing but a liar when it came down to his feelings.

Remina sat in the entryway to the shrine and held her folded up legs in her arms, resting her chin on her knees. She didn’t know what to do about Logan… or if there was anything to do about him. Why could he not love her as a man, but was fine with loving her as a woman? This confused her most because she thought of Logan as attractive and—did that mean that she was not going to find Logan attractive any more when she became a man again?! She hadn’t really noticed Logan one way or another before this happened; she had been chasing after Rogue….

What if she didn’t like Logan either after this? They… would probably go back to being friends… only they would probably be a lot closer. The thoughts and uncertainties clouded Remy’s mind until Logan came back with a futon mattress and blankets as there was no sleeping bag in the town.

Shoo Nana

(Chapter Seven)

There wasn’t much space inside the shrine itself so Remy slept outside at its entrance. Her back was starting to hurt from all this sleeping on the hard surface crap that the Japanese went for. The hotel in Tokyo was the only place she felt she could get actual sleep and not wake up with a back ache and that was because they had real beds in the city.

Logan had stayed with her, curled up on the little futon mattress bed. When they woke up, Logan was curled around her and she felt warm compared to the crisp and misty mountain air that surrounded them. Turning to face him, he looked at her with eyes that weren’t sleepy and said, “<Morning,>” quietly. Looking at him, knowing that he’d been up for a while, Remy felt that he looked at her with such love in his eyes that her fears for the moment vanished. It was a peaceful feeling. She didn’t want to get up.

Snuggling into Logan’s chest, Remy sighed and tried to ignore the world for a few more minutes. Logan wondered where all of her angst had gone since she seemed sort of upset last night. He hadn’t tried to get her to talk because it would have degenerated into the same thing… the thing that he couldn’t really reassure himself of, much less her. He hugged her tight and kissed her hair, letting her stay there until she was ready to get up. They had all the time in the world to do this in and frankly, Logan wasn’t eager to start either.

Eventually, they both decided to get up, but only when their stomachs started to growl. Logan went down to the village to grab food and Remy went with him to get a broom. She knew she would need a lot more than that, but she wasn’t about to carry it all up there at once. She would need excuses to come down the mountain, she was sure. Getting breakfast with Logan was an ordeal again, but Remy seemed to have more energy. She wondered if the priestess had anything to do with it.

Remy ate the soup she was given and ate the rice, even though it tasted like nothing… except maybe plain white rice. Logan wanted to ask her if she really wanted to do this because she wasn’t jumping all over it… but he couldn’t ask that. He knew she wanted to. Knew she felt like she had to. He was curious as to why she hadn’t fixed the entire place by morning, but figured he would chalk it up to fear.

They started working on the shrine at about noon and worked for several hours. Remy swept the place out and took stock of all the things that would need repairing or replacing. There really was a lot of work to be done on the shrine and some of it would need quite a lot of time.

Dinner was quiet between Remy and Logan. It was like there was nothing to say at that point. Both eager and afraid, Remy couldn’t decide even how to feel about the situation. It wasn’t that she liked being a girl. It wasn’t that different from being a man unless there were others around to treat her differently. On the other hand, it wasn’t like she disliked being a woman. There were certain advantages… one of which was how Logan looked at her.

Night fell… the sun setting over the expansive sky that just didn’t feel like home and Remy had an odd feeling come over her that was more than the longing for this ordeal to be over. That night seemed to be filled with an uneasiness that was poignant in the stillness of the mountains. “Logan…” she asked at the end of their evening meal, “<would you mind… sleeping at the inn tonight?>”

Looking at Remina, Logan was… a little perplexed at her. “<Is… there something wrong?>” he asked.

“” she said, not looking at him. She knew what expression he’d have on his face—disappointed, mistrusting… hurt.

“<Sure,>” he said, and gathered their plates to take them down to be washed. He understood the need for solitude… but usually it was his need. Seeing it now from the other side, as the person letting go instead of the one walking away, it unexpectedly stung him. But still.... he respected her need for isolation and started down the hill.

When Remy was sure he was gone, she waited for a few minutes so he wouldn’t hear her, as she finally broke down and started quietly crying. Her sobs grew allowing her frustration to come pouring out of her.

It was surprising amidst her frustration to hear a voice and Remy’s tears ebbed. Sniffling, Remy called out, “<Who’s there?>”

“<It is I, Remina-san,>” and Remy recognized the voice as belonging to her disembodied priestess. Swallowing, Remy didn’t know what to make of the voice. She didn’t hear what she had said, but it had been a question, she was pretty sure.

“<What… did you want?>” she asked.

“<Do you love him?>” the voice asked.

Looking at the fire, Remy didn’t know how to respond to that. “<You know I am a man,>” she said, expecting that to be answer enough.

“<Yet, you have shared yourself with him,>” she observed having seen it in both their hearts.

“” she said, not certain if she understood the entirety of what she meant by saying that. She felt there was more there to convey than her words could, but didn’t know if the ghostly priestess could sense that or not. She had said that it was difficult to read her, probably because of her particular mutation. “<My feelings have become entangled in him… and I am not certain if I can withstand the loss of his love.>” It seemed in saying it, it made the possibility all that much more real and that was even more frightening.

“” Remy almost felt the presence of the priestess fade, but couldn’t be sure. She could however be sure that the priestess remained quiet after that… and she was also certain that her sympathy was sincere.

The offering of her sympathy though was almost… like a death knell.

The weeks went by quickly and Remy was taking her time with the work. She found that the closer she got to completion, the more nervous she felt about Logan. Trying to convince herself that she wasn’t stalling, she made a push through to complete most of her tasks for the day instead of putting them off like she had on so many others preceding. She promised herself that she wouldn’t stall any more… no matter what Miko-san said or how it made her feel.

Still, it was difficult to have faith in their love when she didn’t even know whether it would exist or not when the curse was lifted. Remy pushed the thought from her mind as she set down for the next day’s meditation.

Remy was wondering how she should make the new altar table because she had a few ideas, but she did want to please Miko-san so she was going to have to ask for a picture of it in her mind. This was all supposed to be exactly as Miko-san remembered it, so Remy tried to clear her mind of the images she wanted to see.

“<Remina-san>”, a clear voice said from in front of Remy and the image of the priestess appeared in her mind. She had appeared to her once before like this and Remy was pleased that she was getting better at communicating with her. The first time she had visited her like this was when the instructions were first given. After that, Remy had only heard her voice.

“Miko-san,” Remy said smiling. “<It’s good to see you today.>”

Miko-san smiled weakly at Remy and continued. “<Remina-san… the only way that I will be able to remove your curse is if no life is harmed in the process. I hope you understand,>” she said and the image of the priestess faded and was replaced by that of the plain wooden table she was to construct.

“Miko-san?” Remy asked. “Miko-san, <what do you mean by that?>” she asked in her mind and vocally.

I am sorry, Remina-san, the voice said and faded away without another word.

What did that mean? Did that mean that Miko-san was going to demand a vow of passivity from her after all? She thought she had explained that to her well enough—that the spirit understood that Remy needed to fight in order to protect others—to protect her world. Why was she asking this?

Frustrated, Remy went to work on her table if only to keep herself distracted until Logan got there. She would have to ask him for some nails. Working, Remy was miffed that Miko-san was getting work out of her only to keep demanding things of her. After all, she would do anything to become a man again wouldn’t she?

She tried not to let that thought confuse her as she worked.

Remy had tried to keep her chin up as the rest of the month wore on, but something in the deal had seemed to have changed, and she was worried about that. She hadn’t told Logan about this new development, mostly because she was too afraid to. When the end of the month finally arrived, Remy waited, as deeply into meditation as she could be, trying to contact her priestess with a heavy hope in her heart. She was excited, to be sure, but there was a note of fear and disappointment in her before the priestess even appeared. The mixture of emotions was keeping her from concentrating very well and she had found that she communicated better with Miko-san when she was clear headed. Sighing, she knew it couldn’t really be helped, but she tried to clear her head anyway.

The priestess had refused to clarify her statement earlier in the month and it had made Remy wonder what else would be expected of her when Miko-san showed up that day.

Logan came up the hill and noticed Remy there and smiled sadly at her, knowing that this would be the last time he would get to see her face… and then he wished that he had taken pictures of her. On the other hand, he was sure that Remy would be upset about him wanting a picture of her like this. She was still convinced that Logan didn’t want her as a man.

At this point though… Logan was sure that he would want his friend and lover no matter what her form became.

When Logan got to the top of the hill, Remy felt the presence of Miko-san and she lifted her head and opened her eyes. Miko-san stood in front of her with Logan beside her.

In that moment, Remy was glad that Logan had been there with her through this whole thing. She didn't know if things would stay the way they were between them or if they would be different after this was all over and done with, but she did know that nothing between them would ever be as it was before Remy was transformed.

Holding her breath, Remy waited for the priestess to speak. <Remina-san... Logan-san.... I regret that I can only remove part of this curse as things stand. When the time is right, the rest of the curse will be lifted... because I will be watching over you.>

"What?!" Remy shouted and this time it was in English... but she still had her feminine voice. "Why?!" she cried.

 The image of the spirit began to fade and Remy's knees weakened and she collapsed to the ground. Logan caught her so she didn't hit hard and lowered her to her knees. He knew this was going to be tough on her and was trying to figure out why the priestess would go against her word.

"What else do you want from me?!" Remy shouted, even though the image of the priestess had faded. "Tell me!!" Tears started to form in Remy's eyes and she put her face in her hands, unable to stop the sting from producing liquid and a knot from closing up her throat. She didn't understand—she would do anything... why wasn't she being turned back into a man?

"Remy... come on... She said she was gonna lift the curse. Maybe she just doesn't have enough energy right now," he tried to console. "At least ya can understand English again. You can come back home and be part o' the team again."

"An' jus' be able t' understand every hateful word Rogue has t' say to me instead o' jus' de gist? Non, thanks."

Logan quieted. "I didn't think you were gonna get back tagether with Rogue... not after this...."

"Sure she's got a few more snide remarks in 'er," she grumbled. "Wheder we're t'geder or not." Remy sighed. "I'm sorry, Logan.... Dis is just... I was hopin' dat dis was it... after all dis time... everythin'd be familiar again. Don' know how much longer we gotta wait, do you?" she asked, looking hopefully at Logan.

"Naw, darlin', I dunno. Might take her a while ta store up enough energy ta change ya back," he explained. "The important thing is that she said she was gonna change ya back. We just gotta wait, okay?" Remy nodded.

"Kay." She sighed. "Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we get outta dis miserable country?"

Logan smirked. "Yeah. Come on. We'll see if we can't catch the next train ta Tokyo." Helping her up, Logan took Remy down to the inn and packed up the few things they had brought and Logan made sure that the little lady who ran the inn was able to take care of herself for the next couple of years if she wanted to just run the inn. Their stay after all was far longer than the combined visits she had for the past two years. The little lady thanked him profusely and Logan smiled down at her, a little smug at the fact that he was taller than her.

Japan was after all the only place he could find many people shorter than him. He went with his tall companion out of town and they were waved at as they left. The local shop owner had come to know Logan and he waved to him on the way out.

The train ride was just as long as it was any other time for Logan, but for Remy it was much longer than any other because she wanted to be home. Truly, she wanted to be a man again and just have everything over with, but that was something she couldn't force, or she would have already.

"Logan... do you really think it's because she didn' have enough energy dat she didn't change me back?" Remy asked quietly on the train.

Looking at Remy's long face, Logan sighed and put his arm around her. "Remy, I don't know everythin’," he said gently. "I can only speculate. But what other reason could there be? She gave you back your speech. She would have asked you if there was somethin’ else you could have done for her and she wouldda let you know if you had ta take a vow of passivity, so I guess I'm tryin' ta say that's the only thing I see left." Remy nodded.

"Thanks, cher," she said and snuggled into his chest. She was quiet for a while. "I missed you, you know."

"Missed me?" he asked.

"I mean..." Remy blushed against Logan's chest. "I missed... bein' wid you...." She didn't know if she got the euphemism across.

Logan smiled gently at her. "I missed you too, Remy." He was incredibly glad to have Remina with him still… but at the same time, he felt guilty—had Miko’s renege on the second part of the deal been for Logan’s sake? For theirs as a couple? Maybe she knew that Remina would be happy with Logan if they were together and knew Logan’s heart—knew he would leave Remy and treat her as a drinking buddy again once she regained all of her masculine qualities…. His mind was filled with doubts and strong emotions that he knew he couldn’t voice without severe consequences.

Even though she came back still a she, Remy was glad to be in familiar surroundings again and in a place where she could understand the language. Her first stop was her shower and she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Logan was following her. She welcomed him in, smiling broadly at him and as soon as the door was closed they were locked in a passionate kiss.

Remy thought that it was probably because Logan was relieved to get to have Remy as a woman for a while longer, but she wasn't about to ruin the moment of passion with an accusation like that. It would only create more stress between them, and frankly... Remy was relieved to still have Logan's love. She had been so sure that she would lose it as soon as her rightful form was restored.

As clothing was removed, Remy backed away, drawing Logan with her deeper into the room and to the adjoining bathroom. The space was small, but neither of them paid much attention to it as it seemed their bodies were the only thing that mattered in the room. Remy eventually had the wherewithal to turn the water on and to adjust it to a steamy, but not scalding temperature. Dragging Logan into the water spray they got all wet and she could hear Logan start to growl softly. She had to admit that she liked that growl of his a lot.

Pushing Remy back up against the small shower wall, but out of the spray, he kissed down her wet belly and down to her sweet, trimmed pussy. Remy could never stand it when he did that—the sensations were always so foreign, but they were erotic as hell. His tongue seemed to be this unpredictable live thing and when he slid it up inside her, her legs spread wide and she sank a little to make it easier for him to reach. She couldn’t help moaning in pleasure and reaching to the opposite wall for some support.

Logan couldn’t actually help that he liked to have his tongue roving around her pussy lips so much, but he did. His hands caressed her hips and her legs, then swept up the backs of her thighs to grasp at her ass. Her smell was strong and musky when her juices started to flow. He thought she was probably ready to have him and he rose to kiss her before letting his cock head tease her entrance. “Please…” she sighed.

“Please, what?” he asked playfully, his cock jerking a little at the sight of her begging him.

The spasm made Remy tense up and want to sink further down on him, but as she tried, he pulled it away from her, keeping it only just at her, not inside. “Please…” she looked at Logan with her heavy-lidded, devilish eyes and asked, “…make love to me…?”

Wrapping his arms around her, Logan pressed her up against the wall so it could help take some of her weight as he slid his shaft into her sopping wet pussy. She clenched around him, pleasure and arousal tugging her toward euphoria. She was snug and warm and she smelled really good as Logan buried his face in her neck. Sliding out of her, he could feel as Remy sucked in a breath and he sucked at her collar bone, leaving a pretty little mark there. He knew that he wouldn’t get to have her for very long… after all, however long it would take for Miko to build up her energy would be insignificant to the amount of time he wanted to spend with Remy; the rest of his life. His mark was a little possessive, he knew, but it was born of an urge to not let her go. He had come so close to losing her….

He hugged her tighter as he thrust back into her hot body. Remy would have been cold, but she was far too aroused to notice; her blood was pumping hard, and Logan was keeping her warm with his body pressed up against hers. She reached around to hold onto him and caressed down his back. Then she tried to lift one of her legs up around him and he grabbed onto it, liking the new position that put her in. She cooed to him and writhed against the wall—he was hitting new places inside her.

Remy was feeling so good that she had a flash of thanks that Miko hadn’t given her back her masculine form. She choked on the feeling—it warring with her wish for the comfortable body she knew and the respect that came with it. Pushing the feeling to the side, she concentrated on how Logan felt filling her, pressing against her walls and kissing her senseless.

“I love you, Logan,” Remy muttered in his hair and Logan paused. He… was surprised. It felt… different somehow in English. Like it meant more. Like he felt Remy actually knew what she was saying this time… and even close as she was to getting her old body back… she still loved him….

“I love you too, Remy,” he said sincerely, and thrust up, bringing her head down with his free hand to kiss her deeply as he did.

Feeling like she melted into orgasm, Remy’s pussy quivered around Logan as she sucked his tongue into her mouth. She whimpered loudly and her hips bucked against Logan’s, drawing a pleasured moan from him, then he started moving faster inside her, racing to follow her to completion. Grunting softly to her, Logan spilled his seed inside her depths and held her tight.

Slowly letting her leg down, he kissed her again before slowly letting go so they could finish showering and then actually get some sleep. She was very tired from the trip.

Dragging herself from the warm bed, trying not to disturb Logan as she left, Remy pulled on some jeans and wore a t-shirt that wasn’t big enough for her to hide the fact that she had breasts and padded downstairs in bare feet. Her destination was Scott's office. Knocking once she got there, Scott said, "Come in." Remy shook her head in awe that he was up and doing paperwork, but then reminded herself that he had Danger Room practice scheduled before this.

Entering, Remy looked at Scott and bit her lower lip as she entered. Raising an eyebrow as she came in, Scott fumbled, "Logan... doko?" <Logan… where?>

"I don' need Logan to translate for me any more, Scott," Remy said.

Scott stared at her for just a moment. "You're still a woman," he observed, feeling a bit dumb about stating it. The t-shirt didn't disguise the feminine featured face or the longer hair and only marginally hid the fact that she had two great mounds on her chest.

"Yeah, but I can fight, so if it's not too much trouble, I'd like t' be re-instated," Remy huffed.

"I'll have you on the roster by the end of the day. Things didn't go as you hoped in Japan?"

"Gee, how could y' tell?" she asked sarcastically. She paused, then continued, "We were able to find a way to return my language recognition... but... we're still workin' on de gender part." Scott nodded.

"Keep me posted." Remy nodded and left his office without a backward glance. When the door was securely closed, Scott sighed and put his head in his hands, wondering how this was going to resolve itself. It certainly didn't matter to him personally whether or not Remy was a woman or a man... but it was bound to put stress on the rest of the team if Remy were to stay a woman permanently.

Remy stepped into the kitchen and found Rogue there with Kurt and Bobby. Remy nodded to everyone there and turned to the refrigerator in search of food.

"Gawd, look at 'im tryin' ta be a man," Rogue snorted to no one in particular and shoved some toast in her mouth.

Remy turned to Rogue and closed the refrigerator door, then walked purposefully over to where she sat. Looking down at her, Remy said, "How could I ever have been in love wid such a bitter person?" She didn't understand what made Rogue so bitter about her sudden transformation into a woman, but she was obviously hurt and taking it out on Remy.

"Would you have fucked Logan if ya ever loved me?" she asked, using crass language on purpose.

"Only after bein' discarded," she said and stepped away from Rogue. "Now, a lady should watch her fuckin' language," Remy growled, trying to point out that of the two of them, Remy was not trying to be a lady.

"Speakin' o' language, how can ya speak English again?"

Bobby and Kurt simultaneously withdrew from the kitchen, neither one making a scene. They had been itching to ever since Remy came over to the table, but hadn’t been able to quietly with her in their path. "Part o' de curse was lifted. Gotta wait f' de oder part."

"Ya mean... Yer really gonna become a man again?" she asked in disbelief.

"Oui. It's really gon' happen. Jus' don' know when."

"Ah think ya bluffin'," Rogue said folding her arms over her chest.

"Think what y' like. But when I get back t' sorts, if I catch you ever tryin' t' touch me with gloves or widout, I will charge whatever y' wearin' an' blow y' naked. Understood?"

Rogue made a face at that and rose from her seat about to argue further, but Logan walked in and she wasn't willing to fight in front of him. She made a haughty, indignant sound and marched from the kitchen.

Smiling at Logan, Remy went to give him a hug and Logan welcomed her into his arms. "Perfect timin', cher," she praised.

"I heard," he smirked. "I'm glad ya got ta tell her off, but take it easy on 'er. She just doesn't know any better. You were her first relationship after all."

Sighing, Remy looked at the ceiling. "I realize dat, Logan... but dere are some things dat y' jus' don' do to a person.... an' she did... a bunch of 'em," she commented, remembering the snow and shivering.

"I know, I know. Don't let it get to ya," he said, stroking Remy's back.

"Anata wa tsuyoi soshite yasashii, Logan," she smiled. <You are strong and kind, Logan.>

"Hey—you still speak Japanese?"

Smiling, Remy looked around in her head. "I guess so. I mean, I knew a few words before dis whole mess started, but I guess I jus'... got t' keep it. Dat's kinda nice," she said and leaned in to kiss Logan.

Kissing back, Logan let his hand caress lightly at Remy's back over the t-shirt. Logan heard someone walk into the kitchen, but Remy wasn't interested in letting go, so Logan smirked against her lips.

"Ohmygosh!!" Kitty exclaimed and jumped as soon as she saw them. She didn't know who it was that was kissing Logan, but it was really odd to see Logan kissing anybody, so she had been surprised. Although, Logan did deserve someone, she hadn’t suspected that he was dating.

The tender kiss was broken and Remy looked up at their surprised intruder. Kitty's expression turned from a smile, to a perplexed look, then quickly to a frown. "Eh... Gambit?" she asked. Kitty had heard that some gender confusing had happened to Remy, but she hadn't seen her yet, having been elsewhere.

"Uh... oui, Kitty," she said a little shyly, a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"That's...."

"Please, keep y' comments t' y'self, I don' tink I can handle any more t'day," Remy said sternly.

Smiling, Kitty said, "…cute," she finished and went to phase a dish out of the cupboard.

Remy watched her, grateful that she had said something positive and she looked back at Logan. "Don't get too comfortable with him like this; his body's gonna be back ta normal soon—we just don't know how soon."

"Oh? Isn't it you I should be saying that to?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Uh..." Logan stuttered with a frown. He didn't want the fact that he was the one most likely to take it badly when Remy returned to the form of a man brought up. He didn't want to upset Remy.

"By the way, have you guys...?" she asked, pointing between the two of them and waggling her eyebrows.

Remy's blush got fiercer. "Quit askin' stupid questions an' get de hell outta here before I spontaneously combust," Remy growled. Logan laughed at her and didn't bother answering Kitty either. She could probably tell by Remy's reaction anyway.

Kitty left with a knowing smile etched into her face.

Shoo Hatchi

(Chapter Eight)

It had been a week since Remy had been on the team again and she was feeling better getting to go out on missions with people as they came along. She had even gotten to see the surprised look on Magneto's face when he saw her. That was actually kind of fun. It allowed Scott to take action during his surprise and he was in custody of the US government currently.

Stretching out on the couch in the Rec. Room, Remy sighed heavily. She had a few hours of down time before she had to do the rest of her chores for the day.

Training had gone well. She had gotten used to what she could do and what she couldn't do, which were all pretty subtle things. Working with the team again was great... but she thought Logan enjoyed being on the same team with her a bit too much. One day during training, he had nearly dragged her off into a dark corner to make out, but a sentinel got in their way.

Remy didn't mind so much... but she got the feeling that he was trying to get all he could before Remy became a man again. Something deep inside her told her that he was going to just... let her down. Sighing, she tried to stop thinking about how this would turn out once she was herself again. There wasn't really any point in it.

The guys all piled in to watch the Football game and Remy was surprised by the sudden invasion because she had actually forgotten about it. Getting up from the couch, Remy went to get a snack and when she made her way back, the couch was full and she smiled.

Piling on top of Logan, Remy got comfortable and the other guys in the room just looked at Remy, then tried to ignore the two of them in favor of the TV screen. Smirking, Logan put his arms around Remy as they watched.

"Logan..." Remy sighed. "We gotta talk, cher."

Uh-oh, Logan thought. This wasn't good. "Uh... 'kay..." he said and they walked up to Remy's room.

When the door was safely closed, Remy looked at Logan with folded arms. "Cher... I know dat y' don' like men..." She swallowed and Logan felt his gut sink with where this conversation was going already. "I'm not gon' be like dis f'ever... so you have t' prove t' me dat y' gonna want me when I change back... or I'm gon' have t' break dis off now... before I get too involved." Remy had barely been able to stand sitting through that game sitting on Logan's lap and watching men in tight pants showing off their endowments. It could be that she was just particularly horny, but... she hadn't been before the start of the game so it felt like it was induced by what was playing on the screen. Logan had been undistracted by the men playing the game.

"H...how do I do that?" he asked, thinking that this might be a little unreasonable of her.

"We're gon' watch some porn t'geder, cher."

Logan cringed at the idea of just... being watched for his reactions. The fact that Remy was watching might turn him off when he would otherwise have reacted just how she wanted. Sighing, he didn't suppose that he could get out of it. He nodded, although he wasn’t confident that this would turn out like she wanted.

Getting out the DVDs Jean had bought her, Remy popped one in. Logan sat on the edge of the bed feeling nervous as Remy set things up. He was still uncomfortable about this whole thing.

Once the DVD was playing, Logan took a deep breath, and opened his arms for Remy. She went and curled up beside him with her head on his lap.

The scene popped right into the images of well developed men sixty-nining on a couch. It certainly wasn't repulsive to Logan, but he just... wasn't turned on by it. Sighing, he started thinking about Remy... and what she used to look like, and imagined that it was him doing that to Logan and he started to get more interested. The camera drew closer to one mouth sliding down a length and Logan imagined receiving that quite well.

Logan shifted a little on the bed to make room for his expanding manhood and Remy smiled. She leaned up and whispered into his ear, "What y' thinkin' about, cher?"

"How good you are at that," he purred and turned to Remy.

"Aht!" she reprimanded, scowling at him. "Eyes on de TV, monsieur." Logan turned his gaze back to the screen, but his thoughts were on Remy. Still, he didn't think he was cheating too badly because he understood Remy's point, so he tried to keep his thoughts on Remy as he knew her before when she was a man.

The scene finished off when both men spurted all over each other.

The next scene was done in a mock garage and the two actors appeared. The first one looked a little like Remy in that he was tall and lean muscled, who was the mechanic, while the second that appeared was stockier, but built and was acting the part of the client. Making cursory passes at each other, the two got down to business and this time around it was hardcore... and it was more erotic sex than Logan would have thought possible given that it was showing two men.

The man that Logan could easily view as himself, the gruff one in charge, fucked the mechanic over a nice looking bike and Logan felt heat rising to his face at imagining Remy bent over Logan's bike that way, loving the way he was getting it in the ass.

Logan actually started to rub himself nonchalantly through his jeans, trying not to draw attention to the action, but Remy noticed. Smiling, she whispered into Logan’s ear, “Gettin’ hot?”

“Um… yeah,” he said, a little embarrassed that he was getting excited in front of someone who was just watching him and that it was gay porn he was watching.

“Good. Let me help you wi’dat,” she said and leaned down to unbutton his pants. Logan watched her, a little surprised. “Eyes forward,” she growled. He looked back at the screen and watched the under view of two sets of balls bouncing together as one cock pounded a shaved ass. That was good looking actually. He liked the smooth skin.

Remy was sucking him down hard after only a few moments and she was playing with his balls, tapping them lightly as if they were bobbing against another set. She tried to match the rhythm of the sounds she heard from the screen and it wasn’t long before Logan was spurting cream into her mouth and making his own soft grunts, his hands tangling in her hair.

Remy smiled up at Logan as she took her wonderfully hot mouth away from him. He gave her a smirk that showed how much he enjoyed that and pulled her up to kiss him. Tasting himself on her, he was actually pretty happy that she could swallow. Breathing in her essence, he loved the way she felt in his arms as she straddled him on her bed.

There was a faint scent that took a moment to identify as his pleasure soaked-brain stalled when he asked it to work. What was that smell? Inhaling sharply through his nose while his lips were still fastened to Remy’s, he stiffened.

No….

Pulling away, Remy looked at the shocked expression on Logan’s face. “What is it? Logan, what’s wrong?” she asked. Logan couldn’t take his eyes off of her, but he was staring past her. How was this possible? She was—pregnant?

I did say that Remy is a fully functioning female, did I not? Hank’s words echoed in Logan’s mind and he hadn’t even thought—it hadn’t seemed possible. Remy was a guy! They hadn’t needed to use condoms—Logan couldn’t get anything from Remy that she might have picked up.

Oh, god, Logan thought to himself and closed his eyes tightly in pain. How was he going to explain this to Remy? It all made sense now—the slightly late cycle that turned into an unwillingness of Miko-san to grant Remy her male body back; if she did that, the child would be lost without a way for Remy’s body to care for it.

“Logan, y’ scarin’ me. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, Logan realized that Remy probably hadn’t even noticed that she was late. Heck, Logan had just noted it in passing having lost track of time in that lazy little town. The irony of the situation—of him having to explain to her that she was going to have a baby made Logan’s gut clench. It wasn’t a humorous clench. He almost tasted bile at the back of his throat as he guided Remy off of him and got up to adjust his clothing back into proper placement. This was going to be so awkward. He wasn’t looking forward to her reaction. He ran a hand through his hair before sitting back down across from her and taking her hands in his.

“Remy….”

“Oh dieu, Logan—after dat, y’ gon’ tell me dat y’ didn’ actually like it?”

“This isn’t about that, Remy!” Logan objected harshly. He looked away from her feeling guilty for snapping at her. He shouldn’t have; she didn’t understand yet. Caressing her hands gently in his, he tried to think of how he was going to put all of this to her. “Remy… I smelled somethin’ on ya just now… an’ I think it’s the reason that Miko didn’t give you back yer male body.”

“Smell? Wha’d’y’ mean, Logan? C’mon, spit it out,” she coaxed. There was a pause that drew on in the thick silence around them, but Remy waited patiently for Logan’s response.

“Yer pregnant, Remy,” he said bluntly, but with a gentle voice.

Remy felt like she had been kicked in the gut and her lower lip trembled. She looked like she was about to cry.

In a blind rage, Remy ripped way from Logan and struck out against the walls of her room shouting and kicking and hitting and screaming. Pregnant? How could she be pregnant? She was a man! She didn’t want to be trapped in this body for any longer than she had to be and now she was going to be stuck in it for nine months?! Why did she have to put up with the changes that were going to happen to her? She didn’t want to go through all that! She really would be a woman by the time it was over! Fear struck her as much as the anger did and she demolished half her room, shouting inarticulate bits and pieces of thought as they occurred to her.

Logan closed his eyes on the bed in torment as Remy raged about him, shouting obscenities and questions that he couldn’t answer. His heart went out to her for the confusion and discomfort this was going to cause her… but Logan was—happy that she was pregnant with his child. How could he not be? Her anger about it in the face of his happiness just made it more difficult to sit and listen to as her tantrum continued. Cringing as she cursed them both, Logan felt his strength crack as he tried to simply be there so that when she calmed down they could talk. He wanted to leave, but he knew that would be the worst possible course of action at the moment.

After Logan thought he heard one of Remy’s bones break, he stood up and grabbed her arms from behind so she couldn’t lash out at anything more. She struggled in his grasp and cried out at the top of her lungs in frustration and pain, both in her heart and in her hurt hand. They tumbled in the struggle to the bed, with Logan on top of her, supporting his weight on his knees so he wouldn’t crush her. “Remy, calm down, please… I don’t want you ta get hurt….”

“You don’t want y’ baby ta get hurt, Logan!” Could ya care less about me? Don’ y’ care what I’m goin’ through? Don’t you care dat I can’t stand de thought of dis? Why is dis happenin’…? I’m a man! Remy cried into her covers and tried to struggle a little in Logan’s firm grasp.

“God damnit, Remy, I don’t want either o’ you ta get hurt! Now, stop this!” he whispered vehemently into her ear.

Remy stopped, but it was a stop that had her crying into her bed inconsolably instead of raging around the room. It obviously hadn’t been enough catharsis to purge the complex emotions she was having about this. Logan rubbed Remy’s arms in a more comforting gesture after releasing her from the hold. He wished there were more he could do for her, but there just wasn’t.

“I’m not a woman!” Remy sobbed, her gut clenching in emotional denial.

“I know yer not, darlin’… I know…” he whispered into her ear. There didn’t seem to be anything else Logan could say to her to give comfort. What was he supposed to say? ‘It’ll only be nine months?’ ‘You can do it, Remy… it’ll just be the most painful thing you’ve ever experienced?’ The only thing he could think of was going down to the Med Lab to see if his nose was wrong, which he wasn’t willing to rule out… but he also didn’t want to give Remy the false hope, so he stayed quiet about the possibility of him being wrong.

It seemed like hours that Remy was crying for, but Logan thought that was probably because he was constantly asking himself when her sobs would end. Eventually, she was only sniffling and Logan caressed her arms again. “Come on, Remy… let’s go have Hank take a look at ya….” he tried to coax her up.

“What makes ya think I wanna go t’ de lab…?” she asked, sounding miserable.

“Fer one thing ya need yer hand looked at. Fer another… he should probably tell ya how far along ya are… what ya need ta do for it… stuff like that….”

“He’s gon’ tell me I need t’ quit smokin’… but I really wan’ a cig right now, Logan….”

“I know…” Remy’s craving for one was triggered by the amount of stress she was feeling and Logan could smell the need for it pouring off her. It was so bad that it triggered a desire in him for a cigar, but he knew that if he caved, Remy would too. “But ya can’t right now, okay?” They would need to come up with something else she could do in order to thwart her cravings.

Before that day she hadn’t had a cigarette in a long time, but she hadn’t quit either. Maybe when she calmed down she could see a clearer path to quitting… but she was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the thought of a baby.

Easing her up by her shoulders, Logan hugged her before looking at her tear streaked face. “We’re gonna get through this, Remy. Both of us, all right?” he tried to reassure her. Remy’s frowning face told Logan that she didn’t believe him, but she nodded anyway. “All right. Come on,” he coaxed her to a standing position and Remy cradled one hand against her chest and tried to stay on her wobbly legs. Logan stabilized her as they walked down to the Med Lab, taking the elevator because of Remy’s shaky legs. He wanted to tell her that he loved her… but he wasn’t sure what that would do to her in this emotionally fragile state.

Hank watched his visitors come in and bounded over to Remy to start checking her over immediately. “My dear…” he said reaching out for her hand. “May I have a look at that?”

“Don’t treat me like a woman!” Remy burst out, tears starting to appear again, giving her a profound headache. She wrenched her hand away from Hank.

“She’s in a bit of a mood, Hank. Be gentle with ‘er… and… she needs a pregnancy test too…”

Hank looked up at Logan shocked, then his face turned to one of anger. Logan frowned, looking very uncomfortable under the glare Hank was giving him. “And I suppose it was this news of impending motherhood that threw our resident Cajun into said ‘mood,’ wasn’t it, Logan?” Logan had seldom heard Hank growl, and this was one of those times.

“I can smell it on her, Hank… We just need ta get her checked out—see how far along she is.”

“Did you not consider the consequences of your actions?!” Hank roared.

“Stop!” Remy shouted. Hank and Logan turned their attention to her. “It was my fault, Hank…” Remy started sobbing and was crumbling to the floor with the realization that she could blame no one but herself, no matter how much she wanted to. Rushing to intercept her fall, as he had before, Logan lifted her up and carried her to the examination table. Setting her on it, Logan held Remy’s good hand and nuzzled her.

“It’s my fault, too, okay?” Logan said, knowing he couldn’t be held blameless. “Hank has a right ta be mad at me.”

“He doesn’t! I asked you, Logan….”

“An’ I said yes. Takes two ta tango, darlin’.” Remy nodded, looking down at the floor.

Logan felt his heart falter when she wouldn’t look at him. He nuzzled her once more and leaned away, feeling maybe she needed some time away from him. Looking at Hank as he left, he said, “Take care of ‘er.”

Hank nodded, but was still upset about this unexpected complication in their lives. It would of course affect all of them, to one degree or another. Then again, that was one of the things that reinforced the fact that they were a surrogate family. Hank turned his usual, kind demeanor on Remy and stepped over to her. “Would you like some water?”

Logan went up to Scott’s office and didn’t bother knocking. When he entered, the first words out of his mouth were, “Take Remy off o’ Active Duty, okay, Scott?” when he had Scott’s attention.

“What? Logan, he just asked to be put back on and you want to take him off?” Scott looked up from his papers with a perplexed tilt to his mouth. He was actually wondering what Logan was doing there instead of Remy, seeing as Remy could speak for herself again. Logan wasn’t her team leader and didn’t get much say in the matter.

“I ain’t gonna have Remy puttin’ herself in danger anymore, Scott; take her off.”

“Why?” he asked perplexed. It wasn’t much paperwork to put someone on or off of the Active Duty list, but he really was curious. Did Remy lose the language skills that she just recently regained?

At Scott's inquiry Logan was quiet in a silence that seemed to hold tension like a thunderhead cloud and when he said, "Remy's pregnant," it was like a bold of lightning hit Scott.

"Remy's... what?!" he shouted.

"I didn't mean fer it ta happen, Scott... it just—did." Logan looked at his team leader and friend, then sighed.

"Is he... is he going to keep it?" Scott asked feeling a little dizzy.

Logan's heart thudded in his chest. Why would Remy abort? But then again... why wouldn't she? She was definitely not happy about this when Logan told her. Anger flashed through him as he acknowledged that he hadn't even considered it... and that the possibility certainly existed that Remy would ask Hank to get rid of it. Logan’s fists clenched at his sides. "I don't... I dunno." He wanted her to keep it.

"Ask him," Scott said tersely.

Nodding, Logan marched down to the Medical Lab where Remy was waiting as Hank analyzed her bio-readings with the Shi'ar technology. Bursting in, Logan looked like he could have chewed through adamantium with how angry... and nervous he was feeling. If Remy really didn't want to keep it, then there would be little he could do to change her mind. It was her body and even though the life inside her was partly his... he couldn't make her carry it.

Stepping into the Medical Lab, Logan looked even more disturbed than when he left. Looking up to him, Hank delivered the news. "Logan," Hank greeted. "She is indeed pregnant. About... a month along I would say." Remy cringed. That was about the time they arrived in Japan. It made her wonder just which night it was that had… sealed her fate.

Nodding, Logan stared at Remy. That was still enough time to safely abort. He looked at Remy whose expression was still worried and long. "Remy..." Logan's lips parted as he tried to get out the words that he needed to say in order to get an answer. He didn't want to say them, but he had to ask... and Hank had to hear. "Are ya... gonna keep it?"

Head snapping up to catch Logan's gaze, Remy's beautiful eyes were wide, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to her to get rid of it. "I... I hadn' even t’ought about it, Logan," Remy said, then looked to the exam bed. Logan nodded. This was a lot to digest and they hadn't talked about it at all. “I…”

“This is not a decision to be made lightly, my friends,” Hank advised, hoping that Remy wouldn’t hastily decide to solve this ‘problem.’

Nodding, Remy ventured a glance at Logan and felt like she was trembling with stress and fear. So much felt like it was happening… it was so huge… it was overwhelming. They needed to talk. She didn’t really know if she could at that point though. Not calmly anyway.

Then something occurred to Logan. "Remy... if you abort it... the curse might never be lifted," Logan explained the revelation.

"Why'zat?" Remy asked quickly.

"Miko-san’s with you all the time, remember? She'll know if you killed a life—" a life born outta love, he thought before continuing, "and she may not fergive ya for it." I know I'd have a hard time fergivin' you, Logan thought... and was surprised at how true he felt it at that moment. He admitted that he loved Remy, but that would be something so hard to live with—knowing that they had a child... and Remy just... threw it away, like a nuisance. A knot developed in Logan's throat as he tried to keep from choking up.

Digesting that information, Remy thought how likely it was and saw the look on Logan's face. It was so sad.... "Hank... could me an' Logan be alone fer a minute?" she asked.

"Of course. I'll just analyze these readings on your hand in my office," he explained as he stepped next door to give them some privacy.

"Logan... I know dis is my fault—" She didn't know what to say. What would happen after she carried to term and they had a baby? If the curse was lifted, then Logan would have to live with the 'mother' of his child being male and dealing with that in the child's life even if she came to terms with actually having a child. Surely he wouldn’t want to put up with that. She just… didn’t want to be stuck raising it on her own….

"Hey... I said it takes two ta tango, right?" Logan said gently, but forcefully enough to remind her and went to sit beside her on the exam table.

Remy's frown deepened. At least he wasn’t going to let her take all the blame. "What... what do y' tink I should do?"

“Remy… it ain’t my body… an’ I know it’ll cause ya some discomfort… and probably even some pain along the way... but… I think ya should keep it,” he whispered and took her good hand in his. “I know I ain’t got the right… but I’m askin’ ya… ta keep it….” Logan sought out her exotic eyes, his own filled with trepidation at what could be considered culturally crossing the line.

“Dis… ‘s all happenin’ so fast… Can I have some time… t’ think ‘bout it?” she asked. Logan’s expression made him look like he was about to cry, but he nodded. Seeing that look on his face made Remy want to take back everything she had ever said to give him doubt… or pain. “It ain’… Logan, I honestly don’ think I’m gon’… abort….” It wasn’t something that was really in her beliefs. It simply felt like… this was an extreme enough case to warrant consideration of the possibility. “Guess I jus’ feel shocked ‘bout de whole thing still…” Her knee jerk reaction was to do anything necessary to not be in this body any longer… but she knew it would be wrong for her, personally to get rid of the life growing inside her.

The idea of a life growing inside her… made Remy reach down to gently caress her flat tummy. She wondered how she would feel if a woman had come to her and told her she was pregnant… Hell, it might have happened already and she simply wouldn’t know it because a lot of the women she’d had sexual contact with were one night stands that she hadn’t left numbers for.

“Hey…” Logan said and brushed her cheek. “I know it’s gotta be weird… I know it seems like a huge ordeal… and maybe it is… but I’m gonna be there for ya, darlin’. Every step o’ the way.”

Remy saw the resolve on Logan’s face and leaned in to hug him with her good hand wrapped around his back. “Tank y’, cher…” She couldn’t thank him enough for the calm he radiated in his mere presence. When she had been with Hank alone in the lab, she felt like she was floundering and lost and scared.

Wrapping his arms around her, Logan took a deep breath that was relieved. He squeezed her in a comforting hug and held her head to his shoulder. Remy felt that… as long as Logan was with her… as long as she didn’t lose his love… she could get through whatever challenges lay ahead.

Chapter Nine

(Shoo Kyu)

Outline/synopsis

Logan contacts Dani Moonstar to help them communicate with the dead priestess to apologize and ask what can be done to lift the curse. Miko-san tells them that Remy has to spend a month in Japan restoring the shrine and living a rather hermetic lifestyle near the shrine and doing violence to no one or thing-- not even eating meat.

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While not happy about this, Remy agreed to it eagerly and set about restoring the shrine. While there, Remy begins to be able to communicate with "Miko-san" as she becomes more sensitive to the energy around the shrine. The meditation also allowed her to see what the shrine looked like when it was new and to keep to the restoration in the spirit of that time. Logan stayed in the village below bringing her food, but otherwise staying out of her life since she had to meditate at the shrine daily, which facilitated her communication with "Miko-san."

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One day toward the end of the month, "Miko-san" comes and tells Remy that the only way that she could possibly lift the curse would be if no life were harmed. Confused by this statement because it was kind of off topic when it was brought up, Remy asked further about what she meant. Miko-san was silent and apologized, but said nothing more on the subject.

TEXT INSERTED

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When the end of the month arrived, Remy was excited about getting her old body and linguistic skills back. The day finally arrived where the curse was to be lifted and Remy was meditating... although not as effectively as she usually did, trying to get in touch with Miko-san. Miko-san appeared after Logan was present and he was a little surprised to see her because he hadn't before, but accepted her ghostly presence.

Miko-san explained that she would then lift as much of the curse as she could and looked to Remy with a smile. "The rest of the curse will be lifted when the time is right," she explained.

Insisting that Miko-san explain why, Remy called after her in English. She paused and looked down at the rest of her to find that she was still female. Turning to Logan when Miko-san disappeared, she asked him if he knew why she could only give her English back. Logan didn't know... but admitted to himself that he was happy to get to have Remina for a while longer.

Logan's appreciation for Remina's body caused some tension between the two of them and Remy didn't want to be a woman any more. She was getting more anxious, especially when she thought about having her period again. Remy wondered if she hadn't done enough, if there was something else she was supposed to do and tried to get Miko-san to respond to her, but Miko-san was silent.

Fix this—show more confusion and anger on Remy’s part. Session in DR when she gets home is good, but I think Logan might jump her.

Remy's confusion turned quickly to anger and she stormed away from the shrine, wanting out of Japan. Remy's anger was potent and Logan hardly talked to her the whole way home. He was worried that she resented the body she was in and Logan for liking it. When they got to the mansion Remy locked herself in the Danger Room for an hour blowing things up and went to Scott demanding that she be allowed back on the team.

Scott was wavering at Remy's lack of 100% performance, but consented to her being able to take Active Duty status again now that she could speak English again. Remy's relationship with Rogue was as volatile as the one she had with Logan. Now that she wasn't dependant on him, she didn't spend as much time with him and Logan was getting angry at Remina and her anger.

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Logan tried to explain to her that he liked her body both ways and that it was her personality and friendship that made her so special to him. Remy had a hard time believing Logan.

Upset, Remy challenged Logan to watch the videos that Jean had gotten for her and Logan agreed. Remy's attitude held the goal of analyzing Logan's reaction to the video. As they watched, and Logan reacted, Remy rewarded him with action of her own. Getting mad at him when Logan's eyes weren't glued to the screen, Remy made sure he felt good.

Convinced that Logan was satisfied with her other form, Remy was leaning away from him when Logan grabbed her arm and pulled her in to smell her. Eyes widening, Logan thought he smelled... could that be?

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Reference Hank's quote about Remy being a fully functioning female-- the second one. “I did say that Remy is a fully functioning female, did I not?” Logan kicked himself repeatedly and sat Remy down. Perplexed at Logan's quiet shock, Remy didn't know what was going on. Logan was struck by the irony of it being *him* that had to explain to *her* that she was pregnant.

Remy just about lost it. She shouted and beat the walls and the mattress at the thought of having to be confined in this body for another seven to eight months and having to put up with the massive bodily changes that would occur to say nothing of what would happen afterward. Remy wasn't sure she wanted kids when she had been a man. she hadn't ever thought when she considered a relationship with Logan that anything would ever come of it. She figured that they would love each other and then drift apart or one of them would die before the other-- considering that Remy wasn't going to live forever, and Logan might.

Logan had to restrain her bodily to keep from hurting herself until she calmed down and instead of anger was soaking the bed below her with tears. Logan had a hard time consoling her about the baby. He understood that it wasn't something she expected... it hadn't been something he expected either.

Logan was happy about the baby, but he knew that it would be hard on Remy emotionally and physically, especially when he told her that she wouldn't be able to be on Active Duty. Remy protested, but Logan insisted that she not put herself in any sort of unnecessary danger, like going on missions with the X-Men.

Dropping her off in Hank's care to see how far along she was, Logan went up to Scott's office to tell him that Remy was to be removed from active duty immediately and that she couldn't go with them on missions. At Scott's inquiry Logan was quiet in a silence that seemed to hold tension like a thunderhead cloud and when he said, "Remy's pregnant," it was like a bold of lightning hit Scott.

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Taking her down to see Hank, he set her on the exam bed. “Hank… she needs a pregnancy test,” he said. They needed to be sure, but Logan was already really sure. It hadn’t been that long since had smelled the scent of a pregnant woman.

“I see,” Hank said looking gravely at Remy. He wasn’t pleased to hear that. Hadn’t he told them that Remy was fully functional? He went about getting the test ready.

TEXT INSERTED

"Logan," Hank greeted. "She is indeed pregnant. About... a month along I would say."

"I can understand English now, Hank," Remy grumbled off to the side.

"Sorry, Remy," Hank said looking over to her. "I know that this must be quite a shock to you," he tried to sympathize.

"Dat's an understatement." Her arms were crossed and she wasn't looking happy.

&&&&&

"Remy..." Logan's lips parted as he tried to get out the words that he needed to say in order to get an answer. He didn't want to say them, but he had to ask... and Hank had to hear. "Are ya... gonna keep it?"

Head snapping up to catch Logan's gaze, Remy's beautiful eyes were wide, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to her to get rid of it. "I... I hadn' even tought about it, Logan," Remy said, then looked to the exam bed. Logan nodded. This was a lot to digest and they hadn't talked about it at all.

&&&&&

"Dieu, Logan—why—?" she sounded like she wanted to say something, but aborted the sentence at the beginning. "Why did dis have ta happen?"

'Cause you were interested in what penetration felt like, Logan grumbled to himself, but he wasn't going to be so mean as to say that out loud to Remy. "Dunno. But..." Remy, I'm happy about it, he thought and closed his eyes.

&&&&&

Then something occurred to him. "Remy... if you abort it... the curse might never be lifted," Logan explained the revelation.

"Why'zat?" Remy asked quickly.

Digesting that information, Remy thought how likely it was and saw the look on Logan's face. It was so sad.... "Hank... could me an' Logan be alone fer a minute?" she asked.

"Of course. I'll just analyze these readings in my office," he explained as he stepped next door to give them some privacy.

"Logan... I know dis is my fault—" She didn't know what to say. What would happen after she carried to term and they had a baby? If the curse was lifted, then Logan would have to live with the 'mother' of his child being male and dealing with that in the child's life even if he came to terms with actually having a child. Surely he wouldn’t want to put up with that?

"Hey... it takes two ta tango, right?" Logan said gently and went to sit beside her on the exam table.

Remy's frown deepened. At least he wasn’t going to let her take all the blame. "What... what do y' tink I should do?"

&&&&&&&&&&

she asked him, a little afraid of what his response would be. "What... would y' wan' me t' do," she clarified her question, realizing that the answers may be different.

"I... I think ya should keep the baby, Remy. I'd want ya ta keep it," he said putting his hand on her forearm in a comforting gesture. He hoped that his encouraging her to keep it wasn’t putting too much pressure on her. He was almost tempted to tell her that if she didn’t want it that Logan would raise the baby himself, but he didn’t say it just then. **** “Remy… I know that this’ll be hard on you as it is… so…” Logan swallowed. “Would ya want me ta take the baby?” he asked. “Wan’ y’ t’…. I don’ understan’…” “If… if ya didn’t want it… I—I’d understand…” he choked out. ****

"Really?" she asked.

Logan was a little surprised at the disbelief in her voice. "Yeah... did ya think I wouldn't?"

"I didn' know... we never talked about it—I never thought it could happen," she explained. It hadn't occurred to her even after she had experienced her period. Acknowledging that with a nod amidst a shrug, Logan could see why she wouldn't have thought about it. Frankly, he hadn't either. He had thought Remy was just going to be back to normal, preferably before her next period and it wasn't something that... had ever seemed like something that could happen in a million years. Remy was a guy.

"So..." Remy's face scrunched up in an expression that looked like she might start crying. "How would we raise it?" she asked looking off at the far wall of the lab.

"Wha'd'ya mean?"

"If de curse is lifted after I..." dieu! "give birth..." that sounded so utterly ridiculous and hideously painful at the same time. "What will we... do y' wanna stay t'geder?" she asked shyly.

"Were... ya expectin' ta not actually go out after ya became a man again?"

Shoulders slumping, Remy's breath left in one quick huff. "I jus' didn't tink y'd want t'... deal wid it," she whispered.

"What? Why?" Logan asked loudly.

"Because... It'd be so hard t' have t' raise a child wid two biological faders... don' y' tink?" she asked looking up for Logan's reaction.

"Well, yeah, it'll be tough, but that's no reason fer me ta want ya to abort," he explained. Smiling, kind of relieved, Remy nodded and hugged Logan. "I..." Logan paused. [Has he said this to her before?] "I love you, Remy," he hugged her tighter and kissed her, hoping to convey to her through touch all of his joy and hope. Smiling brightly against Logan's lips, Remy felt a little relaxed... like now that Logan was supporting her, she could get through it. It would be a long time to be woman for and that as well as the pregnancy itself scared Remy, but she was certain that with Logan there, things would be all right.

"Aishiteiru," she whispered to him and Logan smiled.

Joke: “Chicken cacciatore,” to catch a chicken tori, [tori= “bird” in Japanese]