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Xodiac swayed as he carefully placed his ochoko back on the table. It wasn't his first cup of sake, or his second. Truth to tell, the dragote had stopped counting somewhere around six.

A gokon was apparently a bit more than just "a meet and greet with close friends." Everyone, it seemed, was paired up, and most of the couples were of opposite genders. Like a date, Xodiac had thought, and then promptly told his brain to shut up. They weren't all of opposite genders, after all. Just mostly. What they wore varied from formal to casual, and most than a few wore kimonos or yakuta, like Xodiac and his companion.

"Having fun?" Shigeo asked.

"I think sho," Xodiac slurred. "Haven't... urp. Haven't drunk so mudge in a lon' time."

The fox grinned, his five tails swaying gleefully behind him. "Then you were due, I think! Always good to just let yourself go every now and then."

"I sup-hose."

Shigeo switched seats to sit beside Xodiac instead of across the table. His movements were smooth, like he hadn't drunk anything at all, but he'd watched the fox match him drink for drink. He must hold his liquor a bit better, is all. Even sitting upright was a bit of a battle for the dragote, but Shigeo steadied him with a hand around his waist.

"Woah, there, Seiza. You don't want to hit your head."

"Thanksh," Xodiac said when he was upright once more. "Seiza?"

"Your name, of course."

"M' name's Xodi... Xodi... ac."

Shigeo shrugged. "Aah, well. Seiza is zodiac in Japanese, or close enough. I thought it would make a cute nickname of sorts."

"Oh. Uh... ok." Xodiac wasn't exactly capable of arguing, at the moment. He wasn't capable of resisting the trickle of magic Shigeo directed his way, either. Or even noticing it, as drunk as he was.

"Say, how about a picture?" Before the dragote could protest Shigeo plucked Xodiac's phone off the table and activated the camera function. "Say 'Fuji!'"

"Fuji!"

Click.

Xodiac took his phone back and checked the picture. He looked... decidedly sloshed. Half-lidded eyes and a rather silly smile peered back at him from a loose, tilted head. He blushed and plucked at the yakuta, which had apparently slipped a bit off his shoulder without his realizing. Whoopsie, he thought, giggling softly to himself as he adjusted it.

He frowned at his phone. Maybe it was all the sake, but something seemed a little... off about it. His shoulders looked a bit more narrow than he though they should, his face a little more delicate. Had his claws always been so long, his hands so thin?

He was distracted when Shigeo squeezed his waist. "Don't worry. You look fine. Very kawai."

Xodiac grimaced. He wasn't used to being groped. "Oh. Good." He stopped worrying about the picture. If his host, his friend, said it was okay, then it was okay, right? "When's th' food coming?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Seiza. It'll be here when it's ready. Have some more sake."

"Thanksh." Xodiac took his newly-refilled ochoko and took a polite – if sloppy – sip. He smiled down at the fox. Other than being hungry, he was having an excellent time. This was a good night, lots of fun and good company.

And judging by his friend's grin, he was sure Shigeo would agree.

---

560 words.

I generally prefer to post pictures in a sequence one right after another, to keep them together in my gallery. Unfortunately, I didn't really envision the original picture for this one as the first in a series. But then the artist for that one mentioned a gokon in her own description for the pic (which, it seems, has now been taken down, much to my disappointment), prompting me to do the same in the story accompanying my own posting. And that opened up the possibility for a follow-up picture, or even sequence.

Even so, I didn't really have a plan for what a sequel would entail. More to the point, I wasn't sure what Shigeo had in mind. How far was he willing to go towards feminizing Xodiac? What was his goal, here?

But then I came across this YCH on ych.art, offered by  finemur, and I just had to get it. It depicted my vision of what Xodiac would look like at the gokon far too well. And after a bit of brainstorming with  cathyoak, I now know exactly what Shigeo has in mind, what his plans are, and just how this Asian vacation will go for Xodiac.

Which means there may be more pictures coming in this sequence. But seeing as it took more than 5 years to get this one out, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. The pictures are already widely separated in my gallery, after all, so there's no time crunch for me, no rush to get it done so it'll be next to the previous part in my gallery or even near it. I have time to find just the right YCH for it, or commission just the right artist. Still, it's something I hope to get done.

Eventually.