No characters (humans and non-humans included) are below the age of consent.
This is one of the story-focused chapters with less sex.
Also, similarly to Chapter 12, I tried to be more experimental, so this one is from the point of view of one of the pupils who are doing the course with Zara.
Also also, this one ended up being much longer than I expected.
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Gaylor was wondering what she did in her previous life to deserve such punishment as her current one. Maybe she was an arsonist, or a serial killer, or the guy who invented pop-up ads? But let's start at the beginning, the very beginning.
Her series of unluck began on her birthday when she was born as Gaylor Bumblesnatch. Her parents are big fans of Ben Stiller's "Meet the Parents" movies and they originally planned to call her Gaylord, just like Stiller's character, but once it turned out that she would be a girl, they changed it to Gaylor, the gender-neutral version of this name.
With a name like that, she never stood a chance in the school, but her problems were more than just having a stupid name.
Both of her parents had a job at the HSA's local HQ office. Her mother, Regina, always looked at her as a big chance to make their family stand out from the other families who were working for the HSA through generations. At least in Crowsend.
Regina used her connections to get her daughter into the new test program of the augmentations where they were testing the methods on people below twenty, and Gaylor got an augmentation at age fourteen.
At first, this seemed to be something good. After all, who wouldn't like to have a superpower?
Gaylor's augmentation was a null-gravity cortex implant from a Weightless Wraith. It took her one and a half years to finally awaken her powers, but this was the worst thing. The augmentation messed up her hormone system, and as a result, her breasts began to develop at an alarming pace.
At age sixteen, she was diagnosed with breast hypertrophy, and her body was now a constant source of pain and embarrassment. Her classmates, once merely cruel with their words, had turned into a pack of predators. The whispers grew louder, the stares more invasive, and the touches more daring. Her mother, ever the optimist, saw this as a sign that her daughter was blossoming into a woman, but Gaylor felt like a freak show.
She thought maybe people would like her more as her body developed further, but after a certain point, when her body proportions were comically abnormal and she had to wear a size 38H bra at the age of seventeen, she realized that she was wrong. It only made the teasing and the unwanted attention worse. It was a curse that made her feel like a walking target.
Her breasts didn't stop growing, and at age eighteen, they were Z-cups, a size that didn't exist in any store. Her clothes barely fit, and the pain was unbearable. Gaylor felt trapped in her own body, a grotesque parody of femininity that repulsed and fascinated in equal measure. Her mother, ever the opportunist, suggested that she channel her anger into becoming a hunter for the HSA.
The HSA found her useful enough to accept her as a hunter since her augmentation was "useful" in the sense of giving her powers. Then one day, her mother announced that Aritimi, the biggest monster hunter family's biggest hunter is about to take some pupils for the upcoming course for the newbie hunters. Regina used all of her connections, all the favors she ever had, and was even about to try blackmailing when she finally got a chance to talk with Aritimi.
Gaylor accidentally walked into the room when her mother was begging Aritimi to accept her as a pupil. She even saw Aritimi shaking her head right before her gaze fell on Gaylor and her enormous breasts. She was wearing baggy clothes even at home but the only way to hide the shape of her upper body was to wear a tent.
Aritimi's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Even though the course was about to start the next week, the huntress accepted Gaylor as her pupil. Since she had recently turned eighteen, it was allowed by the Council as well.
The first week came and went quickly. It was a little bit disappointing to not have Aritimi herself there but Inez was a good mentor too. Going to the beach the next week was more problematic though. She was there with a bunch of other pupils.
Since they were at the beach, it was obvious that they would like to walk around in a bikini and Lana had no issues with that. Luckily, she also had no issues with Gaylor wearing her casual clothes. She got some weird looks from the beachgoers and she almost got a heatstroke but it could be worse if she would have to walk around in a bikini, at least for her.
As she and the girls were about to leave the beach, one of them mentioned to her that Aritimi is rumored to always hunt naked. Regardless of the location. Gaylor cringed at the thought of that.
The next week when they were doing some test for the augmentation research team, she met a girl called Bambi who had some bad news for her. She confirmed the things about Aritimi and she also revealed that when Aritimi was there with them, they also had to hunt naked. She hoped it was just a joke. Later, in the fourth week, she met a Japanese girl who said the same thing to her.
When they were visiting the Medical Unit, she met others who also had nude training with Aritimi. A girl named Dayanara just repeated what she already heard, but then she met with Curtis, a close relative of their mentor and a fellow pupil. At this point, she was terrified.
All she knew was that if Aritimi was there, they would have to train naked because that was her way and she only stay there with them if this certain pupil called Zara was there. Gaylor heard about Zara, after all, both the first and second weeks of the course were adventurous with her. She also got the power of a Flesh Fiend. No wonder Aritimi only focuses on her. This Zara girl could easily end up as a weapon of mass destruction if left unchecked.
The only thing left for Gaylor is hoping that the course will end before she can encounter Zara. Unfortunately, these hopes were shattered when she was at the Security Unit and met with this girl-looking boy, Julian, and his mother, the Head of Security, Urszula.
It was pretty good to meet someone who also has abnormally large breasts. That was the first time Gaylor was grateful for only her breasts being affected by the byproduct of her augmentation and not her whole body. Poor Urszula looked less human than an Ogre, and Julian was also a victim of her augmentation. Gaylor hoped if she ever had a kid, it wouldn't be affected by her augmentation.
Then, the worst news came. When they were near the end of the day, she was talking with Julian about the course. The boy mentioned that Aritimi plans to help bond among her pupils so that in the end, everyone will meet everyone else at least once.
Gaylor barely slept that night. Her mind kept coming up with scenarios about the future encounter with Zara and the nude day. She just hoped that it would be in a less public place where nobody could see her.
A library would be an acceptable place. Protecting the information is a very important thing for the HSA. She hoped that Aritimi had a friend there and that would be the place for her training with Aritimi and Zara.
Then came the next week.
Gaylor was lying in the bathtub lazily. She liked taking showers more because they were quicker, but it was easier to wash her massive breasts by submerging them in the water.
It was early in the morning, but she knew she had to leave the bathroom soon since putting on her clothes would also take some time.
