"Er... Y-You must be the, uh... N-New recruit..." Kitsune said, tearing his eyes from the attractive female's exposed cleavage.

"U-Um... Y-Yes, I am." she answered. "A-And you are, uh..."

He cleared his throat. "Ah, I'm Kitsune... I-I'm the leader of the Shy Guys in this army... Wh-Which makes me your boss... And, uh... Y-You are?"

"O-Oh..." the busty Shy Guy woman said. "M-My name's... T-Tatters..."

"Oh, so... Tatters... A-As your boss, it is my responsibility to inform you how this place works... Ahem, first off... There are three different kinds of bedrooms. The first is, uh... Private. One-person bedroom with a connected bathroom, also intended for a single individual. Then there's double. A slightly bigger version of the single, intended for two people. Then there's the, uh... Party rooms, designed for several people. We recommend a maximum of five, but we could conceivably cram a few more in there... Lots of bathrooms, though. Which type would you like? I'm guessing single, but..."

"A-Actually... I-I wouldn't mind sharing a room with other girls..." Tatters responded.

"O-Oh, I see..." Kitsune said. "W-Well... I-I'll see what I can do. I-I can't guarantee anything, so I'll say 'private' if I can't find you a roommate..."

"Th-Thanks." the female responded.

"A-Anyway," the white Shy Guy continued, "the rules are... W-Well, there's the boss's rules. I-I doubt I really need to go over them with you, but... They're pretty much 'Don't hurt anyone too badly' and... Uh... 'A-Any... S-Sexual intercourse... M-Must be consensual...' " He blushed beneath his mask as he hesitantly stated the second one. He cleared his throat before continuing. "H-He can add more any time he likes, though... But he'll tell everyone if he does... A-As for my rules... I-I don't really have anything more to add... A-Anything else?" He thought for a moment. "...Well, there's the respawn system..."

"'Respawn'?" Tatters asked, confused.

"Yes, if you... Er... Meet an unfortunate end... You will 'respawn' the following midnight. The system also resets at midnight, so whatever you're wearing at that time is what you'll be wearing when you respawn. On the other hand, your memories up to the moment you... Perished... Remain intact... It's, uh... Not fully understood exactly how it works... Any questions?"

"N-No, sir." the nervous girl responded.

Kitsune frowned beneath his mask. "My name's not 'sir', it's 'Kitsune'."

"Y-Yes, Kitsune, sir." she said.

The white-clad Shy Guy sighed. "...May I ask you something?" he asked. "Your, uh... Y-Your robe looks a bit... O-Old... A-And small... H-Have you ever thought of... T-Taking it to a tailor? Th-They could probably make it bigger... Ah, n-not that you're big at all! J-Just, uh... T-Too big for your robe..."

"N-No, never." she replied. "I-I care too much about it, I-I could never trust anyone else with it..."

"O-Oh..." Kitsune said. "A-And your mask? I-Is it the same way?"

"N-Not exactly..." Tatters replied. "I-It's practically a part of me... T-To change it at all would feel..."

"Weird?" he finished. "Yeah, I know how that feels. Wearing another mask is like wearing someone else's clothes. So... Let's hope it doesn't break. We don't have a masksmith here, so if it breaks, that's it. I'll see about getting you that room. In the meantime, you're free to wander as you please. As long as you don't go into anyone else's room. Be careful not to get lost."

---

Introducing the newbie to life in the Shy Squad. Standard procedure, nothing more. No, nothing at all...
Also, pay no attention to the possible double meaning of the title. At all.
Tatters is ©  Bitsmall
Kitsune is © myself ( RuBoo)