"You know, Rose," Kazehana said, auspiciously. "We are still friends, right?"
"Like I said the other day- well, the other day for you; for me, it was like a month and a half ago- anyone who's seen my tits is a friend." I sighed, sinking a little deeper into the tub. "Why do you ask?"
"I thought it'd be nice to spend time with a good friend, outside the bathhouse," Kazehana said. "You do have an entire galaxy in your pocket to explore, after all. Maybe we could go sightseeing."
"I guess you're feeling a little cooped up in here, what with the whole 'nobody can leave Tokyo' thing," I said.
"I used to travel the world," Kazehana said. "I've been just about everywhere, really. But, well..." She shrugged. "Now, you've got a lot more where for me to explore."
"Fair enough," I said. "Well... hrm. I think Akitsu and Matsu are still working out the details of me winging Akitsu, so..." Akitsu and I were quite aware, currently, that we were not exactly 'compatible life partners,' considering that she wanted to have children, and I very much did not. All the same, though, she did still want to get winged by me, and simply... accepted that our relationship was not going to be a 'grow old together' kind of deal. "I'll talk to them, make sure they don't need me for anything too urgently, and then we can head out."
"Sounds good to me."
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"She is terminally down bad," Matsu said.
"I kinda figured," I said. "But, y'know, until she explicitly says so, I'm going to do my best to act like I'm just a good friend accompanying her on a sight-seeing vacation. Don't wanna make it creepy, y'know?"
"What sights are there to see?" Akitsu asked. "Your Warehouse was made by you, and in a hurry. And you're not the novelty-seeking sight-seeing type."
"That is true," I said, nodding. "However, it is also true that it's been seventy real-world days since I arrived in Tokyo, and thus my Warehouse and its population have had seven thousand days to create things I didn't imagine. Y'know, about nineteen years. They may not yet have a 'storied history' that isn't at least partially made-up, but I betcha they've built all sorts of cool shit that'd be worth looking at."
"Considering it's a world with Rose as its god," Matsu added, "I have no doubt it's full of the wildest shit built for no other rationale than 'it seemed cool.'"
"Fair," Akitsu said. "I just... I worry, about Kazehana."
"Oh?" Matsu asked.
"She left MBI and traveled the world," Akitsu said. "She also developed a drinking problem. Perhaps I'm just projecting, but... I think she feels hollow and adrift without an Ashikabi, and the drinking, the traveling, those are coping mechanisms she uses to run away from herself."
"...That's..." I frowned. "...Worryingly compelling."
"It... doesn't quite feel right, to me," Matsu said, brow furrowed. "I've known Kazehana for our whole lives. But..." She sighed. "Well. Maybe I'm wrong about her. Akitsu... doesn't feel wrong, either."
"Perhaps," Akitsu continued, "it would be a good idea to take her to another one of those camps you took me to."
"Oh?"
"If Kazehana is like the old me, only mouthier and bustier," Akitsu reasoned, "then it stands to reason that the general strategy that helped me find ways I could live with myself would help her find ways to live with herself. So..." Akitsu shrugged. "Help her find hobbies."
"Ahhh, I see," I said. "Hrm... Well, depending on how the travel plans work out... I might be able to do that and a sight-seeing tour at the same time. We'll see." I kissed her, briefly. "Thank you for the help, Akitsu. Now... does anyone have any strong opinions on Kazehana besides the fact that she seems kind of depressed and unhealthy?"
"I love her," Matsu said with a shrug. "Wing her if she wants you to, and if she doesn't... Just be as good a friend as you can manage."
"I'll try my best," I said, before kissing Matsu as well. "Alright, well. Unless either of you wants to come with us?"
"Were we invited?" Akitsu asked.
"Not explicitly," I began.
"Then enjoy your time alone with her," Akitsu said. "We'll be here when you get back."
"Fair enough. See you... in a while."
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Kazehana whistled appreciatively as she beheld the van I'd had outfitted for us. Despite having a vast legion of inventive geniuses in my Warehouse, they were, ultimately, still kinda-sorta limited to the laws of physics when it came down to it. Oh, sure, they could've used the Essential Body Mod to create a much better, physics-defying bioship for us, but, well... I was still kinda squeamish about utilizing technology that was currently a person.
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So, instead, we were in a particularly souped-up van. Electric motor, compact and foldable solar array that included a permanent (and surprisingly durable) photovoltaic coating all over, four-wheel drive, and off-road suspension. The storage space was, ultimately, still pretty limited, but definitely a lot less limited than a suitcase and a backpack. And...
...Well, some compromises had to be made. A van with a bed we could just sleep inside could be nice, but all the space that mattress would take up, plus the room we'd have to carve out for the people sleeping on that mattress... It was a lot of space that we could use for storing more stuff, instead. Besides, if we were visiting somewhere settled, there'd be an inn or hotel or even just a barn we could sleep in, and if we were visiting somewhere not settled, then we were camping, and a tent would be the more authentic experience, anyhow.
"Alright, so," I said, unfolding the itinerary that Bunny had drawn up for me. "You said you wanted to experience a bunch of different cultures, right? Well, we... definitely have a lot of that, here. Holy shit."
"Let me see- oh. Oh." Kazehana blinked. "You do not play around, do you?"
"Well, Bunny doesn't," I said. "Fuck a duck, this is... We're going to be here for a while. We're going to be here long enough that even outside, where time's passing a hundred times slower, they'll still end up missing us. I think Akitsu's going to be jealous."
"You're better with numbers than I am," Kazehana said. "How long is this little vacation going to last?"
"It's pretty cleverly tuned," I said. "We walked in here at one PM on Wednesday. According to this itinerary, we've got four and a half months of stuff planned out. And then, at the end of that... we walk out, and it'll be ten PM on Thursday."
"I see, I see," Kazehana said, nodding. "And, this itinerary of yours..."
"It is, honestly, pretty sparse," I said. "We can, whenever we want, text Bunny and tell her we don't feel like staying somewhere any longer, or that we'd like to stay another week, and she'll handle adjusting the rest of the arrangements."
"And Bunny would be..."
"An administrative assistant of mine," I said. "Also, an elf. The bunnygirl administrative assistant is named Kitty, and the catgirl one is named Elf."
"Someone in Human Resources thinks they're funny," Kazehana noted. "Well! What's first on the agenda?"
"First up is..." I hummed quietly. "...A week in the capital, and a list of interesting places to visit. Any of these grab your interest?"
"You can learn a lot about a culture from its popular media," Kazehana said. "How about we catch a movie?"
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"Gonna be honest," I said. "That was better than I was expecting it to be."
"It was amazing," Kazehana said. "It was everything I ever wanted in a Western, with the only thing missing being some hot older men."
"Yeah, that's something you might notice," I said dryly. "This galaxy doesn't have men. You might like them, but I don't, and... well. I did decide what this place would be like. And so far? Nobody living here has seen fit to contradict me, there."
"I'll live," Kazehana said with a shrug. "I might miss my beefcake from time to time, but I'm sure I'll be perfectly happy with a buffet of cheesecake, too. Now... back to the movie. Do you know what I gathered from it?"
"That... the filmmaking industry here is really good at what it does?"
"More than that," Kazehana said. "That at least some of the people of this capital city, they're fascinated by the idea of the frontier, the idea of all that wild, untamed land you put out in the galaxy, just waiting for someone to come and put it to use. And, more than that... they're fascinated by the people who live there, and make do without all the amenities that the city-dwellers rely on."
"Fair enough," I said. "So, where's your curiosity leading you? To finding out what, exactly, all the amenities of civilization are in this city? Or... towards the frontier?"
Kazehana chewed on this for a moment, alongside the last of our popcorn.
"Both," Kazehana said. "But, well. The city is closer."
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The first amenity we availed ourselves of was a local community college, where we audited a class on the local government.
"Interesting," Kazehana mused afterwards, as we availed ourselves of the next amenity: fast food. "This 'Body Mod' thing... it's not just a cornerstone of their society, it's the foundation of it. These skill perks are such a vital component of how they educate their young, and pass on the skills necessary to not only survive, but thrive."
"It definitely explains how the cowgirls out on the frontier survive without easy access to Taco Bell," I said. "With the infrastructure here, it takes twenty hours in a classroom to become a world-class master of wilderness survival. That's so little time, it'd be crazy to not make that a mandatory class. Which they did. We know they did. That was mentioned in the government class."
"What I'm still a little lost on is... how do they raise children out there?" Kazehana asked. "Or do they even raise children out there? The movies aren't always accurate, but it certainly looked like the frontier was portrayed as a dangerous place fit only for adults..."
"Well," I said, glancing down at my watch. "Tell you what- it's getting late, but tomorrow morning? We can just go to the frontier, and you can see it for yourself. Unless you'd rather stay here another week?"
Kazehana shook her head. "This might be a very nice city, but I didn't ask for a globe-trotting vacation because I wanted more city. Tomorrow morning it is."
"Cool deal. Now... is there anything else in the city you'd like to do before we turn in for the night, or do you just wanna head to the hotel and see what's on TV?"
"TV sounds good to me."
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"Ah, dammit, Bunny," I said, as we entered our hotel room- only an actual room, with a bed, a TV, and a small bathroom. "Kazehana-"
"Ah, the classic 'only one bed,'" Kazehana said, setting her bag down and flopping onto the bed. "Well? Come on, now. Don't be a wimp about it."
"...If you're sure..."
That night, we both slept very soundly.