Yuri Worlds

[107] Uncertainty

Yuka sort of understood their hesitancy, especially when Carrie offered up the analogy that it was rather like looking Cerberus in the face as a toy after everything that happened.

When this started, before they went on their journey, these figurines were just theoretical images, barely people. More like amusing shells for them to inhabit. Considering everything they learned within and around themselves, seeing these little things verged on repulsive. A version of what the company did, gladly, unknowingly indulged.

Again, Yuka understood the symbolism, but she also said, "These are the representations of you. No matter how they may have started out, they are as alive as any of us. You lived these lives. You didn't just use a mask for entertainment. You each became Takano Misaki, Takano Chika, and Yamane Namiko. These represent your dreams, your trip, the friends you all made, and the lives you genuinely lived. They may not be your forever names, but they are the names you shared in genuine, heartfelt Shimai. You can't leave them naked and forgotten. No matter how things went on that turbulent and uncertain vacation, they are part of you, and you are a part of them. You have to… Love them as anyone should truly love their heart and share it."

As Yuka finished up her thoughts for the three of them, Carrie could tell that she was feeling and hearing words that she needed to listen to as well. Everyone worked together to pull up a nice, comfortable folding table that had plenty of room for art supplies and lunch.

Lunch was a light curry with rice, which Yuka assisted in preparing. Silvia took charge this time, confessing her wish to make something delightful for the Sasakis as a thank you for their hospitality and everything they had to go through. Fortunately, Yuka was able to steer her towards several simple, wonderful dishes she could make that might hopefully survive the journey to the other world. Silvia took extensive notes.

Though they didn't have the enjoyable condiments and side dishes at the Sasaki moms disposal, Yuka soon declared lunch fantastic. Painting the figures, however, wasn't quite so smooth.

The paint that Fiona provided was a high-quality modeling paint well suited to the task before them. Yuka used a slightly different variety, which she applied to a roll of heavy-duty drawing paper. She had no particular objective in mind; she just wanted to paint for a bit. Unfortunately, none of them were able to do much painting on what was before them.

Yuka considered the expanse of trees around the shrine area back home as a rough landscape, but she soon blotted them out with white. It made sense that she would be indecisive and uncertain about creating art, but the hangups of the three of them were harder to explain.

Their alter egos should've been easy to paint in the colors and textures they lived with for a week. But questions about the exact tones, outfits, and whether liberties should be taken with making less direct copies and more Fionami, Chivia, or Micari swarmed in their minds.

One thing they were mostly able to agree upon was skin tone, but their clothes, eye colors, and hair looked like they had been run through with bleach. Yuka had only gotten to the stage of concluding that she wanted to make trees but didn't know much more than that. She had a handful of pines and the suggestion of a greater forest, but the rest of her landscape might as well have been a polar oblivion. They eventually put their art projects away somewhere safe.

Other adventures with uncertain destinations popped up when Silvia finished a few items in the bathroom after they had put the folding table away. She reflected long and hard on the colorful, foreboding packages of tampons that looked more like bright Go-Gurt tubes set casually in one corner. She was the first to venture towards that undiscovered country, even though her older sister felt a shudder when walking beside them.

She practically screamed when looking up the least TikTok-style video with helpful information because her phone had been set to max volume. Everything she needed to know easily filled the runtime of a YouTube Short. She braced herself, but it turned out the hardest part was the preparation and spreading her boobs enough to feel like she was seeing the problem.

In the aftermath, walking out of the bathroom, she looked and ambled like a cowboy who'd just ridden a horse for a long stretch. She was really bad at hiding what just occurred and soon gave all the messy details to the others. The leaden realization that this would be a part of their lives for the rest of their lives hit hard. Fiona was the next to venture forth, opting to do it alone as well. Silvia passed along all the same videos with the advice to keep the string up so that it didn't chafe.

When she came out, Fiona actually flexed with a smile. Carrie knew that she was supposed to go next, but she had several other very important and critical tasks to do… Like finding the gallon jug of water in the fridge and having several sips of that, even though it would make bathroom activities more stressful. She wiped the sweat from the big container all over her hands to keep her body sweat from showing up.

Yuka wrapped her arms around her comfortingly. She'd been in the same place, and she would wait as long as her loved one needed to help her feel comfortable. If she didn't want her around, then she understood that too. "I just want to help. Whatever you need."

Carrie understood that, and she knew that her anxiety and nervousness were ridiculous, especially in the context of all the things she had faced in the last week, from passing through to another reality to dodging death against a psychotic murderer, running through a forest, plunging through unknown depths, breaking out of a heavenly prison, and fleeing a flood that would erase her and leave nothing behind but an outline. Sticking a tube of absorbent cotton in her body shouldn't have been so scary.

When she finally had enough, perhaps too much, water, she straightened, adjusted her clothes like one of the characters on the space travel show in a later generation with a good tug, and walked to the bathroom with Yuka following closely and offering focused support.

Once they were in the bathroom with the door closed, Carrie had no problem just doing her business. But once the main event arrived, she wiggled her legs and felt desperately sweaty, despite the room actually being rather cool. It was so silly, because they had been involved in far more embarrassing and personal things with one another. The deepest part of their essence and soul was shared. This was nothing; this was just some flesh between her thighs. It didn't even serve a direct reproductive purpose in this version of reality.

Yuka was so kind and understanding, though, making sure she had as much privacy as she needed and practically cheering her on throughout. The actual task was simple and easy with every reminder. It was only when everything was done that Carrie considered the fact that they didn't know how cycles worked in this world or if they were in the middle of one or not. Yuka admitted it was a quandary but assured her that was fine. It might be a little uncomfortable on the way out if nothing was going on, but it was better to be prepared and practiced. Ultimately, they all removed their tampons, just to be safe. The poor snail she hadn't acknowledged in forever was sure to be thrashed.

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In a return to the bathroom later, Yuka proposed looks and ideas for how her loved one could shake off the uncertainty of her dour, practically dark demeanor. Purple was proposed as a pretty punctuation tone in place of black. It had already served both of them adventurously in fun dresses.

Digging through Carrie's closet presented a bounty of disappointment for both of them but also measured possibilities. Her entirely female alter ego leaned towards a muted palette with safe and comforting combinations. Still, Yuka had something to work with.

She came up with a nice fusion of a lightly girly blue top that didn't make Carrie feel like her boobs were exploding in everyone's face and a pair of pants that matched her hair color. Walking around as a girl in that outfit still managed to make her vaguely dizzy. It was all mental, considering laying down in bed didn't bother her, getting naked in the shower didn't bother her, and changing her clothes before wasn't an issue either.

She had to deal with the fact that this wasn't just a one-time or temporary situation. She was going to get intimately familiar with those little injectors. These clothes would just be a normal part of her wardrobe. Now it was her turn to feel like she had to go to the bathroom for hours on end. Yuka's reassuring presence helped immensely.

After she was finished helping the girl she loved brighten her look and disposition, Yuka checked out a few items in the closet to see if they worked for her. Carrie wished that she could've pulled out a guitar from the other side of the bed or whipped out some musical talent to serenade the girl she desperately loved as thanks for making her feel like less of a dour gal.

Instead, she swallowed all pride and good sense and presented the first love song that popped into her head. Since she had already started singing, there was no reason to stop. It was a ridiculous, outdated 1980s tune, one that got caught in her parents' heads more than once and had migrated to hers. Yuka didn't interrupt her. She scooted over to the bed and listened attentively as Carrie fumbled her way through her warbling, shaky crooning. Carrie admitted that, especially with her altered instrument, she wasn't doing too badly. It was nowhere near Fiona's savant-level precise tone awareness, but she thought she sounded better than her little sister, even though she apologized internally for making that comparison.

Of course, with how much had changed lately, there was no way to know if the paradigm hadn't shifted too. Silvia could've become an unconsciously perfect singer, and maybe Fiona was back to square one with the new arrangement. This postulation survived only a few minutes until the others showed up and resolved that the prior status quo persisted.

Yuka vigorously applauded Carrie's admirable, kind effort. It also triggered a memory for her. The melody was mildly reminiscent of something that her big sister sang to her once when she was young enough to be scared of the dark and especially of the old hotel.

What she sang wasn't as important as the encouragement she gave her. Haruka told her that singing kept bad spirits away and other bad things away. The act of singing, the joy of the emotion, and the preoccupation with remembering the song were important. You need to keep at it with a song that sticks vividly in your head until the scary things can't creep in, she explained. You needed several minutes of the music you knew best.

They each hoped they would never have to use something like that, but they gave it some thought and pinpointed their favorite songs to sing to scare away the monsters. Silvia suspected that her screeching would be enough to keep her safe. Fiona settled on a tune with simple but easy-to-remember lyrics. Carrie had a few prospects but wasn't sure which to go with. Her brain from more than a week ago would've told her that it wasn't such a big deal, but considering all the craziness they had gone through, protection for something supernatural sure seemed like a worthwhile prospect.

Between humming their chosen songs, the three of them started putting their returned bags away. That included all the books that came with them on vacation. Yuka delighted in each of them and in the fact that, despite coming through back channels to this world, she was not only able to understand everyone around her but also read the language. She made a note of particular tomes that she might skim through later and also checked the communication device they received with the contract.

When it first arrived, she sent a text to Naoko but hadn't received anything back. As might often be expected, not only did she receive a text reply right as she was going through the books, listening to a variety of songs that the others harmoniously filled the house with, and enjoying the sun through the side window, but a phone went off as well. This hyperactive round of chaos brought more laughter than anxiety. Fortunately, the call was just a spam call, the same as any before.

As promised in the documents and by the company, Yuka was able to connect to Naoko's video feed on her phone. It randomly pixelated a few times and had buzzing audio amidst the silent sections, but it was comparable to a phone signal in the area rather than from an entirely different universe. Yuka hugged the screen in relief, and her friend swiftly did the same, even though she nearly dropped her phone.

Yuka thought Naoko looked slightly different. She soon confirmed that there were some visual oddities along with a wide range of other wild things. It was due to some light rain that bore flashes of light. Which confirmed that the flood had managed to circulate back. It was uncertain whether the Rainmaker had an ancillary apparatus in the other world, but Naoko confirmed that there were no mysterious deaths or floods on their side. They had a lot to talk about, not all of it good.

From what Carrie and the others could gather and what Yuka filled them in on later, the company wasn't bluffing when they said that turmoil had beset Yuka's home. It wasn't war, and it wasn't like the sort of things the three of them experienced several years ago, or however time and reality actually worked with company meddling.

No one really knew about the company, but Bianka had seeded notions online that were still waiting to bear fruit. Several influential members of the government had either stepped down or resigned because of rumors and anger about their ineptitude in dealing with the current crisis of girls who were missing suddenly appearing and word of strange creatures. The most xenophobic blamed interactions and transits to other universes, missing the point and being maddeningly close. Locally, everyone was trying to focus on Golden Week and brush all the confusing uncertainty aside.