Yuri Worlds

[23] Shared

Only once the presence of the tea and the flickering connections of what had just happened crossed her mind did she check to her right and discover no one standing at her side, and then check ahead and find Miss Okura perfectly positioned atop her pillow, as she had been mere moments ago. Not a single hair or limb out of place. If not for the cup, she could’ve easily written off the last minute as a passing dream she would soon wake from.

She managed a soft, quick, “What…” The word was faint, wandering through the air, colliding with nothing intentional, swallowed up by her tea before she took another sip. Miss Okura cleared her throat and continued.

“I am glad we have an understanding on this matter. There’s just one last item before I let you go. You and Miss Sasaki visited a dear friend and pillar of our community, Miss Takamune Ayame. She is a splendid, free spirit who eagerly speaks her mind. She’s been through a lot in the past few years, and she puts herself through even more for the benefit of us all. Drives herself past the point of exhaustion. Please forgive her the peculiar things she might say from time to time.”

That was an especially odd note and segue. Ayame did say a lot of strange things. Especially that rant when they first arrived, barely audible through the wall. It all sounded especially non-sequitur-filled and insider. Considering the topics of discussion to this point, she found this concentration unusual. She struggled to parse anything said that would’ve either drawn offense or been out of sorts.

Passing along this thought, Miss Okura listened and gently leaned forward before saying something that puzzled Misaki. It had to be in Japanese, but whatever translation she was being fed courtesy of company products was whiffing on the details. A faint buzzing filled her ears, like a distant alarm going off with the pace of her heart. For the first time since she started wearing it, her wristband hurt against her skin, as though it were…as though… why was she thinking of the weird, spiky creature?

“Don’t trouble yourself about it. As I said, she has a peculiar nature and an irrepressible desire to speak her mind when she really should be more reticent. She expends much of her spirit caring for others and winds up so often depleted. My apologies. And though I said this was the last thing, I heard in passing that Miss Sasaki‘s upper classmate stopped by to say hello. She has a rich and curious scientific mind. We look forward to great things from her.”

Misaki waited for some further comment from the grandmother or an inevitable question prying into Naoko. She desperately hoped there wasn’t a dark truth behind her as well. But the conversation concluded on this point. Miss Okura politely thanked her for her time, and she gently rose from the floor. Misaki attempted the same, but with much more unease and difficulty in retrieving her pillow. As the older woman guided her to the door and back through the hallway, Misaki cradled her cup of green tea and sipped it again. She frowned.

It was ice cold. She was certain it had still been steaming hot just a minute ago.

Before she could even voice the strange incongruity about her tea, Miss Okura had several flaky and sugary snacks to offer her on a plate along with a fresh, steaming mug. She got spun around by the sweet offerings and relinquished her other cup without complaint. The tea had a faint hint of honey as well, which soothed the turbulence within her.

Back at the spot on the floor where everyone else had gathered, a series of comfortable pillows were spread out, as was a small heated table with a fancy skirt around the sides. In the middle, the group laid out a fully assembled version of the game. The box that once contained it was propped against the wall.

The girls cheerfully welcomed Misaki back, even though she felt like a detached, wandering spirit. Namiko joyously expressed her passion for meat, displaying a handful of completely stripped skewers. And Chika appeared to have met her match, staring down a bottle of nuclear option hot sauce wrapped in bold warnings and skulls and crossbones.

With the compounded presence of lunch still lingering within her, plus the strawberries and this new round, Misaki determined that if she didn’t have anything to eat for the rest of the day, then she would be perfectly happy with that. The tea received begrudging admission as she slowly sipped around the steam.

Since she was away, the board game had already started with the remaining five players. None of it made any sense to her, but Chika randomly elaborated that it was a “Euro”. A term that, surprisingly, didn’t require explanation for the group. Yasha fanned her cards as though she were a shark. Haruka daintily nibbled on a colorful orb of mochi as though she were a nervous mouse. Maharu flapped the rulebook around, proudly presenting a story involving jewelry makers with prized shipments from faraway lands. The players had to sneak into strange cultures that no one had ever heard of before and that had long ago vanished from the face of the earth.

Despite her earlier lack of enthusiasm, Yuka cheerfully encouraged Maharu’s rousing performance of a myriad of different crucial characters. She snagged one of the damp towels to use as her character’s robe. The actual gimmick of the game wasn’t highly complicated and mostly involved trading for cards, moving figures around the board, and counting days to different bazaars and fairs. Maharu‘s dramatic flourishes lent to the proceedings were the highlight.

“Gather round, ladies; gather around and hear as ye town crier sings her spell that you may profit well! Diamonds from distant canal cities are being offloaded by merry merchant ships full of a rum-soaked crew from the briny depths. These girls unfortunately managed to damage ten percent of their supply. So while this new influx dampens some markets, if you have a developed precious version, you still might have a pretty coin for your wares. Rubies drop from ten to five. And I am afraid the elder sisters have placed a limit on sapphires. Opals are in rising demand, and as always, the trade guild can grease their wheels for a little bit of gold. Fair hunting!“ Maharu whipped her impromptu cloak around but actually wound up staggering off her feet with a quick scream and a giggle.

Despite giving this themed announcement, Maharu also played a trader. She so far had the lowest score but wasn’t dwelling on that, instead throwing herself into her performance, literally. A few of the rules that Maharu recited for the group eventually wound up being mostly neglected or overlooked for the sake of a better version of the game. Yasha appeared to be winning for a while, but Haruka soon surged ahead with several cards lined up that were earning her automatic income to clear the board of all the valuable, point-earning tokens. Yuka mainly did her trading with Maharu, even though they were on opposite ends of the board.

The heated table provided the greatest entertainment as it forced away all presence and memory of the storm still raging outside. It was so warm and deeply relaxing, injecting comfort all over Misaki. If she had had it earlier, then she wouldn’t have had a problem making sense of everything around Miss Okura. Not that there was really anything to make sense of. She took her side and asked her about a few people, relaying her opinion that whatever happens happens, and the news that Maharu’s mothers were murdered.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

That Maharu. That girl standing before them and doing the goofiest dances. And she would never be able to say anything about it. Well, maybe when they got home. Get it off her soul. Quietly pass it along to Guy, although she couldn’t imagine what the opportune moment would ever be. Envisioning that prospect, the grandmother’s words about never ever ever speaking it sounded through her thoughts like a massive bell chiming the time. She sat next to Yuka and tried to feel normal again.

So many things. So much stress that came in waves. That was the inundation of normal life. That was the clown car of complaints, tickets, and issues she needed to work through with her job… Franklin needed to work through. Then getting nipped in the leg by an evil Tribble, which somehow made its way to this world and then chomped her friend. Wearing a weird wristband that quietly kept secrets. Visions of terrible things and haunting feelings. Unusual calls out of nowhere with warnings that made no sense, and even more warnings before sleeping. Fuzzy science experiment nightmares gone wrong. Memories twisted and contorted like a maze with turns she couldn’t anticipate. And now all this with an ageless grandma. Murder, death, and pain. What kind of world really was this beneath the beautiful art?

She wanted to cry, even though it was something Franklin refused so often. She wanted tears, even though she knew they would be so painfully public. Back home, it was challenging for even Guy or Dwight to catch when he cried. Here, her emotions were clearly broadcast. Sitting there, with her eyes downcast and only half of her thoughts listening to the progress of play, Misaki felt something strange touch her, whisper soft but insistent against her cheek. Wet and warm, careful but bold.

Yuka had turned to kiss her and lingered, watching with a teasing smile. The kiss was sharper than the perfunctory comfort touch of a hospitable host earlier. This one was playfully affectionate as she smiled to herself and flashed artful icy blooms of teeth. Misaki‘s face erupted with emotional vulcanism as she stammered and squirmed for how to respond. She had nothing.

A guarded cacophony rippled through the group, with her roommates full of swaggering delight, Yasha contributing a chuckle, and Maharu practically providing the rest of the instruments by herself. Haruka just watched in reserved fascination. Shrugging off any embarrassment to a degree that Misaki could scarcely comprehend, Yuka snagged her guest by the shoulder and squeezed her close. They became co-players even though Misaki just agreed with whatever she proposed. She had a hard time following the strategic nuance and maneuvers baked into the game mechanics, but she anticipated every instance of Maharu performing her role with manic gusto.

After seven extensive rounds were finished, they added up their scores. Yasha just barely claimed victory, with Chika and Nami right behind her and the duo of Misaki and Yuka following them. Haruka was on their heels. And Maharu ultimately wound up with just two points, in last place, despite acquiring a complicated set of rewards. Though she hadn’t even begun to grasp the finer points of the gameplay, Misaki felt like there had been several opportunities for the energetic girl to seize victory with a well-placed, beneficial trade. However, it seemed that each of her trades went towards benefiting other players. That had to be intentional.

Some quiet reservation showed on Maharu’s face as she double-checked the tally and sincerely congratulated the blonde. Yasha shrugged and went back to snacking. After shutting her eyes for a few breaths, Maharu swallowed, sat up, and diligently placed the game back in its box. Yuka offered to help along with Chika and Nami, but Maharu politely declined and explained, “It’s the responsibility of the losing player to tidy up the game for next time. I’m quite good at it. It’s fine. Please enjoy yourselves, and if anyone wants to get closer around the table, I’m gonna pop out and make sure everything‘s together properly.”

It didn’t require a Franklin-style beating over the head for Misaki to understand that this wasn’t simply about the game. Everything felt subtly shaded by her unfortunate knowledge about Maharu‘s mothers. Was she punishing herself? She seemed to put so much energy into the entertainment of others, into embracing, seizing, and being close to everyone. Too presumptuous. Whatever notion she was tossing between her neurons, she knew it was based on assumptions that just didn’t fit in this world. No matter the similarities they had seen and which her grandmother had emphasized, they were completely different, and she knew all too well, with the certainty of copious mistakes, the dangers of trying to assume.

With Maharu to one side, projecting the sense that nothing was wrong with her, Misaki summoned every kernel of energy to play the role of maid and entertainer for the rest of the group. It was an embarrassingly lackluster effort. She did little twirls and checked on everyone’s food, commented randomly on the strength and intensity of the storm, which was finally abating. She reenacted the Watusi the trees did under the wrath of the wind. She regaled the group with the exciting details of little shacks out in the woods. She threw in every note about what they had.

Chika and Namiko let this information wash over them, but Yasha leaned forward with a surprising amount of keen interest. She apparently had a thing for cabins, which opened up the perfectly delightful topic of letting the strange blond have her little rustic vacation shack in the woods for the whole of their vacation. Yuka, and Maharu from afar, contributed additional notes about what could be found, both fresh and deeply dusty, in those cramped walls. Especially other board games, which most worried were lost. Haruka chimed in, with pronounced enthusiasm, about rediscovering a railroad game, wherever it might be stashed.

It took Maharu several careful minutes but eventually she had everything packed away inside the box and excitedly hoisted it above her head like a trophy. Not a good idea, as it was strikingly heavy. She wobbled around in a long spiral but managed to catch her load before disaster. Yuka groaned and half-heartedly scolded her as Maharu nervously apologized.

At this point, the thrashing outside had fully gone silent, and sharp slivers of afternoon sunlight fanned across the floor. The storm was over.

Faint dripping against the side door continued from the roof. Steaming humidity crept its way along.

Out of the blue, Yasha commented, “I’ll go check out those shacks. They sound interesting. If they need any repairs, I would be willing to help out.”