Yuri Worlds

[33] Babies

Still somewhat unsure, Misaki tightened her vision to whatever was in front of her and did her best to ignore anything that might freak her out. That wasn’t what you were supposed to do, especially in vaguely eerie scenarios that might actually be something more. She was supposed to stick her nose in all sorts of places and question the strange happenings. But Franklin didn’t do that, and Misaki, despite all the efforts she’d made, found that to be a step too far. Things were finding her though. Creepy, crawly black things. She stuck close to the others.

Between frantic efforts by the poor college girl, Rei, to take down all the things that she needed for her class, they spoke casually. She wasn’t as observant as someone like Naoko and honestly had no idea how old they might be, at first drifting out the trial balloon that they were fellow students and then dipping down to the possibility that they were advanced high schoolers. The second thought made her skittish again.

“Not that I would begrudge whatever help from someone younger. Anything is appreciated. It would wound me a little. Not that I have a big ego. I don’t think. It’s my responsibility to take care of this, and I didn’t budget my time well enough. I thank the Goddesses that you found me and saved me from smacking my head.”

They also discovered in passing that Rei still had her birth name. Her family considered it well past the time for her to decide whether she would keep it or come up with something all her own. She was leaning towards the interesting foreign name of Sarah, even though it might mark her as an outsider. It was pretty though, and it meant a lot to her. Without specifically naming the names, Chika invoked her own history of having a rather generic and easy-to-fall-into name before developing a particular stage name. All this tiptoed around her claimed familial ties and name.

All the research specifics that Rei needed to document were soon finished, and she motioned like she was going to wander off on her own, but Chika playfully grabbed her and pressed that she owed them. The trembling swiftly returned, even though Chika vehemently assured her that she was just goofing around.

“I was hoping that our hosts or another local might somehow show us around. We helped you, and I was thinking that it seems only appropriate that you repay us by having some fun as a tour guide.”

Rei did budget some of her time at the game place as a reward, and because of them, she finished quicker than she anticipated. Despite still radiating confusion and nervousness, she agreed to this prospect.

She was slightly aware of it, but Namiko made it clear they were travelers from another world. The long-haired girl marveled and pointed out how similar they appeared to any girls anywhere. The same strangeness emerged when Chika attempted to show off her wristband as a sign of distinction. Rei was broadly aware that it existed on her body but communicated that it was kind of like an optical illusion. If she didn’t look directly at it, then it was like a blind spot. It winked away and appeared just like any other section of flesh.

Misaki had noticed this and brought it up. She was sure of that fact. But this felt like a discovery to the group, even though the implications swiftly slid away like a pebble tumbling down the muddy cliff they survived in the truck. There was more, but it was even more challenging for Misaki to get a grip on.

Rei cocked her head and mused, “I wonder if it’s like this sort of paranormal website someone I know always makes reference to...”

It took her a moment, but the girl managed to summon the name from her memories. Chika was aware of a version in their world. Not the first work of fiction they’d encountered shared between their world and this one, but Chika took special amusement in a horror story meme bridging literal universes. The version here was less horror-tinged, so Chika detailed what she knew.

She endeavored to explain as simply as possible without melting brains that the media in question, from her perspective, involved the supernatural, eldritch (what this was eluded Rei, so Chika simplified it as creepy giant octopuses that made you go crazy), and existential terrors policed by a secretive organization with the ability to retcon memories and reality. This last point was the one that clicked with Rei. Among the objects they attempted to keep away from regular…girls were cognitive hazards that fought with your ability to remember and understand them.

Chika held up her hands in frustration. “Why would they go to such trouble to put what seems more like supernatural self-sealing memes on our wrists when we’re just taking a vacation? There is a cultural divide between our worlds. But it’s not like destroy society level. It’s just a slightly different social structure we have that they don’t want getting told about… I guess. And the fact that this flipping thing hasn’t told me I can’t say this or blurred my words now is at least a hopeful sign that it’s not too draconian. But I still don’t get it.”

Whatever fretful uncertainty gripped Rei ebbed away as she folded her arms as comfortably as possible and offered her own speculations. “Trade secrets? No no no. I mean, there are things around here that would cause upset, but they would be related to animal spirit girls. The most mature ladies see them as an abomination, a corruption of what it means to be human. Does your society integrate beings like that? Seeing it normalized could be a big cultural red flag.”

None of them needed to play coy or skirt around the fact that animal people, at least as far as any of them knew, did not play a role in their society. Skinwalkers and stories of other strange beings notwithstanding. But those were monsters.

Coming at it from another angle, Rei tried instead, “Mystery and marketing. They are a company, and it sounds like, from all you’ve told me, they’re trying to drum up interest in traveling to these other worlds. And I’m just assuming, based on the fact that travelers like you aren't more readily known, that it’s kind of like a soft launch, or a pre-release, as they sometimes call it. Am I close to the mark?”

This distinction required a bit of finesse. Travel between universes had become a more regular thing. Not quite as common as planes or trains, but closer to cruise ships and other chartered boats. The travel center that they arrived at primarily served busing, sea, and commuter air locally. There weren’t a great number of ladies at the waypoint, and they had been the only ones going through to this particular location, as far as they recalled. But that meant a little bit less to Misaki owing to her concerns about the wristband. She suspected that something else had to be at play.

They fumbled for some form of answer but ultimately had to throw their hands up. To answer something at least, Namiko considered and laid out a question that had been on their minds for the entire trip.

“Are there babies? What’s the reproductive process for humans instead of how these plants do things?”

Despite phrasing that inquiry with a slant toward the scientific, Rei froze, her wide blue eyes shifting slightly in their sockets as though she were scanning the background for some cheat sheet that would allow her to forgo fear. A sudden pop quiz she wasn’t prepared for.

“Ummmm uhhh…yea…oh. Huh. Babies. Yeah, there’s babies. Girls have babies. They… The babies take about eight months. To grow before they’re born. And they…you know…come out of the body. Although, you may not… coming from another universe. Yeah.” The trembling and uncertainty returned in full force, even though she held her words steadier than before.

Chika had to pry. “Why is everyone so unsettled about babies?”

Rei clenched her teeth as though she were gripping a tiny, invisible barbell. “Uhhh… it’s… it’s easily the most personal biological thing in the world. You literally have to sacrifice a part of your spirit. The umm… inception… start…oh goodness. You need to focus special, unadulterated, unerring, unshifting, full-contact love throughout your entire body for the girl you’re with. One of you decides to be the intended… r-r-recipient. And you need to hold that for several solemn hours. You need to absolutely relinquish a part of your soul now and forever—everything you were, everything you are, completely given for someone else—for it to join their spirit eternally and produce new life. And if you only care instead about some animal right then, well, that’s a total corruption of that exhausting devotion…” That admission drained the poor girl, like she had just sprinted a marathon without taking a moment to slow down. She kept her eyes closed the entire time and only gradually opened them with a blistering red blush to highlight all her nervousness. Namiko came over to gently support her because it looked like she might attempt another unfortunate face plant.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

With raised eyebrows, Chika inquired, “Just sitting and loving and sharing with someone else is super embarrassing?”

“YES! It’s everything. It’s the entire essence of you. Putting anything physical against one another is just a temporary, transitory moment of nerves firing endorphins. But procreation—making a baby—that’s forever. The girl you give part of your spirit to may not take it, or maybe you didn’t do it right. But that is everything you have, and you hide and glow like the sun inside… now pleeeeassssee, can we talk about something else before I have to suppress the fact that I said anything by wiggling or slapping one of your bracelets on my head?”

Certain aspects of this question remained for Chika. “So how do animals and other life figure it out?”

“That’s an active field of scientific study. But these plants have pollen, which… It’s spirit stuff again, but plants are different than most animals and people. It takes a lot more to create certain beings… We don’t even go over that in class, but that’s what I’ve read. For many animals, it’s a commitment that can lead to death….Can we please go play video games now?”

Misaki could see Chika‘s mischievous edge. There was more she wanted to question and so much more she wanted to say, especially of a sexual nature, which Gal was quite adept at weaving her way through to make others uniquely uncomfortable. She could’ve leaned into her with more pointed questions, but she caught a look from Misaki and instead opted to let it go.

Rei shot back with a quick question of her own, inquiring if they had to wear the wristbands all the time or if they could take them off. Misaki took charge of the answer, relaying what they had been told about keeping them all the time because of the dangers of something called Melting. Since she had been so personal in her sharing, this seemed an appropriate quid pro quo.

“Melting is something that the company tells you the moment they introduce you to travel. When you are prepared to travel and given a destination, you are adjusted to fit in that world, to a great degree or subtly. That effort has to be temporary, as does your stay in that world. Or you start Melting. The best way to think about it is literally, as you might consider an ice cream bar, but in human form. You melt away, consumed by the different natural laws of another universe. Although there are rumors that it’s more of a vaporizing flash or a sudden, screaming burn.”

Rei looked immediately horrified. “Excuse me, but why the fuck would anyone want to travel to another universe if that was what might happen if something went wrong?”

Misaki recited all the numbers that Franklin knew about the current overall safety and how, so long as everyone followed the directions given, returned promptly, and didn’t do anything dumb, the chance of any kind of lethal situation was lower than getting chomped by a shark on vacation… in a desert. She also assured her that this wasn’t the sort of information that the company wanted to keep under wraps. It was the social structure stuff instead.

The girl strained her painterly, dark, unfeathered eyebrows before resolving that there were some questions she didn’t need to ask. The massive video game complex awaited them.

The castle was indeed too far away for this hour of the day. Tomorrow.

Compared to the relatively sedate rest of the small town, the gaming building had the frantic energy of a resort. The entranceway and the lowest level contained claw and prize games of a wide and sparkling bright light variety. Chika swooned as she had her camera out and filmed at the highest resolution. It was reminiscent of a wide array of Japanese arcades featured online. The key difference was that anime girls were everywhere, many fawning over keychains, collectible figures from all sorts of shows, and colorful plastic props and candies spilling out.

Fighting games were represented, although sparsely, and were primarily populated by fantastical creatures tussling one another rather than buff or buxom girls throwing down. Something strikingly akin to a jigglefest of beach volleyball did actually exist, but as a strange sport with floating islands and sumo sentiments. Music, rhythm, and other coordination games were widely featured with drums, flutes, and wands. Visual novel and dramatic titles also showed up. Scoping out the map, a wide variety of entertainment was laid out before them, far more than they could conceivably experience in a single day. Sitting down to karaoke and snacks for lunch seemed like a good idea, assuming that their obligated tour guide could remain.

Rei muttered something about having to work on other papers and do research, all while her eyes lit up at the massive pink plushies that needed freeing from their glass prisons. The pachinko-style gambling games also occupied their own little niche. For competition, Namiko and Chika paired up while Misaki and Rei squared off more casually with air hockey and a light bounce table neither had ever seen before.

Misaki encouraged her partner at darts even though one particular shot nearly crashed through the drop wall. The light gun games were a little bit safer. It wasn’t long before Chika needed to swap out the memory card. She practically melted all on her own when discovering there was a second floor devoted entirely to a myriad of arcade cabinets she’d never seen or imagined before.

Stopping at a photo booth was an absolute must, with Chika laying down as many cute expressions and poses as possible to use for stickers. Her Gal side was satiated, while the Guy parts soon got wrapped up in the luxurious, story-heavy titles. And the entertainment center just kept giving up surprises with a manga reading library. They thanked whatever the translation process was for at least getting this part right.

The heavy-duty sports options were a skip from all four of them, but they partook in putt-putt, even though the themes were underwhelming. Bubble soccer was a blast, with a lot of falling down and giggling. Because the whole place was a package deal, they made sure to get their money’s worth. The karaoke snacks did not match the quality of what the Sasaki family provided, but the convenience made up for it. Singing verged into happy, incoherent screaming, but it was fun. They all had fun and the addition of Rei made it even better. Not having the whole group took away something though.

Misaki remained quietly wistful despite enjoying herself. She spent so much time imagining how her… good friend Yuka might respond to these experiences. She wanted to share them, talk so much more, and be close. Not pressed uncomfortably close in the way that Rei revealed. Her spirit wasn’t ready for something like that, assuming she had a compatible spirit. The idea was beautiful, in a quiet and careful way. The ultimate coming together.

Rei eventually had to bid them all adieu, joyously sharing her appreciation for how much they were able to help her with plants. She lingered around Misaki despite telling everyone that she urgently needed to return to the dorm and freshen up all the sketches and art into something resembling a coherent presentation. It was like she was wrangling up the nerve to say something that she didn’t know how to say.

When it was briefly just the two of them while Namiko and Chika popped over to use the restroom on one of the lower floors, Rei anxiously pressed a scrap of paper into Misaki‘s hands. She looked her in the eye and explained, “I’m sorry for waiting, if this is important. But before we left the garden, I felt someone drop some paper into my bag. It had your name on it, and it urged me to give it to you. I hope you aren’t mad…. and I hope everything‘s okay. I tried not to look at it.“

Confused by that frantic explanation, Misaki reached into her pocket and carefully unfurled the artistic presence of a creased and wrinkled scrap of snow white paper. It spread out bigger than she expected but was still small enough with just a handful of words written in script she could understand. As the long-haired girl explained, it indeed had her name written on it. But it also had the words Franklin Fowler placed off to the side, unobtrusively. The main instructions were intended for Rei. Below that, she unfurled the last section.

“You need to help her. You need to do something. Or she will die.”