Yuri Worlds
[93] Breakout
“I need to speak with you right now."
The boldness with which Naoko stepped into the checkpoint booth left Misaki and Yuka flabbergasted. They positioned themselves carefully so that they could listen without being anywhere near the line of sight and still afford themselves a view of anyone coming from one of the nearby paths.
“What? Who are you? What are you here about?” The response mostly sounded confused. The worker on the other end genuinely seemed like she had just been shaken awake from a nap by a sudden flourish of uncertain requests.
Naoko didn’t permit her long to absorb this rush of events and requests. “Ridiculous! The regulators and manager should have sent along the documentation required for advanced testing protocols and sufficient adjudication of technical developments. I’m not blaming you, but this has to be remedied. Someone should’ve noticed a surge in the plasma electrodecoupler. The tungsten dorsal array is offline, and the merciful authority of the company won’t be so merciful if they find out the regulations they put forth haven’t been adhered to. We are getting anomalous energy signatures stretching beyond the capabilities of the power limiter to regulate conditional flows. Do you think I wanna deal with that? Do you wanna deal with that? Do you want to deal with the consequences of having to tell everyone in charge of the catastrophic results of not decoupling properly? This is a phase-locked, monitored voltage source! It requires immediate attention; I need to get through to yellow level right now or we’re all screwed!”
It was impossible to know exactly where Naoko was positioned in the room and her body language, but the sound sense that Misaki got from listening pushed her imagination to envision a wide-eyed, scared worker at the desk with a sudden, hyperactive blonde erupting in an angry cacophony of words that didn’t make a lick of sense. Naoko’s presence echoing around the room, rattling the walls, and telling her victim the way things were going to be almost made Misaki feel bad for them. Not that she was going to do anything about it.
When the worst of the vocal tempest finally abated, the anonymous checkpoint worker barely even looked up from a pile of confused flashes on their blinking device to do anything. It was like Naoko had broken her will. This seemed especially ironic to Misaki when Naoko pushed through and looked like she was about to collapse into a mass of sheer sweat. That didn’t prevent her from wishing she could take photos of this remarkable place, even while cursing its existence. She was also able to get a good enough look at the map data at the checkpoint to suggest exactly where they should go next.
Past this security stage, the flood of ladies in white slowed to a sharply restrained trickle and permitted them to fill in the gaping holes of what happened to their poor friend. It forced Naoko to hunch over at the waist or else let loose the contents of her stomach.
Entities that desired power and immortality, are using their world and others as a test bed for their whims and projects. Destroying the natural way of life at the seams between realities. Hurting, killing, corrupting, and experimenting on those she cared about as tools to their ends was more than enough to get Naoko quietly punching the wall with her fist whenever she got close enough to it.
Ripping out the darkest of those thoughts to deal with the scientific aspects, Naoko was fixated with curiosity about the mass disparity and even greater machinations on a cosmic scale.
Breathing with focus, Naoko tightened her fingers several times as though working over an invisible medicine ball. She gestured animatedly across an invisible chalkboard to sift through the numbers that suggested. The overall mass of the universe fell somewhere between 10 to the 53rd power and 10 to the 60th power. The part that bewildered the others was that eight percent sounded like a relatively small drop in that.
And that raised the enormous question of where they were going to store that megalithic amount of mass. That boggled Naoko, who labeled it practically "inconceivable".
She added, “But then, I am at a loss for even star-slurping scientific speculation.”
Yuka cocked her head with questioning uncertainty at that term. Sheepishly, Naoko corrected herself and noted that the specific term was her own. Really, the proper terminology should’ve been "star lifting", but she found the more visceral description to be preferable. The brief discussion managed to bring on a remarkable amount of laughter.
Deeper into this section of the color-coded department, they found a clothing locker without anyone guarding or using it. Naoko found herself the company equivalent of a glossy ivory outfit and lab coat to slip on over her festival clothes. This permitted Yuka to ease some tension and exhaustion and draw the oily disguise back into herself.
Naoko remarked that she’d actually grown used to the presence and didn’t mind it as much as she had with her initial concerns. That actually brought more concern from Yuka, as she feared inadvertent mind control from herself working its way on her friend.
Though Naoko tried to assure her she didn’t detect anything amiss, neither she nor Misaki could disabuse Yuka of this fear. Granted, they had no idea if they were right, and accidental mind control wasn’t some ability secretly stuffed inside efforts to create Cerberus. Yuka stood apart from the two of them, looking and feeling more like her older sister, as they searched deeper for everyone else.
It wasn’t long before they came across another ski lift-style holding zone with a large cluster of girls all together in sleeping silence. Naoko squeezed her arms above her chest with more empathy than anyone working for the company had shown. The three of them all wished that they could release everyone and cast a revolution against these bastards.
Naoko managed to find Kosame at the back of the group. Her first inkling was to plant a sleeping beauty kiss on her cheeks and then lips. This didn’t rouse her, but Naoko thought she detected a dreamy, contented smile flicker across her features. Even fewer workers circulated around this particular holding area. With three, they were easily able to unhook the main apparatus and gently ease Kosame to the ground.
Working together, it was easy to carry Kosame on Naoko’s back. They swiftly evacuated her away from the cluster and into an empty hallway. Squeezing her hands together a few more times, Naoko told the others that if her girlfriend woke up as someone else, then she would make sure to… do something. Maybe a punch might work? Yuka and Misaki gave Naoko the same reassurance as before.
Reflexively, Naoko’s hands went up in front of her face protectively, but she slowly relaxed them and nodded that that was a good idea. She huddled close to Kosame to check her breathing and see if she was waking up. Slowly, it became evident that she was.
"Goodness. Did I pass out? Quite embarrassing. My apologies for causing a scene. Wait… Where are we?" Acclimating Kosame to the new state of things was less challenging than doing the same for Naoko. The debonair gal sat herself up, skeptically regarded her surroundings, and wore a pleasantly curious look that slowly ebbed away when they informed her of Maharu's fate. Kosame's initial reaction was a puff and a rough squeeze of her fancy yukata before declaring, "That’s not possible. We just saw her a few minutes ago. She was dancing so delightedly and was so desperately happy to have finally won that game."
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Kosame’s eyes searched her friends for some sign of rude duplicity in this matter. As she recognized their solemn tension, her mouth started to tremble, and plaintive breaths heaved in her throat. "We just saw her. She was so happy… Who would do such a thing?" She shut her eyes and covered them with her hands. They gave her a few minutes as Yuka renewed her bitter scowl. Kosame had nothing much to clear away her tears and now stuffy nose. She refused to use her clothes for it.
Telling her that the Haruka she saw before her was actually her clubmate required awkward nuance from Naoko since Yuka worried that if she let the illusion go now, she may not have the energy to bring it back.
Misaki checked on her. Yuka acknowledged that her head felt like a mallet was being applied at full force to the tender surface of her skull every few heartbeats. She resolved that when she finally got the opportunity to sleep again in a proper bed, her bed, she intended to do so for no less than 24 hours. Screw school; screw everything but snuggling Misaki and recovering all that had dripped away.
Naoko endeavored to provide a trace copy of what explanations she could cobble together without dipping into the kind of words she erupted with for the checkpoint worker. Kosame understood that the suspicious blonde guest cruelly attacked their friend. She also understood that nefarious forces were using them and those around them selfishly, corrupting so many worlds and people. The details bounded over her. She understood that Yuka was special, but that hardly surprised her.
"You always foster a heart that craves sincere justice, seeks true love, and weighs too heavily upon yourself. No matter how your face may change or what worries mount, I am and shall always be your friend, and I can only humbly request and hope you will be mine. Now, how will we make these truly heartless monsters pay for what they’ve done?" She was of the same mind as Naoko, even though she resisted the potent punctuation of threats. Kosame needed Naoko's support as she struggled to her feet. It wasn’t long before she asked if they knew where her sister was.
Looking back into the main chamber of collective girls, they struggled to pick out the subtle shade of Bianka‘s blonde hair amidst the rainbow of other colors. Luckily, Kosame immediately recognized her head towards the middle back of the group. Unfortunately, that part had several workers specifically lingering nearby. Kosame wobbled, cleared her throat quietly, and assured the others that she would take care of it. Naoko offered up her white uniform, and Kosame ultimately accepted it.
Though she looked as though any stiff breeze would knock her off her feet, Kosame settled into a confident cadence of walking, carrying herself across the glossy ivory floor. Yuka flexed her arm but didn’t show her blade as she scrutinized the workers for even the faintest signs of hostility towards her friend. By the time she was in sight of the workers, she moved smoothly.
"Darling… There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. I have the most important thing to tell you. But first, are you having a good evening? I know certain things can get to a girl, and girls deserve to have love and relaxation lavished upon them in the most succulent and affectionate ways. Why your hair is splendidly radiant, I must know what product to use. There’s a sparkle to your cheeks and a twinkle to your eyes that excite fires that I never knew existed within me. Let me look at you closely. Have you had a deep-tissue back rub? If you haven't, then that must be remedied without delay. Let me wrap my arms around you and show you the music I’m an expert at playing."
The girl in question, who had flowing, curly hair much longer than most of the other workers, barely had a chance to look up from her tablet device before Kosame slipped her arms around her and was rolling her like dough. The worker dipped her mouth open and shut her eyes with a gasp of bliss as Kosame continued her ministrations. She practically melted into a puddle at her feet. The others secured Bianka and hauled her around the curve and into the hallway.
When Kosame returned from her efforts, the rest of the group had plenty of questions about how she managed all that. She explained that along with providing a luxurious massage, she actually knew places on the back that could make someone feel weak in the knees for a while. It wouldn’t last long, but she hoped that it and her promises of a second round would buy them at least a few minutes.
Hardening quietly, Kosame added, "But that one didn’t feel like a maiden heart. I had to keep up the mood, but that was unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. I wonder if it’s one of those others you alluded to. A boy. Or just a sign that what the company’s done has left these souls bereft of so much in ways we can scarcely imagine. I’m not sure I want to know the answer."
It took longer to get a reaction from Bianka, even though it was clear she was breathing comfortably. When her eyes opened, her eyebrows tilted back and forth, and her head rocked to check on friends surrounding her.
“….Does this mean one of my theories is right? Mole girls? Shadow government? Aliens? Time travel?” She noticed the sharp whiteness surrounding everything and repeated little sentiments about aliens.
Misaki took a breath and attempted to distill everything. "An ancient organization known as the company craves power and immortality. They opened a hole between realities and turned the dark and light energies they found into a battleground with strange creatures. They’ve used humans as hosts and foundations to make people and other things. Little girls of goo. They also suck the life out of worlds and move that life where they want it using invisible wind spirits. They did things to Yuka, me, and practically everyone. We’re gonna burn them to the fucking ground. They killed Maharu. And they taunted us with her death. This isn’t Haruka; this is Yuka, and the real Haruka… seems to support them. Although, I hope she can listen to reason." She hesitated, even though this stretch of hallway seemed secluded and private. Misaki’s restrained segment of truth still felt like too much to say out loud, with unsettling parties potentially listening to every quiet nuance.
Yuka noisily scoffed at this last hope before adding her own thoughts: "We can’t rely on Haruka. She’s a demon, a devil, not because she has horns, but because no heart dwells within her. She’s just like all the others here—obedient and complacent. I’m glad we were able to find everyone from school, but my moms are still out here somewhere, and we need to get them back before something terrible happens. We spoke to Miss Yasuda of the shrine administration before the company killed her off too. She said they froze them like a cryogenic process, but they’re deteriorating, and we have to move quickly. Come on, let’s get going."