It didn’t surprise Taryn that this was the case, with how he dressed compared to the others, how he knew the lay of the mansion and his rather friendly demeanour when he first met her.
And when Toya gave his introduction to the group by the staff that worked in the mansion, it cemented the fact that he was indeed the master of the mansion. This seemed to surprise the other three, but they have never seen Toya before as Taryn had.
“Wait a minute, you guys already know each other?” Robert asked as Toya moved to sit near Taryn and Racheal. Rather than being in the middle of the group. Making the young man almost glare at the action. What was Robert’s deal in being so passive-aggressive?
“Lowell-san lost her way yesterday,” Toya answered Robert with a smile. “I merely helped her; we did get to talk for a bit, that’s all.”
When Robert looked at Taryn, she merely shrugged in response. “It’s the truth.” Mostly. “I was lost, and he helped me. This place is huge, I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone else ended up getting lost as I did.”
“Knowing you, though, you’ll probably get lost again,” he said.
Taryn shrugged again, giving a somewhat sarcastic smile. “Yeah, I know. So what? It just means if I get lost, there’s more to look at. Not to mention if I recognize something, I know how to get back if I see it.”
Robert looked at her with a frown; honestly, what was going on inside his head? She couldn’t tell if he was trying to get her mad or merely poking fun. With his expression, it could have been the former rather than the latter. She knew Robert tended to poke at someone’s flaws in a more humorous way than that of a malicious one. But these days with how he seemed to be so passive-aggressive, it was getting harder to tell.
Maybe she wasn’t as good at reading people as she thought.
“Is something wrong, Grayson-san?” Toya asked, causing the young man to nearly flinch at hearing his last name by the other man.
He fidgeted slightly before answering. “No, it’s nothing…” Before being nudged slightly by Stephanie, who began to speak to him in a hushed tone before saying. “I know, we’ll talk more about it later.”
Taryn merely glanced at the interaction before looking away; honestly, it was none of her business with what went on between them.
“How are you feeling?” Toya’s question drew her back to look at him. “I asked before, but you never did answer.”
“Did something happen?” Rachael asked with genuine concern.
“You had a bit of a fever before, at least as I’ve heard,” Toya said to Taryn before she even had a chance to say anything back. “I was worried, I thought you might have gotten sick.”
“You had a fever?” Stephanie suddenly jumped up as she looked stricken with worry. “Are you still sick?”
“No, no!” Taryn said quickly with a shake of her head. “I’m okay, really! I’m fine. I’m not sick, I swear!”
Stephanie seemed to settle and sat back down. “Okay… good.”
Robert eyed Taryn for a moment and went to speak only to have Toya talk before the young man had the chance.
“So, you’re no longer sick?” Toya asked.
Taryn looked at him. “I’m not. I don’t get sick all that easily.”
He smiled. “That’s wonderful,” Then, a knock followed with some of the staff coming through the hall’s side entrance. “Perfect timing, the food has arrived.”
All of them soon dove into eating the food that had arrived, also getting involved in small talk with Toya, learning little bits about him. How he became the head of the household when his mother passed away with him at the tender age of nineteen. Making Toya the sole hire of the mansion. It was strange though, given his age, or at least how he looked, you’d think he would have had a wife or a partner of some kind. But then maybe such things never interested him.
Though throughout dinner Taryn couldn’t help but feel as though she was being watched.
However, when dinner was over, Stephanie took both girls and headed to a place neither girl had been yet.
“You know, you don’t have to drag us, right?” Rachael said in a deadpan tone as both she and Taryn were being pulled by the arm.
“If I don’t, you won’t come with me.” Stephanie retorted before glancing at Taryn. “Right?”
“I would. I mean, I do need a bath, and I was going to ask where it was anyway.”
“Okay then,” Stephanie then let go of Taryn’s arm, only to yank Rachael towards her and be carried bridal-style. “To the bath, we venture!”
“Why are you carrying me!?” Rachael demanded while Taryn merely laughed at the interaction. Only to find herself looking to a nearby window and in an instant, for the briefest of moments, Taryn thought she had seen someone standing outside watching them. She moved closer to the nearby window, and her blue gaze looked out to what looked to be more of a bamboo forest before heading to follow the two women.
* * *
“I’m surprised you girls didn’t check this place out during the first night,” Stephanie said as she removed her shirt. The place they were in was that of a changing room, where even the same sleeping robes that they had worn before were left in designated baskets for the woman who wished to bathe and have something to change into that was fresh and clean rather than what they were already wearing.
Since it was separated by gender, with women on one side, and men on the other.
“When I was told about it, I went right away to check it out. The space is amazing.” She paused in undressing to look at the two other girls. “What’s wrong?”
Taryn merely walked around the changing area, noting the soft white towels left for them and sandals to wear afterwards, looking at the many empty baskets in what Taryn could only describe as cubbyholes to put their belongings.
“Nothing,” Rachael said as Taryn then sat on the bench by Stephanie and began to undress, meaning that there wasn’t anything to be worried about. Which was a relief on Rachael’s part. She wouldn’t be able to bathe in a place where the dead roamed. Even if they never bothered her, it would still be unnerving, even if Taryn probably wouldn’t care less. “Just admiring the uh… entranceway of the changing room. That’s all.”
Stephanie looked at the other girl with a puzzled expression. “Okay? Well, you’ll have time to admire everything else a bit later. For now, just relax.” She then looked to Taryn, who now stood naked, uncaring who saw her as she grabbed a towel and headed to the bath. Only to then call out to her. “Taryn, wait a second.” Taryn looked back to Stephanie, who now held up a dark blue laced bra. “Your bra fell.”
Taryn frowned. Weird, she was sure she put it in the far back of the basket. Taryn took it from her and placed it back into the basket where it belonged to her clothes.
“I see you buy from the same place as I do,” Stephanie added, causing Taryn to look at her as Stephanie held up her bra with a rather cheeky grin. It was of a similar make, but of a different design and colour. “We almost match.”
The bra was of the same brand that Taryn owned. Depending on when a person bought it, it could be expensive but in a reasonable way. And not to mention when said store went on sale selling bras, underwear and the like, it was seen as a damn blessing.
“The brand has good support, one of the only reasons why I buy from them. At least when I need to and when on sale.”
“I’m the same way. Plus, the styles they have for women who have a larger busts than normal are also great. I want something I like as well as need, but don’t want to look or feel like total crap when wearing them.”
Taryn merely looked at the black lace-bright aqua blue bra before Stephanie put it away. “What size are you if you don’t mind me asking.”
“F34, what about you?” she said as she put a towel to rest along her shoulders before she then went to stand up straight.
“D32. It used to be so much easier when I was a C-cup.”
“I know, right?” Stephanie grasped Taryn’s hands. “It’s hard enough to find one you like, but also with it being both good looking that you would wear and comfortable for long periods is difficult to find sometimes.”
“But don’t a lot of guys and ladies like women with large boobs?” Rachael asked as she wrapped a towel around her body, looking somewhat embarrassed as the other two girls didn’t seem to care how they currently looked. “I really don’t get what the deal is since so many want that kind of body type.”
Both Stephanie and Taryn looked at Rachael with an expression that said: “You don’t understand the struggle!”
“Never mind…” Rachael said flatly.
The bath area was rather large; the warm steam air that drifted up from the hot water made much of the surrounding walls damp with condensation. The bath itself was rather large, shaped rectangularly with tiled floors and semi-tiled walls with a few places for a person to sit and wash their hair and bodies in front of a mirror. It was a typical thing in Japanese bathhouses where a person would first wash their hair and body separately before soaking in a tub.
At the back of the bath were a few windows, small and rectangularly shaped to let out the steam when needed. Currently, only one window was left open. And at the far-right side looked to be another narrow window up top. One that connected to the other bath was the men’s side.
“Hey, so, what was that all about back during dinner?” Taryn asked Stephanie, who had sat down next to her while Racheal was on Taryn’s right.
Stephanie looked puzzled. “What thing?”
“You freaked out when Toya mentioned Taryn being sick.” Rachael clarified as she squinted at the bottles trying to determine which were shampoo and conditioner since she had difficulty seeing things both close and at a distance without her glasses. “It was kind of a surprise to see you react like that.”
“Oh, that. I have a younger brother; Thomas often gets sick. He has a bad immune system, always had. So, whenever he’s sick, I worry about him, you know? Even the smallest thing like a cold could turn into something like a full-blown fever. It’s some type of genetic mutation. Because of that, my Dad keeps a close eye on him. Even more so now since Tyler’s gone…”
“How old is he?” Taryn interjected, quickly diverting the topic to something that Stephanie wasn’t up for speaking about again, possibly with it being so soon after she and Taryn had that kind of talk already. “Your younger brother?”
“He’s sixteen.” She laughed at something that came to mind. “But his immune system doesn’t stop him from doing what he loves. He’s pretty into tech and computers. He says that he wants to take over the family from my Dad when he’s old enough.”
“That’s a heck of a goal for a sixteen-year-old,” Rachael added. “My brother’s the same way, but he’s more into video games. Wants to make his own game, even trying out some stuff already while still in high school.”
“Video game design has become a lofty industry. It’s not something that can be ignored in this day and age.”
“So, did you leave Robert to suffer alone when you dragged us here?” Taryn asked, changing the topic as she washed her hair. The three of them now went to the wash area and began to clean themselves.
“I told him yesterday about the baths and said he should check it out. I think he intended to do so today.” Stephanie paused in rinsing her hair to look at Taryn, noting a faint scar along Taryn’s hip. “Hey, is that also from when you were hurt by that mirror?”
Taryn paused in washing her hair to look at the scar in question. “No, that’s from something else entirely.” She then touched the thin, almost invisible scar with her hands. The only reason it was even visible now was because of the steam. “When I was little, a man tried to grab me at my school. He had a knife, that’s what this is from.”
“Oh my god...” Stephanie said as she visibly paled.
“It’s fine, my bother had way worse. Roy got in between the man and me and received a scare along his back. I remember feeling scared, but more for Roy than myself. Yet he felt like he wasn’t doing enough. He felt that, if he had gotten there sooner, I wouldn’t have been hurt. It’s actually what led him to join the Army and then the Police Force.”
“Still,” Stephanie then looked over Taryn’s body, as if trying to see if there were more than what Taryn had told. But she couldn’t see anything besides what looked like a fleur de lis birthmark between her shoulder blades outlined by a fainter birthmark of a bell, which was interesting. However, she did notice how Taryn did have a somewhat fit build, not as much as Stephanie in comparison, but it was still noticeable. “Anything else I should know?”
Taryn opened her mouth to say that there wasn’t, but Rachael then spoke up, adding. “She was kidnapped when she was a baby.”
“What?” Stephanie practically jumped up from her seat and looked at Rachael. “You’re joking, right?”
Taryn cast a sideways narrowed look at her friend before sighing and saying. “No, she’s not. But I don’t know what happened. The only thing I do know is that my uncle saved me. Back then, people thought, or should I say, still think that it could somehow ruin my parents’ reputations if they could get to me. Regardless of how thinking they can hurt me it would affect my folks. The only thing it would do though makes them fight even harder, whoever hurts me and causes me to shed blood will do so equally if not more so.”
She merely looked at Taryn, still reeling at this new information about her. “Still that’s horrifying, wait, is that why you have bodyguards?”
“Yeah, I’ve had them in my life since I was… four, five years old? Since then I’ve been relatively safe. Of course, I can still get hurt and it’s not like they can be with me twenty-four-seven. But they do what they can, and that’s all I can ask for.”
“Is that why you don’t post much online that doesn’t pertain to your day-to-day life?”
“Kinda? I never really thought about it, I like my privacy and what I write or games I play have no real bearing on me as a person, somewhat. I keep my opinions to myself regarding politics and such since I have no interest in people taking what I say out of context for their own gain or trying to ruin my life.”
“That sounds like a pain in the ass,” Stephanie said. “I have so much I post online; I can’t even imagine doing that. But you said it was your own choice. I take it that your parents don’t care one way or the other about it then?”
Taryn merely shrugged before dumping a bucket of warm water over her head. “Not really. I don’t post much regarding politics. I’ve made it abundantly clear to those online that I will never divulge anything about my parents’ lives. People make shit up all the time and present it as fact. I mean, look at how things are done in America these days or just the world in general. It’s like no one fact-checks things anymore. It’s sad.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Fair point. Stephanie thought before looking to Rachael as Taryn got up and went to soak in the large bath. “What about you, Rachael?”
“I post my art, and some opinions I have. It’s not enough to make a scandal or cause issues if that’s what you’re wondering about. And with my family being rather average, both of my parents have regular office jobs though my Dad is involved in an acting troop from time to time as a bit of a hobby. Although I do get the occasional moron online asking me about my body since it’s not considered “ideal” or making sexist comments about Taryn’s body. A number of those people I’ve encountered I just block. They don’t know me or how much I have changed. I’m proud to admit I’ve lost a few pounds!”
“There’s nothing wrong with your body Rachael,” Taryn said as she slid into the bathwater before looking back to her friend.
“You always say that, Taryn,” Rachael said simply.
“And why not? It’s the truth. You don’t have the body everyone wants; no one does. I wish I was a bit taller and had a bit more weight on me, so people would stop saying I’m too thin even though I can’t help it. You just said so yourself, you were able to lose some weight, that’s an achievement within itself.”
“She’s right, you know,” Stephanie added. “It can be tough to maintain what it is you want in life. But not impossible.”
Rachael merely looked at Stephanie and asked, changing the topic back to what it was initially. “What kind of things do you post?”
She merely shrugged. “Health stuff, hair and nail stuff, or stuff from my workout routine.” She stood up and indicated to her own body, most notably the faint scaring along her pelvis and stomach, signs of losing weight too quickly for the body to keep up. “After all, it’s not magic that makes me look like this. I put a lot of work to maintain this. I told you before how much work it takes; I’m someone that has proof of it. Though I do get a shit ton of hate because of how I look now, people think I’m bragging.”
Rachael frowned. “Do you brag about it?”
“In some instances. And why not? I’m proud of the body I have, and if I want to flaunt it, I can. I don’t do it out of malicious intent or anything. That’s just petty. And those who do can just fuck off for all I care. But if you’re physically healthy, who cares what your body is like?”
“Wow…” was all that Rachael could say, which led to Stephanie frowning in confusion.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just… I didn’t expect to hear that. I mean, with how you look and how much money you have, I guess I just kind of assumed you’d be, well, kind of a bitch? Sorry.”
“No, sorry, needed. You’re not the first to assume.” Stephanie said with a laugh. “Besides, it’s my family’s money, not my money. The only reason I was able to even make this trip happen was asking my father for a favour.”
Taryn said nothing as she kept her arms propped up along the edge; she could gather that Stephanie was doing this of her own volition; Taryn only hoped that it wouldn’t be too much on her end of things when they got back.
“That must be one hell of a favour,” Rachael said as she now joined the two women in the bath. I don’t even want to imagine just how much it would all cost. God knows how long it’d take me to pay only the ticket back. “Though it reminds me, I still need to thank you for this.”
“You should be thanking Taryn then, not me.”
“She did,” Taryn said with her eyes closed. “About fifty times or so.”
“Hey!” Rachael’s face turned red. “It was not fifty! It was thirty-five.”
Stephanie laughed in response as Taryn now merely began to doze in the comfort of the warm water.
Rachael looked to Stephanie again, then to Taryn over her shoulder. “Can I ask you something, Stephanie?”
“Shoot,”
“I know that Robert cheated, and though I know it’s none of my business, it’s your choice to be with a guy like him. But you can’t know if he’ll do it again. I mean, he basically broke both of your trust, aren’t you worried that he might do that to you?”
Stephanie paused, glancing at Taryn, who was now looking at her, clearly wondering that as well. “It’s true, he did do that. He made his choice when deciding to cheat, and I’m not condoning it either. But I also know that people will do idiotic things that go against reason when you’re hit with a heavy loss. From what I understood, you both were never fully open with each other. And that’s fine to a point, but if you keep stuff, important stuff, in the dark from each other, it’ll just be worse in the long run. I mean, look at me, I look great, but that’s due to hard work; I get comments both flattering and degrading from men and women, and those who cheated on me never really saw me as a person. Only saw me as an object, or some form of status to get themselves into a better social circle because of my family. Robert never really saw that. He knew I came from money, but it wouldn’t stop him from buying me a coffee.”
She then turned to look at Taryn.
“You’re the same, even with your family background, you don’t seem to care about that kind of stuff. And the fact of what happened to you, because of Robert and me, I became angry. Remembering my own experiences and how I felt at the time, I was so mad at him.” She paused, looking at Taryn. “How open were you with him? About yourself?”
Taryn glanced away. “As open as I could be, there were things… things I could never tell him. It’s not because I don’t want to tell him, I just can’t. I’ve just grown so accustomed to keeping things like that to myself because I have to. Not because I want to.”
“Have you ever told anyone?”
Taryn looked at Rachael. “I have a very select few.” She then looked back at Stephanie. “It’s not that I’ve never trusted Robert, we were good friends. But I honestly felt like he’d never believe me if I were to tell him this. I knew from the start that it could cause a rift; it wouldn’t be the first time. I guess I just got tired of ruining friendships. So, I’d do everything I could to make it seem like I didn’t have something to hide, I’ve gotten good at it over the years, but I guess I wasn’t that good when it came to him.”
“Is it so bad you can’t talk about it?”
She was silent for a moment. “Yeah, sorry, Stephanie.”
Stephanie got in beside Taryn. “You don’t have to apologize, if it’s something you can’t say, then you can’t say it. I’m not about to force you.” She then reached over and wrapped an arm around Taryn’s shoulders. “But you know, if you ever find yourself in trouble, you can talk about it without mentioning whatever it is you can’t fully say. Even if it’s just to get something off your chest, I can at least listen.”
Taryn smiled slightly, a slight feeling of relief resting on her shoulders, she had heard that before, but this was the first time she felt as though those words were truthful. “Thanks,”
Stephanie leaned against Taryn while still keeping her arm around Taryn’s shoulders. “I know Robert’s a stubborn idiot, but he’s a caring, stubborn idiot. I’ll do what I can to try and ease some of the tension between the two of you.”
“I just think he’s an idiot,” Rachael said flatly. “What would you do to him if he cheated on you, Stephanie?”
“Oh, that? I’ve already warned him, I chose to forgive him this once, but if something like it were to happen again.” her expression turned dark as she kept her smile while still holding Taryn close. “Then I’d do everything in my power to break his spirit. Nothing would spare him from my wrath.”
Well, that’s scary. Rachael thought. “And then what?”
“And then! We three shall concur the world and show all those cheaters who oppose us that we are not to be trifled with!” She said in a dynamic tone as she pointed to the sky, laughing triumphantly.
* * *
They seem to be having a good time. Robert thought as he entered the bath, hearing his girlfriend and others mix of conversation, though he couldn’t hear them. Yet he couldn’t help but feel somewhat cheated. He was alone on this side, while the girls were together.
“Grayson-san, glad to see that you too have decided to see the baths.” Robert paused and looked to see that two men were already in the bath; he nearly made an audible sound in response. It was Sato and that guy they ate dinner with, Toya something-or-other. The guy had a weird last name. But there was just something about the man that didn’t sit well with Robert. He just wasn’t sure what that something was.
I take that back; he thought in a deadpan tone. I’d rather be alone here.
“Is something the matter, Grayson-san?” Toya asked in English with a faint smile. His long hair had been pulled back with a rather feminine silver hairpin of all things, but somehow that didn’t take away how he looked—no wonder the girls seemed to stare at him so much.
Robert found he couldn’t help but feel somewhat envious of this, even though there wasn’t anything that could change it. “No, it’s nothing. I just didn’t expect anyone else to be in here.”
“We need to bathe too, you know,” Sato said with a laugh. “Besides, some of us live here, not just the Master.”
“It’d be rather boring if that were the case,” Toya replied. “Not to mention it would be rather difficult to clean all of the rooms by myself.”
Sato looked to Robert, who was rinsing his hair from the shampoo. “Ayako-san told me that he tried once, even within a week, and you couldn’t get them all.”
Toya gave the man a rather frank look. At the same time, his tone held a flat manner. “There’s well over a hundred rooms and some that are not in any use. It made me much more aware of the term “down-sizing” so much better. But that place is my home, and I cannot even fathom where I would even be at this point.”
“You could travel?” Robert offered to him. “I mean, if you have the money to maintain this big place, you could go somewhere else in Japan to other countries even.”
Toya was quiet for a moment before asking. “Have you travelled, Grayson-san?”
“Nah, not me.” He said as he shook his head to remove some of the water before towel-drying it. “But the girls have a few times.”
Hearing this seemed to pique Toya’s interest. “Really? And yet you haven’t?”
“Nope, too broke,” Robert said bluntly as he then wrapped a towel around his waist. “It’s just my Mom, sister and me.”
“You don’t have a father?” Sato asked.
“No.” and that was all that Robert said about it. “But anyway, I am happy to be here for the most part.”
“The most part?” Toya repeated. “Why would that be? Did you have a bad experience in Tokyo at all?”
Robert sat along the edge of the bath. Not bothering to get in merely because he would feel somewhat uncomfortable bathing with total strangers. Regardless if they were the same gender as him. “No, it was fine. It’s just… with one person, we have a bit of history. And due to some things in our lives, we kind of ended up clashing with one another. I know why it happened. But I wish it didn’t. I just don’t know how I should fix it, or even if I could. It’s just everything kind of conflicts. We were tight. Really good friends. I miss those days.”
“Have you tried to talk it out?” Sato asked.
“Ah… no”, Robert admitted sheepishly. “I don’t know how to approach it, I mean, I did something that I shouldn’t have… I admit to it. But there are times I get worried, so I pretend like it didn’t happen or try to start something without meaning to. It’s how I’ve always been; we’d get into a big fight, and cuss it out, before, finally, sitting down and talking. I know that I shouldn’t. Yet I keep reverting to it.”
“Sounds like a bad habit.”
Robert’s shoulders slumped at the reality, that was a word for it. “Pretty much, she and Steph would tell me so too.”
“By “she”, do you mean Lowell-san?” Toya asked, drawing Robert’s eye to him. “Is that who you’re talking about?”
Robert nodded. “Yeah, I mean, Taryn. Like I said, we used to be friends. We were more than that at one point. But, due to a lot of things, it didn’t work out. Part of me thinks it was for the best, but not how it all played out.”
Toya was quiet for a moment. “You used to date?”
Robert gave a slight shrug. “Kinda, it wasn’t dating when I think about it. Not that we knew any better, never dated someone before. Neither of us had.”
“Yet now you have…”
“Stephanie,” Robert finished Sato’s question with an answer. “She’s who I’m dating now. It’s why all of us are here. It’s also an apology to Taryn, though it could go better.”
“So, you’re dating the blonde!” Sato said, his tone somewhat approving. “You have good taste in women, I see!”
Robert, however, kept such comments to himself. Toya broke the silence and asked. “What about Lowell-san? Is she with anyone then?”
“Ah, no? Not that I know of. We haven’t talked much, so I have no idea. But I doubt she would, given all that’s happened.”
“So, she has no one.” Robert frowned at the man, the tone of voice Toya had when he spoke seemed a bit suspect and was about to ask why it even mattered only for his upcoming words to die on his tongue when Toya stood up from the bath. “If you excuse me, Grayson-san, I will be leaving first.”
Robert found himself frozen in place. For it was one of the last things he expected.
Toya’s build was lean and muscular. Robert knew he was tall, but in all honesty, he didn’t expect the man’s body to be like that given how, when Toya wore a kimono, it didn’t show anything regarding his build. But on top of all that…
Holy shit… was all that Robert thought.
“It’s all right to be jealous, you know,” Sato said with a smirk on his face.
“As if I am!” Robert snapped, not wanting to admit that a part of him kind of was.
Toya laughed slightly as he walked out of the bath and placed a towel around his waist. “Don’t let Sato’s jokes get to you. How I look isn’t that impressive.”
“I know several who would disagree,” Sato said flatly but with a sly grin.
Toya softly chuckled at the older man’s words as he removed the silver hairpin allowing his hair to fall loosely around his shoulders. Before leaving the baths, he then added. “It was good to talk Grayson-san; I’ve learned so many things about your friends, we should do this again. And please, enjoy the rest of your time here.”
* * *
Taryn remained in the bath; both Stephanie and Rachael decided to call it quits a little bit earlier, leaving her to soak in solitude. The bath itself was truly inviting, now she got why so many people raved about it. Like that of a hot spring, or perhaps it was one initially seen when Taryn rested on was not a tiled floor like the rest, but stone. It made her wonder if there was an open-air bath too—something she’d need to ask before they were to head home.
Yet as her mind began to drift, recalling the note to the forefront of her mind. Making her recall the constant mix of different feelings she had on this trip. One that hadn’t gone away as she expected. It was strange.
Feeling this sudden sense of aggravation Taryn quickly dunked herself into the bathwater, submerging completely. This was not the time to be getting aggravated. On top of this, the feeling she had of being watched wouldn’t leave. Instead, it had grown the moment she was underwater.
Confusion set in next; this caused Taryn to open her eyes while underwater, only to see a pair of feet right in front of her.
Quickly, Taryn came back to the surface, standing fully as she now looked around the bath. No one was there. She cast a wary glance at the water she was in before quickly getting herself out and drying off before heading to leave. The feeling of being watched was still present. A feeling that, when Rachael and Stephanie were with her, she hadn’t felt at all. Only when she was relatively alone that she had. It was one that she felt throughout the trip when they were in the village. But why was that the case?
As much as she was used to the dead’s presence, she was not up for sharing a bath with an uninvited guest, most of all, when alone. Regardless of how used to it, she was there were some things she was still not comfortable with.
After dressing in the robe that was left for her and gathering her belongings, she stopped short when stepping out into the hall to see Stephanie and Rachael still there. Talking with Toya no less, he too seemed to have gone and taken a bath with his slight dampness in his hair and the matching robe that he wore like the others.
“Oh, Taryn,” Stephanie noticed her first. “I thought you said you intended to stay a bit longer in the bath.”
“I did,” she said, giving a quick smile. “But I remembered I needed to do something.”
Rachael frowned, remaining quiet.
“Anyway, I’m going to head back to my room, have a goodnight.” She then left, leaving the others in the hall before anything else could be said.
“I’m going too, nice talking with you, Kitsutsuki-san.” Rachael then headed off, quickly following Taryn. “Taryn!” she said when finally catching up, grasping at Taryn’s arm to slow down to a stop. “What’s going on? What happened?”
Taryn merely looked at her friend with a wary expression, she didn’t want to tell her. Not here. Worried about how she might take it. But doing so would make it worse, so she told her friend when they returned to their room.
“I’m not surprised but at the same time… ugh. No, wonder you left.”
Taryn dried off her hair with a towel the moment they got back to the room. “It’s not the only reason. Before, I felt like I was being watched. It’s been constant. I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“Has it been like that for the whole of the trip?” Rachael asked after thinking it over.
Taryn shook her head as removed the towel from her head. “No, just since we arrived at the village, or at least since we came to the mansion.”
Rachael frowned as her friend now began to put her clothing away, only to then recall what she wanted to tell her earlier in the day. She went over to her bag and pulled out the camera she had borrowed from her friend. “Hey, Taryn…” only to trail off when seeing her change of expression. “What’s wrong?”
Taryn stared down at her left hand as a frown creased her brow. For a brief instant, she saw something. An image flashed in her head. Something when she had touched a part of her clothing. Like a static shock. And it came from her bra of all things.
She turned it over to the inner side, as Rachael now looked over her shoulder. In the small internal pocket, something was sticking out.
“Is that a piece of paper?” Rachael asked as Taryn went to pull it out. “How’d that even get in your bra?”
Taryn said nothing in response as she went to remove it, and upon touching the paper, she felt it again. A feeling of emotion hit her brain followed by the image of a place that she had been before. The graveyard by the Shrine.
“Are you okay?” Rachael asked again.
Taryn only nodded. It didn’t hurt her, something like this never really had. It was just something else that she learned to live with. When she pulled out the paper, she realized that it came from a standardized notebook, similar to the one Taryn kept on her for writing her stories.
It had been folded several times, making it a decent size when opened, it was written in Japanese, but thankfully both girls could read it.
The police have all but given up the search. It’s been well over three weeks and not a single lead to go on. I understand why this happened, but it’s still frustrating. I know Ai was not the type to just up and disappear. Yet many don’t seem to care, not even her family. The Detective I know wants to do more, but his hands are tied. I won’t blame him. He has his work, and there’s only so much some people can do.
But it won’t stop me.
So, I do what I do best, in my line of work, and found that she had gone to a village. A resort of sorts. One that’s not really on a map either. But that seems to be the best place to start. Since after talking to several people, other friends, and neighbours, they all said that she had gone to a resort, but no one remembers the name. It makes even more sense why the police hit a wall, being unable to go any further.
Now what I need to do is find out the name of this place and go from there. Here’s hoping I find something that won’t end up at a dead end.
Taryn and Rachael looked at each other before looking back at the note in question. Leading to even further questions that neither of them had an answer for.
“What was it that you wanted to show me?” Taryn asked, drawing Rachael’s attention.
“Here,” the two swapped hands, as Rachael now held the note and Taryn the camera. “I was at the Shrine’s graveyard. I thought I saw something. And I think there’s something in the photo too, but I can’t make it out.”
Taryn enlarged the image on her camera, but it was far too pixelated to make out. “May I borrow your laptop?” when Rachael nodded, Taryn hooked her camera up to Rachael’s laptop, since Taryn had decided to leave her’s at home. On top of this, Rachael’s had programs that could make adjustments to photos.
After doing a few things, Taryn managed to not only enlarge the image on the bigger screen but also clean up the pixelated image making it far crisper. She stopped and stared at it, not saying a word.
Rachael had indeed caught something on Taryn’s camera. In the far back corner of the old cemetery, stood a woman. Barely visible to the naked eye with how see-through she was. Seeing this, finding the note in her bra, the constant feeling of being watched. And the note that had been left with her food now began to correlate in Taryn’s mind.
“I think we should go back to the graveyard tomorrow. Okay?” when Rachael nodded again, Taryn looked back at the image. Something about all of this makes me uneasy…