Chapter 13 – The Dreams of Mecchen House (cont.)

I slipped into what now seemed to be my room and closed the door behind me. Just one futon remained. Most of the boxes were cleared out and the room had a stark, though beautiful, quality. I peeked around and slid open the closets. Once I’d seen all the spaces I could, I plopped on the futon and looked up at the ceiling. With all the items cleared out, it reminded me of my apartment room when I first started renting. I even considered decorating it like this back then, but it turned out tatami violated the lease agreement.

I sat and stared for a while. It was good to have a quiet moment alone to just relax. I didn’t hear any signs of Katsumi in the room over. I did hear Mami moving around the hall. I gave a little yawn. The floor didn’t feel bad to lay on, especially with the futon. I would’ve preferred my own bed but, considering it was stuck in a separate universe, this would have to do.

I cracked my back a few times and stretched my changed legs. As a side effect of becoming girlish, they didn’t feel sore after all the walking today. My thighs in those pants traced a shape nothing like what I knew sitting at my desk. They reminded me of the outline of a sailboat in the water. They were full near the top and slender past the knee. My feet, though narrow now, didn’t feel weird to walk on and my socks had elastics in the ankle which kept them on so long as they were pulled up. Not even tripping twice was enough to make them slip off.

I coughed. I made the voice come from my lips. For Jamie, who now sung a great karaoke performance with songs meant for girls, I’m sure the change was striking. And just listening to Nathan now, and being reminded of his once-deep baritone, unnerved me. But for myself, as I listened closely to a few words from my mouth, I felt only a sense of familiarity.

It was the sort of sweet, soft, gentle melody which made a heroine in an anime so appealing to listen to, especially if it was the original Japanese actress. I patted my chest a few times and tried to untangle the voice from my anime-related preconceptions. I held an “ah” and made it waiver. I tried to focus on the enormity of 'this' as my voice.

Maybe I was stuck in denial. Perhaps I hadn’t reached a mental tipping-point, but that anime-awareness muted the significance. Height struck me for a little while, but not even that had been enough to disturb me for long. What did disturb me at that moment was how quiet things were.

There were slight sensations. I could feel Katsumi moving around somewhere, like a mini subwoofer in my bones. I could hear water shifting. Probably Mami in her bath.

Even further back, I noticed a warm hum of electronics. Nana’s room. Beyond that, there was nothing. Just a close absence, like an empty prairie confined to a closet. And that wind was back. It lapped at my sides like a lost kitten, begging for attention.

I pulled my arms close. If I had my own personal, dramatic breeze, then it would have a better time tagging along with Jamie and his flowing locks. I doubted it was a spirit like what Nina said was clinging to Ami. If it was, Katsumi or Nina would’ve said something. But, if it was a protective presence, then it sure picked lousy times to leave.

It had no smell I could detect. I leaned forward and decided to take a whiff of my sleeve. I needed a change soon and I decided that I should curry Mami’s favor by retrieving her camera.

I padded down the steps like a master-ninja compared with Katsumi’s usual gait. I heard a tremendous sound from Jamie’s room, and I easily picked Tara’s voice out of several. Maybe Nathan’s as well. I continued to the ground level. One of the hall-lights was flicked off but there was more than enough light for me.

I didn’t get far before the door to my left opened. I paused. A backlit Reiko stepped out with her hair spread over her shoulders. Her head scanned me with her arms folded. She wore what looked like a gray slip which started with narrow straps, a high neckline, and ended at her knee.

She asked me, “Are you the one staying right above me?”

I told her I was not.

“If you see him, tell him to shut up.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave it at that. I added, “I apologize for the racket.”

“Did you cause it?”

“No.”

“Then your apology is pointless. I don’t care for apologies. I care about peace in my area so I can do what I want. Make your friend be quiet, or I will.”

I bowed my head. She glided back into her room, the door closing soundlessly. Her departure left a small wind to play across my features and my mind to wonder if I’d seen another girl reclining on Reiko’s bed. I shrugged it off and retrieved Mami’s undisturbed camera.

Figuring I still had some time before Mami was done with her bath, I went over to Nathan’s room and knocked gently. No reply. He was probably upstairs with Tara.

I tiptoed past Reiko’s room on my way back up. Jamie’s room sounded a lot quieter now. I rapped gently on the door. From the speed at which it began to slide open, I could tell Tara was inside.

Sure enough, I saw her beaming visage an instant later. The small TV from Tara’s room was on a rolling table. Jamie rested against one of a couple of what looked like the world’s largest round, green pillows. Nathan was seated and hugging another.

No one was dressed up this time, but Tara wore a furry hat. Well, it was more like she’d gutted a stuffed animal and placed it on her head. She gave me an emphatic, color-blur wave. “Keli-kun! Join us! We’re watching the first episode of the Yumeko OVA! Come on!”

I passed along the gist of what Reiko expressed to me. Jamie glanced down. “Yeah, we heard the stick hitting on the floor. The noisiest stuff is over. That was just wheeling over the TV, bringing the seating, and setting things up. And tell her I don’t care. She can come on up here if she’s so inclined.”

I massaged my head. “And Tara, thank you for the offer. It is a little lonely up on the third floor.” I found Nathan’s eyes peering over the top of his oversized pillow and continued, “I’d like to join you after my bath. Before that, I need to return something to Mami.”

Jamie tossed his head, catching a bit of his hair’s backwash. He cleared the amber locks from his eyes and noted, “Is she blackmailing or charging you to return it?”

“Neither.”

“Well, watch it. She might. And we all know this floor has the best bath.” Tara raised her arms like a piston, back and forth.

“That’d be nice. Just gotta take care of a few things first.”

“Like?”

“I wanted to speak with Katsumi.”

“Willingly?”

“About things relating to our situation.”

Jamie narrowed his eyes in a way that would’ve made for a marvelous screen capture if I were watching it on a computer screen and noted, “You’re free to do whatever you like.”

Then he turned away from me and back to the TV screen. It was paused on a school. It was definitely an anime scene but one much better than the scant few I’d sampled on broadcast TV.

But it wasn’t quite the same as the “live” programs I’d seen either. It looked like something I’d own back home. It looked rather flat and static. Tara unpaused the screen, and the image panned right to still silhouettes of girls standing around. A redhead with a coy smirk walked into frame. I could discern all the budget limitations in her appearance. They didn’t show her whole body. They went to a long close up. She had really nice shading though.

Then a pan over to an architectural image of the school. A nice shot of her feet. Then a simpler drawing of her head bending down followed by a pale image of trees. Then a still of her looking up at the sky with a voice-over of, “I will always remember… my dear friend Yumeko.”

Then a light bit of music and the text, “Yumeko Returns: Juri’s Memories”.

Tara rolled around to face me. “Get back soon, Keli-kun! You’ll like this one! It’s all about Juri!”

I had a mild bit of interest but gave her a warm smile before leaving.

-----

Mami wasn’t back in her room yet. I heard splashing water in the bath room. I left her camera on the bed. I checked Katsumi’s room. It was empty.

I looked around the rest of the floor for a little while. Like on the other floors, there was a set of bedrooms on either side of the hall, nearest the stairs. The bath was opposite and off-center the room I was using. I was surprised to discover, on the other side of the bath, a small lounge area with a table, chair, a few small floor pillows, and a decent TV. What looked like a media player was set off to the side with hair-like cords lacing their way between it and the TV. One of the closets was filled with even more electronics and what looked like a kotatsu.

Just beyond this multi-purpose room, I found a narrow room with a faucet, a toilet, a mirror, and not much more. I edged my way in and used the facilities. I washed up and, begrudgingly, dried my hands with the most beautiful towel I’d ever seen.

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The last two rooms on that side before Nana’s door, which had regained its unnatural silvery glow, were a storage room and a laundry that seemed half the size of the one on the ground floor.

I soon regretted the toilet I’d picked, as I found a much roomier one on the other side of the hall. Lastly, I came to another storage room. I paused. The door was open a few inches. I slid it open all the way. A clear path was cut through the room with a parted sea of boxes on either side. The path led to another door left slightly open. I crept over and looked out.

Katsumi stretched out on a darkened balcony. I remembered seeing the balcony when we first sighted Mecchen House. I stepped out onto it.

[https://i.imgur.com/l73BOsT.jpg]

Katsumi was absorbed in a grayish paper pad in her small hands. She held a dark pencil in her grasp. Her features were lit only by the soft glow of the house interior and the lights of the city beyond.

My breath escaped me as I gazed out. Still, golden rivers with colorful patches sparkled through it like wandering fish. Above that river sat the twinkling, black jewel of the sea marked by curious points of light searching its immense body.

I heard only a murmur of the breeze and Katsumi scratching at her notepad. I could smell the promise of rich blossoms in the air. All fear of my situation, all concern about what was waiting for me back home rushed away like the clearing anxiety of waking from a nightmare. I leaned on the railing of the balcony, breathed it all in, and let out a long, quiet breath.

Katsumi scratched loudly with her pencil and said, “The railing is sometimes loose and it’s a long way down.” I took a step back, sat on the balcony, and looked through the slits in the railing, which revealed the city as amber and white beams of light.

She erased something and asked, “Did you take a bath with Mami?”

“No, I opted to pass on it.”

She flicked a look at me. Her eyes were dark obsidian with a lurking sliver of jade darting out whenever she caught a reflection. Her hair appeared muddy maroon with bright edges that curled around her protectively. She slowly went back to her notepad.

I asked, “What are you… drawing?”

“I’m sketching. I’ve been experimenting with poses, what looks natural, what doesn’t. This is a nice place to be alone.”

Silence passed between us. She seemed absorbed in her work. I pondered asking her if I could see it but, in this low-light, I wasn’t likely to see anything. That prompted me to ask, “Isn’t it a little dark out here?”

She made a circular motion. “Sometimes I bring a flashlight out but, lately, I’ve tried adapting to the lack of light. It doesn’t bother me because I can feel what I’m drawing. It’s your finger bringing something out of nothingness. After a few minutes sitting out here, I can draw fine.”

Well, considering we both had huge eyes, that didn’t seem like a stretch. Slowly, more features of the balcony, and of Katsumi, were easier to distinguish. It wasn’t like having the eyes of an owl, but it felt like dusk.

I figured I should just get to my questions. I asked, “What can you tell me about Nana?”

She stopped mid-mark on the page. “What I could tell you is what you probably already know.”

“Such as?”

“She’s boring as heck. She gets the largest room, and all she does is stuff it full of more electronics than the Self-Defense Forces. Her personality is non-existent. But her cooking is decent, and she leaves me alone. So, all in all, I’m fine with being on the same floor as her.” Her drawing grew faster, like quick stabs on the page.

“Is there anything you can tell me about her family or where she came from?”

Katsumi tapped her feet on the wood of the balcony. “I never asked, and she never told me.”

“What about a friend of hers named Hitomi?”

“No Hitomis. I’m not even sure if she has any friends. She has that computer club but, other than that, I don’t know anyone she associates with.”

Well, this was shaping up to be a big goose-egg. I decided to set Nana aside and ask her about Nina instead. She was sure to have something to say about her.

“What can you tell me about your friend, Nina?” She made feathery motions on the page.

She scuffed her feet. “I can tell you she likes apples, we’re of the same mind when it comes to girls, and she just showed up one day.”

Mami had said the same about Nana’s first appearance to Ms. Ishida. I had to wonder at that.

“What has she told you about herself?”

Katsumi stopped sketching. “Why do you ask? You know what we said about what I blurted out.”

That sounded a little defensive. “I’m just trying to do my best to figure out what’s going on. Since the books didn’t help a lot, I’m just trying to figure out what happened…and is happening to us.”

“You think Nina did it?” She seemed to have lost all interest in her sketching and turned her eyes towards me. They looked more like their natural color. My eyes sure adapted quickly.

I offered cautiously, “I’m trying to rule things out first. She has a mysterious quality, and I saw her leaving the area of Mecchen House when we first walked over here.”

Katsumi let her notebook droop. “She was near here yesterday? Huh. I can’t really say anything definite about her, because she can be really… different sometimes. It’s like two people in the same body, one confident and bold, the other shy and confused. It can be really weird to see that pairing. But she has the potential to give me a chance at what I want. If you’re asking if she told me that she’s changing you and your friends… that’s a no. She hasn’t told me anything about being responsible. It’s a shame because it’d be proof of her promises.”

“Promises?”

“Confidential girl chat stuff.”

I let it go, since she’d assured me Nina wasn’t involved. I decided it was time to lighten the topic. I asked, “Are your sketches for your games?”

Her sketchbook rose up. “These aren’t. I’m nowhere good enough to bother scanning them. These are just for my own practice. I know a girl at Azako who is willing to draw what I need. But, I swear to myself, I will be as good as her someday. Better even. She’s just obsessed with animal people.”

I leaned towards her. “You mind if I look at them?”

“Yes. Very much. They’re not meant for others. They’re for me.”

I sighed. What else could I say? I should’ve just set out for my bath and bed, but I found myself lingering on the balcony with Katsumi. She’d gone back to sketching with rough motions on the paper. With the faint sound of a truck ambling along a near street and the rattle of an elevated train, I asked, “What do you think of me?”

I looked right at her. She made a louder noise with her pencil. “You’re a boy, doomed to girlhood, like all boys should be. I can’t help but be interested in what’s going to happen to you next, for the sake of my goals.”

“I noticed you’ve been kinda quieter lately. You haven’t been yelling like before.”

She snorted. “Oh? That? Well, my senses haven’t been as insulted since you three really began changing. It’s like a tolerable annoyance which is slowly getting better. And I expect you to use the name I gave you, Arisu.” I saw a look of satisfaction on her face when she uttered that name.

I grabbed hold of the moment to clear up something I remembered her saying. “Nana helped you with the names?”

She noted, “That’s right. You’re not wriggling out of it. ‘Arisu’ is gonna be your name when whatever is causing this is done. There’s no escape. It is fate knocking on your door, and there is nowhere to hide from it.”

“I mean… How much did she help? Did she suggest them?”

Katsumi shrugged. “She gave me ideas and whatnot, but I made the final decision and, I must say, it will fit you well. You’re gonna be so cute, and I have all the clothes picked out for when it happens. No more of this unisex nonsense. Everyone who looks at you will know you’re a girl without a single doubt. There won’t be any question to it.”

Her energy dwindled a little at the end, but she made a puff with her mouth to compensate. I scooted closer. “Why does it need to be so… definite?”

She made a small crack with her fists together, “Because it isn’t worth it if no one can tell. Girliness has to spill over and stun. There has to be no doubt in your physical form.”

It was at that point I stumbled into, “But you’re not even like that and you’re a girl. What’s the big deal?”

Her shoulders slumped. “For the last time, I’m not flat!”

“Could’ve fooled me…” I should’ve gotten hit for that, but she just pressed a hand against her forehead.

Her head wobbled, like it was a mobile attached to her palm. “You don’t have to say it. I know. I don’t look anything like a girl my age is supposed to look. My hips are tiny and my… chest has not fully expressed herself yet. I’m pretty well lacking in any fashion sense. I much prefer comfort, thank you. But I have some real nice kimonos, should the need arise. They’re originally my mom’s.”