Chapter 20 – Hitomi & Akiko

I could smell her.

Her presence surrounded me.

This… ‘Hitomi’, whose name I couldn’t even bring myself to think about with much confidence, saturated me with closeness. Nana’s smell was still there; Warm metal with an accent of clay. But it was surrounded by the traces of countless other aromas that flowed from her.

She took a step back but kept her hands on me.

‘Akiko’ peered around my side with both eyes out.

‘Hitomi’ dashed back and her hands pulled away.

“What is that doing here?” ‘Hitomi’ brought an arm in front, as though she were readying a weapon.

‘Akiko’ flinched. She crouched and clutched my thigh to the point of numbness.

I answered, “What are you doing here?”

‘Hitomi’s voice trembled. “Please answer my question first, sister. Then, I’ll answer yours.”

I looked behind myself at ‘Akiko’. Her hair had fallen over her face again.

Jamie bolted from his seat, hair whipping behind him. “Screw that! You’re the one who’s responsible for all this!”

Keiko stood as well, her hands spread out. “Please, I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

‘Hitomi’s gaze wavered from ‘Akiko’ to Keiko and Jamie. “My sisters…”

Jamie made a small fist. “You are NOT my sister! Whatever I had of a sister was destroyed by you!”

‘Hitomi’ staggered backwards and shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

She pointed at me. ”What’s important is you need to get that THING away from here! It’s not supposed to be here. I-I-I took care of all the precautions…”

She peered around the room.

“…Where’s Ami?”

I looked around too. All the seated girls seemed to be in a trance. Their eyes searched around the room slowly.

Except for Tara.

She appeared to be looking me right in the eye.

‘Hitomi’ shook her arm and grunted. “Ami was supposed to be here.” She looked at Jamie. Keiko was barely holding Jamie back from launching at ‘Hitomi’.

‘Hitomi’ took a hoarse gasp, “I planned it perfectly…”

She crumpled to her knees.

The trance seemed to drift away.

“Oh my!” Ms. Ishida said, getting to her feet. “What happened, Hitomi?” Miki also gave her assistance.

They helped her to a spot beside Katsumi, who regarded her with a half-glance.

‘Hitomi’ kept looking at ‘Akiko’. She warned, “That ‘girl’ is not what she seems…”

Jamie grunted. “Speak for yourself.”

Tara leaned gently against Jamie, who trembled where he stood. She steadied him, and he took a few slow breaths.

‘Hitomi’ watched the three of us as Ms. Ishida offered her a glass of water, which ‘Hitomi’ declined with a bow.

Reiko sighed and glared at me. “I gave you more than a minute. If you want to talk about something of value, you know where my room is.” She stood and walked off.

Sumi gave a little wave to the departing Reiko and regarded us. She said, leaning forward slowly, “I don’t quite understand what’s going on, but there’s enough here to… indulge my interests.”

Jamie’s legs tensed even though Sumi stayed seated. Miki brushed her hands and remarked, “The new girl looks harmless enough. I mean compared with some…” She gave a smirk at Katsumi, who didn’t show any outward reaction.

Keiko crouched beside ‘Hitomi’ and spoke lightly. “I have so many questions flowing through me. I just want to understand.”

Jamie, with hesitancy, stepped away from Tara. He folded his arms. “I want reasons. I want details. I want answers. You… I mean… you…” He turned away. “I can’t stand to look at you right now.”

‘Hitomi’ breathed in and touched Nana’s hand to Nana’s chest. “This position, though necessary right now, lacks the fullness of perspective and comprehension needed to answer all your concerns.”

Jamie blurted out, “Convenient.”

‘Hitomi’ answered, “It has certain advantages.”

I took a few steps towards ‘Hitomi’, with ‘Akiko’ still holding close to my side, and asked, “What do you want?”

“I want…” She looked at the girls all around. “I think I’ve given a good idea of what I want. I want back that which was ripped from me. And I want that black-haired beast far away from here!”

Her arm pointed directly at ‘Akiko’, stirring the air. ‘Akiko’ pulled my left arm in front of her.

Her squirming settled. She sniffed my hand, clutching it close to her face. She gave a warm, wet little lick of my palm. She licked several times more then stopped. My hand felt a little warm. She turned it over in her grasp. A floorboard creaked. Her eyes darted around the room. Then she looked up at me.

Katsumi sighed and asked Ms. Ishida, “Since this doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, could we at least turn on the TV for a little bit? I want to hear the blossom and weather reports.”

Ms. Ishida inspected the center of discussion and bowed. “If no one objects, I don’t see why not.” She switched it on with a remote and smiled at ‘Akiko’, who leaned away from my side for a moment before pulling close again.

Color filled the screen. Ms. Ishida flipped around ‘till she found a news program. It seemed locally-produced. The tint was off and the details were fuzzy. It didn’t seem to be the television’s fault. Ms. Ishida adjusted the sound.

Sumi gave a glance at the TV, but her focus remained on me, Keiko, and Jamie.

Mami set her notepad in her lap and turned to Miki. “I heard your family has plans for the flower viewing.”

Miki leaned back. “Yeah, a bunch of my uncles are going to camp out and hold spots for the family and… uh… a few friends. They’ll head over there tomorrow night, depending on the weather.”

It didn’t take long for the local program to come to the weather report. Some mild chatter between Mami and Miki quieted for a moment. Jamie pressed his hands to his head. Tara rubbed his back and asked, “Are you okay, Jamie-kun?”

Jamie made a fist and held it out at ‘Hitomi’, whose eyes roamed between the three of us, lingering forcefully on ‘Akiko’. Jamie’s gaze dug into ‘Hitomi’s face until it seemed something would have to break.

That moment came when Jamie leapt at her with his arms outstretched. He pulled ‘Hitomi’ to her feet, clutching her by the shoulders. She appeared as calm as Nana typically did. Holding her, Jamie seemed at a loss for what to do next. I went to Jamie’s side.

His arms quivered.

‘Hitomi’ leaned close. “Kimi…”

He clenched his teeth. “That’s not my name!”

‘Hitomi’ answered the flash of teeth with the barest of smiles and spoke softly, “It is one of your names. It is a memory. It is an important part of you. Same with Keiko… and especially Arisu.”

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He gripped the material of her blouse. “My name is Jamie Quinn Harrison.”

‘Hitomi’ glanced at the curling material. “I know. You always liked that name.”

Jamie shook his head and his drape of dim-yellow hair. “You don’t know me…”

He let his grip go. ‘Hitomi’ stood there and said, with such a quiet voice, “I may adore Arisu, but I care deeply for all my sisters.” The thought of being so highly-regarded sent a disquieting feeling through my body.

Her eyes sought no one in particular. “You were both always caring…” Her gaze found Jamie. “Kimi, you would always brighten my spirit with humor.”

She gave a weak impression of a laugh and looked to Keiko. “Keiko, you would quietly be there to comfort me when I felt lost.”

Keiko gave a curious look. Jamie shook his head. “I will not respond to ‘Kimi’. I am not this person you think I am. You have the wrong people. You really really messed up. You have to undo it.”

‘Hitomi’ stared down at her hands. Her eyes were twitching again. She took a long breath and said, “Events are in motion which cannot be stopped. What I’ve done has come at… a great cost. But I’ve done it out of love. I know… my sisters. There is a deep emptiness within me. It… there… loss… suffering… loneliness.”

She sighed and said, “‘Words’ would not express it. I must wait. Patience, as my sister told me once. A little more patience is all that is left.”

Jamie threw up his hands and said, “I’ll stop you. I don’t know how, but I’ll stop you. We all will.”

‘Hitomi’ stood still, her eyes still down.

Miki said, several times, “This is it!” She gestured to the screen. The announcer held and set down a pile of papers. He leaned against the near-cardboard-quality table and said, “While several parks and private areas already have festivities in motion for the local flower viewing, the largest parks and shrines will welcome visitors tomorrow with a series of events for all ages. Thursday and Friday are expected to be the busiest days for those who wish to see the blossoms at their peak. Unfortunately, there is concern for those in the Ogawa/Sekkai region…”

The chatter fell silent.

The announcer continued, “…the early-season typhoon, known as 0416, has strengthened a little. While it is not expected to threaten this region, there is a chance the jet stream may bend north and we’ll catch the northern flank of the storm. Iwada is currently in the storm’s path, but scientists expect that to change by tomorrow. Local leaders are concerned this storm could cut the blossom season even shorter after our dry winter. Strong gusts today shut down rail service along a few routes for…”

I looked at ‘Hitomi’. She was already staring at me. She looked away.

Ms. Ishida put her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my, it’s been a while since there’s been a major storm in this area. Miki, just in case, go over the emergency preparation booklet I have on my corner bookshelf.”

Miki nodded. “I’ll make sure we have everything we need.”

Sumi’s gaze wavered to the screen a few moments, but she held onto a near-predatory stillness and awareness of the three of us.

Mami folded her arms. “You’re not going to send any of us home, are you Ms. Ishida?”

Ms. Ishida drifted to Mami’s side and set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s still too early to say. I would only ask that… those who can… should be somewhere safe, if we get the worst of it.”

Mami returned a frown and a nod.

Katsumi cracked her neck. “There are plenty of other things to worry about first. Like the utter failure of these three as the proper maidens they should be. And I still haven’t heard a good answer as to where Ami is and where this ‘Akiko’ came from.”

Her gaze slashed back at me.

Without prelude, I stated, “Ami turned into a pink dress and ‘Akiko’ is the dark creature that lurked in Ami’s room.” I waited for the walls to come crashing down.

Katsumi stood, her mouth a perfectly-straight line, and retorted, “That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t intended to be funny.”

Ms. Ishida looked to ‘Akiko’ and then to me. “Are you serious?”

Mami shook her head. “How could that be?”

I looked to Hitomi. “How could three boys turn into three girls in three days? Hitomi is responsible for it, for what happened to us, for everything that happened to the world. This world is actually the one we came from. It changed.”

Katsumi hissed at me, “CUT IT OUT! I’ve had enough. Goodnight.”

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She stormed out of the room with epic footfalls rattling the house as she left.

Sumi had put her index finger near her mouth. She traced it. “You made Cutie-Face leave. Shame. I had some nice plans for her later. You’ll have to suffice.”

I set my feet and told her, “You will keep your hands off me and my friends.”

Sumi leaned back but made no overtures of aggression or concession.

Katsumi left an empty spot on the couch.

Mami ruffled her skirt and asked, “Do you have any proof of what you say?”

I related to her the visions, the creepy moments, ‘Hitomi’s’ own admission of being my sister, our theories about what happened to the world. Mami’s eyes soon clenched as she absorbed it all. Tara kept close to Jamie, who looked strangely-relieved.

Miki listened but scratched her head often. She looked to ‘Hitomi’, who offered no comment.

Ultimately, it was my own testimony. Jamie and Keiko gave what confirmation they could to the group on my behalf.

I reiterated, “We turned from boys into girls. You all saw that. Other changes have happened, no less incredible. But they have happened.”

It was my best effort.

Ms. Ishida sat, folded her hands in her lap, and asked, “You each saw my parents in your visions?”

We all nodded back to Ms. Ishida. Tara hugged Jamie’s mid section. He looked at her and she looked back. Miki stood and said, “That’s quite an amazing story. But it’s just…” She gazed around.

Mami took a deep breath and bowed her head. “It is incredible. Then again, all three of you have turned into girls since we’ve met. And we’ve all kept an open mind for a while… well, some of us at least.” She glanced in the direction of the two who had left.

Mami clapped her hands. “The problem I see is this… All the things you’ve noted have occurred to the three of you. And you confirm it amongst yourselves. But I’ve heard talk that your memories have gone fuzzy in places. Big house, big talk. And thin walls. You understand…”