Chapter 20 - Hitomi & Akiko (cont.)

Akiko’s eyes followed Ms. Ishida's as long as they could, then dashed back to mine. She crouched down small and crept onto the couch next to me. I moved the books aside.

She pressed into the material of it, hiding one of her arms.

I turned for a better vantage point of Akiko. She froze in place.

I touched the hand of hers which wasn’t buried. It darted away like a fearful insect, fingers scurrying across the cushion. She tried to bury that hand as well, but I held on. I rubbed the skin gently. She felt so small and soft.

She gave what sounded like a little whimper. She looked at her hand. Her head turned left and right. She seemed to watch mine enveloping hers. She moved her fingers one by one. Her eyes traced down the arm, widening as she puzzled at her shoulder. She drew out her other slowly and followed it the same way.

She fussed with her clothes roughly. Those on the other couch watched silently. Tara scuffed her feet against the floor. Mami folded her arms. Jamie rubbed his forehead.

Akiko sniffed, touched, leaned on, and prodded every part of her body she could.

I was tempted to reiterate what Sumi said, but I kept silent. She gazed back at me expectantly.

She seemed so innocent, and yet I knew what she had come from. But I couldn’t prove it except for Hitomi’s mood around her. She seemed so like a child, and yet I’d seen her black form and hungry teeth. I’d seen her prey on Ami and me. I felt heat surge through my body. Akiko sniffed at my hand.

I lifted my hand to bring it closer and she grasped it and brought it to her face. She sniffed several times and gave a little lick like before. I turned it in her grasp and placed it against her cheek.

She whimpered again, so gently this time, and uttered a tiny sound which seemed like a word. I almost brushed her cheek with my fingers before I was filled with the thought of Ami silently hanging over her body. Instead, I held my hand there, halfway between anger and sympathy 'til I heard Jamie cough and say, “Anyhow, I figure it’s about time to start thinking about bed. I don’t mind where I sleep, so long as it’s far away from Hitomi.”

Mami chuckled, “After those questions you answered, I really should offer to scrub your back.”

[https://i.imgur.com/ptBlhi0.jpg]

[Mami]

Tara raised her arm. “Me too! I’ll make sure it smells super-pretty!”

Jamie’s cheeks filled with red. “Not necessary… you really don’t have to.”

Mami set a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “Come on. I promise no photography of any kind.”

“I’d really like to pass… please?”

Mami frowned. “Are you sure? You’re welcome to bathe with us any time.”

He nodded vigorously. Tara and Mami looked disappointed but accepted his request.

So, I asked, “Then who will you bathe with?”

He tried to make a case for bathing alone, but I reminded him of Ms. Ishida’s water situation.

Tara said, “And if you want your back washed really well, it’s best to have a friend’s help!”

He fussed with the question before answering, “I’ll think it over…”

While watching Mami and Tara for suspicious signs, I kept a mental track of the time ‘Hitomi’ spent away with Ms. Ishida. I had circumstantial evidence pointing to her from ‘Hitomi’s statement: the books, little secrets here and there, and her darker interests.

Mami was at least a possibility. She’d admitted to a talent in deception and regret, which could portend deeper deception. And those strange sensations too.

Tara had racked up an assortment of curious strands: Sir Walter Raleigh, the secret ‘handshake’, her previous knowledge of dark beings, and Mildred. My vision had a Mildred. The same Mildred who Tara knew? Maybe.

I traced a line in the air, ignoring any reaction from the others.

There was the past.

Toki, the visions, and young ‘Hitomi’.

Then there was the world I knew. Brookville, my job coding, and the Gravina Gym. My life, as I always thought it was.

And now there was this world, which was Brookville in some other form.

I pondered. What if all three were the same world in three different states? It made my head hurt. My home used to be a perfectly-drawn anime realm, then it became a ‘real’ world, then it went back to anime?

Was it even my home?

I stepped back. Perhaps I was drawing connections that weren’t really there.

I dropped my hand before Jamie noticed what I was doing. Akiko grabbed hold of my arm and nuzzled it.

I tensed up for a moment, still caught in a primal feeling when she was near. I had to remember Ami, no matter what. If the memory of Nana could be lost, then Ami’s could as well. I glared in ‘Hitomi’s direction.

I felt a hot sensation all through me. It seemed to stretch out to Mami. I took a deep breath.

I had to go somewhere else. I stood. Akiko stood with me, holding onto the edge of my right hand. Jamie had his blanket strategically-placed. Tara was already fluttering some extra cloth like a bird’s wing.

Jamie asked, “Where you off to now?”

I told him I still had some questions to offer around.

Mami scooted to the edge of the couch and asked, “Did you have any for me? What you said got me thinking. I have no idea where Ami went and… I’m not sure what I know for certain. But I have seen enough to leave my mind open to possibilities and I want to help, if I can.”

I realized, looking at Mami’s expectant eyes, that I really had no clear questions on the tip of my tongue. Sure, I had plenty of confusion but nothing that felt like a path out of that confusion. And ‘Hitomi’ had only added to it.

Sure, I could easily ask each girl if they were collaborating with ‘Hitomi’, but I doubted I would get anything helpful in return. No, I would have to work subtly.

So, I asked Mami and Tara, “Can you recall any strange dreams you’ve had?” Dreams and the unconscious seemed like leading edges for ‘Hitomi’s influence.

Mami mused on the question for a moment before saying, “My dreams often feel strange and divorced from myself. Like they’re from someone else’s script. Some sort of fantasy tale with dark fairies. Many lovely songs I’ve never heard before. Financial transactions…” She smirked and bowed her head.

I somehow expected that last one.

She continued, “I always felt like I was someone filming or watching the dreams than participating in them. There was one I liked. But even in that one, I played the part of a beautiful woman married to a prince. There was another woman who loved him. Her dark feeling reached out and overwhelmed me… heh. Actually, that one wasn’t that great either but I did like the early parts where I had this whole royal court. It was fun.”

Mami looked wistful. I gave her a smile and she took a long breath.

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Tara was still flapping the bit of blanket, this time like an enclosed lasso. She leaned her head to one side and said, “I like my dreams. When I dream of Mildred, I feel sad. I’m searching for her. Or I’m at a train station and she’s supposed to arrive but our train is already here. I have to go on ahead and I’m afraid I’ll never see her again. That’s all really, Keli-kun. Sorry I don’t have more.”

I watched Tara and asked her, “Doesn’t the name 'Mildred' seem like a weird name?”

She smiled warmly. “It was always her name.”

“It’s not like any of the other names around here. It’s not really a Japanese name.” Neither was 'Tara' though...

I’d only really tested ‘Japan’ on Shioriko, though Katsumi did imply she had knowledge of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

Tara leaned her head the other way. “Mildred was special, so it was okay for her to have a different sort of name. Just like you, Jamie-kun, and Nathan-kun.”

I gave a little smile for her too.

The game show had given way to a cartoon and any trace of melancholy vanished from Tara’s demeanor.

I promised to come back later if I had more questions. I offered to bring Jamie along until I told him I’d be talking to Sumi and Reiko.

“Pass,” he said with a shudder. “I don’t want to go anywhere near Sumi, if at all possible. You watch out for her… umm… okay?” He glanced away, then looked back.

“I will. Thanks.”

Jamie gave a nod and turned a curious eye to the program on the television.

He then added, “And umm… wouldn’t it be best if you left that thing here?”

Jamie gestured to Akiko.

I tried to lead her over to Tara, but she clung to me cleverly in the opposite way from avoiding me before. I tried to pass her hand off and trick her to grab the couch, but she always kept a hold onto at least an edge of my hand.

I relented and told Jamie, “I’ll just watch her.”

“You do that…” He said.

-----

I tried Reiko’s room first with a quiet knock.

The door opened a crack. Reiko’s sapphire left eye looked out.

“Can I talk to you a bit?”

The door shut. I could hear footsteps.

I stood there. I heard some discussion back and forth inside.

More footsteps.

The door slid open again, wider this time, and Sumi’s body spread out to gesture me into the room. I stepped gingerly with Akiko clenching a handful of my shirt and trying to grab my hand nearest her.

Reiko sat on her bed with one leg under her and the other stretched out. She sat on one arm while the other jammed into her side. She looked as uncomfortable as that position would feel for anyone. I could see the edge of a notebook behind her.

She cut off my effort at a brief ‘hello’ with a stark proclamation, “Sumi told me all you said after I left. It sounds utterly ridiculous. Do you have even the slightest proof?”

Akiko leaned away from me and regarded Reiko’s room, which still looked like it was designed by someone who couldn’t decide on a theme. Dissonant music emerged from an audio player along the back wall.

Akiko edged cautiously towards Reiko, though she still clung to me. She seemed very interested in her. She chewed on one of her fingers.

I set my feet and told Reiko, “I’m looking. Perhaps you both can help?” Sumi settled behind Reiko with her arms on Reiko’s shoulders. She squeezed them rhythmically.

I tried not to stare. Reiko leaned into Sumi, though her eyes sought me. “How? Explain. I have no patience for your never-ending delays.”

Sumi curled a hand around Reiko’s arm and coaxed her, “Let’s not be too hasty. It might be fun to keep them around.” Reiko shut her eyes.

I heard a knock on the door.

Reiko slipped out of Sumi’s grasp and slid open the door.

‘Hitomi’ looked through the opening at me. She gestured for me to come over. I stepped into the hall with Akiko still clinging close. Reiko slid the door closed behind us.

‘Hitomi’ watched Akiko and said, “Send her away. I just want to talk to you.”

I looked over at Akiko holding onto my arm but edging towards Reiko’s room. I tried to dig my hand out of her dainty grip. Her fingers sought quick, new holds.

I walked her back to where Mami, Tara, and Jamie were seated. Akiko hid her face from Tara. She gave Mami a quick look but returned to me. Jamie had the books I’d set aside in his arms and asked, “What’s the deal with these?”

“Toki’s books. They might be significant.”

He turned them over and sighed. “What’s up with her?” He gestured to ‘Hitomi’ lingering behind me.

“Dunno yet. Could you watch Akiko for a few minutes while I talk to ‘Hitomi’?”

Jamie set his knees rigidly. “I am not a babysitter.”

Tara waved to Akiko, who hid again.

I guided Akiko closer to Jamie. She didn’t seem too interested in Jamie, but at least she wasn’t hiding from him.

Jamie pressed down his arms into the couch. “I’m really not in the mood. I’m still confused as heck. I’m utterly pissed with HER!” He glared at ‘Hitomi’, who was still lingering. “I still have no answers for anything and ever more questions, and my back still aches like heck. Which I have noted repeatedly, right?”

Mami gave a nod and held out her notepad with “BIG BREASTS = BACK PAIN (source – Kimi)” written large.

Akiko sniffed at Jamie and looked over him cautiously. Jamie sat up in the couch as Akiko squeezed into it on the Mami side with an occasional, fretful glance at Tara.

I backed away carefully. Akiko watched me like an alarmed animal, but she didn’t bolt from Jamie’s side. Jamie looked like he wanted to bolt though with the way Akiko hugged him. She preferred his chest.

I joined ‘Hitomi’ in the hall and asked, “What?”

“I was scared.” One of her hands trembled slightly.

“Of what?” Couldn’t be of Ms. Ishida, could it?

“I know what you said. But you’ve said… promised… before. I couldn’t endure that… again.”

“What did I promise? What do you mean ‘again’? What happened?” She wasn’t Nana but she sure shared her predilection for mystery.

She took a deep breath. “It would be useless to tell you before it is time.”

“You’ve told me some. Why those things and not others?”

“Think of them as a few final seasonings I carefully, cautiously added.”

I shook my head. “I wish you wouldn’t refer to me as food.”

She winced but said, “Patience… you’ll understand soon.”

I let out a ragged, warm breath. In my thoughts, I lingered on a set of elements which drew together. The three figures in my room in Brookville. The three ‘vision-causing’ artifacts. I’d asked her about the artifacts but not the figures. I had a hunch.

I asked, “Did you put those weird, three figures in my room in Brookville?” I described them precisely.

I expected Hitomi to deflect my question with a reason of “it wasn’t time yet” or something vague. Instead, she said, “No. I didn’t put them there. You did.”