Volume 16 - The Mountain, Chapter 118 - Under the Surface
Yuisu sat at the Inn's front desk with a phone to her ear, but the person on the line wasn't a customer. It was a scientist, and she had leveraged her entire social network to find one who had right skill set and was willing to help. She'd asked around for days and had started to lose hope when a lead came from an unexpected source: Mimi.
It turned out that a good friend of Mimi's, an oni teacher named Rohe, knew a geologist who specialized in geothermal energy. He normally worked with geothermal power plants, but there was some overlap between that and recreational hot springs.
"So you don't think the spring output will change again?" Yuisu asked hopefully.
"Probably not," the man answered in his surprisingly youthful voice. "Quakes shift things around sometimes, but other than that, hydrogeological features are quite stable. You've heard of Yellowstone's Old Faithful, I assume?"
"Yeah. Doesn't it erupt every hour exactly?"
"Well, every 45 to 125 minutes actually, but the point still stands. I can't know for sure without a lot more measurements, but I think your spring will maintain its new volume for the foreseeable future. You should look into diverting off that excess flow, though. It's a bit dangerous at that temp."
Yuisu nodded in agreement, then she realized he couldn't see it over the phone and blushed in embarrassment. At least he couldn't see that either. She said, "Definitely. That's my plan now that I understand the situation. Thank you so very much for your help, Kaito."
"No problem. Happy to help a friend of a friend. Err, maybe I need another 'of a friend' in there." Kaito had an awkward-yet-charming honesty about him that made him easy to like.
Yuisu giggled and said, "Yeah, I haven't actually met Rohe yet, but I'm sure I'll run into her eventually. It's a small town."
After a heavy pause, Kaito said, "If you do see her, say hello for me."
"Sure thi—" Yuisu started.
Kaito blurted, "And tell her that I'm sorry. She'll know what about."
"Uh, okay. Will do. Thanks again, and goodbye," Yuisu said. As she hung up, she wondered what could have happened between Kaito and Rohe.
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"Alright, Haru, here's my plan," Yuisu said as she unfurled a blueprint on the kitchen table. One corner was occupied by the familiar shape of the inn's hot spring, its outline traced from the original plans used in its construction. The rest of the blueprint was new and unfamiliar.
Haru swept her gaze over the paper, but she wasn't sure what it all meant. There were boxes and a big jellybean shape and some paths, but she couldn't make any more sense of it than that. "What is it?" she asked.
Yuisu beamed from ear to ear, but her eyes had dark bags under them. She hadn't gotten enough sleep the last few days while she worked on this project. "It's our new day-visitor area, complete with a picnic area and its own hot spring pool to make use of our increased water flow! Of course, we'll also need to expand the parking lot to hold the visitors' cars."
With that new context, Haru gave the plans another look. The jellybean shape must have been the new hot spring pool and the boxy thing next to it was a large two-part changing room with a different entrance and exit for each half. She followed the sketched pathway to a group of three squares representing picnic tables in a meadow, then onward to the extended parking lot and the inn's front porch.
Haru blinked a few times, then looked up at Yuisu. "Wow. This is quite the project. I assume Korbin is helping fund this?"
Yuisu shook her head. "Nope. Thanks to that rush of business this summer, we have enough money to pay for most of it, with a small loan for the rest. I already got approved at the bank, and I'll make it back pretty quick with the new income. Also, I figure I can do a lot of the construction myself to save money." She smiled happily, but there was an undeniable nervous edge to the way she was acting.
Haru stood and stepped up behind Yuisu, then wrapped her in a feathery hug. With her head resting on Yuisu's shoulder, Haru quietly said, "Yuisu, baby…"
Yuisu wasn't sure what Haru was up to. "What?" she asked.
Haru snuggled against Yuisu's neck and said, "It's an awesome plan, but I think you're taking too much on by yourself. You're running yourself ragged."
"It's not too much," Yuisu contested. "The maids have been handling everything with the inn so I have a lot of free—"
Haru cut in. "You're so used to being frantically busy that when you finally got a break, you filled it with even more work. You should take it easy, or at least let me help."
Yuisu turned her head to look into Haru's eyes. Those golden eyes stared back, full of love and concern. Yuisu contemplated for a moment, then she pulled out of the backwards hug and gave Haru a warm kiss.
"Thank you, Haru. I'd love your help. My original plan was to finish the whole addition in a month with just me and the contractor, Mister Satoru. He's the same guy that helped last time." She looked down at the floor, ashamed. "But that seems impossible now that I think about it… I just got carried away, I guess."
Haru lifted Yuisu's chin with a soft white wing. "It's fine to dream big, but don't be afraid to ask for help. I'm sure the other girls wouldn't mind helping too. It'll be just like when we built the first hot spring," Haru said with a smile.
Yuisu nodded, then said, "Though now they have jobs taking up their time. Well, at least you and Tsuen and Chione do." She lowered her voice and added, "And I'm not sure how much help Mara and Aluru would be."
Haru bopped Yuisu lightly on the head with a feathery fist. "Don't be mean. I'm sure they'd be fine. Mara's got quite the crafty side to her, remember?" Then she gestured at the blueprint. "Let's mention this at dinner tonight and see who wants to help. Okay?"
"Okay," Yuisu said, then she slipped under Haru's wings and back into a long, quiet hug. She felt her stress melt away bit by bit until all that was left was a strange calm emptiness. It took her several seconds to realize that what she was feeling was normality.
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Construction started later that week with help from Haru, Mara, and Aluru. Haru scaled back her hours at the butcher shop in order to spend the time working with Yuisu, and to keep Yuisu from pushing herself too hard. Chione had also offered to lend a hand if they needed any nighttime construction, but that didn't seem likely.
The elderly yet vibrant Mister Satoru was happy to leave the heavy lifting to the liminals while he focused on planning and infrastructure. Mara's crafty side was in full force as she helped assemble shelves and tables, and Aluru had proved surprisingly useful in her own way.
"Hey, Yuisu. The first compost bag is full. Where should I put all these plants?" Aluru was wearing just a tiny skirt and a sweat-soaked tank top and she was pointing at a huge pile of uprooted grasses and weeds. Thanks to her many adept tendrils and her innate understanding of roots, she was remarkably fast at clearing the land of underbrush.
Yuisu turned to look, then had to fight to pull her eyes from the magnificent breasts on display just underneath Aluru's wet white shirt. Aluru's nipples were plainly visible through the transparent cloth. Why isn't she wearing a bra! It's hard enough to focus in this heat without her admittedly amazing tits on display!
Yuisu busied herself adjusting her own tank top and shorts and she made sure keep her gaze away as she answered, "We've got a tarp in the shed we can use for now, but I'll have to find another solution soon. I guess once we move the remaining supplies from the truck bed, I can make a trip down to town to dump 'em."
Yuisu turned to Haru and said, "Can you go grab the tarp from the shed? It should be folded on the back shelf."
Haru stood up from the measuring line she'd been rolling out on the ground. She stretched her arms and back with a satisfying series of popping sounds, then said, "Sure thing, love." She kissed Yuisu on her way by, then disappeared around the front of the house.
Only then was Yuisu freed from the enchanting effect of Haru's booty, which was clad in tiny jean shorts that only partially covered her cheeks. Haru had bought them last summer on a whim, but they were far too revealing for public use. She had never worn them outside before.
Yuisu started to get suspicious, Between Haru wearing those shorts and Aluru going braless… are they actively trying to distract me? Maybe they've got some sort of wager going on…
Just then, Mara skittered up. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and a matching skirt, both thankfully conservative, and holding her prized umbrella over her head. The black and white paper parasol blocked out the bright sun and wide sky, and was a constant reminder of Tsuen's love for her. "I'm all done assembling the picnic tables. They were really easy to put together, at least once I figured out the weird wordless instructions."
Yuisu put her conspiracy theory on hold and responded, "Nice work, Mara."
Mara grinned and said, "I was thinking I'd start on the brick walkway next. It'll be like a jigsaw puzzle!"
Yuisu couldn't help but smile at Mara's enthusiasm. "Go for it. I finished digging out the first twenty feet of the pathway this morning, so you should have plenty of path to work on." After a second, she firmly added, "When you run out of bricks, get someone to help you with the wheelbarrow."
"Roger that, Yui!" Mara said before zipping away, her sharp legs stirring up little puffs of dust from the cleared earth.
That left Yuisu alone with Aluru. Yuisu didn't dislike any of her homestays, or most anyone else for that matter, but she didn't get along very well with Aluru for some reason. They didn't talk often, but that was more Yuisu's fault than Aluru's, due to how busy things had been.
Yuisu thought, At least when Mimi was being a jerk, I knew where she stood. Other than Aluru's constant search for sexual conquests, I don't know much about her.
"Hey, I noticed there are gonna be two changing rooms," Aluru started. "What's the point if everyone's gonna end up in the same pool together?"
Yuisu sat down on a pile of wood that was waiting to be assembled into a handrail for the path. "I wanted to make it more approachable to families and foreign tourists, so I'm going to require swimsuits, at least during the day," Yuisu answered, then she pulled a couple water bottles from a cooler and offered one to Aluru.
Aluru took the clear plastic bottle with a vine-like tendril and passed it up to her hands. She opened it and greedily guzzled it down, not even pausing for a breath, prompting Yuisu to wonder if alraune even needed to breathe.
After the bottle was drained dry, Aluru settled down next to Yuisu's makeshift bench and said, "That seems super tame and boring, but I guess I understand your reasoning. Most humans aren't very comfortable with nudity."
Yuisu smiled and teased, "Compared to you, most liminals aren't either. I only know one liminal who wears less clothing than you, and she's a nudist."
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Aluru didn't mind the verbal jab and she was actually very interested in the mentioned liminal. "Oh really? I'd like to meet her, especially if she's already into women."
Yuisu narrowed her eyes at Aluru for that. She had heard about how Aluru had slept with her previous host's previously-straight girlfriend. It seemed that no woman was off the table for her.
Finally, Yuisu shook her head and answered, "Sadly, I haven't heard from her in months. She said she was interested in providing occasional massage services at the inn, but she must be off wandering somewhere. Saya isn't the type to stay put anywhere for long."
Aluru rubbed her chin in thought, already planning something. "Saya, huh. Pretty name, at least." Then she slouched back against a tree and said, "Whatever. I've got enough lovin' around here as is, now that I've dialed it back a bit."
Yuisu blinked. "Dialed it back? What do you mean?"
"I've cut back on sex, after some advice from a friend. She said that by sleeping with so many girls, I wasn't actually appreciating it anymore. She was right. After a week alone, sex feels amazing!"
This was all news to Yuisu, and now she was curious. "So you're purposely holding back for a week at a time?"
"Nah, just not trying so hard to get a girl every day. But if one offers, I'm not gonna turn her down. I ain't crazy," Aluru said with a lewd grin.
Haru returned with a crinkle of plastic announcing her arrival. Her arms were full of folded blue tarp, but her pristine white hair and feathers had both become a drab grey.
"What happened?" Yuisu asked, though she already had an idea.
Haru unceremoniously dropped the tarp on the ground, then said, "The tarp was on the top shelf, and it slipped out of my wings when I tried to grab it. It dumped a ton of dust and cobwebs right on my head."
Aluru and Yuisu couldn't help but giggle at the mental image of a fearsome predator being defeated by a dirty tarp and a high shelf. "I'm sorry, Haru. Let me help you get clean," Yuisu said as she started brushing the dust from Haru's shoulder.
While Yuisu and Haru fought off the grime, Aluru grabbed the tarp and started away. She called back, "Thanks for getting this, Haru. I'm gonna get back to clearing the ground now."
After about a minute, Haru was mostly dust-free. Yuisu grabbed a water bottle from the cooler, opened the cap, and handed it to Haru. "Here. Stay hydrated."
Haru grabbed the bottle with both wings and chugged it. More than just staying hydrated, she was happy to have something to wash the dusty taste from her mouth. When the bottle was empty, she passed it back to Yuisu and said, "Thanks, babe."
Then the keen-eyed harpy looked around their worksite. Her gaze briefly lingered on the sight of a white rabbit in the underbrush, but she fought her instincts and stayed on task. "What are we working on next?"
Yuisu gave Haru's butt a loving pat and said, "You were putting down the guide-lines for the changing room foundation, and I was about to resume digging the pathway. I need to stay ahead of where Mara's laying the bricks."
"Oh right," Haru said before bouncing away, back to her previous project.
Yuisu watched her go, thankful for the time they were spending together, and thankful for Haru's tiny jean shorts. Their image lingered in her mind, but so did the thought of Aluru's wet t-shirt. That got Yuisu thinking, Maybe they were both trying to get my attention, though for different reasons. I haven't given Haru enough attention, and I definitely need to be a better host for Aluru.
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Once Haru was done laying out the guide strings and posts for the changing room, she planned to start building the handrail, but she couldn't find the right equipment. Several tools, including the drill, weren't in the main toolbox.
Yuisu said, "I'll go check the boiler room. I think Mara and Rem used those tools when they rebuilt Rem's house."
She went through the front door, kicked off her work boots, then crossed the kitchen to the boiler room's door. She almost knocked in case Rem was inside, but then she remembered that Rem's house had walls of its own for privacy.
She stepped inside and sure enough all the missing tools were sitting in a large plastic bucket under the suspended house. Yuisu grabbed it by the handle and started to leave, but then she noticed an odd glint through one of the windows on Rem's home, just below eye level.
Yuisu stepped closer and immediately identified the source of the glint: a shiny bag of potato chips. In fact, that entire room of the tiny apartment was filled to the brim with packaged snacks, all unopened. From candy to chips to cookies, all of them were products that the inn offered for guests to purchase.
Yuisu personally tallied all the cabin's snack purchases, so she knew these hadn't been mistakenly charged to a guest's bill. With a frown, Yuisu thought, I guess I'll check if they're missing from the storeroom, then I might have to confront Rem about this…
She turned to leave, tool bucket in hand, and nearly tripped over something skittering under her feet.
"Oh, sorry, Boss. Don't mind me. I'm just gonna change outfits. I spilled soapy water on this one while cleaning a bathroom." Rem walked under Yuisu's now stationary legs, then quickly climbed the rope ladder that was the primary way of accessing her house.
Yuisu turned back to face the house, then said, "Uh, Rem, I wanted to ask you about something."
"Go for it. I can talk while I change," came a voice from inside the custom-made dollhouse. Then Rem added, "Oh, is this about those tools? Sorry about that. We meant to return them when we were done building this new house, but I guess we forgot."
"No, that's fine," Yuisu said, feeling a bit odd for talking to the outside wall of an elevated dollhouse. "This is about those snacks in your house. Where'd you get them?"
Two large doors on the top floor balcony opened, revealing Rem in a clean white dress and a light grey hoodie. It wasn't as maid-like as the frilly dress she had been wearing, but her thigh-high stockings were still present. The open doorway also revealed even more snacks scattered about the tiny bedroom.
Rem's standard cat-like grin had been replaced with a shameful frown. "Oh, you saw those?"
"Yes, I did. Where'd you get them?" Yuisu repeated.
"From the storeroom. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have taken them, but I felt like I really needed them… just in case," Rem answered. She was rubbing her hands together nervously.
Yuisu said, "I don't understand. I know for a fact you've got your own food and even your own section of fridge space. Why'd you steal those?"
"Like I said, I saw them and just felt like I needed them, like I needed some food no one knew about, so no one could take—" She stopped and shook her head, then flopped onto her back on her bed. She curled up defensively and held a pack of gum close.
Tears welled in her eyes as she said, "Nevermind, it's stupid. The ones downstairs are all unopened, so you can just take them back. I'm sorry, Boss."
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Yuisu blinked a few times, still not fully comprehending Rem's reasoning. But rather than making a big deal over it, she decided to just move forward. "Alright, I'll let it slide this time, but you need to stop stealing stuff. If you really want snacks, you can buy them at the customer rate, or just order directly from the convenience store and have them deliver."
Rem's eyes went wide. "Oh yeah, I guess I can afford to do that now that I have a job to replenish my savings! In that case…"
Rem spun on the spot, sending her short and swishy skirt flaring outward. Then she stepped up to the large jewelry box that took up half of her bedroom. She used the key she always wore around her neck to unlock it and dove in headfirst, flashing her lacy blue side-tie panties at Yuisu in the process.
I wonder whether Rem's panties were custom-made or intended for a doll. Given the lacy details and the perfectly snug fit, I'm thinking custom, Yuisu thought distractedly.
A few seconds later, Rem emerged holding a huge roll of cash, what must have been over 100,000 yen worth. Yuisu was immediately suspicious and considered asking Rem why she had so much cash on her, but decided against it.
Rem counted off enough money to pay for twenty bags of snacks, then held the bills out toward Yuisu. "This should cover them at the inn guest rate. I promise to ask for and pay for anything I want in the future."
Yuisu reached up to the little balcony and awkwardly grabbed the money. "Please do. You're a wonderful employee, Rem, and I don't want to lose you over this." Then she smiled and said, "Now, let's both get back to work."
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"Good day at work, Tsuen?" Mara asked. She was spinning around in circles on her computer chair, making it difficult to look at her.
"Yeah, it was great. We've had a lot of new customers lately, and I really like working with them." Tsuen started to lift her shirt to change clothes, then remembered that Rem was in the room too.
Rem said, "Don't mind me, Tsuen. It's your bedroom. I'll look away." She was sitting on Mara's desk, her legs dangling off the side. She lifted one leg so she could turn to the right and see Mara's monitor and she started to watch that intently. The screen showed a bustling city street filled with fantasy characters in fancy armor, including Mara's character standing idle in the center. Thanks to Mara's large monitor, the characters were nearly as tall as Rem.
Blushing brightly, Tsuen quickly changed into comfy short-sleeved pajamas, then said, "All done, Rem." She was getting used to Rem hanging around, since she and Mara were such fast friends, but it was still odd how easy it was to forget the little gremlin was there. Rem and Mara were both full of energy, but Mara was impossible to ignore while Rem just slipped out of mind as soon as she was out of sight.
"How about you, Rem? How was your day?" Tsuen asked as she settled on the bed with her four legs tucked under herself.
Rem grinned, her lips looking quite catlike, and wiggled her fuzzy ears. "Pretty good. I screwed up bad on something, but Yuisu forgave me. She's such an awesome boss."
Tsuen nodded. "Yeah, she's great. Have you had any other bosses that weren't awesome?"
Rem's ears wilted. "No, this is my first job, since I, uh, graduated the program."
Tsuen didn't notice the change in Rem's mood so she stayed on the topic. "You didn't have a part-time job while in the program? I guess that's fine, since Mara hasn't either."
Mara stopped spinning by grabbing on the desk with two back legs. "Hey, I sell my crafts online sometimes, and I can sell my webbing if I really need the money. It's not as valuable as normal arachne silk, but those weird research places still want it."
Tsuen gave her girlfriend a smile and said, "I know, Mara, and that's fine. I guess I was mostly curious how Rem spent her time." She turned to address Rem and said, "Did you have any hobbies? Maybe video games like Mara?"
Rem shook her head slowly. "No, nothing like that."
Now Mara was curious too. "I bet you got up to mischief and caused your host tons of trouble. Got any fun stories?"
Rem pulled her knees to her chest and shook her head again. "No. No fun stories."
Tsuen and Mara shared a concerned glance, then Tsuen gently said, "Are you feeling okay, Rem?"
Rem shook her head yet again and hugged her knees tighter, looking very small and afraid. "No, I'm not." Then she looked up at Mara and Tsuen, her good friends, and said, "Can I tell you something? I think I need to get it off my chest."
Mara immediately answered, "Of course. We're here for you."
Rem started talking, slowly at first, but soon it was like a dam had broken and she couldn't stop the words. She revealed that she hadn't graduated the program in the normal way. In fact, for the last half-year she had been living off a monetary settlement that the Exchange Program had given her to make up for how horrible her time as a homestay had been.
With undeniable anger in her voice, she said, "My Exchange Program host was a bad man. He kept me locked inside his apartment, dressed me up in doll outfits, and treated me like a toy or a pet, not a person."
The anger became something else. "He was also a broken man. He was very unstable, and even though he never hurt me physically, there was something violent lurking in him, just under the surface. I was worried that if he snapped, he would kill me. I played along, for my own safety. Not that I had a choice."
"He knew about my gremlin magic. In fact, he knew far more about gremlins than a new host should've. He was obsessed with us, and I can't believe the exchange program didn't realize it." She took a deep breath, then continued, "He starved me, to keep me from using my magic. He never gave me anything sugary, and never let me eat my fill, swiping my meal away the instant he thought I'd had enough."
Rem started to cry and the small tears fell on her knees. "It messed me up. I'm paranoid about food now and I get all defensive when I eat. I'm trying to break the habit, but it's hard."
Mara reached out and gently rubbed Rem's back, but she didn't interrupt.
"I bided my time, waiting for a safe moment to escape or to get a message out to the outside world. But I ran out of time about ten months in. He started casually mentioning sexual topics, buying me skimpy clothes, and showing me porn he'd found." Rem's voice got very quiet and she said, "Drawings of fairies and other tiny women, being raped."
The room was silent for a long time, and neither Mara nor Tsuen could bring themselves to say anything. Eventually, Rem resumed.
"I got desperate. While he was at work one day, I sabotaged everything I could. I was weak, but I could bend a wire and stick it in a wall socket. I shorted out all the breakers, hoping it would affect a neighboring apartment. I also stopped up the sink and flooded the bathroom."
Rem smiled a sad, weary smile. "That's what did it. The person in the room below us complained and the maintenance crew needed to get into the apartment to fix it. My host was paranoid and had changed the locks, so the maintenance guy broke the lock to get in. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw me standing just inside, screaming for him to call the police."
"He did, and the MON Squad came real quick. I told them what happened, and when I mentioned the rape porn, they got me out of there immediately. Apparently they arrested my host that night, but I never saw him again. His Exchange Program Coordinator was arrested too, for accepting bribes and forging all the check-in paperwork. The paperwork had claimed I was fine and happy the entire time…"
Tsuen crossed the room and kneeled in front of the desk, blinking back tears. She offered her hands to Rem, who stepped forward and was pulled into a gentle hug, secure in Tsuen's modest bosom. "I'm so sorry, Rem," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
Warmed by Tsuen's embrace, Rem wrapped up her story. "The Exchange Program people promised they'd never let something like that happen to another homestay ever again. They paid me a big settlement as an apology, but I think it was also to encourage me to not go public with my story. I didn't, but not because of the money. It's because I still believe the Exchange Program can do good. Hosts like Yuisu can do good."
When Rem finally stopped talking, she was emotionally exhausted. She slumped against Tsuen's chest and let out a long breath, then said, "I feel better now. Thank you both for listening. I've never told anyone other than my therapist before." At a low whisper, she added, "The program pays for that too."
"Any time, Rem," Mara said. Then she cautiously asked, "So that's the reason you don't let people dress you up?"
Rem nodded. "And the reason for the snack hoarding that got me in trouble with Yuisu, and the way I get quiet and scared when I eat." Then she smiled, and it was a genuine and happy smile. "But I won't let that trauma define me. It can't change who I really am, and I'm gonna keep moving forward."
Rem's smiles were always infectious, and after that harrowing story, Mara and Tsuen needed that. Mara hopped off her chair and joined the hug, making sure not to squish Rem. With her tiny friend safe and sound in that hug, Mara said, "And we'll be here to help you, every step of the way."