Volume 16 - The Mountain, Chapter 124 - Drastic Measures
"Excuse me, Miss Yuisu?" Sya said. Her black and white striped tail flicked through the air as she stepped up to the inn's front desk. She was wearing one of her several similar looking maid outfits, which simultaneously managed to look subservient and noble at the same time.
Yuisu looked up from her paperwork and said, "What's up, Sya?" She could tell Sya was trying to hide how nervous she was, which was unusual for her.
"Uh, I was hoping to talk to you about something. I wasn't sure whether to bring it up, given your relationship, but…" Sya trailed off, pawing at the floor with a wide, furry foot.
"If it's bothering you this much, please just say what's on your mind. I won't hold it against you, whatever it is," Yuisu answered. She still wasn't totally confident in her leadership abilities, but she felt she was doing a decent job of being a friendly and approachable boss.
Sya swallowed, pushed her glasses up her nose, then said, "It's about Haru and Hakuto. More specifically, it's about their pranks."
Yuisu nodded. "It's gotten really bad, hasn't it? I'd hoped they would be bored of it by now."
Sya steeled herself and said, "Those pranks have caused me some hardship, and I fear that their recklessness could affect some guests and hurt the inn's profits. I believe we need to get them to stop, but I felt it wasn't my place to question Haru, so I came to you."
Yuisu quickly said, "Fair enough. I agree that we need to get them to stop."
Sya took a half step back in surprise. She had expected more resistance from Yuisu, considering her romantic relationship with Haru.
Yuisu thought for a moment, then said, "I'll talk to Haru right away. Can you find Hakuto and talk to her? I'm thinking we can persuade them if we stress the fact that the pranks are harming the inn and increasing the maid workload."
Sya smiled and gave a small bow. "I will talk to Hakuto, and I'll let you know how it goes. Thank you for hearing me out, Miss Yuisu."
"No problem," Yuisu said, though there was actually a small problem: Yuisu didn't know how to confront Haru. They'd been dating for a year and a half, but they'd rarely had disagreements. Well, there's a first time for everything, she thought.
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Under a weathered tree stump in a small meadow, a pure white rabbit peeked out of its burrow. It sniffed at the air, then hopped out into the open. Despite the beautiful summer weather, Hakuto was on edge after being on the receiving end of so many pranks.
"Ah, miss Hakuto. It's nice to see you again."
Hakuto froze. She didn't recognize the voice, and she had no idea how its owner had snuck up on her without her noticing.
"Oh, I'm sorry for startling you. It can be hard to turn off my natural predator stealthiness," the voice said again in an exotic Russian accent.
The message was not as reassuring as it had been intended to be. Hakuto crouched low and turned her head slowly, her red eyes wide and watching for the mysterious predator. Soon, a tall and regal woman came into view, wearing an ornate white, blue, red and gold dress that was short in the front but long and flowing in the back. It was the inn's head maid, Sya.
[https://i.imgur.com/513sX4L.png]
Hakuto calmed down, at least a little. "Uh, hello, Sya," she said. Her voice was higher pitched than normal, thanks to her small rabbit form and her frazzled nerves.
Sya swept a paw behind her legs to get her long dress clear, then knelt down to be closer to Hakuto. In a kind voice, she asked, "Yuisu asked me to talk to you. Is this a good time?"
After a brief hesitation, Hakuto said, "Yes, now is fine." Then she noticed Sya's beautiful dress touching the ground and she said, "But we can go inside if you want. I hate to see your nice clothes getting dirty."
Sya chuckled. "A maid's clothes are bound to get a bit dirty, but thank you for the consideration. Since the weather's so nice, how about we compromise and sit at the new picnic tables?"
Hakuto smiled, though it was barely visible on her rabbit face. She was relieved to learn that Sya was far more collected and reasonable than Hakuto had expected from a predator-type liminal. "Sure," she answered, then she transformed to her humanoid form in a blur of white and red.
[https://i.imgur.com/JN1e5yI.png]
With pine needles and grass crunching beneath their paws, they made their way to the picnic area. During the short hike, Hakuto noticed for the first time that she and Sya shared some similar features, with their large paws and their long, fur-covered legs. They even had similarly short skirts that showed off those legs.
As they sat down at the closest table, Hakuto carefully tucked her skirt's meager fabric under herself to protect her bare thighs from potential splinters. Then she she said, "So what did you want to talk about?"
Sya pushed her glasses into place with one sharp claw. "To put it simply: your prank war with Haru. There is a danger that someone could be hurt, and it is negatively impacting the maids and the Inn in general."
Hakuto slumped in her seat. "Oh, that." She should have known that she'd be confronted about it eventually.
Sya continued with a lecturing tone, "Rem and I have had to clean up the messes caused by the pranks, and it's possible that the guests will form poor opinions of the Inn when they witness such childish behavior from permanent residents." Sya paused for a breath then said, "I realize you are not one of Yuisu's homestays and we have no authority over you, but I'd like to ask you to stop pulling pranks entirely."
Hakuto took a deep breath, then said, "I am sorry about that. It had been so long since I was able to be mischievous, and I guess I got carried away. I never meant to affect others with my pranks."
Sya leaned forward, her piercing blue eyes locked on Hakuto's own red ones. "So you'll promise to stop the pranks?"
Hakuto swallowed hard, then answered, "I promise to stop playing pranks, if Haru does as well." With an intense look in her eyes, she added, "But if she doesn't stop, I won't just take it lying down."
Satisfied, Sya leaned back on her bench and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Very well. I'll hold you to that. Yuisu will be speaking to Haru today to get a similar promise from her. With any luck, we can put this silly prank war behind us for good."
Then Sya leaned forward, smiled, and said, "So how have you been? We haven't really had a chance to socialize before, you and I."
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"Haru, can we talk?" Yuisu sat cross legged on their bed while Haru got ready for her shift at work. Yuisu brushed her bangs to the side, but they kept falling back into her eyes. Her hair was at that length where she either needed to start pinning her bangs aside or get them cut.
"Sure, babe, though not for too long. I have to fly out in a few minutes," Haru answered, then she continued picking out her clothes for work. Considering she'd be wearing an apron over whatever she picked, her outfit wouldn't matter much, but Haru was always fashion-conscious.
"That should be enough," Yuisu said. "It's about your pranks on Hakuto…"
"And her pranks on me?" Haru interjected.
"…Yes, and her pranks on you." Yuisu sighed, then continued, "They all need to stop. It isn't fair to the other homestays or the maids to have to put up with them, and they could hurt the inn in general. I've already had to field some strange questions from guests about your Easter egg stunt."
Yuisu took a deep breath and added, "It isn't fair to me either. I can't even imagine what I'd do if my dream of running this inn died because it got a bad reputation from these stupid pranks. Worst case scenario aside, what if instead of a couple store-bought manga, it had been my signed Cat and Mouse Game collection that got ruined? The one you bought for me?"
Haru slumped to the floor, finally feeling the true impact of her actions, the dangers of her careless prank war. But at the same time, her pride and sense of justice were not satisfied.
[https://i.imgur.com/dCxb8JJ.png]
Her cheeks flushed pink and she said, "I really am sorry that you got caught up in it, but I didn't start it, and most of the damage was Hakuto's fault."
Yuisu's jaw clenched tight. Haru's pitiful pout and distracting cleavage couldn't hold a candle to Yuisu's frustration. She said, "I don't care whose fault it is, I just want it to stop. Don't do any more pranks, and just let the prank war die, okay?"
Haru hesitated. Her next prank was already in motion, just waiting on a package to arrive. The prank was simple and narrow, and Haru believed it had no chance of affecting Yuisu or the inn. After that prank, she felt she could call things even with Hakuto.
After slightly too long, Haru said, "Alright. I won't start any more pranks." Then she flapped her wings to lift herself to her feet and returned to her cubbies of clothes. "Now I've gotta get ready for work. Love you, Yuisu."
Yuisu crawled off the bed, stood up, and went to the door. "I love you, too," she said. She wanted to be happy with how things played out, but she doubted it was actually done. Despite her powerful emotional appeal, Yuisu knew how stubborn Haru could be.
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The next day, Haru's package arrived, containing a bottle of pink hair dye. She didn't trust her clumsy wings to handle it without staining her own feathers, so she reached out to a fellow troublemaker.
"Hey, Mara. Can you help me out with something? It should be fun," Haru said into Mara's dimly lit room.
The tiny pink arachne turned from her computer screen to see Haru at her bedroom door. With Tsuen away at work for the day, Mara had immersed herself in the fantasy world of an MMO, but she wasn't in the middle of anything crucial. "Sure!" she answered without even bothering to ask for specifics.
"Awesome. I knew I could count on you," Haru said as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
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Then she detailed her plan to add pink hair dye to Hakuto's favorite new shampoo. Mara would do the mixing since she had dexterous fingers, and thanks to her conveniently pink coloration any spilled dye wouldn't even show on her carapace-covered hands.
Ever since Hakuto discovered the joy of fragrant hair care products, she'd been using the inn's bathing room nightly. Haru didn't really see the point of getting so clean right before sleeping in a dirty burrow, but she wouldn't let that stop her from capitalizing on Hakuto's routine. The rabbit spirit would be colored pink within a day.
"Ooh, this prank is awesome, Haru!" Mara said, barely able to contain her excitement at being included in the wacky prank war that she'd been observing from the sidelines. "She'll be bright pink just like me!" Then she scratched her chin with one leg and mused, "But will this stuff wash out?"
Haru nodded. "Yeah, it should wash out eventually, especially since it won't have time to set in properly."
After that, Mara was eager to put the prank into action. She swiped Hakuto's lavender-scented shampoo from the bathing room, then passed through the connected laundry room to hide inside the restroom where she could work over the sink. The shampoo bottle was already half-empty, so she added a few squirts of the condensed dye then shook it until it was blended smooth.
The resulting shampoo was definitely a deeper pink than before, but Haru was banking on Hakuto not paying much attention while she was washing up. With any luck, she'd shampoo all the fur on her body before she realized something was amiss.
With spider-like stealth, Mara returned the bottle to its shelf in the shared bathing room, then she skittered back to her bedroom. She spent the day playing PC games until Yuisu came by that evening.
"Hey Mara, it's dinner time. Is Tsuen around?" Yuisu said.
"Oops, I forgot that I was supposed to tell you she's got a meeting tonight at the new Ski Lodge. Meeting the new staff or something. She'll eat there and be back late."
"Ah, no worries. Her salad will keep 'til tomorrow. I'd offer for Hakuto to join us and eat it, but she's still on edge from that prank war. Thank God that's over now."
Mara blinked her six eyes. "Huh? The prank war's not over."
"Yes it is. They both promised to stop," Yuisu said firmly.
"Was that before or after the pink dye prank?" Mara asked.
"Pink dye prank? …Oh goddammit," Yuisu muttered, then she turned and sprinted down the hallway to the laundry room. She slid to a stop, with some help from the laundry room door handle, then flung the door open.
In the spacious room, Sya was folding a basketful of freshly cleaned towels. She flinched at Yuisu's sudden entrance and said, "Oh, it's just you, Miss Yuisu. What has you in such a hurry?"
"I'm trying to stop a pr—"
"Eeeek!" A scream echoed from the tile-walled bathing room, cutting right through the frosted glass door. A second later, the door crashed open and Hakuto stepped through.
She had a towel wrapped around her middle, and another clenched in one paw. Both had pink smudges all over them, but that was nothing compared to the bright pink that had saturated her hair, ears, arms, and legs. Every bit of her visible fur had been dyed deeply pink. It seemed she had unknowingly worked the tainted shampoo into her fur and let it sit for a while, only opening her eyes after she went to dry off.
Sya and Yuisu both immediately winced with understanding of what had happened.
"H-Hakuto… Maybe I can hel—" Yuisu started, but she was interrupted again.
From the doorway, Haru said, "I heard a scream. Is everyone okay?" As she saw Hakuto, a rather unpleasant grin oozed onto her face and her tone of voice changed from one of concern to one of cold mockery. "Now you really look the part, Little Miss Easter Bunny!" Haru said as she stepped further into the room.
Hakuto's already emotion-filled expression turned sour. "That's it. My promise is officially revoked," she spat. Then she dropped both of her towels to the floor, but before anyone could catch a glimpse of her naked body, she transformed.
There was a flash of motion and where a woman had been, there was now a small and very pink rabbit. Hakuto now looked more like a plush toy than a living creature. Haru laughed aloud at the sight, at least until that rabbit jump-kicked her in the face with surprising force.
Wings spread wide, Haru toppled backwards into a shelf. While it collapsed, scattering bottles of detergent and folded linen, Hakuto darted past her and out the door. No one was able see how the pink rabbit opened the sliding glass door to the outdoors, but they were able to hear it happen.
The stunned harpy picked herself up off the floor and checked herself for damage or spilled soap, but she seemed fine. Still chuckling a little, she sauntered out of the room, leaving Sya and Yuisu with the mess.
They looked at the mess and then at each other. Yuisu frowned and said, "We tried…"
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Several days passed with no new pranks, but everyone in the house was expecting them to resume in full force at any time. Hakuto had made it very clear that she'd only stop if Haru did, and after the pink dye prank, the ball was in Hakuto's court.
While flying home from the butcher's, Haru caught a strange scent on the wind, so she started to investigate what she was pretty sure was Hakuto's next prank. All around the inn, Haru found signs of a large animal, the first since Hakuto has used her mountain spirit powers to send them all away. But it wasn't a deer for Haru to hunt: it appeared to be a genuine Asian black bear.
"Ha, she's resorted to luring a bear here to cause trouble, huh?" Haru said to herself as she closely examined a large paw print in the soft mountain soil. If the tracks weren't enough evidence, Haru could also smell the distinctive scent of a bear all over the property. "I'll need to kick its ass and scare it away from civilization before it hurts someone."
But that was easier said than done. When Haru tried to track the bear down, every trail went suspiciously cold. Tracks would suddenly end, the scent would fade away, and there'd be no trace of the hefty creature. She was convinced that it was just Hakuto using her powers to make things even more difficult.
That night over dinner, Haru made sure to tell Yuisu and the other homestays of the threat, but she assured them that she'd have the bear scared off in no time. She ended with, "I think I finally found a good trail that should lead me to the bear for sure."
Tsuen looked rather shaken as she said, "I hope you do. The thought of such a big wild animal out there is scary…"
Mara patted Tsuen on the arm. "It'll be fine. You're way bigger than it, and I rarely leave the house, so we're safe," she said with a cheesy grin.
Aluru waved her hand with a flourish. "And I'm a plant, so I'm safe from meat-eating predators."
Haru shook her head. "Bears are omnivorous. You should be careful, too, Aluru."
Mara giggled and said, "Yeah, you'd be a well-rounded meal for the bear."
Aluru went a paler shade of green and muttered, "That's not the way I like to be eaten…"
Yuisu and Rem stayed silent through the conversation. Haru figured they weren't keen on the fact that the pranks had resumed, and they were probably worried about the inn's guests.
Haru stood up and announced, "Don't worry. Bears without cubs to protect aren't typically aggressive. Just be careful and alert until I can track it down. I think I'll have it chased off by this time tomorrow."
Yuisu nodded, but then firmly said, "You should be careful too, Haru. Even a small black bear can be dangerous when cornered, and you said those footprints were pretty big."
"Yeah, it's likely female, and between 4 and 5 feet long. But I'll be careful," Haru replied, then she sat back down and resumed her dinner with gusto. She was secretly thrilled to have an interesting mission, and she'd grown to enjoy her rivalry with Hakuto.
The atmosphere was tense for the rest of the meal, then everyone went back to their rooms. Haru went to bed early so she could get an early start in the morning. Yuisu joined her, saying that the bear situation had been rather tiring for her.
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Haru awoke at dawn to find Yuisu's side of the bed empty, with a folded note on the pillow. It said, "I've got a meeting with Sya and her host family. They picked me up to get breakfast in town. Be back later."
Haru read it, then thought, That's actually convenient. Two less people to worry about if this goes wrong somehow.
She got dressed in a dark green vest and camo-print pants, more for the aesthetic than camouflage, since there was little she could do about her white wings. She also pulled on some durable talon covers. She wouldn't be able to fly in the densest part of the forest, and they would protect her feet while she clambered over rock and wood. Then she ate a light breakfast, did some stretches, and set out while the sun was still low over the mountaintops.
Haru found the promising trail again and followed it deep into a thickly forested area. In addition to the bear's scent, she picked up a strong earthy smell that she thought might be a cave. She thought, Oh, she's moved into a cave, huh? It's a good thing that my dark-vision is even better than a bear's.
Then Haru went still. She heard a rustling sound, not far to the south, deeper into the dense thicket of trees. Cautiously, she crept around a large pine to get a better look. Then she froze for a different reason. Where she'd expected a bear, she found Hakuto, faintly-pink fur and all.
Hakuto looked very nervous and out of her element. She didn't seem to want to be there in the least. Then she spotted Haru and blurted, "What are you doing here? Did you lure that bear to my burrow? She attacked the entrance, trying to get in. Thank goodness I wasn't home at the time."
Haru tilted her head 90 degrees. "Huh? You're the one that brought that bear onto the property. But I guess she got away from you and messed up your little mud-hole?"
Hakuto shook her head vehemently. "No, I did no such thing! I don't know where this bear came from and I'm actually trying to send her away." She looked down at the ground and added, "But I can't seem to find her, even with my mountain spirit powers. I think something's really weird with that bear. I'm worried that she isn't a natural creature after all. Maybe it's a feral nature spirit…"
Haru leaned against a tree and glared at Hakuto for a bit, trying to decide whether to believe her. She's either an amazing actor, or she's saying what she truly believes. Which isn't to say it's definitely true. Then Haru said, "Well, if you weren't actually responsible, I guess I saw some strange things, like tracks that just ended suddenly. And its scent is unusual in a way I can't place, not quite like a normal bear…"
Just then, several branches snapped loudly to the north. Haru and Hakuto both turned to look, then a massive roar came from that direction. It was loud enough to shake tree branches and leave both women's sensitive ears ringing.
Haru looked at Hakuto, wide-eyed, and said, "If it's actually a feral nature spirit, is it dangerous?"
Hakuto nodded quickly, looking absolutely terrified. "Very."
The forest was too dense for Haru to fly, so she started running. On her way past, she pushed Hakuto with a wing and said, "C'mon, we need to go."
Hakuto bolted and quickly got far ahead of Haru, who wasn't nearly as effective a runner. As she deftly hopped over a fallen log, Hakuto heard a sound that could only be Haru tripping and falling. She also heard more branches snapping behind Haru. The bear-spirit was catching up.
Swallowing her fear, Hakuto turned back and helped Haru to her feet. She stayed with her as they covered the rest of the distance out of the dense forest. Hakuto's instincts screamed for her to run faster, but she refused to leave Haru behind.
After what felt like forever, two weathered and weary liminals stepped out into the light, arm in arm. As their eyes adjusted to the brightness, they saw Yuisu standing there, barely 30 feet from the thicket.
In a panic, Haru yelled, "Yuisu, you need to get out of here! There's some sort of spirit bear right behind us. Run!"
To Haru's complete confusion, Yuisu smiled and pointed over Haru's shoulder. "You mean that one?"
Haru's head whipped around and she saw the bear for the first time. More accurately, she saw Sya wearing plain dark clothes, with bear paws on her feet and hands. On her shoulder was Rem in similarly dark clothing, albeit doll-sized.
"You two?" was all Haru managed to say.
Sya nodded and smiled. "Correct. There is no bear, spirit or otherwise."
Hakuto meekly said, "That roar was just you?"
With uncharacteristic excitement, Sya said, "Indeed! Among all animals, tigers are second only to lions in roar volume, and that applies to liminals as well. I can demonstrate if you'd like."
Hakuto shook her head. "No, that's okay. I've been terrified enough for one day."
While Hakuto seemed satisfied that the danger was gone, Haru was not satisfied at all. She looked from Sya to Yuisu and practically begged, "What's going on?"
"I'll explain on the walk back to the house," Yuisu said. Then she described how she and Sya had realized that they needed to take drastic measures to put a stop to the prank war. They decided to prank Haru and Hakuto in a way that would make them feel for each other.
Yuisu had ordered black bear scent from a hunting store and bought some costume bear paws. Then Sya played the part of bear and used them to make it look like a bear was on the property and around Hakuto's burrow.
"I should have seen right through such an obviously fake bear, but I never found any sign of Sya. And what was with the tracks just disappearing?" Haru asked.
Rem waved from Sya's shoulder and proudly answered, "Gremlin magic!"
Sya nodded and added, "Her cleaning magic removed all evidence of our meddling, be it sight or scent. It ended up making the bear a bit more mysterious than I'd planned, but Hakuto's 'nature spirit' theory was quite convenient."
When the group reached the back porch of the inn, Yuisu turned and addressed Haru and Hakuto. "So, now that you've worked together to escape a terrifying spirit bear, can you please drop the prank war? We really can't afford to risk the inn's reputation on a dumb vendetta."
Haru blinked twice, then tilted her head. "Wait. Wasn't your bear prank a danger to the inn as well? Weren't the guests afraid of the bear?"
Yuisu smiled a devious smile. "Nope. We never told any of the guests, and I'll put up a notice saying that any rumored bear sightings in the area were false, just in case a guest overheard something." Then she put her hands on her hips and repeated, "Well, do you promise to stop the pranks?"
Almost in unison, Haru and Hakuto both said, "Yes. I promise."
Then, in a surprising show of humility, Haru pulled Hakuto into a feathery hug and whispered, "Thank you for coming back for me."
Hakuto replied, "No, thank you. Without your push, I may not have been able to get moving in the first place."
Haru stepped out of the hug and gave Hakuto a kind smile. "So… friends?"
Hakuto's ears perked up and she smiled back. "Definitely."