major_kerina | Mecchen Chapter 13 - Part One

I wound up really taking a lot of stuff out of this chapter to keep the continuity righ. But I'm glad (thought this is a pretty laid-back chapter) that this one has some really nice moment and I think it really gives certain characters like Katsumi and Mami a fair shake. I hope you all enjoy it. The 2nd part will follow in just a minute.

Chapter 13 – The Dreams of Mecchen House

Perhaps I ran a little too fast. I could feel my pants slipping, despite the best efforts of the safety pin. I tried to stop even faster. I saw Miki with her arms behind her head. Then everything started tilting to the right. I slid across the floor and my pants stayed behind. Hitting the floor hurt a lot more without a Katsumi to break my fall.

My glasses were fuzzy and tipped to one side in front of me. I slipped them back on and tried to regain my composure. I saw two of the girls standing over me. Nathan was there too. Miki asked if I was okay. Nothing seemed to be hurting. Miki and Nathan each offered a hand and I was able to get to my feet. I was down to my underwear but glad Katsumi wasn’t around to sneer about my pants falling off again.

I dusted myself off and looked at the pants on the floor. Nana picked them up and held them. She looked down. I covered my front with my hands. I turned to Ms. Ishida. She had her arms across her front and her hands balled up near her collar with a nervous little smile. I asked her, “Could I borrow a different pair of pants?” I figured rummaging through my bag wouldn’t cut it.

Tara looked down too. I felt confused. I looked down and saw a polished pair of legs shimmering back at me. They felt even silkier than before and had a nice odor, like cherry. They were thick in the thigh, undulated at the knee, and dwindled into a pair spindly ankles. My shoes by the side door would be far too big for my feet now.

Tara chirped out, “Your legs are really pretty, Keli-kun!”

I blushed and tried to cover them better. Ms. Ishida put a hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it. Miki? Could you get the box from the front of the junk room over there?” Miki nodded and Nathan offered to help.

Miki and Nathan brought around a box for me to pick through. I saw Mami seated with her hands on her head. I dug through the box. Plenty of skirts looked like they would fit me now. I passed them over. One thing looked like a kung-fu training outfit. If Nathan got any smaller, that could fit him.

I found a pair of denim shorts which would cover about two inches of leg. I was better off in underwear than that. A pair of shorts with bell-shaped legs caught my attention. They might be good for something to wear overnight. I finally chanced upon a pair of cargo pants with a tight and clingy waist. They at least fit snuggly. If there were any more changes in me, I was prepared. Unless I grew a huge butt.

I pulled at the waistband a little and took stock of my surroundings. Jamie watched me with his arms folded and a flat oval of his eyes exposed. Mami lightly slammed the card table and got to her feet. She let out a sigh and said, “Well. Good game, Miki. I gotta go now. Stuff to do…” She slipped away on the side but Miki was still able to sneak over in front of her with her arms out and her face with a concerned look. “I don’t want there to be any hard feelings on this. Let’s just say it was a friendly game with no consequences. I don’t like conflict any more than you do.”

Mami took a deep breath. “No, I lost fair. I put up the stakes. You won. Your debt is annulled. But, that doesn’t meant you can’t open a new account with me.” Miki chuckled. “That’s the spirit!” She gave Mami a pat on the side. Mami wobbled from the pat like a shuddering flame. Her face resembled a grimace. She lowered her head. “Yeah. That’s just like me, huh? Don’t worry. I always bounce back with another scheme of some sort, don’t I?” Miki scratched the back of her head with a cough and a note of, “I’d say you’re resilient.”

She flicked back a lock of her flaming tresses and said, “And I’ll always have music.”

She trudged off with half a song on her lips. She left her camera behind though. Miki let out a deep breath and looked at me. “I still do not understand that girl some days. Anyways. What did Katsumi want? I saw her…friend leave not too long ago.” Ami stood up and touched me on the shoulder. “Did Katsumi cause what happened to your legs?”

At least I could answer both questions at once. “Katsumi and Nina just talked to me. They had some concerns. We didn’t talk a lot but we talked it out.” I felt guilty for being vague but I figured telling Ami she might have an evil spirit leeching off her would not be good for her recovery.

Jamie wasn’t satisfied with just that. He rose from his apparent stupor and pursued, “What did Katsumi say exactly?”

I could answer honestly, “Katsumi didn’t say much. Well, you know how Katsumi is sometimes.” That seemed enough for most but Jamie wasn’t letting go. “Tell me what she said and tell me what that weirdo girl told you too.”
I figured he wouldn’t accept the truth that Nina had told me just enough to creep me out. At least she seemed like a girl after Katsumi’s heart. Beyond that, I was cautious not to read too much into her statement about what she knew. I didn’t want to be vague to Jamie but, considering Nana was his prime suspect, I figured he’d want me to stay cautious.

“Nina told me to be careful because she does sense something out of sorts. Other than that, I asked her about herself and she gave me rather circular and bewildering answers. Katsumi just presented Nina’s concerns and said the kinds of things she usually does. She didn’t want me to change anymore until she got back from studying with Reiko.”

Reiko lingered on my mind as well. I was sure I’d heard weeping coming from her room. It was possible Sumi was still there but she hardly seemed the sort to be crying. But then I would never suspect Reiko of the same either. Also, it could’ve been a TV program or a recording she was listening to. Or something a little more intimate…

“Keli-kun! Your face is sooo red! Did Katsumi do something to you? Naughty naughty girl!”

That just made me blush even more. Ami looked especially concerned. I waved my hand and assured everyone that, “It was nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

Tara’s eyes widened. I tried to change the subject. “So, I guess Miki won the game, huh?” Miki chuckled a bit. “Eh. It was a squeaker. Mami just missed by one. I thought it was fun. I’d have another go but I need to do some reading and get to bed early for practice. I’ll still be up for a bit if any of you guys need anything.” She waved and went into her room across the way.

Nana held out the pants for me. I passed them off to Ms. Ishida, who put them in with the dirty clothes. Jamie orbited around me with slipping pants. Nathan’s pants seemed to be sliding off his body as well. Nana found a seat nearby with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes still watching me. Jamie probed me for more details about what Katsumi said between hoisting up his pants. Eventually, I told him about Nina’s line.

He ground his fist into his hand. “I knew there was something weird about her. And you just let her go after saying that? What if she’s the one responsible for all this? We let her go and we may never find her again!”

Apparently what Miki said to Jamie had done nothing to mollify his random moments of motivation. “She’s Katsumi’s friend and Katsumi isn’t going anywhere right now.”

“But we’re wasting time. I mean look at it. Alright. We came here. Nothing definite happened the first day. Then the real changes happened this morning. Hair, height, waist, and leg shape. That’s like one change every few hours. What do you think will happen while we’re sleeping? More changes will come. We need answers.”

I gestured an arm at the books and lingered on Nana. Nana blinked. “There are still some unanswered questions to deal with”, I said. I needed to ask Nana more about ‘Hitomi’. Tara watched my arm motion and Ms. Ishida arranged a pile of laundry.

Jamie flipped a hand out. “I’m sick of reading books. You do that. I want to talk to Nina. Where are my shoes?” His head darted around. Nina sure did seem like a suspect with her behavior but I didn’t know her well enough to tell if that wasn’t just normal behavior for her.

“So you’re just gonna run after her?”

I could tell from a look at Jamie’s eyes that he didn’t have a plan for how to do this. He took a couple of breaths and sighed. “I suppose. When Katsumi is done…I could get her phone number and call her. But that still takes time! What are we supposed to do until then?”

Ami carefully stood up and said, “I’ve promised to do everything I can to help. I am at your service. I just need to get onto class work as well soon.”

I thought of Nina’s advice. Nathan sat down to keep his pants from falling off and Nana’s attention turned to him. I asked Ami, “If it’s alright, I’d like to do what I can to fix your room, maybe while you’re working?”

Ami stood her head. “You really don’t have to do that tonight. It’s okay.”

I assured her I was fine with it. I didn’t want Ami to spend the night in a room with that dark thing so near. If cleaning could do something to keep it away, I was more than willing to do it.

It took a little more prodding but, eventually, she allowed me to start cleaning a little, so long as I kept to the non-clothing items. Tara offered her assistance. I wasn’t sure how helpful she’d be, but having such a glowing presence was sure to scare away any dark beings as a side-effect.

Jamie started to say he had no interest in helping, when his pants finally slipped down. He hopped back onto the couch, on the other side of Nana. Her eyes slipped over to look at him.

Ms. Ishida pushed the box over to them and grinned. “Miki isn’t the only strong one.” She rotated an arm. “There is a reason why I’m the second-best fighter in the house.” I still wondered who was the best.

Nathan and Jamie picked through the box. Nana was covered up as they dug. She didn’t seem to mind. She accepted clothes they passed over into her arms. Eventually, she was just a head under a thick blanket of clothing.

After a lot of groaning, Jamie finally found a snug pair of jeans. The only problem was they ended a few inches below his knee, so plenty of his soft, girlish legs showed. Nathan lingered on a particular skirt, which looked like leaves, for a moment before Jamie made a noise and he set it aside. He picked a pair of nice gray pants with a colorful pink, circular buckle. Jamie didn’t look pleased by the choice but stood up and tested his pants and said, “It’ll do. Now what?”

Ms. Ishida offered to turn on the TV for Jamie. I could see him settling into what would be his typical position with head back and his legs splayed across the couch but the soft touch of his bare legs against the material made him dart up. He coughed and said, “Nah. I’ll pass. I’ll look around and see if I can figure out anything about what’s going on here by myself.”

I knew I’d have to seek out Jamie later to bring him up-to-date on my thoughts and questions. For now, I had to help Ami.

-------

Nana was putting away the clothes she’d been covered in when we left. Ms. Ishida went into her room. I heard Jamie walking about in his room when the four of us passed.

Tara was first in the room. She dove into the task, stacking little piles of paper into small buildings. Nathan wanted to move a couple of the larger items but couldn’t get enough leverage to lift them. His head hung low, spreading his hair across his face. He moved on, with slow motions, to picking through an area with Tara. Ami offered comments about what was disposable and found a set of trash bags. She noted, “It’s best if the burnables and non-burnables are sorted together along with other items and recyclables.” It sounded about like what I expected from my readings of Japanese manga.

The room felt like just another normal room with none of the foreboding darkness of last time. But I did keep a watchful eye out for potential changes, giant holes leading to dark kingdoms, wormholes, terrifying monsters, and the like.

After a while, I was able to rediscover the floor. It looked fairly beat up but at least I’d found it. Ami gave an embarrassed clap. She pitched in every so often. As I turned a booklet over in my hands, I asked her, “So, have you ever heard of a girl named ‘Hitomi’?”

She had about a half-dozen people to talk about leading from her childhood to her current class. I qualified it with, “Have any of them ever met Nana?”

“Not that I know of but Nana keeps to herself most of the time. I don’t know a lot about Nana. But I have heard stories.”

“What do you mean ‘stories’?”

She folded her legs and bowed her head with one hand supporting it from underneath like an upside-down hanger. “Well, like you know…stories people tell about people which you don’t know how much is gossip and how much is real.” My eyes flicked over to Tara, wondering if she would chime in with anything, but she was preoccupied with Nathan and wobbling a piece of paper in her hands like the world’s skinniest skyscraper.

“Do tell…” I encouraged her.

“Well, keep in mind that a lot of this is gossip. But I heard from Naoko, who I’ve known for a while, that Nana watched her family’s murder when she was a kid. It was like a Yakuza strike or something because her father borrowed a lot of money from a Yakuza boss. She survived by hiding under the body of her mother. The smell and the blood broke something inside her. She was unable to express emotions...ever again. She became a killing machine, for a while. Naoko said she heard that the reason there are no Yakuza in Ogawa is because Nana sliced them all to pieces. And, supposedly, she’s even replaced parts of her body with cybernetic, parasitic organisms which she takes care of with her massive computers. Naoko said she had tons of computers where she used to live. Naoko never saw any other family in her house when she visited her for a school project.”

I wondered if Ms. Ishida had heard this story before. She was probably sure to get a giggle out of it. I was a little concerned about Tara listening to the morbid details until I reminded myself she was the same age as Ami.

I imagined Nana with wind blowing at her gray hair and her unshifting, emotionless eyes peering forward, a samurai sword merged with her arm and pointing to the ground. Small fires erupt from a destroyed building, fueled by the pools of dark fluid and still, broken human dolls.

I remembered seeing that anime once. I wasn’t much for blood-soaked samurai shows and my mind kept imagining that stoic figure surrounded by a pile of pink clothes. But I did wonder on Nana’s statement of “Two voices speak with one heart” as well as her room filled with computers and her actions with the motherly figure during the game. And then there were also Nana’s statements about wishing she could fix things and her aptitude with knives. But did that make ‘Hitomi’ more like a multiple personality than Nana’s imaginary friend? I had to wonder if there could be some truth in this bit of gossip. But, if I accepted it, then I would have to ignore the picture in Ms. Ishida’s photo album.

I asked Ami, “What do you think?”

She shrugged her shoulders and kicked a bit of paper to the side. “Nana doesn’t bug me. She’s never hurt me. It’s rare she even comes into my room. I really don’t know what to think about her. There could be more to her than what I see or she could just be a really boring, shy girl who likes weird stuff. There was rumor from Shina which intrigued me though.”

I got my salt ready for this one too. “Oh?”

“Yeah. It makes a lot more sense. Supposedly, Shina says, she was adopted by this family when she was a baby and she’s never met her real family. But she has this secret benefactor who has taken care of her and paid her way to Mecchen House. And the secret benefactor is her biological mother, who is actually a member of the royal family from a far-off land. And supposedly her mother sent her here because she used to have a home here when she was a child.”

That one actually sounded suspiciously like what Tara had said about PYHG, though it did offer a rough explanation for the weird photo in the album, especially if Nana’s mother looked like her. But then, it ignored all the rest of the evidence. Maybe…if Nana needed all those computers to keep in contact with her mother from a distant land, it might make sense. I suspected a cellphone would be easier.

I noticed Tara’s area was already a good deal cleaner than the area I was working on. I supposed, with Nathan and Tara both working on it, things would go faster for them but all I’d seen Tara do so far was play with the items she found on the floor. Still, she did have the most organized room of any I’d seen in Mecchen House.

I did worry that my cleaning was an exercise in futility, like clipping the top off of a stalk of weeds. Despite those concerns, I continued to sort items with Ami watching nearby and flipping through a magazine she found on the floor.

I responded to her second rumor about Nana with, “So she’s royalty?”

I imagined Nana with a diamond-studded crowd around her head, her unshifting, emotionless eyes peering forward at her bowed, loyal subjects, as her hand waves to them fleetingly. She was adorned in a gossamer white gown with golden trim lit on the sides by flaming torches and flanked by lovely handmaidens dressed like perfect dolls.

Ami flipped halfway through the magazine. It looked like the magazine had gained hundreds more pages with her motion. “It kinda makes sense of how aloof she is sometimes and weird and stuff. I don’t really subscribe to it or anything but it makes the most sense out of all the ideas I’ve heard.” She shrugged.

On a whim, I asked, “What’s the most outlandish rumor you’ve heard about Nana?”

She lingered on a page. Tara made swooping sword sounds with a rolled up piece of paper. Ami took a breath. She answered, “There was this one rumor. It’s not too outlandish, I suppose, but more-so than the other two. Basically, they said, Nana is in cahoots with an alien force here to analyze our planet. That’s what all her technology is for. They communicate to her through a chip in her head.”

This time, I imagined Nana with an alien crew around her. She pulls off a human mask to reveal her unshifting, emotionless black eyes that peer forward at her loyal, alien brethren. Her hand gestures out orders in a soundless dialect. The light of glowing consoles surrounds her and doll-like robots to do her bidding.

I was beginning to feel bored.

“I see. Thanks…” Was all I said back to Ami. She cautiously picked through a pile of month-old mail.

School gossip was hardly a path to the truth. But it was good to get more than just my own and Ms. Ishida’s perspectives on Nana. I turned my eyes to Tara, who had cleared a bit of floor underneath herself and Nathan. I was understandably impressed. I asked her, “Tara? Have you heard anything about Nana? You know, her family, her situation, that sort of thing.”

Tara rolled backwards and around to face me. She brushed her hair back and leaned forward. Then she plopped back. “Nana is a whisper.”

That certainly more eloquent than what I expected to hear from Tara, as well as vague. It sounded almost like something Nana would say. I asked what she meant.

She explained thusly, “I don’t know her too well but Nana moves quietly. She watches. She only speaks when she’s really got something to say. She likes Queen Akara because I think she wants to be like that quiet whisper that helps others. I feel Nana has a really sad place deep in her heart that I wish I could help. I wish that some day she could laugh with a full voice.” Tara sat up and was stoic for a moment, then chuckled and rubbed her hair. “But I don’t know her too well.”

I nodded to Tara and let her get back to her play. Ami’s eyebrows rose. She coughed when I looked at her and said, “Umm…it’s nothing.” She set a couple of magazines aside in a pile but kept her eyes on Tara. I figured Ami wasn’t used to seeing a more serious side to Tara. I had to admit it was an interesting moment.

I mused on Tara’s reflection and thought back to when I first met Nana and the cryptic whisper when she uttered of a series of colors. I could only remember emerald, crimson, and azure. If only I’d listened closer. Her touch reminded me of a whisper too. And that statement on the steps was a whisper as well. The air even whispered to me once. I could easily see Tara’s comparison but I still had no idea what it meant for Nana and for me.

-------

Ami gave a thinly-veiled yawn which brought small crystals to the sides of her eyes. She flexed her neck one way then the other and said, “I thank you all for helping. It’s getting better but it’s also getting late and I need to get ready to wind down and prep for class tomorrow.”

We hadn’t made much of a dent but at least it was progress. Nathan and Tara left first. Tara said she had another outfit she wanted to show Nathan. I suspected that meant I would find Nathan in another dress very shortly. I said my goodnights to Ami and made my way to Jamie’s room. His work on the room was rough but exceptional for him. He was looking through a series of magazines.

“Anything good?” I leaned over.

He looked up and set the magazines aside. “Not really. How’d things go? Less of a disaster?”

I shrugged. “We made some definite progress.” I explained how the cleaning group split up.

Jamie leaned against a wall. “Show an outfit? Alright. So what’s up with you?”

I really had no idea where to begin with untangling this mess of every thought I’d wrapped around my mind like a tightly-wound ball of string. I couldn’t even find an end to pull on.

So I began with, “It’s complex. Tell me what happened with you and Miki.”

Jamie looked annoyed. “She talked for a long time about a bunch of stuff.” That sure sounded like a lazy summary.

“About?”

He counted on his fingers. “Girl stuff. Clothing stuff. Emotion stuff. You know. All that. It’s over though.”

“Really? It helped with how you feel about being here?”

He shrugged this time. “I guess. I don’t think I’ll go running off. It’s not gonna fix anything and I’m pretty worn out anyways. It stinks that I have to use this weird voice when I want to talk. At least Miki made my hair less of a pain but it’s offset by how I have to keep all this hair restrained. Oh, she told me about that too, how to do the pins for myself so it keeps the hair out of my eyes. I still don’t get how you got off with short hair. If this world is responsible then it’s just as unfair as our old world. It better not make me next to change, otherwise I’m gonna….”

He trailed off and sighed. “So do I get to ask questions now?”

I encouraged Jamie to ask whatever questions he had for me in return. His first was, “So what the heck really happened between you, that weirdo girl, and the other weirdo girl?”

Since Ami was a couple rooms over, I told him, “Katsumi said her usual stuff about wanting to see me change into a girl and if I’d changed any more. Nina though was kinda mysterious. She offered no real answer to what Katsumi said. She told me two important things. First, Ami is being followed by a dangerous spirit and the best way to help is to clean Ami’s room. With what I experienced in her room, I was willing to give it a try.”

Naturally, Jamie then asked what happened. I told him about the dark, the feelings, and what Ami said. He chuckled and asked, “You trying to fool me?”

“Hardly.” I assured him.

“You realize I don’t believe any of this mystical junk for a second.”

I coughed. “We’re slowly changing gender in a parallel universe which looks like the most detailed anime I’ve ever seen and yet you dismiss things which have no scientific explanation.”

“I’m not allowed my opinions? I just don’t believe in ghosts or demons or any of that junk. Us changing and such nonsense do not compare.”

At least Jamie wasn’t yelling, so I decided to leave it be with, “Still, the experience made me feel I had to do what I could to help Ami.”

He snorted, which came out more like a squeak with his voice. “So what’s the second thing?”

“Nina also said, when I flippantly asked her for something definite, ‘I'm sure you'll be a pretty girl.’.”

Jamie folded his arms. “Considering she’s Katsumi’s friend, why should that be surprising?”

“It makes me suspicious.”

He leaned forward sharply. The pins and clip held well. “That makes you suspicious? Let’s look at things in proportion here. On the one side we have the tower of peculiar things built around Nana. And all around is a scattering of ‘what ifs’. Face it. Focus on Nana and we’re sure to figure out what’s going on. And we can’t get anything from those books. We gotta go to the source.”

My next question was, “So why are you here and not over wherever grilling her with questions?”

“If it really is her, like fun I’m gonna go running into the lion’s den to meet up with whatever she’s got going. And why aren’t you?”

“I’ve been asking her questions all along. I questioned Ami and Tara to see if I could find out more about her. Soon, I’ll confront her with what I know and see if I can put together her involvement in things.”

Jamie rested his head on a hand. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“Well, I’m gonna check around. I suppose I’ll ask whoever else I can about Nana then I’ll start getting ready for bed. There was a sleeping outfit I considered so I’ll probably see if that needs washing then I’ll go through the rest and wind down.”

Jamie’s head arced up. “You can actually think of falling asleep like this?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“Man. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get any sleep tonight. I keep wondering if whatever’s doing this will do a heck of a lot more. I mean, consider we’ve had like three distinct changes since we got back here at around lunchtime. That’d be like a good night of sleep. Imagine if it kept going unabated while we slept. What would we look like then?”

He was right. There was no reason why it would stop overnight. I couldn’t offer him any reassurances, so I just asked, “What can you do?”

He looked at me. “What I had been considering for a while. But if I ran, I’d have no one between me and potential dangers. For now, this is the best place out of all, despite everything. As Miki said, ‘at least it’s warm and cozy’. But I won’t be tied to it if the need arises to get out of here for my own good. Tomorrow, we’re going to take the necessary steps towards solving this. I’m not going to let myself get trapped in a body that makes me suffer. One way or another, I won’t let it happen.”

That felt rather ominous. A memory of the sound of screeching tires echoed through my head. It wasn’t a recent memory. It was much older and felt like amorphous smoke in the shadows.

I set my jaw. “I won’t let you or anyone take the easy way out.”

“Relax. I told you I wasn’t gonna do that again. I have a little tolerance for pain anyway. But being something I’m not will be painful as well. I’m just saying I figure something will have to give in the end.” He shut his eyes a moment. That wasn’t particularly encouraging to hear either.

“I will get us home and I will set things right.”

He sighed and muttered, “Home.” He knocked his soft feet together thrice. Nothing happened. “It’s easier in movies.” Then his eyes suddenly darted open and he looked around as though something had touched him on the shoulder.

“What is it?”

He blew a long, slow stream of air out his circle of a mouth and said, “I just had a weird moment there. It felt like I was back in my room. I felt the DVDs to my right and my bed and all the rest. I could feel it like sound bouncing off something.” He stood and felt through the air. “It felt as real as all the stuff you see around here.”

I looked around. Nothing had changed from a moment before. “You felt your room?”

He nodded. “Weird stuff but it was there, more than just a memory, like someone had stretched it out and distorted it and it finally shifted into a recognizable shape.”

I rubbed my head. Despite how weird it sounded, I’d also caught hints of the same sort of thing.

“What do you think it means?”

“Like I would know… Eh. It’s gone anyway. Probably like some messed up form of déjà vu or something. Oh well. It’s not a deal-breaker if this room is weird. I’ve seen the bathroom on this floor and it is well worth it. I like to be between.”

I remembered. Jamie made a big deal of having the middle bedroom in the apartment. Nathan liked having the first one and I went with the last one in the hall because it had a great view out the window. It must’ve been unconscious habit that we settled into the same general arrangement here. First, middle, and last. But my new room’s only view was of a flat-chested boy-hater.

Jamie cracked his colorful knuckles and said, “If there’s nothing else, my questions are satisfied and I have stuff to deal with. I figure I might as well sift through those dumb books a little more, just in case.”

We ventured down to the first floor but parted company when Jamie picked up a couple of the books set aside and his bag. I picked up my bag and dug through the box. I found the outfit which caught my eye before easily enough. Beyond that, I was interested in a pair of flannel pants despite the fact they were much too small for me to wear. If I continued to change then it might fit. I noticed a conspicuous lack of personality to the pants and jeans compared with the girliest of clothing in the box. It was a trend I noticed throughout anime shows as well. I was glad there was something unisex for me to dress in and I didn’t have to lose money to get it.

I went inconspicuously by Reiko’s room. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary for studying. I clutched my overfilled bag with one arm and scurried over three flights of chestnut stairs to the top floor. I saw Mami’s door wide open. I could hear music playing through the opening. It wasn’t loud but it was loud enough to sound like pumped in Muzak. I peered through the opening.

Mami sure seemed like the sort who would live a consumerist life, so the simplicity of her room surprised me. There were no frivolous items scattered about. It wasn’t perfectly organized but things seemed to have their place. The music player she had on looked effective but not expensive. Everything had a sense of someone who obsessed over coupons and discounts. It hardly seemed like the room of a girl who would bet an entire debt on winning one figurine.

She was resting on the end of the bed with her legs draped over the side and her arms above her head. The music was instrumental and Mami hummed along with it. I made an intentionally-loud footfall, nowhere as loud as Katsumi’s but loud enough to get Mami to turn her head and glance over at me. She sat up with her legs folded under her, “You need something?”

“The door was open so I wanted to see if you were alright…since we’ll be sharing the same floor.”

The music played to a crescendo. She shrugged. “Nothing that’ll kill me, just some disappointment in myself.”

I rubbed a hand. “I can’t say much about what happened. I don’t know you very well but that seemed like an…unequal wager to make. Kinda odd too.”

“I had my reasons. Can I leave it at that?”

“Sure…”

She tapped on her feet, bowed her head, and came back with a silken smile which seemed to reignite the flame of her locks. “With that aside, I’m always open to new propositions. I’ve taken some of your finances and said a few things that…well I’m guessing that isn’t quite as embarrassing as what is happening to the three of you now. Still, I regret the latter. Just so you know.”

She leaned on her arm nearest me and offered a conciliatory smile. I told her that it was fine. Really, with everything, I hadn’t thought much of it.

She added, “Also. I want you to know I will offer you the chance to win back your money, especially if it came to a critical issue. I’m sympathetic to those who have…monetary concerns. Not to say that it would be free…”

I looked around her room. “I appreciate that.”

“Just who I am.”

I had to wonder if she was applying some sort of strategy she’d learned from class for dealing with and manipulating people to her advantage. I set aside those concerns and went for my key questions. Since she shared a floor with Nana, I figured she might know more about her.

“Excuse me. What can you tell me about Nana?”

She leaned forward. “Are you looking for roommate general impressions or something of the deeper sort which may have a certain…value?”

“If you could start with something free, that would be better.”

Mami made a muted raspberry with her mouth. “Well. I haven’t been here for very long. Nana was the first tenant when Ms. Ishida took over Mecchen on her own. She actually kinda arrived like you guys did. Ms. Ishida was thinking about continuing things as a house for high school girls but she was just musing on it. Then Nana just appeared one day on her doorstep. She says that was her inspiration to go forward and reopen the place. She told me once that Nana always felt vaguely-familiar to her although she could never place her. And she mentioned…uh well, as I said, she’s always been curious about her.”

Mami’s pause made me wonder and her statement made me feel guilty I hadn’t said more to Ms. Ishida about the photos I found. I made a promise to tell her the next time I saw her.

“What do you think?”

Mami stretched a leg. “I think it’s unfair how some people label Nana as a weirdo. Mostly people around school. I feel like she’s someone whose thread has been broken. You know, separated from who they care about. Alone. And that room…I don’t want to mess with it. The glow that comes from it is enough to make me shiver. We did have a business relationship for a while but it’s like she doesn’t care about money, so I couldn’t continue it. I really feel for her sometimes, you know, especially how she’s viewed by others.”

Mami pulled her legs close to her. She brushed her hair back like a nervous flame. “And it’s really hard to get a new label once someone finds one for you. All you can do is be good-natured about it and try to really play it up and burn through it.” She leaned back on her bed and let her legs slide out. She had really curved legs. Not as much as her triangular hips but they still caught my eyes. The fleshy part seemed focused on the front. It was a bit sobering to ponder that my legs weren’t vastly different from hers.

She sat up and yawned. It was an adorable, anime yawn. “Anything else? I was just going to take my bath. Want to join me? I’ll wash your back.”

I looked at her, stunned as to what to say in response. She smiled and added. “What better way to get great photos of your change? Speaking of that, I need to go get my camera.” I wasn’t about to let myself be photographed nude in such a state, let alone any state.

I heard thundering steps across the floor. It had to be Katsumi. I saw her long-haired visage pass a moment through the door frame. She stopped and looked in.

“Oh. You two. Can I borrow a pencil, Mami?”

“Usual loan fee?”

“Fine…” She went into her room and came back with a couple of yen coins. Mami passed her a pencil in exchange. Katsumi paused to look at me. “You bathe yet?”

Mami jumped in. “We were just discussing that. He says not yet, so I proposed a group bath.”

“No. I remember the last time I bathed with you.”

“Aww… Sweet little me?” Katsumi rolled her eyes. “Not tonight and not with any cameras of any sort. I’ve learned that lesson.”

She looked at me. “And not tonight for you either unless your changes speed up a little. You can go ahead and take a bath. I have stuff I need to do first.” Her heavy footfalls left the room and faded away. Mami slapped her knees. “Well? Bath?”

I looked around. “Wait. Are you serious?”

“Sure! Why not? There’s a couple of towels in the closet. I’ll let you borrow one.”

I felt flush. “Because, no matter what’s happening, I’m still a boy.” Mami shrugged and pulled on her top. “You sure don’t sound like one and you look less and less like one all the time.”

“Why would you want to?”

“Call me old-fashioned.”

“I don’t follow…”

“Well, you may come from another universe or something but last century communal, opposite sex bathing used to be the norm here. Then things changed. Public baths became separated and, lately, even pubic baths have been on the decline, along with awareness of history.” She slipped her top off with a good pull, revealing her off-white, silken bra. The waistband was creased in the back. She smoothed it out and looked to be slipping it off.

I stammered a few sounds out before she stopped and looked. “What is it?”

“I just don’t feel comfortable with this. Please.”

She slipped her hands away from her back. A smile blazed on her face. “Alright. I won’t take long. If I don’t see ya before tomorrow, sleep well.”

That was a peculiar reversal. The whole incident felt more like something Sumi would pull. I’d expect Mami to charge for co-ed bathing and a washed back.

“That’s it? I don’t understand.”

She snagged a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Really? Just because Ami is the drama queen doesn’t mean she’s the only one who can act up a storm.”

I rubbed my head. This definitely put a wrinkle in things. If she was toying with me then how much could I believe of what she’d said? She squirted something on her hands and added, “You learn a lot about people when you ask them to vulnerable or let yourself be vulnerable too. How they respond to that can tell you much about them.”

I pinched my nose and sighed. “So you never intended to bathe with me?”

“I don’t know you that well but I do favor communal bathing, so I’d have done it. I’ve never gotten embarrassed by bathing in groups before, so it wouldn’t bother me. Ask me again when and if your change finishes.”

I felt utterly perplexed. “If you were acting, how much of what you said to me was true?”

She tossed her hair like flames caught in a sudden breeze. “There’s more truth in what I said than you’d suspect.” She winked and waved bye to me.