major_kerina | Mecchen House Chapter 20

And here's the next bit to read ^_^

Though her answer tripped me up a little, it actually made the most sense. And it also told me she had knowledge of not only Brookville but of what I did in my own room.

Some progress.

I challenged her with this supposition and said, “I assume this means those three figures were…?”

“The images of my sisters.”

A straight answer.

I pressed my hands together. “Alright. Why…? Why would I put those figures of...sisterly forms…in my room?”

It wasn’t fully clear to me where I was leading this. I wondered about Jamie’s hypothesis that this girl just had the wrong trio. Perhaps there was some way to poke holes in her own assumptions and ultimately set things right.

“They were reminders. Fragments of memory. I learned from them in making my own.” Hitomi’s gaze lingered low with distance to her words. It seemed almost like she was in a trance.

I waved my hand a little and asked, “You okay?”

“Yes. I’m glad you’re here, my sister.” She managed a head nod.

I continued, “You mentioned ‘your own’. Do you mean the brown, blue, and purple animal figures which gave us visions?”

Hitomi sighed. “My best efforts and they are still so full of flaws.”

“What did you mean to do with them?”

She waved a hand like a paddle through the air.

“Remind my sisters of the truth of themselves.”

“And that truth is…?”

She looked at me as though I’d asked a question like “what color is blue?”

I clarified, “What did you want to happen because of those…objects?”

She leaned against a near wall. “Human words fail to express what I want. I can say only they were meant to further my intent. A test, a touchstone, and a catalyst in one. Again, human words are inadequate. But there you have it.”

I looked down at my hands a moment. “A catalyst? It changed me?”

“It knew you, as I know you. It gave to you, from me.”

Pieces of this were beginning to crystallize in my mind. It still made very little sense and worried me ever more. Even if we weren’t her sisters, might it be moot in the end with all she’d done to us? “Okay…alright. So there were three reminders in Brookville, right?”

Her violet eyes narrowed slightly. “Right…”

“Why wasn’t there a figure for you if it was a reminder of our ‘past lives’?”

She winced a bit, as though physically-struck. “That’s a good question…One of the many for which I’m awaiting answers.”

She looked at my hand and stretched her own arm out slowly. I considered taking a step away. But something in that wince and her feelings at first, kept me close. I accepted her hand, which caressed the length of my arm. She trembled a little more and her eyes quivered. Her breaths came in short and pained cycles.

She looked me in the eye. “There are some things I wish I could say so badly. But I know I must wait. I know I must leave you to do what you wish to do for a little while. I’ll see you later, my dear sister.”

I let my hand linger near hers and asked, “What will you do for now?”

“I could talk to Kimi, but she’s not ready to listen. I could see Keiko, but she would only worry. I’ll talk to her later. For now, I’ll deal with other matters. And I’ll only say one last thing for I go. That thing you call ‘Akiko’ is exactly what you suspect it is. And, no matter what, it will never ever be anything different.”

She clutched my hand one last time and walked up the nearby steps.

Despite Hitomi’s words, I returned to the other room for Akiko. I stopped in place to take in the visual that lay before me. Akiko still had her head buried in the area of Jamie’s chest like embracing a fleshy pillow. Mami wore a bemused look and Tara had resorted to exuberant measures to play with Akiko.

Jamie looked relieved to see me emerge from around the corner. Akiko bolted from Jamie when she saw me, clinging to my side with renewed fervor. Tara giggled. Jamie fidgeted a bit with Akiko gone. I watched him. I thought I saw a shadow of disappointment cross his face as he adjusted his clothes. I figured he would endlessly-deny the implication if I asked, so I kept quiet and thanked him for watching Akiko.

She snorted once. “Don’t ask me again. Unless it’s absolutely necessary. Where’s my blanket?” He was soon cocooned again and added, “Don’t you dare lure Sumi over here either.”

I smirked and said, “Promise. Thanks again.”

He looked away and shrugged, “Whatever. I need to bathe and whatnot. I’m worn out.”

Tara smiled, “Did you make a decision?”

He froze and glanced up at the ceiling. “Oh…right. Eh. I can take care of my back on my own.”

Tara laid on the most begging, adorable eyes I’d ever seen. He didn’t relent.

“I’d really like to have some private time to just figure it all out and let the stress fade away. I really don’t want to be seen like this, especially without clothes.”

I thought back to our bra-fitting session and kimono-dressing.

“Would you mind if I bathed with you? I could help with washing your back.”

He tensed up. “That kind of defeats the point of private time, doesn’t it?”

I gave him a shrug like the many he’d given me.

He fussed a bit with his bra and tightened his shoulders to crack his back. He grunted and said, “Fine. Why not…We did it here the first night.”

“So I assume Keiko is welcome as well?”

“Assuming Nathan so wishes…I guess.”

I smiled. “Great. I’ll only be a little while longer. I’ll meet you up on the third floor.”

Jamie gave a stiff nod in return and pressed his head into the ridges of the blanket. Tara gave him a pat on the shoulder.

-------

I ran into Ms. Ishida on my way back to Reiko’s room with Akiko.

After some polite questions, I told her where we were headed.

He put a hand aside her mouth with a frown. “Are you sure that’s alright for Akiko?”

It was strength in numbers and, as Hitomi noted, it was pretty clear what Akiko really was. She wasn’t an innocent by a long-shot.

I assured her, “They were quite nice when we visited in a little bit ago.”

Akiko traced a few fingers along my arm, as though she were reading something in Braille on my flesh.

Ms. Ishida didn’t seem convinced but she gave a sigh and made no effort to lead Akiko away from me. She did wave and smile to her though. Akiko mimicked the wave, but not the smile.

I thought about my questions thus far asked of Tara and Miki. While Hitomi’s words had given me doubt as to the worth of even asking, it gave me some slight feeling of influence and control in asking.

“Can you recall any strange dreams you’ve had, Ms. Ishida?”

She folded her hands and shifted in place but didn’t need too long to reflect on my question. She answered, “Some, from time to time. Depending on what you’d consider strange, they’re nothing too exciting. I don’t dream about vacuuming or writing code. Or even about dark things.”

She brushed a bit of her hair.

“I usually dream that I’m carefully watching other people go about their business. I smile at them. If they drop something, I pick it up and put it where they can find it. I give them a touch on the shoulder if they feel sad. They pay no attention to me but I don’t mind. I’m just glad to help.”

“They couldn’t see you?” That wasn’t too different from the dreams of Mami, I figured.

She nodded. “Right.”

I mused on that and asked, “Also, did Hitomi say anything to you when you were with her a little bit ago?”

She set her hands in her lap. “Hmm…well. We talked a little. Mostly just how her day was, what happened in class. She was rather tight-lipped. Truthfully, I just wanted her to help me clean out some expired items in the fridge. It wasn’t vital but I wanted to talk to her…especially after all you said.”

She looked a little embarrassed. “There wasn’t much to arouse my suspicions, aside from her being rather quiet in her replies. She did ask where I kept the wind charms. Did you happen to glean anything new about her?”

I noted the wind charms and felt my concerns about Ms. Ishida being involved lift a little, only to find myself back in a familiar spot. I clenched my hands slightly. They felt warm. I said the truth but without elaboration.

“Nothing I can be sure of. And to speculate on it would only confuse.”

I wondered if she would accept that alone. She watched me and asked, “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“If you learn anything definite, please tell me what you can.”

Hitomi knew Toki. I put the figures in my room in Brookville. Hitomi had help from one of the Mecchen House girls. All baseless accusations from Hitomi. But I knew her statements, even if not all true, each meant something.

I’d dumped a lot on the girls and what I’d learned could no more be backed up than what I’d said before. It would only serve to leave the others incredulous and distrusting.

Perhaps that was the effect Hitomi wished. To alienate us.

I shook my head, for myself and for Ms. Ishida. I told her only, “I’m sorry…”

She returned a slow, warm smile. She wrapped her arms around me and part of Akiko in a careful hug. Akiko pressed near to get as much of it as possible. I felt Ms. Ishida’s presence envelop me.

I clung to her hands a little as they slipped away.

She bowed to us both and said, “If you’ll excuse me then, I’m going to go spend some time with my mother.”

It took a moment for me to realize she meant the family shrine.

She drifted down the hall with calm steps and vanished into the room at the other end of the front hallway.

-------

Reiko and Sumi were as we left them, cuddling close. The contact seemed to keep Sumi occupied and Reiko mollified. Reiko just asked, “Well?”

I said, “The usual.” and hoped that would suffice.

She clenched her eyes shut and breathed in pace with Sumi’s rubbing. “Are you done yet? Why did you come back?” She asked with a surprising degree of calm.

I spoke carefully, so as not to upset the calm. “I just have a few quick questions, if neither of you mind.”

Sumi stretched out over Reiko’s shoulders as I inched with Akiko to a safe side of the room with clear escape routes. She gave a slow, sucking sniff which startled me and asked, “And what do we get in return?”

I held my hands out. “We can leave you two alone.”

Reiko seemed indifferent to this prospect but Sumi pouted. “That’d be no fun though…hm. Well. Ask your questions.”

Akiko’s head nuzzled my hand. She leaned over it look at Reiko but kept close to me.

I asked the same question as before.

One of Reiko’s eye popped open. The other gingerly slid open and blinked once. She stared at the ceiling and said, “Only nightmares. In them I feel like I’m being torn in two. I struggle against myself, pulling at both ends. I feel at the verge of ripping. I always wake with sweat all over my bed, my blankets askew, and numbness followed by pins and needles in one arm or the other. Like my whole weight was pressed against it.” She swallowed with a hand over her mouth. Sumi receded slightly.

Reiko finished, “I don’t care to talk anymore unless you can explain and stop these nightmares. Can you?”

I saw the faint twitch of hope in Reiko’s eyes until I shook my head slowly. Akiko yanked at my arm towards Reiko. I held her back.

Reiko sighed. ”Nothing does. Very little even helps but it gets me through each day.” He gaze wandered from her bow to the set of cooking implements. Her eyes seemed to fight one direction then another before coming to rest on Sumi, who caressed her neck.

She massaged her neck several times, before setting her thumbs against the side. Her other fingers dangled free in the air.

Sumi spoke.

“I always dream of swimming. Most times, it’s nice. But I always feel this strange anxiety, like I’m trapped. I keep seeing the same things again and again, no matter how far I travel. I’m stuck. Rough hands force me down…”

She curled her fingers. “But I’m saved. I’m somewhere else. This beautiful Goddess watches over me. I let Her water flow over me and I feel at peace.”

Her fingers relaxed.

“I see Her daughters. They’re so beautiful. So free. I just want to hold them close.” She slid her fingers along Reiko’s neck with a gentle, tidal motion.

There seemed an unstated question in the air. It wasn’t crucial but this was probably the best chance I would ever have to ask it.

I took a deep breath and asked Sumi, “Are you a lesbian?”

She grinned, reached around the far side of the bed and came up with a bottle of what looked like lotion. Sumi rubbed a little on her hands and across Reiko’s neck. She held it up for me. “I would say I have a deep affection for women. Want some?”

She squirted a little onto her hand and held it out.

“Uh…” I’d never been offered lotion from someone else’s hand.

“Just come closer.”

That didn’t assure me. I approached her slowly with just the one hand extended. Akiko kept the other preoccupied.

Sumi made no sudden movements. She applied a bit of the lotion to the back of my hand first. She lingered in her motion a bit but did nothing objectionable.

I freed my hand from Akiko as best I could and she repeated the same with my other hand. She then encouraged me to rub them together. Doing so brought out the fragrance of the lotion. It smelled like a few of the products which Katsumi used. The lavender was especially potent.

Akiko, free from my hand-hold, walked towards Sumi with a hand stretched out, just like I’d done. Sumi bowed to her, “Hello there, quiet little one. Would you like some as well?”

She squirted a little more of the lotion onto her hand and offered it to Akiko. Akiko looked at it and, for a moment, I was worried she would lap it up. Sumi rubbed it into her skin before she could do anything else with it.

“There you go,” said Sumi. “A lovely aroma for a lovely little lady.” Akiko seemed stymied by the lotion. She shook out her hand a little then bent to sniff it. Her nose clung there for quite a while before pulling away. She took a little lick of her skin but soon spat it out with a twitch.

Sumi laughed. “As tasty as they smell. Not all are good to eat.” She slipped back into place behind Reiko and touched lower around her neck.

I bowed to both and said, “Thank you for your answers. That’s all. And thanks for the…stuff.” I held up a hand. “And for dinner as well.”

Reiko looked like she was in a state of relaxed meditation. Sumi drew her close and said, “Shame we couldn’t have more fun. I’ll give you rain-check on that.”

“That’s quite alright.”

Sumi smirked. “I insist. I know how to bring any girl to a state of pure rapture. You’ll like it.”

“Another time. I have a good deal on my mind at the moment.”

“Fair enough. I don’t want Cutie-Button here to feel like I’m short-changing her. But soon. And tell your two scrumptious friends that they’re just as welcome to give it a try. I make sure to keep my promises, no matter how long it takes.” She winked once and her attention went entirely to Reiko.

I figured that would be it for parting words. I took Akiko by the hand which was easier to grip and led her out. She moved slow, gazing back at Reiko, but went with me without any trouble.

-------

I stretched my back once we were in the hall. I used my free hand to crack my spine. My feet were throbbing and my body felt pained. Akiko mimicked me with her slick hand put behind her back.

I tightened a hand and reminded myself that, despite appearances, this young girl was actually responsible for what happened to Ami. Still, I couldn’t even go as far as Jamie did with Hitomi and squeeze her shoulders.

She watched me and leaned in to sniff her hand again.

“Smell weird, huh?” I asked.

She straightened up and watched me. She didn’t say anything.

I didn’t expect an answer. After a moment, I said, “Come on. Let’s see how Keiko is doing.”

-------

Miki was splayed across the floor, leaning against her bed with some comfortable clothes on in place of her uniform. Keiko was nearby with her legs folded. She looked happy.

I felt a tinge of guilt to intrude with my questions and confusions.

Miki encouraged me over and stood up. “Hiya! What’s up?” She looked at both of us.

Akiko seemed almost bewildered by Miki and quite unwilling to get close to her. I held her back from retreating to the furthest corner.

Miki’s room looked the same as before. Simple and focused.

She had family photos and assorted, sport-related decorations on the walls and dresser. The floor was clear and largely-unused with plenty of room to stretch out.

Before my dream question, I had to ask, “Where do you keep your stuff?”

She snickered. “I like to keep my space clear so I can move around and do whatever I like. There’s a few hidden closets in that wall where I keep some stuff and the rest is either in my dresser over there or back at home.”

I saw a photo of Kazu on the wall and told her, “I met your brother Kazu.”

Miki gave a luminous grin. “Really?”

“Yup!”

Keiko leaned forward from the floor to listen and gave Akiko a friendly wave. Akiko ducked behind me. Keiko sat on her hands.

Miki stretched her legs in a wide-open patch of floor. “We’re so proud of him. Was he holding up alright?”

“When we saw him, yes. He was quite nice. He gave us a free train card.”

Miki looked content. “That’s my brother.”

I lacked a transitional question, so I used a cough and asked, “Umm…are you heading to bed soon?”

Miki shifted her head around and fluffed her short, triangle-shaped brown hair with a hand. She didn’t seem bothered by the way I asked and answered, “Soon, though I’m not really sleepy. I need to go over Ms. Ishida’s typhoon-preparedness checklist. I remember most of them though. Make sure of supplies, generator fueled and out of storage, tape and wind covers for some windows. It could get serious tomorrow but I hope not. I am worried about my great-aunt.”

It wasn’t quite the opening I was hoping for, so I just put out my question. “What sort of strange dreams do you have?”

Miki blinked a bit when I asked that and said a delayed, “Oh!” as though she’d missed her line in a play. She gave a grin and rubbed at her hair. “Strange dreams? I can’t really recall any.”

I rephrased my question. “What do you dream about?” That was probably a question to ask in the first place. What if the clues I needed lay in the more mundane dreams of others? I wouldn’t dwell on missed questions. I’d gotten a lot of little details from each girl so far. And I shouldn’t forget Carolyn’s dream from earlier. That had to mean something.

Miki gave her left foot a few taps, which attracted Akiko’s attention, and replied, “Fun stuff. Goofing around. Playing. I run. I jump real high. I roll over the grass like a little kid again. I lie in the sunlight and feel warm. I feel friendship and glee. I wake from these dreams, reminded to take in the joys of life and let the harsh times pass with wisdom instead of anguish from the experience.”

I wondered idly why Miki and Tara didn’t hang out more often. At least, they seemed to get along with one another.

I had to ask.

Miki leaned against her dresser with her arms folded. “I like playing with Tara and having fun with her, when I can. But we’ve had such different schedules so far. I’d love to invite her to this family get-together in a couple of days….along with…Ami. That was my original plan, at least.”

Miki gave the faint trace of a frown and asked softly, “Are you sure about what you said about Ami…and Hitomi and…her?” She gave Akiko a careful, curious look.

I did my best to tell her what I could. “I’m not too sure of much. But the feelings inside me say it must be right. I’m sorry if that doesn’t help much but it’s really all I can do.” In retrospect, I probably should’ve said something like that to Ms. Ishida.

And I added, “I only ask one thing. Don’t ever forget the names Miyakami Nana and Murakami Ami.”

Miki bowed. “I could never forget Ami. And I wish I could remember this ‘Nana’ you talk about. You say she had all the traits that I associate with Hitomi?”

“So far as I can tell.” Despite my words to never forget Nana, I felt I had to remind even myself about her. I should probably check her room after I spoke to the only resident I hadn’t asked about dreams: Katsumi.

I bowed back to Miki and said, “Thanks for answering my questions. I need to go talk to Katsumi and deal with a few things upstairs. I might talk to Hitomi again as well.”

Keiko sat up. “May I please go with you? I…have a few things I’d like to ask Hitomi as well, especially now.”

After that ‘vision’, I was sure she’d have a lot to talk about.

Miki brushed her arms. “I should head off too. No problems about the questions, Kelly and thanks for a good time, Keiko! I wish we could spend more time together too.”

I felt a jab of melancholy to see Miki and Keiko part.

Keiko found herself on the other side of me from Akiko as we made our way up the stairs.

I lingered on the landing to look down the hall. Hitomi came out of Tara’s room.

I burst down the hall with Akiko and Keiko barely managing to keep pace. I faced Hitomi with my arms pointed to the floor. She held the pink dress cradled in Nana’s hands.

“Put that back…” I told her.

She laid it across Nana’s arms. “It’s the same one, you know. The same one Keiko saw.” She met Keiko’s green eyes. Keiko blushed.

“That is not an ‘it’. ‘She’ is Ami.”

Hitomi shifted the pink dress in those arms. I could barely imagine what Hitomi may have done to her while I was away.

“The dress had been around a long, long time when I bought it, for you. I remember poking my fingers so many times. It was tedious work and it hurt a lot, but it was for my sister. I couldn’t make a new dress, but I poured myself into making it special, for you.”

My hands felt warm again. “That dress is a person. Her name…is Ami. Don’t you dare touch her.”

She laid the dress across an arm. “You think I’m the one who did this? I’m not the reason she’s a dress again. You are.”

I snatched the dress from her arm and, though I clutched the fabric tight, made sure not to crease the material.

“You’re lying!” I said, with teeth pressed. I relaxed my mouth. I shook my head and caressed a bit of the cloth.

“I was too late to save her.” They were tough words to speak. They brought back the Ami’s hollowed eyes and pained pleas.

Hitomi blew a breath from Nana’s nostrils. “Ami is still here. Along with the creature which deserves no name. Not the outcome I expected.”

The look Hitomi gave Akiko sent her burrowing ever-deeper into my clothes for protection. I kept the dress on the opposite side from Akiko.

I tightened my mouth. “What did you expect to happen?”

Hitomi lowered Nana’s shoulders.

“Well, I didn’t expect to draw such a ravenous and daring one of those. I guess my recipe was too tempting.”

She dodged my question and I felt especially irritated that she would compare Ami to food.

“But you did draw…one of these.”

Keiko looked at each of us with a furrowed brow and worried eyes.

“Yes, despite all my precautions, one made it through out of everything I’ve been keeping out.”

I made a mental note of the implication of other dangers.

“So…just what did you expect me to do about something like that?”

She smiled. “I knew my sister wouldn’t lose. At the very least, you would drive it away.”

“Really?”

Hitomi leaned against the wall. “Well, you aren’t Toki but I knew you would be successful. I worked it into my plan, hoping that fighting it would help to stir your memories.”

Toki seemed ever more interesting with each tidbit Hitomi gave me.

“And if I failed?”

The wall behind Hitomi rattled a little and she said, calmly, “One way or another, I knew I would have my sister back.” That left me unnerved.

I turned to face the clinging Akiko to Hitomi because she dashed back behind me. She pressed into me.

“What about Akiko?” She looked up at me when I spoke that name.

Hitomi’s purple eyes blasted on Akiko. She tried to crawl into my clothes, but I kept her out of them till she settled down.

Hitomi composed herself after a moment of glaring and said, “I told you what I feel about that thing. You know what I want you to do. And that thing isn’t worthy of names, even if they’re just limited, human words.”

Keiko took a step forward and addressed Hitomi. “Why is it so bad to give her a name? She seems like a nice girl.”

After bowing her head, Hitomi looked to Keiko, who stepped back and bowed in return.

“So caring…even of such a thing…” She took a deep breath. “She’s still too much like those things, even in a physical form. I can smell it on her. And no matter how she seems, she would still eat your spirit till there was nothing left but endless dark and suffering.”

She looked me in the eyes. “You saved Ami from that.”

“But saved her for what? What about her family?”

Hitomi stepped away from the wall. “I think I’ll leave it at that. Patience on the rest, my beloved sisters.”

I blocked Hitomi’s way. I felt hot in my cheek. “Where are you going?”

Hitomi reached up to cup my cheek. A smile crossed the face she’d taken from Nana. I leaned back without turning away. Her hand brushed my cheek once and she said, “To deal with some minor, technical matters. Don’t worry. I won’t go far.”

She glanced upwards.

I took the hint. “You’re going to be in Nana’s room…”

She nodded.

“Why?”

“I just told you.”

I emphasized my words with my free hand. “But explain it to me.”

She gazed at my hand and offered a faint smile. “I will. Sooner than you expect.”

I slapped my leg with my hand. “Stop it! I’ve had enough of this cryptic nonsense.”

Hitomi’s smile faded. “I’m truly sorry it has to be this way but I’ve risked too much. And…that’s all I can say. Take care, my sisters.”

I felt tempted to block Hitomi’s way but I figured it would be as effective as Jamie grabbing at her blouse. I clutched the dress closer to myself. As she was about to pass Keiko on the far side from Akiko, Keiko stammered out a few words to her, “W-wait!...can I…come with you? Please. I know…I know you’ve said you can’t say much…” She swallowed. “…but maybe I could just go with you and…help?”

She stopped there, though it seemed she wanted to say something else.

Hitomi recovered a trace of her smile. She gave a little shrug and said, “Sure. You could help with moving a few things.”

Keiko’s green eyes sparked. “That would great…I think.” She looked to me with a bit of a guilty blush.

Hitomi was responsible for all this, that much I knew. The particulars she was giving out as small breadcrumbs. My methods and Jamie’s methods didn’t work. Perhaps Keiko would have better luck.

I shrugged and waved.

Akiko mimed my wave a moment later.

When they were gone, I took the dress back to Tara’s room. I wondered why Hitomi had Ami with her to begin with. Where was she planning to take the dress? Perhaps I’d managed to disrupt something by her. I guessed that was a good thing.

I set the dress on Tara’s bed.

Akiko looked around the room as though it were a foreign landscape. I smoothed out the dress on the bed. She still felt quite warm. I gave a little caress across the material with my hand.

I took a step back from the bed. I blinked. I didn’t feel Akiko clinging at my side. I looked to my left. She stood a few feet away from me. Her dark-crimson eyes were looking all over the room. She leaned forward, sniffed, then straightened up.

Akiko dashed back to my side, burying her head into me. She gave a little grunt and held tight. She was aimed at the corner facing the front. I looked all over that wall. All I saw was a bookshelf. I wondered if it looked like it was set closer to the wall than when I’d seen it before but I just couldn’t tell.

I squeezed Akiko’s little hand. “Come on. Let’s go see my friend Katsumi.”

Akiko didn’t need much more encouragement. She pulled me out the door. I lingered in the doorway before sliding it closed.

Nothing seemed out of place.

-------

Akiko lingered on the landing when we came to the top floor. She eyed the gray door warily. I led her to the purple door instead and knocked once.

I expected loud footsteps.

I heard a sigh instead and, “Who is it?” asked in a soft, curious tone by Katsumi. That was to be expected. She didn’t know it was me yet.

I cleared my throat and said through the door, “Kelly and Akiko.”

Some rustling followed. Katsumi, speaking with the same tone, asked, “What is it?”

I looked to Akiko but she only stared back at me with the same half-frightened, half-curious gaze. So I just asked Katsumi, “Can we come inside?”

I caught the far-off, buzzing call of a cicada.

“Okay. It’s not locked.”

As I opened the door, Akiko snuck behind me.

Inside, Katsumi was curled up on her bed with a notebook in her lap. She was dressed in light lavender pajamas. Her hair looked wet and dark. She had a towel over the pillow. She brushed back a few locks of her hair, which looked like it did on the balcony last night.

She scratched a pen against the notebook page. “I’m done with the bath.” She stretched her legs out and flexed her ankles. The looseness of her pajamas gave her something suggestive of a girlish figure. I wondered if she used her “herbal” soap again.

I nodded and said, “That’s good. Mami will probably be up in a little while. And Nana…”

“Again with ‘Nana’…” She looked up at me with a glare, which crumbled quickly into a yawn.

I meant to say Hitomi. Akiko leaned over to sniff one of the figurines.

I bowed and said, “Well…umm…Hitomi. I mean.”

Katsumi stifled another yawn and answered, “I know. Keiko and Hitomi passed by. Hitomi wanted something.”

I thought of Hitomi lingering in Tara’s room. “What did she want?”

Katsumi glanced at the chair. “You can sit down, if you like.”

I moved the chair closer to Katsumi’s bed so it would be easier to talk. Akiko touched the surface of the chair and clung to the back. I pursed my lips.

Katsumi poked her bed with a foot. “She can sit here if she likes…and if she promises not to turn into a dark and deadly monster.”

Akiko watched Katsumi and glanced back at me.

Katsumi shrugged.

I guided Akiko to the bed. It easily had enough room for both of them. Katsumi scooted to the far end.

Despite our suggestive gestures, Akiko wouldn’t sit next to Katsumi. Eventually, I got her to sit on the floor. She fidgeted in place and looked all over.

I thought back on everything she’d done so far and I asked Katsumi for a small blanket. She pointed me to the dresser set a finger’s-length from the far wall. I took out a little pink one and gave it to Akiko, who immediately burrowed into it.

Katsumi glanced from Akiko and back to me. She sighed and shrugged as I sat down on the chair. “You asked what she wanted…she wanted to put a paper charm in my room. I reminded her that Nina took care of all that yesterday.”

“Paper charm?” I leaned back on the chair.

Katsumi brushed at the back of her hair with a hand. A few droplets settled on the bed. “That’s what she called it. I vetoed it. So she asked me about where she could find Nina, specifically tomorrow morning.”

It sounded like Katsumi was making a circle on her notebook. Akiko lifted the blanket off her head, took a deep breath, and set the blanket on her head again.

I had to ask, “What did you tell her?”

Katsumi huffed. “How am I supposed to know where Nina’s going to be and when? I told her to quit bugging me. Then she and Keiko left and went into her room, from what I could hear.”

That meshed with what Hitomi said. But why did Hitomi want to place paper charms? And what did she want with Nina?

Akiko let the blanket fall from her face, then snatched it up before it fell all the way down.

I took a deep breath and asked, “Do you want to talk about…what happened earlier?”

Katsumi glanced at Akiko, made a few small marks on her notebook, and asked, “Is there any more to say about it?”

“That depends on if you want to listen.”

Katsumi looked at me and let her pen rest.

“Go ahead…”

I cleared my throat and unraveled whatever else I had.

The figurines. Katsumi glanced at her own collection of them. Hitomi’s own words. Theories about Hitomi’s influence in the world. A summation of my encounter with the dark being.

When I ran out of things to tell her, I just bowed my head.

She fingered her notebook a little. Akiko clenched the blanket around her head like hood and nibbled on the edge of it.

Katsumi’s first response was, “I wish I had a sister.”

“Really?”

Katsumi laid her notebook on her stomach. “Very much. A strong and beautiful elder sister. I find the idea quite comforting.”

Last night, I conjured up the memory of a sister. As I visualized her then, she felt like an amalgam of the three girls on this floor. As I thought of her now, a rainbow of all the girls of Mecchen House spiraled into her. Small traits bloomed out from each. But her appearance shifted to that of Hitomi.

I jabbed my forehead with two fingers. More tricks by Hitomi, I figured.

Katsumi tore off the top page from her notebook, set it upside-down on her leg, and went back to sketching on a new page.

I could understand why Katsumi would seek out a sibling, with what she’d told me of her family. Although, for Jamie, more people in a bad situation didn’t bring him any comfort.

I held onto this thought instead of speaking and asked, “Is there anything else?”

She traced a long loop on the page. “You’re hard to draw.”

“What?”

Katsumi grinned. “I’m making a sequence of you and your changes from when you showed up till now. The chest winds up looking irregular.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

Katsumi drew a pair of smaller loops. “Well, I tried to do a female version of you when you first arrived. It was easier with you and the others made up like girls.”

I gave a little shudder at the memory of glue-on falsies, only to be reminded I had the real type now.

Katsumi made a few slow dashes. “I considered your friends as subjects for a little while. Kimi has potent reactions and Keiko is cute and demure. But you have particular qualities which inspired me to choose you.”

I lowered my head and frowned. “So are you saying your interest in my turning into a girl is just for some…art project?”

Katsumi shook her head and waved the pen around as though she were drawing on the air. “No. It’s for you.”

“For me?”

She smiled. “Yup. As a precise reminder of what happened to you every time you look at them. I’ll have nine in the sequence, counting the dress-up one. I’m drawing you in a kimono for the last one.”

Her current mood was a welcome and unexpected relief. I leaned back and relaxed my frown. “Can I see?”

She pulled the notebook close. “Soon. It’s not done yet and I want to scan all the pages so I have an extra copy.”

Akiko hung the blanket over her shoulders and slid it around her face like the ends of a snake.

I had to present the obvious question, “What’s the deal with you? Not too long ago you were yelling at me for stating what I knew and…up until tonight you’ve treated me and my friends like dirt. Is it because of what I have between my legs now?”

It felt almost as hard to say that as the admission downstairs. Good thing I was sitting.

She made a round mark on the page and said, “Have you considered that I’m just trying to lull you into a false sense of security while I plot the biggest feminine thing to drop on you and your friends?”

I put my arms on my knees. Akiko looked us over.

“Wouldn’t it defeat the purpose to tell me about it?”

“Probably…”

She drew a long, gentle line and added, “I make no apology for the things I’ve done and said. And it would be a dishonor to you if I tried to take them back. What I have said, I meant.”

Her jade eyes watched the motion of her pen like a captivating dance across the paper. “So far as the deal with this evening…Mami really ticked me off at lunch by adding more items when I couldn’t afford it. I’ll have to take bentos the rest of the week.”

The pen twirled in place. “It was shaping up to be a lousy day. All my classes just pounded on my head like hot hail.”

Katsumi looked up from the notebook. “So I just want to say thanks for putting on those kimonos, to you and to Kimi. That with the…qualities of tea ceremony which I enjoy, made this a pretty decent day.”

Never mind that she all but forced us to wear them before we could talk to Nina. Her explanation made sense with what I’d figured, but it didn’t offer much reason for her moods in the preceding days.

I gave a quick nod to her. Akiko dropped her head like me and sent the blanket into her lap. She scrambled to put in back, but took a tumble. She righted herself and the blanket after a moment.

Katsumi lifted the towel off her pillow and put it on her head too. Akiko watched, captivated. Katsumi smiled at Akiko and rubbed her hair in a few places.

She looked to me and her smile faded a little.

Katsumi explained, “I’m almost done. It’ll be a rough drawing. I’ll probably clean it up on Ms. Ishida’s computer or the one downstairs.”

It felt late. As much as it was nice to be around a Katsumi who didn’t want to bring an army of estrogen to crush the last fragments of manhood left in me, I wanted to wrap this up. “I have a question for you.”

“Feel free to ask…” Her pen froze in place and her legs curls inward.

“Are there any specific dreams you remember?”

Her legs settled back.

“Odd question…”

“I’ve asked it of everyone else. I’m just testing a theory.”

Akiko approached the bed cautiously with her blanket-wrapped hands clinging to the edge and her eyes peering over the top. Katsumi turned her head and beckoned Akiko to sit beside her. Akiko crept onto the cover and curled on her side with her legs and arms near to her body.

Katsumi set the notebook down, waved to Akiko, and mimicked her position.

Akiko looked curious and bewildered at what Katsumi was doing.

If having a young girl around Mecchen House changed Katsumi from a tiger to a kitten then I’d have to take Akiko around with me all the time.

Katsumi set the towel back on the pillow, crinkled a few of her locks, and said, “I often have quite a few dreams. Some of them nightmares, some pretty weird, and the rest range from mundane to pleasant.”

“Any dreams of boys turning into girls?”

Katsumi gave a familiar snort. Akiko sniffed back. “I wish. The closest I ever had was this worldwide gender-change dream. But no one remembered they’d changed in the dream, so that defeated the whole point of it.”

I somehow expected more than that from her subconscious. ”And the other dreams you’ve had?”

Katsumi flexed a few fingers. “I don’t keep a log.”

“Just what you can recall.”

She picked up the notebook and tapped at a few places on the paper. Akiko mimed her with a finger on her hand.

“I can recall three particular types of dreams I’ve experienced,“ said Katsumi. “The first I call ‘Hunter’ dreams. In them I’m stalking something.”

I figured those would fall under the boys-turned-into-girls type.

Katsumi shook her head. “It’s not to make girls. I’m just pursuing something and I either don’t get it and I wake up or I quickly tire of the chase. They aren’t too bad.”

I couldn’t make too much of that. “What about the other two sorts?”

Katsumi drew her legs a little closer again.

I figured these were more of the nightmare-type dreams to which she alluded.

Katsumi poked her cheek. “Well…second are the ‘loneliness’ dreams. In them, either everyone has gone away or vanished. For a little while, I enjoy the serenity but soon I get afraid and hopeful at every little sound I hear. I don’t like those dreams. I’m antsy after those.”

That one intrigued me. It reminded me a little of the dream I had last night and of what Nana told me about her fears of being alone.

Katsumi stamped her feet. Akiko flailed hers in a quiet imitation.

After she’d made a bit of noise on her bed, Katsumi continued, “The last relates to ‘loneliness’. But it’s a dream of something which actually happened to me. It’s about Ami.”

I pulled the chair a little closer. Katsumi clenched and released her pen like a throbbing a heart. Akiko didn’t mime this time. Instead, she took a few interested sniffs of the air around Katsumi.

Katsumi took a few breaths. “I don’t like dwelling on it. But it happened…”

She shifted the pen to her other hand.

“See…Ami was the first real ‘resident’. Hitomi just showed up one day. You may have heard the story.”

I gave her a nod. “From Ms. Ishida. Sort of....” Only with Nana instead.

“Yeah. Well, setting aside whatever claims of who came first between Miki and me, I caused the first major fight at Mecchen House. Nothing like what you saw…umm…earlier. It was terrible.”

Katsumi looked down, through the wall to her left and said, “I caused it. I railed with the most potent version of my desires. Ami countered with all of her belief in her brother and men in total. I was so angry at her. I hated her. I wanted her gone!”

She trembled in place, a quick hiss of her fury spilling with her last words.

“Not long after, I got it. She just vanished, along with everyone else. I ran all over the house. I dashed from street to street. I looked everywhere they usually went. I found only unfamiliar faces.”

Katsumi picked up the towel and rubbed it vigorously on her still-damp hair.

“When I returned to Mecchen House, everyone was back. It was as if nothing had happened. Everyone gave an explanation for why they were gone. I felt immense relief.”

She plopped the towel down again. “That was my memory. Sometimes it gets muddled with the dreams I’ve had. In them, I never get anyone back and I’m left alone and scared….umm…as I said, I don’t like dwelling on it.” She sent the echo of a glare at me to finish her story, like a warning not to pursue.

I had only one question and I hoped it wouldn’t offend too much. I qualified it with, “If you don’t mind me asking….” and asked, “When, roughly, did this happen?”

Katsumi clenched her jaw at first, but ultimately said, “Around last fall…”

Another “I try not to dwell on it” seemed implied.

I had what I needed. Fall was within the nine-month window which troubled us at first.

The chronology of Mecchen House felt like brackish bog where I could glimpse pale shadows of the past. I suspected Hitomi had at least something to do with that.

It wasn’t a proof I could use yet though.