The next few days were quiet, or as quiet as could be with how busy the Community Center was. Bill planned out camera locations, and talked with Lady Shizuku and Lady Sakura on how the timers for the new door locks should be set. He saw Kyoko and Chizu a couple times as they passed by, together as always. Neither acknowledged seeing him. That was OK, they had to learn to live with their new lives. At least, he told himself that was OK.
Although Bill found Saki was not to his taste, he did find a store that sold good old GlenFiddich single malt scotch. It was expensive as hell, but it wasn't like he had anything else to spend money on. Taking his bottle out in back of the Community Center after dark, he found a nice quiet place to get away behind one of three free standing stone blocks. Slowly, he took small gulps of his prize as he pondered what he was going to do IF they ever let him go.
Bill had gotten quite a buzz on by the time he heard a voice beside him ask, "What are you doing?"
Bill looked around. Standing next to him was a shapely figure. The dim light from the Community Center lit her pink hair. There was enough light from the center that he could make out Chika's face as she frowned down on him. Damn, she looked fine.
"Drinking," he replied. "And you're too young to join me."
"Here?" she cried in disbelief as she pointed at the stone.
"Why not?" he asked.
"This is a grave!" Chika quietly hissed. "You are drinking on the grave of a White Robe!"
Bill turned to look at the stone. Yup, it was possible. In his comfortable buzz, he said, "Don't think she wants any. I'd tell her I'm sorry, but I don't think she can hear me,"
Suddenly, he was lifted to his feet. Not having the best coordination at the moment, he stumbled. Chika steadied him and gently push/guided him to the back door.
"You're going inside," she said.
"But it's nice out here," he replied, glancing up at the stars, which made him stumble. Only Chika's mind hands kept him from falling on his face.
"It's a graveyard!" Chika hissed.
"That means it's quiet, too," Bill replied. He tried to turn back, but Chika kept him stumbling on course for the back door to the living quarters.
Frowning, he asked, "Why you gotta take me back in there? I like it out here."
"Do you like getting turned upside down and spanked? That's what they'll do if they catch you out here," Chika said in a hushed scold.
Bill cracked a drunken grin and said, "So, they're kinky too, huh?" He went to take a drink, and the bottle slipped from his hand. He frowned at his empty hand, then saw Chika had his bottle.
"You've had enough," Chika said sternly.
"It will be a long time before I've had enough," Bill told her, and tried to get his bottle back. Try as he might, he couldn't grab a hold of it.
"This isn't helping!" Chika said, holding his bottle up and away from him.
"It sure ain't hurtin' any," he retorted, and tried again to grab the bottle.
Chika held the bottle up high, and turned it upside down to drain onto the ground.
Bill's eyes went wide. "What are you doing! Do you know how much that cost?" he cried as he tied again to grab the bottle.
Chika tossed the bottle away, and push-guided him to the door.
Trying to look back on his wasted scotch, he said, "Now that was downright mean!"
"Fine, I'm mean then," Chika stated, and opened the door for him.
Bill stumbled on the rise inside the doorway, and couldn't get his feet back under him as Chika guided him to his room. Inside, she got him into the stuffed chair. Bill dropped in place and frowned up at her. "You're gonna buy me another one," he insisted.
"No, I'm not," Chika stated as she sat down beside him. "Getting drunk will not solve anything! I came to ask you what you meant the other day when you were talking with Lady Shizuku."
Screwing his face up in confusion, Bill asked, "What?"
Patiently, Chika said, "On your way back from our house, you asked Lady Shizuku if she had seen 'Old Yeller'. What did you mean by that?"
"Now how do you know that?" Bill asked in an accusing tone.
"I followed you. What did you mean? Or are you too drunk to remember?" she asked heavily.
He remembered all right. He'd never forget the looks on Suzanne and Diane's faces. For some reason his buzz was quickly going away. Staring at the floor, he said, "I'll never be that drunk. You should probably get on home."
Bill moved to get up, and Chika appeared to lean in front of him, propping herself up by gripping the arms of his chair, penning him in place. "Bill, what did you mean?" she asked softly.
Bill's great buzz had been ruined into just having a cloudy head as Chika gazed at him. Her loose blouse showed the rounding of her breasts. A bit lower and he could probably see her belly button. "I don't think you should be here," he said clearly. Chika was real pretty, and he was too tempted for her to be so close.
A knock sounded on the door frame. Leaning in, Lady Shizuku asked, "Is everything all right in here?"
"Yeah, yeah," Bill said, quickly diverting his gaze. "Chika here just brought me in. Thank you, Chika... give my best to your family," he said, managing a forced smile.
Chika stood up reluctantly. "He's drunk," she explained.
"Well, there is no law against that," Lady Shizuku said haughtily. "Thank you for returning him. Where did you find him?"
Chika winced and said, "It's best not to say."
"I am sure the rainwater will run more smoothly now that you cleared that ditch," Lady Shizuku assured her with a tight smile. "I will take care of him from here. Have a good night, Lady Kikumura."
Chika bowed with a, "Good night, Lady Shizuku." She cast Bill a sour look, and walked out.
"Do you need assistance?" Lady Shizuku asked in a false sweet tone.
Bill shook his head. He was surprised how quickly one could sober up. "I'm fine. Night, Lady Shizuku," he said.
"Good night, Sir Parkson."
Lady Shizuku shut his door. Upon turning to walk to her room, she saw Chika leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Walking up to the sour faced girl she asked, "Is there something you need?"
Chika nodded. "Did you ever watch the movie 'Old Yeller'?" she asked.
Lady Shizuku glanced back at Bill's door. "I've heard the name, but I have not seen it," she replied, watching Chika closely.
"It is a classic American film. I watched it earlier today. Let me tell you about it."
.
Lucy was finally relaxing. She was home, things were quiet, and neither Chizu nor Kyoko so much as mentioned that man. Both girls had taken their headbands off and swore to behave themselves. They even seemed to be studying harder. With that, and the news of Miyoko having a baby, the past week had been nice.
Lounging in bed after a wonderful afternoon romp, Lucy kissed her sleeping Kouta and got up to relax a while in the bath. She slipped into a robe and got to the bath to hear someone talking inside. It sounded like Mariko and Chika. Lucy lifted her hand to open the door, then paused as she heard Chika say, "Yes, that is why I have to save Uncle Bill!"
Lucy listened closely.
"So he drank a bit," Mariko said in an exasperated voice. "Many people do."
"Not him," Chika insisted. "I asked Chizu and Kyoko. He's never drank before! That means he's really depressed. He could wind up an alcoholic and die in a gutter someplace."
"A good end for him," Lucy whispered to herself.
"You're making way to much of this," Mariko replied. "If he did drink, he would obviously not do it in front of children. He's not that kind of man."
"But he was doing it in a graveyard!" Chika cried. "Mariko, don't you see something very wrong with that?"
Lucy chuckled quietly to herself.
"If he's going to be like that, there's nothing we can do for him," Mariko said.
If was quiet long enough that Lucy rapped on the door. "Anyone in there?" she asked.
The door opened. Chika came out in her robe. "Hi, Mama Lucy. It was just me and Mariko," she said.
"Thank you, Chika," Lucy said. For what she had heard, Chika looked sad, but not like she was going to run off to try and help that man. "Are you OK, dear?" she asked.
Chika paused and said, "Fine, Mama Lucy. I'll be going to the library for a while. I have to look something up."
"School work today? It must be important," Lucy mussed.
"It is," Chika said with a tiny grin. "I have to find the meaning of something."
"Do your best, dear," Lucy told her.
.
Bill climbed the tree to put up the camera overlooking the Center parking lot as his escort watched below. Fixing the camera base to the trunk he pulled the rope he had running over to the roof, and drew it over, with the camera cable tied on the end of it. As he did this, he noted down below across the lot, the sports teams were leaving the center, done for the day. Even from this distance he picked out Chizu and Kyoko as they moved with the pack of girls. Apparently, they were getting along better with the other students. Good for them.
Hauling the camera cable over, he connected everything up, then climbed down. At the base of the tree, he told Lady Shizuku, "All set, back up on the roof."
Lady Shizuku followed him inside. "Sir Parkson, I meant to ask you. Do you feel like you shot someone dear to you? Or did they shoot you?" she asked.
Bill glanced over at her and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Your 'Old Yeller' reference you used. From what I discovered, it implies hurting someone, I would assume emotionally," Lady Shizuku explained.
Bill eyed the roof as he asked, "Ever hear the term 'salt in the wound'?"
"Yes, I know that one," Lady Shizuku said.
"Then drop it," Bill said curtly.
They got inside, and Lady Shizuku asked, "Will you be attending services tomorrow? I do believe it would be to your benefit."
Coming to the stairs, Bill stopped and eyed her. "How's this, you tell me what I have to do, and I'll do it until it's done. Let's keep it simple, OK?"
Gently, Lady Shizuku said, "I was only thinking about your own peace of mind and spirit."
"Thanks anyway. I'm only going up to the roof, then feed cable into the security room. You don't have to worry about me getting away," he told her.
"Perhaps you need someone to speak to. I will not discuss anything we say with anyone else," Lady Shizuku said in her gentle tone.
"Just let me know when my job is finished," Bill said, and went up the stairs.
Thankfully, Lady Shizuku got the hint. Bill went up and out a second story window to pull the cable up and fasten it. He got the cable up and strung down into the security room. Hooking it to the monitor bank, he heard the door open up behind him.
"Still here, and almost done," he said in a huff.
"I'm happy you're still here, and not even drunk."
Bill turned. "Chika? Why are you here?" he asked as he saw her watching him with her hands on her hips.
"I've come to help. I also want to learn about all this stuff," she said, waving her hand at the blank monitor screens.
"OK," he said slowly. "I'm not an expert on how they work, I'm just putting them together."
"Then show me how."
Although her dress was by no means revealing, just a knee length skirt and simple white shirt, her clothes were close enough fitting that he found he was enjoying the sight of her way too much. "Aren't you suppose to be learning how to be a White Robe or something?" Bill asked.
Chika glared at him briefly, then a smirk crossed her face. "Actually, I need to know what you do, so in case Mama Lucy does splatter you all over the place, I can keep things up. You do want us to be protected, right?"
Although there was a very real danger of what she said, Bill couldn't help grin at her silly smirk. "Yeah, OK. Come on, I'll show you what I'm doing."