I have Spanish translators for the later chapters, hurray!

That being said, give me a bit to figure this out because I was not expecting that quick of response in regards to how to approach it but there is a reason for it all I promise you!

As for the chapter, this is a short chapter but the reason is because a few of you requested it and also I had it planned this way, THERE WILL BE MORE MEI AND YUZU TOGETHER GOING FORWARD! I just wanted to establish Mei a bit more because she's the main character this time around and in regards to Yuzu there's a lot of stuff I have to plan and am planning.

THANKS, MEL FOR HELPING ME WITH SOME OF THIS!

BTW the Spider-Man thing had NOTHING to do with Spider-Man Far From Home releasing this weekend. I merely like Spider-Man, and it plays a part in later aspects of the story, that is all.


Chapter 7

"So where are you today," asked Mei through a piece of toast she'd been using to sop up the egg yolk that had spread across her plate as she finalized a sketch for the cover of a trade on a fantasy series in which she'd been the lead artist. It wasn't her favorite work, but it was fun and not only had the base pay had been incredible but also her royalties, so she wanted to make sure the art was top notch.

"I don't even know anymore," laughed Yuzu before taking a bite of something ended up so hot she began making her squeak in pain.

"Are you okay," asked Mei worried that Yuzu had hurt herself.

"I'll... I'll be fi..fine," coughed Yuzu.

Mei heard the sound of a bottle opening and the cracking of plastic followed by a relieved sigh.

"What did you eat?" Mei was trying hard not to laugh, but she couldn't resist letting out a strangled snort.

"A breakfast burrito," huffed Yuzu before taking another bite, but not before blowing on it a few times. "They said it would be hot, but I didn't expect to burn my mouth. Most places food would have cooled off by now, but not theirs. I'm going to go back before I leave."

"A glutton for punishment," asked Mei, knowing full well that by maintaining a friendship with the blonde she was prolonging her torture.

"Well they impressed me," huffed Yuzu and Mei heard the sound of tinfoil in her ear. "I mean the burrito is pretty good and figured out how to keep it hot even though it's wrapped only in foil. I want to ask them how they do it, and I'm willing to buy as many as it takes for them to tell me."

"At least you have your priorities in order. But you still haven't told me where you are."

They both laughed, and while Yuzu continued to eat her burrito and unpack, Mei decided to let the questions slide for a little longer as it prolonged their conversation, giving Mei a much-needed respite from the stress of her work.

It'd been a few weeks since Yuzu had called Mei during the convention and ever since then they'd spent anywhere from ten minutes to an hour talking almost daily which was a welcomed escape for not only Mei but the blonde as well.

Between Yuzu and Himeko, Mei had almost forgotten about what had happened in the park with both of them finding ways to distract her in their Nown ways. With Himeko, Mei found herself enjoying being home more and spending time with her. It didn't matter what it was; they could be cooking dinner or going to the store, or simply walking down the street, Mei found herself forgetting about some of her problems, though she had a suspicion that there were times Himeko took them to specific places intentionally, despite her claims to the contrary.

Sometimes it was an art museum or a particular store she wanted to visit, not to mention all the pictures she wanted them to take together.

At first, Mei thought it was because she and Himeko had been apart for so long. Most of the pictures ended up being the two of them hanging out at movies or shopping, and while Mei was reticent in her involvement, she did so if only to humor Himeko. They were normal pictures that millions of people took, but after a while Mei noticed that her best friend would sometimes begin texting somebody immediately after when asked Himeko had said that it was a friend or family member back home and Mei believed her for a while, that is until one evening when she inadvertently dug her own grave.

One night, shortly after Himeko had fallen asleep on the couch after they'd eaten dinner and thinking it was hers, Mei reached for it on reflex and hit the button in an attempt to read the text only to be surprised by the appearance of her father's name and number and the text that followed.

Thanks for keeping me informed, Himeko, but as I told you earlier, you don't have to do this for me. Mei's made it clear that she will come to me on her terms so please do what I asked and take care of her for me and when she's ready, I'll be here, if she ever wants me to be. Thank you for being there for her when I couldn't.

Best wishes,

Aihara Shou

Mei's first instinct after reading the email had been to wake Himeko up and chastise her for sneaking around behind her back, but no matter how upset she was, Mei couldn't bring herself to do it. Himeko was doing what she thought was right and from the way her father had replied it was something he'd asked her not to do, but true to form, her best friend had continued doing what she could to help try and heal the rift between Mei and her father.

With as angry as she was at Himeko for going behind her back, Mei decided best to let it slide since Himeko did have her best interest at heart. And sure enough, on their next outing, Himeko didn't press her for any more pictures unless Mei asked if she wanted to take one which both surprised and pleased Himeko, yet Mei knew that if Himeko ever found out what she was showing them to Yuzu, she didn't know if their friendship would survive the fallout.

Ever since Yuzu had contacted her during the convention, Mei had started thinking about the shorter woman even more than she already had been and since Yuzu had decided to send her pictures of all the adventures she was having, Mei felt it was only right to return the favor.

Even if she loathed the idea of exposing herself in such a manner.

While Mei wasn't wholly ignorant of the practice of sending selfies to other people, even with her limited social life, she was at least aware of how popular it was among people to post pictures of nearly everything they did. When she thought about it a few things came to mind and Mei couldn't help but feel that it was partially out of thinking that people were interested in what they were doing, but also for the sense of self-satisfaction it gave them in thinking that their lives were satisfying. But to Mei, it felt like a pointless exercise in self-aggrandizement. There were only four people that had ever genuinely wanted pictures of her and with half of them dead and one not being part of her life, the only other person that wanted pictures of her had been the one taking them and filling her inbox. While Mei kept them out of her fondness for Himeko, she figured she'd never had a reason to show them off to anybody.

That is until Yuzu had asked what she was up to during an early morning phone call and when Mei had said she was going to the aquarium, Yuzu had let out such a scream that Mei had to check to see if her ears were bleeding. After making sure she hadn't lost her hearing, Mei had patiently listened through Yuzu's ramblings about all the pictures the blonde had asked her to send.

In spite of her feelings on the matter, Mei did as Yuzu asked and sent her the pictures Himeko had taken along with a few of her own. While her phone was nowhere near as powerful as her camera, Mei had to admit that its camera quality was far superior to the previous model, but nothing would ever replace her camera, or the way the flood of emojis Yuzu sent her in reply made her feel.

The way Yuzu would sound jealous through her words or the series of icons she sent Mei that, while the painter wasn't sure of their significance, made her think the blonde was being genuine when she said that she wanted to go there the next time they were able to hang out.

After asking if Yuzu was serious, Mei nearly collapsed in front of the shark tank when she read:

Of course! Why wouldn't I want to? I like talking to you and I want to see you again!

To which Mei asked after recovering from her initial shock:

When are you back in town? I want to see you again as well.

The reply wasn't immediate, which got Mei to thinking she might have come off too formal or expectant.

Though they'd only spent a little time together, and even though their initial meeting happened to involve them down one another's throat, Mei was quickly counting Yuzu among one of the few people whose opinion mattered to her.

What that said about her was up for debate given the state of Yuzu's personal life, but even if it were just in the capacity of being friends, Mei would be satisfied with that.

After a gut-wrenching hour of pacing around the exhibits and checking her phone to the point that even Himeko was getting concerned, Mei finally got the response she was waiting for.

I'm going to have to extend my trip by a couple of weeks, so maybe about a month. I need to head up to New York to talk to one of my' client's publishers. Apparently, their parent company is going to shut down the branch their works are being published by and I need to know if the series is still going to continue with them or if I have to start shopping it around and take a hit.

But I can't wait to go there with you. I've been meaning to go since Henry, and I moved out there, and I'll make sure that I set it up, so you and I have some time alone to catch up without anyone to bug us.

"I'll take that," Mei remembered saying with a sigh after she'd picked up her and Himeko's food from the food stall while she mentally kicked herself again for getting her hopes up. After stuffing her face full of hamburgers and friesMei returned home and once again got lost in her work for the better part of a week save for her strained conversations with Himeko and Yuzu.

At least we'll still be able to spend time together, thought Mei as she began hastily chewing on the end of a bit of burnt bacon while she prayed that Yuzu didn't ask her what was bothering her.

"What was that," asked Yuzu through a mouthful of food.

"I'm sorry," said Mei before cramming the rest of her bacon in her mouth. "I was thinking out loud and got lost in my thoughts. Did you finally decide to answer my question? Are you in Toronto or..."

"I'm in Ph...Phoenix," yawned Yuzu before smacking her lips and laughing. "I told you, my flight got delayed yesterday, and I had to catch a red-eye which means I only get to sleep for an hour before going to help my clients out, but I'm not even going to risk that. So it looks like I'm going to be running off caffeine for the next two days before flying up north to Cleveland."

"Sounds like a tough trip." Mei took another bite of toast and swallowed before uploading her sketch to her email and sending it off. "You have to wear any costumes this time?"

"No," giggled Yuzu causing Mei's neck and face to burn red. "I only did that because my client's girlfriend got sick and she was supposed to be wearing that while promoting her series. But since I represent both of them and she ended up spending the day in bed, and I was almost the same size as her, I ended up doing that instead of making new contacts that day."

"That's disappointing." Mei took a sip of her coffee and chuckled when she heard Yuzu yawn and a brief image of the blonde's face flashed in her mind before she wiped it away.

"Not for me." Yuzu stifled another yawn and Mei smiled at the tiredness in her voice. "But if you want, the next time there's a local convention we can go as a pair. I'm pretty sure I can talk Henry into making us a simple matching. I mean he made those costumes you saw us in in about a week so it shouldn't be too hard for him to make a couple not to mention how fun it'd be."

"He made those?" Mei was impressed that the man she'd been so jealous of was able to do work like that in such a short amount of time. "That's rather impressive work for only a week."

"He's been doing it since he was a kid." Mei could hear the smile in Yuzu's voice and felt the familiar beast of jealousy begin rising inside her. "Most of that time was spent making the dress since it was the first time he did it. The Spider-Man one was something he's been making forever so he can crank one of those out in like a day or two. He's got Spider-Man stuff everywhere in the apartment. Thank God we live in such a big place or I'd be tripping over half of it."

Mei felt her ears beginning to burn at how casually Yuzu was talking about Henry, but she managed to calm herself down after repeatedly reminding her that they were only friends and nothing more.

"That is pretty fortunate."

Needing something to do to preoccupy her thoughts, Mei grabbed her dishes and headed into the kitchen and switched over to her wireless headset before starting to clean up her mess.

"But, I don't know about doing that any time soon. I've never been interested in going to conventions, and honestly, I don't know if I ever want to go to one. I'm not a fan of crowds that size."

Over the years, due to her work, Mei had been asked to be a speaker at several conventions, but she'd always declined. She'd seen images and pictures of them on the internet and from Matsuri and Mitsuko who went because of their work and she hated how the experience looked. People standing in lines for a few seconds with people they'd never meet again. The exorbitant amounts of money people would spend on small action figures, not to mention the fact that Mei would more than likely be put into her own stall to sell her works and she wasn't sure she could handle that much attention being focused on her.

"Yeah, they can be pretty nerve-wracking," said Yuzu without any hint of judgment. "I was like that the first few times I went. It can be pretty scary, and if you don't want to go, we don't have to. Let's stick with the aquarium and take things from there. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," said Mei as she finished putting her dishes in the drainboard and let out a loud sigh. "How much longer do you have before you need to head down?"

"About forty-five minutes." Yuzu let out a loud whine and Mei could hear the bed creak. "But I don't want to. I want to stay in bed for the rest of the day."

"That does sound nice," agreed Mei, pushing the creeping thoughts of a naked Yuzu out of her mind. "But you have to work, just like me, so unless you're willing to give up possible revenue streams, I'd suggest you head down there and put in as much time as you can."

"Fine!" There was another loud creak and Mei heard the sound of dressers opening and closing. "You're mean you know that?"

"I've been told that once or twice," chuckled Mei at the pout in Yuzu's voice. "If you want me to stop, I will."

"I didn't say I didn't like it," said Yuzu so quietly that Mei wasn't sure if she was being serious or teasing. "But you're right, and I need to get my butt in gear. I'll talk to you later so we can set up our aquarium visit. Want me to send you any pics from the show floor? I know you've been looking for some inspiration so maybe something there might help."

"Just as long as it's not of someone else's art," said Mei as she dried her hands. "But some pictures would be helpful. I do need a bit of inspiration so just some random pictures of the crowd or selfies or anything you find interesting as long as it's not something that can be mistaken as attempted theft."

"I'll do my best." Yuzu's voice had returned to its usual cheery demeanor, and Mei felt her spirits lift and her smile grow. "I'll talk to you later. Have a good day!"

"You too."

There was a click and the call disconnected, leaving the house silent save for the occasional hum of the air conditioning.

Setting her phone down, Mei let out a loud sigh and was prepared to yell for Himeko to wake up in case she was late for an appointment but stopped when she remembered Himeko had left for Michigan a few days prior to deal with a clients dog and put her own through a preliminary competition.

Upon remembering that she was alone in the house, Mei began trying to figure out if there was anyone else she could spend some time with but as she went through her contact list she became painfully aware of how few personal contacts she had in her address book.

Scrolling through her list, Mei tried to find anybody that was local, but the only ones that weren't business contacts were the people she spent most of her free time with and since it was a weekday most of them would be busy with work. Not to mention that a few were out of town on business and she wasn't about to bother them.

Grunting in frustration, Mei grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge and poured herself a tall glass before heading into the living. After setting her glass down, Mei grabbed a large, brown, worn teddy bear that her father had left with her grandfather back when she was sixteen and held it tight against her chest with one hand while the other removed her wallet from her pocket followed by a wrinkled business card.

Shou Aihara
Professor of Art History and Restoration
Illinois State University College of Fine Arts

Was what it read along with his contact information at the university along with some of his personal information.

Rolling her eyes at her father's lack of concern over his safety, Mei couldn't help but stare at the card.

Despite its small size, the card felt like a boulder in her hand, as if it held every moment of anger and disappointment over the past fifteen years had been poured into the ink before being etched onto the card and yet no matter how angry she was, a feeling of longing wormed its way into her chest.

The need to hear his voice and tell her that everything would be all right, or the way he'd say how proud he was of her whenever he saw her latest piece, no matter how amateurish it appeared. The way he'd smile when he looked over her report card before handing her a few dollars and how he held her and stroked her hair when she was having a bad day and tell her that he'd protect her and now that he was back, Mei wanted to believe him but she couldn't.

She couldn't bring herself to believe him, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself into thinking that she needed his advice. The few times she had tried over the past few years, she'd end up getting angry, no matter how hard she tried not to.

So, as was her normal answer to anything involving her father, instead of calling him, Mei put the card back in her pocket, downed her soda, turned on a movie, clutched her bear tight to her chest, and even though she knew better, she couldn't help but imagine she was holding Yuzu.