Yuri had always found the shower peaceful. The warmth combined with the gentle sound of running water always seemed to wash her worries away for a little while. They were longer than usual these days; she couldn't recall ever needing so much time to wash her long purple hair. Perhaps that was because it never actually got dirty back in the game and the shower was mostly for the sake of routine rather than actual cleanliness. It would be different here, as she found out shortly after her arrival when some falling autumn leaves had gotten caught in it and she hadn't even noticed until hours later.
The tranquility was interrupted by loud banging on the bathroom door.
"Hurry up, Yuri!" Natsuki shouted from the other side. "You've been in there forever and I've got to shower too!"
"I'm sorry, I'll try to finish up."
"What?! I can't hear you! I'm coming in!" She did and Yuri was thankful that the opaque dark blue shower curtain hid her from view. "So what's the holdup?"
"It's my hair," Yuri admitted. "It takes ages to wash it all and...I think I've run out of shampoo."
"Oh," Natsuki replied. "You know, my hair's been tricky too! Although it's not as long as yours, of course. Hold on, I'll go ask Kate."
It was quiet for a few minutes, leaving Yuri unsure as to whether she should wait to see what happened or just finish the shower despite only about half of her hair being washed. Just as she was about to reach for the knob to turn the water off, she heard footsteps down the stairs and eventually in the bathroom.
"Yuri?" Kate said. "I brought you some more shampoo."
"Thank you." Yuri stuck her arm out from behind the curtain. Kate seemed to hesitate before giving her the shampoo and Yuri realized her mistake. As soon as she had the new bottle in her hands, she yanked her arm back into the shower.
While Yuri finished walking her hair, Kate looked around the basement for Monika and found her putting some of her clothes away in the small bureau that she now shared with Natsuki. "Monika, can I talk to you upstairs?"
"Okay." The two of them walked upstairs and Kate glanced behind them to make sure none of the other girls had followed them.
"Is Yuri okay?" Kate asked.
"I think so," Monika replied. "Although it can be hard to tell with her. Did something happen?"
"Her arm is covered with scars."
"There weren't any fresh ones, were there?"
"Didn't look like it."
"That's good at least," Monika said. "She's struggled with cutting herself in the past. From what I understand, things have been better recently...but this has been a big stressful transition, I hope she's able to hold up."
"Does Rob know about this?" Kate asked.
"Oh, he sure does."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It was in the game."
"Oh," Kate said. "The poor girl. That's a very deep-rooted and personal problem and millions of people know about it."
"I think she's fairly stable now," Monika said. "But she does get very anxious. I'll try to keep an eye on her."
Satisfied with that, Kate went to try and catch Rob before he took the boys to school. "Rob, I think you should spend some time with Yuri today."
"Sure," he said, reaching for his jacket. "Did something happen?"
"Not yet," Kate answered. "But you've been spending most of your time with Natsuki."
"Well-"
"I get it. They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease and she's definitely a squeaky wheel. But I don't want any of the others to slip through the cracks."
"I don't either."
"I know," Kate said. "We just have to remember that, for all intents and purposes, we have three daughters now. Just like we don't favor one of the boys over the other, we need to be balanced in terms of how we take care of them."
She was right, of course. After the boys were after school and Kate had left for work, Rob went down into the basement to see what Yuri was up to. He saw Natsuki reading some manga while laying on her stomach on the futon and Monika was using her laptop in the other room. As for Sayori, she still hadn't gotten out of bed. With no school commitments to worry about, Rob had a feeling she was going to be catching up on a lot of sleep.
The door to the bathroom was half open. Rob figured Yuri would have shut it if she needed privacy but still opted to knock first.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay, Yuri?"
"I'm fine," she said. "I'll be out momentarily." He waited and she emerged looking a bit flustered. Rob's eyes went to a pair of scissors in her hands. At first, he thought the worst but soon realized she wouldn't be using those to hurt herself when she had a few of her prized knives packed away in the other room.
"What were you doing in there with the scissors?"
"Oh!" Yuri hid them behind her back, even though it was far too late. "I…I was about to cut my hair."
"Your hair?"
"It's far too long," she explained. "It takes an eternity to wash."
"If you need a haircut, we're going to go see a professional," Rob said. "I'm not going to make you cut it yourself."
Yuri felt a little sheepish at how obvious the solution to her problem was, but she often felt it was better to take care of an issue on her own rather than ask someone else for help and risk an unfavorable response. Even now, she wondered if Rob was upset with her as they went upstairs and out to the car.
However, once they started driving he began making conversation in that laid-back but sweet manner of his and Yuri realized he wasn't angry. He even invited her to look through his collection of music that was connected to the car stereo, but the drive was short and she only had the chance to listen to a few songs.
When they arrived at the salon, he briefly spoke with a woman at a counter. A few moments later, another woman walked out. "Come on over here, young lady."
As Rob sat down in a small chair and began to peruse some nearby magazines, Yuri made her way to a swiveling chair and sat down in front of a mirror.
"It's been a long time since your last haircut, hasn't it?"
"Yes, you could say that," Yuri answered. "It has gotten out of my control so I think it needs to be much shorter."
"You got it," the hairdresser said. As she began to comb the considerable amount of hair over Yuri's shoulders, she made a strange noise that indicated some level of confusion.
"Is everything all right?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah. I've just never seen anything like it. Your hair…I thought it was dyed, but it's naturally purple. Right down the roots. I didn't think that was even possible."
"Ah," Yuri said, taking a moment to try and think of an answer. "It is a rare mutation that runs in my family."
"Really? I saw your father and his hair was light brown."
"My…father…is from the Polish side of the family. My mother is of Japanese descent and she has the purple hair. In terms of my appearance, I mostly take after her as you can see."
"It certainly looks that way." The hairdresser didn't have any more questions, which actually left Yuri mildly disappointed. She was starting to enjoy coming up with this improvised narrative. It was easy to let her mind wander as her hair was getting cut but some time later, it was done. All the hair was gone up to about an inch above her shoulders. A huge clump of purple surrounded the chair.
The feeling of having nothing brushing against her back as she stood up was an odd sensation. Yuri wandered over to find Rob in the waiting area, curious about his reaction.
"Wow!" he said. "That's even shorter than Monika's!"
"Do..do you like it?"
"I think it looks great!" he said. "But it's more important that you like it. I hope you do because it will take years for it to get that long again."
"I do like it," she said with a smile. "I suppose I thought it was symbolic, like leaving all the hardship of my old world behind. Does that make sense?"
"It does," Rob replied. "Let's get home. I can't wait to see what the other girls think."
They weren't even driving for two minutes when Yuri's ears were assaulted by a shrieking high-pitched noise. Rob looked in his rear-view mirror and briefly pulled over to the right. A large white vehicle practically flew past them. It was an ambulance. Yuri knew what they were but hadn't realized until that moment that she had never actually heard one.
"What a horrible noise," she said. "I hope everyone at home is safe."
"I'm sure they are," Rob replied. "There are thousands of people living in this town so the chance that particular ambulance is headed to our house is incredibly low. No need to worry."
"Yes, that makes sense." Rob looked over at her and seemed to realize just how much the siren had rattled her.
"On second thought, let's make one more stop before we go home."
"Oh? W-Where are we going?"
"You'll see." Yuri didn't have a clue where he might have been taking her, but their destination was a pleasant surprise. It was some sort of tea shop in a less busy part of the town they lived in (she should probably learn its name at some point).
It was a small space with one long rack that spanned the entirety of one of the walls. On its shelves were all manner of teas, including some that she could remember from inside the game. There were so many that she wanted to try, but she had no money. Rob knew that, didn't he? So he must have intended to buy some or else why bother coming here?
"Pick out a few that you like," he said, as if reading her mind.
They left the store with a few bags of oolong teas, which were her favorite. Rob seemed to have no knowledge in this area other than your basic fruit-flavored teas but opted not to get anything for himself. As they left, Yuri wondered what it might be like to work at a store like that, to make a living based on something she had a great passion for. She would have to get all her paperwork in order here before that was possible and it was likely to be a long process. Monika had been here nearly 11 months and still wasn't finished.
At home, Sayori was the only one who was upstairs. She was still in her pajamas and seemed to have only just gotten around to eating breakfast. When she saw Yuri, her mouth fell open and a few stray drops of milk dribbled out. Her spoon fell from her hand and hit the floor.
"Yuri!" she shouted, running over. "Your hair! It's so SHORT!"
"Yes," Yuri said as her face reddened. "Do you like it?"
"I love it! You look like ten years older!"
Rob's phone rang as Sayori took her by the hand and led her down the stairs, eagerly announcing the news of Yuri's haircut to the others. She didn't want it turned into this kind of spectacle, but when Sayori was this excited there was so stopping her.
"It looks wonderful, Yuri!" Monika said as she felt the hair's much shorter edge with one hand.
"Good thing it's still purple," Natsuki said. "Otherwise, I might not have recognized you. It looks nice and your showers will be shorter. I would say that's a win for everyone."
Yuri still had her coat on, so she walked back upstairs to hang it up. Sayori followed and went to clean up the dishes she had left at the table. Rob's phone call seemed to have ended, but something was wrong. He was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, staring vacantly into space.
Sayori noticed as well. "Rob, what's wrong?"
"That was my brother," he said quietly. "Babci died last night."
"Who…who is Babci?" Yuri asked.
"It's Polish for grandmother."
"Oh no!" Sayori hugged him instinctively. Yuri wanted to as well, but she found herself immobile. She imagined trying to hug Rob, only for him to push him away and say "get off me, Yuri." That would have been totally out of character, but Yuri couldn't convince herself that it wouldn't happen. Couldn't ignore that feeling that she couldn't get away with the sort of things that other people did without even thinking about. Because she was different and the world would look on her harshly as a result. She had done the group hug, but that didn't count because Sayori had initiated it.
The news didn't come up again until Kate returned from work and the boys were home from school. Rob's brother had decided to delay his flight back to New Zealand in order to attend the funeral, which was in a few days' time. Kate would be going along with Monika, the only one of the girls who had met Rob's grandmother. The boys were deemed too young to sit through an entire funeral service and would be spending that time with Kate's parents.
The next day was Halloween, an event the girls had planned for well in advance. Despite never having actually experienced the holiday, all of them had apparently been written with knowledge of the event and its traditions. They had even brought costumes with them from inside the game.
Yuri began the day with a nice hot cup of oolong tea. As she sat at the dining room table and enjoyed the silence, her thoughts went to the previous day and how she had been startled by both the ambulance and the news of Rob's grandmother. She decided it was time to learn a bit more about her new home. Perhaps this would cut down on unwelcome surprises in the future.
Monika was reading a book while reclined on the bed she had given to Natsuki.
"May I use your computer for a few minutes?" Yuri asked.
"Of course, Yuri," Monika replied.
"Thank you." She sat down at the small desk in front of the laptop and opened the internet browser. After a moment of thought, she simply typed in "world news" into the search bar. Might as well get straight into it.
She realized too late this was a huge mistake. The headlines she saw were an onslaught of violence, hatred and despair. It was exactly the opposite of what she had been hoping for when she decided to look. Life in Rob and Kate's home seemed peaceful, if crowded and hectic at times, but apparently everything outside the place was an absolute nightmare.
This had to stop. Not wanting to alarm Monika, she quietly closed the browser and left the room. Sayori was still sleeping in the futon that they shared while Natsuki was showering in the bathroom. Now that Kate and the boys were out of the house, the bathroom upstairs would likely be vacant. Yuri grabbed one of her knives from a little hiding spot she had made in the corner of the room, glancing at Sayori to see if she was stirring at all. She snuck upstairs and darted into the bathroom, feeling like a criminal on the run from law enforcement.
She felt a storm raging in her head, a terrible cacophony of anxious thoughts that made her want to scream and tear open her own body so part of her might escape. It hadn't been this bad in months, probably not since the day she first held the position of President of the Literature Club.
Yuri rolled up her sleeve and saw the faded scars, all reminders of other desperate moments like this. The knife hovered just above the skin. Before it made contact, she suddenly remembered something Rob had said to her.
"If you ever feel compelled to hurt yourself, please come to me, okay? Or my wife or one of the other girls. Whoever you feel most comfortable with."
Was that something she could do now? He had suggested it himself so that meant he wouldn't be angry with her, right? Maybe it was worth trying, but if she didn't get a reassuring response there would be no other recourse to relieve her frantic state. Yuri placed her knife in the medicine cabinet and intended to retrieve it later. She left the bathroom and saw Rob sitting alone on the couch, clearly deep in thought. Perhaps the passing of his grandmother was on his mind? Was it right to interrupt his quiet grieving?
Before she could agonize about it any further, Rob turned his head and noticed her in the hallway. "Yuri? Are you okay?"
"May I talk to you?" she asked, visibly trembling.
"Yeah. You really look upset. Why don't you sit down?"
She did and then spent some time thinking about the best way to explain herself. He didn't interrupt but he looked very concerned.
"I wanted to learn more about this world," Yuri finally said. "And I suppose I did. How have you survived so long in such an awful place?"
"I wonder that sometimes myself," Rob replied. "I understand what you're feeling. On the one hand, it's good to have some knowledge about what's happening out there, but on the other hand, about 90 percent of the news is bad. It can feel all-encompassing and hopeless."
"Exactly," Yuri said. "You tried to warn me about this. I remember our talk back inside the game. Yet I sought this knowledge out anyway. I must be insane."
"Hold it," Rob said. "You're not insane, Yuri. Getting distressed about the state of the world is the response one would expect from anyone who hasn't grown completely hardened to the struggles of their fellow human beings. What it means is that you're sane in a crazy world."
She didn't reply as most of her energy was going towards holding back tears. Yuri couldn't bear the thought of crying in front of him, but then he said something surprising.
"Yuri, would you like a hug?"
After hearing that, a wall in her head came down and she took him up on the offer with enough enthusiasm that he was pushed back against the side of the couch. The two of them were now in a reclined position with her head resting on his chest, which was a nice sensation.
"I'm sorry I didn't hug you yesterday," she said, a few tears escaping despite her best efforts. "When you heard your grandmother died, I wanted to, but…I thought you wouldn't like it."
"I'm the same way," Rob said. "I never think that anyone wants to hug me. I took a risk this time because you seem so upset. You won't have to worry about that, though. You don't even have to ask if you don't want to. The answer will always be yes."
Yuri looked up at him. "Really? Always?"
"Well," he added. "If I'm in the middle of taking a shit, you might have to wait a few minutes."
She suddenly sat up. "Rob, that's disgusting!"
He was trying to hold back laughter. "I don't want to make an irresponsible promise."
"Between you and Sayori, I'm constantly subjected to this toilet humor."
It wasn't until a couple hours later that Yuri realized Rob may have had an ulterior motive for making that crude comment. It had come as such a shock that for a moment, she had completely forgotten about her distress. It no longer felt as overwhelming, although she suspected it would trouble her in a more subtle way for some time.
After dinner, it was time to get the costumes on and indulge in the tradition of walking the streets demanding candy. Yuri was going to be a vampire queen and had a costume composed of a long, flowing dress and an imperious looking crown. She meticulously sculpted her newfound short hair into an ornate looking bun that would complement the overall look.
Natsuki was some sort of fairy, with a green dress and sparkling wings that clipped onto the back. She laid a flower crown atop her head as a final touch. Sayori was arguably the most festive of the group, dressed as a giant pumpkin. She wore a very loose-fitting round costume that was held up by suspenders. It exposed a lot of her legs, so she put on black leggings to help resist the late autumn cold.
Kate would be taking them trick and treating alongside the twins while Rob and Monika stayed home to give out candy to the rest of the neighborhood. They had costumes of their own, although Yuri had no idea what the basis for them was. He wore a black suit jacket, sunglasses and a long black wig.
"What are you supposed to be?" Natsuki asked as everyone prepared to leave.
"Oh hi, Natsuki," he said back.
"Hi yourself. What the hell is that accent?"
Monika had on a red dress, a blonde wig and a black tie tied around her forehead. This was clearly some private joke that Yuri wasn't sure she wanted to know any more about.
She put on her best "airhead" voice. "I hope we don't get too many visitors, Rob. My belly button needs you."
"Anything for my princess!"
"Jeez," Natsuki said. "Can we please just get out of here?"
They left through the front door, followed closely by Andrew and Lucas. Yuri didn't understand their costumes either, but Kate explained that they were dressed as characters named Mario and Luigi.
The group walked through the chill evening atmosphere, fallen leaves crunching beneath their feet. It was a little awkward knocking on random people's doors, but Yuri found that she didn't really have to say much. As long as one or more of the others said "trick or treat," she could simply hold out her bag and get her share. Small crowds of children were everywhere but Yuri was relieved to see that there were also people in costume that looked about their age. The boys were jumping around excitedly while Sayori was unsuccessfully trying to convince Natsuki to give her extra candy to replace what she had already hastily eaten.
"Yuri?" She was shaken out of her thoughts by Kate. "Have you talked to Rob much today? I'm a little worried about him."
"He seems normal," Yuri answered.
"He hasn't said much about his grandmother. Sometimes I get concerned about him holding feelings inside. He never thinks anyone wants to listen."
"I learned about his sister not long ago," Yuri said. "Now his grandmother. He's really dealt with a lot of tragedy, hasn't he?"
"He has," Kate replied. "But this is a bit different. Lauren dying was…wrong in just about every sense. She was only three years old. It goes against everything we value as a society. Children are not supposed to die before their parents and ideally, not before their older brothers. It feels like a violation."
Yuri didn't say anything. The magnitude of the loss still felt unimaginable.
"But Babci was 95 years old," Kate continued. "In that time, she got to see all of her children and grandchildren grow up. She got to meet two great-grandchildren. It was sad news and we will miss her very much, but there's some comfort to be found in the fact that she led a wonderful life."
"I think I understand," Yuri said. "Your job is to counsel people, correct?"
"That's part of it."
"You seem to have a gift for it. Monika admires you very much and I can see why."
"Thank you," Kate said. "That's very sweet of you to say."
The group visited house after house as all the candy bags began to swell. Yuri suspected it would take her months to actually eat all these sweets. Sayori would probably be done in less than 24 hours. Natsuki, who had the talent to make her own sweet treats whenever she wished, probably felt no need to save the candy either.
As the night wore on and the clamor of costumed children receded, they returned to the house. Andrew and Lucas went to bed while Kate and Rob were using their respective computers in their bedroom.
"This was really fun!" Natsuki said. "But it still feels early to go to bed. Hmm, I wonder…" Her voice trailed off as she began rummaging through all the kitchen cupboards.
"Natsuki, if you're looking for something in particular, I can tell you where it is," Monika offered. Natsuki ignored her and continued her search.
"Ah ha! Hey Yuri!" she called out. "I found some…white wine?"
"It's not wine," Monika said. "It's mead."
"Whatever. Let's pop it open."
The idea did sound pretty pleasant so Yuri found a corkscrew in one of the kitchen drawers and was able to pull the wooden cork out after a significant effort. The loud popping noise startled everyone in the room, but before long they were sitting at the table with full glasses.
"Hey!" Rob called out. He had dispensed with the sunglasses and wig but was still wearing the black suit jacket. "Are you guys drinking all that mead? That stuff's really expensive!"
"Not me," Monika said. "I had an awful headache the next morning when I tried it."
"You're just a lightweight," Natsuki teased.
Monika laughed. "Oh, look who's talking! The first windy day we have while you're here, you're going to end up stuck in a tree!"
Natsuki gave her the middle finger and took another swig of her glass.
"My goodness!" Monika said with purposely exaggerated shock. "Don't you give your Auntie the finger!"
"You're not my aunt!"
"Oh yes I aaaaam," she said back in a singsong voice. Natsuki turned away and took another drink.
"Be careful," Rob cautioned. "I know it goes down easy but it will knock you out."
Meanwhile, Yuri was drinking her share slowly and thoughtfully. Sayori had a glass but hadn't taken much more than a few small sips. The idea seemed to make her nervous for whatever reason.
Once her glass was empty, Yuri was feeling quite content. There was a sensation that resembled the warm hug she had received earlier that day. While she was happy to sit in her chair and grin, Natsuki was on the countertop dancing to a song that apparently only she could hear.
"Halloween is the best holiday everrrrr!" she suddenly shouted. Afterwards, she lost her balance and fell off the counter. Monika managed to catch her.
"Don't think you can take advantage of me because I'm wasted!"
"Yeah right," Monika said. "Rob? A little help?"
Rob decided that getting Natsuki down the stairs in her current state could be difficult, so he reasoned she was small enough to just sleep on the living room couch.
At first, she couldn't get comfortable and Rob had to unclip the fairy wings from her back. Once that was done, she nuzzled the soft back cushion of the couch as Rob got her a blanket and pillow.
"I told you to take it slow," Rob admonished. "Maybe one of these days you'll listen to your old man."
Natsuki smiled and then reached out and took his hand. It looked like she was going to say something but instead she passed out. Rob chuckled, quickly kissed her hand and rested it on her stomach.
"That's impressive," Yuri said as Rob stood back up.
"What is?"
"She's rarely that affectionate."
"Well, she's drunk."
"She certainly is," Yuri said. "But I don't think that's all. She feels safe here and I know that's a feeling she has been chasing for a long time."
"I hope that's the case," Rob said. "What about you? It seems like you're much better at holding your liquor."
"I feel like I must have had some practice in my old life. That's a bit worrying considering I was in high school, but as far as my bad habits go, it might be the healthier one."
"You're also safe here," Rob said. "I hope you know that."
"I think I do," Yuri replied. "I think this place can be my shelter."
She hugged him and walked downstairs, which was only somewhat difficult. That evening, she fell asleep easier than any other night she could remember. Was it the feeling of being safe and loved? Or was it the mead? Either way, it was nice.
