I Could not Bring My Passion, from the Common Spring
Ding! The elevator let out its characteristic noise as it reached its destination. The seven-segment display showed floor ten. Shigeru was one step closer. As the door slid open, he was greeted by another receptionist, this time a man going by Tanaka, assuming his name placard was correct. His hand already reaching to retrieve his wallet, Shigeru made his approach.
"Good morning, sir, Your ID please." Tanaka requested in the manner one would expect of a professional receptionist. He was direct and to the point, while not coming across as unnecessarily pushy or overpowering. It sent a clear message; those expected were welcome. Those who came unannounced were not. He supposed it was a reasonable sentiment to portray.
Sliding the plastic card once again out of its confines, Shigeru handed the requested identification to the stoic man with a nod, confident that there would be no issues. As the light on the computer flashed green, he was vindicated in his assumption.
"Good morning Nobu-San," Tanaka greeted as he returned the identifying card. "We have been expecting you of course. I assume you know where you are going at this point?" He asked leadingly. Shigeru did know, but he didn't mind the not-so-subtle offer of directions, even though he had already received the same on the first floor.
"Yes, I'll be right over here," Shigeru responded jerking his head towards the doors to what he assumed was room 10001. It wouldn't make sense to have two rooms like that on the same floor after all. 'Either that or we have an embezzlement problem…' That was neither here nor there though. He knew where he was meant to be, and it was through those doors.
"I see." Tanaka responded calmly before continuing, "I wish you a productive day then Nobu-San, the others are already here." That wasn't too concerning, other than telling him that he was on time. The old man had told him to expect to be the second to last to arrive after all…
"Ah… Thank you Tanaka-San," Shigeru responded realizing that he had been drifting out of the conversation somewhat. "I'll be on my way now… and uh… I wish you a productive day as well." Turning to step further towards his destiny, Shigeru vaguely heard an 'of course, thank you,' uttered in his direction, but he tried to put it out of his mind. 'That could have gone better…' he reprimanded himself for fumbling a simple interaction like that. It wasn't that he cared when Tanaka thought of him, it was hardly like he would remember what had even happened before the hour was out. No… something like holding a simple conversation should have been easy… and yet it wasn't.
That was no reason to get himself worked up. He had much bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Fish he knew much more about than small talk too, so that was a plus. As Shigeru laid his hand on the ornately decorated door – classy and indicative of the highbrow nature of went on within, not gaudy – he took a deep breath. 'I've got this…' he thought to himself.
Pulling the portal to his fate open, Shigeru saw pretty much what he expected. A boardroom, dominated by the conference table in the center, populated by other men dressed like him – fine black suits, fine ties, fine shoes. Well, there was a woman there, sat to the side set up to take notes. 'How very traditional,' he noted. He wouldn't have minded some more diversity in the room if he was being honest. He might not have liked people that much, but even he could see the value in gaining more varied opinions… if taking comment was required of course. The best way would have been to just do it himself… but if he needed others' input, he might as well see things from as many angles as possible.
'Too bad that's not an option,' he sighed to himself as he gently closed the door behind him. It didn't appear that his entrance had gotten anyone's attention, besides perhaps the secretary's. Just as he preferred. The secretary's eyes drifted across him before she made to note something down, but he dismissed it as normal practice. It was her job to record events after all, and it filled him with confidence in her that she was already in information-gathering mode.
Putting the diligent secretary to the back of his mind for the moment, Shigeru moved to put his back to the wall, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He knew who everyone in the room was… well, he had read their profiles at least. It always paid to be prepared, even if it meant reading up on his new associates ahead of time.
That being said, if everything had gone to plan, no one in the room should have known who he was. It would ruin the big reveal if they did already, and the old man wouldn't want that, now would he. For all he could be efficient and straightforward when it came to business, he had his moments where it seemed all he wanted was the spectacle. Shigeru supposed it made sense. When someone had been so successful and had built so much, it only made sense that they'd let themself lay back a bit, at least when nothing too big was on the line.
As Shigeru scanned the gathered businessmen once again, he began picking out individuals and associating what he saw with what he had read in his notes. 'Ah, there's Smith-San, the American,' he picked out first, if only because he stuck out like a sore thumb. He had been brought on a couple of years ago, to help bring a more international standpoint. From what Shigeru had gleaned, he had been fairly successful in accomplishing that task.
Turning his attention to the man speaking with Mr. Smith, as the American might have said in his home tongue, Shigeru had to think a moment before he recognized the next man. There was a stereotype in the west, Shigeru knew, that said that all Asians looked the same. Well, if ever there was an example of that, Suzuki Haruto was it. Between his non-distinct features that would have been at home on any of the faces in the room, to his average height, average weight, and black hair, Suzuki-San could have been almost anyone. Even his name was a combination of two of the most common appellations in Japan.
All of that said though, Shigeru was more than willing to overlook Suzuki-San's strangely too normal appearance in favor of his competency. Yes, Suzuki Haruto was the man responsible, as far as Shigeru could tell, for modernizing the old paper labyrinth of a records system into the computer systems that were now the lifeblood of the company. The paper mess had persisted well into the 21st century, the old management having been stubborn and resistant to change, much to their detriment.
The old man used to tell him horror stories of what it was like trying to get information from one person to another through the mess of filing and copying, printing, and faxing. He had said at the time that venting the stress helped keep him sane… but Shigeru had half a thought that he had been trying to nudge him towards information systems as his area of preference, rather than his current skill set. 'Good thing he found out what I could do when he did…' he reminisced, wondering about the different path he may have taken, in another life.
The moral of the story though was that despite his unassuming looks, Suzuki Haruto was certainly an asset and a very valuable one at that.
Most of the men in the room followed the lead of the two Shigeru had already examined. They were men that had had illustrious, though not necessarily overly long, careers. The average age there was only in the early thirties – excluding the old man, he certainly skewed the data upwards when included – which was remarkable on its own for a group of their nature. That wasn't to say that every one of them was particularly impressive though.
That didn't mean that any of them had done anything particularly poorly, either. They wouldn't have been there if they had. It was just that a few… or well, one if Shigeru was being honest, of the men in black didn't have anything particularly impressive on his resume that would have indicated his qualifications to have been among their number. Looking for the man in question, Shigeru only had to follow the sound of the loudest voice in the room…
"…She spread her legs for me the moment she found out just how great a guy I am," he guffawed at his clearly unwilling conversation partner. Shigeru didn't think the other man could have looked any more intently at the agenda for the day if he tried, attempting to ignore the uncouth discussion he was unwillingly being drawn into.
Shigeru would have likely found himself in the same position given the content of the rather one-sided 'discussion'. 'So rude,' he thought to himself, 'to not only kiss and tell… but in polite company… someone is either confident or insecure… most likely the latter.' It wasn't that thinking or talking about sex was necessarily a bad thing… but being a jerk about it, well, it just made you a jerk. It certainly didn't help the impression Shigeru had already developed of Sato Asuka.
The man in question stood at just below the national average at one hundred and fifty-five centimeters, with a head topped with rather short cut dark brown hair. In some lighting, Shigeru suspected that it could have been confused for black, but where they were now the distinction was fairly clear. Beneath that hair, Shigeru could see the arms of a pair of glasses, resting on his ears. Judging by what he could see, he would have guessed that they were a designer pair.
He also knew from the biographic information included in the dossier on Sato that he had a pair of regular old brown eyes. That was one of the few pieces of information he had been given on the man, alongside his education at one of the middling universities outside of the top echelon and his age of twenty-five. That made him the second-youngest person there, save Shigeru himself.
Seeing Sato's eyes fall over him, Shigeru let out a sigh. 'All good things must come to an end, I suppose,' he thought in an intentionally overdramatic voice. It seemed his time observing from the sidelines had finally run its course. Now came the unfortunately necessary part of this whole deal, dealing with his soon-to-be new associates.
Having noticed what he had every reason to believe to be a complete stranger in his meeting room, Sato made his way around the conference table, his eyes locked on Shigeru. As he approached his target, he raised his voice even further than he had previously, making sure that he would be heard over the otherwise quiet din of pre-meeting conversation. "Hey, who let a brat in here?" he half-shouted, drawing the attention of the others onto himself, and by proximity, Shigeru.
Ignoring for the moment the jab at his apparent youth – he hadn't been the one boasting about something as frivolous as a meaningless sexual conquest – Shigeru kept himself calm. It wouldn't do to screw up just because someone thought they were the big man in the room. "My name is Nobu-Shigeru," he introduced himself, taking a formal bow. Sato was technically his superior after all, so it would do to give him the respect his position deserved, at least in appearance. Goodwill greased the wheels of… well, pretty much everything. "I will be in your care," he continued, finishing the formulaic but still effective introduction.
It may have been cliché, but it gained that notoriety because it was effective. 'That's the opening I used on Ophis…' flitted through his mind, but he had the self-control to dismiss it, as hard as it was. He had work to do, and he could reminisce later when he was holding the real thing.
His momentary distraction passed; Shigeru didn't miss the less than welcoming expression on Sato's face. At least the others in the room, having been drawn into the exchange by his louder than necessary opening question had the decency to mutter back a similarly formulaic response. Shigeru knew they meant vanishingly little, but sometimes going through the motions was important, even if it seemed silly or pointless from the outside.
Clearing his throat, once again drawing attention to himself, Sato continued down his line of questioning. "And what do you want, Nobu – Kun?" He asked with a hint of derision in his tone. Shigeru did not miss the use of the diminutive honorific, but he kept his expression.
'He's just trying to set the pecking order.' He reminded himself that certain kinds of people liked to play petty games when they felt they were in a position to put others down after all. He would have to deal with this one accordingly. "Only the respect you would give anyone else here, Sato-San," Shigeru replied politely, though, in the back of his mind, he noted that perhaps that wasn't very much to begin with.
"Hmph… I'm sure anyone would be begging for my respect," Sato continued with his increasingly obvious posturing. The rest in the room were either doing their best to avoid the situation or giving Shigeru looks of consolation. "That still doesn't explain though what you're doing here, we're about to have a very important meeting, one you aren't meant for." Obvious posturing indeed.
Shigeru let the even more obvious insult slide off his back. He knew what he was doing. He was ready. It was almost time. "Are you sure about that Sato-San?" He questioned; his tone intentionally devoid of any indication that the man's words had riled him up. That was what Shigeru was sure he was after, all things considered. "Unless there was a printing mistake in the agenda you have certainly reviewed by now, I am the 'Special Item' we are set to discuss at the meeting's opening."
Momentarily confused, Sato turned behind him, and without regard for the otherwise occupied Suzuki plucked his agenda from where it sat before him. Scanning the page briefly, Sato apparently saw something he didn't like, as he looked back up with an even less pleasant expression on his face. "What do you mean you are the special business; I haven't even heard of you?" He demanded, a step away from aggressive.
'A hot head and undisciplined, tell me, why is this man here, Old man?' Shigeru wondered for a moment shaking his head. "You will find out when the time comes," Shigeru responded tranquility, and looking at his watch noted, "Which shouldn't be too long now, we should take our seats." As Sato checked his own timepiece, one Shigeru knew to be far overvalued at that, he seemed to grudgingly agree with Shigeru's assessment.
As the glasses-wearing man made his way to his place, he mouthed "we aren't done" in Shigeru's direction. Shigeru didn't bother responding beyond a raise of his eyebrow while he made his way to his designated seat, the one he had been assured would be left unoccupied for him. Only a few moments left.
I Could not Bring My Passion, from the Common Spring
As the clock struck 11:36, Ophis made her way to the kitchen. Fluffy and Shiki were left behind for the moment. They had been serving their role as entertainment well all things considered, but there was something even better that she would be remiss to go without.
It was only as Ophis stepped into what she had otherwise dubbed Shi's culinary kingdom that she realized that there was just one problem with her plan to acquire lunch. "Ah… no Shi," She spoke aloud in realization. Shiki and Fluffy had been doing a good job indeed, to the point that her predicament had slipped her mind entirely. They would need to see more love.
While that was all well and good, without Shi to make her food… how was she going to eat? The thought of her making food herself briefly crossed her mind but was quickly dismissed. 'Scary,' she admitted to herself. The thought of messing something up, especially when the thought that those ingredients might have been the key to what Shi had planned for other meals… she didn't want to risk anything. She wanted to make sure she still got her tasty treats after all.
On top of not wanting to misuse or waste precious resources, the tools of the kitchen also gave Ophis pause. She wasn't concerned about the 'heavy' pans or sharp knives though, neither were particularly troublesome for her. Neither was a threat. No, she was much more concerned with burning down the building with the open flame the stove seemed to produce. For all her raw power, even she knew that she was a bit on the clumsy side of things, much to her private embarrassment. 'Dragon Gods don't slip' she reminded herself forcefully, her mind not trying to present her with an image of her face down with Great Red laughing above her.
That never happened. There wasn't even anything to slip on in the Dimensional Gap in the first place.
Eventually, Ophis resigned herself to simply subsisting off of some of the fruit Shi had designated for her consumption. She had grown quite fond of apples while with Shi, the mixture of sweet and tart was pleasant. Yes… that was what she would do. An apple, then she would go back to playing with Shiki and Fluffy to hold herself over until Shi returned.
Her mind made up, Ophis turned towards the fridge, and making sure to moderate her strength to not rip the door off its hinges, pulled it open. What she saw brought a small smile to her face. 'Shi did this for me… Shi is… good,' she acknowledged as her eyes scanned the note taped on the inside of the fridge, right in line with her head height. He really did think of everything.
Starting once again from the top, Ophis made sure to take in the details of Shi's message the second time around.
Dear Ophis,
By the time you're reading this at 11:42, I'm sure that I'll be missing you as much as you miss me. I'll be home as soon as I can, then we can spend the rest of the day together.
Pausing to look at the clock, Ophis read 11:44 from the digital display. Shi was close, really close. She could appreciate the time he's taken to get to know her habits. It was nice to know he cared. What he was offering when he returned promised to be even nicer, but she had a note to read before she could get too distracted thinking about what was to come.
That being said, I'm sure you're hungry right about now, and wondering what you were supposed to do for lunch since I'm not around to make it for you. Well, I thought of that this morning and portioned out some of last night's leftovers for you to reheat. All you'll need to do is follow the instructions below…
Looking further, Ophis saw the numbered list of instructions for how she could warm the food Shi had set aside for her. 'Shi is the best,' She confirmed to herself as she read down to the bottom of the page. There, Shi had left one final note.
I can't wait to be back with you, so just hold on a little bit longer Ophis, I'll be back before you know it. I'll see you then, -Shigeru.
Yes, he would see her then. Shi would come back, and everything would be right in the world. Plucking the note from its hanging place, Ophis placed it on the counter, so she didn't need to leave the fridge open while she worked. Once she did, she quickly found the container helpfully labeled,
For Ophis
On its lid. Shi had tried making something he called 'Carnitas' the night before. Ophis had enjoyed them as she did all of his cooking, so she was quite happy to have the same again for lunch. She didn't see any of the 'tortillas' they had been wrapped in, but she was more than happy to eat the meat straight. Withdrawing the container from the fridge and placed it beside Shi's note, ready to follow his wisdom to find herself with a delicious lunch.
The first step was merely removing the red plastic lid from the container. After a moment of contemplating how that would be done, she found the tab that protruded from the lid's main body, facilitating removal. 'An ingenious design,' she thought, as the lid popped easily off.
The next in the series of tasks was too… put a different lid on the container. Shi called this new covering 'wax paper,' and Ophis knew the box that contained it… but she couldn't quite understand the point of taking off one lid only to put on another. She would do it though. Shi had his reasons, and even if they didn't make sense to her, she knew that she could trust them. Doing so hadn't led her wrong so far at least.
Retrieving the wax paper from its drawer, Ophis managed after only a few tries to get a piece that was just the right size to cover her food, while not simultaneously being too large. Shi had said being exact wasn't too important, but she knew she could do better than settling for less. Her food now covered, Ophis turned towards the noisy metal box that sat on Shi's counter.
She didn't particularly like the 'microwave' as Shi called it. It was both noisy and n̸̲̈ǒ̶͕͆i̴̭̯̇s̶̬̬͐y after all. If it was going to be the portal that delivered her lunch, however… well, she supposed that sometimes good came in mysterious packages. She would have to put her animosity for the contraption aside for the moment and let it do its noisy, yet necessary work.
Depressing the big button on the bottom right corner of the machine, Ophis wasn't surprised when the front of the box hinged open, revealing the place her food was to occupy. She had watched her companion cook enough times to know what to expect at least. Having placed her food upon the turntable inside the microwave, Ophis closed the door.
Ophis knew that what came next wasn't particularly hard… but it was the step she was most unsure of. It wouldn't do to enter the wrong cooking time… then her food would be either overcooked and ruined… or undercooked and Shi's instructions wouldn't be able to help her anymore. Taking a deep breath, Ophis calmed herself.
'Right the first time,' She thought to herself as she lifted her hand to the keypad. 'Three buttons,' the instructions called for, the first one: 2. Pressing the first button, Ophis initially panicked – the 2 was supposed to go in the front, not at the back where it was – before she calmed herself. That was normal. That was how it worked for Shi. She hadn't messed it up.
Entering the next digit confirmed her relief, as the 3 pushed the 2 to the left, one spot closer to its destination. That left only one more digit between her and a well-deserved meal. Entering the final number: 0, Ophis was initially surprised when the microwave didn't immediately begin its noisy routine… until she looked at Shi's instructions one more time… and saw one more step in the cooking section. Pressing start might have been useful.
Shifting her finger to hover over the start button, Ophis steeled herself, before beginning her foods journey from preserved to ready to be delicious! The microwave may have been noisy… but it promised a greater treasure when it was finished. 'It is… worth it,' Ophis realized, to sometimes suffer an inconvenience in the present, and reap a bigger reward in the future. Perhaps she would need to ponder that thought further.
Moving her finger the final distance, Ophis commanded the microwave to begin its toil, flinching lightly as it whirred to life. It really was quite unpleasant, being right next to the box as it spewed forth its energy into the world. She imagined that that problem was somewhat unique to herself, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant in the moment. 'It will be worth it,' She reminded herself as she watched the display count down. She would have her meal soon.
As she waited, Ophis considered all of the things Shi had done for her since she had met him. He had given her a place to stay. He had fed her delicious food. He had comforted her. He had enjoyed being with her, not for what she could give him, but because he enjoyed her company. He had given her something to look forward to, something to want that was within her grasp, both in the things he had given her… and in himself.
Ophis had known since she had laid her eyes on Shi that he was the best thing to ever happen to her… but for the first time she admitted to herself, she was truly happy. She knew others would have called it strange, for a Dragon God, a being of infinity from the dawn of time to be content with a provincial life with what had the appearance of a mortal… but she didn't care.
Certainly, Shi was so much m̸͚̐ọ̷͖͂͒̚r̶̦͎̎̍͒e̴̪̅̏̄ than a mortal in the first place, so that didn't really apply, but she didn't expect anyone else to understand that. They weren't equipped to in the first place. Still though, who was anyone else to tell her what could make her happy? She would be the final judge of her happiness, and she had handed down her ruling.
"Shi makes me happy," Ophis whispered as the microwave signaled the completion of its task. The thought drew a smile, a real smile to her face. She was so lost in the thought that it took her a moment to register that her food was ready. Once she realized that her sustenance awaited her, she put aside for the moment her basking in the thought of Shi and focused more directly on the food he had given her.
'Even when he is not here, Shi still provides,' Ophis thought as she popped open the door once again, the pleasant aroma of the meat washing over her. Considering for a moment whether or not to heed Shi's instructions to retrieve the dish with one of the potholders he kept nearby, she quickly decided that yes, yes, she would. It was what he had directed her to do, and she wouldn't want to disregard his direction… and she supposed it would be good practice for acting what he considered 'normal' while he was around.
She was confident that he wouldn't have minded regardless... but with everything he did for her and how happy he made her, she was ready to change her behavior to accommodate him… until he knew what she was at least, at which time the point would be moot. For the moment though, it mattered to her, so having plucked one of the cloth pads from its drawer, Ophis retrieved her meal from the microwave before placing it down on the counter.
Shi had also suggested that she wait a few moments before eating… which was a harder ask. Her food was right there… but she would obey. 'Better reward,' Ophis once again thought in refrain. In exchange for only a few moments of self-denial, she would receive both the satisfaction of knowing that she had listened to Shi and she would still haveher food. Logically, it made sense to resist her base desire to consume, even if it was somewhat unpleasant for the moment.
That didn't mean that Ophis had to be entirely idle as she waited though, and she wasn't. Rather, as she counted down the minutes Shi had suggested in her head, she retrieved the utensils that would deliver her food from the dish to her mouth, before bringing both the dish and her chopsticks from the kitchen to the table where she would eat. She supposed that with Shi not there, forgoing utensils entirely would have been an option… but 'Practice,' she knew would make it easier to stay polite when Shi was with her.
Sitting down, the internal clock in Ophis' mind finally reached zero; it was time to eat. Before she did though, she had one final thing to do. "Itadakimasu," She whispered, just as she had witnessed Shi do at every meal they had shared. It was a simple thing, but one that attached her to Shi, and that made his absence from her… slightly before noon… meal more bearable.
With her pre-meal preparations fully complete, Ophis finally let herself dig in. Brining the first morsel of meat up to her mouth, rather than immediately devouring it as she might have in the past, she instead paused to take in the aroma. Every aspect of Shi's cooking was exceptional, and it would have been a shame to waste one in service of getting to another.
Finally, though, she placed the first bite in her mouth and was immediately in bliss. 'Good,' she concluded, savoring the flavor of the meat itself and the spices Shi had combined it with. Together with the element X Shi seemed to possess that made his food so appealing to her, it was truly wonderful. From there Ophis ate a steady pace, not wanting the experience to end too soon, but not wanting to be without food in her mouth for too long either.
Unfortunately, the dish Shi had provided her did not extend into infinity, and within only seven minutes of the beginning of her relentless assault on her meal, Ophis' plate was empty. She was momentarily sad, and who wouldn't be? That food would never again grace the world… until the next time Shi brought forth its majesty.
Remembering the feast Shi had promised that night, Ophis' disappointment abated. She would have new food to enjoy soon… if only she had Shi to tide her over with his presence until then. Sighing at the lost opportunity, Ophis rose, her plate and utensils in hand, and made her way back into the kitchen. She would have liked to wash them the way Shi did, to keep his sanctum clean… but she didn't know how, and Shi hadn't provided any instructions for dishwashing in his note… only to leave them in the kitchen for him to take care of when he returned.
While she appreciated the offer… it didn't seem fair to Shi to make him clean up after her all the time. He cleaned up after himself and her while he was there… the least she could do was clean up after herself while he wasn't. Given that that was likely to happen more often – which brought a twinge of sadness to Ophis' heart – she wanted to make sure she could support herself and carry her weight. 'Will get Shi to teach me dishes,' she resolved, right between eating the feast he was going to prepare for her and getting him to explore her while they cuddled that night.
Her dishes placed by the sink, Ophis made her way back into the dining area, pausing briefly to take a closer look at the chairs that surrounded the table there. Even though she had been using them multiple times a day for the past few weeks at that point, she hadn't taken the chance to really examine them. 'Odd,' She noted at that realization, but there was no need to dwell on it, she would just need to rectify her past self's omission.
Considering the seats, they were well… seats, made of wood and sanded smooth likely long before they had ever found their way into Shi's home. In keeping with Shi's choice of décor, they were painted black, before being varnished to give them a slight shine under the right light. The result was a smooth seat that, while not as comfortable as something like the couch, where Ophis and Shi had spent much time enjoying each other's presence, was still agreeable to sit in and easy enough to clean.
Concerning the latter point, Ophis recalled Shi accidentally spilling some of one of his sauces on his chair. The loss of the food had been enough to make Ophis a bit dejected at the time, and though Shi had been disappointed at losing some of the fruits of his labors, he let the loss go rather quickly. After quickly grabbing a towel from the kitchen, he had simply wiped up the spill, and it was as if it had never happened.
In Ophis' estimation, they were good chairs, not least of all because they belonged to Shi. As she moved to sit in the seat she had occupied while eating her lunch though, Ophis wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do for the moment. On the one hand, Shiki and Fluffy were an obvious choice and she would certainly be playing with them some more before the day was out. On the other though…
Her thoughts of Shi and her memories of him had made her want to reminisce a bit on their times together. The only problem was that she felt that every moment that they had spent together was worth remembering, so the question was, which one would get her attention first?
As Ophis' mind wandered and her attention diverted from the present to the past, she relinquished some of her conscious control over her body, handing her motor functions over to her subconscious to direct and control. Now, Ophis' subconscious was just that, less than her conscious mind, but that didn't mean it couldn't act. It could and often did… just without the thought and regulation that the true consciousness bound itself in.
Without those limits in place, Ophis had even less reason to care about propriety than she had previously. She was in an empty apartment, after all, there was no one to be proper for. It was completely normal for her right to have traveled first under her shirt, hiking the garment up past her legs. In doing so, she found herself sitting directly on the wood of the chair, her shorts discarded earlier that morning. The sensation didn't bother her though, barely even registering in her mind.
It was also completely reasonable that her left hand came to rest just below her navel, slowly rubbing the space between the artifact of a birth she never had and her bare womanhood below. Finally, there was nothing wrong with her right hand drifting its way upwards, finding the hem of her bra – the manifestation of Shi's embrace – and sliding its way under to come to rest cupping her left breast.
Noticing the feeling of her hand against her chest, Ophis' consciousness snapped back to the present and took note of the changes to her positioning. 'Ah… strange,' she thought to herself. She trusted her body to put itself in the position it deemed most appropriate when she shifted physical control to her subconscious… but she hadn't been expecting this. In all honesty, she hadn't expected much of a change at all.
No matter though, if this was what was best, it would do nicely. Gently closing her right hand, Ophis found the squeezing sensation on her chest quite pleasant. Yes… she was thankful that she had given her body control. It had just helped her make up her mind on what she wanted to reminisce on, and it felt nice along the way.
Letting her mind drift into her chosen memory, she once again relinquished control of her movements, confident that they would do what was best, even if she didn't directly understand. She could ponder them further later; for now, she had a memory to relive.
Having finished making Shiki, the puppet securely in its place in her room, Ophis had returned to the living room to find Shi back on the couch, just as he had been before their impromptu crafts session. Not seeing a reason not to join her Void on the couch and seeing many good ones to be close to him, Ophis approached and slid onto the seat beside him.
He was tired, Ophis immediately realized. His eyes were half-lidded. His heart rate was trending lower. She wouldn't have been surprised if he went to bed soon. 'Maybe I could join him?' she wondered cautiously… only for the same voice, the same instinct that had stopped her from joining him in bed that morning when she had woken before him to rear its ugly head again.
It seemed that it was still not time. For the time being, the only thing off-limits to her was sleeping in Shi's arms… well, that was the only thing that she had found to be off-limits at least. She dreaded discovering any others if they would keep her from doing things with Shi…
Not wanting to go down that particular train of thought, Ophis shook her head, a motion that Shi apparently picked up on, as he worked his arm around her shoulder. "Ne, are you alright Ophis?" he asked, a hint of tiredness in his voice. It was nice knowing he cared.
"I am… well," Ophis responded, nuzzling her head into the crook of Shi's neck. If he was going to put her in that position, well, she would have been a fool not to take advantage after all.
"Good, good," he replied still drowsy. "I think – Ahhhhh – I think I'm going to call it a night pretty soon," he continued, yawning in the middle of his thought as if to justify his point. It made sense, mortals needed to sleep, so of course, Shi would too. "I'm gonna get up to take a shower in a minute, then I'll head to bed, alright?" Shi explained his plan. Cleaning made sense as well. One wouldn't want to rest in a pool of their own sweat after all.
"Ok…" Ophis accepted, knowing that in the near future, she was going to have to separate herself from her Shi, even if only for the moment, even if only to satisfy her instincts. It would be hard, but she would survive.
As her fingers slid around her nipple, teasing the sensitive area of her areola, Ophis idly noted the parallels between that thought and what she was going through in the present, without Shi for a whole day. She would survive indeed.
"Oh wait…" Shi paused as he stood, Ophis mirroring his action. She had every intention of staying with him until he needed his privacy, but she still looked up to see what it was that he had remembered. "You'll need to clean yourself too, won't you Ophis?" was not what she had been expecting Shi to say.
"Will I?" She wondered out loud, not entirely sure where Shi was coming from. Had she gotten something on herself without noticing? It's not like she sweated like the mortals, and nothing normally built up on its own…
"Oh, of course… I-I mean, it's not like you smell or anything," Shi began to explain, before backtracking. Maybe he thought he had insulted her? She didn't mind. "You've just been up and about all day, so you probably feel dirty… and besides, even if you don't, a nice shower is always a good way to relax at the end of the day," he explained That's right, Shi had no reason to know she wouldn't be dirty, that she pretty much couldn't be dirty… and a nice way to relax didn't sound too bad…
"Shower, relax, yes." She eventually decided, voicing her opinion as she followed Shi towards the bathroom. It would be good to see the things that Shi did on a daily basis, even if they might not have been of particular practical use to one such as herself.
At her response, Shi changed course, leading Ophis towards the bedrooms, rather than the bath. Initially confused, she dismissed that quickly, trusting Shi to know what he was doing better than her in the endeavor of showers. "Alright then, go ahead and pick out some clothes for after you're done," He instructed before continuing, "I'll go get your stuff ready for you, come to the bathroom when you're ready." With that, he walked back towards the home of the water fixtures, leaving her alone for the moment to select her next outfit.
Looking at the clothes that had become hers that day, she considered for a moment. She wouldn't be taking any of the panties, of course, she had made herself quite clear on that point. She hesitated when she reached for her bras as well, before finally deciding that, no she wouldn't wear one after her shower that night. They were nice, but something told her she would be more comfortable without one for what came after.
That just left a shirt and bottoms then, which she decided would be shorts that night on a whim. She would need to give everything Shi had bought her attention after all, and she was already wearing a skirt so she may as well start herself a rotation. With that thought in mind, she opened the second drawer, and from it withdrew one of her dark purple shirts and the dark red shorts Shi had bought for her.
As her left hand drifted teasingly lower, Ophis briefly noted where those shorts were now. She had worn them the previous Friday, and they would be back in the rotation fairly soon.
With her replacement clothes selected Ophis made her way back towards the bathroom, and just as he said, Shi was standing there waiting there for her. "I see you have your clothes," He observed as he ushered her into the room. "That's good, just remember to get into those before coming out when you're done in here, then I'll take my shower once you're out, ok?" Shi instructed as he backed out of the room.
Not entirely sure what she was meant to actually do when taking a shower, Ophis was a bit lost by that point, and in her confusion, she tilted her head to the side, her mouth open to speak, but not sure what to ask. 'Shi would expect me to know how to take a shower…' She realized perhaps too late.
Shi seemed to understand though, as upon seeing her, he halted his retreat. "You uh… you do know how to take a shower… right Ophis?" He prompted gently but firmly… it was embarrassing not knowing something so… normal… it turned out, but why would she have ever known? She had never needed to take a shower before, and no one had ever cared to suggest she take one just to relax…
"Ah…" Was as she managed to get out, unsure how to tell Shi that no… no she did not know how to take a shower… but Shi seemed to get the message anyway.
Sighing, he stepped back into the room, before closing the door behind her. "The things you don't know will never cease to amaze me," he whispered, though Ophis assumed she wasn't meant to hear it. "Alright… I'll help you take your shower." He eventually landed on, as if having had a debate with himself in the brief pause of his speech. "The first thing you'll need to do is get out of your clothes."
Ah, that made more sense then. Shi did seem reluctant to see her naked earlier that day. It was an improvement that he was only hesitating to tell her to remove her clothes, rather than shutting down completely.
As cold fingers graced over her warm core, Ophis could only hope that Shi would become more comfortable seeing her without her clothes on more often.
Having already had Shi help her take off her clothes once that day, Ophis was confident that she could do it herself that night. As she lifted her shirt – the one Shi had given her – over her head, she saw Shi with his eyebrow raised, surprised at her newfound skill in… disrobing. It was a lot less impressive than Shi's look of shock might have suggested, Ophis realized.
"Ah, good, you can get it yourself…" Shi spoke as if trying to cut the tension in the room that he had created in the first place. "You uh… you finish getting undressed in here and I'll be right back, I need to go grab something," he instructed as he once again slipped through the door. "I'll be back in a second" He reassured her as he walked towards his room, not bothering to close the door.
Blinking once, Ophis decided not to follow Shi and instead continued in her given objective: getting naked. With her shirt already on the floor, the next piece to go was to be her skirt. Finding the button that held the garment on her, Ophis worked the clasp open before letting it fall down her legs. Stepping out of the skirt as it bunched up around her ankles, Ophis kicked it across the small room, and it joined her shirt in the impromptu pile she had started there.
The shoes on her feet might have been a problem, Ophis realized. She wasn't particularly sure how they were meant to come off, but she decided that she should at least try before waiting for Shi to come to her aid. Crouching down so that her hands could reach her feet, Ophis considered the knots that held her shoes closed… and immediately realized that she was not going to be getting them undone herself.
Initially despairing at once again needing Shi to come to her aid in such a trivial task, Ophis deflated. She knew Shi would help her, but she didn't want him to think she was useless… her face went blank when she realized the solution. Her feet warped momentarily as she levitated herself, depositing both her shoes and socks neatly on the floor. Translating herself to the right, her feet reformed, and she let herself stand, feet on the ground, once again. 'Obvious,' she chastised herself. How strange that shifting her feet hadn't been her first thought. No matter though, she would just need to be better in the future.
With her shoes dealt with and her panties discarded the moment she entered the apartment that afternoon, there was nothing else Ophis needed to remove from her lower body. 'One more reason not wearing panties is superior,' she thought, confirming even further her position that her panties were evil. A necessary evil perhaps, but evil, nonetheless. That meant that the only clothing left on her body was her bra, every other part of her was laid bare.
As Ophis moved to remove the pleasant garment from her form though, she heard Shi's door open once again, and within a moment, he came back into her view… and it was an admittedly pleasant view at that… considering Shi had removed his own shirt and exchanged his previous pants for… different pants? It looked like he had a pair of shorts of his own… but she could tell they were different somehow, 'meant for the water?' She wondered as her hands fell back to her sides, entranced by the sight of Shi's bare chest.
Shi was doing his best to avoid looking at her too closely, Ophis noted, though his cheeks had still grown scarlet. "G…Good job so far Ophis," he began, still avoiding her eyes. "Do you need help with your bra?" He asked after a moment, having taken enough of a look to realize that she still had the one garment on at least.
"Uh-huh," she replied nodding her head while simultaneously lifting her arms. The thought of denying the aid had crossed her mind, under the same rationale as wanting to do the shoes herself… but having Shi take off her bra seemed so much more… right. As Shi stepped behind her shaking his head lightly, Ophis couldn't help but agree with her own decision. 'Warm,' she realized, as Shi's bare chest brushed against her arm as he passed her in the small space of his bathroom…
"Alright, here we go," Shi whispered, a forced calm clear in his voice. His warm hands grasped the fabric of Ophis' bra and gently lifted it up. At first, it gripped the swell of her chest, momentarily pulling her breasts along with it. As it began to slide through, her chest fell free. It didn't bounce per se, she was too small for that, but she still imagined that it would have been quite a pleasant sight for anyone who happened to be watching.
Hearing Shi draw a sudden breath, Ophis couldn't help but feel vindicated in her assumption… and glad that Shi found her body appealing. Shifting her eyes to the mirror, she saw Shi's eyes darting away as if he was embarrassed. 'You don't need to be…' Ophis whispered lightly into Shi's thoughts, but he just shook his head. He would come around eventually.
His momentary distraction passed, or perhaps because it wasn't, Shi quickly finished his task, pulling her bra the rest of the way over her head and past her arms, before depositing it with her other clothes in the pile. Clearing his throat, he began, "There's just one more thing then Ophis… or well, maybe two." Looking at his hands for what he was referring to… he was talking about her chest... but she wasn't quite sure what they would need to do with it before a shower…
Tilting her head, Shi still refused to make eye contact, even though the mirror, Ophis didn't know what he was expecting of her… so she resorted to using her words, or well, word. "…Explain," She prompted after the silence Shi was doing his best to make awkward, which seemed to break him from his embarrassed stupor.
"A... ah, yes… um," he began, fumbling over his words as if trying to find a good way to say what he wanted. Eventually, he just sighed, before simply stating a bit shakily, "Your nipple tape, we'll have to take off your nipple tape…" Oh, that. Looking down at herself, sure enough, she was still wearing little adhesive X's over the focal points of her breasts.
As her thumb slid directly against her nipple, she suppressed a small groan that threatened to escape from her lips. That's right, that was the night that Shi took off her nipple tape, and it wasn't as if he had skin-grade black tape lying around, so she hadn't worn the minimal covering since. Its purpose was fulfilled by her bra anyway.
As Ophis' mind was drawn back towards the present from its reminiscence in the past by the pleasant feeling emanating from her chest, the first thing she realized was that she felt warm, and tingly… especially… down there. Considering that for a moment, she decided to take stock of where it was her limbs had ended up while she was enjoying her memory.
Considering her right arm first, she found it still in place over her left breast, though she was a bit surprised to see it had taken to kneading her soft flesh languidly and periodically moving to brush against her sensitive nipple. Next were her legs, which were still in their same general position, though they seemed to have spread outwards as if accommodating something…
Which turned out to be her left hand, which had made its way down her stomach… and now found itself cupping her mound. Recalling her body's actions while she was daydreaming… she found herself both pawing her chest… and rocking her hips against her hand, in search of the oh-so-pleasant friction something deep inside her told her the action would bring.
Her face heating up just a bit, Ophis withdrew her hands from their warm confines – one from her bra and the other from between her legs – and brought them before her eyes. The right was as she expected, clean and smooth. The left though… the left seemed to be covered in something… something slick…
Ophis knew instinctively that she had made those juices… they were a part of her, and they were her… and she knew herself. Looking between her legs at the chair in which she sat, she paused for a moment. "Ah… puddle," she whispered after a moment, looking at the evidence of her arousal that had found its way out of her… and onto her seat. Luckily it seemed to have mostly stayed together, not spilling out onto the floor. That would make clean-up easier at least.
Standing up, Ophis felt some of the emissions slide their way down the inside of her legs… she quickly reabsorbed those into herself through her skin, not wanting to spread the mess she had made even further. Marching herself into the kitchen, she quickly grabbed a couple of the paper towels that Shi stored there, before turning back around to the spot of her mess. The whole time, she couldn't get a single thought out of her head. "What would it feel like if it was Shi's hand down there?" She wondered, her face heating up. Yes, she would need to find that out sooner rather than later.
She was so lost in thought that it wasn't until after she had already let the towel absorb her juices that she realized that she could have simply done the same thing she had with what had been on her legs and skipped the towel altogether. She did not pout when she realized that. She did not, and no one could tell her otherwise.
I Could not Bring My Passion, from the Common Spring
o-AN-o
For a variety of reasons, this chapter was delayed quite significantly. I will discuss those later. I feel pretty good about this chapter, to be honest, but as always, if you have different opinions, you are more than free to share them.
That being said, I'm really happy to see that this story has crossed three hundred followers and two hundred favorites. The thought of multiple hundreds of people liking something I made enough to want to see more is crazy to me, but I can't deny it feels good.
I would like to remind everyone that this story might as well be one big middle finger towards canon. Shigeru is obviously an OC, and I am making up my own characterization for Ophis and others that are in canon along the way. If something seems different, it's probably because it is.
Speaking of OCs though, yes there are a few more introduced in this chapter. Don't panic, you won't be seeing them too often, but they're part of that 'plot' I was prattling on about last time. They'll have their uses in the future, but again you won't be seeing too much of them if they don't sound like your thing. On top of them though, you got a bit more insight into what Shi's up to. I had thought you would have gotten the full story of that one in this chapter, but well, the Ophis section had other plans.
Ah yes, the Ophis section. I am a bit nervous about it, to be honest. It's the first time I've ever really written anything sexual before after all. I hope you found it entertaining, but I would appreciate any feedback you have on that front. I will note one thing though. Yes, Ophis did understand what she was doing, at least when she analyzed herself after the fact, even if she never outright said that she was masturbating. She knows the concept, though not necessarily the words to put it in.
But yeah, Shi and Ophis, even if they aren't together physically, their thoughts are still with each other, even if they don't necessarily realize it. That being said though, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I would love to see your thoughts in the reviews. I've seen some great ideas there that I will certainly be taking into consideration. They're also what help motivate me to put more time into this story so… make of that what you will.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time, but until then,
Best,
Pdes. (Written 2/14)
P.S. I have some rather disappointing news for all of you. I have stopped actively producing content for this story. My desire to work on this piece has simply turned to ash, and even the thought of working on it is repulsive to me. Now, I do have two more chapters in backlog, and they will still be released when I get around to it. Expect a two-week gap at least before the next one.
I know many of you have really been enjoying this story, and I'm sorry that it's going to end the way it is. I feel terrible to leave it off the way it's going to be left… but I simply don't have it in me to go on. Reflecting of my work on VH, I cannot see myself ever actually writing a story to completion, no matter how much I may want to. My feverish devotion in the early stages of long-term projects like this burns me out far faster than a more measured pace. My desire to produce in the moment is toxic to my ability to produce in the long term.
For this reason, I simply am not cut out to do the real long-term sustained work of being an author. There is always the chance that I will come back to this story down the road, but don't hold your breath for it. Again, I am sorry. Two more to go.
