Chapter 16: Do Not Meet the Family
Besides the most necessary exchange, Chichiri and Ami had barely spoken to each other since the flood fiasco, which made acting normal impossible at all. Tasuki and Lolita, meanwhile, were striving to rein in their giddy selves, keeping the exchange of furtive glances and goofy smiles to a bare minimum. They couldn't guess what had happened, except that it must have been something acutely unpleasant; and they were not sure they wanted to know. The morning after the storm, their group of four had found each other wandering on the beach, and then by unspoken consensus gone up to the cliff-top villa to retrieve their belongings.
"Sorry for skiving and leaving you and Ami with all the work before," apologized Lolita sheepishly as she paused by Chichiri, arms loaded with their things. She and Tasuki had agreed that leaving the flood-ravaged area as soon as possible would be best for Chichiri's mental health, so they ended up spending the whole morning running around transporting luggage.
The monk shook his head, managing a weak smile. "Not at all. I'm glad you and Tasuki have finally come to an understanding...no da."
Lolita thought he looked a little hurt. No; wistful was more like it.
Unexpectedly, he brought a hand up to cup her cheek. Lolita jerked away at the touch, startled. His ghost of a smile faded, replaced by a perplexed frown. "You shouldn't be tiring yourself out, no da." Once again, he moved to touch her. She sidestepped him, heart stammering like her words.
"I – I'm fine. We have to get moving, huh? Because you know –"
Could he tell? When he touched her, did he feel her life force slipping away?
"– this village is no fun, all wet and stuff. And, well...Tasuki...Tasuki's village is up ahead. Or so he said..."
She wanted to drop everything and go back to the cave and sit in the water and wait for Tasuki to catch up and hide there forever and never let anybody know she was dying...
"...So do you think we can go? Stop by Tas' place, I mean. I keep hearing about his family and it's gotten me curious. Do think we could?"
"Yes; why don't we, no da?"
"Really? We're...we're going?" It hurt her to see the longing expression that slipped through his mask. Chichiri probably didn't want that to happen.
A nod and a tight grin. "If you say so."
Chichiri looked like a man whose world had come crashing down before his very eyes. Lolita saw his gaze straying to Ami, who was feeding their horses while listlessly listening to Yamamoto-san's errand boy blather on about how happy he was that they all made it through the storm okay.
When he stood unspeaking for a whole minute she felt she should say something. "Chichiri, don't tell me I shouldn't be worried."
His head snapped around then, and for a fleeting second Lolita saw his eyes widen. "You shouldn't. No da." Of its own volition, his gaze travelled back to Ami. "At least, not about me."
"Do I want to know what happened yesterday?"
He inwardly snorted at her casual use of the word 'yesterday', as if the event were nothing more than a silly little lovers' spat. He shook his head. "No; you do not want to know."
"That bad, huh?"
These were the times when he thanked the gods for Lolita's incorrigible obliviousness. "Well, do I want to know what you were up to yesterday?" he retaliated, firing her own question back at her.
Lolita flushed from her toes to the top of her head. "No!" Her head shook violently. "No! You do not want to know."
"Ah. I thought so, no da." Smug, Chichiri leaned back, grinning at her narrowed eyes. "Run along, now, Tasuki's waiting."
She threw him one last nasty look and then trotted away.
As he watched her go he wondered why he had never before tried to appreciate her simplicity; her innocence. When he saw Tasuki casually slide his arm around her shoulders, saw her automatically lean into him and beam up at him, he had to swallow the choking feeling building up in his throat and look away down at his empty hands. It had been so, so foolish of him to push away the opportunity for happiness when it dropped into his lap.
But that was a ridiculous thought now. Jealousy was out of the question.
Whirling away from the scene, Chichiri found himself facing Ami, who was, to her credit, endeavouring to appear interested in the errand boy's conversation. Their eyes briefly met. He offered a silent nod, and then tried to find something to do elsewhere.
Though he couldn't be jealous, he could be irritated.
And he was very irritated then. At whom, he just wasn't sure yet.
Tasuki knew he couldn't have heard her right.
"Ya said what an' Chiri said what?" he demanded, face screwed up in confusion.
"I said I wanted to see your oh-so-famous family and he said 'if you say so'," Lolita replied, concentrating on adjusting a saddle strap. Giving one last almighty yank, she dusted her hands, smirked down at her handiwork, said, "Awesome," and turned to grin at Tasuki. Instead, she jumped at the intense glare he gave her across the mishmash of packs strapped across their horse's back.
"Ya can't be serious," he exhaled in one puff, completely flabbergasted.
"I am. Very serious." A series of curious blinks met his dull gaze.
"Lo, no. How could ya do this ta me?" His shoulders sagged. "Ya can't want ta meet my family. That's guaranteed ta end in a major disaster!"
"Disaster...wow, big word."
He glowered. "Go ta Chiri an' take back whatever ya said. Now."
"No." A pout and crossed arms. "My mom said it was right and proper to meet the family, especially now that we're...together." Warm pink stained her cheeks. Unfolding her arms, she leaned over the horse at him. "So we're going. And I'll say hello your family and they'll help me get to know you better."
"Ya wanna know me better, don't go ta sleep ta'night," he muttered.
"I want to hear all about when you weren't Genrou or Tasuki yet."
He grumbled incomprehensibly.
"Oh, you're eager to go, too?" her grin turned impish. "Well that's just dandy!"
"I said, 'Don't ya get ta be tattled on, too?'" he repeated, louder and more irritably than he meant to sound.
Lolita thought for a moment. "If you ever came to my world I'd introduce you to my mom and dad."
"Really?" he said, forgetting to be annoyed.
"Sure! They'd be –" Abruptly she stopped, both hands pressed to her face. Tasuki was beside her in an instant. "It's just a bit of dizziness," she replied to his concerned question. "I'll be fine in a minute."
He held her, gazing anxiously at the bowed head resting against his chest. Neither of them spoke until a small voice said, "Let's...let's not talk about my world anymore. Not ever again."
"What d'ya want ta talk about, then?"
"About...us. And the future. Is that okay?"
He wouldn't admit it, but if there was anything he wanted to avoid talking about, it was the future. The grey unknown that loomed over the certain present had never been to his taste. The future was when dreams got broken, when things went wrong and...when people got torn apart. In truth, he was rather afraid of the future. His future, especially. He was so sure it was empty.
But when she asked to talk about that dreaded future, he found it impossible to refuse. He simply tightened his hold on her, rested his chin on the top of her head, and nodded.
"It's a'right."
The crunching footsteps came briskly, coming to an abrupt halt beside him. Only moments later, Lolita crouched down on the same bit of fallen log he was sitting on. Tasuki stopped trying to prod the dying embers in the fire pit back to life and grunted,
"Yer up."
"Body clocks's going crazy," she replied, massaging a shoulder. This time, he slid a solicitous gaze over at her.
"Need more sleep? Ya can on th' way."
"And miss seeing your family first thing when you get back home?" Lolita snorted. "No thanks. Besides, I've sorta worked out my new schedule. Terribly annoying as a newborn baby's but I'll manage."
He returned to poking at the sooty remains of last night's fire. "Jus' so ya know, my fam'ly's not th' sweet an' lovin' kind. Throw logs at ya' when yer not lookin'," came the added mutter. Louder, "Make sure ya don't let 'em fool ya inta thinkin' yer safe. Jus' turn yer back an' wham! yer in the ogress' clutches."
"My, Tas, I never knew you for the poetic kind. Such heart-rending narration." Dramatically pressing her hands to her chest, Lolita waited for Tasuki to glare again before erupting into quiet giggles. After all, it was still very early in the morning, and though Chichiri was nowhere to be found, Ami was still asleep.
"Yeah, yeah. Nobody believes th' warnin's till' they b'come th' victims," the bandit sighed, shaking his head at what he believed was dumb innocence. Without warning, Lolita leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.
"You'll ride with Ami today. And maybe tomorrow, too. And the next day until she and Chichiri have made up again."
A pair of surprised amber eyes met her declaration. "What's wrong with 'Chiri an' Ami?" at which Lolita blew into her bangs and rolled her eyes.
"Duh."
"Huh?"
"Now aren't you just the most observant creature in the world, sweetie," she pulled a pitiful, sugary look that made Tasuki flinch with remembered pain. Switching back to her normal tone, Lolita glanced around her, shifted closer to the bandit and whispered, "Chichiri and Ami have a few things to clear up. It's none of our business what, but as good friends, we need to help them work it out."
Tasuki barked out a derisive laugh. "By separatin' 'em? If I know 'Chiri, stickin' 'em both tageth'r will bring instant peace!"
"It's not peace we're looking for," Lolita explained patiently, "but cordiality. Warm and fuzzy feelings!" A ways from where the bedrolls were spread out, Ami stirred. The couple froze, staring petrified at her like two children caught with mouthfuls of pilfered cookies, and remaining frozen until she shifted, burrowed into the pillow, and fell into quiet sleep once more.
"So. Yeah," Lolita continued in a loud whisper, "we'll switch riding partners for as long as it takes for them to be their old selves around each other again."
"That might be forever!" Tasuki groaned, burying his face into his hands. "You know Chichiri – "
"What about me, no da?" cut in a curiously chipper voice. Tasuki jumped up, pointing an accusing finger at both his friend and Lolita, who had seen Chichiri coming and was shrugging contritely at the startled bandit. "How did you –?"
The monk raised his fish-laden line. "I just came back, no da." To Lolita he offered a fond smile. "Come along. I'll get breakfast ready in a minute, no da."
Tasuki gaped at their renewed familiarity. Before the pair could get out of earshot he blurted out, "Lo, were you serious about –?" at which the said Lo glanced over her shoulder, cut him off with a sly "I'll miss you, too, love," and winked.
His eyebrows met in a frustrated grimace. Stomping back to his smouldering fire pit, Tasuki jabbed at it with renewed vigour. Damn. First she gets him to agree to revisit the scene of his worst nightmares, and then she cons him into helping sort out an apparent estrangement about which he understood nothing. What the hell was next?
He simply hated it when he let her get her way all the time.
The one thing Tasuki didn't want anyone to ever know was that the very thought of them sent shivers down his spine. Unfortunately, Lolita found out about it and refused let a waking moment go by without painting him the very pretty picture of his family – father, mother, and five sisters – standing all lined up at the front of his childhood home, ready to greet him. Every time she mentioned his family, Tasuki shuddered so violently he could hear his tessen clacking against its sheath.
But of course, like any self-preserving human, he tried to assuage the pain of this vision by imagining that they – mother and sisters, particularly – were lined up before platoon of sharp-shooting archers drafted specifically for executions. Unfortunately, Tasuki could not think of this without the image veering right around. Before his horrified eyes, he saw his mother and his sisters transform into horrible, vicious beasts that tore through the ranks and ripped the men into pieces of bloody jerky.
The image was so likely it'd make him jolt upright in his saddle, forehead dotted with cold sweat, and Lolita's soft chuckles in the background. Tasuki tried glaring at Chichiri for help the first few times, but every attempt was met with a dreamy, bleary sort of disregard so unlike the monk that it bordered on deliberate.
On the upside of things, the mental images kept him from nodding off while atop his not-too-agreeable horse.
Tasuki suspected that because his seishi brother had grown too damn indulgent, Lolita's insistence of them travelling fast was always heeded. The bandit turned to Ami for help, pointing out that delicate young ladies needed proper rest, but the "delicate young lady" he was trying to shove forward merely shook her head and said the sooner they get to town, the more proper their rest could get.
And so it was.
For hours on end they galloped through fields, cantered through meadows, forded glittering streams, and all that other Romantic nonsense Lolita spouted whenever she had the chance. Oh, and rode under the moonlight, too, because apparently, that was indispensable when travelling on steeds.
Steeds?
She used to call them "that (insert colour) four-legged animal chewing grass".
Honestly, the more he was with them, the less Tasuki understood women. He mourned ever trying.
In two days instead of the normal five, his town – his own personal hell – came into view over the orange horizon. They conquered the emerald valley, pranced by swaying acres of rice paddies, sped through solemn-faced guards, trotted through drunken crowds of tavern patrons...and got to his house.
It looked the same except that after seven years some of the paint had faded and the rafters looked dustier than he remembered them to be. But everything was quiet. Gone was the usual sound of plates breaking, of sisterly calls and terrified brotherly screams. Even the window on the west side of the house where Tasuki had a few not-too-fond memories of having his head shoved through the lattice, was intact and had not a single splinter.
"Here we are, no da," declared Chichiri cheerfully, dismounting.
"Don't sound like it's a damn tourist attraction," Tasuki muttered, following his friend and then helping Ami down. Reins in one hand, he walked across the front perimeter of his childhood home, peering down its depth into where he remembered the backyard used to be. When he saw nothing but lengths of stone walls, Tasuki heaved a sigh of relief. "It's not th' place." He was halfway up his horse ready to skitter away when the front door opened.
"Shun'u?"
Ever so slowly, Tasuki twisted around. Standing in the doorway was the large, matronly figure of which the stuff of his worst memories was made. Then, and only then, did Tasuki realize that while he was busy reminiscing about the once-open gardens of his old home, Chichiri, goody two-monk-shoes that he was, had gone and knocked on the front door.
"M...m..." His jaw dropped open and then locked in utter shock. He tried to move, to will his limbs into obedience, but found that they remained rooted to the spot and refused to budge. With increasing horror, he watched the matronly figure detach itself from the door and come lumbering towards him with open arms. "N-Nooooo!"
Lolita could only stare wide-eyed while the big bad bandit she was schooled to know dissolved into a pitiful mass of sputters and helpless struggles. Instinct told her to help Tasuki pry himself out of the tangle of female flesh, but her body propelled her into a low bow. "Pleased to meet you, Tasuki's mother-san!"
The said Tasuki's mother-san's eyes glittered at the bowing figure before her. She was about to titter and go off about how her darling Shun'u had really grown up to be a man when a high-pitched voice said,
"Oh my, little brother. Fancy seeing you bring a bride home!"
Everyone whirled around. Leaning casually against the doorframe was a younger woman who looked remarkably like Tasuki...when he wasn't pale with fright. Ball of red ribbon in one hand, she swept down the short flight of steps and right into his face, looking at him this way and that until, apparently satisfied, she strutted towards Lolita, who had straightened up during the confusion and was looking very...well, confused.
"I...um...I'm..."
"Shun-chan's bride, I know," the older woman interrupted. She reached for Lolita, but just before she could lay a finger on the younger girl Tasuki materialized and whipped her to himself.
"Don't touch 'er." His eyes had narrowed into dangerous amber slits as he held her crushed jealously against his left side. He and the woman glared at each other until the latter smirked, tossing the ball of ribbon and catching it deftly.
"Well, well, you've grown up some, Shun-chan, I'll give you that much." Tilting a look at Lolita, "And she's pretty, too. Not bad."
Tasuki muttered something under his breath, but the woman ignored him to smile at the younger girl. "I'm Shun-chan's eldest sister. Call me Eimin." Glancing at the large woman who had greeted Tasuki so enthusiastically and was now hovering around him, "That's our mother. You want to marry Shun-chan, she'll put you through hell first."
Lolita's face drained of colour.
Eimin winked. "His sisters, too. There are five of us."
Her nod was mechanical, devoid of any comprehension. Moving disjointedly, almost like a torn rag doll, Lolita practically let this eldest sister drag her into the house. She stumbled up the steps, through the threshold, and allowed herself to be forced down on a stiff, high-backed chair while Eimin ran off into the recesses of the house, voice trailing behind her,
"Shun-chan's brought a girl home!"
Somewhere down the sunset-lit corridors, several female voices squealed in reply. One voice rose over the rest in an urgent question. "Did he get her pregnant?"
Suddenly filled with foreboding Lolita slumped against the chair, the back of her head knocking against the solid wood. In time to the thrumming of dull pain, the voices outside clashed in alternating loud and soft tones, the loud ones belonging to Tasuki and his mother, the soft ones to Ami and Chichiri, who were attempting, but in a calmer way than his mother, to coax Tasuki into his house. As the sounds grew in increasing volume and violence, both from inside and outside the house, Lolita shrank into her own tiny mental vacuum of silence where only one thought reigned,
Oh, my god.
Eimin, Rin'an, Fuyou, and Manka. Sitting before her like a judge's panel, Lolita began to understand why so many failed auditions. She tried to look pleasant, but her face refused to recognize any emotion but nervousness. A quick glance at Tasuki showed that he wasn't all that comfortable either.
She studied his sisters in turn. Eimin, the eldest, a tall, willowy woman who reminded her of femme fatale villains in movies; Rin'an, the serene second sister against whom Tasuki had warned her; Fuyou, the prettiest and also, according to her brother, the second most violent; and Manka, a petite girl with a round, childish face. The last sister appeared from the kitchens with a tray of tea. Aidou, the youngest. She paused to shoot her brother a wicked grin, which died when her eyes set on the girl beside him. Flicking unfriendly eyes up and down Lolita, Aidou wordlessly approached the party, set down the tea things, and plopped on the empty seat beside Eimin.
"Hear yer gettin' married, Old Maid," Tasuki muttered tonelessly. Aidou almost got up to deal him one, but changed her mind at the last minute.
"That's right. And I was thinking..." Tasuki didn't trust the way she was looking at Lolita, who she didn't make a secret of disliking. "...In preparation for your own wedding, your bride-to-be should learn a few tricks, ne?"
"I don't know what yer blabberin' about, Old Maid," the bandit seishi growled. "Lo ain't got ta learn anythin'. 'Specially not from you."
Shrugging, she turned to her second sister, the one Tasuki had branded as "Th' Nitpicker". "Rin'an-nee, how could we let Shun'u go with a woman who can't be a good wife?"
Surprising herself and her friends Lolita blurted out, "I can too be a good wife!" At Tasuki's strange look, her face burned. Tearing her eyes from his, she took to staring at the hands clasped on her lap, muttering, "I can, too."
Manka, who had not spoken at all before, innocently asked, "Can you cook?"
I can microwave stuff. Does that count? "Yes," she replied reluctantly.
"Can you clean?"
Like, vacuum the carpet and wash the dishes? "I...I don't know. I wasn't allowed to do that."
Simultaneous raising of eyebrows. The mother sighed. Of all Tasuki's family, excepting perhaps his father, who couldn't have his own opinion, she was kindest towards prospective in-laws. "What did your mother teach you, then, Lolita-chan?"
Ami looked like she knew the right answer, but Lolita couldn't, for the life of her, begin to understand what the former was mouthing. She looked to Chichiri for help, but he couldn't be counted on to help her cheat and only looked distressed for her. Tasuki was worse. His glaring at his indifferent sisters went towards helping nothing.
"My mom...um..."
Young ladies should learn how to play an instrument...
Her eyes lit up. Finally. Finally, she could thank her mother for something. "She sent me to music school so I could learn to play the piano. I know how to play the violin, too!"
A proper young lady knows how to carry herself...
"And...um...she taught me how to pick clothes, so that you know, you don't look like a drag queen at Oscars. And how to put on make-up so people will focus on charity in Charity balls instead of snicker at your colourful face behind your back..."
"...She made me go to modelling school so I'd 'know how to walk'. Like I ever learned anything..."
"...My mom said you should never drop your best smile when cameras are around, because then you might find a horrible shot of yourself in the society pages..."
"...Cut tags off new clothes before sticking them in the closet. It's a fashion faux pas to be sporting them in public..."
"...Apparently you eat with evening gloves on. That's disgusting, if you ask me..."
The more words tumbled out of her mouth, the less Lolita knew what she was saying. She only wanted to assuage the desperate hammering of her heart, to prove to herself and to Tasuki's family that she was right for him. She talked and talked, pulling random quotes so fast she couldn't remember exactly whether they came from her mother or from the etiquette book she was forced to learn by heart.
Tasuki laid a hand on her arm. "Stop."
Instantly she fell silent, blinking at the scene before her as if just waking up from a horrible dream. Tasuki's family was staring at her, their faces unreadable.
"What did I say?"
"Plenty a' things," he sighed.
"Normal things or beyond normal things?"
Before he could reply, his mother cleared her throat. Everybody looked at her. "Lolita-chan," she began, "you have many things to learn."
Tasuki jumped up in protest "She doesn't haf'ta –!" but was cut off by a thoughtful Eimin.
"She could start by helping in the preparations for Aidou's wedding."
"And then she could learn how to do housework."
"Yer not hirin' a servant girl –!"
"We could teach her how to cook for an army," Manka giggled, "because Shun-chan eats like that!"
Tasuki blushed. "Will ya all shut –"
"If it's Shun-chan, then she'll have to learn to sew, too! He's bound to constantly need new clothes, playing bandit like that," offered Fuyu.
"I am a bandit!"
"And we'll definitely have to teach her how to handle him!" Aidou declared. The sisters huddled together, giggling amongst themselves and making plans. Realizing that no one was about to listen to him, Tasuki pulled Lolita to her feet. He was about to stalk out when Manka caught him out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed Lolita, shoving the girl behind her back and within the circle of her sisters.
"She's ours now, Shun-chan. You can go out and play."
Tasuki began to say something, but stopped at Lolita's reassuring smile. "Go on," she said, "I'll be all right."
He looked reluctant. "Don't overwork, 'er."
Rin'an rolled her eyes. "She'll get the chance when you two marry." Without waiting to hear her brother's stuttered reply, she herded her sisters out of the living room. Desperate, Tasuki turned to his last ray of hope, who he wouldn't have chosen as a last ray of hope had he another choice.
"Look," he said to his mother, "I know yer all crazy 'bout these "in-law tests" an' stuff, but Lo's not like th' rest a' them. She aint used ta housework an' she still needs ta be taken care of..."
"If she really wants to marry you, Shun'u," his mother replied, "she'll do anything."
"That's th' problem!" He fairly yelled, frustrated. "That idiot'll keep goin and goin 'till she drops dead!"
Chichiri flinched at his choice of words while Ami looked in the direction Tasuki's sisters had disappeared with their captive.
In response to her son's outburst, the bandit seishi's mother only gave a thin smile. "Let us hope not."
Later that night the girls sat up in bed, Ami trying to be sympathetic as Lolita dipped her torn hands into a basin of cold water. Tasuki's sisters had chosen the afternoon of their arrival to scrub the house clean and unanimously voted to draft their little brother's "bride".
"Shouldn't you be asleep now?" Ami asked, stifling a yawn. Tasuki had poked his head in ten minutes ago, asking after Lolita, who looked ready to doze off during dinner.
"I should," she replied, "but I'm too tired to."
"Isn't that a paradox?" reaching over to the foot of her bed, Ami retrieved a towel, wincing when she saw the hundreds of tiny cuts on her roommate's palms. "I don't think you can run around housewife-ing tomorrow."
"It won't stop me," Lolita replied, hissing in pain when she slathered ointment on her hands. "Gotta show Tas I can make it."
"I don't think he really cares whether or not you can perfectly fold a dumpling or scour the house. He'll marry you, either way."
Lolita smiled at her comment. "You know...until today, we've never talked about...getting married."
Ami started. "He never proposed?"
"Nope."
"You didn't seem to mind that he lets his family believe otherwise."
Another shake of the head. "I don't." Lolita let out a long breath. "Tasuki...only wants to protect me. He thinks his mother and his sisters will go easy if he makes it clear that he will marry me no matter what they think." She chuckled. "He's funny."
Three soft raps interrupted the girls, and a moment later Chichiri poked his head in.
"May I come in, no da?"
A brief glance at Ami showed that she didn't appear to care too much. "Sure."
He didn't shut the door, instantly striding across the small room to Lolita's bed. Gently taking her wrists, he turned her hands over. The cuts were raw from the sting of the ointment and looked worse than they really were.
"So that's why Tasuki was so mad," he sighed. "I'll fill in for you tomorrow, no da."
"What?" Lolita disengaged her hands from his. "Thank you, but no thank you. I can manage."
Chichiri was about to start reasoning with her but seeing her resolute look settled for a little frown instead. "You really shouldn't. But get some sleep if you insist. I'll see you tomorrow morning, no da."
"Goodnight, Chichiri."
"Good night, Lolita-chan. Ami...san." With a final nod, he turned and left the room.
Lolita peeled her eyes from the closed door and raised an eyebrow at the other girl.
A shrug.
"Look, whatever's going on between you two, it's pretty serious, isn't it?"
"Making mountains out of molehills only give you additional headaches. And poking one's nose where it shouldn't be hasn't gotten anyone any good," replied Ami in a singsong voice, throwing out the cold water.
"But talking about it usually helps."
"I don't want to talk about it," she almost snapped, getting into bed. "You're here to impress Tasuki's family. Focus on that. I'll deal with whatever's bothering me myself." Slipping under the covers, she turned over, facing the wall and away from her roommate.
"But..."
"Go to sleep when you're done. Don't forget to blow out the lamp."
Lolita could only nod. She had never quite seen Ami this serious. Tying off the last of her bandages, she returned the rest of the roll onto the only dresser in the room, and got into her bed. Sparing a last worried look at the other girl, who she knew was faking sleep, she blew out the bedside lamp and settled into the darkness.
Ami and Chichiri.
Ami...
Chichiri...
What on earth could have happened?
She stared at the ceiling. When that didn't help, she took to staring out the window over Ami's bed. The only view outside was the back wall surrounding someone else's house. Giving up, Lolita rolled over onto her back and resumed her study of the ceiling. It was hard to see much beyond the heavy shadows. Finally, she forced her eyes shut, running the question of what had happened between her friends over and over in her head.
That night, sleep took very long to come.
A/N: Hao, minna! I don't know whether this chapter's been serious or not. At first I thought I'd stick in Tasuki's family for comic relief (god knows there's been too much drama lately) but then I thought about it and realized that I could turn their presence into something more important. :3 What that is, is coming. :)
From now on, updates will be pretty irregular, from once a month or more often or less often. It really depends on how much time I've got and how driven I am. (So please review! They are brain food, I swear.) I've got the ending worked out (eh? But this fic doesn't have a plot...o.O) though so rest assured that I'll see this through to the very last scene (I've jotted that down in my head, too! XD). Advance happy Christmas minna-san!
Ja mata ne!