Hyori had spent the afternoon packing Megumi's belongings. She was done at seven in the afternoon and about to hire a taxi when the girl's bedroom opened on Orochimi. Under her elegant moves and posture, the woman had been furious and vicious thoughts oozed from her rigid form. The red ruby colour of her dress matched the anger inside the woman as she spoke.
"I see you got influential people involved in your favour. Do what you want but keep hosting in the hotel. Or else, everyone will see you for who you truly are. A manipulator and the heiress of a serial killer."
The woman was at her wit's ends but didn't seem to be bluffing. Her body didn't display accelerated heartbeats and nervousness. Instead, Hyori sensed the ill will to hurt and ire from the woman's system.
"What do you mean?" Enquired the teen girl.
"Your Mother. I see she didn't talk to you about her Russian Roulette game and why she's hiding in the Inner Palace."
"Why now?" Countered Hyori.
"Because you pushed me so far I'm willing to betray your Mother's trust." Answered the mad woman.
"You can't keep me forever." Reminded Hyori.
"I'll keep you as long as I can and you'll keep hosting as long as you can!" Exclaimed the woman before storming out.
After the outburst, silence filled the room until Bliss and Muse approached the open door. The young women took in the emptied drawers and the filled luggage at Hyori's feet.
"You are leaving for real." Breathed Bliss.
Hyori didn't answer.
"How did you get Dream out of here?"
Again Hyori didn't answer.
The youngest sat on the bed to steady herself and the other two rushed on each of her side.
"Orochimi never lies. I'm afraid your Mother will be in trouble if you don't comply." Stated Muse.
"She won't as long as she remains in the Inner Palace." countered Hyori.
"And you? Aren't you afraid of what would happen if she talks?" Pressed Bliss.
"I can't let her blackmail me forever." Refused the youngest.
"Would you rather become a pariah?" Challenged Muse. "You are never going to catch a breath if people discover your sex worker activities."
"It's not-"
"It is." Interrupted Muse. "Just bear with it until you leave the pension and-"
"I can't!" Exclaimed Hyori. "One of my regulars is too invested. He will do something crazy if I don't move in with him soon. He will be crazy once he discovers Meg-Dream isn't in the pension anymore and I didn't tell him."
"Then tell him!" Countered Muse. "Tell him and find another excuse to stay."
"Are you for real?" Whispered Hyori with disbelief. "Get out."
"We just want what's best-." Started Bliss.
"Get out!" Commanded Hyori.
The two young women exited the bedroom and Hyori collapsed on the bed. With trembling hands, she retrieved the phone she had dropped on the ground at some point. She texted Mister Mera to let him know she had an emergency and couldn't take the route that night to hand over her little sister's belongings. She offered to send a taxi instead and the man agreed. Afterwards, she fell into an agitated slumber after drowning in her thoughts and was woken up by the alarm of her phone indicating she had a quarter of an hour before heading into room 302. 'Supreme Leader' would be inside the hotel room and she was divided between standing the man up and risking his wrath when she would be hosting again once Orochimi ruined her reputation. She made the mistake once and didn't want to repeat it. She rose from the formerly shared bed and retrieved her toiletries purse before heading towards room 302. She took her shower there and readied herself for the night. She didn't have the strength to put on anything besides a wine-coloured silk Yukata dress.
The man she expected entered the suite and she greeted him with a 'welcome back' kiss. His left fingers looked for the ring hung between her breasts while his right hand pressed them together. He was more eager than normally and his desire was already fully awake. Hyori let herself be taken inside the bedroom where she lost her mind and hung to consciousness by the thread of her quirk on the man. The stimulation was too much after the emotional roller coaster she experienced during the day. Not wanting to be questioned once the man cooled down, she held his medulla until he blacked out and collapsed on top of her. He should be too shaken from the height to retain many memories from the night.
The following day, on Thursday, Hyori debated who to ask for help regarding Orochimi's threat targeting her Mother. She didn't have intel on the situation and couldn't contact her Mother for details. Any letter she would send would be opened before it reached the woman in the Inner Palace. She needed access to the police's archives or anyone involved, namely her Mother or Grandmother. The closest person who could help her was the detective Naomasa but she wasn't sure he would have access to the data since the issue probably happened dozens of years ago, before her Mother moved under the Emperor's protection. Maybe she could enlist the help of the Commission Vice President? She notified him of her visit on Friday evening and wanted to stay for the weekend. The man replied with 'ok' and 'wait in the headquarters lobby before, without capitalisation or punctuation.
On Friday, a quarter past eight in the evening, Hyori exited a taxi in front of the commission's headquarters. She walked inside the building and announced her presence in the lobby. After half an hour, Mister Mera emerged through the entrance and guided her towards his car in the underground parking lot.
"We can walk." Suggested Hyori but the man ignored her words.
Once they had boarded, he urged her to put her seatbelt on before starting.
"Are you planning to leave the Red Velvet?"
"I would like to but the manager threatened to publicly disclose my activities." Replied Hyori.
"As expected." Replied the man.
She sensed relief on his side and fought the urge to roll her eyes. The commission had been one of her regular and she supposed the man was content to keep whatever agreement they had with the pension. She doubted his will to help her but still added.
"She also threatened to reveal my Mother's supposed past as a serial killer on the run."
The man's attention was fully on her.
"She didn't show me any evidence but hardly made empty threats."
The man understood her silent request.
"I can check if your Mother has ever been under scrutiny but won't be able to do much if the threat is solid. What's her name?"
"Shinsou Hina." Answered Hyori.
"Noted." The man said as he typed on his phone before adding. "We want Megumi to use her quirk as soon as possible. Yet, we don't want a repeat of what happened earlier. We might need your help as she practises."
"What do you want?" Asked Hyori.
"Your assistance. Just bear in mind she will get there even without your input. We simply think it would be nicer to involve you." Countered the man.
Hyori didn't reply and the man assumed the conversation was over. During the five-minute route, she second-guessed the goodwill of the commission and wondered how far they would push her little sister. She didn't believe they would use Megumi's quirk lightly but she wouldn't have any power to stop them if they did.
The Vice President left her by the staff accommodation building and she headed inside Megumi's cubicles where she expected to meet the girl. Before commuting, she had ordered some hot chocolate from the resort with a few treats. The girl's room was as unfurnished as when she left her and her luggage had been pushed under the bed. Said girl had been absorbed in her tablet when Hyori entered the room. She promptly left whatever she was doing to hug her big sister. At least, she had showered and changed into her pyjama. Hyori unloaded the baby blue changing bag she packed for herself and put on her pyjama. The two girls had enjoyed the treats and Megumi recounted how she hadn't done anything besides resting in her room and touring the facility for the last two days.
The following morning, Megumi led Hyori inside the cafeteria of the accommodations for breakfast. The area was a canteen located in the 'chill zone', between the 'share zone', where they had slept, and the 'create zone' she had yet to see. The canteen didn't have operating people inside. Instead, vending machines were aligned on one wall and canteen tables occupied most of the open space. The older teen wasn't interested in whatever the vending machines offered. She didn't doubt the nutritive components but rather dreaded the taste. They both decided to purchase a tastier breakfast in a bakery on their way to Hyori's studio. They arrived at the place with fluffy pancakes, yoghurt cups and bottles of smoothie.
Megumi had assisted to her classes as a guest and the 'pupils' had fawned over the teacher's little sister. The day quickly ended and they prolonged their outing by having dinner in a cat cafe. It was the first time for either of them to hang in a place with this many animals. Neither of them ever had pets and the experience had been impressive for the teen girls. The place had been beautifully decorated with dark-wooded furniture on which the cats perfectly blended. Some had been playful and approached them while the others only eyed them from afar. At the end of the day, they collapsed on the twin bed after their shower and promptly fell asleep.
On Sunday, Hyori couldn't take Megumi to the classes she offered inside her clients' homes. Once the older teen returned to the commission's staff accommodations in the late afternoon, they lounged for the remaining hours of the day before Hyori had to pack and head back to Kamakura. The parting had been less emotional than previously but the moment had still been bittersweet. They would spend five days apart and Hyori reasoned the break in their habit would benefit them in the long run. She was curious to know what activities her little sister would engage in but mourned not being a part of them.
Inside the basement, Hyori felt observed by her roommates who suddenly wanted to keep tabs on her. She hadn't answered the texts she received from Bliss during her sejour in Tokyo. She hadn't entertained any of the young women during her Sunday evening shower. She gave them the shortest answers possible during her dinner. Her roommates had already had their evening meal when she arrived but found opportunities to hover in the living room. Bliss put some drama on while Muse distractedly watched by her side.
The funniest part was that she had been used to the routine before Megumi joined the pension. They often lingered in the living room on their free evenings before heading inside their rooms. Mostly Bliss, since Muse live streamed every day and Hyori was too tired after six days of not sleeping until four in the morning. Her roommates had been elsewhere for the last nine months and suddenly occupied the space again. Unless she had been the one too caught in her bubble to notice the young women with whom she shared the apartment.
After her dinner, she headed into her still-empty bedroom and attempted to sleep. After tossing around for an hour, she decided to head into Megumi's former room and reasoned the distance was enough of a severance. The bedsheets had been cleaned but the younger teen's scent lingered on the sleeping dress she wore on their last night together. Hyori swiftly fell asleep and landed into her headspace where she had gazed at the faint rainbows high in her sky.