Opening Boxes
June 29 - Friday
“Was Miki right - have I been going on about Tezuka - Rin? Maybe I have been. I’d like to say hi to her again - she seemed nice. I wonder if she remembers me,” thought Tetsu as he worked around a pattern, cutting segments of soft heavy leather to feed it through the industrial sewing machine.
“I should do something about that ..” He thought, then the lunch bell rang.
Coming back after lunch, Tetsu went slightly out of his way to walk by room 3-4 - the art room.
“What am I hoping is going to happen? That I’m going to run into Rin and have a light-hearted conversation? With me? Get a grip.”
At that moment someone came out of the class and the door swung open - Tetsu’s eyes flickered briefly to the opening, then down - “No, nope. Come on - time for class.”
Tetsu was impressed by his reflexive ability to avoid an opportunity to make eye contact. Was it really that difficult? Apparently so.
“I’ve got to think this through - if I’m scared of speaking off the cuff, then make a plan,” he thought to himself. With absolutely no idea of what such a plan to talk to Rin would even look like, he got back to work on the project lunch had interrupted.
“Hang on - the Art Club! Did she say she was in the art club? No, but is there even another club she would be in? Archery? The arm-wrestling club maybe? She said members of the art club helped her with the mural - I could join and, if she’s there, maybe get to know her better ..”
Plan neatly sorted - for what it was - Tetsu headed off in the direction of the `other` art room after class.
--
Two Body Problem (Complete)
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Mon Feb 27, 2023 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Unpacking Boxes
June 29 - Friday afternoon
The hallways had mostly emptied out as students rushed off at the end of the week. Tetsu tried the art room door - half hoping it would be locked - and was greeted by a grey-haired girl with grey eyes very similar to Tetsu’s own, but lighter.
“Hello - are you here for the art club?”
Tetsu nodded.
“OK - You can come in I guess. Sensei - there’s a boy here; he wants to join the art club.”
Nomiya-sensei looked up from the manga he was reading and ambled over to meet Tetsu -
“Aren’t you one of Kurosawa’s students?”
Tetsu nodded again.
“Not getting your hands dirty enough in his class? Very well, I suppose we have room for one more. What interests you? Oils? Watercolour? Pencil?”
Tetsu mimed hammering a chisel into stone.
“Ah - sculpture. Not many want to try their hand at that - difficult .. but it’s up to you. I should know your name; what is it?”
Tetsu produced his notepad - “Kaiyou, Tetsu”
“Don’t speak? Fine - at least you won’t disturb the others with chit-chat; and you seem to be able to read lips - good. Chiharu will show you where the materials are stored. For the first few classes work on some elevation views - sketches from the front, sides, and back - of what you want to create. And a plan view - a view from the top down - we’ll speak again once those are done - reach out if you need help or advice, although I suspect at your current level, the other club members may be able to help you out. ”
Tetsu nodded. He looked around, somewhat lost.
“Chiharu - show Tetsu where we keep things and find him a seat.” And with that Nomiya retrieved his manga and let himself into the teacher’s prep room at the front of the classroom, closing the door behind him.
The grey-haired girl who greeted Tetsu at the door approached - “Tetsu, Nomiya-sensei said you should draw up some sketches - here’s some newsprint and pencils you can use. Pick a spot and when you’re done you can store your work in here.” Chiharu indicated a cabinet with wide, flat drawers.
“We work until around dinner time - sometimes Nomiya-sensei comes by and gives us a lecture or some advice. Sometimes he just looks at our work and doesn’t say much at all.” Chiharu shrugged. “If he does that, it probably means you’re doing ok.”
Tetsu nodded, took a few sheets of newsprint and some soft pencils, and sat down across from a couple of blonde girls. He had looked around, but Rin was nowhere to be seen - it was a large, well-lit room with huge windows, but there were no structural elements she might be hiding behind - unless she was sleeping in the supplies room - not an impossibility.
Tetsu picked a seat at the middle table by the window across from a blonde-haired girl; his back to the window.
“Hi, I’m Saki.”
Tetsu nodded and produced his writing pad and turned to the page with his well-worn introduction.
{ Tetsu - hi, nice to meet you }
“What are you in for then?” Saki’s smile and manner made the question seem rather matter of fact; Tetsu shrugged - "Why not share?"
{ Facet joint syndrome - bad back - can get laid up for weeks at a time if it `clicks` wrong } Tetsu tilted his head and looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if to say “And you?”
“For someone who can’t talk, you get your point across - I guess you’ve had practice. I’m dying. I mean, we all are - my brain is just in a bit of a hurry.”
Saki nodded at Tetsu’s confused look. “Ataxia - a degenerative brain disease; coordination slowly goes to the point where I can’t coordinate my swallowing then my breathing then .. anything - but I’ll be gone by then,” she said with a smile.
Tetsu was taking in the import of what Saki had said when she turned in her seat, taking a long glance at the prep room door, making certain Nomiya wasn’t about to suddenly re-appear.
“So .. you’re here because of Tezuka I’m guessing?”
{ Sorry? } wrote Tetsu
“You’re joining a club mid-term; you’re already busy enough preparing for exams - this happens every year. Every year Rin draws some boy into her orbit and around this time they realize - think they’ve realized - the best way to get closer to her is to spend time with her in the art club.”
Tetsu tried his hardest to reveal absolutely no emotion on his face.
“It’s OK - you don’t have to say anything, I can see it in your face. I get why - she’s really cute and kinda inaccessible - guys - and some girls - just melt for that. Good luck - maybe this time she’ll notice; past two years she just hasn’t seemed to be aware of the possibilities around her.”
“I see Chiharu got you some paper - did she show you where the rest of the supplies were?” Tetsu nodded.
“Let’s switch seats - the light’s better where you’re at, but Rin sits by the window and you can see her better from where I’m sitting - if you stay there, you’ll get a crick in your neck always having to turn to face her.”
Tetsu and Saki switched seats, Tetsu’s head being somewhat in a spin - “Every year? Is Saki messing with me?” Tetsu wondered - but she’d hit so many nails on the head.
{ Thanks, I think - you’re very helpful }
“Don’t mention it. Even though I don’t have much time - maybe because I don’t have much time - I want to see people around me as happy as possible; call me selfish maybe.”
Tetsu thought this made a certain logic, but certainly wasn’t what he’d call selfish. Saki continued -
“.. And I like Rin - she seems a little lonely and I want her to be happy. How that happens is up to you - I’m not much good at long term relationships.” Again the smile - unaffected and genuine - if a little resigned at the corners.
Saki paused and then went on -
“Anyhow, she wasn’t in class today - I heard she had a cold. Let’s get some work done today and maybe you’ll see her on Monday.”
For someone with a death sentence hanging low over their head, Saki was one of the most cheerful people Tetsu had ever met - “Maybe because ..” He thought, getting out a few sheets of paper plus some pencils and got to work.
--
June 29 - Friday afternoon
The hallways had mostly emptied out as students rushed off at the end of the week. Tetsu tried the art room door - half hoping it would be locked - and was greeted by a grey-haired girl with grey eyes very similar to Tetsu’s own, but lighter.
“Hello - are you here for the art club?”
Tetsu nodded.
“OK - You can come in I guess. Sensei - there’s a boy here; he wants to join the art club.”
Nomiya-sensei looked up from the manga he was reading and ambled over to meet Tetsu -
“Aren’t you one of Kurosawa’s students?”
Tetsu nodded again.
“Not getting your hands dirty enough in his class? Very well, I suppose we have room for one more. What interests you? Oils? Watercolour? Pencil?”
Tetsu mimed hammering a chisel into stone.
“Ah - sculpture. Not many want to try their hand at that - difficult .. but it’s up to you. I should know your name; what is it?”
Tetsu produced his notepad - “Kaiyou, Tetsu”
“Don’t speak? Fine - at least you won’t disturb the others with chit-chat; and you seem to be able to read lips - good. Chiharu will show you where the materials are stored. For the first few classes work on some elevation views - sketches from the front, sides, and back - of what you want to create. And a plan view - a view from the top down - we’ll speak again once those are done - reach out if you need help or advice, although I suspect at your current level, the other club members may be able to help you out. ”
Tetsu nodded. He looked around, somewhat lost.
“Chiharu - show Tetsu where we keep things and find him a seat.” And with that Nomiya retrieved his manga and let himself into the teacher’s prep room at the front of the classroom, closing the door behind him.
The grey-haired girl who greeted Tetsu at the door approached - “Tetsu, Nomiya-sensei said you should draw up some sketches - here’s some newsprint and pencils you can use. Pick a spot and when you’re done you can store your work in here.” Chiharu indicated a cabinet with wide, flat drawers.
“We work until around dinner time - sometimes Nomiya-sensei comes by and gives us a lecture or some advice. Sometimes he just looks at our work and doesn’t say much at all.” Chiharu shrugged. “If he does that, it probably means you’re doing ok.”
Tetsu nodded, took a few sheets of newsprint and some soft pencils, and sat down across from a couple of blonde girls. He had looked around, but Rin was nowhere to be seen - it was a large, well-lit room with huge windows, but there were no structural elements she might be hiding behind - unless she was sleeping in the supplies room - not an impossibility.
Tetsu picked a seat at the middle table by the window across from a blonde-haired girl; his back to the window.
“Hi, I’m Saki.”
Tetsu nodded and produced his writing pad and turned to the page with his well-worn introduction.
{ Tetsu - hi, nice to meet you }
“What are you in for then?” Saki’s smile and manner made the question seem rather matter of fact; Tetsu shrugged - "Why not share?"
{ Facet joint syndrome - bad back - can get laid up for weeks at a time if it `clicks` wrong } Tetsu tilted his head and looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if to say “And you?”
“For someone who can’t talk, you get your point across - I guess you’ve had practice. I’m dying. I mean, we all are - my brain is just in a bit of a hurry.”
Saki nodded at Tetsu’s confused look. “Ataxia - a degenerative brain disease; coordination slowly goes to the point where I can’t coordinate my swallowing then my breathing then .. anything - but I’ll be gone by then,” she said with a smile.
Tetsu was taking in the import of what Saki had said when she turned in her seat, taking a long glance at the prep room door, making certain Nomiya wasn’t about to suddenly re-appear.
“So .. you’re here because of Tezuka I’m guessing?”
{ Sorry? } wrote Tetsu
“You’re joining a club mid-term; you’re already busy enough preparing for exams - this happens every year. Every year Rin draws some boy into her orbit and around this time they realize - think they’ve realized - the best way to get closer to her is to spend time with her in the art club.”
Tetsu tried his hardest to reveal absolutely no emotion on his face.
“It’s OK - you don’t have to say anything, I can see it in your face. I get why - she’s really cute and kinda inaccessible - guys - and some girls - just melt for that. Good luck - maybe this time she’ll notice; past two years she just hasn’t seemed to be aware of the possibilities around her.”
“I see Chiharu got you some paper - did she show you where the rest of the supplies were?” Tetsu nodded.
“Let’s switch seats - the light’s better where you’re at, but Rin sits by the window and you can see her better from where I’m sitting - if you stay there, you’ll get a crick in your neck always having to turn to face her.”
Tetsu and Saki switched seats, Tetsu’s head being somewhat in a spin - “Every year? Is Saki messing with me?” Tetsu wondered - but she’d hit so many nails on the head.
{ Thanks, I think - you’re very helpful }
“Don’t mention it. Even though I don’t have much time - maybe because I don’t have much time - I want to see people around me as happy as possible; call me selfish maybe.”
Tetsu thought this made a certain logic, but certainly wasn’t what he’d call selfish. Saki continued -
“.. And I like Rin - she seems a little lonely and I want her to be happy. How that happens is up to you - I’m not much good at long term relationships.” Again the smile - unaffected and genuine - if a little resigned at the corners.
Saki paused and then went on -
“Anyhow, she wasn’t in class today - I heard she had a cold. Let’s get some work done today and maybe you’ll see her on Monday.”
For someone with a death sentence hanging low over their head, Saki was one of the most cheerful people Tetsu had ever met - “Maybe because ..” He thought, getting out a few sheets of paper plus some pencils and got to work.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sat Sep 09, 2023 8:34 pm, edited 6 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Closer
June 30 - Saturday
Tetsu found himself with free time on his hands on Saturdays, now that the festival had passed - there was another one to come, but nothing to do for it right now.
He’d always had a hobby of exploring buildings - seeing how far he could get. Yamaku boasted a significant campus with plenty of such opportunities for such `vadding`- as such he was delighted to discover a door leading to what he presumed was the roof, around a corner at end of a darkened hallway where it looked like the custodial staff hadn’t been for quite some time.
The door opened noiselessly - “Someone has been keeping the hinges oiled” he thought. Sure enough, it was a door to the roof - the bright sunlight blasted his dark-adapted eyes and it took him a minute of squinting and blinking to get re-accustomed to daylight.
It looked like the roof was reasonably well used - a semi-maintained chain-link fence kept the edge of the roof secure, and someone had assembled a park bench up here - wooden board top and seating, held together by bent pipes, slightly rusted but still sound. A couple of pieces of garbage were held against the fence by a light breeze - behind Tetsu, he heard the roof door close.
“Shit - think of an excuse, quick ..” Thought Tetsu as he turned to see who it was ..
Rin ambled out of the doorway, blinking at the bright light, much as Tetsu had.
Tetsu waved - he pulled out one of the cards he’d gotten laminated in the library’s media centre - { How are you? } it said.
A small voice said `yay` somewhere inside Rin’s head - “Who said that,” she thought.
Rin sniffled - “I think I’m getting over something - Emi’s cold; I spent yesterday in bed. Ca-can you get my ha-handerchief out of my right pa-pocket? I’m gonna - gonna .. ”
Tetsu reached for Rin’s right pocket and pulled out a somewhat used handkerchief - Rin quickly took it from him with her foot and raised it to her nose ..
“Aaa-choo!” Rin blew her nose into the handkerchief and ‘handed’ it back to Tetsu “Could you put it back for me?”
Tetsu carefully took the now-damp cloth from between her toes, folded it by its edges, and tucked it gingerly into Rin’s pocket. He tried not to think about how close to Rin he actually was - gross and disgusting things like used handkerchiefs were OK; physical contact was something he was much less comfortable with.
“Thank you.” Rin paused a second, then appeared to have an idea -
“I know you don’t talk .. maybe I can talk for you. Why don’t you nod your head if I get your lines right.”
Rin said it not so much a question as a statement - and it seemed like it could be an amusing game. Tetsu nodded, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.
“What are you doing? Asked Rin.” She continued -
“Tetsu beheld the fey but cute art prodigy, Rin. She looked care-free, as if born on the wind; her feet touching lightly on the roof of the school. Rin regarded Tetsu with an appraising eye; Tetsu responded — ”
Rin paused a second to consider her words - Tetsu nodded and she continued -
“I don’t know - just spacing out. What about you? Said Tetsu, playfully.” Rin waited for his response.
Tetsu was impressed by Rin’s addition of narration to the game. He smiled and nodded vigorously. Rin continued -
“I’m meeting Emi for lunch - she promised food; we usually eat here during the week.”
Tetsu felt somewhat uncomfortable at this news - he didn’t want to intrude on someone else’s space. Truth is, he’d been pleased to have found - he thought - a quiet place where he could take a break from forcing himself to interact with people. If it was just Rin .. that was ok. If it was Rin and her clique of friends .. alone was ok - being excluded, as usually happened, was not.
Rin sat down; Tetsu had appeared unhappy - maybe this wasn’t a good game after all, Rin wondered.
Minutes passed - maybe Emi would show up to eat, maybe not. Content as Rin may have been to wait, Tetsu was starving.
The game apparently over, Tetsu wrote on his pad - { You mind if I eat? }
Rin shook her head.
Tetsu took out the lunch he'd brought with him - a cheese burger with a side of kimchi and pickles - he took a healthy bite. “Miki would kill me if I skipped lunch" - `Eat for fuck’s sakes` was her training motto.
Rin stared into the sky, and at nothing in particular. Time passed quietly while Tetsu finished his lunch.
Tetsu wrote on his pad, and waved to get Rin’s attention - { I have two walnut cakes; they’re not healthy, but I don’t care - they’re tasty. Have one with me. } Tetsu chose his words carefully - he’d written this more as a statement than a request - Rin needed to eat, especially if she was just getting over a cold, and she didn’t seem inclined to make the decision to do so left to her own devices.
Rin said nothing and returned to staring at the sky, but opened her mouth like a baby bird would, waiting for its mother to regurgitate food into it’s beak. Tetsu stood up and popped one of the small bite-sized cakes into Rin’s mouth - she chewed and swallowed.
“Wawer?” She said around a half-mouthful of food, still staring at the sky.
Tetsu gently rested his bottle of water on Rin’s lips and poured some it into her mouth. She drank then closed her mouth and swallowed the last of the cake and some water.
“Thanks.” She opened her eyes suddenly as if just remembering something that had been forgotten.
Rin turned to Tetsu - her brow furrowed with seriousness, as if delivering an important message she had been entrusted to communicate to him. “The Sky is perfect - the only perfect thing - I know that. I am, probably, an expert on the Sky; whether you agree with me or not, I am. I’ve seen the sky change - it’s never the same - but that’s OK; even when it changes, I’ve never seen it less than perfect.” Message delivered, Rin looked back upon the empty sky.
Tetsu followed her gaze up into the boundless blue expanse - a memory came to him, unbidden. In what felt a lifetime ago, Tetsu remembered the results of an unasked-for inspiration; he opened his notebook to a fresh page and touched Rin on the shoulder, getting her attention.
Laboriously translating English into Japanese, he wrote; carefully correcting his mistakes, showing the text to Rin as he did -
{ A forest fire destroys all on the land, but is insignificant compared to the cycles of the atmosphere, }
Tetsu looked to Rin to see if he should continue. Rin looked confused, but intrigued. Tetsu continued -
Tetsu wrote more, carefully trying to capture the essence of his words, but in Japanese -
{ Behind closed eyes is a fire which fades in front of a cold wind. The cold wind quenches the fire - it doesn’t feed it }
Rin opened her mouth to speak, then closed it very deliberately. Tetsu continued -
{ Always, the extinguished fire returns to consume the forest. It reaches for and challenges the sky, time and time again - the fire’s defiance of the sky, white hot; the sky’s ambivalence, cool blue. }
{ The fire is insignificant in perspective, limitless in its youth, indignant in its failure. }
Rin nodded - she felt she knew where this was going as she let the words carry her along.
Tetsu wrote furiously; no longer erasing mistakes - just crossing them through, seemingly compelled to continue -
{ A man climbs out of the forest, out of the fire, unharmed. He looks down - he doesn’t look back. The heat of the fire is unbearable behind him. The fire gives the impression of not noticing his absence. }
{ The man walks, his pace unhurried, but determined. He turns his face up to fire’s smoke - behind which lies blue sky. He closes his eyes, raises his arms, and prays for rain. }
Tetsu put his pencil down and shook his hand to take the cramp out of it - he turned the last written page so Rin could read it.
“That .. was - is - beautiful. It also hurt - a lot. I don’t know why but - thank you.”
Rin looked at Tetsu, studying his face. Tetsu turned to a fresh page and wrote -
{ I think there maybe something very, very wrong with me .. }
“Are you OK? Do you need me to get the Nurse?” Asked Rin, suddenly concerned.
{ No - they can’t help. } He continued -
{ People .. I write things and they try to understand, but go away confused. I’m not trying to confuse anyone, but I do. }
“That - ” said Rin, nodding to the page - “didn’t confuse me - I saw it perfectly.”
Tetsu turned to look at Rin.
{ You must be a very different kind of person then. }
“You’re only just noticing?” Thought Rin. Outwardly, she nodded, then added - “Do you think there’s maybe something wrong with me too?”
{ No. I think it’s the rest of the world that’s wrong, maybe. Or if not wrong, then missing something terribly important - like not being able to see the sky. }
Rin sat quietly.
{ Thank you for joining me for lunch } wrote Tetsu.
“Joining - are we one person now? Is that what sharing art does? I don’t want to stop being me, but maybe I can’t help it if people are going to show their art to me and that will make them part of me - and me part of them?”
Tetsu paused .. he didn’t think discussing it literally was what Rin meant, but still -
{ Maybe - a bit .. if you shared your art with me? }
Rin pondered this, then added -
“Then we’ll each be part of each other, a bit - I’ve never been that before.”
Rin got up without a word and headed to the door downstairs. Pulling it open with one foot, she turned to Tetsu and said “OK” - and was gone.
--
June 30 - Saturday
Tetsu found himself with free time on his hands on Saturdays, now that the festival had passed - there was another one to come, but nothing to do for it right now.
He’d always had a hobby of exploring buildings - seeing how far he could get. Yamaku boasted a significant campus with plenty of such opportunities for such `vadding`- as such he was delighted to discover a door leading to what he presumed was the roof, around a corner at end of a darkened hallway where it looked like the custodial staff hadn’t been for quite some time.
The door opened noiselessly - “Someone has been keeping the hinges oiled” he thought. Sure enough, it was a door to the roof - the bright sunlight blasted his dark-adapted eyes and it took him a minute of squinting and blinking to get re-accustomed to daylight.
It looked like the roof was reasonably well used - a semi-maintained chain-link fence kept the edge of the roof secure, and someone had assembled a park bench up here - wooden board top and seating, held together by bent pipes, slightly rusted but still sound. A couple of pieces of garbage were held against the fence by a light breeze - behind Tetsu, he heard the roof door close.
“Shit - think of an excuse, quick ..” Thought Tetsu as he turned to see who it was ..
Rin ambled out of the doorway, blinking at the bright light, much as Tetsu had.
Tetsu waved - he pulled out one of the cards he’d gotten laminated in the library’s media centre - { How are you? } it said.
A small voice said `yay` somewhere inside Rin’s head - “Who said that,” she thought.
Rin sniffled - “I think I’m getting over something - Emi’s cold; I spent yesterday in bed. Ca-can you get my ha-handerchief out of my right pa-pocket? I’m gonna - gonna .. ”
Tetsu reached for Rin’s right pocket and pulled out a somewhat used handkerchief - Rin quickly took it from him with her foot and raised it to her nose ..
“Aaa-choo!” Rin blew her nose into the handkerchief and ‘handed’ it back to Tetsu “Could you put it back for me?”
Tetsu carefully took the now-damp cloth from between her toes, folded it by its edges, and tucked it gingerly into Rin’s pocket. He tried not to think about how close to Rin he actually was - gross and disgusting things like used handkerchiefs were OK; physical contact was something he was much less comfortable with.
“Thank you.” Rin paused a second, then appeared to have an idea -
“I know you don’t talk .. maybe I can talk for you. Why don’t you nod your head if I get your lines right.”
Rin said it not so much a question as a statement - and it seemed like it could be an amusing game. Tetsu nodded, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.
“What are you doing? Asked Rin.” She continued -
“Tetsu beheld the fey but cute art prodigy, Rin. She looked care-free, as if born on the wind; her feet touching lightly on the roof of the school. Rin regarded Tetsu with an appraising eye; Tetsu responded — ”
Rin paused a second to consider her words - Tetsu nodded and she continued -
“I don’t know - just spacing out. What about you? Said Tetsu, playfully.” Rin waited for his response.
Tetsu was impressed by Rin’s addition of narration to the game. He smiled and nodded vigorously. Rin continued -
“I’m meeting Emi for lunch - she promised food; we usually eat here during the week.”
Tetsu felt somewhat uncomfortable at this news - he didn’t want to intrude on someone else’s space. Truth is, he’d been pleased to have found - he thought - a quiet place where he could take a break from forcing himself to interact with people. If it was just Rin .. that was ok. If it was Rin and her clique of friends .. alone was ok - being excluded, as usually happened, was not.
Rin sat down; Tetsu had appeared unhappy - maybe this wasn’t a good game after all, Rin wondered.
Minutes passed - maybe Emi would show up to eat, maybe not. Content as Rin may have been to wait, Tetsu was starving.
The game apparently over, Tetsu wrote on his pad - { You mind if I eat? }
Rin shook her head.
Tetsu took out the lunch he'd brought with him - a cheese burger with a side of kimchi and pickles - he took a healthy bite. “Miki would kill me if I skipped lunch" - `Eat for fuck’s sakes` was her training motto.
Rin stared into the sky, and at nothing in particular. Time passed quietly while Tetsu finished his lunch.
Tetsu wrote on his pad, and waved to get Rin’s attention - { I have two walnut cakes; they’re not healthy, but I don’t care - they’re tasty. Have one with me. } Tetsu chose his words carefully - he’d written this more as a statement than a request - Rin needed to eat, especially if she was just getting over a cold, and she didn’t seem inclined to make the decision to do so left to her own devices.
Rin said nothing and returned to staring at the sky, but opened her mouth like a baby bird would, waiting for its mother to regurgitate food into it’s beak. Tetsu stood up and popped one of the small bite-sized cakes into Rin’s mouth - she chewed and swallowed.
“Wawer?” She said around a half-mouthful of food, still staring at the sky.
Tetsu gently rested his bottle of water on Rin’s lips and poured some it into her mouth. She drank then closed her mouth and swallowed the last of the cake and some water.
“Thanks.” She opened her eyes suddenly as if just remembering something that had been forgotten.
Rin turned to Tetsu - her brow furrowed with seriousness, as if delivering an important message she had been entrusted to communicate to him. “The Sky is perfect - the only perfect thing - I know that. I am, probably, an expert on the Sky; whether you agree with me or not, I am. I’ve seen the sky change - it’s never the same - but that’s OK; even when it changes, I’ve never seen it less than perfect.” Message delivered, Rin looked back upon the empty sky.
Tetsu followed her gaze up into the boundless blue expanse - a memory came to him, unbidden. In what felt a lifetime ago, Tetsu remembered the results of an unasked-for inspiration; he opened his notebook to a fresh page and touched Rin on the shoulder, getting her attention.
Laboriously translating English into Japanese, he wrote; carefully correcting his mistakes, showing the text to Rin as he did -
{ A forest fire destroys all on the land, but is insignificant compared to the cycles of the atmosphere, }
Tetsu looked to Rin to see if he should continue. Rin looked confused, but intrigued. Tetsu continued -
Tetsu wrote more, carefully trying to capture the essence of his words, but in Japanese -
{ Behind closed eyes is a fire which fades in front of a cold wind. The cold wind quenches the fire - it doesn’t feed it }
Rin opened her mouth to speak, then closed it very deliberately. Tetsu continued -
{ Always, the extinguished fire returns to consume the forest. It reaches for and challenges the sky, time and time again - the fire’s defiance of the sky, white hot; the sky’s ambivalence, cool blue. }
{ The fire is insignificant in perspective, limitless in its youth, indignant in its failure. }
Rin nodded - she felt she knew where this was going as she let the words carry her along.
Tetsu wrote furiously; no longer erasing mistakes - just crossing them through, seemingly compelled to continue -
{ A man climbs out of the forest, out of the fire, unharmed. He looks down - he doesn’t look back. The heat of the fire is unbearable behind him. The fire gives the impression of not noticing his absence. }
{ The man walks, his pace unhurried, but determined. He turns his face up to fire’s smoke - behind which lies blue sky. He closes his eyes, raises his arms, and prays for rain. }
Tetsu put his pencil down and shook his hand to take the cramp out of it - he turned the last written page so Rin could read it.
“That .. was - is - beautiful. It also hurt - a lot. I don’t know why but - thank you.”
Rin looked at Tetsu, studying his face. Tetsu turned to a fresh page and wrote -
{ I think there maybe something very, very wrong with me .. }
“Are you OK? Do you need me to get the Nurse?” Asked Rin, suddenly concerned.
{ No - they can’t help. } He continued -
{ People .. I write things and they try to understand, but go away confused. I’m not trying to confuse anyone, but I do. }
“That - ” said Rin, nodding to the page - “didn’t confuse me - I saw it perfectly.”
Tetsu turned to look at Rin.
{ You must be a very different kind of person then. }
“You’re only just noticing?” Thought Rin. Outwardly, she nodded, then added - “Do you think there’s maybe something wrong with me too?”
{ No. I think it’s the rest of the world that’s wrong, maybe. Or if not wrong, then missing something terribly important - like not being able to see the sky. }
Rin sat quietly.
{ Thank you for joining me for lunch } wrote Tetsu.
“Joining - are we one person now? Is that what sharing art does? I don’t want to stop being me, but maybe I can’t help it if people are going to show their art to me and that will make them part of me - and me part of them?”
Tetsu paused .. he didn’t think discussing it literally was what Rin meant, but still -
{ Maybe - a bit .. if you shared your art with me? }
Rin pondered this, then added -
“Then we’ll each be part of each other, a bit - I’ve never been that before.”
Rin got up without a word and headed to the door downstairs. Pulling it open with one foot, she turned to Tetsu and said “OK” - and was gone.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sat Sep 09, 2023 8:55 pm, edited 11 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
2023年01月22日
Just realized I’m around the one-quarter mark in this work - probably nothing wrong with stepping out from behind the curtain at this point and saying a word or two.
Firstly, thanks for all the advice I’ve received in the making of this work. Some of it has been a challenge to adapt to how I write, but on the whole has had a very positive impact. It’s honestly thrilling - and educational - to share my work with people who are so much better at this than I am.
Second, it’s been a pleasure to engage with a larger work than I usually write - more than just a simple pleasure, it’s been fun; thanks for being along for the ride this far!
Writing, for me, is very much like unleashing a river on an unmarked plain - I guess that’s why it’s called a `torrent` of words. The words chew up the ground, don’t go where you expect them to, and, when done, you have something new - sometimes creative, sometimes destructive, but always new.
Isn’t that wonderful when you think about it - that we each can create something never seen before? It’s miraculous - to me at least - and all in here we have entire constellations of small miracles filling our eyes.
Ok - that’s enough for now. Back to work on polishing the next chunk for posting, warts and all - be well and stay safe!
--
Just realized I’m around the one-quarter mark in this work - probably nothing wrong with stepping out from behind the curtain at this point and saying a word or two.
Firstly, thanks for all the advice I’ve received in the making of this work. Some of it has been a challenge to adapt to how I write, but on the whole has had a very positive impact. It’s honestly thrilling - and educational - to share my work with people who are so much better at this than I am.
Second, it’s been a pleasure to engage with a larger work than I usually write - more than just a simple pleasure, it’s been fun; thanks for being along for the ride this far!
Writing, for me, is very much like unleashing a river on an unmarked plain - I guess that’s why it’s called a `torrent` of words. The words chew up the ground, don’t go where you expect them to, and, when done, you have something new - sometimes creative, sometimes destructive, but always new.
Isn’t that wonderful when you think about it - that we each can create something never seen before? It’s miraculous - to me at least - and all in here we have entire constellations of small miracles filling our eyes.
Ok - that’s enough for now. Back to work on polishing the next chunk for posting, warts and all - be well and stay safe!
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
The Second Novel in the Trilogy
July, 2007
Yamaku in July was sultry, which is a polite way of saying `almost unbearably hot and humid` - at least it was down in the city. Situated as it was on top of a tall hill, Yamaku at least caught some breeze - still, when the breeze died the heat genuinely gave meaning to the term `oppressive`.
Despite the heat, the students of Class 3-A soldiered on in their projects. Tetsu was unfamiliar with the grading system used in his class. There were no grades, really - the work was either done, or it wasn’t, and it wasn’t done until Kurosawa-sensei was satisfied with it. That constant iteration of completion, submission, review, re-work, and repeat made for a very organic cycle that breathed through the mainly solitary days - mixed group work not really being generally applicable to the projects they’d chosen to work on.
Mika and Kika had chosen a project that suited their talents for coordinating between each other - they were working on a pair of full kimonos; their excellent ability to work jointly made manipulating the large swathes of cloth if not easy, at least possible. Tetsu speculated whether the construction of such an ornate work would not normally command the attention of a team of tailors, but the twins weren’t talking - he’d asked.
The two boys in class - who Tetsu still hadn’t learned the names of - and who hadn’t made an effort to share - were working on what appeared to be a giant (well, human-sized) remote controlled robot. “It’s going to suck next year - looks like they’ve cannibalized most of the RC cars for parts,” Tetsu thought to himself. He shrugged internally; that was next year’s problem - Kurosawa-sensei had approved the project and that was enough.
Tetsu wondered what next year’s group of students would do for the school festival, but he didn’t have much time for speculation - his project was taking all of his attention and then some; Tetsu had wondered if he hadn’t been over-ambitious, but what was done was done.
From the first day in class Tetsu had eyes only for the classic VW Bug sitting on the auto shop floor. How it had arrived at Yamaku he had no idea. Perhaps a donation from a graduating class? Tetsu had asked Kurosawa-sensei about its origin, but sensei had been unusually reticent on the subject.
The car wasn’t in bad shape as such - previous 3rd-years had obviously done a good job on the drive train, suspension, and finish; what they’d taken less care with was the upholstery and the electrical system - those were now Tetsu's to make happen.
Tetsu had chosen leather to replace the original vinyl of the seats - never had such a car rolled off of the assembly line with leather so thick; a deep caramel leather both unblemished and supple.
The car, from a distance, was a sparkling silver colour - the original colour had been long-lost, having been refinished many times, but Tetsu suspected it had originally been cream owing to the few un-refinished areas under the bonnet.
Of course, once he got the battery charged and connected absolutely nothing worked - he’d had to remove the dashboard to get at the wiring harness. In between bouts of cursing at the sewing machine and cutting foam to shape to support the upholstery, Tetsu spent his time tracing wires with a multi-meter trying to figure out what went where and why - or why not.
On top of that, some plastic bits - knobs and such - had long since fallen off and been lost; Tetsu undertook to machine new parts to replace them.
If working with one’s hands could be said to be meditative, Tetsu was like a monk in a monastery under the watchful gaze of an apparently ageless abbot.
--
July, 2007
Yamaku in July was sultry, which is a polite way of saying `almost unbearably hot and humid` - at least it was down in the city. Situated as it was on top of a tall hill, Yamaku at least caught some breeze - still, when the breeze died the heat genuinely gave meaning to the term `oppressive`.
Despite the heat, the students of Class 3-A soldiered on in their projects. Tetsu was unfamiliar with the grading system used in his class. There were no grades, really - the work was either done, or it wasn’t, and it wasn’t done until Kurosawa-sensei was satisfied with it. That constant iteration of completion, submission, review, re-work, and repeat made for a very organic cycle that breathed through the mainly solitary days - mixed group work not really being generally applicable to the projects they’d chosen to work on.
Mika and Kika had chosen a project that suited their talents for coordinating between each other - they were working on a pair of full kimonos; their excellent ability to work jointly made manipulating the large swathes of cloth if not easy, at least possible. Tetsu speculated whether the construction of such an ornate work would not normally command the attention of a team of tailors, but the twins weren’t talking - he’d asked.
The two boys in class - who Tetsu still hadn’t learned the names of - and who hadn’t made an effort to share - were working on what appeared to be a giant (well, human-sized) remote controlled robot. “It’s going to suck next year - looks like they’ve cannibalized most of the RC cars for parts,” Tetsu thought to himself. He shrugged internally; that was next year’s problem - Kurosawa-sensei had approved the project and that was enough.
Tetsu wondered what next year’s group of students would do for the school festival, but he didn’t have much time for speculation - his project was taking all of his attention and then some; Tetsu had wondered if he hadn’t been over-ambitious, but what was done was done.
From the first day in class Tetsu had eyes only for the classic VW Bug sitting on the auto shop floor. How it had arrived at Yamaku he had no idea. Perhaps a donation from a graduating class? Tetsu had asked Kurosawa-sensei about its origin, but sensei had been unusually reticent on the subject.
The car wasn’t in bad shape as such - previous 3rd-years had obviously done a good job on the drive train, suspension, and finish; what they’d taken less care with was the upholstery and the electrical system - those were now Tetsu's to make happen.
Tetsu had chosen leather to replace the original vinyl of the seats - never had such a car rolled off of the assembly line with leather so thick; a deep caramel leather both unblemished and supple.
The car, from a distance, was a sparkling silver colour - the original colour had been long-lost, having been refinished many times, but Tetsu suspected it had originally been cream owing to the few un-refinished areas under the bonnet.
Of course, once he got the battery charged and connected absolutely nothing worked - he’d had to remove the dashboard to get at the wiring harness. In between bouts of cursing at the sewing machine and cutting foam to shape to support the upholstery, Tetsu spent his time tracing wires with a multi-meter trying to figure out what went where and why - or why not.
On top of that, some plastic bits - knobs and such - had long since fallen off and been lost; Tetsu undertook to machine new parts to replace them.
If working with one’s hands could be said to be meditative, Tetsu was like a monk in a monastery under the watchful gaze of an apparently ageless abbot.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 2:50 pm, edited 6 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Can’t Get it Out of My Head
July 02 - Monday, afternoon
Tetsu was delighted when Rin showed up to Art Club on Monday after school, apparently having gotten over her cold.
—
The intense July sunlight filtered into the art room undeterred by the hour of the afternoon or the blinds on the windows, suffusing the art club with a white glow.
Tetsu caught Rin looking his way on occasion. He returned her blank look with an impassive expression, holding her gaze for as long as he dared.
“Why do I keep looking over at him? Why? He’s not that interesting ..”
“This feels very much like a game of `chicken` - who’s going to blink first?” Tetsu thought to himself. “What’s the point though?”
—
Rin’s birds were unquiet, even when she was painting - which was unusual. “What am I trying to tell myself?”
Rin broke out a fresh canvas, three new brushes, and a fresh tube of acrylic paint to draw the starting outlines; Cadmium Red Hue .. because .. just because - the unopened tube of Cadmium Red Hue almost nipped at her heels, begging to be used.
As a courtesy, the staff at the art store had removed all of the cellophane from the brushes and tubes of paint. She didn’t need them to do it, although removing cellophane was always a bit fussy, but she respected the good intentions behind the gesture.
“Fresh paint and a fresh canvas to pour my thoughts out onto - this always works. Tell me, cousin brushes, what’s on my mind?”
Slowly, first with tentative then more definite lines, a picture began to emerge - rough hands - almost geometric - filling the canvas. So large as to almost be unidentifiable - more a hand-shaped landscape really - supporting a small bird with vague wings - just barely identifiable feathers and a tiny face, looking upwards. Were they wings? Was there such a thing as a wingless bird? If it lacked wings, would it even be a bird?
“What the fuck does this even mean, brain?” Rin asked herself as she looked up at the ceiling in exasperation.
Rin sat almost motionless in front of the piece - the only evidence that she was even alive was the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, and an almost unconscious flexing of her foot to keep it from cramping up - minutes passed with her like this.
Rin’s thoughts spiralled - “This is a sub-optimal situation to meditate .. Something is up, and by `up` I mean the inside of my head is busy with more thoughts than usual. How do I focus on .. anything .. until I sort this out? Easy - I don’t. Fuck - and I was going to tell Nomiya that I was going to do the gallery thing today. For that I will need to change, and how can I change if I don’t even know who I am anymore?”
Rin exhaled loudly, almost giving Tetsu a heart attack - he’d unconsciously synched his breathing with the slow rising and falling of her chest and the sudden sound caught him in the middle of a breath.
“Fuck this shit - it’s time to clean up anyhow,” she thought. Without a word, Rin swizzled her dirty brushes one after the other in a jar of murky water, then a jar of clean water, then into a re-sealable plastic bag they went so they wouldn’t dry out over night. The canvas could sit where it was and dry and be ready for the next day. Such was the simplicity of working in acrylics.
--
July 02 - Monday, afternoon
Tetsu was delighted when Rin showed up to Art Club on Monday after school, apparently having gotten over her cold.
—
The intense July sunlight filtered into the art room undeterred by the hour of the afternoon or the blinds on the windows, suffusing the art club with a white glow.
Tetsu caught Rin looking his way on occasion. He returned her blank look with an impassive expression, holding her gaze for as long as he dared.
“Why do I keep looking over at him? Why? He’s not that interesting ..”
“This feels very much like a game of `chicken` - who’s going to blink first?” Tetsu thought to himself. “What’s the point though?”
—
Rin’s birds were unquiet, even when she was painting - which was unusual. “What am I trying to tell myself?”
Rin broke out a fresh canvas, three new brushes, and a fresh tube of acrylic paint to draw the starting outlines; Cadmium Red Hue .. because .. just because - the unopened tube of Cadmium Red Hue almost nipped at her heels, begging to be used.
As a courtesy, the staff at the art store had removed all of the cellophane from the brushes and tubes of paint. She didn’t need them to do it, although removing cellophane was always a bit fussy, but she respected the good intentions behind the gesture.
“Fresh paint and a fresh canvas to pour my thoughts out onto - this always works. Tell me, cousin brushes, what’s on my mind?”
Slowly, first with tentative then more definite lines, a picture began to emerge - rough hands - almost geometric - filling the canvas. So large as to almost be unidentifiable - more a hand-shaped landscape really - supporting a small bird with vague wings - just barely identifiable feathers and a tiny face, looking upwards. Were they wings? Was there such a thing as a wingless bird? If it lacked wings, would it even be a bird?
“What the fuck does this even mean, brain?” Rin asked herself as she looked up at the ceiling in exasperation.
Rin sat almost motionless in front of the piece - the only evidence that she was even alive was the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, and an almost unconscious flexing of her foot to keep it from cramping up - minutes passed with her like this.
Rin’s thoughts spiralled - “This is a sub-optimal situation to meditate .. Something is up, and by `up` I mean the inside of my head is busy with more thoughts than usual. How do I focus on .. anything .. until I sort this out? Easy - I don’t. Fuck - and I was going to tell Nomiya that I was going to do the gallery thing today. For that I will need to change, and how can I change if I don’t even know who I am anymore?”
Rin exhaled loudly, almost giving Tetsu a heart attack - he’d unconsciously synched his breathing with the slow rising and falling of her chest and the sudden sound caught him in the middle of a breath.
“Fuck this shit - it’s time to clean up anyhow,” she thought. Without a word, Rin swizzled her dirty brushes one after the other in a jar of murky water, then a jar of clean water, then into a re-sealable plastic bag they went so they wouldn’t dry out over night. The canvas could sit where it was and dry and be ready for the next day. Such was the simplicity of working in acrylics.
--
- Attachments
-
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Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:14 am, edited 3 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Writing Homeless I
July 03, 2007 - Tuesday
Tetsu returned from the art club to find a note slipped under his door - "Please see the Adminstrator tomorrow - 8:30 am"
"Well, there goes tomorrow's workout," Tetsu thought to himself - "Should let Miki know."
Making his way over to the women's dorm felt odd - it was the same as the men's dorm in every way except it was filled with .. women. A few of the students however had their boyfriends over - the general rule being that as long as the doors were open and the boyfriends cleared out by curfew, some socializing was acceptable. Tetsu'd overheard that these rules were more often observed in their breach, so he didn't feel like he was transgressing an unwritten taboo by simply dropping by to leave a note for Miki.
Tetsu slipped his note under Miki's door without knocking - "Have a meeting with the Administrator tomorrow early - won't see you in gym - sorry, Tetsu." and he left. He'd gotten as far as the common area when he heard Miki call his name -
"Hey, Tetsu - got a minute?"
Tetsu turned - Miki was hanging out of her doorway, casually dressed in a t-shirt and running shorts; she waved. Tetsu shrugged and ambled back; his gait was recognizable at any distance - he tried to walk casually, but that was undermined by his heavy, deliberate step. The result that Tetsu always looked like he was going somewhere, and might break into a run at any moment to get there faster.
"Hey - close the door if it makes you more comfortable," offered Miki, climbing up and sitting cross-legged on her bed, her back against the wall.
Tetsu closed the door and sat up on her desk - it creaked, but held better than he thought her folding chair would have.
Miki's room was pretty much what Tetsu would have expected if he'd thought to expect anything - the walls were the default beige, and the bedding was Yamaku standard. On her walls were pennants and posters of various sports teams, and what looked like a men's swimsuit calendar. On the shelves at the head of her bed was a few framed photos - what looked like a baseball team with a younger Miki, and one of an adult man and a woman - her parents?
"Another life, eh?" Miki brought Tetsu out of his reverie -
"Yeah, I guess - everything before Yamaku feels like another life; another person." Tetsu was finally comfortable talking around Miki - the only person other than Nurse he was really comfortable talking around, and even then - he mostly signed with Nurse, speaking only to clarify symptoms he may have been experiencing. Nurse, having read Tetsu's file, thought this was promising and encouraged Tetsu to talk as much as he was comfortable.
"I've always loved sports - ever since I could walk; my dad tells me I was always kicking a ball or throwing something. Lost a few plates around the house that way." Miki looked a bit wistful at the thought.
Tetsu nodded - easy to see that happening. "So, what's up - you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah - I did, but nothing's up - just wanted to chat I guess, but now you're here I don't know what I wanted to talk about. Just bored I guess." Miki flipped her hair back and looked out the window.
"Life's like that," Tetsu mused - "We don't get a script to tell us what's on our minds."
Tetsu observed Miki in profile - she was a very attractive woman, yet she and Tetsu had never really been attracted to each other. "What's up with that," Tetsu wondered, but he knew - every time he thought he might hit on Miki, his mind stopped cold. She was too attractive, too .. at ease with socializing and dating - it made Tetsu feel even more awkward than he already did around women and he'd lose his ability to speak until the speculation was firmly put away.
"Hey Tetsu - " said Miki, still looking out the window.
"Yeah?"
"Just wondering .. why have you never hit on me?"
"Can't say - too much of a friend?" Offered Tetsu. Internally he thought - "What a save .. but why not tell the truth?" and mentally he shrugged - a hill to climb another day.
Miki just tilted her head - Tetsu couldn't tell if it was an indicated of disapointment or indifference.
"You're not going to be at the gym tomorrow? A hot date with the Administrator? Woo!" Miki shifted her tone to lightly mocking to clear the awkward air from the room. "What's with that?"
"No idea - guess I'll find out when I get there." Switching gears - "I should get something to eat - want to come?"
Was that a hit? No, Miki decided - no, just Tetsu being nice. Nice. Maybe that's why she'd never hit on him. Miki decided she didn't like her partners too nice - or too smart, and Tetsu was both. "No, not my type - doubt he'd let me get away with anything once he got wise to my shit," she thought. "Also - too awkward. I've got my own demons without adopting someone else's."
"No - I'm good; ate already. You go and get to bed early - don't want to be late for your coffee date!"
"Thanks for fuck all Miki - see you Thursday."
"See you Thursday big guy - good luck."
Tetsu left, closing the door behind him. "Good luck - I don't think I'm in trouble for anything .."
Tetsu struck out back to his dorm, like a hound on a trail - looking neither left nor right. As such, he missed Rin watching him leave Miki's room from behind Rin's partially open door.
—
In her room, Rin was overcome with a sudden, unexpected wave of emotion; she chided herself - “Do not be a baby; do not embarrass yourself,” and was mostly successful in taking her own advice, at least as far as embarrassing herself went - the walls in the dorms were paper thin and one could hear all manner of things without trying too hard.
Later, when Emi came over to help Rin prepare for bed, it was pretty obvious Rin had been crying, but then Rin cried often, Emi had observed. They never talked about it in the mornings for nightmares are very personal things, but this day-crying was kinda new. “I didn’t hear her crying - she must have been trying to hard to hide it, so bringing it up would definitely be a bad move. Rin will bring it up if she wants to talk about it,” thought Emi, as she quietly pinned Rin’s hair back so she could wash Rin’s face in the shower without getting Rin’s hair wet. Rin said nothing as they went through their daily ritual and she appreciated Emi’s silence - Rin wasn’t sure what it was she was upset about, but was pretty sure the tears would come again if she tried to talk about anything - no matter how mundane.
--
July 03, 2007 - Tuesday
Tetsu returned from the art club to find a note slipped under his door - "Please see the Adminstrator tomorrow - 8:30 am"
"Well, there goes tomorrow's workout," Tetsu thought to himself - "Should let Miki know."
Making his way over to the women's dorm felt odd - it was the same as the men's dorm in every way except it was filled with .. women. A few of the students however had their boyfriends over - the general rule being that as long as the doors were open and the boyfriends cleared out by curfew, some socializing was acceptable. Tetsu'd overheard that these rules were more often observed in their breach, so he didn't feel like he was transgressing an unwritten taboo by simply dropping by to leave a note for Miki.
Tetsu slipped his note under Miki's door without knocking - "Have a meeting with the Administrator tomorrow early - won't see you in gym - sorry, Tetsu." and he left. He'd gotten as far as the common area when he heard Miki call his name -
"Hey, Tetsu - got a minute?"
Tetsu turned - Miki was hanging out of her doorway, casually dressed in a t-shirt and running shorts; she waved. Tetsu shrugged and ambled back; his gait was recognizable at any distance - he tried to walk casually, but that was undermined by his heavy, deliberate step. The result that Tetsu always looked like he was going somewhere, and might break into a run at any moment to get there faster.
"Hey - close the door if it makes you more comfortable," offered Miki, climbing up and sitting cross-legged on her bed, her back against the wall.
Tetsu closed the door and sat up on her desk - it creaked, but held better than he thought her folding chair would have.
Miki's room was pretty much what Tetsu would have expected if he'd thought to expect anything - the walls were the default beige, and the bedding was Yamaku standard. On her walls were pennants and posters of various sports teams, and what looked like a men's swimsuit calendar. On the shelves at the head of her bed was a few framed photos - what looked like a baseball team with a younger Miki, and one of an adult man and a woman - her parents?
"Another life, eh?" Miki brought Tetsu out of his reverie -
"Yeah, I guess - everything before Yamaku feels like another life; another person." Tetsu was finally comfortable talking around Miki - the only person other than Nurse he was really comfortable talking around, and even then - he mostly signed with Nurse, speaking only to clarify symptoms he may have been experiencing. Nurse, having read Tetsu's file, thought this was promising and encouraged Tetsu to talk as much as he was comfortable.
"I've always loved sports - ever since I could walk; my dad tells me I was always kicking a ball or throwing something. Lost a few plates around the house that way." Miki looked a bit wistful at the thought.
Tetsu nodded - easy to see that happening. "So, what's up - you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah - I did, but nothing's up - just wanted to chat I guess, but now you're here I don't know what I wanted to talk about. Just bored I guess." Miki flipped her hair back and looked out the window.
"Life's like that," Tetsu mused - "We don't get a script to tell us what's on our minds."
Tetsu observed Miki in profile - she was a very attractive woman, yet she and Tetsu had never really been attracted to each other. "What's up with that," Tetsu wondered, but he knew - every time he thought he might hit on Miki, his mind stopped cold. She was too attractive, too .. at ease with socializing and dating - it made Tetsu feel even more awkward than he already did around women and he'd lose his ability to speak until the speculation was firmly put away.
"Hey Tetsu - " said Miki, still looking out the window.
"Yeah?"
"Just wondering .. why have you never hit on me?"
"Can't say - too much of a friend?" Offered Tetsu. Internally he thought - "What a save .. but why not tell the truth?" and mentally he shrugged - a hill to climb another day.
Miki just tilted her head - Tetsu couldn't tell if it was an indicated of disapointment or indifference.
"You're not going to be at the gym tomorrow? A hot date with the Administrator? Woo!" Miki shifted her tone to lightly mocking to clear the awkward air from the room. "What's with that?"
"No idea - guess I'll find out when I get there." Switching gears - "I should get something to eat - want to come?"
Was that a hit? No, Miki decided - no, just Tetsu being nice. Nice. Maybe that's why she'd never hit on him. Miki decided she didn't like her partners too nice - or too smart, and Tetsu was both. "No, not my type - doubt he'd let me get away with anything once he got wise to my shit," she thought. "Also - too awkward. I've got my own demons without adopting someone else's."
"No - I'm good; ate already. You go and get to bed early - don't want to be late for your coffee date!"
"Thanks for fuck all Miki - see you Thursday."
"See you Thursday big guy - good luck."
Tetsu left, closing the door behind him. "Good luck - I don't think I'm in trouble for anything .."
Tetsu struck out back to his dorm, like a hound on a trail - looking neither left nor right. As such, he missed Rin watching him leave Miki's room from behind Rin's partially open door.
—
In her room, Rin was overcome with a sudden, unexpected wave of emotion; she chided herself - “Do not be a baby; do not embarrass yourself,” and was mostly successful in taking her own advice, at least as far as embarrassing herself went - the walls in the dorms were paper thin and one could hear all manner of things without trying too hard.
Later, when Emi came over to help Rin prepare for bed, it was pretty obvious Rin had been crying, but then Rin cried often, Emi had observed. They never talked about it in the mornings for nightmares are very personal things, but this day-crying was kinda new. “I didn’t hear her crying - she must have been trying to hard to hide it, so bringing it up would definitely be a bad move. Rin will bring it up if she wants to talk about it,” thought Emi, as she quietly pinned Rin’s hair back so she could wash Rin’s face in the shower without getting Rin’s hair wet. Rin said nothing as they went through their daily ritual and she appreciated Emi’s silence - Rin wasn’t sure what it was she was upset about, but was pretty sure the tears would come again if she tried to talk about anything - no matter how mundane.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 2:54 pm, edited 4 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Writing Homeless II
July 05, 2007 - Wednesday morning
Tetsu knocked tentatively at the Administrator's heavy oaken door.
"Come in," came a deep voice.
Tetsu pushed the ajar door fully open - [ You wanted to see me? ] Tetsu signed.
"Yes - please, close the door and have a seat. How's school going?"
Tetsu didn't think this was a typical friendly catch-up meeting - he was under no illusion that people got called to the Administrator's office for anything but specific reasons, but what to do other than play along?
[ Good, sir. My marks are good when I get them, and my credit / no credit work seems to be making good progress ]
"I'm glad to hear that - your teachers say good things about you. That's not why I asked you to talk to me today, but since you're here I thought a little positive feedback was in order. I'm afraid I have some rather bad news otherwise, unfortunately .."
The administrator handed over a rather thick legal-sized envelope from his desktop to Tetsu. "I haven't read it - it's addressed to you and its content is both personal and confidential. I do have a letter from your lawyers that describes its contents and - I'm sorry."
Tetsu looked confused and not a little alarmed .. "My lawyers?" was his startled thought. [ Am I in trouble? ] he asked.
"No - not at all. And you won't be leaving Yamaku - unless you choose to, and I hope you don't - I think Yamaku's been good to and for you in the months you've been here. I'll leave you to read the contents of the envelope - know that you have all the support I can offer you as a representative of the institution. Take the time you need; you may not have much to deal with logistically - I think only a few signatures are required of you - but emotionally you may need more time .."
The administrator got up and left Tetsu alone with then envelope in his office.
--
July 05, 2007 - Wednesday morning
Tetsu knocked tentatively at the Administrator's heavy oaken door.
"Come in," came a deep voice.
Tetsu pushed the ajar door fully open - [ You wanted to see me? ] Tetsu signed.
"Yes - please, close the door and have a seat. How's school going?"
Tetsu didn't think this was a typical friendly catch-up meeting - he was under no illusion that people got called to the Administrator's office for anything but specific reasons, but what to do other than play along?
[ Good, sir. My marks are good when I get them, and my credit / no credit work seems to be making good progress ]
"I'm glad to hear that - your teachers say good things about you. That's not why I asked you to talk to me today, but since you're here I thought a little positive feedback was in order. I'm afraid I have some rather bad news otherwise, unfortunately .."
The administrator handed over a rather thick legal-sized envelope from his desktop to Tetsu. "I haven't read it - it's addressed to you and its content is both personal and confidential. I do have a letter from your lawyers that describes its contents and - I'm sorry."
Tetsu looked confused and not a little alarmed .. "My lawyers?" was his startled thought. [ Am I in trouble? ] he asked.
"No - not at all. And you won't be leaving Yamaku - unless you choose to, and I hope you don't - I think Yamaku's been good to and for you in the months you've been here. I'll leave you to read the contents of the envelope - know that you have all the support I can offer you as a representative of the institution. Take the time you need; you may not have much to deal with logistically - I think only a few signatures are required of you - but emotionally you may need more time .."
The administrator got up and left Tetsu alone with then envelope in his office.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 2:57 pm, edited 6 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Writing Homeless III
July 05, 2007 - Wednesday evening
Tetsu knocked on Miki's door .. no answer. Numb to his usual inhibitions, and numb to almost everything else besides, he couldn't think of anything but to knock again.
Miki manifested as she opened the door, slightly sweaty and a little out of breath; her look of annoyance turned to one of concern - "Tetsu? Sorry - I had my .. headphones on, but it sounded like someone was trying to beat my door down - what's up?"
"Can I come in?"
"Ah - sure. Give me a minute to tidy up .." Tetsu stood at her door, staring down the hallway, waiting for Miki to effect whatever tidying she needed to do..
"You know - it's not polite to knock at a lady's door unannounced .." said Miki with a lopsided grin on her face; Tetsu grimaced -
"Ok I'll go."
"No - fuck, sorry - sounded funnier in my head. I'm sorry." Miki felt terrible; she'd tried to joke with Tetsu, but his face and posture had caved entirely at her jest.
"Is this about your meeting with the Administrator?"
Tetsu nodded - "Yeah .." and he closed the door.
Miki sat on the side of her bed and let him speak -
"I should have known something was up when my postcards to my mother started to get returned - I thought she might have moved and not told me, which wasn't impossible. She liked to move a lot - she'd make enemies of her neighbours then move away rather than patch things up."
"I also tried calling - we had a code; I'd call once and hang up, then call back. The delay between the first and second ring let her know it was me, but she never answered when I called after arrival, and the last couple of months there was an automated message saying the number had been disconnected."
Miki interrupted - "Why did you do that? What was the point?"
"The code? She didn't want to talk to anyone but me - not relatives, not sales people, not .. anyone," Tetsu finished weakly. Miki strongly suspected there was someone that Tetsu's mother specifically didn't want to talk to, but she wasn't going to press the issue - "None of my business," she thought.
Tetsu continued, pulling the morning's envelope out of his book bag - it was legal-sized; the paper was cream in colour, and subtly textured. It looked, to Miki's eyes, very official.
"Then this envelope arrived - a pile of papers to sign and send back home."
"Papers for what?" asked Miki, her eyes on the envelope.
"For next of kin - my mother passed away not long after I arrived in Japan; I'm only just finding out about it now."
A heavy awkward silence settled on the room - there might have been more tactful ways of sharing the news, but there was no getting around the news itself.
"Fuck - I'm so sorry - I can't even .. couldn't someone have told you sooner?" Miki instantly regretted the question - she could imagine any number of reasons why someone's death wasn't immediately communicated.
Tetsu shrugged - "Maybe? Her lawyers handled all of the details - there's nothing for me to do but sign papers."
"I guess you'll be going home for the funeral," Miki observed.
"No - she didn't want one. Didn't want anyone to have her ashes either. Aside from changing the name on a few accounts, it's done."
"Your father - wouldn't he like to see you?"
"If that was true, he would have reached out to me any time in the past 18 years but he never has, and if I wanted to reach out to him, I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Miki - I'm not feeling anything at all - nothing. Should I?"
"I can't say - I don't know; I've never had anyone close to me pass away. I've seen people really hurt themselves on the track - traumatic injury - and feel nothing, until later."
Miki and Tetsu fell silent for a time, and looked at nothing in particular - not able to meet each others' eyes, but also at a loss for what to say next. Presently, Miki spoke -
"So."
"So."
Miki reached out and touched Tetsu's forearm - "So, I guess, we're your family then." Tetsu looked down and nodded, and Miki, taking a chance, gave Tetsu a hug which he awkwardly returned, eventually leaning into it.
"You know, Miki .."
"Mm?"
"I can't remember ever being hugged."
"Ever?"
"Not really - I'm sure it happened, but I guess I was too young to remember."
Tetsu closed his eyes and let Miki hug him tighter.
"I should probably go - I've got a lot of paperwork to take care of."
"Did the Administrator tell you to take some time off?"
"He said I could - he'd make it right with the teachers and my assignments if I did, but I said no - I don't think I want to be idle right now; I don't think it would be a great idea."
"And Miki .."
"Yes?"
"Can we keep this between us - for now? I'd rather tell this story - as much or as little - my own way."
"Promise."
—
"What a life -" thought Miki, recalling her dad picking her up and hugging her while spinning around and her laughing and laughing until she begged to be put down. "What kind of person doesn't hug their children?"
The thought troubled her until she finally fell asleep, much past midnight.
--
July 05, 2007 - Wednesday evening
Tetsu knocked on Miki's door .. no answer. Numb to his usual inhibitions, and numb to almost everything else besides, he couldn't think of anything but to knock again.
Miki manifested as she opened the door, slightly sweaty and a little out of breath; her look of annoyance turned to one of concern - "Tetsu? Sorry - I had my .. headphones on, but it sounded like someone was trying to beat my door down - what's up?"
"Can I come in?"
"Ah - sure. Give me a minute to tidy up .." Tetsu stood at her door, staring down the hallway, waiting for Miki to effect whatever tidying she needed to do..
"You know - it's not polite to knock at a lady's door unannounced .." said Miki with a lopsided grin on her face; Tetsu grimaced -
"Ok I'll go."
"No - fuck, sorry - sounded funnier in my head. I'm sorry." Miki felt terrible; she'd tried to joke with Tetsu, but his face and posture had caved entirely at her jest.
"Is this about your meeting with the Administrator?"
Tetsu nodded - "Yeah .." and he closed the door.
Miki sat on the side of her bed and let him speak -
"I should have known something was up when my postcards to my mother started to get returned - I thought she might have moved and not told me, which wasn't impossible. She liked to move a lot - she'd make enemies of her neighbours then move away rather than patch things up."
"I also tried calling - we had a code; I'd call once and hang up, then call back. The delay between the first and second ring let her know it was me, but she never answered when I called after arrival, and the last couple of months there was an automated message saying the number had been disconnected."
Miki interrupted - "Why did you do that? What was the point?"
"The code? She didn't want to talk to anyone but me - not relatives, not sales people, not .. anyone," Tetsu finished weakly. Miki strongly suspected there was someone that Tetsu's mother specifically didn't want to talk to, but she wasn't going to press the issue - "None of my business," she thought.
Tetsu continued, pulling the morning's envelope out of his book bag - it was legal-sized; the paper was cream in colour, and subtly textured. It looked, to Miki's eyes, very official.
"Then this envelope arrived - a pile of papers to sign and send back home."
"Papers for what?" asked Miki, her eyes on the envelope.
"For next of kin - my mother passed away not long after I arrived in Japan; I'm only just finding out about it now."
A heavy awkward silence settled on the room - there might have been more tactful ways of sharing the news, but there was no getting around the news itself.
"Fuck - I'm so sorry - I can't even .. couldn't someone have told you sooner?" Miki instantly regretted the question - she could imagine any number of reasons why someone's death wasn't immediately communicated.
Tetsu shrugged - "Maybe? Her lawyers handled all of the details - there's nothing for me to do but sign papers."
"I guess you'll be going home for the funeral," Miki observed.
"No - she didn't want one. Didn't want anyone to have her ashes either. Aside from changing the name on a few accounts, it's done."
"Your father - wouldn't he like to see you?"
"If that was true, he would have reached out to me any time in the past 18 years but he never has, and if I wanted to reach out to him, I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Miki - I'm not feeling anything at all - nothing. Should I?"
"I can't say - I don't know; I've never had anyone close to me pass away. I've seen people really hurt themselves on the track - traumatic injury - and feel nothing, until later."
Miki and Tetsu fell silent for a time, and looked at nothing in particular - not able to meet each others' eyes, but also at a loss for what to say next. Presently, Miki spoke -
"So."
"So."
Miki reached out and touched Tetsu's forearm - "So, I guess, we're your family then." Tetsu looked down and nodded, and Miki, taking a chance, gave Tetsu a hug which he awkwardly returned, eventually leaning into it.
"You know, Miki .."
"Mm?"
"I can't remember ever being hugged."
"Ever?"
"Not really - I'm sure it happened, but I guess I was too young to remember."
Tetsu closed his eyes and let Miki hug him tighter.
"I should probably go - I've got a lot of paperwork to take care of."
"Did the Administrator tell you to take some time off?"
"He said I could - he'd make it right with the teachers and my assignments if I did, but I said no - I don't think I want to be idle right now; I don't think it would be a great idea."
"And Miki .."
"Yes?"
"Can we keep this between us - for now? I'd rather tell this story - as much or as little - my own way."
"Promise."
—
"What a life -" thought Miki, recalling her dad picking her up and hugging her while spinning around and her laughing and laughing until she begged to be put down. "What kind of person doesn't hug their children?"
The thought troubled her until she finally fell asleep, much past midnight.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun Jul 16, 2023 11:51 pm, edited 5 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Writing Home Redux
July 10 - Tuesday
Dear Diary
It occurs to me I haven’t used this old typewriter in months - I feel like I’ve neglected an old friend, but also I guess it’s a measure of how far I’ve come - not very far, and yet very far indeed.
Friends - Miki’s a great friend; I like talking with Lilly and Hanko - I should do more of that; Saki is really nice and helps me in the Art Club. And .. there’s something about Rin - we’re not friends, but we’re not strangers either, and .. it feels important that I be around her; I try to impress her .. why? Brain? Hello? Anybody home?
The apartment has been released, stuff’s gone into storage - I’ll have to sort that out, but not today, not tomorrow - maybe next year. Or the year after - I ran the numbers, I can afford it. Thanks mom - you made it possible for me to keep all your stuff - and mine, for what any of it is worth.
Tetsu thought of all the stuff he'd wanted to bring to Yamaku but couldn't - now he couldn't remember much of it at all. Words unasked for surfaced -
".. some half-forgotten stranger doesn't mean that much to me."
At some degree of peace, he put the typewriter away and went to bed. Peace enough to fall asleep for one night - "One night at a time, I guess."
Falling asleep, he thought about what Miki had said about `we’re your family now`; “I guess that’s true - whoever `we` are - whatever `family` is - whatever that’s worth”. And with that, sleep pulled him under its woven waves.
--
July 10 - Tuesday
Dear Diary
It occurs to me I haven’t used this old typewriter in months - I feel like I’ve neglected an old friend, but also I guess it’s a measure of how far I’ve come - not very far, and yet very far indeed.
Friends - Miki’s a great friend; I like talking with Lilly and Hanko - I should do more of that; Saki is really nice and helps me in the Art Club. And .. there’s something about Rin - we’re not friends, but we’re not strangers either, and .. it feels important that I be around her; I try to impress her .. why? Brain? Hello? Anybody home?
The apartment has been released, stuff’s gone into storage - I’ll have to sort that out, but not today, not tomorrow - maybe next year. Or the year after - I ran the numbers, I can afford it. Thanks mom - you made it possible for me to keep all your stuff - and mine, for what any of it is worth.
Tetsu thought of all the stuff he'd wanted to bring to Yamaku but couldn't - now he couldn't remember much of it at all. Words unasked for surfaced -
".. some half-forgotten stranger doesn't mean that much to me."
At some degree of peace, he put the typewriter away and went to bed. Peace enough to fall asleep for one night - "One night at a time, I guess."
Falling asleep, he thought about what Miki had said about `we’re your family now`; “I guess that’s true - whoever `we` are - whatever `family` is - whatever that’s worth”. And with that, sleep pulled him under its woven waves.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Afternoon Tea
July 14 - Saturday afternoon
A bright July afternoon had Tetsu roaming the halls looking for a cool place to hide from the heat. His dorm room was sweltering - they all were - so he’d retreated to the main building which was nominally air-conditioned. While the building was open, a quick circuit of the floors found most of the rooms locked, except for -
“T-tetsu?”
Tetsu bowed to Hanako - she and Lilly were having tea in the wonderfully cool tea room; blinds on the windows drawn down to keep out the afternoon sun.
“Hello Tetsu,” Lilly said without surprise - Tetsu imagined she’d heard him approach from half a floor away. “Would you join us for tea?”
Tetsu nodded knocked twice on the table to signal his assent.
“Two knocks for yes? How very-old school,” said Lilly with a smile as Tetsu headed over to the sink. He motioned to Hanako indicating that he wanted to know whether he should make tea for three or just himself -
Hanako speculated that there were levels to such a means of communication - `formal` signs that allowed for complex conversation, and `natural` signs that hearing people would understand without any exposure to sign language training such as waving `hi`, shrugging one’s shoulders, and so on.
“A-a f-fresh pot of t-tea w-would be nice I sh-should think.” Lilly nodded at this and Tetsu set to cleaning out the stale tea and refreshing the pot with boiling water, so it could cool slightly before putting fresh leaves in to steep.
Once everyone had been served, Tetsu sat by Lilly to communicate by signing on her hand - it had always been easier for him than constantly having to write on his pad with a pencil.
“Going home on the break?” Asked Lilly - she couldn’t see the look on his face, but Hanako did - “Ouch, that hit a nerve ..” Out loud, however, Hanako said nothing, but looked away.
After a pause, Tetsu signed on Lilly’s hand - [ Not this year ] and left it at that. If Lilly intuited something was amiss, she gave no indication - but she did change the topic of the conversation.
“Tetsu, I’d meant to ask - are you Scottish?”
[ No - ah - the kilt; Hanako mentioned? ]
Lilly, having experience with talking to Shizune in company, let Hanako know what was being said by verbalizing her response -
“Yes, Hanako gave me a very good description of your uniform - it definitely sounded like you were wearing a kilt!”
[ Unfortunately that’s only because the school stores didn’t have trousers in my size - I had to be inventive ]
“Aha - I can see how a kilt would give you more allowance for sizes beyond the trousers in stock - very inventive, yes - and from Hanako’s description of you, I’d say you’re quite `strapping`.”
Hanako blushed - she didn’t particularly like being drawn into conversation in the third person, but she understood there were some limitations in play here. Perhaps because of this, and perhaps to re-assert herself as an active participant in the conversation, she chose to comment -
“T-tetsu’s b-blushing,” which she ended with a giggle.
Lilly held her hands up between her and Tetsu’s face - “Indeed you are - I can feel the warmth!”
“Impressive,” thought Tetsu - “She must have some idea of her surroundings, like the location of my face, based on sound, like my breathing. Good thing she didn’t stick one of her fingers up my nose ..”
“Tetsu, while my hands are here, would you mind if I felt your face? I’d like to form an impression of you in my memory so I have an idea of who I’m talking to.”
“`An impression` - as good a way of putting it as any, and better than asking what I `look` like,” thought Tetsu - he couldn’t draw on Lilly’s palm like this, so he removed his glasses, turned to Hanako and nodded.
“He s-says OK.”
Lilly reached up to run her hands gently over his face, cheeks, forehead, eyebrows, ears and chin.
“You have a very strong jaw.” She paused - “Not cute, but I think some people might find you handsome.”
Hanako blushed at this, but said nothing - was Lilly trying to change Hanako’s perception of Tetsu? Probably. Just as probably it wasn’t going to work. Hanako found Tetsu well-mannered, pleasant even - but still stone ugly. She hated herself for it, but just added the fact to her stack of self-loathing. “Another reason I’ll never be loved - I can’t accept people for who they are, as opposed to what they look like.” She looked down and found a lot to interest her in the buttons on her weekend dress.
Lilly removed her hands from Tetsu’s face - “Thank you. Hm. I wonder ..” she started, then abruptly stopped.
Tetsu cocked an eyebrow and knocked twice on the table, taking a chance that the question mark at the end would be understood.
“Oh, ah, nothing I guess ..” It was very obviously not nothing, but if Lilly wasn’t interested in explaining further, Tetsu could hardly force the matter.
Lilly looked pensive - she fidgeted - Hanako had some idea of where Lilly had been going; there was some tea spilled on the table front of Hanako - she drew the small puddle into little lines with her fingers.
“I’m sorry; I’m not good at hiding my thoughts am I ..”
“N-not really.” Hanako supplied helpfully.
“Thank you Hanako.” Lilly looked like she was making a mental note to return the favour one day - Lilly loved Hanako like a sister, but Hanako did have a sharp tongue at times.
Tetsu, for his part, got up to make fresh tea while waiting for this waltz of rejoinders to finish.
“I’m sorry Tetsu - I owe you an apology. I let my mind wander and your face, well, reminded me of something some of the blind kids were saying about there being .. an Oni in the halls of Yamaku.”
Tetsu put his tea down, took his glasses off, and covered his eyes with his hand.
“I-I think h-he’s m-m-mortified, Lilly”
Tetsu straightened his hair back and shook his head. Tetsu took out his writing pad, made some notes on it, then handed it over to Hanako.
“H-he says he heard that nickname very early on, and hadn’t realized he was so famous the blind class knew him.”
Lilly looked on the verge of tears - “I’m so sorry, I truly wasn’t thinking at all.” She looked considerably more distraught than did Tetsu, who - truth be told - by this point didn’t expect to be treated as other than a disturbing outsider.
He took his pad back and wrote some more - { It’s - ok - don’t fret - maybe we can do a show-and-tell for the blind class - show them that Onis aren’t threatening }
“He’s s-suggesting doing what he calls a `show and tell` - something to convince the b-blind class Onis aren’t th-threatening.”
“I’ve never heard that phrase - `show-and-tell` - but I think I understand. Well, maybe we shall - if only to make this dreadful faux pas up to you.”
Tetsu sighed deeply - “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and then it’s a sport the saying goes,” he thought to himself.
{ Thanks for the company, and the tea - I should let you get on with what’s left of your day }
“H-he says good bye and th-thanks for the c-company and the tea.”
“Thank you for being so gracious Tetsu - you’re most welcome.”
With that, Tetsu left Lilly and Hanako to unpack all of that.
--
July 14 - Saturday afternoon
A bright July afternoon had Tetsu roaming the halls looking for a cool place to hide from the heat. His dorm room was sweltering - they all were - so he’d retreated to the main building which was nominally air-conditioned. While the building was open, a quick circuit of the floors found most of the rooms locked, except for -
“T-tetsu?”
Tetsu bowed to Hanako - she and Lilly were having tea in the wonderfully cool tea room; blinds on the windows drawn down to keep out the afternoon sun.
“Hello Tetsu,” Lilly said without surprise - Tetsu imagined she’d heard him approach from half a floor away. “Would you join us for tea?”
Tetsu nodded knocked twice on the table to signal his assent.
“Two knocks for yes? How very-old school,” said Lilly with a smile as Tetsu headed over to the sink. He motioned to Hanako indicating that he wanted to know whether he should make tea for three or just himself -
Hanako speculated that there were levels to such a means of communication - `formal` signs that allowed for complex conversation, and `natural` signs that hearing people would understand without any exposure to sign language training such as waving `hi`, shrugging one’s shoulders, and so on.
“A-a f-fresh pot of t-tea w-would be nice I sh-should think.” Lilly nodded at this and Tetsu set to cleaning out the stale tea and refreshing the pot with boiling water, so it could cool slightly before putting fresh leaves in to steep.
Once everyone had been served, Tetsu sat by Lilly to communicate by signing on her hand - it had always been easier for him than constantly having to write on his pad with a pencil.
“Going home on the break?” Asked Lilly - she couldn’t see the look on his face, but Hanako did - “Ouch, that hit a nerve ..” Out loud, however, Hanako said nothing, but looked away.
After a pause, Tetsu signed on Lilly’s hand - [ Not this year ] and left it at that. If Lilly intuited something was amiss, she gave no indication - but she did change the topic of the conversation.
“Tetsu, I’d meant to ask - are you Scottish?”
[ No - ah - the kilt; Hanako mentioned? ]
Lilly, having experience with talking to Shizune in company, let Hanako know what was being said by verbalizing her response -
“Yes, Hanako gave me a very good description of your uniform - it definitely sounded like you were wearing a kilt!”
[ Unfortunately that’s only because the school stores didn’t have trousers in my size - I had to be inventive ]
“Aha - I can see how a kilt would give you more allowance for sizes beyond the trousers in stock - very inventive, yes - and from Hanako’s description of you, I’d say you’re quite `strapping`.”
Hanako blushed - she didn’t particularly like being drawn into conversation in the third person, but she understood there were some limitations in play here. Perhaps because of this, and perhaps to re-assert herself as an active participant in the conversation, she chose to comment -
“T-tetsu’s b-blushing,” which she ended with a giggle.
Lilly held her hands up between her and Tetsu’s face - “Indeed you are - I can feel the warmth!”
“Impressive,” thought Tetsu - “She must have some idea of her surroundings, like the location of my face, based on sound, like my breathing. Good thing she didn’t stick one of her fingers up my nose ..”
“Tetsu, while my hands are here, would you mind if I felt your face? I’d like to form an impression of you in my memory so I have an idea of who I’m talking to.”
“`An impression` - as good a way of putting it as any, and better than asking what I `look` like,” thought Tetsu - he couldn’t draw on Lilly’s palm like this, so he removed his glasses, turned to Hanako and nodded.
“He s-says OK.”
Lilly reached up to run her hands gently over his face, cheeks, forehead, eyebrows, ears and chin.
“You have a very strong jaw.” She paused - “Not cute, but I think some people might find you handsome.”
Hanako blushed at this, but said nothing - was Lilly trying to change Hanako’s perception of Tetsu? Probably. Just as probably it wasn’t going to work. Hanako found Tetsu well-mannered, pleasant even - but still stone ugly. She hated herself for it, but just added the fact to her stack of self-loathing. “Another reason I’ll never be loved - I can’t accept people for who they are, as opposed to what they look like.” She looked down and found a lot to interest her in the buttons on her weekend dress.
Lilly removed her hands from Tetsu’s face - “Thank you. Hm. I wonder ..” she started, then abruptly stopped.
Tetsu cocked an eyebrow and knocked twice on the table, taking a chance that the question mark at the end would be understood.
“Oh, ah, nothing I guess ..” It was very obviously not nothing, but if Lilly wasn’t interested in explaining further, Tetsu could hardly force the matter.
Lilly looked pensive - she fidgeted - Hanako had some idea of where Lilly had been going; there was some tea spilled on the table front of Hanako - she drew the small puddle into little lines with her fingers.
“I’m sorry; I’m not good at hiding my thoughts am I ..”
“N-not really.” Hanako supplied helpfully.
“Thank you Hanako.” Lilly looked like she was making a mental note to return the favour one day - Lilly loved Hanako like a sister, but Hanako did have a sharp tongue at times.
Tetsu, for his part, got up to make fresh tea while waiting for this waltz of rejoinders to finish.
“I’m sorry Tetsu - I owe you an apology. I let my mind wander and your face, well, reminded me of something some of the blind kids were saying about there being .. an Oni in the halls of Yamaku.”
Tetsu put his tea down, took his glasses off, and covered his eyes with his hand.
“I-I think h-he’s m-m-mortified, Lilly”
Tetsu straightened his hair back and shook his head. Tetsu took out his writing pad, made some notes on it, then handed it over to Hanako.
“H-he says he heard that nickname very early on, and hadn’t realized he was so famous the blind class knew him.”
Lilly looked on the verge of tears - “I’m so sorry, I truly wasn’t thinking at all.” She looked considerably more distraught than did Tetsu, who - truth be told - by this point didn’t expect to be treated as other than a disturbing outsider.
He took his pad back and wrote some more - { It’s - ok - don’t fret - maybe we can do a show-and-tell for the blind class - show them that Onis aren’t threatening }
“He’s s-suggesting doing what he calls a `show and tell` - something to convince the b-blind class Onis aren’t th-threatening.”
“I’ve never heard that phrase - `show-and-tell` - but I think I understand. Well, maybe we shall - if only to make this dreadful faux pas up to you.”
Tetsu sighed deeply - “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and then it’s a sport the saying goes,” he thought to himself.
{ Thanks for the company, and the tea - I should let you get on with what’s left of your day }
“H-he says good bye and th-thanks for the c-company and the tea.”
“Thank you for being so gracious Tetsu - you’re most welcome.”
With that, Tetsu left Lilly and Hanako to unpack all of that.
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 3:02 pm, edited 8 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Dust Bath
Aug 01 - Wednesday
Aug 01 - Wednesday
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Mon Feb 27, 2023 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Properly Out
Aug 04 - Saturday
It was a hot and windy August afternoon, and the trees were in constant motion.
“A perfect day to go CD shopping in town,” Tetsu thought to himself. There were a couple of stores in town that Tetsu found drew him like magnets - a junk store, where he could get broken electronics for next to nothing and bring them back to the shop to repair them; he’d already amassed a decent stereo - one far better than he could have squeezed onto a plane - and, of course, the record shop. New and used, LPs and CDs - the selection wasn’t huge, but it reminded Tetsu achingly of home. “All it needs is a pizza shop around the corner and the illusion would be complete!”
Tetsu took a round-about route to reach the record store, adding to the map of the town he’d been updating since his arrival - the Aura Mart, The Shanghai, a sushi restaurant, a bookstore (the highbrow literature was most unreadable for now, but still fascinating none the less - and also, manga(!)
In junior school Tetsu had traded a pile of superhero comics to a Japanese boy back home in return for a few hard-bound manga volumes, and had been hooked. This, he realized, might have been the start of his interest in learning Japanese, many years ago.
And, after a few wrong turns, he arrived at the coolness of the record shop - the door opened easily and a western-style brass bell tinkled lightly as he entered. A heavy cotton screen was pulled down behind the front window, keeping the damaging heat of the sun away from the delicate discs.
Carefully closing the door behind him, he turned to the CD racks - “Awesome - these would be Japanese imports back home, but here they’re just domestic releases,” he thought to himself. “Slow down boy - can’t buy the whole store!”
Moving along the racks of CDs, their crystalline cases clacked as he flipped through the new additions - it had been a couple of weeks since he and been to the store and there were a few to look over. Wrapping up, a selection of about five CDs in hand, Tetsu looked up and locked eyes with Rin on the other side of the store divider; deftly leafing through and picking out a small selection of discs, hands or no.
“Ah!” Rin exclaimed, and tried to recover her composure by nodding quickly to Tetsu who, for his part, managed to wave despite the shock of running into her here. She quickly dropped her head and went back to rifling through the stacks of CDs.
Even though Tetsu’d seen Rin every week for a month at the art club - almost every day in fact - for some reason the time was never right to talk to her; the students generally kept to themselves, and Nomiya discouraged `chatter` as he put it. Tetsu was reasonably certain that included passing notes.
“Shit, this is as bad as the art club - I can’t think of anything to say to her. At least we’re not in class - there’s no reason for me not to talk to her .. if only I had something to say ..”
Dejected and not a little anxious, Tetsu made his way to the cashier at the front of the store.
“Where did she get to?” wondered Tetsu staring all over the store, at last, thinking to look down - at Rin, right behind him in line. “How did she get there? Girl’s quiet!”
Rin shook her head, hiding behind her hair. “What if he talks to me? What am I going to say to him? ‘Hi - I just showed up right behind you - because? Because I’m totally not stalking you?’ Am I stalking him? Augh - Enough! Can these thoughts please stop?”
“Think, fuck - he’s not a total stranger. You’re in the same club, you had lunch together, you painted together before the festival - just talk to him dammit - it’s not like you’re proposing to him!”
Of course, thinking was the last thing her brain had any intention of doing.
Meanwhile, in Tetsu's head -
“You’re together in the art club, but you’re too afraid to interact. Think.”
Of course, thinking was the last thing his brain had any intention of doing - what it really wanted to do was run. Tetsu and Hanako could have had a good conversation about social anxiety - if that wasn’t a total contradiction of terms.
Tetsu paid for his CDs, turned to Rin, nodded, and left the store.
“Well - there he goes - I had my chance to talk to him, get to know him better - get his room number - or something - anything - but I didn’t. And this is why I’m single.” In her mind she kicked rocks. “Do not cry in public - do not be a baby.” It was an effort, but she was somehow successful in not doing so.
Outside the shop, struck by a blast of hot summer wind, Tetsu’s head cleared to sudden inspiration - “Tea. Invite her to tea. We’ve eaten together and it went well .. third time’s the charm” He wrote furiously on his paper pad before she could finish paying for her purchases - unfortunately social invitations weren’t something he’d though to keep pre-written for easy access ..
He waited for her to exit the shop .. “Shit - he’s still here ..”
Rin affected what she hoped was a mostly emotion-free but approachable face as she walked in Tetsu’s direction.
Tetsu affected what he hoped was an approachable but mostly emotion-free face as he held his pad over to Rin as she approached.
{ I’m going for tea - join me? }
“Be cool ..” They thought in unison.
Rin’s heart skipped a beat - “How do I not fuck this up?” Rin asked herself. She closed her eyes and chased down scenarios of how this could all play out. Hot, cool, cold, accept, decline, suggest something else, somewhen else, rain check ..
After a while Tetsu started to wonder what kind of debate was raging in Rin’s head. He didn’t think she’d suffered a seizure - she hadn’t fallen over and her face was moving, even though her eyes were closed. It was like she was watching a movie or something inside her head, or dreaming. Weird - but intriguing.
Presently Rin opened her eyes. “Sure. And cake.”
“She doesn’t want to get this over with in a hurry - cool,” thought Tetsu. He nodded and started walking - Rin walked beside him; the Shanghai wasn’t too far from the music shop - in this small town, nothing was really that far from anything.
“OK - I’ve got a minute until we get there - let’s think of conversation topics - and how to say them in Japanese. `Can I see what CDs you bought? Why did you pick these? Have you ever seen them play?` Dammit - no questions with single-word answers! `What do you like about them?` Much better! Shit - here we are.”
—
Tetsu held the door open for Rin and she went into the Shanghai ahead of him, cool air wafted out to greet them.
“Welcome to the Shanghai!” exclaimed Yuuri.
“Rin - Emi’s not with you?”
“Not today. This is Tetsu. He doesn’t talk, but he can hear you.”
Yuuri nodded nervously - this was a new situation for her, so an uncomfortable one. Since she didn’t work most nights she hadn’t met Tetsu before.
“But how will he order?” Asked Yuuri, plainly terrified.
“Why don’t you just bring us menus and he can point?”
Tetsu nodded in agreement.
Seated, Yuuri brought them menus -
“I’ll have a tea - with a straw. And strawberry cake,” said Rin, not bothering to look at the menu - it was what she ordered every time she went anyhow. “I’m not sure we have strawberry ..” Yuuri was not at all ok with contradicting a customer “.. but I’ll try.”
“Any cake is ok,” said Rin with her usual sangfroid.
Tetsu pointed to chicken sandwiches and wrote `water` on a piece of paper.
Yuuri gone to deal with their orders, Tetsu reminded himself - “Remember to arrange to see her again - but how do I see her again? Ask - but be cool, and don’t rush it!” Tetsu deliberately got out his writing pad and a couple of pencils.
“What’s your home room?” Asked Rin.
{ 3-A - Practical Arts - that’s like the visual arts, but with more hammers and fire. }
Rin smiled at this. “You’d be surprised.”
{ You ever weld your art to the wall? }
“Mixed media? Not my thing - I’m mostly into acrylics. I like oils, but they take forever to dry. Watercolours are fun, but they can’t be re-worked, which I like doing, so acrylic it is.”
At this point, Yuuri brought their orders - they did, in fact, have strawberry cake.
{ You prefer impasto, or more flat? }
“I adore impasto compositions - the extra dimension, the depth, opens up so many options.”
Tetsu nodded - { I didn’t have much room for art supplies when I came over, but I did bring my sketch book, so there’s that. Back home I did some acrylic / oil mixed media - the bright acrylic colours really stood out from the earthier oils. Good for doing highlights. In class though I use an airbrush in the paint booth when I want to paint - takes well to car and motorcycle parts }
The rest of their conversation was more of the same - music and shop talk, basically. Rin was pleased to find that she and Tetsu both shared a common language, that of creating art - painting, particularly. Time passed; Tetsu’s hand was starting to cramp and the tea was cold.
{ Should we head back? }
“OK,” Rin agreed and Tetsu waved for the bill.
{ Good conversation - thanks! It’s nice to have a chance to talk art; it’s been a while. }
“It’s been a while indeed,” said Rin. “Most of my life, in fact. Too many art teachers, too few art doers." She thought.
Tetsu paid the meager bill - her cake and tea hadn’t put much of a dent in the budget he’d allowed himself. They walked back to school in silence - the sun setting behind them, casting long shadows on their path, making walking slow.
Standing outside the of the mural, the setting sun called out the reds and turned the blues and greens to greys and blacks. Staring at the mural, they both seemed to have a hard time winding up the evening.
{ I’d do this again } Tetsu wrote.
“.. Yeah, me too.” Rin dug at the dirt with the heel of her sandal.
Tetsu started writing - slowly, haltingly, searching for the right words..
“314,” said Rin.
Tetsu cocked his head, confused, and looked at Rin.
“My room. 314. Come by - we’ll do this again.”
Without another word Rin abruptly turned and walked away towards the women’s dorm, trying hard not to bounce.
Rin had enjoyed her tea with Tetsu - he really seemed into art, and took an interest in what she liked. That was kind of unusual - no one really - ever - took much of an interest in her tastes. She was always just ‘Rin the Mysterious’.
Also, he took an interest in the music she’d bought; he liked it and had heard of the bands before - some of them at least .. and the tea and cake were free. “On the whole, an afternoon well spent.” Rin allowed herself to think.
"Maybe talking to people isn't so hard after all - what was I afraid was going to happen?"
--
Aug 04 - Saturday
It was a hot and windy August afternoon, and the trees were in constant motion.
“A perfect day to go CD shopping in town,” Tetsu thought to himself. There were a couple of stores in town that Tetsu found drew him like magnets - a junk store, where he could get broken electronics for next to nothing and bring them back to the shop to repair them; he’d already amassed a decent stereo - one far better than he could have squeezed onto a plane - and, of course, the record shop. New and used, LPs and CDs - the selection wasn’t huge, but it reminded Tetsu achingly of home. “All it needs is a pizza shop around the corner and the illusion would be complete!”
Tetsu took a round-about route to reach the record store, adding to the map of the town he’d been updating since his arrival - the Aura Mart, The Shanghai, a sushi restaurant, a bookstore (the highbrow literature was most unreadable for now, but still fascinating none the less - and also, manga(!)
In junior school Tetsu had traded a pile of superhero comics to a Japanese boy back home in return for a few hard-bound manga volumes, and had been hooked. This, he realized, might have been the start of his interest in learning Japanese, many years ago.
And, after a few wrong turns, he arrived at the coolness of the record shop - the door opened easily and a western-style brass bell tinkled lightly as he entered. A heavy cotton screen was pulled down behind the front window, keeping the damaging heat of the sun away from the delicate discs.
Carefully closing the door behind him, he turned to the CD racks - “Awesome - these would be Japanese imports back home, but here they’re just domestic releases,” he thought to himself. “Slow down boy - can’t buy the whole store!”
Moving along the racks of CDs, their crystalline cases clacked as he flipped through the new additions - it had been a couple of weeks since he and been to the store and there were a few to look over. Wrapping up, a selection of about five CDs in hand, Tetsu looked up and locked eyes with Rin on the other side of the store divider; deftly leafing through and picking out a small selection of discs, hands or no.
“Ah!” Rin exclaimed, and tried to recover her composure by nodding quickly to Tetsu who, for his part, managed to wave despite the shock of running into her here. She quickly dropped her head and went back to rifling through the stacks of CDs.
Even though Tetsu’d seen Rin every week for a month at the art club - almost every day in fact - for some reason the time was never right to talk to her; the students generally kept to themselves, and Nomiya discouraged `chatter` as he put it. Tetsu was reasonably certain that included passing notes.
“Shit, this is as bad as the art club - I can’t think of anything to say to her. At least we’re not in class - there’s no reason for me not to talk to her .. if only I had something to say ..”
Dejected and not a little anxious, Tetsu made his way to the cashier at the front of the store.
“Where did she get to?” wondered Tetsu staring all over the store, at last, thinking to look down - at Rin, right behind him in line. “How did she get there? Girl’s quiet!”
Rin shook her head, hiding behind her hair. “What if he talks to me? What am I going to say to him? ‘Hi - I just showed up right behind you - because? Because I’m totally not stalking you?’ Am I stalking him? Augh - Enough! Can these thoughts please stop?”
“Think, fuck - he’s not a total stranger. You’re in the same club, you had lunch together, you painted together before the festival - just talk to him dammit - it’s not like you’re proposing to him!”
Of course, thinking was the last thing her brain had any intention of doing.
Meanwhile, in Tetsu's head -
“You’re together in the art club, but you’re too afraid to interact. Think.”
Of course, thinking was the last thing his brain had any intention of doing - what it really wanted to do was run. Tetsu and Hanako could have had a good conversation about social anxiety - if that wasn’t a total contradiction of terms.
Tetsu paid for his CDs, turned to Rin, nodded, and left the store.
“Well - there he goes - I had my chance to talk to him, get to know him better - get his room number - or something - anything - but I didn’t. And this is why I’m single.” In her mind she kicked rocks. “Do not cry in public - do not be a baby.” It was an effort, but she was somehow successful in not doing so.
Outside the shop, struck by a blast of hot summer wind, Tetsu’s head cleared to sudden inspiration - “Tea. Invite her to tea. We’ve eaten together and it went well .. third time’s the charm” He wrote furiously on his paper pad before she could finish paying for her purchases - unfortunately social invitations weren’t something he’d though to keep pre-written for easy access ..
He waited for her to exit the shop .. “Shit - he’s still here ..”
Rin affected what she hoped was a mostly emotion-free but approachable face as she walked in Tetsu’s direction.
Tetsu affected what he hoped was an approachable but mostly emotion-free face as he held his pad over to Rin as she approached.
{ I’m going for tea - join me? }
“Be cool ..” They thought in unison.
Rin’s heart skipped a beat - “How do I not fuck this up?” Rin asked herself. She closed her eyes and chased down scenarios of how this could all play out. Hot, cool, cold, accept, decline, suggest something else, somewhen else, rain check ..
After a while Tetsu started to wonder what kind of debate was raging in Rin’s head. He didn’t think she’d suffered a seizure - she hadn’t fallen over and her face was moving, even though her eyes were closed. It was like she was watching a movie or something inside her head, or dreaming. Weird - but intriguing.
Presently Rin opened her eyes. “Sure. And cake.”
“She doesn’t want to get this over with in a hurry - cool,” thought Tetsu. He nodded and started walking - Rin walked beside him; the Shanghai wasn’t too far from the music shop - in this small town, nothing was really that far from anything.
“OK - I’ve got a minute until we get there - let’s think of conversation topics - and how to say them in Japanese. `Can I see what CDs you bought? Why did you pick these? Have you ever seen them play?` Dammit - no questions with single-word answers! `What do you like about them?` Much better! Shit - here we are.”
—
Tetsu held the door open for Rin and she went into the Shanghai ahead of him, cool air wafted out to greet them.
“Welcome to the Shanghai!” exclaimed Yuuri.
“Rin - Emi’s not with you?”
“Not today. This is Tetsu. He doesn’t talk, but he can hear you.”
Yuuri nodded nervously - this was a new situation for her, so an uncomfortable one. Since she didn’t work most nights she hadn’t met Tetsu before.
“But how will he order?” Asked Yuuri, plainly terrified.
“Why don’t you just bring us menus and he can point?”
Tetsu nodded in agreement.
Seated, Yuuri brought them menus -
“I’ll have a tea - with a straw. And strawberry cake,” said Rin, not bothering to look at the menu - it was what she ordered every time she went anyhow. “I’m not sure we have strawberry ..” Yuuri was not at all ok with contradicting a customer “.. but I’ll try.”
“Any cake is ok,” said Rin with her usual sangfroid.
Tetsu pointed to chicken sandwiches and wrote `water` on a piece of paper.
Yuuri gone to deal with their orders, Tetsu reminded himself - “Remember to arrange to see her again - but how do I see her again? Ask - but be cool, and don’t rush it!” Tetsu deliberately got out his writing pad and a couple of pencils.
“What’s your home room?” Asked Rin.
{ 3-A - Practical Arts - that’s like the visual arts, but with more hammers and fire. }
Rin smiled at this. “You’d be surprised.”
{ You ever weld your art to the wall? }
“Mixed media? Not my thing - I’m mostly into acrylics. I like oils, but they take forever to dry. Watercolours are fun, but they can’t be re-worked, which I like doing, so acrylic it is.”
At this point, Yuuri brought their orders - they did, in fact, have strawberry cake.
{ You prefer impasto, or more flat? }
“I adore impasto compositions - the extra dimension, the depth, opens up so many options.”
Tetsu nodded - { I didn’t have much room for art supplies when I came over, but I did bring my sketch book, so there’s that. Back home I did some acrylic / oil mixed media - the bright acrylic colours really stood out from the earthier oils. Good for doing highlights. In class though I use an airbrush in the paint booth when I want to paint - takes well to car and motorcycle parts }
The rest of their conversation was more of the same - music and shop talk, basically. Rin was pleased to find that she and Tetsu both shared a common language, that of creating art - painting, particularly. Time passed; Tetsu’s hand was starting to cramp and the tea was cold.
{ Should we head back? }
“OK,” Rin agreed and Tetsu waved for the bill.
{ Good conversation - thanks! It’s nice to have a chance to talk art; it’s been a while. }
“It’s been a while indeed,” said Rin. “Most of my life, in fact. Too many art teachers, too few art doers." She thought.
Tetsu paid the meager bill - her cake and tea hadn’t put much of a dent in the budget he’d allowed himself. They walked back to school in silence - the sun setting behind them, casting long shadows on their path, making walking slow.
Standing outside the of the mural, the setting sun called out the reds and turned the blues and greens to greys and blacks. Staring at the mural, they both seemed to have a hard time winding up the evening.
{ I’d do this again } Tetsu wrote.
“.. Yeah, me too.” Rin dug at the dirt with the heel of her sandal.
Tetsu started writing - slowly, haltingly, searching for the right words..
“314,” said Rin.
Tetsu cocked his head, confused, and looked at Rin.
“My room. 314. Come by - we’ll do this again.”
Without another word Rin abruptly turned and walked away towards the women’s dorm, trying hard not to bounce.
Rin had enjoyed her tea with Tetsu - he really seemed into art, and took an interest in what she liked. That was kind of unusual - no one really - ever - took much of an interest in her tastes. She was always just ‘Rin the Mysterious’.
Also, he took an interest in the music she’d bought; he liked it and had heard of the bands before - some of them at least .. and the tea and cake were free. “On the whole, an afternoon well spent.” Rin allowed herself to think.
"Maybe talking to people isn't so hard after all - what was I afraid was going to happen?"
--
- Attachments
-
- Hiro's Used Books, Records, and CDs.jpg (560.68 KiB) Viewed 1931 times
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 3:26 pm, edited 14 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Leaky Furniture
Aug 05 - Sunday morning
Rin was zoning out, as she usually did while Emi brushed her teeth.
A rattling in the part of her head where she kept her memory desk drew her attention away from her wool-gathering. One of her drawers had popped open and was empty.
“That’s not supposed to happen ..” She looked at the label on the drawer: ‘TETSU: MUTE - NOT DEAF’ “Hm. If you’re not here, where are you?”
Rin closed her eyes and scanned her memory desk, starting at the bottom and working her way up, right to left. Finally she found what she was looking for - “Why are lost things always found in the last place you look?” she asked herself.
“OK - spit,” said Emi.
“Now floss - open wide!”
“Bad Tetsu,” thought Rin, standing with her head back, mouth open - Emi flossing her teeth vigorously. Rin looked at the picture of Tetsu, resting on her mind's eye's desktop.
“Moving all the way up to my desktop .. how did you do that on your own, I wonder ..” And she placed the offending character back in its bottom drawer - in the row labelled “Later” right above the one lablelled “Forget about it”, but the little image didn’t quite fit in his drawer any more - he’d grown. “Weird - how did he go from next-to-nothing to .. something, just like that?”
“Rinse!” Emi held up a cup of water for Rin to take a mouthful from.
“Aren’t I supposed to be the mysterious one? Perhaps it’s the eyes ..” she thought - those subtle grey eyes that gave nothing away, but which offered so much .. “Woah, now where did that come from? Poetry’s not my bag. Gotta do some yoga and clear my head.”
Rin shook her hair away from her eyes and wandered off to the meditation room to do some serious introspection.
“You’re welcome!” Emi called after Rin, smiling - after all, Rin wouldn’t be Rin if she took more than a passing notice of the world around her.
--
Aug 05 - Sunday morning
Rin was zoning out, as she usually did while Emi brushed her teeth.
A rattling in the part of her head where she kept her memory desk drew her attention away from her wool-gathering. One of her drawers had popped open and was empty.
“That’s not supposed to happen ..” She looked at the label on the drawer: ‘TETSU: MUTE - NOT DEAF’ “Hm. If you’re not here, where are you?”
Rin closed her eyes and scanned her memory desk, starting at the bottom and working her way up, right to left. Finally she found what she was looking for - “Why are lost things always found in the last place you look?” she asked herself.
“OK - spit,” said Emi.
“Now floss - open wide!”
“Bad Tetsu,” thought Rin, standing with her head back, mouth open - Emi flossing her teeth vigorously. Rin looked at the picture of Tetsu, resting on her mind's eye's desktop.
“Moving all the way up to my desktop .. how did you do that on your own, I wonder ..” And she placed the offending character back in its bottom drawer - in the row labelled “Later” right above the one lablelled “Forget about it”, but the little image didn’t quite fit in his drawer any more - he’d grown. “Weird - how did he go from next-to-nothing to .. something, just like that?”
“Rinse!” Emi held up a cup of water for Rin to take a mouthful from.
“Aren’t I supposed to be the mysterious one? Perhaps it’s the eyes ..” she thought - those subtle grey eyes that gave nothing away, but which offered so much .. “Woah, now where did that come from? Poetry’s not my bag. Gotta do some yoga and clear my head.”
Rin shook her hair away from her eyes and wandered off to the meditation room to do some serious introspection.
“You’re welcome!” Emi called after Rin, smiling - after all, Rin wouldn’t be Rin if she took more than a passing notice of the world around her.
--
- Attachments
-
- Section of Rin's Memory Desk With Random Thoughts.jpg (190.01 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:15 am, edited 3 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
-
Asoko_Desu
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:30 pm
- Location: L5
Re: Two Body Problem
Boy Trouble
Aug 09 - Thursday after school
“Emi - I think I’m in trouble,” Rin breathlessly announced from Emi’s doorway.
Emi wondered what kind of trouble could Rin be in - she only ever painted; only ever had to paint - build her portfolio and get into a good art school. “Maybe I’m over-thinking this - maybe she just needs something tied ..”
“Slow down Rin - what kind of trouble?”
“There’s a boy. He helped me with mural .. I think I need your help.”
Rin seemed distressed in a way Emi hadn’t seen before - Emi’d always assumed Rin was deeper than she let on, but had never given much thought to how deep.
“Aw shit - I hope it’s not that kind of trouble ..” thought Emi.
“Which boy? Did he bother you?”
“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know ..”
Rin’s mental flailing for words was mirrored in the way her arms moved with directionless agitation.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning.”
“Because the beginning isn’t the important part!”
“Ok - tell me the important part.”
Rin paused to collect her thoughts .. her brow furrowed in concentration.
“Do you remember how Hisao looked at you before you two started dating?”
Emi didn’t think there was anything particularly special about how Hisao had looked at her - other than staring at her sports bra after their run; he was human after all and Emi had stretched her arms over her head for the express purpose of showing off her assets - though she’d never admit it. He was polite, shy, and yet confident when he spoke - Emi suspected the way she looked at Hisao was something akin to how a terrier would look at a piece of raw meat left unattended on a kitchen counter - no matter how hard she had tried to hide the fact - but this wasn’t about her.
“He just .. looked at me. I’m sorry - I’m not an artist, I don’t really pay attention to things like you do - I run past them. Tell me how you think he looked at me.”
“He looked at you, like he wanted to see you, not just see you. He .. (Rin paused and looked at the ceiling, searching hard for the words, one foot thumping on the floor) .. he looked at you like he wanted to remember what your face looked like when you weren’t there to look at.”
“Ok - that’s nice.. how does this relate to this boy who helped you?”
Rin spoke in a small voice, a little like a younger version of herself - “Nobody looks at Rin like that - nobody has ever looked at Rin like that. People look past Rin, like they don’t want to remember Rin later.. ”
“And the boy - he didn’t do that?”
“Yes - he didn’t look at me like he didn’t want to remember me.”
Emi’s head spun.
“You mean he wanted to remember you.”
“I said that.”
“And this upset you?” Talking to Rin was often like pulling teeth.
“Kind of ..” Rin looked down, blushing
Rin, while ‘out there’ according to most, she was still human and Emi didn’t have a lot of difficulty connecting the dots.
“You want him to keep looking at you like that?”
Rin nodded vigorously. “My birds were sleeping in their cages before the sun came up and now the sun’s out they want to fly around and not go back into their cages and go back to sleep because now’s not the time for sleeping. They’re afraid if they fly somewhere wrong they’ll get put back in their cages and no one will ever come to let them out again or they will but it will be a long time - maybe too long and ..”
Rin ran out of breath before she ran out of words.
Emi nodded - oblique though it was, and confusingly phrased as Rin was prone to do, the meaning of Rin’s barrage of words was pretty clear.
“Hold up - I think I can help you out .. you want to keep your birds out of their cages, so to speak.”
“I don’t have any birds - it’s just a metaphor.”
“Thank you Rin. So - what would help with this metaphor?”
“Words - I need words. I need to know what words to say - to teach my birds how to fly where I want them to go .. to have words that tell people - one person to start - what I’m feeling; right now I don’t know what to say and when to say them and then I babble because I’m scared. We went to tea together and I don’t think it was a date but I’d like to to be ..”
Rin hung her head, blushing from her chest to her forehead - Emi was amazed at how much Rin had said, and so plainly. Was this how Rin actually thought? She wondered again - was all of Rin’s obliqueness and weird phrasing just a way of hiding how she felt from the opinions of others, like how Hanako hid behind her hair?
If it was a boy Rin liked .. Rin had never mentioned liking a boy - or anybody - before. Emi, outgoing and naturally pretty, for whom attention was a pretty constant thing, could only imagine the pressure Rin was putting herself under not to get this wrong, especially if this was, indeed, her first crush. “Well,” thought Emi, “Coaching is for more than just track and field. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me ..”
“Rin, I can give you some words, and practice in saying them, but you’ll need to decide when to say them - I can help you with that, but you’ll have to make the final call whether the time is right or not.”
Rin turned her head away from Emi and spoke - the words coming haltingly then all in a rush; “I’ll try but .. who would .. what if .. what if Rin is just a broken doll that nobody wants?” And she hung her head, tears at the corners of her eyes, her hair obscuring her face.
So much made sense to Emi now - if Rin’s studied fecklessness was some sort of self defense mechanism; if she didn’t appear to value anything - even herself, then there was nothing anyone could take from her. But now, realizing that this was how Rin really felt, Emi was furious -
“Don’t you ever call yourself a broken doll! Rin; look at me - look at me now!”
Rin looked up, tears plain on her face.
Emi gestured angrily - “Look at my legs - the ones I don’t have; and the ones lying in the corner that I have to see a doctor to get re-fit every 3 months, legs that crack and chip with wear and fool no one that they’re real - have I ever let myself be slowed down by them? Never! Everyone’s broken somehow, and if everyone is broken then no one is. We’re all beautiful, and that means you are too.”
“Rin is beautiful?” Rin asked, sobbing.
Emi hugged Rin and let Rin’s tears soak into her shirt.
“Rin is very beautiful - never forget that.” Emi kept hugging Rin, ignoring the tears and letting her words sink in.
“Now, stop worrying - boys are easy to talk to. Let’s start with ‘hello’. Also, after this, let’s go visit Nurse for a bit.. he might be able to give you a little something for.. `just in case`”
“You mean birth control,” said Rin, regaining a measure of her composure.
“I do.”
--
Aug 09 - Thursday after school
“Emi - I think I’m in trouble,” Rin breathlessly announced from Emi’s doorway.
Emi wondered what kind of trouble could Rin be in - she only ever painted; only ever had to paint - build her portfolio and get into a good art school. “Maybe I’m over-thinking this - maybe she just needs something tied ..”
“Slow down Rin - what kind of trouble?”
“There’s a boy. He helped me with mural .. I think I need your help.”
Rin seemed distressed in a way Emi hadn’t seen before - Emi’d always assumed Rin was deeper than she let on, but had never given much thought to how deep.
“Aw shit - I hope it’s not that kind of trouble ..” thought Emi.
“Which boy? Did he bother you?”
“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know ..”
Rin’s mental flailing for words was mirrored in the way her arms moved with directionless agitation.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning.”
“Because the beginning isn’t the important part!”
“Ok - tell me the important part.”
Rin paused to collect her thoughts .. her brow furrowed in concentration.
“Do you remember how Hisao looked at you before you two started dating?”
Emi didn’t think there was anything particularly special about how Hisao had looked at her - other than staring at her sports bra after their run; he was human after all and Emi had stretched her arms over her head for the express purpose of showing off her assets - though she’d never admit it. He was polite, shy, and yet confident when he spoke - Emi suspected the way she looked at Hisao was something akin to how a terrier would look at a piece of raw meat left unattended on a kitchen counter - no matter how hard she had tried to hide the fact - but this wasn’t about her.
“He just .. looked at me. I’m sorry - I’m not an artist, I don’t really pay attention to things like you do - I run past them. Tell me how you think he looked at me.”
“He looked at you, like he wanted to see you, not just see you. He .. (Rin paused and looked at the ceiling, searching hard for the words, one foot thumping on the floor) .. he looked at you like he wanted to remember what your face looked like when you weren’t there to look at.”
“Ok - that’s nice.. how does this relate to this boy who helped you?”
Rin spoke in a small voice, a little like a younger version of herself - “Nobody looks at Rin like that - nobody has ever looked at Rin like that. People look past Rin, like they don’t want to remember Rin later.. ”
“And the boy - he didn’t do that?”
“Yes - he didn’t look at me like he didn’t want to remember me.”
Emi’s head spun.
“You mean he wanted to remember you.”
“I said that.”
“And this upset you?” Talking to Rin was often like pulling teeth.
“Kind of ..” Rin looked down, blushing
Rin, while ‘out there’ according to most, she was still human and Emi didn’t have a lot of difficulty connecting the dots.
“You want him to keep looking at you like that?”
Rin nodded vigorously. “My birds were sleeping in their cages before the sun came up and now the sun’s out they want to fly around and not go back into their cages and go back to sleep because now’s not the time for sleeping. They’re afraid if they fly somewhere wrong they’ll get put back in their cages and no one will ever come to let them out again or they will but it will be a long time - maybe too long and ..”
Rin ran out of breath before she ran out of words.
Emi nodded - oblique though it was, and confusingly phrased as Rin was prone to do, the meaning of Rin’s barrage of words was pretty clear.
“Hold up - I think I can help you out .. you want to keep your birds out of their cages, so to speak.”
“I don’t have any birds - it’s just a metaphor.”
“Thank you Rin. So - what would help with this metaphor?”
“Words - I need words. I need to know what words to say - to teach my birds how to fly where I want them to go .. to have words that tell people - one person to start - what I’m feeling; right now I don’t know what to say and when to say them and then I babble because I’m scared. We went to tea together and I don’t think it was a date but I’d like to to be ..”
Rin hung her head, blushing from her chest to her forehead - Emi was amazed at how much Rin had said, and so plainly. Was this how Rin actually thought? She wondered again - was all of Rin’s obliqueness and weird phrasing just a way of hiding how she felt from the opinions of others, like how Hanako hid behind her hair?
If it was a boy Rin liked .. Rin had never mentioned liking a boy - or anybody - before. Emi, outgoing and naturally pretty, for whom attention was a pretty constant thing, could only imagine the pressure Rin was putting herself under not to get this wrong, especially if this was, indeed, her first crush. “Well,” thought Emi, “Coaching is for more than just track and field. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me ..”
“Rin, I can give you some words, and practice in saying them, but you’ll need to decide when to say them - I can help you with that, but you’ll have to make the final call whether the time is right or not.”
Rin turned her head away from Emi and spoke - the words coming haltingly then all in a rush; “I’ll try but .. who would .. what if .. what if Rin is just a broken doll that nobody wants?” And she hung her head, tears at the corners of her eyes, her hair obscuring her face.
So much made sense to Emi now - if Rin’s studied fecklessness was some sort of self defense mechanism; if she didn’t appear to value anything - even herself, then there was nothing anyone could take from her. But now, realizing that this was how Rin really felt, Emi was furious -
“Don’t you ever call yourself a broken doll! Rin; look at me - look at me now!”
Rin looked up, tears plain on her face.
Emi gestured angrily - “Look at my legs - the ones I don’t have; and the ones lying in the corner that I have to see a doctor to get re-fit every 3 months, legs that crack and chip with wear and fool no one that they’re real - have I ever let myself be slowed down by them? Never! Everyone’s broken somehow, and if everyone is broken then no one is. We’re all beautiful, and that means you are too.”
“Rin is beautiful?” Rin asked, sobbing.
Emi hugged Rin and let Rin’s tears soak into her shirt.
“Rin is very beautiful - never forget that.” Emi kept hugging Rin, ignoring the tears and letting her words sink in.
“Now, stop worrying - boys are easy to talk to. Let’s start with ‘hello’. Also, after this, let’s go visit Nurse for a bit.. he might be able to give you a little something for.. `just in case`”
“You mean birth control,” said Rin, regaining a measure of her composure.
“I do.”
--
Last edited by Asoko_Desu on Sun May 14, 2023 3:34 pm, edited 6 times in total.
"So much to do, so little time."
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++
Asoko Desu's one-shots and short pieces - and assorted tie-ins.
Two Body Problem - "Adventures in the 'Emiverse'"; Emi’s path from Rin’s perspective ..
The Years That the Locusts Have Eaten - Post-Rin’s good ending - a journey through the 'Rinverse'
+++