Saiyuu no Ryokou: The Continuing Adventures of Yuriko

The Story So Far: Upon hearing the legend of a local ghost, Yuriko admits that she's met the protagonist. A pleasant evening with Midori's family continues.

 

Volume 2, Issue 16

"Revelations"

 

"You what?" The two women's voices echoed the incredulous looks on their faces.

The singer pointed in the general direction of the pond. "Last night I had a dream." Her face scrunched up with the effort of calling up vaguely remembered details. "Someone was crying, I mean, you were crying in my dream," she turned to Midori, who was still gaping, "but when I woke up I could still hear sobs. You were asleep, obviously. I got up. But I couldn't see anyone, so I went back to bed."

"That's amazing!" Ritsuko was suddenly animated. She turned her back on the other two and began rummaging around in a drawer. "That's the first I've heard of her in months." The young woman grinned up at the idol. "She must like you. Apparently your charm extends even to deceased teenaged girls."

Midori covered her laugh with a fake cough.

Yuri smiled unsurely. "I suppose that's a good thing?"

Ritsuko opened a cabinet, removed a small wooden case and set it gingerly on the table. "I guess we'll find out," the young woman replied cryptically. "Now you two had better go, so I can get some work done." She smiled brightly and gestured them out of her studio with a wish for a good, uninterrupted night's sleep.

"What do you think she meant by that? About the ghost liking me?" Yuriko reached for the writer's hand in the darkness outside the little shed. "And what did the story have to do with her work?"

Midori shook her head slowly. "I can't guess about the former, but the latter...Ritsuko and I were discussing the legend one day and she decided to do a piece based on the story. The ghost was unusually active last spring. She wanted to do something nice for her – a sort of tribute. She had a name for it already, "Tears of the Mourning Girl." I haven't seen it, but she told me that it was a small bowl. A soon as she started on it though, the ghost disappeared. No one has heard her since then – and the bowl is still incomplete." Midori squeezed Yuriko's hand and lowered her voice, a whisper in the dark.

"Every time Ritsuko tries to work on it, something stops her. One day the entirely new electrical system in her studio failed. Another time, the color she was working with disappeared...it's been one incident after another."

"And you think it was the ghost?" Yuriko shivered happily.

"I suppose so. There aren't too many other explanations." Midori laughed at herself. "Of course, there are dozens of explanations – but none so dramatic. It makes a great story, doesn't it?" They both laughed and agreed that it did make a good story.

As they quietly made their way down the hall and entered their room, Yuriko asked, "Do you like ghost stories? Was that what you were into as a teenager?"

"Yes I like them, but no," Midori smirked and kissed the blonde on the nose.

Yuriko looked at her lover thoughtfully. "Impressionist paintings."

"No."

"Surrealism."

"Eww, no."

"Eww?" Yuriko asked.

The writer shrugged. "Not my cup of tea. I far prefer realism."

"Modern British poetry." Yuriko persisted.

Midori laughed. "Why not modern Japanese poetry?"

"I don't know – it sounded better," Yuriko admitted.

"I'll give you one clue," Midori slid into bed. "It had nothing to do with writing."

"Skiing?"

Midori shook her head, grinning. "You're never going to figure it out, my darling."

"I am." Yuriko thought for a moment. "Ahah! Knitting!" Her face fell as Midori laughed. "Sewing?" Yuri was clearly guessing randomly.

"Have you seen ever me sew?" The writer lay down and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "There's a good reason why you haven't. So, no. Now go to sleep. I have a surprise for you tomorrow, remember?"

The singer had clearly forgotten. "Right. Surprise?" She paused, then asked, "Martial arts?"

"Goodnight, Yuri." Midori curled herself into the blonde's side. "Sleep well."

"Good night, my love," Yuriko replied, sleep settling over her quickly. With her last conscious thought, she mumbled, "Gardening?" and fell soundly asleep.

***

It was dark in the room and Yuriko moaned. Sleep pulled her strongly back into its grasp.

"Wake up," an urgent whisper dragged her towards consciousness.

"Hrgh?" Sleep pulled on her quite convincingly, but the whisper was repeated and a hand shook her mercilessly. Sleep lost a little more ground.

"What?" Yuriko muttered. "Is everything all right?" What actually came out of her mouth was less coherent than that, but was apparently understood.

"Everything's fine," Midori confirmed, giving the blonde another shake.

Sleep gave up and let go of the idol. Yuriko rolled over in the dark room, rubbing her face petulantly. "What's up?"

"Get dressed," Midori's voice held a smile. "If you want your surprise."

Yuriko sat up with considerable difficulty. "My surprise is being able to sleep late, eat a good breakfast and get an hour-long massage. This must be someone else's surprise."

Midori shoved the blonde half out of bed. "Come on, get up and get dressed. We have a long walk ahead of us."

"Yeah, yeah," Yuriko mumbled uncharitably as she stood. "I hope you're happy – I'm definitely surprised."

 

Continued

Saiyuu no Ryokou, all characters and situations copyright E. Friedman and Yurikon LLC. All Rights Reserved.