Volume 2 - Arachne Attack, Chapter 14 - Old and New Friends

RIINNNGGGG!... RIINNNGGGG!

Yuisu, her hair still dripping wet from the bath, sprinted down the hallway toward the phone in the kitchen. Utilizing years of sock-skating skills, she slid to a perfect stop and answered the phone before the next ring could finish.

“Hello? This is the Nakahara residence.” I guess? Should I start mentioning Haru and Mara? “Yuisu speaking.”

A woman’s voice replied. “Yuisu! Or should I say Yuri-su?” She giggled, then continued, “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. It’s me, Chiyoko!”

A smile formed on Yuisu’s face. “It’s been a while, Chiyoko! It’s great to hear from you. What’ve you been up to?”

“Eh, not that much. Got a job in marketing now, which has me too busy traveling to do much else. Which brings me to why I called...”

“Oh?” Yuisu wondered where this was going. Chiyoko always was the spontaneous type.

“Yep, I’m in town on business, and we wrapped our deal in one day instead of the expected three.”

“By in town, you mean—”

“Yup, I’m just down the road from you, Yuisu! Now, I’d hate to be a bother, but… how do I say this…”

“You’d like to stay at my place for a couple days?”

“Yup! Yuisu’s bluntness saves the day again! So can I? It’s not a problem if not. My work will pay for a hotel—”

Yuisu cut her off. “I won’t hear of it. You can definitely stay with me. I’ve got two roommates, but we still have guest bedrooms. This house is huuuuge.”

“You inherited it from your uncle, right? I’m sorry for your loss. I know how close you two were…”

“Thanks, Chiyoko... Well, when do you want to meet up? I don’t work today, so I can pick you up whenever.”

“No need. I’m already in a cab on the way to your house. I knew I could count on you, after all.”

Yuisu shook her head and smiled. She’s still the same old Chiyoko.

“This is the living room, and that next door is Mara’s room. She’s probably still asleep, so try not to be too loud.”

Chiyoko nodded, her chin-length bleached-blonde hair swaying. “Sure thing. You said you had two roommates. Who’s the other?”

“Her name’s Haru. She’s at work right now, but”—she pointed back to the other side of the living room—”that room is hers.”

As they continued the tour, Chiyoko let out a whistle. “Dang, this place is huge. You’ve got a pretty sweet thing going up here. But how’d you find roommates that also wanted to live way out in the mountains?”

Yuisu stopped in her tracks. “About that… I kind of—”

“G’mornin’ Yuisu. G’mornin’ random lady,” Mara mumbled as she shuffled past towards the bathroom, rubbing the sleep from a couple of her eyes. She was wearing a loose purple flannel shirt, hanging off one shoulder, and a different pair of knee socks on each pair of legs, including a cutesy pair of shorter socks on her palps. Either she had slept in them or she had bothered to put on five pairs of socks before leaving her room.

Yuisu made to reply, likely with a quip about how it was actually afternoon, but Chiyoko spoke first.

Actually, ‘spoke’ isn’t the right word. It was more like stuttering, or maybe babbling. “Wha, wu, wa?!” After Mara disappeared into the laundry room, Chiyoko turned to Yuisu, mouth stuck open and brow furrowed in confusion and concern. The words she had been trying to say flooded out all at once, “Whatthefuckwasthat?!”

“Oh crap, I’m sorry Chiyoko. I should have told you.” She took Chiyoko’s arm in her hands and tried to soothe her. “That was my roommate, Mara. She’s a liminal, an extra-species person. You know, like on the news? She’s staying here as part of the exchange program.” She smiled awkwardly. “I’m an official Interspecies Exchange Program Host.”

Chiyoko leaned close and whispered, low and harsh and fast, “But-what-the-hell-is-she? She’s-like-a-spider-monster-and-it-scares-me-and-I-don’t-like-it-at-all!”

This may be harder than I thought. Am I really that much more accepting than normal people? Yuisu pulled on Chiyoko’s arm to lead her to a chair and sat her down. Yuisu tried to imitate the patient and caring way her uncle would talk to children, “She’s just an arachne. She isn’t a monster and she isn’t going to hurt anyone.” Yuisu kneeled in front of the chair, her eyes level with Chiyoko’s. “Mara’s just a girl who happens to look different, okay?”

Chiyoko had settled down, but still looked a little out of it. “Just a girl. Okay…” She paused in consideration. “But her spider body... is it functional? Can she like, make webs? Climb on walls?” She shuddered at the thought.

Yuisu patted Chiyoko’s knee and stood up. “Maybe, but that doesn’t matter. Just treat her like a person and it’ll go fine. Now let’s eat some lunch, I’m starving.”

During their meal, Chiyoko had come to better terms with the entire situation and was actually pretty curious about everything. “So do you get paid by the government for being a host?”

“Not paid, per se, but they do cover or reimburse all host-related expenses. And with some persuasion, the definition of ‘host-related’ is pretty loose. I got Agent Will to sign off on installing a cable line all the way up here, since Mara wanted faster internet.” Of course she still complained about it not being ‘gigabit fiber’, whatever that means.

“Very nice.” Chiyoko nodded sagely. She was no stranger to claiming odd things as work expenses, like the taxi ride to Yuisu’s house. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that your other roommate is a liminal too? I bet she’s like a werewolf or something even scarier.”

Yuisu smiled as she replied, “Nope, Haru’s a harpy. She’s got bird-like talons for feet, and huge fluffy, feathery wings for arms. She can fly too, and she’s crazy strong. I wonder if she could fly while holding me...” A dreamy look appeared on her face.

Chiyoko rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen that look before, Yuri-su.”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

“That’s your ‘hopelessly in love’ look. I should know, since it was directed at me once upon a time,” Chiyoko teased.

Yuisu feigned offense, “Hey! That was way back in middle school. And I thought we promised to not bring that up anymore, on account of the rumor hurting your chances with guys?”

Chiyoko poked Yuisu in the arm. “Don’t change the subject. You’re in love with this Haru, aren’t you?”

“N-no. Of course not.” Yuisu stammered. “Well, we are kind of dating, but that’s a secret so please don’t tell anyone, though it’s not that I’m ashamed of her or anything, but we’re not supposed to because of the law’s stupid interpretation of ‘harm’ and—”

“Shush.” Chiyoko put a finger to Yuisu’s lips. “Drop the act, girlfriend, and just tell me what you like so much about her. I gotta know if she’s treating my Yuisu right.”

Yuisu blushed and fidgeted. “Well, she’s beautiful and fit and strong, and her wings are so pretty and soft. She’s clumsy sometimes, but she really tries to protect me from harm. Oh, and she really cares about my feelings...”

Chiyoko waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, that all sounds great and all, but I need some sexy details, Yuri-su. How far have you two been?”

Yuisu turned even redder. “That’s none of your business, and we haven’t done anything like that anyway. We’ve just kissed mostly, but she’s so damn good at it that I just…” she trailed off.

“Go on…” Chiyoko said, leaning close.

“Please do continue, miss Yuisu.”

Yuisu sat bolt upright in the chair. That was Haru’s voice. How was that Haru’s voice? She’s still at work for several more hours.

Haru strode into the room. “I got off early today, since the big shipment got delayed until tomorrow.” She smiled at Chiyoko. “And who is this woman you’re letting in on our secrets?”

Yuisu was still in shock and was slow to respond. Chiyoko introduced herself instead, “I’m Chiyoko, a friend of Yuisu’s since middle school. And you must be Haru. It’s nice to meet you.” She stuck out a hand, then immediately regretted it, thinking of Haru’s lack of hands.

Before she could retract it, Haru grabbed it with the hand-like part of her wing and shook it solidly. “It’s nice to meet you too. I do have to make a formal request of you, however.”

“Oh?” Chiyoko seemed unsure of where this was going.

“I need you to share some secrets about Yuisu’s past. I’m sure you’ve got some juicy stories,” Haru said with an evil grin.

Chiyoko returned the grin. “Ooh, great idea. I can already tell that you and I are going to be great friends.”

That finally got Yuisu out of her stupor. “Hey! No fair!”