Volume 4 - Criminal Crow, Chapter 22 - Private Escape

While Mara, Tsuen, and Misaki were out exploring the beautiful mountain trails around Yuisu’s house, Haru was slammed with work. Sam’s Butcher Shop had been particularly busy lately, thanks at least in part to the increase of carnivorous liminals living in the area. Haru even had to stick around an extra two hours to get all the special orders done. By the time she got home, her wings tired from the day’s work and the flight home, Yuisu’s truck was already there.

Haru stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and hung up her coat. Then she heard a ruckus in the kitchen.

“No fair! You two always pick each other’s cards! You must be cheating!” a young yet raspy voice cried out.

Haru took a step into the kitchen and saw Yuisu, Tsuen, Mara, and Misaki gathered at the table. They were playing some card game about apples that Haru didn’t recognize, and having a great time, judging by the excessive volume of their voices. A pang of jealousy made Haru’s jaw tighten when she thought of all the fun they had been having while she was stuck at work.

Tsuen laughed. “Or, we just operate on the same wavelength. All our time spent together gave us a natural, and legal, edge.”

Mara said, “True facts, Misaki. Tsuen and I are like a tight-knit guild, and you’re still just a PUG.”

Yuisu turned and met eyes with Haru, but the others started arguing about how it was mean, and confusing, to call a harpy a breed of dog. Yuisu smiled and jogged up to Haru. “How was your day, Haru?”

Haru forced a smile, but when she looked down into Yuisu’s beautiful green eyes, her smile turned genuine. “It was alright, I guess. Really busy and tiring. Sorry for being so late.”

Yuisu pulled Haru into a hug and nuzzled against Haru’s feathers. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here now and just as fluffy as ever, and that’s all that matters.”

Haru blushed and returned the hug, fully engulfing Yuisu in her wings. She kissed Yuisu on the forehead, then said, “I feel like I don’t get to spend enough time with you, Yuisu. Let’s go on a date together, just the two of us.”

Yuisu looked up, her chin nestled in Haru’s cleavage. “That sounds wonderful. How about tomorrow night?”

Meanwhile, the three other girls had paused their argument in order to listen in on the lovebirds. Mara was closest and managed to overhear most of their conversation. When the hug ended, Mara, Tsuen, and Misaki pretended to read their cards intently.

A few minutes later, Yamato arrived to pick up Misaki. She had had so much fun that she insisted on coming back the next day too. Seeing how much it mattered to Misaki, Yuisu was happy to accept.

The next evening, after another day of Misaki hanging out at the house, Yamato arrived in his little green hatchback. Yuisu’s truck wasn’t parked outside, since she and Haru had already left for their date. When Yamato said that it was time to go, Misaki was unusually compliant, but he assumed she was just tired out by the busy day.

Halfway down the mountain, Yamato glanced into the rearview mirror and saw six shiny black eyes looking back at him. Terrified, he slammed on the brakes and the car came to an abrupt stop, causing Mara to tumble over the console and into the front seat with him and Misaki. She panicked and her pink armored legs flailed in every direction as she tried to right herself. One leg caught Yamato across the chin with a smack, which set his adrenaline pumping even more.

Finally, Misaki had a brilliant idea to control the situation. She wrapped Mara in her wings to calm Mara down and contain her flailing legs. Once she stopped thrashing, Mara’s messy pink hair stuck out the top of the black feathered bundle and Yamato finally recognized her. His racing pulse slowed a little, but he was still worried. “Mara?! What are you doing here? You can’t be out without host supervision.”

Mara crawled back into the back seat and tried to fix her hair. She grinned at Yamato. “You’re a host, and you’re supervising. No problem!”

“Yes, problem! It doesn’t work that way and you know it!” he insisted as he nursed the scratch on his chin.

Misaki propped her wings on his leg and leaned close to his face. “Can you just drive us around for a bit, Yamato?” Her dress had been pulled down a bit by the tussle earlier and her small breasts were peeking out, mere inches below his face. As she pleaded, Misaki’s folded wings kneaded at his leg, getting dangerously close to his groin. “Please, please, please, Yamato?”

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he used everything he had to keep himself calm. He lifted Misaki’s top back into place and gently pushed her back into her seat, then fell back into his own seat with a resigned sigh. “Fine, whatever. You two clearly planned this, so where is it you want to go?”

Misaki and Mara shared a gleeful glance, then Mara said, “I think they’re starting out at the Italian restaurant in the 8th Street Mall. Let’s go there first.”

Yamato started the car again and drove down to town, praying that Agent Will would never find out about this.

As Mara had said, Haru and Yuisu were at the Italian restaurant and, convenient for the little liminal spies, they were in a visible patio area at a table for two. Even from that distance, it was obvious they had dressed up for the occasion.

Haru wore a short-sleeved black leather jacket, open over a sparkly white halter top, along with tight side-zip jeans, free of any tears or rips. She even appeared to be wearing a little makeup, which was unusual for her.

Yuisu had taken her evening wear a step further. She wore a shimmery purple sleeveless dress with gold kimono-inspired flower prints running down one side. In keeping with the theme, she had her black hair up in a loose bun with ornamental chopsticks.

Across the footpath from the restaurant, Mara and Misaki were peeking through a shrubbery and spying on the date. They were too far away to make out the couple’s conversation, but it looked like dinner was wrapping up, so Mara and Misaki were eager to see where the date went next.

Yamato kept a lookout for any Cultural Exchange agents or police officers and he smiled awkwardly and shrugged whenever a passerby noticed the two little liminals climbing on the mall’s indoor landscaping. They both look young enough that they could be mistaken for children, and kids will be kids, right?

Finally, Haru and Yuisu stood to leave. The delay had been caused by them arguing over who should pay, and they eventually just split the bill. They left the restaurant and made their way through the mall, and the three spies followed along at a distance.

Haru and Yuisu sat down on a bench to discuss what to do next, but Yuisu couldn’t help but grab Haru’s wing and cuddle up to her. She leaned her head on Haru’s shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying Haru’s warm presence. Haru grinned down at her little Yuisu, happy to have the closeness she’d been missing lately. The result was adorable, and clearly romantic.

Mara whispered to Misaki, “Oh man, those two are daring. They’re not supposed to go flaunting their relationship around, ‘cause of the law.”

“Ohh, yeah. I heard about that law. No human-liminal dating, or something. I never thought much about it,” Misaki replied.

Yamato overheard that and frowned in thought, Is that a good thing? She never considered the law an obstacle to love? Or is it bad, because she never even considered a relationship?

While he was distracted, someone put a hand on Yamato’s shoulder, startling him.

“How’s it going, Yamato? I’m surprised you’d bring Misaki to a mall, with her ‘borrowing’ habit,” Agent Will teased.

Yamato tensed up even more and his eyes darted to where Misaki and Mara were crouched behind a bush. Agent Will followed the glance and saw that Mara was there too. “Oh? What’s this?”

“It’s um, nothing, we, I, uh, we just,” Yamato stammered.

Agent Will ignored him and approached the eager eavesdroppers. “What exactly are you two up to? I don’t see Yuisu with you, Mara…” he said accusingly.

Misaki exchanged a worried glance with Yamato, but Mara wasn’t intimidated. She answered matter-of-factly, “We’re tailing Yuisu and Haru. They’re on a date!”

Agent Will lowered his sunglasses and peered over the top. “Oh, really? That sure is interesting. Mind if I tag along?”

“Ugh, really? You’ll blow our cover, Agent Will. You stick out like a sore thumb.” Coming from a bright pink spider-girl, the irony was unbearable.

“Mara, I could report you for being out here without your host or prior approval. How about a compromise?”

Mara got the point and nodded vigorously. “Of course, please come with us. And I was definitely just kidding about you sticking out. You’re like a ninja, or a secret agent.”

Just then, Haru and Yuisu stepped into a lingerie store named Liminal’s Secret, sending Mara and Misaki into a giggling fit. Misaki slapped Mara on the back and said, “Ha, Agent Will could be a Liminal’s Secret agent!”

Yuisu and Haru browsed the Liminal’s Secret store for a while. While the name obviously implied it carried lingerie for liminals, it catered to human shapes and sizes too. For Haru, human underwear was technically wearable, but the special versions sold here were just so much more convenient.

Haru was considering an ‘Easy-Snap’ sports bra that claimed to give full athletic-level support, thanks to wide crisscrossing straps that snapped onto the front with large wing-friendly buttons. “I think I’ll try this one,” she said, only to find that Yuisu had wandered off into the intimates section. She took the bra with her and crept up on Yuisu, who was eying a display of very transparent babydoll and panty sets.

Haru whispered in her ear, “So this is what you like?”

Yuisu was startled for a second, then smiled mischievously at Haru. “Actually, I was wondering if you like this kind of thing. Unlike my other bras, you should be able to pull them right off of me…” she whispered back.

Just then, an employee walked past the display and gave them an odd look. Yuisu remembered with a jolt that they weren’t supposed to flaunt their relationship in public. She cleared her throat and leaned away from Haru. “Anyways… shall we head out?”

Haru raised the wing that was clutching the ‘Easy-Snap’ bra. “Just let me buy this, then we’ll go.”

In that case...Yuisu grabbed a black babydoll set from the cubby under the display and got into a different checkout line than Haru. They both reached the front of their lines at the same time, and Haru rolled her eyes when she saw Yuisu’s purchase.

The left the store with their purchases, very clearly trying to not look like a couple. Yuisu saw a neon sign in the distance and said, “Ooh, let’s get some of that!” before speeding off towards a frozen yogurt stand.

When Haru caught up, she eyed the stand suspiciously. “Does this have any meat in it?”

Yuisu shook her head. “Nope.”

“Does it taste like meat?”

“Nope,” Yuisu said with a grin.

“Then why would I want to eat it?”

“Gah, just try it, Haru. You might like it!”

A bit later, Haru painstakingly held a tiny plastic spoon with her wing. She lifted it to her mouth and took a bite of vanilla and lychee flavored frozen yogurt. Smooth, cold, tangy, and surprisingly sweet. But not bad, I guess.

Yuisu shoveled her own chaotic blend of yogurt and toppings into her mouth so fast she got a brain freeze. As she rubbed her temple, she asked, “So, how is it, Haru?”

Haru nodded slowly. “It’s actually pretty good. I doubt I’m getting the full effect, since sweet tastes don’t do much for raptors, but the tangy side of it is nice.”

Yuisu beamed. She was thrilled to have shared one of her own favorite things with Haru.

“Aww, now I want frozen yogurt too!” Misaki whined.

“Shush!” Mara whispered. “We can’t have any right now. It’d blow our cover.”

Mara and Misaki were looking out the front window of a toy store, and they were remarkably well hidden among the brightly colored stuffed animals of the front display.

Yamato asked Agent Will, “Why are you hanging out with us, anyway? Are you just that bored?”

Agent Will shook his head. “Not really. I’m making sure Haru and Yuisu don’t get too romantic in public, hopefully to save myself some paperwork tomorrow. Oh, and I’m making sure you three don’t get into any trouble.” He slapped Yamato on the back. “No offense, kid, but those two girls are too much for you to handle alone, proven by how you got roped into this whole mess in the first place.”

Yamato looked down at his feet and kicked at the floor. “Yeah… I guess that’s true. Sorry, Agent Will.”

Suddenly, Mara and Misaki both scrambled out of the front display and bolted from the store, leaving Yamato and Agent Will behind and slightly confused.

Mara called back at them, “Come on! They’re getting away! They’re headed for the mall exit!”