Volume 9 - Animate Objects, Chapter 57 - Giggling Guardian

Heavy rain fell on the streets of a black and white city. "Stick 'em up, ya dirty thief!" a hard-eyed cop yelled at a fleeing robber.

"You'll never catch me ali—"

DING-DONG!

With a sigh, Yuisu grabbed the remote and paused the movie. "What the? It's like ten o'clock. Who'd be here this late?"

Haru, her wing wrapped around Yuisu's shoulders, just shrugged. "No idea. Maybe Iormu lost her house key?"

"I'll go check it out." Yuisu stood up from the couch, then paused to tug a wrinkle out of her panties. She was wearing a big t-shirt as pajamas, since she and Haru had spent the entire day just lounging around together and never got dressed. She called out, "Coming!" and started toward the door. Once her socks hit the smooth hardwood, she sock-skated down the hall.

Yuisu jumped into the entryway and flung open the door, expecting one of her housemates. Instead, there was a wall of luggage and boxes piled up on the porch, nearly blocking out the night sky. "Uh, okay…" She tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear and looked around, but didn't see anyone in the porchlight. "Is anyone here?"

Long blue hair and a smiling face popped into view from behind a big suitcase and a cheerful voice said, "Oh, hello!" Cerulean eyes scanned Yuisu up and down, pausing briefly on the bit of purple panties peeking out from under Yuisu's loose t-shirt.

"You must be Yuisu! Hehehe," the new arrival giggled, then stepped the rest of the way into the light and stuck out a hand. The young woman wore a yellow sweater-vest and a short white skirt, a look reminiscent of a school uniform. Large bat-like wings stuck out from her lower back, and their surface faded from purple to orange to red, with streaks of lightning blue. Curved, stony-grey horns poked up out of her blue hair, and a thin, dark tail flitted behind her.

Yuisu blushed as she realized how little she was wearing in front of a stranger. She grabbed the bottom edge of her t-shirt and pulled it down, trying to cover up a little. All it really managed to do was stretch the cloth tight against her chest, making her black bra show through the thin fabric of the old shirt. Then Yuisu gave up on trying for modesty and finally shook the woman's hand. It was strangely rough and stonelike, with grey skin.

After a moment of surprise at that, Yuisu said, "Uh, yes, that's me. Who are you?"

The mysterious woman frowned. "You don't know my name? I mean, I figured Agent Will would at least tell you that, since I'm moving in and all." She chuckled, flapped her colorful wings, then said, "I'm Chione, and as you can see, I'm a gargoyle! Nice ta' meetcha!"

Yuisu was immediately frustrated with Agent Will, but she couldn't help but smile in the presence of such cheerfulness. "It's nice to meet you, too. Let me get some clothes on, then me and Haru will help you bring all this stuff inside." She stepped inside, then turned and looked back out at Chione. "Uh, you can come in for the meantime if you want, but I'll have to give you the full tour later."

Chione smiled and sat down on a big storage chest. "Thanks, but I'll just wait out here and enjoy the night."

Yuisu raised an eyebrow, but she nodded then ran inside. She slid to a stop by her room and called toward the living room, "Haru, we've got a new homestay. Get dressed and help me move her stuff inside."

Haru hopped up and jogged over to their room. As she stepped inside and closed the door, she said, "I'm not even surprised that we didn't get any warning. At least Agent Will is predictable in his screwups."

Once they were dressed, Haru and Yuisu met Chione on the front porch.

Yuisu pointed at Haru, who was wearing a white tank-top and jeans, a bit more dressed than Yuisu in flannel PJs. "Chione, this is Haru, my, uh…" Yuisu hesitated, unsure how open she wanted be with the new arrival.

"Girlfriend," Haru finished for her.

Yuisu blushed and mumbled, "I was going to say 'first homestay', but that works too."

Chione lit up. "Oh, that's so wonderful! I heard it can be really hard for exchange program participants to find love, and it made me kinda sad." She paused, then quickly added, "Not that I only joined the program to find love or anything!"

Yuisu and Haru shared a brief glance, then Yuisu spoke up. "Anyways, since Tsuen moved into Mara's room, we've got two open bedrooms, both right next to each other. They are a little small though…" Yuisu looked around and took in the massive pile of belongings Chione had brought. "Actually, with how much stuff you have, maybe the big room out in the cabin would be better? Carrying all this stuff up there would be a pain though…"

Chione shook her head and waved her hand, still smiling. "Oh, no, no, the smaller room is fine."

"If you say so…" Yuisu said, shrugging. "Well, let's get everything inside," Yuisu said as she grabbed a heavy cardboard box.

Haru grabbed another and followed Yuisu inside, then Chione came last, rolling a large wheeled suitcase. A few more trips got everything inside except one big wooden chest, with a rounded top and gold banding. Yuisu grabbed a handle and tried to lift one side, but it was far heavier than she expected.

"This weighs a ton! What do you have in here, Chione?"

Chione's eyes darted from side to side, then she said, "Uh, just some family heirlooms…"

"Alright. I'll be extra careful then. Grab that side, Chione, and Haru can get the doors for us," Yuisu said, skillfully avoiding mentioning Haru's difficulty with carrying handles.

Step by step, they hefted the heavy chest through the entry room and kitchen. At the door to the first guest room, Yuisu peered in and said, "Uh, this room is getting pretty full. Any more and you won't have anywhere to stand while you unpack. Let's store this chest in the other guest room for now."

Chione smiled and nodded. "Sure. Thanks so much for helping with all my stuff. I know I packed too much, but I couldn't bear to leave any, uh, thing behind."

Yuisu nodded slowly. "Nah, it's fine. We've got plenty of space here. So, do you want the tour now"—Yuisu suddenly yawned, then continued—"or in the morning?"

Chione giggled, then said, "I'll let you get some sleep. I'm not much of a morning person, but I'll try to be up for the tour."

The next morning, a substantially less chipper Chione sat at the kitchen table, sipping at some very black coffee. Her eyes were barely open and her hair was a mess.

Yuisu sat down across from her and said, "Wow, you weren't kidding about not being a morning person."

Chione chuckled laboriously and mumbled, "Me and the sun don't get along."

Yuisu put a hand on Chione's stony grey one. "That's alright. You've got some nocturnal allies here. Mara stays up super late most of the time, and Haru's a night-owl, at least when her work schedule allows."

A small smile cracked across Chione's lips. "Alright. So, how about that tour?"

Over the next hour, Chione learned the layout of the main house, heard how laundry would be handled, and got a crash course in Japanese-style bathing. "You wash before getting in the tub?" she asked as she took in the intimidating bathing room.

"Yup," Yuisu said, "The tub is just for soaking, kind of like a hot spring, which is the next stop on the tour."

"There's a hot spring? Really?! That's so cool!" Chione said, looking alive for the first time all morning. "Well, more hot than cool," she added with a little giggle.

Chione followed Yuisu out the back door and up the wooden path. When they got near the hot spring fence, she turned and looked up the hill at the cabin. "Is that the cabin you mentioned last night?" she asked.

"Yep. That's where Iormu lives. It's specially outfitted for large liminals."

Chione fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "How large? Like a giant?"

Yuisu waved a hand. "Oh no, it can't fit anything that tall. The ceilings are just a few feet higher than normal, but the rooms are really spacious, the bathroom in particular. Iormu's about forty feet long, so she definitely appreciates the extra room."

Chione's eyes went wide. "Forty feet… uh, what is she?"

Yuisu opened the gate in the wooden fence and ushered Chione into the hot spring area. "She's a Jormungand, which is similar to a Lamia, and you'll get to meet her later, whenever she and Quess finally show themselves. Anyways," Yuisu changed the subject, "This is the hot spring. It's hotter by the spout over there, and deeper toward the center. Don't stay in too long, especially if you're bathing alone, since you could pass out from the heat."

Chione nodded and listened attentively, looking exactly like an eager schoolgirl. Yuisu thought, How old is she, I wonder?

That night, Yuisu and Haru finished their movie from where they'd left off. It was a long movie and there'd been over an hour left when they were interrupted, so splitting it up worked out alright.

"Not bad," Haru said as she stood up and stretched her wings.

Yuisu nodded, then tried to stifle a yawn. "Yup, though I was almost falling asleep at the end there. I need to get to bed. Got a morning shift tomorrow."

Haru frowned. "Aww, alright. I'm not tired at all, so I'll come to bed a bit later."

Yuisu pulled Haru into a brief kiss, then shuffled off toward the bedroom, leaving Haru in the living room with nothing to do.

She settled on getting a snack, at least to start with, so she strode into the unlit kitchen. Haru usually didn't bother turning on lights at night since her night vision was so good. She opened the fridge and started digging through the meat drawer before she suddenly froze. She sensed something unusual. She stood up slowly and turned around.

At the kitchen table, sitting stone still in the darkness, was Chione. Haru hadn't noticed her at all upon entering the room. The gargoyle was just staring at the wall, holding her chin as if deep in thought.

Upon closer inspection, Chione wasn't even breathing. Needless to say, Haru was a little creeped out. No wonder I didn't sense her. She swallowed, then whispered, "Hey, Chione? Are you alright?"

Chione suddenly burst into life, her previously static wings flapping as she looked around, disoriented. "Huh? Oh, Haru! Yeah, I'm just fine. Got lost in thought for a bit, I guess," she said with a giggle at the end. She seemed to use laughter like punctuation.

Haru tilted her head. What a strange girl… "What were you thinking about? Anything interesting?" Haru went back to searching the fridge and eventually decided to finish off some leftover roast beef.

Chione shook her head. "Nah, I was just thinking about how different things are going to be from now on. Japan's so different from Europe. It's a little overwhelming, ya know?"

Europe? I'd ask what part, but I have no clue about that part of the world, Haru thought. She sat down at the table and started in on her sandwich, which was just cold roast beef on bread. Haru had pretty simple tastes, as long as there was meat involved. After she swallowed her first huge bite, Haru looked up at Chione and said, "When I can't get my mind off something, I tend to go flying. It's easy to forget about all the insignificant problems in life when the world is so tiny down below."

Chione's eyes lit up, glinting in the dark kitchen. "Ooh, me too! I love to fly at night and see the world sleeping soundly." She suddenly frowned. "But I don't know the area here, and I'm not supposed to leave the property boundary, and I don't even know where that is."

Haru set her sandwich down. "I could go flying with you, and give you the tour of the property."

"Really?!" Chione reached across the table and grabbed Haru's wing. "That'd be amazing! Let's go right now!" She jumped up and flung open the kitchen windows, then turned back and gestured at Haru impatiently.

Haru blinked at her. "Hold on, girl. Let me finish my snack, then we'll go." She looked the gargoyle over and added, "And you might want to change clothes."

"Huh, why? I always fly like this."

Haru sighed, then said, "I guess it doesn't matter as much at night, but flying in a skirt is risky. Japan's got more than its fair share of perverts looking for upskirt shots, and the last thing you want is photos of your panties going around the internet. Being of an extraspecies girl would probably make them even more popular."

Chione blushed profusely and grabbed the hem of her skirt. "Eww! Alright, I'll go change."

A few minutes later, Chione, now wearing some shorts under her skirt, soared over the dark mountainside. Haru flew a few yards ahead of her, a bright white beacon in the moonlight.

Haru turned her neck all the way around and called back, "That big dead tree there is pretty much the southwest corner of the property, so it makes a great landmark!"

Chione had to strain a bit to hear Haru's voice over the whooshing wind. While she was a pretty good flyer, she didn't have animal-level senses of hearing or smell to help navigate. Chione did have good eyes at least, including superhuman night-vision. No one knew for sure how Gargoyles came to be, but they seemed tailor-made to watch over cities at night.

She followed along as Haru circled the entire property and pointed out several more landmarks. When Haru looped back toward the house, Chione called out, "Won't it all look different during the day?"

"Yep, but those landmarks will still be good. And it's not like anyone would know or care if you go a little outside the boundary."

Chione pondered that for a second, then said, "Oh, okay. I'm used to really strict rules, so this will be… interesting."

Haru landed gracefully on the gravel driveway. "About that… I'm guessing you came from a private school?"

Chione had to flap her wings hard to slow her descent. Unlike Haru, who had a very light body and practically floated to the ground, Chione would quite literally drop like a rock if she let up for a second.

Through heavy breaths, Chione responded. "Yeah… How'd you know?"

Haru smiled and flicked her golden eyes at Chione's skirt and vest. "While it does look good on you, I assumed that outfit wasn't a fashion statement."

"Yeah, I don't know the first thing about fashion, since I've just worn school uniforms most of my life." Chione giggled out of nowhere, then said, "Japanese fashion seems so fun though! All the colors and styles!"

You can't help but like this girl. She's so eager and lively, Haru thought. She put a wing around Chione's shoulders, then stepped toward the house. "I've got some clothes that might fit you, if you want to try some styles for yourself."

"Oh, that'd be great!" Chione said, barely containing another bout of giggles.

Haru smiled. "We'll have to wait 'til tomorrow, though, since Yuisu's asleep right now."