Volume 9 - Animate Objects, Chapter 59 - Sneaky Stowaway

Mara ran down the hall screaming, "Slaver, or sex trafficker! No, she's a pervert!" She rounded the corner into the living room and saw Yuisu at the door to her room, still wearing her work clothes.

"Yuisu! Chione's got a gimp in a box!" Mara yelled, nearly hyperventilating.

Yuisu stood there and stared at Mara, who was still dressed all in black and looking highly suspicious. Yuisu blinked a few times, but Mara's statement didn't start making any more sense. "Uh, what?"

Mara started bouncing up and down. "It's true! There's a girl inside that big treasure chest of hers, the one in the guest room!"

Yuisu sighed deeply. With more than a hint of exasperation, she said, "I have no idea what you mean. Just show me."

Mara grabbed Yuisu's hand and pulled her down the hall and into the guest room, but Mara stopped dead when she saw the chest sitting upright and closed. She turned back to Yuisu with wide eyes and said, "It was open before, I swear."

"I believe you, Mara. Let me take a closer look." Yuisu stepped up next the chest and kneeled down. She rapped her knuckles on the top of the trunk, then jokingly called, "Hello? Anyone in there?"

"Yes, I'm in here," a small voice said.

Yuisu cried out in surprise and fell back onto her ass. She snapped around and looked at Mara. "Mara, was that you? Are you messing with me right now?"

Mara shook her head. "That was the girl inside!"

Just then, the chest opened a little and two mismatched eyes peered out. One iris was red and the other was purple, and both eyes were wide and startled. The eyes quickly looked around the room, then the girl opened the lid just enough to show her face and said, "Where's Chione? Is she okay?" There was real concern in her voice.

Yuisu, still sitting right next to the chest, couldn't help but notice what appeared to be huge, sharp teeth all along the rim of the treasure chest, on the top and bottom. Things started to make a lot more sense. She hopped up and brushed at her sore butt, then said, "Chione's fine. She's asleep next door, but I'm going to go wake her up for this."

Yuisu left the room, leaving Mara staring intensely at the girl in the box from a safe distance. The girl glared back at the strange spider that had attacked her with a crowbar, knocked her over, and then ran off. The level of distrust in the room was stifling.

A moment later, Yuisu arrived with a very sleepy Chione in tow. Yuisu guided her to the bed and sat down beside her. Yuisu turned to the chest and said, "Alright. You go first. Who are you?"

The chest opened the rest of the way and the girl leaned back against the lid. "My name's Mimi."

Yuisu asked, "And you know Chione?"

"What's it to you?" She'd suddenly taken on a defensive tone.

Yuisu quirked one eyebrow. "I'm just trying to piece this crazy situation together. Are you a liminal too?"

Mimi scoffed. "I'm obviously a mimic. Are you blind or something?"

Yuisu was taken aback. Okay then, she's not as nice and innocent as I thought…

Chione scowled at Mimi. "Hey, no need to be mean, Mimi. Yuisu's a very nice person."

Mimi leaned forward, resting her hand between the sharp teeth that lined the edges of the chest. Her long pink hair spilled past her shoulders and back into the chest, seemingly attached to the inside. "Yuisu, huh? You're the host here?"

Yuisu forced her eyes away from Mimi's 'assets' and looked into her dichromatic eyes. Being two different colors made them very beautiful and exotic. Yuisu nodded, then said, "And since you're in our house, I need to know more about you, Mimi. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Chione smuggled you into Japan."

Chione blushed bright red and grabbed the hem of her skirt. The girl had no poker face whatsoever.

Her suspicions confirmed, Yuisu continued, "Why?"

Mimi crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't have to answer you."

What is with this girl? Does she have a problem with authority or something? Yuisu thought, then turned to Chione. "Chione, can you answer my question?"

Chione nodded slowly, looking down in shame. "I smuggled her in with my luggage. Mimi's my best friend, but I graduated before her and only I got accepted into the exchange program. She didn't want to stay there at school, so I snuck her along."

Suddenly, Chione grabbed Yuisu's hand and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you! The plan was for her to sneak off in the night and live on her own in the city, but we didn't expect to be assigned to a house way out by itself like this, so she was stuck here."

Mimi lunged forward, her legs still hidden in the chest, and swiped a hand at Chione. "Hey, don't go telling her our plans! You ruined everything! Now they'll know to look for me and I'll get deported!"

Chione panicked and cried out, "No! I don't want you to be deported! It's all my fault… I'm so sorry…"

Yuisu raised her hands, palms out. "Calm down. No one is getting deported. Mimi, do you want to stay in Japan?"

Mimi rolled her eyes and twisted her face into a dumb expression, mocking Yuisu. "Well, duh! I'm never going back to that shithole of a school." Despite her youthful and innocent-sounding voice, it seemed that being crude came naturally to Mimi.

"Alright," Yuisu said as she stood up. "I have a plan, but I need to make a call. Mara come with me. Chione and Mimi, please wait here."

As Yuisu left the room, Mimi muttered, "As if I have a choice," then raised both of her hands and waved her middle fingers at Yuisu's back.

After giving Mara a very stern lecturing on personal boundaries and privacy, Yuisu sent her to her room with strict instructions to not tell the other housemates about Mimi yet. Mara seemed to take it seriously, and promised to be more mindful in the future.

Then Yuisu called Agent Will, filled him in on the situation, and asked him to drive up to the house. He eagerly agreed, no doubt trying to make up for the lack of warning about Chione's arrival the other day.

Half an hour later, Agent Will, Yuisu and Chione were all sitting on the edge of the guest bed, looking at Mimi.

Agent Will adjusted the collar of his black suit, then chuckled. "This is familiar, isn't it Yuisu? The only major difference is that she was a slime last time."

Chione frowned and looked between Yuisu and Agent Will. "Huh? What's that mean?"

Yuisu smiled as she answered, "One of our homestays, Quess, came to us in a similar way. She snuck in as an unregistered liminal, but ended up joining the Exchange Program, and now she lives here." She turned and addressed Mimi. "And you can join the program too, if you want."

"And if I don't want to?" the feisty mimic asked.

Agent Will peered over the top of his sunglasses, his brown eyes cold and serious. "Then you'll be arrested, and probably deported back to"—He looked at his phone, which was displaying the website of a liminal-centric boarding school. He scanned the site and found the address—"ah, yes, France. Right now, we're treating you as an unregistered liminal, and giving you the chance to join Japan's Exchange Program, but if you refuse, you'll be an illegal immigrant instead and a bunch of different laws start to apply."

Mimi crossed her arms under her breasts, which were still prominently displayed through her sheer t-shirt. "Hmph. So, what if I do join? Will I be assigned to some other host family?"

Agent Will pushed his sunglasses back up, possibly to hide where his eyes were involuntarily wandering. "Only if that's what you'd prefer."

Chione suddenly jumped forward and grabbed Mimi's hands, reaching past the chest's terrifying maw of teeth like it wasn't there. "Please don't go, Mimi! I want you to stay with me!"

Mimi's hard expression softened momentarily. "Alright, alright. I'll think about it." Once Chione had sat back down, Mimi looked up at Agent Will. "I heard the exchange program will pay for stuff, like living expenses and shit. Is that true?"

He nodded. "Yes, we reimburse hosts for any Exchange Program-related expenses"—Agent Will pointed a sock-covered toe at Mimi's wooden chest—"which includes things like accessibility devices. I bet we can get you a pretty sweet powered dolly to roll around on." Agent Will smiled, hopeful that he'd won a little respect in Mimi's eyes.

Instead, Mimi sneered at him. "What? You think I can't get around on my own? You think I need your help? Screw you, G-man!"

Chione's face flushed red and she leapt up. She put her hands on her hips and glared down at Mimi. "Stop being so awful, Mimi! They're trying to help you, and yes, you do need help. You can barely drag yourself around without a dolly under you, and a powered one would be way better than what you had back at school."

Mimi rolled her eyes, still trying to act tough despite just getting thoroughly put in her place. "Fine, whatever. Chione, you win. I'll play nice… for you." She looked up at Agent Will and said, "Sign me up, G-man." She grabbed the top of her chest and started to close it. "Wake me up when you're done."

Agent Will put out a hand. "Hold on, Mimi. You have to fill out some of this yourself." He reached down and lifted up a briefcase, then took out a stack of papers. He started to flip through the stack, then said, "Since you can speak Japanese, I assume you can write it too?"

Mimi reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, I can."

Chione smiled and called out, "Mimi's amazing! She knows like six languages!" Chione smiled proudly as she continued, "When I started learning Japanese, she learned it first, and then helped me."

Mimi blushed a little, embarrassed by the praise. "Yeah, yeah, I learn languages easily. Something to do with being a mimic…"

Agent Will placed about a dozen pages on a clipboard and handed it to Mimi. "Start filling in those. Yuisu and I both have some paperwork of our own to do, so you won't suffer alone." He smiled at Mimi, and Yuisu and Chione joined in, grinning at the mimic.

"Ugh, gag-warning! You guys are all too happy. It makes me want to puke." Mimi turned away, not wanting to look at their stupid smiling faces, but also hiding the fact that she was smiling too. She was secretly beyond happy to be here, to finally be free from that school and its awful teachers and strict rules. Now I'm free to do everything I want. This is gonna be fun…

It wasn't long before the other girls got a first-hand glimpse Mimi's idea of 'fun'. A delivery driver pulled up to the house and he carried a large box of stuff to the porch. Haru answered the door, startling the man when he saw her huge, white wings.

He blinked a few times in shock, then said, "Uh, I'm from Atlas Convenience Store. I've got a delivery for a 'Mimi'."

Haru scratched at her chin with one wing and said, "Uh, Mimi's not able to get to the door easily. Can someone else accept it?"

The man nodded. "So long as they pay, yeah. Oh, and I'm gonna need a signature and an ID since it contains tobacco."

"Alright," Haru said. "I'll be right back." As she started toward to kitchen to get Yuisu, she squinted her eyes and thought, Tobacco? I guess Mimi smokes?

Haru called out to Yuisu, who was at the stove, stirring a stew of some sort. "It's a delivery from your work for Mimi. Can you pay for it?"

Yuisu set the ladle aside and looked up. "Oh, sure. She musta wanted some snacks or something. At least the program will reimburse me." She started to take off her apron when Haru spoke up.

"Oh, and he said it has tobacco in it…"

Yuisu raised one eyebrow. "Really, now?" Mimi is only eighteen, and I know we told her that the drinking and smoking age is twenty here… She set her apron on the table, grabbed her purse, and jogged to the front door.

The man on the porch was a familiar face to Yuisu. He had spiky black hair and thick-rimmed glasses that really didn't go together, but he seemed determined to keep that style. Yuisu smiled and said, "Hey, Jun, how's it going?"

Jun's eyes went wide. "Yuisu? I didn't know you lived up here. And with a liminal even!"

Yuisu couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, more than one liminal, but that's a story for another time. I'm surprised I never told you about me being a host. I guess we don't chat very often at work."

Jun fidgeted and readjusted his grip on the large cardboard box. He said, "Uh, yeah, I guess we don't." His eyes drifted down to Yuisu's body, then his eyes flicked back up to her face and he blurted, "Uh, I've never seen you out of your work uniform! I like the outfit!"

Yuisu glanced down at her very plain green blouse and long grey skirt, then back up at Jun. "Uh, thanks? Anyways, you must be getting tired holding that." She opened her purse and said, "If you take out the cigarettes, what do I owe you?"

"Uh, about two thousand yen, I guess, but why are we taking them out?"

Yuisu closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "Mimi isn't actually old enough to buy those, and none of the other girls here smoke, so you'll have to return the tobacco. Sorry!" Yuisu gave a little apologetic bow.

"Other girls—?" Jun started, but he was cut off when Yuisu grabbed the box from his hands and set it down on the porch.

She dug through the box, which was full of the snacks and cigarettes she'd expected, along with a couple other things she hadn't. She handed the packs of cigarettes back to Jun, along with some cash. "Thanks, Jun. Seeya at work," she said as she turned around.

Jun mumbled an awkward reply, then fled to his car.

As Yuisu carried the box inside, she pondered what to lecture Mimi about first. What use would she have for all these condoms?