Volume 15 - Back to Business, Chapter 108 - Recognition

Keen harpy eyes peered through the open front door and blinked in surprise. Haru could hardly process she was seeing. Vibrant colors from green to purple assaulted her eyes as she took in what appeared to be the biggest bouquet she'd ever seen.

"Uh, Yuisu?" Haru called out as she stared at the mass of dozens of large flowers. "There's some sort of crazy flower basket on the porch."

Yuisu was busy in the kitchen cooking dinner so she replied, "Okay, bring it in then." As she flipped a hamburger patty, she briefly wondered who the delivery could be for. Maybe one of the guests? We do have five people out in the cabins right now.

Haru popped her head around the corner. "No, I don't think you understand. This thing is huge," she said while holding her white wings at maximum width for emphasis. "There's no way I can get it inside on my own, and there's nowhere to put it, except maybe for the guest room."

Yuisu raised an eyebrow at that, but then she shook her head and said, "I guess it can wait 'til I finish cooking. It's not like the flowers are going anywhere."

"Hello? I can hear you, you know!" an unfamiliar voice said from the still-open front door.

Haru and Yuisu shared a puzzled glance, then Yuisu turned off the stove and started for the door.

"Uh, Hello? Welcome to the Mountain Lily Inn," Yuisu said as she entered the front room, though she had no idea who she was saying it to.

The 'crazy flower basket', as Haru had described it, turned around and revealed its true form: a humanoid figure sitting inside a massive flower. She was clearly female, and she appeared to be an alraune, a somewhat uncommon flower liminal species.

She had light green skin and darker green hair with numerous living flowers scattered throughout. She wore a leaf-like bikini top and a ruffled translucent skirt that was somewhere between a ballerina's tutu and a raver's micro-skirt. Below that, her thighs disappeared into a massive purple flower in full bloom. The flower had dozens of foot-long petals and it stood on a sturdy bundle of vine-like roots that moved and wriggled with life.

"Ugh, finally," the alraune woman said with a whiny tone, "After my cab driver drove off without waiting for me to get inside, I was worried no one would ever come for me."

Yuisu frowned in concern. "Your driver left you? That wasn't very nice." Her thoughts went to how Mara had been abandoned in the snow back when she'd arrived. I really thought the local taxi companies had improved since then…

"I know!" the woman proclaimed. "She was so sexy too. I would have let that beautiful butterfly have my sweet nectar any day."

Butterfly? Yuisu was too deep in thought to notice the lewd innuendo. Oh, her driver must have been Flare, she realized. But would Flare just leave someone like that?

The flower-woman continued, "I made it clear too. I tried to woo her on the entire cab ride up, but she rejected me and then left in a hurry. How rude." While the alraune was definitely acting upset, she didn't actually seem that bothered by the situation.

Things finally started to make sense to Yuisu. Flare was straight, so having a lesbian woman hitting on her during the entire drive would have been beyond uncomfortable. Yuisu waved a beckoning hand and said, "I'll have a word with the cab company. For now, come on inside."

The alraune smiled at that, making her face quite pretty. She started to move into the entry room, using her many vines to walk smoothly.

"So, how long will you be staying here at the inn?" Yuisu asked in a soft, welcoming tone. Haru liked to refer to it as 'Yuisu's innkeeper voice'.

The woman put a finger to her lip, thought deeply for a moment, then said, "Uh, I guess at least a year? That's how long this exchange program thing is supposed to take, right?"

"Huh…? Oh!" Yuisu blurted. She was so used to welcoming inn guests that she hadn't considered the possibility of a new homestay. "Of course. I'm Yuisu, and I'm the Exchange Program host here. What's your name?"

The woman shook Yuisu's offered hand and said, "Aluru. Such a pretty name, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah, very pretty," Yuisu answered distractedly, already planning how she was going to chew out Agent Will over yet another unannounced homestay. "Uh, would you happen to have your Exchange Program paperwork on you?"

"Oh, yes. I think it's in this big package that Agent Will asked me to give you." She pivoted back to the porch where her luggage was piled and grabbed a large cardboard box that had a basket of flowers strapped onto the top. Compared to Aluru, the flower basket looked tiny and unimpressive, even though the arrangement was actually quite nice.

A preemptive apology from Agent Will? Yuisu wondered. She took the box and set it aside on the front desk. Then she turned to Haru, who had been watching everything with a look of mild bemusement, and said, "Can you show Aluru to her room? The corner one, next to Chione's."

"Sure thing, honey," Haru replied. With the way she put extra emphasis on the pet name, it seemed she was already wary of Aluru's flirtatious ways. Haru wanted to make it clear that Yuisu was taken.

While Aluru got unpacked, Yuisu finished her cooking. She wasn't sure what Aluru liked, but she already had most bases covered with both vegetarian and carnivorous options. Once everything was ready, she called all the girls in for dinner. Everyone was excited to meet the new arrival, so the box and flowers from Agent Will were quickly forgotten.

"So, Aluru, I assume you're new to Japan?" Tsuen asked between bites of her salad. She knew how hard the transition from other countries could be, so she wanted to be very welcoming to her new housemate.

Aluru waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, no. I've been in Japan my whole life. Being around humans is pretty new though."

Mara stood up on her chair and leaned closer. "Ooh! So where were you hiding out, then?"

Aluru glanced side to side in a conspiratorial manner, then leaned over and whispered, "I'm not supposed to talk about it, but we'll just say it's a hidden forest that's filled with liminals."

"Really?" Haru questioned. She knew there were hidden liminal places all over the world, but the existence of one inside a country as heavily-populated as Japan was hard to believe.

Aluru placed a hand on her chest, as if shocked that someone could doubt her words. "Of course. Where do you think all those Japanese-fluent insect liminals like my cab driver all came from?"

Chione was still a bit groggy from just waking up, but that got through to her. "Oh, your driver was Flare? She's a friend of mine."

Aluru nodded and smiled. "Oh, yes. She was so beautiful, and she reminded me of the girls back home."

Haru set down her glass of water, then said, "Just so you know, Flare is straight and she probably didn't appreciate being hit on while she was trying to work."

"Aww." Aluru literally wilted, her hair and petals drooping slightly. Then she smiled, returned to her lively state, and said, "At least I tried. You can't land the shots you don't take."

Then Aluru cast a flirtatious gaze around the table of women and added, "On that note, I heard you're all lesbian? Anyone like what they see?" She puffed out her chest and ran a hand through her long, wavy hair. There was no denying that she was gorgeous, but everyone was hesitant to respond.

Yuisu loudly cleared her throat, then said, "Uh, everyone here's in a relationship."

Aluru's magenta eyes went wide. "Ooh, a polyamorous household? That's a new one for me, but I can totally get on board with it."

Tsuen spit out her drink in surprise, Mara burst into laughter, Haru suppressed a giggle, and Chione went red in the face.

Yuisu blushed nearly as hard and sputtered a clarification, "N-no, th-that's not what I meant! I just meant we all have girlfriends."

The rest of dinner was filled with questions for Aluru and her flirty replies. The fact that the other women were in committed relationships didn't seem to matter to Aluru in the slightest. Everyone was fair game for silly innuendo and corny pickup lines. Mara in particular adored Aluru's antics.

Aluru mentioned that she loved water, so after dinner the girls made a point of showing her the hot spring. Yuisu stayed behind to clean up after dinner, giving the other girls a chance get to know each other.

As Yuisu finished loading the dishwasher, she remembered the flowers and box from Agent Will. "Oh right," she said to herself as she dried her hands and started for the front desk. "I wonder what that was for…"

The box was waiting where she'd put it, tied with twine to the pretty flower arrangement. First, Yuisu untied the basket from the top of the cardboard box. She looked the flowers over, but there didn't seem to be any tag or message tucked in there.

The flowers were mostly lilies, but there were also some red flowers she didn't recognize. She gave them a quick sniff, enjoying the sweet scent, then set the basket aside. On top of the box, where the basket had been, there was an envelope with her full name on it.

That doesn't look like Agent Will's handwriting, Yuisu thought as she carefully opened the envelope. Inside was a very formal letter, complete with gold leaf around the edge and three different signatures at the bottom.

Yuisu started to read it, but it didn't take long to figure out what the letter was. All of its formal and verbose language basically amounted to 'Thanks for your hard work and assistance in the graduation of two liminals from the Cultural Exchange Program.' It was signed by the director of the entire program, the regional director, and of course Agent Will.

"It's cool to be recognized as a good host, I guess," she muttered as she set the letter aside and looked at the curious cardboard box. The letter hadn't mentioned any reward for having a homestay graduate, let alone two, so she wasn't sure what could be inside the box.

Yuisu pried the cardboard flaps open and started digging. Aluru's paperwork was there, as expected. A single glance told her they were the same standard Exchange Program Homestay forms she'd seen nearly ten times before, so she set them aside to sign later.

Below that, there were a bunch of different objects which Yuisu set out on her desk to take inventory. The box contained over a dozen plastic bags of snacks and dried fruits, most of which were pretty exotic. With names like 'Serpent Fruit' on their labels, Yuisu guessed they were from liminal lands.

There was also a packet of vouchers that could be redeemed for air travel to a list of Cultural Exchange Program locations around the world, including ones inside secretive liminal homelands. Yuisu's first thought was of going to visit Haru's mom, but she figured that some of her homestays would like to go visit their own families, too.

The last item in the box was another letter. This was a far more casual affair, printed on regular printer paper and folded haphazardly into thirds. Yuisu sat down at the desk and started to read:

"Hey Yuisu. I'm sure you saw that other stuffy letter, but I wanted to address you little more personally, so here we are. You did great. Seriously. I know I've put you in some hard situations, but you've handled them amazingly. Not every host is cut out for the job, but you helped two homestays graduate even while hosting several more."

Yuisu paused to think back on how crazy it had been with all those liminal women in the house, especially after Pwess was born. From emotion-filled breakups to wild parties and vacations, Yuisu had managed a lot. I guess I really did do a good job, she thought, then she continued reading.

"I'll keep working on the political side of things. I know I teased you about marrying Haru, but gay marriages still aren't recognized by the government of Japan. I think we're making real progress though, so don't let that hinder your plans for the future."

Yuisu felt her cheeks growing hot at thoughts of getting married, of seeing Haru walking down the aisle in a beautiful dress, and of their first night as wife and wife…

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then read the last parts of the letter.

"Sorry I couldn't deliver this myself, but I'll be flying around the world on business for a while (and visiting a certain lady, if I'm lucky). I feel like there was something else I wanted to mention, but I can't think of it right now. I'll call if I remember."

Yuisu couldn't help but chuckle aloud at that. Maybe it's the brand-new homestay you dropped on me out of nowhere? she thought. That's so like him.

The letter ended with, "Thanks again, Yuisu, for all your great work as an Exchange Program host. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the future! — Agent Will"

Yuisu couldn't stay mad at that dork. With a smile on her face, she folded the letter back up and tucked it safely in a drawer in the desk. With the same level of care but a little less reverence, she stowed the formal Exchange Program letter there as well.

I guess I should make my rounds to the cabins while the girls are bathing. Then Yuisu sighed and thought, But I want to hang out with them too.

Yuisu stepped out onto the back porch, heading for the cabins, but she heard the faint laughter and conversation from the hot spring and her plans changed. Screw it. Work can wait, she thought as she stepped into the changing room and stripped down.

Yuisu emerged from the changing room with a towel wrapped around her body, making her the most clothed person there. Partially thanks to Aluru's flirty compliments and body confidence, even Chione and Tsuen were already comfortable baring it all in her presence.

Mara paddled over to the side of the spring and grinned up at Yuisu mischievously. "Come to ogle the new girl, eh, Yuri-su?" she teased.

Before Yuisu could defend herself, Aluru lifted her upper body out of the water, giving Yuisu a very clear view of her nude form. She smiled warmly and said, "You're welcome to look, Yuisu, but only if you show yours too."

As Yuisu floundered under the lewd taunts, Haru leaned back against the edge of the hot spring with her wings spread on the stones and her breasts bobbing at the water's surface. She thought about defending Yuisu, but she found the whole situation far too amusing. Instead, she just watched with a grin.

Yuisu blushed red for a moment, then finally chuckled and shook her head. "I'm just here to hang out," she said, then dropped her towel and dipped a toe in the steaming water. She had a high tolerance for heat, so it only took her a few seconds to step the rest of the way in.

Ignoring the gazes of the other women, Yuisu made her way to Haru's side and settled in, sitting on the submerged stone ledge. She elbowed her girlfriend and jokingly asked, "Why didn't you come to my defense?"

Haru winked and answered, "You know I like to watch you squirm."