1.3

Cloudy with a chance of caniballism

It was a long and deep slumber, when Hiro finally woke up once again, he had no idea how much time had passed. And yet, here she was, the masked woman, still sitting there with a look most dutifully. Had she even moved at all, the young man wondered.

Not long after, Caron went in to check on him. It was mighty awkward but Hiro tried his best not to show it.

His fever seemed to have simmer down quite a bit and there was no longer any pain. The bandage looked slightly different though, it must had been changed again while he was deep asleep. Caron looked genuinely pleased with his advancement. She signaled him to try standing up.

This Hiro could do alright without support. This was when he noticed his pants were also different. Something did feel out of place, so this was it.

Stretching his back, the young man only felt a slight ache. Caron then directed him into a living room of sort. At this very moment, Hiro could feel as if he had gone back in time. The bedroom was rather sparse so there weren’t much to notice but here was different. To put it simply, there was no trace of anything that could be qualified as modern.

The only conspicuous element was another glass ball, hanging on the roof. That and the horrible fishy smell coming from an unburnt lantern.

In the room was Owain, who was overjoyed to see the young man up and about. He immediately gave Hiro a hug. Talked about lack of understanding for personal space. Owain was remined of that by an ‘Ahem’ coming from Caron.

Momo-chan: [This is just too fishy?]

Hiro: {Yep, I wonder what do they even use in those lanterns}

Momo-chan: [No, I mean these people!]

Hiro: {What wrong about them, Momo-chan?}

Momo-chan: [You really are sticking with that name…]

Hiro: {I was serious you know}

Momo-chan: [Oh well, what I was saying is, aren’t they a tad bit too nice]

Hiro: {And?}

Momo-chan: [And what! This is just too suspicious!}

Hiro: {Perhaps…}

Momo-chan: [And here you were, calling me naïve, you are even worse!]

Hiro: {That, or maybe I am better at judging people than you. Do you feel anything off about them?}

Momo-chan: [… Not really… Maybe you are right]

Hiro: {Or maybe you are the one who is right}

Momo-chan: [Wait, what side are you even on!]

Hiro: {None, we are still sick here in this strange place, under constant surveillance even. There isn’t much that we can do now. Don’t worry, I will keep an eye out for anything suspicious}

Momo-chan: […]

Hiro: {Why so silent all of the sudden, Momo-chan}

Momo-chan: [No, I thought you were going to tease me there…]

That hit quite close to home, Momo-chan was still him after all. While the young man was actually going to tease his tenant, he decided this wasn’t the time. They were in foreign land here, with too many unknowns. Hiro was filled with questions and uncertainty right now and so was the voice. And so, some reassurance would do better than just another joke.

Meanwhile, the overenthusiastic Owain seemed to be asking about something. The young man was pointing at something behind Hiro. He turned around to see the mask woman standing right there, just three steps behind him.

Suddenly seeing that cracking white mask wasn’t really great for one heart. Still, the young man managed to keep his cool… only on the outside.

Hiro: {AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!}

Momo-chan: [Yo…u are se…riously sc…ard of t…hat]

Hiro: {Your voice is shaking Momo-chan}

Momo-chan: [So after all these time I am still a scaredy-cat]

Hiro: {Unfortunately yes}

Put browning one pants aside, Hiro did notice something quite important. This masked woman was just as much a mystery to him as to the people here. Whether this information important or not was a whole other debate, she was the one assaulting him after all.

Owain suddenly left, remembering something. It wasn’t long before he returned with some new clothes for Hiro to change into. He then pointed the young man into a room nearby which turned out to be quite a spacious bathroom. Now this one was quite different from what he had expected.

The room only had a huge tub with four valves attached to it. All of them made of wood but were reinforced with what looked like steel outline and rivets. Also, underneath was two holes covered by a thin net. Owain then proceeded to stand there looking most giddy.

Momo-chan: [What is his deal, does that guy want to look at us taking a bath something]

Hiro: {I don’t think so}

Momo-chan: [Come on, looks at him!]

Momo-chan may had a point, the young man eyes were filled with anticipation… That just wrong! There must be an explanation for his behaviour.

Using 1000% of his brain, Hiro managed to figure out why. The young man pointed toward the valves with a puzzled look on his face. At that moment, Owain bursted into action. In the end, he just wanted to show him how this worked. He could have just told Hiro anyway but there was a chance the young man already knew.

Owain put on his most professor-ish look and turned all the valve one by one. The first let water in through one of the holes. The second could somehow change the temperature. Hiro couldn’t seem to figure how this work. Another valve seemed to use both holes at once to refresh the water in the tub. Finally, the last one was of course to drain the thing. After the overly lengthy explanation that Hiro could barely understand, Owain finally left to do for the young man to do his thing… That sounded wrong…

Momo-chan: [To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a hot bath right now]

Momo-chan was starting to take advantage of the hospitable nature of their host. Those two may be cannibals or not Hiro can’t really care. He was exhausted, still sick and this was just what the doctor ordered, if there was one here. Or maybe Caron was one, in the tub were small bags filled with herbs of sort, it smelled rather soothing.

Momo-chan: [What do you think that is for?]

Hiro: {Dunno, maybe it is to soften our meat?}

Momo-chan: [I truly hope that isn’t the case]

Hiro: {Hmmmm}

Momo-chan: [What’s wrong?]

Hiro: {No, I just feel like we are forgetting something very important}

Momo-chan: [… Actually, I feel the same way as well]

The two started trying to remember what. Being naturally smart, it didn’t take them too long. Hiro turned around, both him and Momo-chan were filled with dread.

Despite preparing this time, the sudden appearance of that cracked white mask still made their heart skips a beat. It was the woman in komon, still there, three steps behind, her weapon in hand.

“Um… can you wait outside…”

Hiro just blurted it out but to his surprise, the woman actually left! This suddenly sparked an idea in the young man mind “Wait, come back!” He called out and she actually complied.

Momo-chan: [What are you doing!]

Hiro: {I want to try out something}

“Um… look up” He said and the woman did exactly that.

“Look right” “Raise one hand” “Put it back down” Three simple requests all fulfilled.

Momo-chan: [What is she doing, what are YOU doing]

Hiro: {I was just thinking about her mask. It maybe some sort of brainwashing device}

Momo-chan: [Why do you think so?]

Hiro: {It is just a hunch… Well, she was attacking us, trying to kill us even earlier. But now, her motive seems completely different. The only changes are that the halo is gone and there is a crack on her mask}

Momo-chan: [Because of that! Then why is she following your order if her mask is broken, that doesn’t make much sense]

Hiro did have an answer, more like a speculation. Perhaps it was something related to tethering, like how some animal picks the first thing it sees as its mother. But the young man found himself quite taken aback by the word ‘order’. He would much prefer ‘request’, the other expression just made him mighty uncomfortable. Momo-chan noticed his silence.

Momo-chan: [Besides, those were too simple, if you ask someone from the street, they may actually do that. Just telling her to raise her hand doesn’t prove much]

He… did have a point. Maybe Hiro should try something a bit more complicated. But still, the word ‘order’ still lingered in his mind like a tumour, refusing to go away.

“Do a backflip, perhaps…”

That was more thinking out loud than an actual ord… suggestion. But the woman complied and actually did a backflip anyway. How she managed that while still somehow looking graceful was a whole different problem.

Momo-chan: [What the!] Hiro: {What the!}

Both Hiro and Momo-chan were of course, surprised by this event. Now the idea about brainwashing did seem more plausible. The voice still tried to resist, to think of another explanation, however.

Momo-chan: [That still doesn’t prove anything!]

Hiro: {Then gives me a suggestion then, something for her to do}

Momo-chan: [Umm…]

Hiro: {Come one}

Momo-chan: [Ahhh…]

Hiro: {Gives me something, Momo-chan}

Momo-chan: [Strip?]

Hiro: {…}

Momo-chan: […]

Hiro: {I’m not bothered by that, just disappointed}

If the voice had a body, he would be hanging his head so low that the floor could feel less lonely. Hiro was baffled by the suggestion. From personal experience, he knew that the younger him wasn’t someone who would say that… he hoped. So for Momo-chan to be pushed so far, enough for him to blurt out something like that.

Hiro: {What’s wrong, why are you so against this hypothesis?}

Momo-chan: [I did think about it of course, we are still the same after all. But I just can’t accept that]

Hiro: {And why is that, Hanazawa Momo-chan}

Momo-chan: [Why are you calling me by my full name and is that seriously my full name now!]

Hiro: {Yep!}

Defeated, the voice decided to speak what is on his mind [Well, it’s just wrong. Not the brainwashing itself but the fact that she is listening to us for some reason. For a woman like her to follow our order, that’s just too wrong!]

Hiro: {And yet you are the one who suggested stripping}

Momo-chan: [That was just a slip the tongue!]

Hiro: {You don’t even have a tongue}

Momo-chan: [And that was just an idiom, a way of saying!]

So Momo-chan felt the same way he did. This was indeed something Hiro found great discomfort in. The short sleeve and lack of colours even implied that the woman was married, this only made this situation even worse. Others may see an opportunity, Hiro only see disrespect and predatory.

But still, the fact that the woman responded to his ‘requests’ means that she underood him. And so Hiro and Momo-chan spent a long time trying to communicate to no avail.

The woman would react to ‘requests’ related to doing something, but not when it was about communication. She wouldn’t budge when they asked her to write something in the air, or even nodding her head unless asked specifically to do so. No form of sign language would also work.

If the woman was truly brainwashed then this might seem like a failsafe of sort. So if anything ever happened, she wouldn’t be able to divulge any information.

The one-sided interaction made Hiro and Momo-chan even more uncomfortable. The fever didn’t help, after some time, they were both exhausted. Maybe they should actually take a bath now, in the bathroom.

Hiro removed the bandage and his pants, luckily, he was still wearing a pair of shorts inside. This was still a stranger house so the young man felt too vulnerable to go fully naked. Owain did turn on the water before. There was actually another hole near the top so the water didn’t overflow. Hiro still felt slightly awkward, however. Wonder if people here pay water bill or not, he thought.

Taking a deep breath, the young man stepped in and at that moment, nothing seemed to matter. This was truly heavenly on his weary body.

Momo-chan: [This is the life, ahhhh] Hiro: {This is the life, ahhhh}

Hiro: {Why do you sound like an old man?} Momo-chan: [Why do you sound like an old man?]

Momo-chan: […] Hiro: {…}

They were still one person after all. And so they both forgot something important.

Hiro: {She is still behind us, right?} Momo-chan: [She is still behind us, right?]

Hiro turned around and there the woman was really there, folding his discarded clothing in a neat pile. So, she still retains some sort of self-control.

Momo-chan: [Should we call her something, just saying ‘she’ all the time sound… wait]

Momo-chan remembered last night, or the night they could last remember. Hiro did think up a name after all. Although why he would do something like that is… Actually, the young man couldn’t remember exactly why. He was exhausted in both body and mind. Whatever it was and why, it was useful.

Hiro: {How about Suiren}