2025-08-26: A Maiden in a Tower
- Log: A Maiden in a Tower
- Cast: Yua Ooshiro, Ayame Watanabe
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2025-08-26
- IC Date: Sunday, July 01 2012
- Summary: Ayame comes to thank Yua for protecting her husband, and Yua accidentally lets slip that her own King isn't a man at all. Luckily, Ayame knows about gay people!
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Where do you think a part-time teacher lives? Some dive in Hirasaka which is about all she can afford on a newbie's salary? Perhaps even... still with her parents?
Wrong, idiot. She lives in a fucking castle.
When Ayame comes up to the tower in Aoba -- the NICE part of Aoba -- it at first all seems normal. There are commercial enterprises in the first few levels, eateries and offices... including, she might note, a presently-closed dance studio. Above them, the mall becomes a residential block. There are elevators going up to the residential floors, all the way up to the ninth floor...
... and then, a direct elevator up to the tenth.
Penthouse access.
She needs to press a little button to ask security to let her up, since she doesn't have a keycard swipe; luckily, that's a reasonably painless process, because of course they have to arrange to be able to receive packages. The hallway which Ayame steps into, though, is a foyer with only one door... a door with a lovely decorated sign declaring it to be the home of Miho Ijuuin and Yua Ooshiro.
There is a doorbell and the terrible feeling she's being monitored, here in the foyer, to make sure she doesn't steal anything from the 'front porch'.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame Watanabe has a full list of things to do at the moment. One of them has to wait; this does not. She's in a summery dress with flats, an ordinary enough woman to look at her. She has a purse! It doesn't have a sword in it, yet. That may change in the near future.
Not today, though.
She is pretty good at going places, and the nice part of Aoba may not be where she usually goes, but a lot of things can be handled just by being pleasant and nice.
She presses the button.
And in the hallway...
Ring! She isn't doing anything wrong so there's no reason to fear the scrutiny, right?
She rings the dorobell, of course. "...Ooshiro-san?" Ayame wonders at the door, tilting her head.
This is all kind of a surprise... Though it would be less of one, if she'd talked to Ikkaku first. He does know she has a driver.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Ding-dong!
Earlier in the day, Yua wouldn't have been home to receive Ayame -- now, luckily, she is. But it isn't Yua who receives her, when she rings the doorbell, but a different blue-haired young woman... though Eiko Ikeda keeps her blue hair short, to better facilitate her work as a maid.
"Good afternoon," Eiko smiles, pleasantly, as she opens the door. The entrance hall which spreads out behind her is elegantly-decorated, with lovely house plants dotted around the brutalist decorations. "You are here for Ooshiro-san?"
Further out, past an arch, there's the loungeroom -- with a real leather couch and chairs, a sizable television, and clear glass tables. (They're absolutely wretched to keep clean.) There are more houseplants here, of course. And...
"Eiko-san?"
A ballerina steps out, into that arch, holding a watering-can and clad with thick gardening gloves. "Is someone there...? Oh!"
Yua -- still dressed in a leotard, despite the fact that she's at home, hair all tucked up nice and neat in a bun, looking for all the world as pretty as a picture -- gasps, when she sees Ayame standing in the entryway. "Ooshiro-san?" Eiko asks, with light concern. "Is something the matter...?"
"No-- no, of course not," Yua hurries to assure her, shaking her head. "Please, um, welcome Mrs. Watanabe in, I'll be out in just a moment..."
"Yes," Eiko bows, lightly, before she turns to Ayame with a smile. "Please, come in. Here are some slippers for you, Watanabe-san." There is a chair by the door to help her slip her shoes off, of course; Eiko fetches a new pair of disposable house slippers from the cupboard beside it, to place down on for her.
She's led to the loungeroom; she is provided with some nice black tea. In the loungeroom, Ayame can see around the house more -- into an expansive kitchen, beyond another arch, and a sizable deck outside where Yua can be seen putting her gardening materials away and washing her hands.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
At some other point in the day Ayame has an important conversation with her sister! But that is then. This is now.
"Hello!" Ayame greets Eiko, and though she is also surprised to meet a maid she--no, she definitely shows it. Her bright eyes widen slightly; she smiles because she's not entirely sure what else to do. And the ballerina steps out--
Ayame waits for the two to finish talking to each other, and then Ayame is allowed in!
"Thank you," Ayame answers, switching her shoes for the slippers. She lets herself be led further, and glances a little around the apartment; garden materials...
That might be something to talk about. Not that Ayame is likely to run out of those, given the reason that she came here.
"Thank you for the tea," she says, and waits.
Internally, she's vibrating in place. Externally, she's calm and cheerful.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
After a few moments, the glass door slides open, and Yua -- alongside an absolutely MASSIVE unit of an orange cat -- steps inside. "S-sorry to keep you waiting!" She says, as she hastens inside to sit on another of the leather couches, as if she were imposing on Ayame. And -- "Ah," Yua says, as Eiko, with surgical precision, places a cup of tea in front of her, as well. How is she so fast with things like that?! "Thank you very much!" She smiles up to the maid, as she straightens up.
"Please call if you need me," Eiko nods, smiling back to her, before she disappears elsewhere in the house.
Tiger, meanwhile -- of course the massive orange cat is called Tiger -- leaps up onto Yua's lap, filling out the chair cushion much more than her small frame possibly could. He doesn't so much as sit on her lap as drape over it.
There's a moment of silence, punctuated only by the swaying tick-tock of a grandfather clock.
"Um..." Yua starts, looking down at her cat. And --
She bows her head and shoulders, sharply, as she blurts out: "I'm very sorry for wrecking your home! I promise I didn't do anything with your husband I really only wanted to help but I wasn't thinking at all! Please forgive me for being so thoughtless--!!"
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Cat! Ayame looks first to Yua, of course, because she is not obsessed with cats, and shakes her head. "Not at all," Ayame answers as to waiting. But then she smiles at Eiko again. She disappears, and...
There is silence. Ayame considers commenting on the adorable, huge cat before her, but it's awkward for her too. Maybe she can add that in later. But for now...
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
"Oh--" Ayame's eyes widen in alarm at Yua's sudden apology and outburst. "No, no," she insists. "You did nothing wrong! You really did help..."
"I came to thank you," Ayame says, "Not to chastise you. ...And to apologize."
"I only thought... you're so beautiful, and a dancer, and he'd been avoiding me..."
"But I was only projecting my insecurities. I feel terrible for doubting him--and you, who've been nothing but kind and nice and brave."
"...So thank you, for trying to protect him. And I'm sorry, for jumping to conclusions."
Ayame sets down her tea and bows her head and shoulders in return.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
To -- thank her???
Yua makes a confused little noise, as she looks up to Ayame. "Really, it's all right," Yua assures her, burying her hands in Tiger's thick fur as she focuses on petting him to try and keep her mind off the horrors. "It... it didn't even occur to me at all..."
She sighs, looking down at her cat as he blinks up at her. Oh, Tiger is full of wisdoms. "I only thought, seeing him stay late so often... it must be hard for you. I... I make dinner every night, but sometimes my King doesn't get home until nine, and even if I keep it warm the sauce congeals and..." and it's not about the food, not really, not judging by the loneliness in her own voice as she talks about trying to keep dinner until her -- man? -- gets home.
(Wait a second, doesn't the other person who lives here have a woman's name?)
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame is assured, but she hears the way it didn't occur to Yua. "Of course," she says. "You're happily..." Something. Married? ...Kept? Is this some kind of sugar daddy situation!?
Well, it's not her business.
"You were right," Ayame answers instead of dwelling on that. "I miss him when he's not home. And I do keep the house..." A pause. "I understand," she says. "But so do you, don't you? It's the same for both of us."
"I really was unkind to you," she sighs. "When you were only thinking of me. ...That day you sent him home early, it did help," Ayame assures Yua. "I haven't had a chance to spend much time with him since... what happened," she says delicately, "But we're making plans, and we're going to make a point of it."
She bites her lip. She wants to say something that helps...
"Your cat is also beautiful," Ayame says. "My son wants a pet. ...They're no substitute for the one you love, but there seems to be something to the idea," she ventures.
"...He was getting home that late too," Ayame admits of Ikkaku then. "And by that point, he was tired, I was tired, the children were in bed or near to it..."
"Ah, it doesn't leave much time for... togetherness, you understand. And I think you really do."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Oh, Yua is assuredly kept.
But she's taken, too.
"It is," she agrees, softly. And... she was unkind, but... "I understand," Yua assures her, softly. "People talk about jealousy like this terrible thing, but it's really an understandable emotion... I've also had times where I've felt I really couldn't measure up to what my loved ones were used to." ... she's a lovely thing, but she doesn't really carry herself like someone who belongs in these kinds of riches.
She's not exactly pale as the Empress.
Yua smiles, and leans forward to reach out and take her tea, lifting it back to herself. (It is visibly milky-white, and less-visibly very sweetened. Yua can't stand bitter things.) "I'm glad you've been able to make plans," she says. "And -- ah, you like him? This is Tiger! He's our baby boy!"
She sighs, though, and takes a sip of tea. "Yeah," she says, a touch sadder. "I... I really do. M--my King, um," she stumbles over Miho's name, at least trying to keep things hidden, "with those late meetings, and, expectations... it's a lot of pressure, at the firm, you know. Luckily, it's not like it's every night, but... I can imagine how hard it would be, if it was."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
When Yua says that she understands, Ayame is relieved. "...Yes," Ayame answers. "It's only..." No, Yua doesn't feel like she is used to these things, not to Ayame. "Even if I didn't really have anything to be jealous of, I didn't understand why he was so distant... And I thought, if he wasn't getting what he needed from me, then maybe he was looking somewhere else."
But Ayame takes her tea back, too--she likes it bitter. She takes a sip. "Thank you," Ayame says. "I thought he was going to take more time off, but the school is acting as if everything is already fine... So they wanted him back immediately."
Tiger!! Ayame smiles. "I do like him. He's gorgeous. And so big! I didn't know cats became that big."
Her King... "Ohh... Yes, a high-powered job like at a firm, that would be difficult," she says. "It's lonely without him, isn't it? Especially in an apartment this big." 'Him', Ayame assumes, of course. "Well, it would be lonelier if we didn't have them at all, I suppose..."
"It's so nice that you can keep a lovely home like this and do your work outside, too. That must take a lot of energy! I certainly hope he appreciates that."
A laugh, then. "But looking at this cat... of course you don't prefer lions," she says, pleased. "You're clearly fonder of tigers!"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"He said he wanted to secure the promotion so you wouldn't need to move away from Sumaru," Yua explains, "since he, um, usually transfers schools every so often...? Well, I suppose if he had a more stable position, he'd focus on that... and he thought you'd be happier that way, too." There's a certain way Yua presumes Ikkaku likes moving schools every few years instead of being compelled to which might scan a little strangely, but it's an easy enough line to dismiss.
The tea is made black, but of course there's a little pot of tea and sugar cubes if that's not how Ayame likes it. Eiko might not be a mind-reader, but she is prepared.
"Yeah," Yua sighs, looking down at her own, sweeter tea. "They told me nothing happened, too. It troubles me to lie to the children who were wrapped up in it, but... I've little choice." And there is a certain aspect to this, too -- the way her eyeshadow-painted eyelid closes gently over her one visible eye, the futility in her voice, the resignation -- which carries with it horrific portents.
As if she's used to having little choice.
She brightens, a moment later, to speak of Tiger. "He's a Norwegian Forest Cat!" Yua boasts, warmly. "When I first met him, I was stunned... but he's really just lovely!"
'Him,' though. Yua sighs. Maybe... Miho was right, and they couldn't really tell, and...
Maybe this is for the best.
"A business firm, yes," Yua nods, looking down at her tea. "Reports, negotiations... I've seen the work, in the study, sometimes, but I really can't get my head around it." Of course Yua can also use the computer in Miho's study. Why couldn't she?
She smiles, though, when Ayame notices her work. "Thank you," she says, quietly pleased. "Though it's all thanks to Eiko-san, really... without her help, I'd be run ragged working and keeping the home both at once. But... when I was young, the thing I most wanted to do was prepare dinner each night for my King to come home to, and lunch to eat every day... that was my dream."
She laughs, though it's a touch shallow. "Aheheh... yes, you're quite right," she smiles, giving Tiger a scratch behind the years. "That's why I'd say such a thing!"
It's a lie, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"...That's very kind," Ayame says. "He knows I don't like moving around as much these days. I want to settle somewhere, get a nice house for the children. Getting to know new people is nice, but it's hard on them to have to stop and make new friends--especially now that Tohka-chan will be in middle school soon..."
"But yes, he does transfer usually. The school districts like to ensure an 'even quality of education'," Ayame explains.
Little choice...? Ayame frowns. "Is your position precarious then?" she wonders. "I suppose as a part-timer you have to toe the party line harder than otherwise..."
But Tiger! "He's wonderful," she says. "And he looks so warm!"
But a business firm. Ayame sips her tea. "Ahhh," Ayame answers. "I see. Ikkaku's work... Well, I understand some of it, because I used to study maths, but most of what I see it lately is when Tohka-chan takes his spare worksheets and plays teacher."
She smiles back. "Oh, so? That's lucky! Having such a reliable person around to help." Ayame wonders how much easier her life would be with a maid. ...Well, it's fine. "That's wonderful," she says. "For me... It was spending time with my family. My parents were always so focused on achievement that I thought I would make sure my own children knew I loved them."
A shallow laugh. Ayame tilts her head. Danger, danger!
"Oh, don't worry about it," she suggests instead. "I shouldn't reference the things that disgusting man said in any case. Really!"
A softer smile then. "...But if it happens again... Let me protect you, instead, all right? I have that ability now. And you've been so good to my family."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Oh -- yes, of course," Yua agrees, a touch too quickly, when Ayame invokes the school districts. (This is something she should know, she thinks, with alarm.)
Ayame asks if her position is precarious, though, and Yua's smile is, at least. "I'm... new to my position," she explains, hoping it's reasonable cover, "and my program, to help engage children at risk of school refusal, ah, it's the kind of thing which many people support in theory, but... practically, there aren't many teachers who are eager to, um, 'waste' effort on, 'difficult' youth. So, you see... I need to keep everyone happy... particularly as I work across several campuses."
It's even at least tangential to the truth. Yua does have a lot of people to keep happy, in her line of work.
"Oh... it's like that?" Yua asks, sympathetically, when Ayame brings up her family's focus on achievement. "I'm sorry to hear... but I'm sure you're wonderful to your family. Mm, you know, I want to have one of my own..." ... is she even married, yet, though? There were two last names, on that plaque.
Yua laughs off the danger, though, grateful that Ayame's deflecting it away. "He was really quite awful," she agrees, her voice a touch wan.
Still... Ayame wants to... protect her.
"You're a kind woman," Yua says, looking down at her teacup and Tiger rather than meeting her eyes. "I'm sure you'll protect many people who aren't in a position to protect themselves."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame surely doesn't suspect! ...Well, maybe a little. But it's harmless, right?
"Ahhh," Ayame answers. "I see. Yes, that would make it difficult... Well, I don't love the coverups," she admits. No 'but'. "But I think that your idea is a good one. Many of these youth just need someone to show that she cares about them. That goes a long way."
But it's like that. "Thank you," Ayame says. "I won't burden you with all the details... But I've wanted a family from a young age, too." A pause. "That would be wonderful! If you need any tips, let me know!" A laugh. "Though I'm sure you and your King already have at least part of it covered..."
He was awful. Ayame won't make Yua focus on him too much more.
Instead, she says, "I've been protected a lot, in my life. ...But the 'weak' me..."
"Well, I want to look to the future." A smile. "I shouldn't keep you too busy, of course. But... thank you. You've been very kind."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"... I wish that was all it took," Yua says, looking really quite downcast, for a moment. (She's thinking of Shinjiro, and the cruel fate she thinks he shares.) "But... but surely I'm able to help some of them, at least..?"
Yua's face flushes, when Ayame supposes that they have part of it covered. "It's um -- it's a little more complicated, in our case, but -- b-but I'm sure everything will work out!" Perhaps she's the sort of woman to have difficult pregnancies; she is very small and slight, so it's not difficult to imagine them going wrong, for her.
She shakes her head. "You're not keeping me busy at all," she assures her. "It's nice to have company over... we don't get many visitors, up here." Like a maiden, locked up in a tower to keep her safe... "I'm really glad I was able to help, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"You really care about your students," Ayame notes. "That's very good. I'm sure you help a lot of them. ...But even if it were only one student... that would be worth it. I think so, at least."
Ayame tries not to laugh at the flush--but then nods. "Ahhh, I see. Well, good luck in any case. It really is very rewarding, even if you'll find yourself very sick in the first little while. Just hang onto your hopes. That goes a long way."
But... it's nice to be assured. "Then I can at least finish my tea," Ayame allows, conscious that she doesn't want to impose...
But it does worry her, a little. A maiden in a tower, dreaming of her King coming home...
"You were. You really were."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"I think so, too," Yua nods. "And... I do care for their wellbeing. I care very much. I promise I do." Why would she need to promise something like that...?
Ayame tells her she'll get sick, though, and Yua chuckles. "Ahaha... the morning sickness, right? I remember mom having problems like that... and how they sent her home with one of those strange little straps to inflate around her arm..." She's talking about a blood pressure cuff, which means she's talking pre-eclampsia, which would certainly explain why it's more complicated.
"But... my hopes... you know, sometimes they feel very delicate, but... no matter how hard it is, I want to give her an heir." Yua relates it quietly, and doesn't entirely realise that she accidentally used a pronoun, there.
At least she was able to help...
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"I believe you," Ayame says freely, because apparently it's important to Yua.
"Yes!" Ayame answers brightly. "Usually clears right up for me after the first trimester, though. I've done it a few times, so..." She has good advice! Though that reminds her of what she discussed with Shinobu, and Ayame looks distant for a moment, recalling... that time.
A shake of her head. "Ohhh, I see. Yes, there are some difficulties you can have... I'm sure your doctor will go over it all with you."
Her hopes, and... Ah. Her. Ayame is pretty good at missing cues, but that one is a big neon sign, even to her. Ayame opens her mouth and closes it--and then smiles.
"I imagine that would complicate matters too," she says gently. "But I hope you can. ...I had it easy. A little... too easy, actually," she admits with slight embarrassment. "But I hope you get your chance."
Gaaaaaaaaay. Ayame knows this one!!
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"At least it's only for a little while," Yua smiles, when Ayame reassures her about the transience of sickness. "Not that I mind all that much -- it's what I want, after all..."
Miho can't bear to have her body change in that way; it's what Yua can do for her, to give her a family and allow her to keep her physique.
Still... her doctor... "Mm," Yua nods, quietly.
"... ah?" She asks, when Ayame sympathises with her. "You mean -- with the medical troubles?" It takes her a moment to think back and process, and -- "O-oh, I mean, no, it's not like that! I, I misspoke! I didn't mean--!!"
Tiger, feeling Yua shift as she panics, straightens up to bat her face with a paw. Does she mind. He's trying to nap.
"Oh..." Yua sighs, sinking back down in her chair, reaching over to put her tea down before something terrible happens to it. "I guess you won't believe that, will you...?"
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"Yes," Ayame answers warmly. "Mm. I at least think those things are worth it--and some of them are good, instead of bad." Still--the medical troubles, but also...
"I can pretend, if you'd rather," Ayame says softly. "But really, it's all right. I don't think any less of you or anything--though... it makes a little clearer why my assumptions were completely wrongheaded," she admits.
Ayame knows gay; 'bi' is not as familiar to her.
Tiger bats! It's very cute.
"I won't tell anyone," Ayame assures Yua. "But I wish the two of you well. I..." She considers. "I have a friend," she says instead, "He prefers men. The neighborhood keeps trying to set him up with nice young women, but he can't exactly explain why he doesn't want that..."
"So it's not unknown to me. I understand why you'd keep it to yourself."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua's quite red, quite mortified, thought at least being stunned into silence gives Ayame plenty of opportunity to explain. She looks quite surprised to hear that explanation, though. "Oh, you... really don't mind...?"
She glances down, covering her lips with a hand. "Mimi and I have been together since we were in high school," she explains, softly. "We want to get married... we want to have a family together. She... she's my King, it's just... convenient people think a certain way, when they hear that."
Yua reaches down, to scoop up Tiger and give him a hug. (He dutifully endures her affection.) "I don't think of men that way at all," she says, burying her face in his fur. "I didn't even think about what it looked like... I mean, I tried dating one boy and realised it really wasn't what I wanted, you know? Not that he was unkind, just..." She sighs, lowering Tiger back to her lap as she looks down to him. "Mimi and I are meant for each other. Even though we come from very different worlds... even though there's no way for us to be together. It's not that it's impossible -- you know, with IVF, we could do it -- but they think I'm a single woman, since it's not legal for us to marry, and..."
Well, Ayame might be familiar with how unlikely it is a single woman would get any kind of reproductive support. Just a little.
"Well, she's trying to rise up the ranks at her company," Yua sighs, shoulders sinking. "And since I'm a teacher, there'd be questions about my moral character, the children's safety... we still need to work out how to navigate those problems. But I wanted to make her home a warm and welcoming place, for her, full of life and potential... that's really all I ever wanted."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame really doesn't mind. Quite the opposte; when Yua mentions how long they've been together, Ayame is surprised but kind of delighted. "That's so sweet," she says. "I never got to date in high school." A pause. They want to get married, have a family... "Mm. It's not right that you'll have so much trouble doing that," Ayame thinks.
Tiger is a very good cat, Ayame thinks too. "I see, yes. It was a surprise to me, when I first learned people really felt like that, not just... well, you hear about it, but you usually hear it's a phase or something. But no, it's not."
"I think it's admirable to chase your hopes, even when they're not what people expect." A pause, though. IVF, and... "mm, I see. I'm sorry to hear that..."
It's difficult.
"...I understand a little," Ayame admits. "I almost ended up an unwed, single mother myself. My Ikkaku saved me, by taking responsibility..."
"Well," Ayame says, "I at least can see the love you put into this home. I'm sure she does, too."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"I thought it wasn't for me," Yua says, of high school dating. "But then I met Mimi..." And here, she sighs, lovestruck. "I don't know why it's so unacceptable... I really love her so much!"
She smiles, sadly, hearing how Ayame heard about it. "They told me that, when I was at school," she says, a touch saddened. "That of course a wealthy girl like Mimi was just using me for 'practice'... but then, they said a lot of things." Judging by her tone, the things weren't kind.
Ayame thinks it's admirable, though, and Yua smiles at that. "Thank you," she says, softly. "Really..."
She shares some of her own troubles, though, and Yua frowns with concern as she hears about them. "That must have been frightening," she sympathises, with her, because of course all women know the terror of being left as a single mother in this society. "He's really a good man... I'm so glad you have each other!"
Because, of course, when Yua calls someone a good man, it's not with an eye to taking him.
Yua's smile brightens, when Ayame notices how warm their home is. "Thanks! I made sure the style's just what Mimi likes... but I've gotten really into plants over the last few months! I think they really add a lot! Even if this little gremlin," she lifts Tiger up, "always eats them when he's registering his displeasure." She pouts, at Tiger, putting on faux-offence. "You think I don't know, but I know!!"
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"My parents thought boys would be a distraction," Ayame explains. "...I suppose they weren't wrong." A pause. "But I don't see why it should be such a problem, either. It's not as if you're hurting anyone."
Oh no.
"Ugh. That's terrible. I'm sorry."
She smiles at that thanks, but... "It was," Ayame agrees. "I was terrified. My parents were no help. But he was." She smiles. "He really is. I feel bad for doubting him... But I'll make it up to him. Be sure of that!"
Of course, now that Ayame knows that, she's not threatened anymore at all. Yua is beautiful, but her beauty is for her King! It's all fine now.
"I adore plants," Ayame answers. A laugh. "Does he? That's something to keep in mind," she suspects. "I have a garden on our deck, too... Yours looks beautiful from here. Do you think I could have a look? If it's not an imposition!"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"That's right! I'm not!" Yua huffs, a little frustrated by it all. (A little?!) But her parents thought boys were a distraction...
And she's really quite nice, about how awful it was.
"It really sounds like your parents weren't reliable," Yua says, sympathetically, though she's trying not to speak out of turn just the same. "Or at least that they were a little too stubborn... I'm really very lucky that my parents have supported me. It must have been very scary to doubt whether he was still on your side, after something like that, too..."
Yua smiles, giving Tiger a scritch behind the ears. "I'm glad it's all clear to you now," she says. "He really loves you to bits! I bet he'll be happy to be made up, too!" She giggles, veiling her lips with her fingers... which aren't long and painted, now she's at home. How could that be?!
(The magic of fake nails: hiding lesbians for untold decades.)
But, indeed, Yua makes herself so pretty for the tastes of one particular woman; if the rest of the world thinks she's lovely, well, that's just a flattering side-effect. That's not to say Yua doesn't enjoy prettying herself up for her sake, too, of course... but she likes it when Miho looks at her with appreciation.
"Oh, yes, cats are a terror with plants! Yes you are, yes you are!" Yua says, booping Tiger on the nose to mark him as the criminal who has done crime. "If you ever get one, do take a moment to look up whether your plants are safe for cats... I was surprised to learn some of them can make them sick. But oh, yes, of course!" Yua shuffles Tiger off to one side of the chair, so that she can rise up off the the chair, a picture of grace only slightly impinged by all the cat hair. "Please, come on out! I've been working on the roses..."
Tragically, there's also a pool, up there on the roof.
How are they so rich.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame shouldn't say unkind things about her parents, but she doesn't argue too hard with Yua about it either. Instead, "Stubborn, I think. ...But that's wonderful. A supportive family is a great thing." She pauses. "It... was," she admits.
But it's all clear. Ayame smiles. "He always has. I actually chased him a little, when we were younger... Well, after we kept running into each other, that is." A pleased nod. "Oh, I'll make sure he's happy," she assures Yua.
But nails!! ...Ayame doesn't make the connection. She's still a little clueless.
Tiger is a CRIMINAL. "Oh, dear. I didn't know!" she answers. "But I'll keep that in mind." Maybe... Isamu will get a cat. That's like a puppy, right?
(No. Not really. But probably not, anyway.)
"Ah," Ayame says as they step out, "So pretty...!"
She does not comment on the pool.
...But dang these people are rich.