2025-11-11: Yua's Engagement
- Log: Yua's Engagement
- Cast: Yua Ooshiro, Miho Ijuuin and the Ijuuin Clan
- Where: Yumezaki - Kikuraku Private Lounge
- OOC Date: 2025-11-11
- IC Date: Thu, Aug 09 2012
- Summary: The Ijuuins get together to celebrate Miho's victory... and to receive an announcement from their patriarch, Miho's father. But when he decrees that Yua shall wed Miho's cousin, Inspector Kimitake Ijuuin, Yua is distraught -- and Miho has to anchor her back to cruel reality. Kimitake seems to be a kind man... but even if Yua's agreed to the solution, both she and Miho are unhappy, left to cope as well as they can.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
The Kikuraku Private Lounge is the richest suite which Kikuraku Resort, located in glitzy Yumezaki Ward, has to offer -- and given Kikuraku's wealthy clientele, that's saying something. Located across the entire top floor of their building, the Private Lounge is a place where the best of the best may be entertained without having to even glimpse the rabble below.
And servers are paid for their discretion as much as their quick attention.
Miho's family are all here to congratulate her -- and not just her immediate family; there are a few of her uncles, men closer to her father's age, and a handful of her cousins, too. (Some of them are around her age -- others are older; Miho is, after all, the baby of the main branch of the family.) Yua scarcely realises how these people were involved in the decision her new father had to make, though it is notable how many of the full dozen Ijuuins which have filled the hall in their flawlessly-tailored yukata are men.
(And it is notable that none of them seem particularly surprised to see Yua hiding behind Miho, in a way she thinks is subtle.)
Yua is in a fancy yukata of her own, of course, a feminine styling of morning glories laid across a white base and a teal obi to match her hair; it is a display of innocence and love, underlined with the language of a willful promise. Of course, it's seasonal to the new month, because Yua could never embarrass Miho by showing up in an unseasonal yukata. (Though, her shoes... still have generous ankle support rather than being traditional sandals.) She feels quite intimidated being met by so many members of Miho's family, all seemingly quite well-to-do; her tawny skin feels like it stands out even more, against all the pale nobility around her.
Luckily, they seat her between Miho and Natsumi, her new mother, who was more than happy to use her whip-sharp wit to make sure her daughter's dear partner didn't end up drowning during dinner. (As well as making sure anything she could drown in was non-alcoholic.) And dinner is lovely, of course; three courses of French-based cuisine, all Miho's favourites, and conversation focused more or less entirely on Miho's accomplishments. Almost to a man, they're surprised to see her home so early, but of course they were all willing to make some last-minute plans to come celebrate her victory. Not only did she bring them the Gold Medal, after all... she brought them two.
Everyone is very impressed with Miho, and Yua, who is just as impressed, can't help but be swept up into their excitement. By the time they've moved into the entertainer's lounge for canapes and conversation, she's almost relaxed! A songstress croons out a classic on stage, her dress glittering in the lights; Yua rests her hand on Miho's arm as they listen to Uncle Nagaharu praise Miho's choice in teammates, for the worth of a leader is in the warriors gathered about them. The way Yua smiles, she's actually been able to start relaxing. Surely this was a gathering for Miho, and she's pleased about that.
She had wondered, when they called her here, whether Takashi would tell her how she could be with Miho... and it had been kind of scary wondering about that when she'd seen everyone here, but...
... if this is for Miho, she's happy!
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Indeed, the Private Lounge is suitably glamorous. It is entertaining. ...And it is the place to be, for now. Miho's family are here, and that means her dear brother and more recently dear sister, and Miho is more aware that some of these people might have been involved in certain important decisions about her and Yua.
Her own yukata is a light gray, not quite white, with lavender patterns for the season--and to demonstrate her devotion and fidelity to her family, of course. Her obi is a rich green.
And her expression is mild, pleased but without unseemly overemotion.
Miho is appreciative of her mother, here. She can tell Yua feels intimidated, but if she dotes on her here, it'll only make matters worse. But Mother doing so...
The conversation was pleasant; Miho demurred on the matter of why she's home early, but how much she appreciated their celebration. Everyone is very impressed, and Miho may not have chosen all the teammates but they don't need to dwell on that.
Miho, too, has wondered about the same matter as Yua. But she is patient enough; it is not obvious that she is waiting. Still true, though.
And as the songstress sings, as Yua rests a hand on her arm...
Miho is a very gracious guest of honor.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Ah... am I interrupting?"
Kimitake Ijuuin is a man well put together, with dark green hair and deep brown eyes, in a perfectly dignified blue and silver men's yukata. (One might think, to look at it, that it matches Yua.) He is two inches shorter than Miho, though his features are as severe as his cousin's, which might go to great lengths to explain the effort he puts into projecting gentleness. He smiles, but not too widely; he clasps his hands in front of him, and tilts his head in a mild manner. He is clearly older than them, though not excessively so: by seven or eight years, perhaps.
... and he is the 'almost': the one man who wasn't surprised to hear Miho was back so soon.
"Not at all," Nagaharu Ijuuin smiles -- his own green hair a lighter shade, with a few streaks of grey -- as he turns to the younger man. (He is fifty-five, two years Takashi's junior; he, at least, has never been terribly bitter over being the second son.) "I was just speaking to Miho-chan about her wise choice in associates... though, on that matter, have you met Yua-chan?"
"We've not been personally acquainted," Kimitake admits, smiling to Yua, "though I've heard much about her."
"Well, then!" Nagaharu smiles, as he gestures to a man who's just breached thirty. "This is my eldest, Kimitake. Kimitake, you've met Miho-chan... and this here is Yua Ooshiro, a maiden of the Ryukyu Kingdom." Which is, well, a devastatingly old-fashioned way to say it, but is at least a kinder adage than declaring her provincial.
"I was truly humbled to see your efforts on the world stage," Kimitake smiles to Miho, before he reaches out a hand, palm-up, to Yua. "May I...?"
Yua lets Miho go, for a moment, so she can offer Kimitake her hand -- a touch nervously, with nerves scrawled across her blushing cheeks as he gently lifts it to press his lips to her knuckles. "You both look lovely together, Yua-chan," he assures her, and helpfully squeezes her hand for a moment to guide her in how long she ought to hold it out before he lets her go.
"I-it's nice to meet you," Yua stammers out, clasping her hands together. "Um..."
He keeps... looking at her...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Is he interrupting? Miho looks to a man she recognizes; it is not so common to be gay as an Ijuuin that one doesn't recognize another. She does not recognize a certain matching--she only recognizes him. A gentle smile...
"Indeed," Miho agrees as to a lack of interruption, welcoming him into the conversation along with his father. She wonders, for a moment, why the matter of Yua--but dismisses it a moment later, not trusting her instinct because of course Yua, as the new person to the family, would garner attention.
It is very old-fashioned. But Miho notices that.
Kimitake smiles to Miho, and Miho inclines her head. "I am grateful for the opportunity to share this success with my family."
Nerves... Yes, Yua is nervous. But he recognizes the two of them as what they are, and Miho smiles. "Thank you," Miho says. "My Yua-chan is a beauty."
He is looking at her. Why?
But it is at this point that the Patriarch, Takashi Ijuuin, taps his glass and rises to his feet. "Everyone. I am pleased that we could gather in this fashion. I thank you for your attention; I have an announcement."
"...As you know, my dear daughter Miho has chosen a partner; her love with Yua warms our lives, and indeed, Yua-chan is set to bear a child for Miho-chan and our family. However, the matter of how this is to be presented to the public at large has been a matter of discussion."
"Gracefully, young Kimitake-kun has volunteered to solve the difficulty of public face in this matter, by marrying Yua-chan. This will officially bring her into the family--without separating her from Miho-chan unduly, and without the..."
He considers. "Inelegance, of simple adoption in this case."
"I hope you will congratulate the three of them on this step."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua's blush brightens, a little, when Miho finds more elegant words to thank Kimitake with. (Though of course her surprise is far more delighted, now; you can tell by her smile.) A beauty...!
She doesn't know that Kimitake is like them, of course; can't know that Kimitake isn't really classing them together, either. Perhaps she'd be more at ease if she knew; if she knew a lot of things she doesn't, really.
And so, tap, tap... "!", Yua says, a little squeak as she turns to face Takashi. Her hands clasp together, looking to Miho as he announces their partnership, before her attention orients to the patriarch again. A matter of discussion...?
"Ah..." Yua gasps, her expression tightening beneath her fine makeup as her eye widens. To marry him?! But he said they looked lovely together -- and no one will ever say that if --
Yua clasps her hand to her chest, calling out: "F--father, there must be some mistake? I'm marrying Mimi, right?! Not some man!" Yua takes a step back, into Miho's space. "I-I can't marry a man, I can't!" And she turns to Miho, then, to hide her face against her yukata. "Mimi, tell him...!"
As Yua makes such sharp declarations, though, there is a great murmur in the crowd, as Miho's family judges the way she's acting...
"Miho-chan must be so embarrassed..."
"Well, a country girl would lack discipline..."
"Dismissing the Head's kindness out of hand like that...?"
"Poor girl, she's so sensitive..."
"Disgraceful..."
"... didn't Miho-chan teach her not to talk back to the Head of her family?"
"Isn't she a little too willful...?"
"Oh, Yua-chan..."
... and Kimitake shakes his head, sadly, as he shifts a half-step back himself and turns his gaze away from her. (Taking every effort not to frighten a woman who's rejected him, though he clearly feels that rejection.)
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho does love that smile. But, tap tap...
Miho hears it, too. She hears a sensible, diplomatic solution that is nevertheless not what she wanted--one of the few times that her Father has not given her the thing she desired as such. Still...
"Yua-chan," Miho says, reaching out to take her partner's hand. "Please be calm."
It would be a loss of face for Father to explain himself, she knows; so he does not. However, it wouldn't be so bad if Mother took the stage... Ah, yes. That must be the plan.
Indeed, Natsumi says, "Because he is like you," their Mother says, "You will not experience all the same pressures a wife might typically. You will be a full member of the family. And Kimitake-kun will not try to usurp Miho-chan's place in your heart."
In duty, on the other hand...
Well.
Miho turns to Kimitake. "I thank you," she says, "For your generosity. It takes no small man to accept the love of another into his home, nor to ensure that our own relationship is not sacrificed in this way."
Or, for that matter, to accept her son...
She turns back to Yua. "I'm sure you must have many feelings on this, feelings that we can of course discuss... in private."
"But for now we must express our gratitude to Father for welcoming you into the family. Thank you, Father. Yua-chan remains the most important individual to me."
...A plan. Of course, it must have been planned this way; is it true that Kimitake volunteered? ...Is it true that he didn't seem so surprised, at her earlier presence?
Miho's expression is thoughtful, but she knows better than to show distraction.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho will find Yua's hand trembling, when she takes it; her breath hitching, as she urges her to calm. "Mimi..." She whimpers, for something wretched has happened, and she doesn't understand why her fiancee isn't putting a stop to it.
But -- Natsumi speaks up, and Yua looks to her, tears in her eyes. "B-but... Mimi'll be a secret... I..."
... Miho is speaking for her, and she finds her own voice strangled. She looks up to her, and murmurs, her voice strained: "How can you be okay with this...?"
Everyone is looking at her; her head swims with it. She sways, and leans into Miho, feeling light-headed with the weight of their judgement. She doesn't... know what to do, and...
... and Miho told her what they have to do.
"I-I'm sorry," Yua turns back to Takashi and bows her head, swallowing at the lump in her throat. "Since... since I'm with child, I'm even more emotional... I wasn't considerate at all. J-just... please... can we talk about it? This-- this is all so sudden, I... please," she says, again, her voice taut with the effort it's taking not to burst into tears. "I love Mimi... I... w-why would he even want me?"
Kimitake will wait for his uncle's cue to answer that question, though of course he will, when he's the space to. "I have a fine job as a police inspector," he explains, keeping his own voice gentle, making every effort not to be threatening. "But in order to progress much further in my career, I find there are many people I need to impress... and few of them will accept a single man as suitable. I had a wife, once, but she was... ultimately unhappy to sleep in another bed, I'm afraid. I was set to marry another -- the wedding would have been quite soon -- but, there was an accident..." He quiets, looking down. "... I did not love her as a woman, but as my dear friend, I surely did. It was a shock to me to hear your predicament at such a time, but I thought... if I could help the two of you achieve happiness, perhaps you'd be willing... do forgive me, Yua-chan. I'd not met you, so I didn't really know how to consider your feelings."
Yua finds she feels quite wretched -- and quite terrible for him; her free hand clasps, at her heart. "No, please," she shakes her head, "I-I'm the one who should beg your forgiveness. Y-you... you're very kind to offer to help... just... you want me to act like I'm your wife? That's all...?"
Kimitake smiles to her, sympathetically. "I do forgive you... it must be a shocking thing for a young woman to hear. I understand you had some rather grand plans..." Oh, he understands quite a lot about that; none of it shows on his face. No: he is gentle, as he speaks plainly with her, just as Natsumi's advised him. "I will be frank. I should like a son of my own, but of course I am happy to raise Miho's child like my own, just the same... and I'll not expect you to lay with me. You'll be familiar with the methods we can use by now, I suspect?"
"Well... yes, but..." Yua's head is still swimming, as she looks up to Miho. "Is--is this really okay?" She asks her, searching her face with her singular eye for some answer, some solution, some sense to make of it all.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho has no way to stop it; the necessity of obeying her father is firmly inculcated within her. ...it would take more than a change in plans, even this change, to alter that in her.
"We'll talk about our feelings later," Miho says quietly, but firmly. Whether she's okay with it or not... it is logical. What is most important... Yes, this provides for and legitimizes their child. That is very important. if only she could explain that to Yua in the moment...
Kimitake explains, and that too is logical to Miho. She considers it. Miho is quiet as Yua comes to terms with the idea. A second child, one for him--and confirming the idea of separate beds...
"There are many details that I would be willing to work out with you, Cousin. We both appreciate your generosity."
Yua's head is swimming, and Miho looks to her--looks her right in that one eye--and sees the opportunity to speak.
"For our son," she says, "This is a good result. And it will bring you into my family."
Yes...
"Into our family. If you find his condition acceptable... then so do I. And of course, it is not as if we will live distantly when all is said and done..."
She looks to her father, and bows. "As you will, Father."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho is firm, and Yua has never felt more shaken. How can she be so sure? All their hopes, they...
But Miho will work out the details; Miho assures him they're grateful. It's when Miho invokes their son that Yua hums, still unsettled, a hand coming to rest on her belly.
"I... need to be strong for Hiroki, right...?"
It's just so hard. She really just wants to cry and run away! How could they make her marry someone else, when she loves Miho?!
Just because society doesn't recognise them...
... they're still deviant, after all.
"O...okay," she says, a touch shakily. "I... I'll... accept it... so long as I'm with Mimi."
"I won't take you away from her," Kimitake promises, hand to his heart. He pauses, and looks to Takashi: "By your leave, Uncle...?"
It's only once he's gotten that permission that he steps forward, taking a traditional mokume gane ring from a fine velvet box. "May I?" He asks, again, and Yua's fingers tighten at her obi for a moment... before she lifts her left hand, offering it out to him.
His fingers circle her wrist, holding it steady -- trapping it there -- as he slips the engagement ring onto her finger, and lifts her hand to show the room, to show the patriarch.
"It's beautiful," Yua says, but her voice rings hollow.
... she can't even see it, the way he's holding her left hand up at her blind left side.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
How can Miho be so sure? Because she must. Because Yua can't. Because there is no other option.
"Yes," Miho confirms. For Hiroki. And it is hard for Miho, as well. She could've accepted such an arrangement, and may yet...
But she had allowed herself to hope for something... else.
"Of course," Miho answers Kimitake. And there, he takes the ring. That kind of ring...
It is beautiful, as it happens. But Miho knows that Yua does not see it, even without hearing the tone in her hands.
"It is," Miho agrees.
If this is another brick in the stone wall of her heart's casing, then so be it.
The Patriarch inclines his head. "So it is. This union will be for the good of the family."
"...That is all."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Thank you," Yua says, and her voice is small but at least has stopped shaking quite so much. "Father... Kimi-san... everyone." And she can try to make it normal all she likes with a nickname, but it's plainly a farce; she can't even bring herself to drop the honourific, even trying.
"Please... take care of me."
She clearly has no idea what she's doing, in a fine yukata like this, in a fine place like this; all she has is her sincerity, unveiled and vulnerable.
She's never needed Miho more than she does, now.
And you could call it demure, the way she keeps her silence in the wake of the announcement, the way she doesn't lift her gaze. You could call it fascination, the way she looks to the ring chaining her finger.
Miho knows, though, the signs that she has exhausted her capacity to socialise.
... a thing it will soon be necessary to impart, if he's to borrow her.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
'Kimi-san.' The attempt at a nickname does not go unnoticed by Miho. At least she isn't shaking so much. And she has no idea what she's doing.
Miho is here, at least, and does not move from Yua's side at the moment. She's going to need Miho more.
But...
Eventually, Miho will be able to extricate from the situation. In the meantime, she is cordial and polite, appropriately grateful, deferential to her father.
Her mind is whirling still, and as surely as Yua collapses inward, Miho finds a stable, sturdy position inside herself to puzzle through the day's events.
She is not present entirely, any longer.
She won't be, until they get home, and even then, as she walks through the door, she doesn't quite look around. She is silent.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua is, at least, deferential in her modesty; she will not embarrass Miho again, tonight.
At least... Miho gets her home.
She takes a seat on the chair by the door, to take off her shoes and trade them for her house slippers; slips a hand through the bun her hair is tied in, to transfer her hairband to her wrist and free her locks to tumble over her shoulders.
"Mm... we're home..." It's a declaration she makes a little late, and far too gutted, though only Tiger's here to hear her right now. It's... an important ritual, anyway.
She reaches up to grasp the edge of the sideboard to help her up, again.
"... Mimi..." Yua starts, her voice small, when she manages to look up and find her. Small, and needy; Miho is right to realise how much more she'll need her. What can she even say...? "... I'm sorry," she tries, because feeling this awful must mean something's gone wrong. "I embarrassed you in front of everyone..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho changes her shoes, too. "...We're home," she echoes Yua after a moment, because it is an important ritual. And they are. Will it still be home, in time?
Miho turns towards Yua, and quietly reaches out a hand. Something has gone wrong...
That is true.
"You don't have to apologize," Miho says. "You were surprised. I was surprised."
"...I don't expect you to hold in your emotions as I do. It doesn't suit you."
A shake of her head. "No... My reputation among the family is unharmed, I am sure."
"At least, there is no damage to it that I care about."
"But you..."
She reaches out a hand. "Come with me."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua reaches out, to Miho -- but reaches with her left hand, only for it to jerk back, when the glint of that ring passes into her diminished field of view.
She covers it with her right hand, instead; her right hand, which is already being covered, that strange fabric decoration hiding a scar she hates to look at.
What's this, then? Another thing to hide?
She is sick with it.
At least Miho will be okay, even if she acted like that... and...
... the second time Miho reaches for her, at least, she finds some solution to reach her, just stepping forward to put her whole body in reach of her hands instead of relying of the treachery of her own.
"'kay," she mumbles, and doesn't hide how upset she is now, all creased brow and teary-eyed.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho spots it. The jerk of Yua's hand, the way she sees it. Another thing to hide...
But Miho will be fine. Miho accepts Yua's solution, reaches out and puts arms around her, quietly holding her for a few moments before she says anything else.
"Yua..."
But what is there to say, in the moment?
There isn't. She holds Yua a while longer.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo1n6OTKb0k Florence + The Machine - Heavy In Your Arms
Yua sinks against Miho, this side of a dead weight. She hears her name -- her name, the way it's meant to be said, because it's said by Miho -- and at last she weeps, raw and bitterly, fingers balling into her yukata as her shoulders quake and her whole body trembles anew.
There she sobs, until --
'Mawwww. Marou?'
-- Tiger is still here; his food bowl isn't empty, thanks to Eiko, but he's heard his humans return, and now he can see that she's crying. He wonders, as cats do, whether she is upset because they abandoned him this long; and of course they ought to stop crying, when he needs attention.
"O--oh..." Yua gasps, as she turns, in Miho's arms, to see him; "oh, poor Tiger... you missed us, didn't you?"
She swallows, against the lump in her throat, and looks to Miho. "L-let's sit down...", because of course they are being terribly unfair, standing all the way up here on two legs when he's stuck down there.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho will carry Yua if it is necessary. Holding her isn't even a blip on what she would do. For a while, Yua weeps, and Miho does not, because she burned out her tears long ago, if she ever had many in the first place. Even with the medication, her affect remains flatter than most.
But...
Tiger is here. Miho looks down at him. "...Good boy," she says softly, and accepts the distraction when it is made.
"Let's," Miho agrees with Yua. "May I get you anything?" she asks, as she starts to lead Yua over to the couch.
Either way, she won't be long sitting with her. ...And, one presumes, Tiger.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
A stiff drink is out of the question, so... "Some cold water?" Yua asks, her voice small. "M-maybe some rice crackers... I feel a little ill..."
... really, it's a wonder she wasn't sick while they were out.
Once Miho's delivered her to the couch, Tiger wastes no time leaping up onto Yua's lap, which of course means he's going to need to get up again as soon as Miho sits down. This is due to the natural order of lap escalation: Yua needs to plant herself in Miho's lap before Tiger can get anything lap-related done.
Yua goes glug-glug-glug with that water, and leans over to place the glass back on their fine glass table; her handful of crackers, at least, she nibbles more slowly. Tiger tries to clamber up to sniff at them, but she assures him, her voice thin: "Not for you, baby..."
Luckily, Miho can probably reach around her to pet that cat and keep him occupied long enough to actually get the crackers down.
"... thank you," she says, as she leans back against Miho's chest when she's gone through those. "It's a little better now..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho agrees, and brings both. It is a wonder.
Tiger will live with having to rearrange himself a couple of times.
Miho pets Tiger, not just to distract him, but to take a moment to soothe herself; she's had this cat for some time, with times without Yua...
"We'll get you some later," she assures Tiger. Then, she looks to Yua.
She rests her other hand on Yua.
"Good," Miho says. "Take your time."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho has two hands!
One of Yua's wraps around Miho's midsection; the other reaches out, to give Tiger his due, too.
It is, unfortunately, her left hand, because she wants to turn her sighted side towards Miho in a situation like this; that he sniffs at her fine, traditional ring is its own little tragedy.
But it isn't his fault.
"I..." Yua starts, as she pulls her hand back, finally, to rest it at Miho's chest. "I know he's doing it for me," she starts, hesitantly, "so I feel terribly ungrateful, but I'm really, really disappointed... like I'm trapped... and very stupid. I wanted us to be legitimate... but now we're just hiding in another way... a-and now I'm to be another man's wife..."
She reaches up, with that hand, to place her palm to Miho's cheek; and perhaps Miho can feel it, there, that metal reminder of their follies.
"You're not crying," she says, softly, her own eyes still damp. "Doesn't it hurt not to cry when you're sad...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Unfortunately, Tiger is curious about such a thing. At least it probably isn't terribly interesting for long.
But Yua shifts, and Miho watches her. Doing it for her...
"No," she says. "He is helping us, this is true, but not only for us; he benefits as well. It is... all right, to have mixed feelings."
This is borderline unacceptable of Miho, of course. Borderline, if not over the border. But...
"I understand," she says. "I wanted..."
She shakes her head, and looks at Yua more clearly.
"It does," Miho answers. "But I am... accustomed, to that. It's not something I can really do."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"My feelings are all bad," Yua sulks, and all too honest about it; but at least she is expressing them in private, instead of arguing with the patriarch.
But... Miho wanted...
Yua's brow creases further, when Miho insists she can't cry. "That's not fair," she insists, stroking her cheek, as if she could coax the tears out from under the bed like they had to do with Tiger when they first got off the plane and in the door. "It's not fair, Mimi..." If anything, it summons more tears to fleck down her cheeks, though she blinks at them as she tries to keep Miho in view.
"What did you want?" She urges her, gently. "Please... I want to know."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"It is all right to have bad feelings," Miho allows, and it might even sound like correcting herself. But it's not fair, Yua says, and Miho does not cry despite that coaxing motion. Tiger is here, at least; Miho continues to stroke his fur in turn.
"No, it isn't," she agrees. "I wanted..."
"Well, I wanted to marry you openly," Miho says. "But I suppose that was unrealistic, in the current climate. If it were possible, Father would have made it so."
"...No, I think this is the best that was possible. It is..."
"It is better than an adoption that would make us 'sisters'," Miho ventures. "And he is... like us, in that way. He will not expect the things of you a husband would for a wife, for the most part."
"...But it is not what I wanted, no."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Perhaps it's all right for Yua to have those bad feelings, but she wants to hear Miho's, anyway.
"... it isn't what I wanted, either," Yua affirms, aligns them in this way. "I keep thinking... you know, we could have said what it really was... we could have corrected people! But... all those people..."
Yua hums, disconcerted. "... maybe they wouldn't have accepted it... they were upset when I didn't go along with it right away. Mm... I don't want to cause you trouble with your family, Mimi..."
It isn't just her family who would struggle to accept it, though.
"And, he... wants me to perform... I guess that isn't so strange, for me. Just... I wanted to be your wife, Mimi... oh, when he put that ring on me, I..."
Yua's shoulders quake, as she presses her forehead to the other side of Miho's face, weeping anew. "I'm not his!" She cries, as if stabbed. "I'm yours! Y--you'll keep hold of me tightly, won't you? I'm scared he'll rip me away..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
They are aligned in this. And, well...
"We could have. But they all know, already. The ones in the family, at least. They are aware. And this was still the solution that they reached."
"I understand," she says. "But it is well. If I did not want a woman who wears her heart openly, I would not be here, would I?"
...To 'perform'.
"I know," Miho says. "I am..."
"I am reminding myself that he has no such intentions for you," she says. "That to us, and those who knows us well, it will be what it is."
"Because..."
Yua weeps, and Miho brings her hand from Tiger to hold onto Yua.
"I will hold you tightly," she says. "You will never be anyone else's."
"This I can offer you. ...No matter what 'performance' we may put on..."
"The truth is the truth."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"But I can't tell anyone how much I love my wife, now..." Yua says, sadly. "No one will realise... it isn't just some deviance... when it's hidden away, shameful... like I'm some dirty secret."
It is difficult on her, clearly, to be an honest soul burdened with so many veils; so many secrets, so many lies. Some of that burden is her own choosing, yet...
... she was more open, once.
She buries her face against Miho, as her hand slips to her shoulder, clutching herself tightly to her. "Oh....!" Miho's arms are a comforting weight around her; her heart calms, pressed to hers, though Miho's heartbeat has always been slower.
(She is the Olympian between them, after all.)
"... thank you for supporting me tonight," she settles on, when her thoughts resolve back into something kin to words. "I felt as if I was struck, and drowning... but you knew I didn't know what to do, didn't you? That's why you stepped in..." That's how she rationalises it, certainly; there is no room in her heart to feel spoken over, when she and Miho are both under siege together. "It must have been hard for you to be steady, hearing that, a-and hearing me, too... b-but I'm sure I would have simply fled were I alone. I was... really so lost, Mimi..."
She blinks, sidelong, as she glances past the curve of Miho's neckline to the ring on her finger, grasping her opposite shoulder.
"... I'm still so lost," she admits. "Is that a burden...? Mimi..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"No," Miho says. "That will not be a happiness we have, at least... not yet." But in the future... in their perfect world, even if in this one it never comes to pass. Right?
It is difficult, but...
Miho's heartbeat is slow and steady. She is calm; she is an Olympian, but she is also calmed by medication, medication that helps her to avoid the ranting that sometimes characterized her high school evenings.
"Of course," Miho says. It is also true that it was her responsibility to keep Yua behaved... But what is that, but supporting her excess with calm? "I knew that you were distressed," she says. "It was..."
"It was difficult," she admits. "I had to exert a great deal of self-control. I know that you feel that way."
"No. You would never be a burden to me, Yua. I love you."
"...It is an honor to bear your feelings. And I will help you through them."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"It isn't fair," Yua whimpers.
Perhaps it's this whole world -- which isn't FAIR.
Yua didn't flee from those rants, the way most people might have denied her. Sometimes it could be frightening, but just because Miho was scared, and she wasn't sure how to reassure her. It was still... part of her, you know? Even that jagged piece... was something Yua loved.
... still, she is glad Miho's more at peace with herself, now; at least she assumes peace of quiet, because Miho hasn't said she's unhappy with her medication, not since she was young.
"I love you, too," Yua affirms, lifting her head so that she can look to her lover again; and there is a great sorrow in her eye, but it is indeed tempered by her devotion, true and fierce. "Then... I'm in your hands, Mimi. I'm really going to need your help... but I'm lucky, because no one's as dependable as you."
She hums, tilting her head, as her fingers lift to bury and stroke through Miho's short hair. "But... you're still very controlled, right...?" She reflects, looking to her. "Even now you're talking about how you feel... it's hard for you, right? Mimi... I want to help you too," she asks of her, softly. "What do you need...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Perhaps that's exactly so.
That jagged piece of Miho has not shown often in some time. ...Occasionally, still. But not often. Miho is quieter, more controlled than she once was, has solidified into something iron where she was always something strong.
For the most part it is peace.
That great sorrow... and that great devotion. "I'll take care of you," Miho says. "Your happiness is still my privilege to concern myself with. ...You can depend on me."
But... Hmmm.
"I am," she says. "As I must be."
She sighs, and leans into Yua's hand. "...Rest, I think," she settles on. "I need to restore my ability to stay in control."
"...And perhaps, in time, be willing to let it slip, with only you."
"But for now..."
"I need to be here, with you."
"And not someone else."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua would have loved Miho if she was cast from bronze; she loves her, still, hewn from iron.
And it is Miho's privilege, now, to see her lover finally smile, fragile in her relief, to hear her say she'll take care of her. "I'm glad," she says, and she could never lie about such a thing; not to Miho, anyway.
Even in this wretched dark... Miho can still soothe her.
Can she soothe Miho, though...?
"Then... let's soak together, and to bed," Yua proposes, to her, and certainly this is still a thing she can speak authoritatively on; the comforts, that is, of the home. "A bath will help you relax... you'll sleep better if you're not so stiff. And, tomorrow... we'll see about tomorrow, together, okay?"
She leans in, to nuzzle Miho's neck, murmuring in her ear.
"I'm with you... right here with you. I don't want to be anywhere else."
Not now... and not ever.
But now... at least, sometimes...
Well, that's tomorrow.