2026-02-02: Jealousy and Devotion
- Log: Jealousy and Devotion
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2026-02-02
- IC Date: Wed, Sep 19 2012
- Summary: Yua comes home early. Miho comes home... a little later. On her third date with Tomoki, she graduated it to a romantic one, and told him about Yua in the process; Yua is consumed by jealousy, hearing about the nice time she had with him while Yua was doing so badly. Miho struggles through her dissociation and distress to try to share her feelings with Yua; the overwhelmed Yua, in turn, manages to tell Miho about her meeting with Chizuru and place Rokuro in their crosshairs in the process. The ways they cope with their distress aren't all healthy, but... even if it's codependent, they're still the most important people in each others' lives.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I'm home," Yua says, when she and Kimitake step inside.
"Welcome home, Ijuuin-san," is what she receives in reply... from Eiko Ikeda, their maid. "Ah, and Ijuuin-san," and she is more reserved, to speak of him, though she bows politely. "Welcome."
"Mimi's... still at dinner?" She asks, as she looks around. "Oh... I guess it's not really bedtime yet, or anything..."
"She must have just gotten caught up in something," Kimitake offers, kindly, a hand at her shoulder. "I'm sure she won't be long. It's a work night, after all. Would you like me to stay...?"
"But it's a work night..." Yua starts, though the loneliness is writ clear on her eye.
"It wouldn't be right of me to ask for your help and then leave you alone when you found it so troublesome," Kimitake says, his firm voice softened for her. "Please. I insist."
"T--then, maybe just a little while?" Yua asks, with a small smile. "I told Mimi I was coming back, so... I'm sure she'll be back soon!"
"Shall I fetch you some tea, Ijuuin-san?" Eiko offers, which covers the way she's listening carefully.
"Yes, please," Yua smiles, to her. "Um, and some of my crackers...? A-and some biscuits for Kimi-san-too!"
"I'll get you all set up in the dining room," she suggests, and suggests it deliberately: it is a more comfortable place to speak with her husband than having to sit beside him, on a couch.
And that is where Miho will find them, when she gets back; Yua nibbling on bland crackers and sipping barley tea, deep in conversation with Kimitake. (She does not wear her tutu; rather, she is in a lovely pink and teal strapless ensemble, pink fabric folding horizontally around her chest before horizontal weavings take those folds behind a long, straight teal skirt.) "...ver wanted to know men like that," she's saying, dismally. "Back, before, they'd..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho, as Yua finds, isn't there when Yua returns. It is a work night, of course. But that doesn't mean that Miho will be back quickly, especially not when she isn't expecting Yua back that night at all. And Kimitake, now, is in her apartmennt.
But, eventually..
"I'm home," says the woman stepping through the front door. She takes off her shoes in favor of house slippers. She steps towards the dining room. She hears them talking before she sees them, and when they see her:
She's dressed in a smart combo of button-down and fitted trousers, with a nice belt and good shoes. It's not girly, but it's not really men's attire, either. It's something casual, not for business. And...
"Good evening," Miho says, having already adjusted to the fact that Kimitake is in her house. "How are you both? If I'm not interrupting too badly."
It is her house, so to speak.
"You look nice, Yua."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mimi!" Yua straightens up, relief flooding her eye as she pushes her chair back and stands and --
-- and, well, Miho can probably see disaster before it happens, with Yua standing so quickly. She sways and stumbles; surely, she will not fall.
"Mimi!" Yua clutches herself to her, rubbing her cheek against her chest. "You're back! You're back!!"
"Please," Kimitake spreads a hand. "I'm the one interrupting you both, I'm sure. Yua-san here just wasn't feeling well, so she wanted to come home early... I hope I haven't inconvenienced you?"
And Yua would not have ever thought of Miho being inconvenienced by her coming home -- until Kimitake offered the question with that amenable shade of apology.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho can indeed catch Yua before she falls. "Yua," she says, and gently, "Be careful."
But she is back. And that's nice. Miho looks to Kimitake and shakes her head slowly. "You have not," Miho says, though it feels strange to address Yua and Kimitake both as a unit in this way.
"Thank you for seeing Yua home," she says instead. "If she wasn't feeling well, then it's all the better for her to rest in familiar surrounds."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I got excited..." Yua says, a little apologetically.
Kimitake stands, as well, though he is of course much firmer on his feet. "Now you're home, she's in good hands," he nods, to her. (As if she's the one taking care of his wife...? No, surely he only means to say Miho's hands are best suited to the task.) "By your leave, I'll head home... I hope you had a pleasant outing, cousin."
He pauses, and smiles, to Yua. "Don't worry about the dress. I'll have the maids launder your leotard so it's there for you at my home."
Yua looks, to him, fingers curling in Miho's not-quite-masculine suit. "Thank you," she says, though she doesn't stay from Miho's side.
Does she look nice, like this? Miho said so...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I understand."
It is a dissonant phrasing, but maybe Miho just feels a little dissonant anyway. He just must mean that, yes--that her hands are the best for Yua to be in. "Certainly," Miho answers. "Thank you. Be well, cousin."
A pause. The dress, and... Ah.
Miho did say so. "Yes, thank you. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon enough."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Have a good night, Miho-san, Yua-san," Kimitake says, with a bow to the two of them, before he heads for the door. Eiko will see him out, naturally. And Yua...
Yua tugs at Miho's sleeve, looking up to her. "Mimi," she asks, once her husband's out of the picture, "did you have a good time?"
She must have been having a good time, right? If she didn't answer her...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Good night."
Yua tugs at her sleeve, and Miho turns to smile at her. "Yua," she says. "I'm glad you're home..."
She pauses. If anything she looks faintly embarrassed, for a moment, as she says, "Well..."
"Yes," she allows, "I did. Though I was disappointed you weren't going to make it home, I tried to make the best of it. I'm sorry I didn't see your message sooner."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Miho... looks embarrassed? Yua makes a curious noise, as her head tilts. "Make the best of it...?"
She pauses, and then tugs on Miho's arm, grasping it as she takes a step towards the loungeroom. "Let's sit down and talk about it!" She declares, bravely.
Miho didn't see her message for a long time... did something go wrong?
Or -- or maybe something went right...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
They step towards the lounge; Miho is willing to be led towards the lounge, and Yua's bravery gets a nod out of her. "All right," she says.
"Well..."
Miho takes a seat, and waits for Yua to do the same before she continues.
"When you said that you wouldn't be home tonight--that you had business with... him," she says, not quite willing to identify him with many of the words she could use, "I decided to look up Hasegawa-san." She pauses.
"Well, I suppose I already mentioned that part to you in my message."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua's decided she wants to sit on Miho's lap, today. That's not particularly strange; she always wants to do that. It might be particularly important for her to be close to Miho, tonight.
"Oh... so it was your third date, right?" Yua realises, puts the pieces together, and holds herself close to Miho's chest. "Um... d-did he... how did he take it, Mimi?"
The news that he's the other man, that is.
(Or is she the 'other woman'...?)
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho appreciates this, actually; she smiles, more comfortable when Yua sits close to her. She wraps arms aroud Yua and seems brighter, somehow. "It was," Miho confirms, as Yua puts the pieces together. "Yes. ...You might not remember, because you never dated men much, but at that point it's generally time to commit to being partnered or stop dating."
But how did he take it?
"He seemed to understand. He said he admired that we were committed to making it work even in the face of societal demands."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua smiles, too, feeling Miho's arms around her. She takes a deep breath in, and sighs, relaxing into her; she rests her head upon Miho's shoulder, and she will surely feel her nodding, there. "Mm, I remember... you told me about it," she clarifies just what she remembers, a moment later, which might even be sweeter than her remembering that one boy she dated in first year of highschool.
"He admired us...? Mm... that's good, right?" Yua asks, straightening up so that she can look at Miho properly, again. "He must not have said anything bad, or you wouldn't have gotten distracted that long... right?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho feels Yua's nod. And she's glad that Yua pays such attention to the things that she says.
"It's good," Miho agrees. "We talked some more, of course. He didn't say anything bad at all. But... you're right. I was distracted for some time."
"After dinner, we went back to his apartment. Everything was... nice."
"It just feels strange, is all."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
She was distracted... everything was nice... it feels strange.
And Yua looks a little troubled, brow knitting, a little, as she tilts her head. "Um... it was nice?" She ventures, uncertain.
"Then..." Yua hums, her head tilting the other way, "why does it feel strange, Mimi?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"It was," Miho confirms.
"But..."
Yua hums, and Miho shakes her head. "It's not that he did anything wrong," Miho confirms. "He didn't. Quite the opposite."
"It feels strange because I thought I would only be with you, when I found you," she says. "I thought I wouldn't need to consider such things."
"Maybe that we would have changed the world by the time I had to think about the pressures of my family..."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Quite the opposite of something wrong...
And Yua is not the kind of woman who can keep the stab of jealousy off of her face, when she realises what she's saying. Rather than try, she lowers her head down against Miho again, nuzzling her face in against her neck. "Mm..."
She said it was okay, so why does she feel bad hearing about it?
Is it just because she had such an awful time, while Miho was off...
Oh, but she's not being fair. "We weren't quick enough," she sighs, against her skin. "It's my fault, too... I was sick for a long time." Is she really better, now? "And maybe they would have let you keep going like that if I hadn't wanted more for us..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Some jealousy is natural; Miho certainly doesn't begrudge it, and that's part of her complicated set of feelings on the matter. And well...
"I don't know what else we could've done," she admits. "I don't think it was your fault, really." Regardless of whether she's better--regardless of how she was sick.
"No, I don't think so. I wanted those things, too. I still do."
"...If this is the cost of our son, then so be it. But..."
"It still feels strange," she admits.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"It's not your fault, either..." Yua insists, though she sounds a little miserable, muffled against her.
"... I'm sorry. I should be happy... that at least you had a good night, right?" But were his lips against her neck, right where she's curled into her? As she made herself look more a woman for him...
"I don't want you to feel alone," Yua says, again.
But she's he one who feels alone.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho squeezes Yua. "Why?" she wonders of happy. "It's convenient, I suppose. It means there'll be less additional pressure on us. Relieved, maybe. But happy? That would be... strange. I don't think I would like it."
"...No, that's silly. I shouldn't want you to be unhappy."
She shakes her head. "I don't. I feel..."
"I don't know what I feel," she admits. "I know I felt something earlier. And I was glad, to see you home after all."
"...It felt strange to see cousin here."
"But now..."
"Now, I can only feel your presence against me. The warmth of you and Hiroki..."
"The couch, soft, but not as soft as you."
"The hum of the air conditioner..."
"Ikeda-san's still here, isn't she?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mm..." Yua doesn't sound happy, certainly.
Miho felt something -- with him -- and now she's struggling. Does she feel guilty, Yua wonders?
Her fingers curl in the fabric of Miho's strange clothing, hugging herself closer to her. And did he take them from her, she wonders? Someone else worshipping the perfection of Miho's body, she is sick with it, with the knowledge of how nice it was, of how tangled the woman who should have been her wife is in the wake of it.
She feels ugly, and she wonders whether it's really such a good thing she's so soft.
"He insisted," she says, quietly. "He said it wouldn't be right to leave me alone after he asked me for help... since it was troublesome, that's what he said."
He wanted to do right by her, didn't he?
"I think so," she says, of Eiko, still buried against her. "I can't see..."
With her good eye pressed to Miho's shoulder, she's quite blind.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho holds onto Yua, still.
"Ah," she says. "So he thought it was troublesome..." She remarks on that distantly. "I'm sorry. I put you in a difficult position."
But still...
"That's all right," Miho says. "I'll talk to her later."
"...I don't want you to see something other than me right now, anyway."
"That's what I want... I think."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua shakes her head, against Miho. "N--not me," she speaks, in his defence. "The, the party... mm..."
But Miho doesn't want Yua to see anything other than her, and Yua clutches herself to her, drawing in a sharp breath. "Oh -- Mimi --"
She can't see it; she can feel it on her skin. "Kimi-san says -- he says my clothes aren't right for parties -- and I guess I'd stand out if I was myself..." Because of course it's a matter of being herself; she wasn't allowed identity for a long time. "But I don't... like it... looking nice like this, I don't like it..."
If wearing her leotard is being 'herself', what does it make her when she wears what he chose for her?
"Can you?" She asks, her voice thready and small. "Can you get me something? I want to look nice for you, Mimi! I want to wear what you want!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
The party. Of course. But Miho is too... dissociated, to remember to moderate herself. Unfortunately, she also won't attach any significance to the fact that he needed defending in the first place. If she remembers this conversation well at all.
...But this part, she thinks--this part she will remember.
"His world is like that," Miho says, distinct from her world. Are they really so different? All the same--
"...Yes," Miho says. "Yes, I can."
"I'll do that," she says. "Do you want to come with me...? Or should I just surprise you with something?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"It's bad, was bad," Yua says, though she still feels so...
"Mm," she hums, again, rocking slightly against Miho in her attempts to regulate herself.
She swallows. "I like surprises when they're from Memimi," she decides. "I just... only want to wear what you like, Mimi... I don't want him to give me clothes any more! I only want clothes from Mimi! Mimi! Mimi!!" And she can hear how heated she is, whining about it; she's embarrassed, but her feelings are too big to keep inside, they keep leaking out.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It was bad.
Hmm.
"I see," she says. "...I could start arranging more things for you," she says. "He wouldn't need to give you as many clothes if I gave you a more varied wardrobe," she considers. "Of course... as far as I'm concerned, you should wear what makes you happy."
"But I can think of other beautiful things I'd like to see you in. I'll surprise you, then."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"My tutu makes me happy," Yua pouts, "but he says I can't wear that to a party. Mouuu... but I want to be beautiful for Mimi. I..."
Her shoulders tremble, as she clutches herself tighter to Miho, arms wrapping about her sides.
"Mimi," she starts, her voice choked.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I like your tutu," Miho says softly, It takes her a few moments. She wants to be...
Miho holds onto Yua more tightly, at that. "Yua?" she asks.
Her hands hold closely to Yua; her arms curl about her. And she looks into nothing in particular, focusing on Yua's voice, not on her face, which is hard to see from here in any case.
"Yua...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua smiles, at least, when Miho says she likes her tutu. She's the queen of the tutus...
But...
But Yua is trembling; Yua is afraid. Yua is crying, though it's something Miho will have to feel in the dampness at her neck, catch with the hitch of her voice.
"I got in trouble," she says, quietly, as if strangled. "I didn't listen... he said they were powerful people, so I guess it was 'them', but I... they were saying bad things about the Ainu, Mimi, I didn't like it! I didn't! I told them, Ainu are Ainu, and when Kimi-san tried to smooth things over, I wouldn't let him... I'm right, Mimi! Ainu are Ainu, not Japanese! But, but they were mad, and --"
She swallows. "A woman got in the way... Ishigami-san, the one you warned me about?" Miho knows far more about the most powerful people in the NWO than Yua does, in her limited scope, after all. ... where she's standing, everyone's above her. "She took me away from the men before they could do anything... she wanted to know why, so I told her... she was curious. She thought it was funny how I was so honest... she said it was charming. B-but when she read my fortune, I, I'm in my time of Joka... oh, it's all because I didn't listen! She said that I'd have a lot, a lot more problems, that -- without strength and initiative, something... something precious in me would surely die!" And Yua wails, because she can see only one thing precious, inside her.
She has discounted her own innocence.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Yua is crying, and Miho is troubled by that. She is still not entirely here, but...
"Ah," she says. "...no, you are right," she says. "The Ainu, if they were here, would want to be defended, I think. You showed me that of the Okinawans."
But he tried to smooth things over...
"Mm." Chizuru. Miho's eyes widen in slight alarm, to hear the name, albeit a second after she hears it. ""You..."
She frowns. "Her fortunes are said to come true," Miho says. "...But you say..."
She thinks on it.
"...I'm sorry you'll have this difficulty, Yua," Miho says. "But... It's not hopeless."
"She gave us a roadmap. A guidepost."
Strength and initiative.' We must charge into these stormy waters, and sail them ourselves."
"...We must not hesitate, where we might feel strange, or weak. We must strike first."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"They come true..." Yua murmurs, miserably. "That's why Kimi-san was so worried when she told the group she'd handled it, I guess...? He was worried about me..."
Well, he was... something, after the party, certainly. Yua thinks it is worry. Why else would he not want to leave her alone?
"But... she was talking about all those wives who didn't say anything against their husbands... Kimi-san didn't do anything wrong, Mimi! I was just mad!" Yua insists, a touch desperately. "We can't hurt him...!"
Which means... she was occupied with those patriarchial presumptions.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
He was worried? That could be... Hm.
"Ah," Miho says, and shakes her head, squeezing Yua gently. "No no," she says. "He's not our enemy." At least, not so far as Miho knows, anyway. Why should he be? He's helping them.
"But there are others who could be. ...Others who could stand in our way."
"But you let me worry about that. I'll make plans. I'll protect you. I'll see us through."
But wives...
Miho looks down to Yua, "...You aren't 'ordinary'," she says. "And you never will be. It causes stress, sometimes..."
"But I love it about you."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mm..." Yua hums, frowning. Normally, she would trust it all to Miho, but -- but if she has to show initiative to save her son, the one precious thing inside her --
"Nishiyama-san," she names him, though she feels a little sick, knowing what that might mean. "He really hurt me, Mimi... even though I'm pregnant, he really hurt me! He didn't even care how I couldn't reach Gretchen! He's the one, I know he is!"
Yua peeks out, at Miho, delicately; half her face is stained with tears, her careful makeup made imperfect. Even though it stresses her out, she... loves that...?
"Mimi," Yua murmurs, and smiles, the expression cutting through her misery for a moment. "I love you, too."
(But... she shouldn't stress out the woman she loves, right...?)
"It's... hard, Mimi," she admits, taking a breath. "It's hard... thinking you were... having a nice time with a man when I was sad. A broken ornament..." And no one told her that, not in so many words; they didn't have to. "... tell me it's okay?" She asks, and more tears swim, at her eye. "Just tell me it's okay, and I'll listen to you! I-I promise!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Nishiyama..." Miho repeats the name. Showing initiative. "Very well," she says. "Then I will show 'initiative'." She inclines her head. "As you have. As you will. We both will."
But Miho looks at Yua, and it is nice, to see her smile anyway. "I love you," she says.
Then...
Miho listens, then. A broken ornament...?
"You are nothing of the sort," Miho says. "You are..."
She pauses.
"It's okay," she settles on, instead. That's what Yua wants--perhaps needs--to hear. And Miho can give her that.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"O--okay," Yua nods, and her voice hitches, but she agrees, anyway. Is that strong enough...? She's not strong...
But she is loved.
Miho insists she isn't broken, and Yua watches her, attentively; when she assures her it's okay, a smile breaks across her face, slicing it from one side to the other. "Okay," she breathes out, and she is relieved.
It's okay. It's okay. Miho said it was okay, so it's okay.
She lifts her hands, then, to Miho's shoulders; tilts her face up, steadying herself s she goes to kiss her.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It's the start of strength, anyway. It's telling Miho something important.
And, well...
That smile is better. She smiles back, and leans in, kissing Yua back and feeling more peaceful than she has since she left Tomoki's apartment.
Yes. This is home.
...But the world out there will always threaten them...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua sighs, into Miho's lips; closes her eye, and tilts her forehead against hers, even after she's forced to come up for breath.
"Will you touch me, tonight?" She asks her, at a whisper. "Please. I need... to be the last one you touched. To not... be..." his wife, "what they think I am."
She's not nearly close enough, to her, with this wretched loneliness beneath her skin. Where has Miho gone, that all this ice has bloomed here? Isn't she right there, beneath her? Isn't she holding her tightly?
But Yua feels so distant, like she'll slip away, slip right through her fingers, down through the floorboards, into the caves of the Earth.
She only wants to be with Miho...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho answers seriously. "I will. ...I'd like to. I want that to be true, too. ...Where I can feel... without forgetting what I'm feeling."
What they think. "You'll just be with me."
"I just... need a shower," Miho says. "I think."
"Stay with me," she says. "I..."
"I need to be able to find my way back."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"It's okay, Mimi," Yua absolves her, softly. "You must be really upset, too..."
Just like how much she's trying to soothe herself, humming and rocking and holding so tightly.
"I only want to be with you, Mimi," Yua murmurs. "Only you... only you."
She strokes a hand down Miho's short hair, pressing her forehead gently to hers. "I will. I'll follow you anywhere, Mimi," she promises, again. "If we can't see each other through the fog, I'll sing for you. I'll bring you back," she says, and presses her lips to hers, again. "I need you, Mimi. More than anyone... I need you."