2026-03-06: WHERE
- Cutscene: WHERE
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin and her maid Eiko Ikeda, plus the voices of Kimitake Ijuuin and Miho Ijuuin
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2026-03-06
- IC Date: Fri, Oct 05 2012
- Summary: Yua spends the night before her scheduled homicide at home. Alone. WHERE'S MIHO?!
Yua stares at her phone, numbly, after Miho hangs up.
She'd just assured her that it was fine -- if she wanted to have dinner with her boyfriend again. Just like she had on Wednesday, she's going out again on Friday...
Tears splatter, on the folded phone.
It's not fine.
"Ah... are you all right?" Kasugayama's History Teacher looks over to her, in the teacher's lounge. She always tends to cluster her Kasugayama appointments at the beginning and end of the week; she just tries not to be too predictable. She wants students to come to school every day in hopes of ending on dance class, after all.
"Oh -- y-yes, I'm fine!" Yua assures her, dabbing at her eye with a handkerchief. "I just have a lot of feelings... um, you know, with the baby..."
"Of course," her fellow teacher nods, sympathetic.
She... gets through her lessons okay. She even gets through her work in Studio Chura, though...
... is there any point to going back at six, when Miho won't be there?
She goes back, anyway. She doesn't want Eiko to worry.
"I'll just have some of my milks tonight, I think," she advises her, her tone low. (Her meal replacements, she means; to her, it all looks like powdered milk.) "Just the vanilla ones... thank you. I have some calls to make..."
First, to the wife of a Public Security Bureau man, Hanae Hademoto. Yua asks if she'd still like dinner, but as she's speaking, she thinks of how she's felt all those times Miho's abandoned her to go and eat with another man... and asks, on a whim, how she and her husband would feel about a luncheon. Hanae's delighted by the idea, and Yua smiles, as she settles it.
Next, "... Kimi-san?" Yua opens another call. "It's me, Yua..."
"Yua-san," Kimitake can be heard to smile. "What's the matter?"
... does Yua sound that upset again already? Did she sound upset to Hanae? "Um -- I didn't think I sounded upset...?"
"Oh," he realises, "no, no, it is just that you are calling me out of the blue. Though... did I happen to uncover something?" He asks, gently.
"Mimi just went out again tonight," Yua explains, her voice a little tight. "It's okay. A--anyway, I called Hademoto-san about dinner! We decided we're really having lunch on Sunday, is that okay?"
"Of course," Kimitake assures her. "But... don't you have an 'appointment', on Saturday...?" Concern pierces his tone. "Will you really be feeling well enough to perform by lunch...?"
"Mmn..." Yua hums, uncertainly, before she shakes her head. "... I'll be okay! I really want to spend the evening with Mimi! We had to be apart twice this week, it's no good... it's better if I can make her dinner." It's not just Yua who feels bad about not being with Miho, after all; Yua's sure that Miho feels bad, being away from her so much, too.
"What if Hasegawa-san wants to take her out again on Sunday...?" Kimitake ventures, still concerned. "If he's taken her on Wednesday and Friday... don't you think Sunday is next in the pattern?"
"..." Yua grows quiet, on the other end of the phone. "I... I'm sure Mimi will want to eat my dinner!" She insists, just a beat too long for her to really be sure. "So it's lunch on Sunday, okay? Okay?"
"All right," he allows, indulgent. "I'll see you Sunday morning, Yua-san."
"Bye-bye," Yua chirps, flipping her phone closed again. She looks at that inert object, and says, to herself: "Mimi won't abandon me three times in a row..."
Dinner is those meal replacements; she's at least able to drink all of them. She even nibbles on some digestive crackers...
But when she comes to drape on the couch, after dinner, she pulls her phone out, again.
> Hi Mimi!
She looks at her phone, as the minutes tick over. One... two... three... maybe she didn't hear her phone? "They must be talking," Yua assures herself, quietly, as she taps out another message.
> Please remember to eat! I ate dinner, too!
"It's not a lie," she says, to herself. "The milk's food, too!" Another minute passes, two, four, six, and anxiety builds in Yua's heart. Maybe...
> I love you THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS much < ----------- O ----------- >
> That circle is the world by the way!!!!
"She's not ignoring me," Yua insists, to Tiger, as he hops up beside her. 'Mroaw?', he asks, concerned to see the tears in her eyes. "I know, baby, I know," she assures him. "She must be having an early bath, right? Or... or maybe she's on the way already home, or..."
... but she still hasn't replied.
> Don't worry about me I am not just sitting around! I even organised that dinner Kimi-san wanted on Sunday, except I made it a lunch so I could come back home that afternoon! He asked if I'd be okay that early after Saturday, but I can definitely do it, so don't worry about not seeing me for a while or anything.
"Yeah," Yua tells herself, her smile wobbling. "This is better! If I tell her it's our time, she won't make another date!"
... but...
"... why isn't she..." Tears splatter, on Yua's casual home-clothes. "Maybe I'm making her feel bad... being needy and stuff...? I, um..." She works on another message, in hopes that she can undo her crimes.
> I hope you are having a good time and Hasegawa-san is being really nice to you! He's a nice man and I am happy you get to have a good time, so don't worry!
... but even after that, Miho still doesn't say anything.
"He must be... very... v-very interesting," Yua sobs, a hand to her face. "A g-gorgeous movie star... suits her better than me right now, I guess... oh, I look s-so pathetic, don't I...? She probably didn't even... care about her phone, whatever they're... oh...."
> I have to call mama now, so I'll text again at bedtime.
Yua throws her phone across the room, and slams her face into the couch, wailing to herself. Eiko comes in, and gently saves her phone -- it's in a hard case to stop her from damaging it like this -- as she comes to sit on a chair beside her lounge, with a glass of water she places down on the table between them.
"Ijuuin-san..." She ventures, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.
"WHAT!" Yua bawls, into her cushion.
Eiko sighs, looking forwards. "Ijuuin-san going out twice in three days isn't very considerate to you, is it...?"
Snif. "... uh-uh," Yua sniffles, turning a little so she can at least peek out at her maid-slash-assistant-slash-friend.
"But I'm sure she doesn't want to make you feel this badly," Eiko urges her, still gentle. "She's a woman who feels her obligations quite strongly... she was reminded of the pressure to date when Hasegawa-san asked her again, on Wednesday, I think. I'm sure she feels like she's doing this for you, too... so that she won't be forced into fulfilling her duties as an Ijuuin woman."
"I'm doing this so she doesn't gotta!" Yua wails. "Why's she gotta! And she's kissing him and other stuff and it's not fair! It's not fair it's not fair it's NOT FAIR!!!!" She kicks, and wails, and it's lucky Eiko isn't on the couch, or she might have ended up flailing right into her.
"It must be very hard," Eiko says, soothingly, "having all those massive feelings inside you. And... it's harder to talk to Ijuuin-san about them, when it's about her, isn't it? That's why you've been confiding in your so-called husband..."
"Uh-huh," Yua sniffs, clutching at her cushion.
"... if I may be so bold?" Eiko asks.
"Mm-hmm," Yua hums, still miserable.
"I think you'll find Ijuuin-san's feelings aren't so distant from yours, if you speak with her. Let her know you need her," Eiko encourages her, softly. "You're in this together."
"B-buh... but oneesama said to give her s-space, and..." Yua's eye wells with tears again. "I don't wannaaaaaaaaa!"
"Your sister cares about appearances very much," Eiko explains; and she wouldn't, necessarily, normally be so plain about it, but Yua needs a little more help seeing things like that, and so she speaks to her in a different way than she would her old friend Miho. "But Ijuuin-san cares about you, more than anything in the world... she doesn't want you to feel like you're being replaced, I'm certain of that."
"It's just... like it was at school, and..." Yua sniffs. "And they were really mean... and they said I was leading Mimi astray... and... and they put a frog in my bag and it was all cut up from science class!"
"That's awful..." Eiko says, and sits in silence, with Yua, for a few moments.
Slowly, her sniffles die down... finally, Yua picks herself up, sitting up on the couch. "I-I'm okay," she promises, looking to Eiko, who hands over a box of tissues. (Yua makes use of them. Snif...) "I'm really okay, Eiko-san," she says, again, a moment later.
"Okay," Eiko says. "But... do you need a hug?"
"Uh-huh," Yua nods, and Eiko steps over to lean down and hug her, before she turns back to take the glass of water and press it into Yua's hands.
"Try and have some water," she urges her, and doesn't point out all the water she's lost into those cushions as she does so.
Yua manages to keep it down, at least.
She picks herself up, and starts her prayers. Prayer to the Hinukan; prayer to her ancestors. Prayer to absolve her of the life she'll take, tomorrow. She has to be independent, and care for her feelings all on her own... so she'll pray. She'll pray, and perhaps the Gods will have mercy on her.
(Will Miho be okay...? ... but Miho, Yua supposes, is used to it.)
She has a quick bath -- she doesn't want to miss Miho's texts -- and lies down in bed early; she's not sleeping, though. She just lays there, in a bed too big for one person, staring at her phone. It's been three hours since she sent all those embarrassing texts; they can't have been busy with each other that long, can they? Eight thirty... eight thirty five... eight forty... eight forty five... eight fifty... eight fifty five...
Before Yua can start texting at nine o'clock sharp, though, the phone rings. "Ah!" Yua gasps, in alarm, pushing herself up into a sitting position and fumbling with it as she answers.
"Yua?" Miho says, in a soft voice. "It's Miho."
"Mimi?" Yua's voice is a little choked -- but she brightens up immediately, hearing her. "Mimi! Mimi Mimi hi!"
"Yua!" Miho's voice warms immediately. "You mentioned texting before bed, but... I decided to pre-empt you. I wanted to hear your voice."
"Oh... I thought you must have been busy...?" Yua swallows, and pushes on: "Don't worry, I'm here! Is everything okay?"
"I was earlier. But it's bedtime for you, so... I'm free for a few minutes." She pauses, "I'm glad. Yes, everything's fine. I'm... having a good time."
Bedtime for 'her'. There's the subtle sound of fingers tightening, around the receiver. "T-that's great, Mimi! Take all the time you need, okay? I'll, um... I'm not going anywhere!" And her tone's trying to be supportive; it really is. "J-just... try to be back by... um... tomorrow, you know, we... I-I'll be really bad at it if I do it myself, so don't forget, okay?"
"He wants me to stay the night," Miho says. "...That is, I'm staying the night. But I'll be there tomorrow morning. I promise; I won't forget."
"Of course you are," Yua mutters, before she can stop herself. "Ah -- I mean -- no one can tell you what to do, Mimi! I guess... we all deal with this stuff our own ways, right? M-maybe trying something new is... helping you! I mean, um..." There's a pause, for a moment. (A sniff.) "It's okay," she promises. "Really, I'm... I'm happy I got to hear you."
"...Sorry," Miho answers after a moment, with a wince. But Yua says she's OK, so, "All right. I love you. I'm happy to hear from you, too."
"N--no, I'm sorry," Yua says, her tone growing a touch dismal. "You're having a good time... I don't want to get in the way. I mean... I should give you space? Right? S-so don't worry! I'll be here when you're done! I --" miss you, she stops herself from saying, ice in her gut. "I hope you get a good breakfast," she says, as if that's what she meant to say from the start. "I love you..."
"You're never in my way," Miho says. "Remember that. ...Thanks. I'll try. I love you."
"I-I'll try," and it's more honest than she might like to be, right now. "I love you, I love you, I... I better say nighty-night, or I'll be here forever!" And Yua tries to laugh, but the sound's a touch thin. "Nighty-night, don't let the bed bugs bite..." ... as if she doesn't want the worm biting, she doesn't add, acid in her heart.
"I suppose we could be..." There forever. "Good night, Yua." Click.
Yua flips her phone shut, again, and stares at it, her teeth grit. Miho... isn't just doing it because it's her duty, is she? She...
"Oh," Yua sobs, again, as she's overwhelmed with the weight of how wretched and ungrateful she is, to be so hateful and unkind. She puts the phone away, and turns the lamp off, on the bedside table; there's a nightlight, plugged into the wall, providing a little soft blue light to offset the darkness.
Yua's afraid of sleeping in the dark...
... and Yua's afraid of sleeping alone.
"Where..." Yua sobs, as she brings one of those fine silk pillows to her chest, clutching it as if it were her lover. But she's in the arms of another man; WANTS to be in the arms of another man.
And Yua can't find it in herself to be gentle, with herself or with Miho or that bastard who's defiling her mouth and worse still, as she cries herself to an uneasy slumber.