2026-03-10: Angry Salad-Eating Noises!! (CHOMP)
- Log: Angry Salad-Eating Noises!! (CHOMP)
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, and her sister Ritsuko Ijuuin
- Where: Fancy Rengedai Cafe - Private Booth
- OOC Date: 2026-03-10
- IC Date: Mon, Oct 08 2012
- Summary: After their weekly antenatal appointment, Yua and Miho visit Ritsuko at an upscale cafe for brunch in order to catch her up on some of the events of their lives. When Miho has to leave for work, though, Yua and Ritsuko keep talking... about Yua's 'terminal illness', Miho's relationship with Tomoki, and her own expectations as Kimitake's wife. Yua's still struggling with her intense jealousy, but even though Ritsuko has some conservative beliefs about what Miho's obligated to do, she genuinely cares for Yua's wellbeing, too... so she shares her own dark experiences, and the two of them come to understand each other's pains a little better. Ritsuko promises to help Yua, too!
- Content warning: Discussion of sexual intimacy, references to sexual abuse, references to domestic abuse, references to human trafficking, possessiveness.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Sunday was Yua and Miho's time together... and it so happens that Monday morning is, too. The usual episode of pulling teeth precedes Miho getting time off for Yua's antenatal appointments -- unlike her boyfriend, the Katou Corporation really doesn't view helping with her 'friend's' medical appointments as necessary -- but she's adept enough to get ahead of them, anyway.
This visit sees their doctor still concerned with Yua's struggle to gain back her weight, as well was with the psychological burden Miho relates. (Yua was too ashamed to bring it up, though she doesn't refute her.) There's enduring concerns about her blood pressure and heart, too...
Her appointments are always so heavy, like that, but when Yua sees her baby on the ultrasound screen again, she weeps for how big and strong and good he's getting. Hiroki is a burden she's carrying... but she loves him, dearly, still.
Once their appointment ends, that morning, they have one more thing to attend to before they return to work... a brunch date with Ritsuko, who offered to come out and meet them after Yua expressed enthusiasm over the phone. There's a nice, upscale cafe in Rengedai with private dining booths; the Ijuuins always know of establishments which cater to the rich.
Here, they have coffee -- french-pressed! -- plus some nice, mild lemon water for Yua, who's never been able to handle bitter tastes. (Or smells, at this point, which is why no one's allowed to order black coffee.) Brunch is croquettes with delicately-sliced ham and cheese... and for Yua, a nice mild salad.
She is presently picking all the onion out. "Uh-uh," she insists, shaking her head. "Too sharp." The finest chefs in the land balancing the finest taste profiles are no match for one autistic pregnant woman. She will pick all the disagreeable parts out.
At least this is a private booth, so no one can see them...
She sits beside Miho at the nice, intimate little booth they're seated at, of course. She's dressed in her usual dancer's leotard, though it's getting a little stretchy... but she has compression socks and ankle-supporting shoes on her feet, rather than her beloved pointe shoes.
"Mmm... but Hiroki's still okay!" Yua smiles, shifting attention from her incorrect salad back to her unborn child. "Sometimes really stressful things happen to us, but he hasn't gotten hurt... just... I need to eat more!" And her smile is a little strained, saying it like that.
"Oh," she smiles, and it's easier for her to smile, today, after some distance, "and I hosted lunch for Kimi-san yesterday! We had some people from the Public Security Bureau over... um, they were 'talking shop'," Yua helpfully lifts her hands to perform the bunny quotes, "so a lot of the men's talking went over my head... but his wife was really nice!" Yua finally decides her salad has been cleansed of evil, and so picks up her fork. "She was really happy we wanted Hiroki to be a boy, and she thought his name was super clever... buuut, I did embarrass myself at lunch," she adds, sadly. "Since... I got sick and had to run off in a hurry."
She pokes, cautiously, at a cherry tomato. (It's one of her big favourites... she's told Miho how she sympathises with tomatoes, because everyone thinks it's a vegetable, and you buy them with the vegetables, but a tomato's really fruit.) Maybe she can eat a tomato...?
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho will carve out that time if she has to--it's something she's considered talking about with Yua...
Well, that's for later.
Miho absolutely relates that psychological burden, if while trying to balance 'delicate' with 'informative'. It's important information. Those enduring concerns do worry Miho...
Miho doesn't weep about Hiroki's ultrasound, but she smiles so wide. She's happy, too.
Coffee!! Miho's only inclined go go for black coffee when she really wants to focus. So she's happy to get something... more elaborate, for Yua's sensibilities. The croquettes will be delicious, ,too.
"Of course," Miho says, accustomed to Yua's food preferences and entirely indulgent of same.
Miho is in slacks and a nice button-up with a pronounced, sharp collar. She has a fancy watch--and of course, the locket on underneath.
Ritsuko remains a tall woman in comparison to most other than Miho herself; her blue hair and blue eyes are brought out nicely by her dress and accessories. And...
She doesn't comment on the pickiness. Instead she listens about the lunch. "Wonderful," Ritsuko says of the lunch. "Those are skills that will serve you in good stead--not just with your husband, but you might be able to help Miho-chan make friends in her career, too."
Embarrassment... Miho places a hand to rub Yua's arm, but then, Ritsuko says, "I'm sorry to hear that. People really are very harsh on that sort of thing." She admits that easily. "...I'm more sympathetic; it was more manageable for me my first time, but through most of the first trimester I still couldn't... Well, you know, for my husband." She demurs to give the details; she's already willing to say a Lot because of who these two are.
Miho says, "I wouldn't be that much more at home in police talk; I considered a private detective's license, but it's not really the same thing."
Miho quietly encourages Yua's tomato eating.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Dr. Himari Matsuhashi appreciates Miho informing on her wife, because it lets her open the topic. Unfortunately, her ability to move is a little hampered by the fact that Yua violently rejects anything like therapy... but she can at least advise her to share her feelings with Sachie, as a matter of her health.
Yua, for her part, has fancy earrings, and a fancy choker... and her locket, which is just barely visible under her leotard as a little lump near to her sternum.
She smiles, to Miho, feeling her hand at her arm. "I'm okay," she assures her, her ankle rubbing at Miho's pant leg, too. And to Ritsuko, she smiles, too. "Hademoto-san was much better at conversation than me," she admits, modestly. "When I got uncomfortable, she shifted the topic without even making it seem like anything happened... I was really impressed! Oh... but do you think I could host Mimi's people, too?" Yua giggles, looking to Miho, again. "So, so? Do you like any of them enough to want to do that?"
But...
"Um... you still couldn't... host dinners?" Yua doesn't get it; she doesn't even think of that. "That's too bad... but Hademoto-san, he wondered if he should be worried about the food when I wasn't eating, so maybe not doing that for a while makes sense..." She's trying to sympathise with her in turn, she's just...
... really gay.
"But... I can't just stop until I feel better," Yua sighs, finally stabbing that poor tomato at the height of its prime. "It's my hypernemesis gravitas, ane-ue... they say it's going to keep going until I have Hiroki." That's still not what it's called. "Moouuuu... it's so unfair, it's s'posed to stop by now..."
Yua experimentally chomps a tomato, with a glance to Miho. Seeing Miho smile, encouragingly, gives her the bravery to swallow it down! And pause, and pause... okay, Yua decides, cautiously. Maybe the tomato is okay, today.
She stabs up some more tomatoes--!!
"Mimi found me," Yua chirps, and she's the one who reaches out for Miho's arm, now. "So Mimi's already my favourite most best detective, I decided!" Don't let Akechi hear you talking like that, Yua, he'll never forgive you... "Hey, hey, we can get you a magnifying glass, and everything!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Feelings are a start!
But when Yua smiles, Miho smiles back. "All right," she says.
Ritsuko listens, and smiles encouragingly. "You'll get there," she says, in a way she probably thinks is supportive. "It's about anticipating the other person's needs--and acting accordingly. It's a skill you learn over time."
A beat, "I bet you could. It's not quite the same as with your husband's colleagues, but even so you can support Miho-chan."
Miho seems pleased at that. Though.. "I mean, maybe one or two..." She's dubious.
Host dinners? Ritsuko doesn't laugh at Yua, but she does weigh how much Yua doesn't get it. They're in a private booth...
"Oh, i'm sure your food will be lovely throughout your pregnancy," Ritsuko says, and looks to Miho for a moment before deciding this is an Older Sister task, though Miho's eyes briefly widen in alarm as she realizes--
"That is, I couldn't tend to his sexual needs when I felt that way." Apparently Yua isn't having such problems, or maybe she'd have caught the subtler statement.
Either way Miho says, "Your husband's always seemed attuned to your needs too," Miho says. "I think that's important."
But Yua sighs, and while she does stab the tomato... Ritsuko nods in worry. "I understand," she says. "That's terribly difficult. Well, obviously it's no good to talk about that in mixed company," she says, as if it were obvious, "But you can come to me about it. We women should stick together about things like that--men just... can't really understand. I had my own difficulties in... indelicate matters."
She's back to euphemisms, and Miho is quiet for a moment. Until Yua gets the tomato! And Miho smiles more widely, and goes back to her croquette. "Ha ha... I don't think they use those much these days," Miho says. "But I suppose I could go for a nice hat..."
Ritsuko laughs, soft and musical. "She always was good at ferreting out truths," Ritsuko agrees. "And open to unconventional solutions..."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Ritsuko is very supportive! Isn't she? "Oh! So, like, when Mimi and me need to text when we've been outside all day and it's way too much forever?" Technically, that is anticipating Miho being overwhelmed...
"Mm... but isn't it the same?" Yua wonders, tilting her head. "They both want to eat food prepared at home, but they're both really trying to talk about stuff they could do at work... oh, but I guess Mimi doesn't like her work very much, right?" That must be what she's talking about. Miho can only think of one or two people she'd invite over!
Yua smiles, when Ritsuko praises her food. But then -- "Oh!" Yua gasps, her cheeks colouring. "I--I guess, um, being with each other is harder when you're not used to being sick...?" But elaborating on just why Yua knows how to seek intimacy even when she's feeling like garbage is apparently far too far for her delicate sensibilities.
(Or, Miho might instead intuit, she doesn't like people observing her intimate life. Even if it's different when it's her older sister...)
'Tend to', though...
There's something about that which makes Yua feel uncomfortable, and perhaps that's why she describes it as being with each other.
"Men don't get it, huh...?" Yua frowns, her expression darkening, for a moment. "They could at least be nice about it." She sounds... resentful!
Luckily, the thought of Miho in a hat cheers her up. "That would be so cute!" She declares, waving her fork with happy flapping. "Mimi knows all sorts of hidden truths... and she's so clever! Mmhm, mmhm!"
Now, her task is to try... an olive. One, singular olive. She pops it into her mouth, and wrinkles her nose a little, but it's okay after a second.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Hmm," Ritsuko says, and that is absolutely not what she was thinking. That aside, "You know, I think you're very attuned to Miho-chan's needs especially!"
The same... No, Yua really doesn't get it. Ritsuko considers how best to address that, but instead just looks to Miho, and back to Yua. "Though, I think Miho-chan would appreciate it if you could teach her more about cooking, too!"
"Oh... of course," Miho answers.
Yua is embarrassed!! Ritsuko though thinks it's important for a young married woman to undesstand these things, even in Yua's situation. ...'Understanding' is enough, though she doesn't have to hear the details to know her message got across. "Yes," she confirms. "A couple's life is a delicate balance..."
Miho does intuit it. She doesn't immediately intuit 'tend to'--but maybe that's the real message Ritsuko wanted to get across.
"That would be nice," Ritsuko agrees about being nice. She is willing to instead talk of hats.
And Miho! Miho replies, "Well, thank you. I'm glad you both think so..."
Ritsuko smiles. "Yua-chan's hard work reflects well on you, Miho-chan."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Yup!" Yua chirps, all but sparkling. "No matter what, Mimi's what's most important to me!"
Ritsuko suggests that Miho would appreciate learning, though, and Yua looks to her, head tilting the other way. "Um... is that really something you care about, Mimi...? I mean, if you really want to, I can show you! But cooking's my job, Mimi! I promised, remember? I'd always welcome you home with something yummy! And I'd always send you off with a good lunch, too!!"
Make fun of Miho's bento at your peril. Yua works hard on those things.
"I can't balance very well right now," Yua pouts. "Whenever I get up too quick, I always fall over..."
... and maybe it sounds at first like she didn't get it at all, but maybe she gets it more than it first appears.
Yua's cheeks flush with flattery, this time, when Ritsuko praises her efforts to eat, too. (Well, they're one example of her efforts.) "Mm!" She hums, happily, and at first that's all she replies with, because she is trying to chomp some lettuce. Chomp, chomp, swallow... "I have to work hard... I'm carrying Mimi's baby. Sometimes it's really really really hard, like..." Yua pauses, looking to Miho, for a moment, silently seeking permission. "... like, um... I've been sick since Mimi saved me, so I'm used to... you know... doing it anyway? Like, if I want to do something, but I've been feeling sick... if I wait until I'm not feeling sick, sometimes it's like I never do it. So... I really wanted to be with Mimi... like, you know... but when we were kissing, I had to run off and throw up again, and I just, threw a big tantrum about it." She doesn't like that word, but it's what she did, right? Yua pouts, stabbing at another tomato. Stab!! "It was okay, I felt better after Mimi took care of me, I didn't ruin it, but..."
Yua takes a moment to actually eat the tomato. Beat. Yay! She ate another tomato! Maybe she should get Miho some stickers, so she can give her a sticker...
"... hey, ane-ue," Yua starts, looking over to her, brow knit. "Does it... get better the second time? Is it easier...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"That's wonderful." The most important.
Miho looks more surprised than anything. "I've never tried," she admits. "I suppose it would be nice?" She could return the favor to Yua sometimes... Though that's not why Ritsuko thinks she should learn. Miho smiles, though. "You always do. And you're very good at it."
But Yua doesn't get it... or maybe she actually does, quite well. "It's hard sometimes," she agrees.
But Yua flushes! And Miho smiles at her. Ritsuko does, too. But she listens, when Yua continues. Miho gives her silent permission with a nod--and Yua explains 'doing it anyway'. There are places Ritsuko's mind goes on that front, and not all of them are obvious. Still, when she continues...
"I see," Ritsuko says. Miho frowns about 'tantrum'. "I don't..."
But Yua's question silences her for now, and Ritsuko looks to Yua.
"For me," Ritsuko says, "It did. There are a few things I didn't share with Miho-chan--or you--because you were too young, for my first. My breasts hurt terribly; I was so tired. The nausea wasn't so bad as you've said, but sometimes it was bad."
"And with my second baby, most of that was alleviated. Not all; my back hurt more if anything the second time around... But not only was I used to it, knew how to handle it, but many of the symptoms themselves were easier. I can't guarantee it'll be that way for you... But there's hope that it could be."
After all, she knows 'the arrangement' too.
"But, as to the other matter..." Doing it anyway. "I understand. For me it's less being sick and more being busy, of course. But if you wait until the perfect time for something, you may never do it--and sometimes, it's important to do something even if you don't feel up to it. ...But that actually helps me explain what I was thinking earlier..."
"Just like you were able to push yourself to keep going for Miho-chan, I need to push myself for my husband sometimes. It's a natural part of a relationship."
She knows which one of them is 'the man', after all. She smiles at Miho. "Though hearing that you're taking good care of her through her difficulties is good. It's really the job of the women close to you to tend to you in such matters. You're just even closer than most!"
That's diplomatic, right?
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mm, mm!" Yua smiles, cheerfully. "When Mimi likes my cooking, I'm happy! But Mimi makes me popcorn a lot," she adds, helpfully, to Ritsuko, as she rubs Miho's arm again. "It's one of my safe foods! When Mimi makes me popcorn, I'm happy, too!"
See??? Miho can cook one (1) thing. Well, she can put a bag in the microwave, anyway...
It is hard.
Yua hears Miho trying to speak up, but she's gripped by a thought, and she has to voice it. It's important and she might forget and she has to. "Mm... that stuff..." It all rings true, to Yua, judging by her tone. "But... it got better," she repeats, again, slowly, looking to Miho. "It got better, so... maybe it'll be okay...?"
They don't plan to be in this world long enough for it to matter, of course, but they can hardly tell Ritsuko about that.
Still, Ritsuko advances that sometimes she needs to push herself, and Yua tilts her head, and nods. "I guess that makes sense... oh, but Mimi never pushes me like I do, though. That's important," she decides.
"Mm," Yua nods, thoughtfully. "... Mimi's my wife! So of course she'd take care of me! Like how your husband's attuned to you, right?" Just like Miho said, earlier. "Oh, and Mimi wouldn't ever talk about me that mean," she adds, because she heard that 'I don't', earlier. "Like, about how I'm dealing with it. I'm just... mean to myself? That's happening a lot lately... like, I feel like I'm really needy and demanding and insecure and emotional and fragile and bad..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Popcorn!" That's more than Miho used to do! Miho strokes Yua's arm, too. "That's wonderful."
But Miho doesn't finish her own thought; instead, she looks to Yua, and nods. "Yes," she says. "It definitely won't if we don't keep up hope, right?" ...She doesn't just mean the pregnancy symptoms, anymore. She means that world...
But Ritsuko says, "That's wonderful. But that's how it should be, isn't it? You try to anticipate your partner's needs."
But Miho is... Ritsuko nods. "Yes," she says. "There are things he doesn't know to help about, of course--but you and Miho-chan don't have that problem. You're both women."
Miho then says, "...You are overly hard on yourself," she opines. "But it's hard to just tell yourself to stop thinking something."
"That," Ritsuko says, "Is definitely familiar. I thought I was so needy and emotional and bloated and I couldn't do anything..."
But there's a little beep from Miho's phone, and she frowns. She checks it. "...Ah," Miho says. "I'll have to be going. Work calls."
"...Nee-san, would you be willing to take care of Yua for me? I need to take the car."
"Of course," Ritsuko says. "Go, go! We can catch up a little more."
Miho squeezes Yua's hand. "I'll see you at home."
Then, she moves to go!
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua smiles, feeling Miho's fingertips; it's not subtle at all, how happy she is to even just be in contact with her. "That's right!" She chirps, brightly. "I just have to... fold a thousand cranes! Right? Right?"
That tradition, Ritsuko would surely know, is specifically associated with serious illness...
"Mm!" Yua hums, when Ritsuko talks about anticipating needs. "It's good!"
Miho suggests she's too hard on herself, though, and Yua sighs. "I know..." What she doesn't do is talk about how Miho's too hard on herself, too; she knows that she's still struggling to make a positive relationship with her sister, and maybe she doesn't want her to know something like that.
"That's right!" She gasps, hearing her dismay called familiar. "It's just like that!" And that might be why Yua's able to get on with her, even though Ritsuko has particular opinions about how things ought to be done.
Miho's phone beeps, though, and Yua pouts, reluctantly untangling her leg from hers under the table. "Mooouuu... okay, Mimi," she says, and manages to smile, a moment later. "I really liked morning Mimi time!!"
If she wasn't being observed, she might have tugged Miho down to kiss her -- but she's not immune to the reservations of her culture, either. So she just squeezes Miho's hand, in turn, and promises: "I'll finish my whole salad, I promise! I love you, Mimi!!"
Off she goes... and Yua does look sad, seeing her go.
"Zucchini, zucchini," Yua lilts, as she stabs some up. "How's the zucchini...?" Nibble, nibble... nomph. "Mm... it's okay!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Ritsuko heard Yua mention earlier that she's been sick; now, she hears her mention 'a thousand cranes'. The gears have turned in her mind by now, and Miho catches Ritsuko's thoughtful look at Miho--but neither of them says anything for the moment.
Not yet.
Miho appreciates Yua's discretion!! But Ritsuko continues, "Yes." It is like that. She gets it!
"Sorry," Miho apologies, but smiles back. "I liked that, too."
A beat, "Do your best, but as long as you try I won't be mad. I love you, too."
Ritsuko watches Miho go with a smile. Then, back to Yua. "I'm glad your salad is agreeable." She considers, then. "...Things are very serious for you, aren't they, dear?"
"You don't have to tell me," she offers. "But perhaps I could lighten Miho-chan's burden a bit by listening too."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Miho time! Yua likes Miho time! Perhaps carving out time specifically isn't such a bad idea...
"I know," Yua smiles back to Miho. She's never mad at her about it... Yua is really happy about that. "I'll do my bestest best!"
Is that even better than her best...?
"Me too," Yua smiles, to Ritsuko. "Food can be really scary these days, and it makes me really sad... food is important to me." Nibble, nibble. Nom!
But Ritsuko asks whether things are serious, and Yua sighs, reaching for her lemon-slice water. "Um..." She stalls, a moment, sipping at it; she knows it's important to drink lots of water, too. "It's really complicated," she settles on, as she lowers the glass back down. "And... some bits I can't tell you about, but..."
Her gaze drops, to the table. "You remember how I was in high school, right? I didn't have..." She reaches up, to touch the blind left side of her face with her right hand -- the one obscured by that fabric stretched from ring to bracelet. "... well... back then, I was okay, but... these days, I... I have a terminal condition." Her hand drops, to grasp her wrist. "We don't know exactly how long I have, or anything... if I didn't take my medicine, I'd die, but right now the medicine's working pretty well. Just... it can stop working, over time? And... it's not quite clear why that happens sooner for some people than others. Mimi's trying her hardest to save me, but... but that's why I wanted to have Hiroki, ane-ue. Since... if we can't do it, I... I won't grow old with her."
She rubs at her wrist and worries at her lip, until she feels a little better.
"That's why I got so so so upset... because, Kimi-san wants children, and... and I decided to have Hiroki since Mimi really really doesn't want to, and that means that if that man's not satisfied with him being Mimi's son, I... I'd better carry a child for the two of them, too. And I thought... I thought how it would never stop... you know? I'd just be pregnant until I died... and I wouldn't be able to rest... and I'd be miserable and scared and hungry and sick forever..." Tears spring to her eye, as she remembers how she felt, even as she reminds herself that in their world she won't have to.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Her bestest best...
"Food is such an important form of expression," Ritsuko thinks. "It's why, even though of course we do have a maid," of course!, "I prefer to do most of the cooking myself. It allows me to show my family how I feel for them. ...Though I won't deny having some help is nice now and then."
And serious... Yua stalls, but does settle on something. "Mm?"
Yua explains, and Ritsuko certainly does remember. "I see..." A terminal condition. Ritsuko is quite serious in this. The medicine works, but it may not always work.
"...That's quite kind," Ritsuko says. "That you'd do that for her... It means more than I even realized."
Though... Miho is trying? Not their doctors? It's strange... "I'm sure Hiroki will be a wonderful child. For both of you."
But...
"Yes, I see. That would be a nightmare," she agrees. Can Yua keep her promise? Hmmm. "Well, it is possible it'll be easier the next time... But I wouldn't have wanted to spend my entire twenties pregnant. We're still considering whether we want a third."
A pause. "...But Yua-chan."
"You can only do so much. Especially sick, like this."
Did Father know how ill she was? Ah, he must have. ...Did Kimitake? Hmm.
"Well, first of all, I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope your medicine continues to work. It would be a tragedy to lose you so soon."
But!
"...Definitely, though--there's no need to fret about Miho-chan and Tomoki-kun on that front. If things work out for them, and if they decide to have children together... That should be between the two of them. Wouldn't it be cruel to expect you to take on such an additional burden?"
"Society requires what society requires, of course..." She allows this much. Allows? "But you're not her servant. Miho-chan wouldn't ask you to spend your life in such a way."
"I'm sure you'll fulfill your obligations to Kimitake-san, of course. We all must do what we all must do. But you do know how much she loves you. ...And you love her."
That man, though...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Making Miho a really nice dinner is how I can show her I'm serious," Yua agrees. "Serious about loving her the most! But Eiko-san," Yua calls her maid by her first name, "takes care of most of the shopping and stuff, and when I have stuff I need to take care of all day, she watches it while I'm at work... I wouldn't be able to do a lot of stuff if she wasn't there."
Yua nods, and manages to smile, again, when Ritsuko realises how kind she's being.
"Mm..." She hums, when Ritsuko points out that she can only do so much -- and when she insists that Miho's children are Miho's business, she shakes her head. "Mimi doesn't want to. She said she'd do it if it was necessary, but it's not necessary, she's already gonna have a son. But she keeps talking about what she has to do, and... men are pigs. He won't care that she feels bad about it... he's just gonna trick her into it, and make her think it's her fault!" Yua frowns, poking at an olive with her fork. "And I am never going to leave Mimi to suffer that stuff alone," she insists, shaking her head, again. "I won't let her have to. I won't."
She eats an olive, angrily. ... somehow, it's still cute.
"It's not being her servant," Yua insists. "If you loved someone... if you really loved someone... you'd sacrifice anything to keep them safe. Maybe I can't do the same sacrifices Mimi does... but that doesn't mean I'm just going to abandon her. She has to do this because of me... because I wanted too much. And this awful condition... I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, let alone Mimi. So... so...!"
... they know. Perhaps that makes Kimitake's inflation of his demands -- from a son, to a big family -- a little cruel...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Serious... "Yes," Ritsuko says. "I believe you are." Eiko--Eiko-san--first name!--takes care of most of the shopping... Well, Ritsuko won't complain about that. She has people for that, too.
"That's true," Ritsuko says. "She's been saying that for some time... and thanks to you, she may not have to." But she keeps talking about...
Ah. "If he's doing things like that I'll definitely have to have a talk with him." She seems concerned; after all, obviously Not All Men. Angry olive, though... it is cute.
"Hmm. She is very dutiful... I used to wonder, but having seen how she's handled matters with you, and now how she's attending to her reputation..."
But Yua insists. Ritsuko says, "I'm not suggesting you abandon her." Her voice is gentle. "It's true. Even a routine pregnancy is risky. If you want to spare her that risk, I understand."
"...Yua-chan," Ritsuko says softly. "She was going to have to do some of this regardless. That isn't your fault at all."
She considers. "But it is strange... I recall Kimitake-san wanted a son, not 'children'. Even if you did have a second for Miho-chan--and I think you should discuss that with her first--it would only be a couple more years... Is your condition so dire that you'll be gone from us that soon...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"They're not using protection," Yua sulks, a stormcloud settling over her eye. "It's only been a month..." A month and a week, Yua! A month and a week!!
... maybe she shouldn't be talking to Miho's sister about that, but she's mad about it.
"Mimi cares a lot about it," Yua insists, still pouting. "Just because she's the youngest, that doesn't mean she's not trying really hard, you know. It's because she was trying to balance everything that she abandoned me right before we had to do something really hard and awful and stressful and bad to go -- to go -- on a booty call!" This time, she does not do the bunny quotes. "... but I'm being too mean," she sighs, a moment later. "When Mimi realised I was that upset, she was sorry... she even put me first when we were done with the horrible no good bad thing, even though I had to go cook lunch for Kimi-san first."
Yua is, at least, reassured by Ritsuko not insisting she abandon her. "Okay... but I don't like it," she adds, even if it isn't her fault. "I don't want Mimi to have to change just for some man. If Mimi's going to change, it should be because she wants to, not because she's got to! There's so many demands on Mimi already! She has to work at that awful place with all those people who don't respect her, and she has to do all sorts of things just because it must be done, and there's so much she does for me just to protect me from having to see how awful stuff really is... where can Mimi be Mimi? It's not fair!"
Yua stabs at her lettuce, sulkily. She is in a mood, now. Somehow, she still looks a little teary about it...
"... it really depends," she adds, her voice lowering as she speaks of the timer over her head. "I might have six more years... but if things go badly, maybe I don't even have one. I just have to pray... and take my medications, and avoid stuff that makes it worse..." Not that she can really avoid that. "... and fold my cranes, right?"
She takes another bite. Chomp, chomp. Just as she promised, she's working through the salad... slowly.
"... when we were having lunch," Yua says, "Hademoto-san asked how many children we wanted to have... Kimi-san said he had four siblings, so he wanted five children, too." He has two, already, of course; the daughters his previous wife, Rumine Niiro, gave him. Does Yua know about them...? "I really wasn't sure about that, though I guess it was bad to contradict him in front of everyone... um, but when we talked about it, he said he didn't want to make me do anything I didn't want to do. He was worried about me having all those feelings about it, so he said I should talk to Mimi..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Ritsuko isn't particularly scandalized by the revelation. She's thoughtful, instead. "She's talked to me about old boyfriends insisting," Ritsuko says. "If you think she's being pressured... You should definitely talk to her. She's young! She probably still believes it 'doesn't feel as good'."
Abandonment!!! For--"Ahhh..." No bunny quotes. "Hmm. It's hard to balance," Ritsuko decides. "I'll talk to her. ...She could probably use someone to talk to about those things... and I can't imagine you want the job, considering." A 'booty call'. Oh, dear. Ritsuko's amused more than bothered--though frankly, she thinks it's a good sign if Miho's doing those with him...
But Ritsuko does not insist on that. "Some things just have to be accepted," Ritsuko says, but she says it with a tone of regret. "But she can be herself with you, can't she? That's probably part of why she treasures you. You make few demands on her that she hasn't taken on herself. ...It's part of why I came to approve of the two of you. I can see your genuine relationship."
But it depends? Hmmm.... "Well," Ritsuko says, "I'll pray too. For you, and for Miho-chan. I hope the gods are kind to you." Even Yua's weird foreign ones! "Please do keep on with those cranes. I want to see you two together for a while yet."
Yua explains about lunch. Ritsuko listens. "He does already have two," Ritsuko points out. "But three in your situation is a large ask..."
A sigh. "That's true. It's best to present a united front to others. ...But you should talk to Miho-chan about it, I agree."
"Though.."
She shakes her head. "I'm not sure how the two of you deal with two women's feelings. I have trouble enough with my own!" She smiles. "But really, you should talk to her. She does love you."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I don't know... maybe it was her idea? But I don't like that even more..." Yua continues sulking. "I don't know... you said I should give her space to see him, but... how would you feel if your husband was seeing another woman?" She asks, and her eye's a touch damp, looking to her. "Especially if he said that he has to care about her, like her, m-maybe even love her, because she needs to love him or it's not going to work right... and she was a beautiful movie star, while you were ugly and all swollen up and sore and tired and... and she was a lot of fun and really new and interesting, while you're just always having problems and needing stuff..."
Yua does NOT think it's a good sign. She thinks it's a BAD sign, in fact. But... "I want Mimi to be able to talk to me about anything," she says, "but... it upsets both of us to hear about the men, so... we don't talk about either of them too much. I mean, I know why he has to be here... it's because they won't let her adopt Hiroki without a husband, but... but I thought... I thought she could maybe just do it on her own," Yua takes a breath, and heaves a deep sigh. "But she said even Ijuuin money can't do everything..."
Accepting it isn't easy, either, but Yua's at least mollified hearing Ritsuko suggest that Miho can be herself with Yua. "Mm... Mimi can be Mimi here," with Yua, one presumes. "But the rest of the time... I don't get it at all!"
(This whole high society reputation thing, she means.)
Yua smiles, when Ritsuko offers to pray. "Thank you," she says. "Mimi's working really hard... so I'm sure I'll be okay. But I'll work hard, too! I'll fold cranes every day!"
When Rumine points out that he has two, Yua frowns. "Mm... with his first wife, right? But I guess he didn't have a son... that's what he's really worried about. Maybe... if I can do that for him, um... didn't he say that's all he wanted when he asked?" Yua sounds a little uncertain of it; perhaps her memory is fuzzy. "I guess maybe he was just making conversation, or something, and that's why he mentioned his siblings..."
(If Ritsuko asks, later, he'll explain that he was of course just trying to curry favour with the Hademotos -- who both come from large families themselves.)
"Mm... okay..." Yua hums, hearing about that united front she's been failing to maintain. "But it's okay," she shakes her head. "I threw up all my feelings last night, too... so Mimi knows all about it. Um -- except how Kimi-san and I had to sort out the thing with our kids and stuff? I, I don't think I want her to know we had to talk about it... I don't want her to think we were arguing. We weren't, really, I was just getting really emotional... but he was really nice, he sat me down and got me tissues and patted my shoulder, he even asked if I was still okay with our deal, he offered to work it out with me... but I didn't want to go back on it," Yua shakes her head. "It's important for Hiroki, too..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I could see it either way," Ritsuko admits. "My husband and I do, of course. We're very exacting about how the timing for our children..." She considers. "I could talk to her about it as a matter of responsibility, if it bothers you. Or you can talk to her yourself."
But Yua has a damp eye, and Ritsuko considers what she has to say. "I think you're too hard on yourself," Ritsuko suggests gently. "If she were going to be dissuaded by the difficulties with you, she wouldn't have spent so long searching. Did you know? One of her boyfriends asked her to marry him. She was lucky to avoid that one, of course..."
She sighs, then. "I wouldn't like it any more than you do," Ritsuko answers. "But a man going after a younger, prettier woman is a story we hear often. I used to worry he'd find someone else when I was at my worst days, pregnant..."
"But do you think she doesn't find you fun and interesting, too? I've seen how she looks at you. Even more now. But Miho-chan is... sentimental. For better and for worse. But part of why I suggested him is that I knew that unlike many, he wouldn't want to shut you out."
"She was right about that. If we could flout society so easily, well.. You wouldn't have been obligated to marry your husband at all."
"It's all right not to get it all right now. I think you'll learn more over time."
But Ritsuko smiles back. "Good," she says.
But indeed, two. "That's right. Men can be awfully fixated on sons..." Pause. "Yes, he did say that," she says. "...Hmm, yes, that could be. Presenting the right face to the right people at the right time can be very important."
(Ritsuko might.)
"I'm glad," Ritsuko says of her feelings--but pauses, then. "...Well," Ritsuko says, "That's all right. It's natural to keep some things private from even your--partner..."
"Yes, it's very important for Hiroki. I'm glad you understand the value of your word, too."
"But... that matter of keeping a few things private. The way that you don't want to worry her about your relationship with Kimitake-san... I do think it's important, yes, to give her some space with Tomoki-kun. She knows what's appropriate; she'll do as she should, both to him and to you. If you can't talk about it... well, that's all right."
"And if you ever worry too much, you can come to me. Even if I didn't like you..."
"You're bearing my precious nephew, and you did so out of kindness and love. That matters to me. So don't worry too much, mm?"
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I already told her to use protection," Yua scowls. "I don't like it." She did not come back as soon as she could, according to Yua. Miho did a LIE.
Yua's scowl deepens, as Ritsuko mentions her boyfriend. "I didn't mind when I was gone," she huffs. "I wasn't there for her... someone needed to support her. But now I'm here! So why does she need a substitute any more?!"
She stabs at her salad, again. "... I'm at my worst days and pregnant," she points out, still quite sullen. "And he's not that considerate. They were intimate on Wednesday -- and then again on Friday -- and he wanted to do it again on Sunday, and she had to tell him to go away because I needed her! He doesn't care that I need her! And anyway, he doesn't have the right to shut me out! I was here first! Mimi's the only serious relationship I ever had! She's the only person who's ever touched me like that! But I have to watch her touching other people, and wanting him, and loving him, and, and -- it's not fair!"
Chomp.
"... but Mimi says I'm what's most important to her," Yua sighs, once she's chewed through that zucchini. (She always just stabs one particular piece of the salad; she never likes eating a mix.) "And it's not like I want her to feel like I did when that awful woman wanted to have me..." But didn't Yua just say that Miho was her only serious relationship? ... wouldn't that mean... "It just... hurts so much. I feel really stupid for wanting to have a baby... if I hadn't tried to change anything, we could have just kept living like we were. Mimi says it wasn't stupid, and it's good I did it now... but it's so hard, and I feel so fragile, and... and she says I'm pretty, but I don't feel pretty..."
Yua scowls. "Society thinks I don't count," she says, wounded, and all the more because Ritsuko lives in a society. "That I'm not important, that I'm just practice... that she won't need me when she's got a man. If you asked society, I'm just corrupting her, filling her head with nonsense when she's supposed to just like men... and society says me and Kimi-san should be doing a whole lot of stuff we don't want to do! I'm mad at society! Society should apologise!"
Yua's doing this whole thing with having angry feelings, lately. It's a strange new world. She's invented some very startling wishes of harm.
Speaking of having a lot to learn over time, though, Yua frowns. "But I only have the one face," she says, as if it's obvious. "I don't even own a mask, ane-ue." ... and Yua's getting overly literal about it, but, like, she's also accidentally right. For all that she lies to her students, she's terrible at lying in love.
"I just... don't want her to think we're not getting along," Yua sighs. "It's not that I want to keep secrets from her, or anything, just... she'd be really worried if she had to get suspicious of Kimi-san, and... and I'm not always very fair right now," she admits, her shoulders sinking. "I'm mean and nasty... and I cry all the time and get upset at everything, and... and I'm so jealous I feel like I'm going to die!" Can you die from jealousy? Yua has some concerns.
"Just... how do I give her space when the space makes me feel so scared?" Yua asks, a touch haplessly. "How am I supposed to not worry, when I can't stop thinking about what's going on?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Good!" Ritsuko answers Yua, seemingly pleased--not that she doesn't like it, but that she already talked to Miho. "That's important."
Yua's next complaint, though, is a delicate one; Ritsuko makes a sympathetic face. A substitute... "It's not quite that, I think. But--" She pauses. "You are at your worst days and pregnant. I understand." She's not so sure he doesn't care--after all, he is a friend--but there's certainly something to sort out.
"You're really very worried," Ritsuko takes away from it, gently.
The 'awful woman'? Ritsuko frowns at that. "Someone hurt you," she picks up on, and she does feel more protective than she did before. "...It would have changed eventually; you had good reasons for wanting to give her a baby, you told me. But society will only wait so long."
Society, though... It's hurt Yua. "It does," she says. "Society says some things that aren't true, makes us get around ourselves, hide the things we care about. According to 'society', we shouldn't be talking about our issues with pregnancy; I shouldn't have my own desires, either--and mine are for my husband! ...Society does many important things. It keeps people together; it channels us towards staying strong, as a nation. But... There are some things we do have to live around. Society won't apologize, but we can find ways to live in harmony with it."
She reaches out her hand, towardsd Yua on the table. "I know, dear. ...I know."
But Yua deoesn't want Miho to think...
"You're supposed to cry all the time," Ritsuko points out. "You're pregnant. Sure, it's best if we don't burden our men with the details... but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen."
She hopes Yua will takeher hand, so she can squeeze the younger woman's.
"You aren't," she says. "This is something Miho-chan will have to fix for you; I can't. But she will. I'll talk to her, and make sure she understands what you need."
"...She loves you dearly, but she's new to trying to balance these things. We'll see you sorted. I promise, Yua-chan."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua did talk to Miho, amongst other things. She feels a little tangled up about talking to her most important person, right now -- ever since Kimitake finally sold the idea that maybe talking to her about some of this stuff would hurt her -- but she does want Miho to know how she's feeling and what she's thinking, just as she always has.
"Mm..." Yua hums, scowling, though she nods, when Ritsuko underlines how bad the days are now. She's unsettled, but... at least Ritsuko can hear how worried she is. "Uh-huh," she nods. "I know I shouldn't be, since Mimi said it's all for me and Hiroki... maybe I'm just... a bad wife." And the weight she places on that suggests it's the worst possible thing she could be.
Yua stabs at a cherry, morose. "Yeah," she says, quietly. "When they took me... there was a woman... she was obsessed with hearing about me and Mimi. Always saying how we weren't right, how it was perverted and wrong, even when she insisted on hearing all the details... but... she really wanted to... she looked at me, like, um..." Her tawny skin grows a touch ashen, relating it. "S--she was gonna," she gets out, a touch strangled, "but she... left the people who were holding me before she could... see what I was like for herself."
Yua hasn't spoken terribly much of her experience with trafficking, though of course she's at least made a public record of some of it now, beside Kimitake. ... but it might not be too difficult to imagine some of it going like 'that', in places where human beings go missing.
But society, like time, doesn't wait; Yua clearly has a lot of bad feelings about it, even if her expression relents, a little, hearing Ritsuko talking about it keeping everyone together. It's not like she wants anarchy, or anything... that's way too disordered...
Yua reaches out, to take Ritsuko's hand, and her own right hand -- her non-dominant one, the one not holding her fork -- still has that fabric covering, stretching from ring to bracelet.
"But doesn't that mean I shouldn't be burdening Mimi?" Yua sighs. "She's the one who takes charge..." ... but what if Miho would rather play the woman's role? Yua wonders, darkly. What if protecting Yua is really a burden she needs an escape from...? She's been working hard all this time, but she had to...
... that's a worry Yua keeps to herself, though, in present company.
"... should I feel bad?" Yua wonders, though. "That Mimi's always the one fixing things for me... she always needs to take care of me. I really want her to fix it, but I'm scared, I... I want her to keep me safe, but what if I just can't be safe any more? Then I'd just be demanding... and way too heavy..."
She gulps, squeezing Ritsuko's hand, tightly. (It's not as tight as she can manage with her left hand. That's not entirely the handedness, speaking.) "You-- you promise?" She asks, a touch shakily.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
A bad wife? "Not at all," Ritsuko replies. "After all, you're talking to the right person. ...You need Miho-chan to show you how much she values you. It's actually quite understandable... Since she's your first love."
"Tomoki-kun is a good friend of mine; I wouoldn't have recommended him if he weren't. I'm confident that he can do better. And if I'm wrong, well... A friend is a friend, but family is family."
But Yua explains what happened, and Ritsuko looks troubled. "...That's terrible," she says. "If anything's deviant, it's pressing your nose into someone else's business that way. Pressuring someone. ...That must have been terrible." She lowers her voice. "...I had a boy who... well, you know. When I was younger." she confides. "I never told many people about it, certainly not Miho-chan. I didn't want to worry her. But if I had told others, you can imagine the scandal. Still, it... troubled me, for some time after. I couldn't quite look at myself in the same way..."
She offers it to try to show Yua she understands. Though she says, "I can't understand all you've been through," she clarifies. "But that part... I think I can."
Ritsuko thinks society is important! But she notices that there's that fabric covering, and she wonders about it, not for the first time. The matter of worrying Miho though gets a shake of Ritsuko's head. "No," she says. "Miho-chan is a woman, just like you. She may take on the man's role with you, but she's not a man. You wouldn't be as close to her if she were, I think. And that means she doesn't have to be shielded from... women's problems."
Yua asks. "No," Ritsuko says, and squeezes Yua's hand gently. "You do more for Miho-chan than you think. Without you her... troubles," she euphemizes Miho's episodes, "Were always much worse. The men in her life rarely understood. But you do."
"You're not asking too much, I think." And then she smiles. "I do promise. Rely on me, Yua-chan."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"She did show me," Yua insists, "yesterday, and this morning, too... it's just... talking about it... I still have a lot of really big feelings?"
Yua hears about how Tomoki is Ritsuko's friend, though, and feels bad about all the nasty things she wished on him... if only because Ritsuko's apparently close to him. "Mm... maybe..." Yua frowns. "But I don't matter to him," she adds, sulkily. "He doesn't understand anything, he's just, barging in!" And to Yua it surely feels like barging; has she had a proper conversation with him, at all?
But Ritsuko recognises Yua's story, and Yua frowns, hearing just why. She puts her fork down, so she can bring her other hand over, squeezing Ritsuko's in both of hers. "It's hard to talk about, right...? It's okay, I won't tell anyone. ... really, I can't stand when people pry into my private business now. The doctor says I should talk to someone, but I think therapy's designed to let them enjoy it... I can't possibly trust someone like that, even if I'd never run into her out here." That woman... was her therapist...? "I felt so dirty... and... and the really bad thing is... I need Mimi to get me clean again now, after I get paraded around, it feels... like that. It's hard to look at me, but it's not just me looking? Like they're enjoying looking at me too much, and I'm just, a pretty ornament they can take apart... b-but I can't -- I can't tell Mimi I feel like a, a whore, she'd call it all off right then, and it's not the same, right? It's just -- pretty dresses and -- and expectations and --" oh, she's squeezing out of distress and not support, now. "B-but it's okay," she insists, lifting a hand to scrub at her eye. "Mimi bought me clothes she likes, and that made it feel a little better... but it's hard, right? Being displayed... and it's all a lie. I'm smiling, but I'm not happy about it..."
Yua shakes her head, squeezing Ritsuko's hand again. "It's... it's complicated, I was... um... used to test treatments by rich people who couldn't wait for them to be available to everyone?" It's the explanation Kimitake helped her come up with, but right now, Yua's grateful for it; not only would the truth put Ritsuko in danger, she wouldn't even be able to comprehend it. "Well, it's not really that simple, but... there's a lot that happened that isn't really speakable. Mm, though most of it wasn't... like, they forced stuff on me, but not... 'like that'. I guess that stuff you've never really been through, since no one has, really... but you really did go through that other stuff."
Ritsuko assures Yua that Miho is a woman, and Yua smiles, with relief. "That's right," she affirms. "I wouldn't be... though, you know, I wonder sometimes?" Yua tilts her head, thoughtfully. "I mean, I know when a woman is cute, but... I've never thought there's another woman I'd want to be close to. Definitely no men, but... am I close to Mimi because she's a woman, or because she's Mimi...? I wonder about that sometimes... mm, but you're right, we both know about women's problems and stuff."
She smiles, again, when Ritsuko points out what Yua does for Miho. "Oh, that's right! Sometimes Mimi has a bad day, and she needs me to make sure she eats and everything... but I'm glad I can do that, because I can help Mimi, too! Um, not that I don't wish her thoughts wouldn't be nicer to her... but I need Mimi's help a lot, a lot, and... I want to help Mimi, too."
Yua does look terribly reassured, to hear Ritsuko assuring her that she's not asking for too much. "Okay," she nods, her expression warming. "I'll rely on you too, ane-ue!" She tears up a little, again, but they're at least not miserable tears this time. "Really... all this time, you've always been really nice to me, you know...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Ritsuko recognizes what she thinks is a euphemism, but it's important to her to let Yua speak frankly about these matters--because it's important to her to do the same. Only among each other, of course--she couldn't say these things around the wrong people.
"Hmm," Ritsuko reflects on Tomoki. "Yes, I can see that."
Another thing to talk to Miho about...
"It is," Ritsuko agrees. "And that's understandable," she says of prying. "I wouldn't like it, either. It's different when it's someone in your life, talking about these things." She knows psychology has some value; it was able to help Miho. But she doesn't really trust it, either. Psychology is fine for Miho's problems, but ordinary life...?
"I see... So Miho-chan helps, when you feel that way." She nods. "And... that makes sense. You weren't raised with the idea that you had to perform in that way, so it's strange and uncomfortable for you."
She can't get it completely; her relationship is a loving one, and even before it was, she was the higher-status partner. But still, "The expectations must be very difficult. And you're such an honest person..." Hmm.
"I can teach you," she says, "About smiling when you're unhappy. The sort of 'performance' you have to do. How to live with it. ...But it's easier when it's for someone you actually love, isn't it? Just remember. You're an Ijuuin, now. If you're made to feel that way--like some common... whore, yes--then that's an insult to our name. I'm certain that Kimitake-san doesn't want you to feel that way... so we'll find a way to help you feel better."
But Yua explains what was there.. "Mm." Complicated. "So it was difficult, and awful... but not, primarily, sexual. That's good; many women who are disappeared are used that way... It's awful." A pause. "...Well," she says, "I did. But my husband helps. The way he touches me... it's entirely different. He knows I'm the mother of his children; he respects me." She keeps her voice low, but the booth is private; they won't be overheard.
But she wonders...? Hmmm. "That's interesting," Ritsuko answers. "I suppose it's fine either way. If it's because who she is, or if it's because you prefer women. It's not as if you're looking for other women anyway, so it doesn't make a difference, does it?" Ritsuko is... trying to understand, anyway.
Still, Ritsuko smiles at Yua's desires. "Yes," she says. "I confess... I used to think she was a bit willful. That she just ignored her responsibilities to do whatever she wanted. But because of her relationship with you, I see how dutiful to our family she really is."
"Good," she says of reliance. "...Well, i have a soft spot for you," she admits. "You're so kind... and you're so devoted. I suppose..."
"You're the sort of woman I want to protect, Yua-chan. So I will."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
But Ritsuko is the right people! Even when Yua's pouting, it seems.
"Mm... it's different!" Yua agrees. "Someone asking when they're not close to you... it's really suspicious!" She manages to cope with Miho's appointments only because Miho insists they help her; Yua is quite easy to recruit into being suspicious of therapy, though she at least always encourages Miho to take her medication.
"I mean, I get on stage?" Yua says, a touch uncertainly. "So I thought it would be like dancing... but it's not the same, it's just my life... there's a lot of expectations and stuff, yeah. Like, not saying 'expectations and stuff'..." Yua is at least aware that she has a commoner's dialect, compared to the usual Ijuuin intensity, even with how theatrical she can get.
Ritsuko offers to teach her, though, and Yua smiles. "That would be great! Mm, you're right, it would be easier if I was with Mimi... I guess that's why it feels better when she picks out my clothes." One presumes Kimitake was dressing her before then; Yua would just as soon wear a leotard to every function. "Oh, but I don't want to insult our name or anything!" She insists, hurriedly, a moment later. "I really don't want to embarrass everyone... um, it's not Kimi-san, really," she shakes her head, "it just reminds me of what happened before."
Yua bites her painted lip, briefly. "They used me, but not like 'that'," she says, slowly. "My eye..." She trails off, and shakes her head. When Ritsuko talks about her husband, though, she smiles. "That's great," she encourages her. "Mimi's like that, too... when she touches me, it's like I'm the most important person in the universe. Being close to her... even if it's not like that, when she's just got her arm around me, or something, it really calms me down, you know...? Or, like... when she pets my hair, and I can just focus on that, and my heart feels so warm, and I feel okay... it's funny, I used to jump on her in the school halls, because I'd rather she carried me on her back, and I'd just lean into her and feel like nothing those girls were saying about me mattered any more..." Yua sighs, tilting her head, thoughtfully. "Mm, but I keep thinking back to highschool... weird, huh?"
Yua smiles, looking back to Ritsuko. "Even back then, I knew I'd be with Mimi forever," she says. "We were soulmates... from the start, she was protecting me... that's not going to change, so I guess I don't really need to know about other people, huh?" And that might explain a little more about Miho's teenage wilfulness, too.
"But Mimi really cares about all of you," she promises, quite seriously. "She told me once, how everyone belongs to a lot of people, like... she was mine, but she was also her father's daughter and her brother's sister, you know...? She said how family and society were, um, interdependent, so that's why me being Kimi-san's wife wasn't more important than being the woman she loved... because our bond was sacred, too." Because it's both destiny and choice, though Yua doesn't share that part with Ritsuko; that much is private.
"When I remember stuff like that... getting this jealous feels really silly," Yua adds, growing a touch teary again. "But... it's because it's all really important to me, right...? Back then, all I wanted was belong to her, too..."
... whatever happened to Yua, it must have cut her off from everything and everyone which cared about her. Miho is connected to her family quite strongly, but... is Yua much more alone?
Without that web around her, isolated in her gilded cage, she would fear distance from the one person beside her more than death itself...
Ritsuko says such kind things about Yua, though, and she smiles, warmly. "That makes me really happy!" She says, the words brightening. "You're so elegant, ane-ue, and you know so much about all this stuff... if you think those nice things about me, I feel happier!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
It is," Ritsuko agrees. And then the matter of being on stage, well, "It's not quite the same, as you've found." An indulgent smile. "Your speech is cute, Yua-chan. There's something to that."
But Yua seems happy about that. And well, "Yes," Ritsuko agrees about picking clothes. "You're not," Ritsuko assures Yua. Insulting their name. "If that's what it is, then that's fine. We'll get you feeling more cheerful one day."
But Yua... yes. Her eye. Yua smiles about her husband, too, and Ritsuko smiles. "Yes," she says. "I'm the only one who can help him truly relax in that way... and he appreciates me. Of course, I suppsoe the same is true for what he can do for me..." She seems to contemplate it a bit. She decides not to tell Yua too much more about the differences with being with a man... this time.
Maybe after she, Miho, and Tomoki have all talked.
Instead she listens, and smiles. "That's adorable," she says. "...Yes, I remember hearing about that..."
She thought it was a terrible scandal at first. "I don't think it's strange," Ritsuko says eventually. "You were happy then."
Soulmates... Ritsuko inclines her head. "I think that's sweet. A lover foretold in the stars... There's something romantic about that. For me, it's more about the relationship we've built, together. The family we've made. It's a bit more of a 'practical' love... But yours is the kind they write poems about."
Miho cares... Hmm. "That's wise of her," Ritsuko agrees. "And it's true. It's all about context; it's the same with the 'performance', earlier. Instead of 'the stage', there's different people, and the ways we act... Well, I'll teach you."
"No, i wouldn't call it silly. While a bit of jealousy is just something you'll have to manage, we'll see you brought up to your proper place. The place Father ordained for you, and no lower."
Ritsuko resolves not only to spend more time with Yua--but to try to introduce her to some more friends...
"Thank you," Ritsuko says. "I do think them. And I like to see you happy. I'm happy, too."