Chapter 16 - The Light and the Dark of Mecchen House (cont.)

Jamie coughed. “Warm inside? Really? I don’t think Ami swings that way.”

My whole body clenched up. “Don’t be gross and quit trying to dismiss everything I say. I’ve always listened to you. And you said you were my friend! Don’t you trust me?”

Jamie lifted his feet up a little and pulled his mouth taut. He then relaxed and sighed. “You helped me. I have no clue why, but you did. You’ve done that a lot. And I trust you. I just… can’t take all this strangeness. It doesn’t add up. Sure, I can shake a fist at the heavens but, in the end, what will it achieve? All I can do is talk. And I keep going in circles. I’m fine, then I say something lousy. We fight. I hate myself. We reconcile. Then, all too soon, I mess it all up again. It’s the way of me. It’s how my insides started to die, how everything froze solid, and my emotions dried up. It was better that way. I didn’t hurt. This does. But the cycle keeps going on…”

He sat up. “So, yell at me some more. Throw me against some more furniture, so it can be like that brief moment amongst the trees, so that my fear and anxiety at you and Nathan going from outies to innies can be undone.”

His eyes seemed to beg. The heat receded from me. “All I wanted was your ear, for you to listen to me. Ami’s room could be directly related to what is happening to us.”

“How? Demonesses and monsters? Geek girls and crank callers? Dirty rooms and cryptic recipes? And then this Wolverine healing-factor stuff? It’s the evidence to a hundred mysteries, and I’m not up to solving even one. I’ll just camp out here and wait till the Forces That Be are done with me. Then, I’ll go kick their ass.”

“It could be too late then.”

He sighed. “It could be too late even now.”

“So, you’re just gonna resign yourself to that?”

“It’s not resignation. I just know that no matter how much of a fight I put up, the result will be the same. The only thing that really concerns me is that I didn’t go running for the hills the moment we arrived in this world. Of course, you know now how I feel about you. Though I wish I’d pressed harder for us to leave Mecchen. But then we didn’t have any more luck outside than in. I just can’t figure out what I can do. So, I’ll just wait.”

His whole body looked slack. I clapped my hands. “Come on here! Listen to yourself. Where’s the tough and rough Jamie, the one who promised to give this place a huge case of indigestion?”

“He’s going to be a girl...in a few minutes.” He shut his eyes.

I gestured to myself. “Look at me. I’m technically a girl, and I've not changed that much. I still have my same essence. In fact, fighting that dark beast, I felt even stronger than ever despite what it threw at me.” I had to hide some trembling in my legs.

He looked me over and sighed through his nose. “I’d rather just lie here and forget about all this…”

I sparked again. “Oh yeah? Then, I guess you were always a girl. You never had any balls. You never stuck up for anything.”

He leaned up. “Takes one to know one, Ms. Observer. You just sit around and watch everyone else living their lives. You look about. You look and you look and you look. But what does it all really matter? You see life going on around you.”

We shot back and forth.

“You refuse to grab it,” I said.

“You ponder it over like a curious film.”

“You sit around and let things happen to you.”

“Life passes you by while you watch!”

“You avoid it!”

“You’ll never get it!”

We stared down one another with sharp intensity until Jamie cracked and started laughing. It was infectious. I didn’t know why we ended with laughter rather than physical conflict, but I was glad to see Jamie smiling, if only for a moment.

Nathan, wearing a skirt and a blue, buttoned blouse, and Ms. Ishida found us a few moments later. We dried our eyes. Jamie gave me a friendly sock in the shoulder. I appreciated it and returned the favor.

Sumi, dressed for class, was also watching our little scene. She leaned on her right leg, clutched her arm around her stomach, and smirked. “Are we all girls now?”

[Sumi]

Jamie stuck out his wee, pink tongue and said, “I’m still all-man and as virile as ever.” Never mind he lay there with a flowing blanket of blond hair stretched down to his rear, with soft, feminine features, a slender form, and the voice of a young girl.

“Pity. Well, I’m patient.” She looked pleased as she surveyed Nathan and me. Sumi lingered near Nathan and curled a bit of the skirt-cloth in her fingertips.

She looked to Ms. Ishida, then Nathan. “I remember this one. I wore it once. It fits you well.” Nathan blushed and looked away.

Sumi released the cloth, gave a flowing wave, and left us with the words, “To all the lovely new flowers, may you bloom to your fullest.”

Ms. Ishida put a hand on Nathan when Sumi was gone. Nathan smiled back. “Thank you ever so much, Ms. Ishida. I really like this outfit.” The outfit was nice. The skirt had a lovely seascape along the hem, and the blue blouse bound silvery raindrops all in a row.

Jamie surveyed it and noted, “You sure caved quickly. You like skirts?”

Nathan turned to show her frozen eyes. She gave the appearance of someone caught doing something bad. She scuffed her feet and said, softly, “It… it… i-i-it feels nice. And the blouse went well with it. I’m sorry. I just figured it would be alright.”

I expected to have to renew aggressions for that, but Jamie’s next words surprised me. He remarked, “It actually looks pretty good on you. I wouldn’t wear it in a million years, but if you’re cool with it, who am I to say? It’s your call.”

Nathan held her hands clutched in front of her. With careful words, she said, “I appreciate that so much. I wouldn’t ask you to wear it. I don’t know why, but for some reason, it just feels right to wear this. Part of me feels bad though. Like I’m doing something taboo. Like I’m...cross-dressing. But Ms. Ishida said it’s okay to wear it now. She told me about onnagata in Kabuki theater too.”

They smiled at one another, and Nathan brushed her hands together.

The reference seemed to go over Jamie’s head, but he nodded and gave a little thumbs up. He even sat up as well. “So, there’s an evil monster in Ami’s room…”

I wanted to grab Jamie’s tongue, but I also felt guilty I’d kept my knowledge of the evil spirit from most of the girls. Katsumi knew of it from Nina, but I had no idea if she told anyone else. I suspected no.

Ms. Ishida looked more concerned than surprised by this announcement.

I explained my encounter as best I could. Nathan looked on with worried eyes. When I was done, Ms. Ishida nodded and said, “It’s as I suspected. That messy room is bad for her. But do you really think she’s doing it all intentionally?”

I truly worried about Ami’s state of mind. I told them, “I’d like to think Ami doesn’t want anything bad to happen to herself or anyone else. That presence had such power that it almost grabbed control of me. And Ami seems particularly susceptible.”

Ms. Ishida tilted her head, then smiled a guilty smile. “I almost wish I’d seen it. That thing sounds like a real beast.” I had a somewhat different opinion of it. But I bowed my head politely to her, after a moment of silence.

Jamie snorted as best he could with his voice, picked at his slivers of teeth, and remarked, “I’d rather live my whole life without ever seeing it for myself.” Unfortunately, it seemed like he’d never truly believe it existed until such a thing happened.

Nathan offered a gentle statement, “I’m just glad both you and Ami are okay, despite what happened.” She sniffled and swallowed a little, like when a humid day back home messed with his sinuses. “And I’m so very glad to have both of you as my friends. And to know everyone in this house. But I feel bad that none of my family are here.”

Nana, at that moment, emerged from down the hall and surveyed all four of us. She was dressed no differently than any of the others who’d left for class, except for a pure-white bow adorning her head. I enjoyed the look.

She bowed humbly to all of us, then looked at me and said, “The past realizes the present.” With that, she left. Obvious, and it seemed like a typically-cryptic line from her. But I had to wonder, with recent events, if it meant something especially-significant.

Jamie muttered, “Yeah, yeah. She probably has History class or something. And, as far as family, you need to learn to stand on your own when it comes to them. Don’t let them rule you.”

I wanted to tell Jamie about how much Nathan did to support his family, but I knew Nathan would be embarrassed if I made a big deal of it. She seemed stunned by Jamie’s words. “But family helps one another when you feel weak and lost. I wish I could still be there for them. What will happen to the gym without me? Are my father and brothers looking for me right now?”

Nathan fidgeted, frowned, and teased at the hem of her skirt with a few fingers. I could tell there was something else. Anime faces were bad at hiding emotions.

Of course, we’d both joined the female gender not too long ago. Nathan was sure to be feeling a tempest of emotions inside. As for myself, I thought I was doing pretty well. But it all felt like a state of limbo. I put feminine concerns on a mental back-burner with worries about the structure of the world, forces manipulating us, and dark beings occupying my thoughts.

Nathan finally confessed his concerns, “And yet. There’s just a feeling in the back of my mind like… relief. And then I feel so awful whenever I get that feeling. I love my family. I want to get back to them and help them and make sure they’re okay. I’m sorry.”

Ms. Ishida gave Nathan’s shoulder a comforting squeeze and smiled at her. “There are times when even the kindest person has dark moments.” Her morbid interest in monstrous beings sure proved that. Nathan managed a moment of a smile. I offered a comforting touch myself.

Jamie stood and yawned. “Don’t expect me to be even a fraction as feminine as either of you. So cheesy.” He brushed himself off. I still comforted Nathan.

Then he asked, “Do we even have a plan for what we’re going to do now, or are we all going to just launch into a singing and dancing rendition of The Vagina Monologues?”

“I do have a plan,“ I told him.

“Excellent. Feel free to bring it out any time.”

I plopped my foot somewhere between a step and a stomp. “The plan is to clean out Ami’s room to dispel that dark creature. She has agreed to basic cleaning and sorting. At least the room will appear more organized.”

“And then?”

“What do you mean?”

He folded his arms. “You have considered beyond merely a bit of cleaning, right? What about those annoying images in the album? The cryptic list that definitely seems like something Nana would compose? The weird healing-factor? The weird everything? Just because you have a ‘thing’ for Ami doesn’t mean we can’t look at other options.” Now they were all looking at me.

I rubbed above my eyes. “We have no way of knowing that what’s happening to Ami isn’t related to what’s happening to us.”

“It’s a definite stretch… Meanwhile, you’re content to just let the wind carry you wherever it likes.” Jamie wiggled his fingers around to illustrate.

A slight chill went through me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You take no initiative.”

“And the wind?”

“I didn’t think out the metaphor that much…”

I squeezed my hands together. “It’s just that… this feeling of wind has creeped me out lately. It’s like it has a mind of its own.”

Jamie put a hand on his head, creating a new cascade of hair. “The wind is… toying with you or something?”

“It’s hard to say really, but I’ve felt some weird things in association with the wind ever since we got here. It lingers, and then something odd occurs. I’m not sure if it’s a one-to-one relationship but it’s been suspicious.”

“You know. The wind does stuff like that. Areas of a house are drafty. Winds come and go. I remember this one house I was in… well, I can’t remember a lot, but I remember how every room was really chilly, and the air always got me in the neck.”

Ms. Ishida smiled. “My parents used to have a house like that. It was an old one they used to live in before they built this one. I felt like I knew it, despite the fact I never lived in it. They talked about it a lot.”

Jamie rubbed his girlish face. “Yeah, there are tons of places like that.”

On a whim, I asked, “What can you tell me about your parents?”

She glanced out into space but answered quickly, “Well, my mother’s name was Toki and my father’s name was Masuyo. They lived in Ogawa all their lives. She loved to write, and she published a few things. My father, as I said, was a prolific professor of quantum physics. He taught at the same college I attend. Why do you ask?”

I told her, massaging my chin, “I’m just trying to piece everything together. What happened to your parents?”

“I remember that something happened to my father a while ago. I was young at the time. I don’t really remember much about him personally. The rest came from my mother. She was always rather cryptic about details. And she would spin all sorts of tales which captivated me about the supernatural, the dark, and the mysterious. She was so beautiful. All the neighbor girls loved to be around her.

“Then, one day, not too long ago, she was gone. I was alone with this big, empty house. And it felt familiar. But it was like a memory from before I had words to speak. It reminded me of another house. But I’d only ever lived in Mecchen. I wasn’t sure what to do with Mecchen until Nana showed up. And the rest followed. I so wish you three could’ve met my mother. So far as I know, among the girls, only Katsumi ever met her. She was always nice to any children she would meet.”

Her mention of an old memory had me wondering but wouldn’t allow me any definite conclusions. Having her name invoked seemed to have summoned Katsumi this time. She lingered nearby, dressed in her uniform, and looked us over. I was glad to be parting from her this morning in a considerably better way than the day before. Still, she had a look like a terribly-annoyed cat.

She asked, glancing everywhere, “Is Ami around?”

“She’s still up in her room but she’ll be down soon.”

Katsumi looked down the hall. “Oh well. Never mind then. I shouldn’t concern myself with her drivel.” She looked right at Jamie. “What I really want to know is, has your manhood popped yet?”

“I’m still a manly man.” He raised his head high.

She grinned. “That won’t last. Shame I have to miss the moment when it finally happens. But I got the one I wanted, so I’m very happy, despite having to deal with Ami and Mami in class. Later, girls. Remember! You now must uphold the pride of all women! Bring no shame upon our gender, or you shall be trapped forever in the girliest fate of all! Celebrate your womanhood to your fullest or suffer the consequences!”

It was good to know Katsumi still had a firebrand’s spirit, in spite of everything. I wasn’t quite sure what constituted sufficient celebration and pride. I was polite though and waved goodbye to her.