Mecchen House - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Meeting the Girls of Mecchen House

After shaking off my confusion, I paused at the last step on my way back to the first floor. That delicious chestnut aroma enveloped me. I really was getting hungry. I planned to have something microwaveable after I finished my coding, but the udon which Ms. Ishida was warming up sounded a lot better. Of course, it was probably gonna be microwaved as well.

I peeked at the room I thought of as the living room. Katsumi had finished her job on Nathan’s hair and was blowing curling, white steam off her curry rice. Her mouth made a perfect, pink circle. Nathan was bright red with a sextet of bows in his hair in too-short-but-still cute braids. They looked utterly ridiculous. I gave Nathan a sympathetic smile.

Katsumi glared over at me. “Ms. Ishida says your food is ready. If you stay any longer after eating then all three of you will face my full fury. You’ll wish you merely faced death.” Katsumi’s fingers curled like claws around her plate. Nathan retreated to my side.

“And if you dare to remove those braids in my sight, you’ll face even worse than that, Nathan-chan.” She must have found out Nathan’s name in the intervening time. What I couldn’t figure out was what was worse than a fate worse than death.

I took Nathan over to the kitchen. There were three bowls with curling steam above them. Jamie was sitting there, gently sipping from his bowl. Nathan took the chair farthest from the living room and Katsumi. I parked it next to Jamie and picked up my own spoon. Ms. Ishida was seated across from us and was using chopsticks to dive into her curry rice. She used them quite well. I’d had some practice the last time we all ate out at a Japanese restaurant. I knew Jamie would have the most trouble when he had to use them. He’d decorated the floor more than a bit. Nathan, on the other hand, could probably manage. He was always careful when using them.

I edged towards Jamie. There was one girl left I hadn’t seen: Ami. Jamie, I figured, had seen her. So, I opened by telling him about what Nana did.

He responded quickly, “Computer geek, huh? You should get along well.” I probably should’ve taken offense to that, but I was still so impressed with Nana’s set-up that Jamie’s comment rolled off me. We might actually be able to get along well, if only I could figure out what she meant when she spoke. I asked Ms. Ishida.

“Well, Nana is an interesting girl. She’s quite nice. She helps me with dicing ingredients. She’s amazing with a cleaver.” I couldn’t help but find that mildly unsettling. Still, thinking about Nana, I found her somehow familiar. I sipped my udon. Nathan hadn’t started eating yet. He fingered the bows in his hair.

I gave him a little pat on the shoulder. His head darted over to me. “I’m sorry again, Kelly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, buddy. It’s not your fault. Stuff happens. I’m sure we’ll find a way to get home. We’re gonna have a good meal in our stomachs. That’ll help for sure. Come on, cheer up.”

Jamie did a quick sniff after swallowing and looked over at Nathan. “You look ridiculous. I can’t believe you let that chick do that to you. Man, if it were me I’d…”

I could sense an ominous presence in the air. Katsumi staggered into sight and crept up behind Jamie faster than I thought possible, with how loud she’d been before. She whispered in his ear. “You’d… What?”

He repressed a twitch and turned to look at her. “I’d challenge you.”

She leaned in. “Well, girly boy. You might get the chance… Soon enough.” She smiled to herself and walked off. Jamie looked unfazed. Ms. Ishida made motions to apologize, but Jamie waved her off. “Nah, I’ve dealt with her type before. It’s cool. I can deal with her. It’s Ami that bugs me though.”

Finally, the info I was seeking. Her bugging him wasn’t a big deal. A lot of things bugged Jamie.

Ms. Ishida leaned in. “What about her? Is it…?”

“Her room.”

Ms. Ishida’s eyes lit up. “Me too! The clothes especially!”

With that, the two of them were off. I was surprised that Jamie knew so much about the appearance of this girl’s room after seeing it just once, but it wasn’t as great as the shock that he cared so much about how a room looked.

It was beyond impossible to get him to move or clean up. But, as I thought back, I did notice things from time to time. I’d left my clothes in the dryer once, and then when I came back from a presentation, they were all neatly folded on my bed and my bed was made too. I figured that a friend who’d said he’d stop by had done them, but I never really pried. I was just glad it’d been done. Had Jamie actually been responsible for that? What about the time I discovered dinner prepared for me in my room after falling asleep at my desk (leaving a keyboard imprint on my face and an infinitely-long series of S’s on my screen)? Was that the work of Jamie as well? I couldn’t imagine it.

I took a long look at Jamie, which prompted him to glare at me and wipe his mouth between mentioning the askew CDs in Ami’s room.

He continued with, “I mean, she professed to have boys in her room all the time. But I think it’s more likely she doesn’t dump them; they’re just trapped under a series of newspapers.”

Ms. Ishida giggled. “I’ve considered the same. But Ami's a good person. She means well. She comes from a rough situation. Did you at least spirit away the older plates I told her to bring back?”

Jamie shook his head. “She wouldn’t let me. Said she was keeping them for some reason or another. I dunno.”

Ms. Ishida stirred her curry rice. “That’s quite alright. I’ll get them when I can.”

Jamie chewed on his lip in quiet reply, then said, “Well, I think we should really get out of here as soon as possible. I mean I know Katsumi is just one person, but mainly I want to get back home.”

I had to agree with Jamie. So far, Mecchen was producing no leads to get us back home. But what Nana had implied to me made me wonder if leaving was really the best course of action.

Ms. Ishida smiled. “I understand completely. I mean here, especially. I imagine it’d be tough for the three of you to be so outnumbered by us. I feel outnumbered with just Katsumi. But you bear with it. There are always fun times, no matter what grief you get. But, basically, you three are welcome to stay, if it were all up to me. I know, I own the house, but new residents are approved by a majority of the current residents. It’s usually something of a formality. No one was very fond of Reiko, but still no one opposed her joining the House. I have a feeling it might be a tad tougher for the three of you. But we’re not quite there, yet. Come, tell me more about yourselves and where you’re from. This whole ‘Real World’ business has me intrigued.”

I wasn’t quite sure where to begin for her, so I gave her a basic intro. I told her I was a computer programmer. She said she used to be one many years ago. And Katsumi loved to write programs too. This raised my eyebrow.

“What kind of programs does she make?” I asked.

Ms. Ishida took a sip of water and explained, “They’re like dating sims. Only, well… Consider her personality. She makes games where she’s edited still images and art which a friend of hers draws. And she makes them into games where boys turn into girls. They’re clean.”

“So no nudie anime. I make them for myself. I like them.” Katsumi had her arms folded behind us. For a girl who made a heck of a lot of noise, she sure could sneak up like a little ninja when she wanted.

“What was that last one you made, Katsumi-chan?” Ms. Ishida put a hand on her cheek. Katsumi ‘hmmm’ed to herself and rubbed the back of her head. “Well. You know. It was the one I made for you. I was a little worried about doing it, because it involved you-know-where with nasty critters and you-know-where with nicer creatures.”

Ms. Ishida smiled at Katsumi. “Well, if you have demon and angel characters, it’s hard to avoid those places.”

Katsumi grimaced. “I know you love those sorts of video games so much, but it just kinda creeps me out how casual you are about them. I don’t want to have to hire a mystic when you suddenly get spirited away by… oni… *meep*” Katsumi blushed bright and her voice rose in tone. She squirmed a little. “But, I’m glad you liked it. I’m gonna go watch TV again.”

Nathan held a hand close to himself with the other near his hair and watched as Katsumi slowly morphed into a cute girl. He watched as she ducked behind the wall again. Then, she bounced back. All she said was “Braids!!” But that was enough to hold Nathan in line. He didn’t even seem aware that he’d begun fingering his braids, but he dropped his hand like he’d touched a hot plate.

I was particularly amused. It seems like there was more to this girl than the posturings of a feudal lord. I went back to sipping the udon and endeavored to explain the concept of the ‘Real World’ to Ms. Ishida.

I stammered a lot. Then, I scratched my head. Eventually, I put it like this:

“The colors in this world are diverse, but their composition is different where I come from.”

I found myself staring at my hand while I flexed it like a crab claw. Were things really all that different in composition? Certain items and aspects of people seemed quite a bit different, while the sheen of the wooden floor looked perfectly how I’d expect it to be back in our world. I held onto a silent moment and the only thing I could finish with was, “The composition is different.” Perhaps I had a photo in my pocket? No, but even then, with how completely we had changed, how did I know that a photograph wouldn’t just alter to fit into this world?

Ms. Ishida listened sympathetically, stirred her curry again, and ate. “I… See.” It seemed like she was being kind. I wouldn’t have bought my argument either. We were interrupted by the front door sliding open in the background. Animated whistling filtered in, along with the half-remembered chanting of what sounded like a J-pop song. A form darted into the room with a bag of items under one arm.

“ISHIDA-SAN! We are baaaaaa…ACK!” Apparently, the presence of guys in the room got people every time. Her eyes darted over to us in surprise. Alarm filled her face, and she did what seemed to be a few tentative kung-fu maneuvers before looking over at Ms. Ishida, who smiled back. That seemed to be enough to cause her to crack a smile too.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had company. Welcome to Mecchen House. My name is Yamamoto Miki. And I’m just as tough as that sounds. Friend or foe, all will remember my name. My figures are 12.9, 62.2, and 294.44.” She folded her arms proudly.



What on Earth sort of numbers were those? They certainly weren’t Miki’s body, unless she was secretly a very thick-bottomed tree. I looked at Ms. Ishida. She elaborated, "Those are Miki’s time results in the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, and the 1600-meter run.”

Miki tossed her hair with an arm and let her bag drop to the floor. “But, of course. Best in the history of Azako High School, naturally.” She seemed to take after Katsumi. The air of overconfidence. The look to her smile. The way she folded her arms. Her hair was an arrow pointed skyward like a missile prepared to fire. It matched her deep, brown eyes.

Her body was small, like Katsumi’s too, but she had more chest to speak of. She was wearing the same color gym shorts as Katsumi. Her top was blue with lavender stripes like they put on racing vehicles. Her arms and legs looked slender but refined. I certainly didn’t find her intimidating. So long as she didn’t hassle Nathan like Katsumi, I could stand this annoying-girl variant.

But she had to test her luck with me. Her eyes went wide, looking past me.

“It’s a challenger! Geez! Look at those muscles. Do you wrestle? You can see the veins!” She darted over to Nathan’s side, and I already had a response poking its way out of my mouth.

“Nathan doesn’t have time for any more silly games.” That did come out a bit presumptuous though.

She glanced over at me. “Oh. Games? I was just thinking something like a race, but mostly I wanted to say hi. You’re one of the few guys I’ve seen who looks like a worthy challenger, if you’d like to spar that is. It’s cool though.” The girl gave a little bow. Katsumi had some submissive traits as well, so I kept my guard up. Were they gonna put Nathan in pink gym shorts next? A sports bra? Who knew with these girls. They made me feel suspicious, concerned that they might try to make us one of them.

Ms. Ishida seemed trustworthy and compassionate. Thus far, she hadn’t tried to do anything crazy. Nana seemed too wrapped up in her own little worlds to take much of an interest in us. Ami might give us trouble, but Jamie seemed unconcerned, except about Ami’s living habits, so I couldn’t help but follow suit. Still, that left half of this house’s inhabitants unseen.

As for Miki and Katsumi, I had to keep my guard up.

Nathan didn’t reply immediately. Miki cracked her neck and yawned. Jamie was eating. She looked over at Ms. Ishida. “The other girls will be back soon.” Then she grinned a bit. “I totally left them in the dust. And with a full bag.” She picked it up and set it to the side. “I want to learn more about Nathan here. But first, I want to meet the two I don’t know.”

I cautiously presented myself, and Jamie gave an even less enthusiastic version for himself. He was nearly done with his meal. Miki huffed. “That is hardly an introduction worthy of your names! For shame. Your ancestors deserve better than that! Come on! Once more! With feeling!”

I didn’t much feel up to it, but if I didn’t placate her somehow then I figured we’d keep going at this in an endless figure-eight. So I did my best, faux-enthusiasm. It passed, but she encouraged me to keep trying. Jamie got dogged a few more times before he finally mustered enough enthusiasm to pass as well, but not before Miki pressed him on the head with the palm of her hand. He grumbled and glared for quite some time after that. She turned her attention to Nathan.

“You’re ripped! Where do you work out? What school do you go to?” She was positively beaming. I fidgeted a bit. Was this another tactic of theirs?

Nathan paused a moment and started to form words with his mouth. He licked his lips a few times before he finally unraveled his history. An Associate of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Women's Studies, which he finished a year ago. He loved tennis. Miki blurted out she adored lacrosse, but she hadn’t tried tennis as much.

Jamie used to kid Nathan about his degree, but for reasons of practicality. There’s not a lot you can do with something like that, aside from teaching the subject, and even then you’d need more education to get hired. Nathan’s father rendered the issue moot. He hired his son even before he finished his degree and put him to work in his biggest gym downtown. He made more than Jamie and me combined. A fact which was a matter of constant apology and embarrassment by Nathan. He paid more than a normal third of the rent to make up for it.

He mentioned working at a gym. Miki didn’t look surprised. She listened patiently, and when Nathan had laid all the important points out, she stroked her chin and announced, “Most impressive! I deem you a worthy opponent. We must have a race, three times around the house, immediately. Whoever wins will be crowned the Greatest Competitor of Mecchen House!” She rotated her arm in a circle with a flourish, as though it were a flag.

Nathan seemed good-natured about her proclamation but perplexed. I decided it was time to step in. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Nathan just ate. And as you said, you just ran all the way here. It would put you both at a disadvantage.”

Miki seemed to chew on that for a moment. At least, it seemed that she could be reasoned with. That was a positive sign. For a moment. I could sense the light bulb forming above her head. Her face brightened. “That means we’ll both have an equivalent disadvantage! Works for me! May the best challenger win!”

I was getting steamed with this. I stated, “Nathan is not in the mood for any more of this sort of…” But I was cut off by Nathan leaning towards me. He smiled weakly, “It’s okay, buddy. I accept her challenge. Sounds like fun. It might take my mind off things to do some exercise.” Then he winced a little. “It is how we got into this anyways. It can’t hurt anymore, can it?”

I didn’t say anything. I just looked over at Jamie. He was looking at the wall. I just waved to Nathan and said, “Have fun, buddy.”

Miki grinned. “We’ll both have fun. This will be a challenge which will be long remembered in the history of Mecchen House!”

Ms. Ishida chimed in with, “Please remember to be careful of the new flowers in the back, Miki-chan.”

Miki grinned. “We’re taking the long path, so none of the flowers will be in any danger.” Ms. Ishida and Jamie had both finished eating. Half of Nathan’s food was still steaming, and mine was near done.

Nathan stood, and Miki pointed him to the ‘starting line.’ Ms. Ishida folded her arms under her chin. It was a very pretty image. I wouldn’t mind it as a jpeg on my computer. A motherly anime woman. She was art.

She burped quietly to herself and smiled. “My apologies. Oh! Would either of you like some rice? There’s plenty left.” I politely turned her down. Jamie got up and said he was gonna use the restroom. She smiled and told him it was just around the corner to the left. When he was gone, Ms. Ishida cleared the empty plates and set them in the dishwasher. I brushed back my hair a little and sighed.

So much to deal with, so much to discern. I felt awash in a living painting that held me captivated and perplexed. It was a strange world. But I had to move forward, I had to engage in it because, come something different, this was the world.

I stood and talked to Ms. Ishida. “I just want to thank you so much for offering us food. I know our story sounds more than a little far-fetched, but that’s how things are. We’re all a little floored to find ourselves in a place like this.”

She rinsed her hands. “I can well imagine. I do have an open mind. I’d like to help. I’ve read books on dimensions beyond our own. I think it’s really amazing, but…” She smiled sympathetically. “It’s hard to wrap my head around it. I think you’re a good guy. Your friends are really nice, too. It’s been no problem having you around. I’d even let you all stay a night if the girls are okay with it, as I said.”

I wished I was better at explaining it. Thinking about dimensions made me feel a bit melancholy. What visual proof did I have that my world was not just a more ornate artistic-rendering as well? I bowed and thanked her. I heard the front door slide open once more. That had to be Nathan and Miki-chan leaving. But I heard a flourish of voices: some muttering, some light and flighty.

Then fast feet across wood. Not quite as loud as Katsumi’s movements. Soaring from behind the wall came a spinning, blond shower of hair and blue eyes in hover. Eventually, they came to earth, perfectly, around a beaming girl. She was even less than Katsumi’s height, and her bright, yellow locks clung in soft, caramel points. She flashed some teeth and waved so much it looked like she had ten hands.

She felt like Ms. Ishida’s grade-school daughter with that height, but her adolescent frame seemed to say otherwise. She was really fair-skinned. Her flesh was so pale it glimmered whenever the light through the window caught her. She seemed somewhat British, like Jamie claimed to be, but it’s hard to tell ethnicity in anime. I knew Nathan was a proud mix of Salvadoran and Cuban. And I figured myself to be the mutt of all traits. Everything and nothing in particular at the same time. Didn’t bother me too much.

I offered a few courtesies to the new girl.



“My name is Yokota Tara. Nice ta’ meetcha!” She thrust her hand into mine and shook up a storm. I smiled a bit and bowed to her. Ms. Ishida gave her a pat on the head and inquired, “Where are the others?”

“Just behind! Woah! Katsumi is in front of the TV and she looks like she’s menstrual in a big big BIG way!” I suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. This was usually the sort of conversation that got me killed by female friends. I chimed in with silence and a nod.

Tara seemed to take that as a sign to offer her aid. “Katsumi is Ms. Nakagawa Katsumi. She makes dirty games and writes perverted stories.” Ms. Ishida laughed. At least Katsumi herself didn’t seem to have heard, fortunately. Ms. Ishida corrected her. “That’s only half true.”

“Yeah!” Tara grinned. “The truth is they’re twice as dirty and two times as perverted.” I knew about the dating sims. Apparently, the stories were in the same vein, so far as Ms. Ishida expressed to me with a few quick words before Tara added, “Boys turning into girls! Mwahahah! So naughty! And forever too. They’ll have to learn to wear bras all the time. Unless they’re flat as a board, but that wouldn’t be fair. They should jiggle and giggle and bounce!” Tara then jumped around to demonstrate. She did all three.

Still, I didn’t find myself affected by it, like sometimes, when watching anime girls doing that sort of thing. I had to wonder over that. Maybe Tara just seemed too young for me? I never was much for lolicon, but then her chest wasn’t the typical loli, just her personality.

Behind her came a girl with a bag in one arm and a heavy purse slung over her shoulder. Her face was a pointed triangle ending in a prominent chin, her eyes floated past me like I was part of the wall. Her features seemed split into two halves. On one side, her hair was tight with shimmering, rigid spokes and a too-short ponytail pulled behind her. On the other side, feathered bangs touched at her forehead and a draping lock of grayish-cobalt hair fell over that side of her cheek. Her chest was traced in her front like a marble statue’s form.

Her purple shirt seemed to fight with the color of her hair, and the red-pleated skirt around her legs seemed ready to join the battle as well. I was the last person to care much about clothes, but even my eyes hurt at how much her fashion offended my senses.

She clutched a book in her arm. She still failed to notice me. Then she spoke to Ms. Ishida. “I got the pepper you wanted, Ms. Ishida. I’ll leave it on the table. I’m going to be reading in my room until bedtime.”

Ms. Ishida thanked her politely but said, “Well, we have a few guests. So, we may need to take a vote later…”

“My vote is no. I don’t want them here. You can convey that for me. Is there anything else?” Ms. Ishida shook her head. “Be well, Reiko.”

She nodded a slight bit, drew a container of pepper from her bag, and set it on the table. Jamie entered, brushing off his hands. Reiko noticed him. Her eyes narrowed. There was a dishtowel hanging from the fridge. She seized it and threw it at Jamie’s face. He fumbled a bit but caught it.

He narrowed his eyes back but toweled off his hands. Then Reiko was gone.

Ms. Ishida explained. “That was Kiyoshima Reiko. She keeps to herself and sometimes helps me with cleaning and meals. She’s the newest girl in the House. Room down the hall on this floor. I do wish she’d make more of an effort to socialize with the others, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”

I felt slighted. Not only did she not even recognize my existence, but she was on the first floor and she couldn’t be bothered to show for a vote, which I suspected would take place around here. Unless it took place on the roof so Katsumi could toss us off when we were voted out. I swallowed roughly from that thought.

Tara swung back and forth on her heels. “She’s a grumpy cuss!”

“Gus,” Ms. Ishida swiftly corrected. Tara giggled. “Yeah… Only both!” She shifted her attention to Jamie. She eyeballed him a few times, then claimed him with an exuberant hug. Jamie fell backwards, which didn’t stop Tara from hugging.

Jamie winced and fidgeted. He grumbled, then seemed to go sullen. She looked up with widened eyes, like a curious cat inspecting him. He picked himself up and pointed a finger at me. “Umm… Kelly, we need to talk.”

I blinked a bit and responded, “What is it, Jamie?”

He gestured to the side. “You. Me. Talk. Now.”

Tara brightened. “Yay! Kellie-chan! So cute! And Jamie-chan too. Pretty girls!”

I hurried over to talk with Jamie. Tara still peeked, but Ms. Ishida pulled her back and told her to put some stuff away. I saw another girl walk in out of the corner of my eye but focused my attention on Jamie. There was a look of concern in his eyes.

“What is it, buddy?” I asked, folding my arms.

“This is really tough to talk about, but I gotta say it. I’m feeling really weird and it’s not just all these toons. I went to pee and I swear the mast has lost a little height. And that girl. She leapt on me. Chest and all, right on me. Pressing into me like I was her teddy bear, and I felt nothing. The crew is asleep at the wheel.” His voice never rose higher than a light whisper. I hoped we were far enough away that we didn’t embarrass Ms. Ishida. I figured the euphemism overuse was his way of covering for that possibility.

I bowed my head and got a hasty, low-whispered, “Don’t LOOK at it!” I was bright red. “I wasn’t. I was just thinking it over, honest. Truly.” He didn’t seem to buy it, but it was all I could offer.

“Well, I felt something similar. I figured it could just be Tara. She seems so childlike.”

Jamie gave a light snort. “But that chest! Come on. This isn’t like me at all. Sure, it could just be I’m not into toons, but, as you said, you weren’t affected either. I tried the sexiest thought I could imagine in there and, if anything, I felt smaller. Something weird is going on. I want to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. This place is creeping me out. I do not want to be here. I want to go home.” The end of Jamie’s pleading was highlighted by him clutching his hands in front of him in what seemed like prayer.

I nodded. “But what do we do? It’s not getting any earlier. If we have no money, then…”

“DRAT!” came a voice behind us. We both whirled around. Standing before us, and I suspected directly behind us, just a moment ago, was another girl. She made me think of Reiko at first, but warm. Her hair was a flaming, glowing orange, feathered like Reiko’s, but balanced. It flowed on both sides of her face in adorable, even locks. It was also tied into a ponytail, but with gentle precision and cute calculation. Her eyes were a complimentary, light brown as was the rest of her casual outfit. She wore a blousy top with soft, earthen tones and a flowing skirt. She was actually a little bit taller than some of the other House girls, but there was a cute aura about her, complimented by the neat frame of her body. I would hesitate to call it an hourglass, but it reminded me of one.

Her chest was small but still had more to it than Katsumi’s. But she had a triangle form around her shoulders with a narrow middle, flowing out to her broad hips. She was clearly a growing woman, but her face and demeanor spoke of child-like things.





Then, she opened her mouth. Her voice was terse and sharp, which only made it cuter. “I was so hoping to arrange a deal for keeping your… Limp secret. But I only deal in cash. Unless you have something valuable to me.” She raised her eyebrows and rubbed her palms together.

Jamie folded his arms too and walked back towards the kitchen. “That is something to consider, but then I’m highly cheap about paying anything.”

She cracked her knuckles. “I’m a dealmaker. What do you have?”

It occurred to me: Did I actually have any money with me? Keeping my eye on this new girl, I carefully peeked at my wallet. I remembered having a little over eighty bucks in there. The dollars were gone, and painted money was in its place. I recognized them as thousand yen bills. There were eight of them. I saw one five-hundred yen coin. It had golden leaves on the back. Four of the hundred yen coins. Flowers for that one. And a couple of fifty yen coins. That one had a hole in it. Then a bunch of ones, fives, and tens. They looked like little Olympic medals.

“I have around ten-thousand yen.” I didn’t say it very loud, but it was enough to put the new girl’s eyes and teeth a-glinting.

Well, that settled one thing. We were going to be using Japanese money here, and it seemed like everything was affected by whatever changed us into “toons,” as Jamie called it.

Speaking of Jamie, he was even more careful with his wallet. I didn’t even know he brought it with him. A full bloom of cash appeared and vanished as he held it close. The new girl was reduced to a twitching, drooling heap.

“Soooo much. Soo, soo much.”

She lay on the floor, grinning widely like some mad super-villain from a spy movie. I figured this couldn’t bode well.

Jamie coughed. “I have enough. I have well… Yeah, I have enough.” He leaned in and expelled the words down my ear, “One-hundred thirty-thousand.” Then he looked downward and added, “Of this weird money, at least.”

I did a quick mental calculation in my head. That meant Jamie was hoarding at least eleven-hundred dollars from the rest of us. In his wallet, no less. And I’d let him slide on his share of the rent so many times and Nathan had anted up for him.

I should’ve socked him right there, but the new girl slithered up around and grinned as she placed herself between us. “We haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Miura Mami. As I said, I’m gonna need an advance on that hush-hush deal upfront of one-thousand yen. From both of you. That’s a very good deal for my silence. You should take it.”

I wasn’t about to pay off anyone. And neither was Jamie. This Mami girl nodded, cleared her throat, and burst into loud song. She helicoptered her arms as she sang.

“Come listen, girls, I’m mission sent. These two boys are impotent! Flaccid, flat, and super soft. They can’t hold a thing aloft. Without a bit of stamina, the weakest thing you ever saw. You can try and hug them tight, but they’ll never get it right. Not a bit of pleasure here. Oh my, dear!” Then she repeated it even louder. And completely off-key.

After four repetitions, she took a bow, Tara peeking around behind her. “Gentlemen, I do hope we can do business later. Ta, for now. I have two more floors to give my performance to.” She blew a kiss and scampered off.  

“Well,” I told Jamie. “We know not to do that again, at least.”

He dropped his quiet tone, “She can do whatever she likes. It’s not as if we’re going to be staying here for very long anyway.”

Tara bounced out from her peeking-spot with tears in her eyes. Ms. Ishida followed in her wake. Tara clung tightly to Jamie. “Please stay! Stay and play with us. We’ve only met. Please, please don’t go!”

Jamie stood rigid, looking down at Tara, his face ebbing and flowing between reactions. He stammered a bit and looked to Ms. Ishida, seemingly, for guidance. But she was concerned with a different matter altogether. “I want to apologize deeply for Mami. That’s her usual state. But if you hold out against her several times, then she eventually leaves you alone. She seeks out easier rewards. Also, as some small comfort, she has morals, in her own way. She never steals. She may blackmail and extort but she never takes. She makes you give it up. And she never goes back on a deal once made. But she will accept better offers. And she always gives a fair price. At first. ‘She’s Mami,’ is all I can say. Once you get to know her quirks, she’s actually quite a sweet girl.”

I smiled at Ms. Ishida and thanked her. She really didn’t need to apologize like that, but she seemed, at least in some small part, to take responsibility for the actions of all the girls under her roof. I found that admirable, if a bit of a large chunk to chew on, considering the personalities I’d seen thus far. At least Ms. Ishida seemed up to the task. Again, I found her to be nothing like Jamie.

I heard a meow from behind me. I looked. With a kitten clinging effortlessly to her right shoulder, the last girl, so far as counting to nine was concerned, made an appearance.

She wore weathered jeans and a gray, cotton tank top. Both seemed small on her. Her hair was a close-cut brown style that looked more like mine than a girl’s. Her bangs teased across her forehead like chocolate-paint streaks. Her eyes were a soft, glassy brown. She regarded the still-hugging Tara and flashed us both a look.

“Well, well. It looks like the fun started without me. I can’t have that.” She, somehow, drew a feather from behind her and swirled it in the air like a conductor’s baton. The kitten on her shoulder stared anxiously up at it. It seemed tempted to reach up and tease at it. It was a calico with the left half of its face black and brown. The kitten’s features were nicely detailed, like everything else. It also responded like you’d expect a kitten to respond. It seemed a little nervous about us though.


[Reiko, left with Sumi, right]

Ms. Ishida clasped her hands and announced, “This is Takahashi Sumi. I believe you’ve met everyone now.”

Sumi tickled her lips with the feather and listened intently as Aneko summed up the situation thus far. Tara clung to Jamie.

Sumi interrupted halfway through, gesturing to Tara and Jamie. “By the way, that would be even more adorable if you two were both girls.”

Jamie looked like he’d suddenly broken out in hives. “Can you let me go now?”

Tara frowned a deep, exaggerated frown but disengaged slowly from Jamie. He nodded with a thank you and rubbed his arms carefully. I walked over to his side. He smelled of girl, imbedded on him from Tara’s contact.

Sumi stuck the feather behind her left ear and said, “Well. So, as it stands, you somehow wound up here. From somewhere else. By walking down the path between the anime shop and here.”

Nathan’s supposed anime store? How did Sumi know about it? Was it real here?

My rudimentary science understanding, gained mostly from old sci-fi television episodes, pointed towards the possibility of a wormhole. But I didn’t remember falling into a glowing, blue pool of light.  

Setting that aside a moment, Sumi had a look about her that made me wonder if she was going to start stroking the cat in her arms with a sinister grin. But then, maybe I was just reading too much into these girls’ demeanors. The calico dropped quietly to the floor and rubbed Sumi’s right foot.

So far, except for a few, they’d all been really great to us.

“Did you buy any hentai games?” That took me by surprise. A little. I explained we never made it to the store. She looked disappointed. The cat deftly worked its way back to her shoulder.  

“There are some really good ones there and some great shoujo-ai doujinshi. I got ten for eight-thousand yen. Do you collect any figures?”

Now she was talking my language. I refrained from mentioning what manga I possessed, for now, but I launched into detailed relations of the figures I decorated my bookshelves with. Sumi halted me with a quick and to-the-point question that made me blush bright. “How many of them have removable clothing?”

Tara’s eyes got wider, and Ms. Ishida looked carefully at the floor. I could feel myself gulp. I’d seen enough anime shows to know that I needed to be exceedingly-careful about my response, unless I wanted to go crashing through the wall due to some girl’s “Kyaaa!” followed by a Superman-strength punch. At this point, I figured that would come from an eavesdropping Katsumi.

“Some have multiple costumes.” Technically true, but no bras and just a pair of panties to occasionally flash. Also, they were cast without nipples. It was manga-style nudity. Nothing serious. But there was no limit to the amount of teasing Jamie gave me for that. Nathan was a little indignant at first. He’d fold his arms across his chest. But, after time, he found it really wasn’t meant to be dirty.

Still, I found myself blushing when talking about them. After all, here were living, breathing versions of those static little figures. I coughed a bit. Sumi wore a bored look and yawned.

“I have some very intimate figurines. Touching, bending, and caressing. Your figures sound so tame. Hmmm. If only you two were girls… Alright. I have a new game to break in. So, if you need me, I’ll be in my bunk.”

Cat-like, Katsumi appeared behind Sumi. “Oh no, you aren’t! We have a vote to do and you were the last, plodding voter we needed.”

Sumi glinted. “You again? Listen, I’m super busy right now, hun. Hana Matsuri is in five days. So gotta run.”

Katsumi blocked her path, but something about what Sumi quickly said at the end made me turn and ask Ms. Ishida, “What day is today?”

Ms. Ishida stared at me a moment with a perplexed look before telling me, “Why it’s April 3rd, of course.” She told me the year too. It was one later than I was expecting.

I turned to look at Jamie. He’d heard too.

Softly, he asked, “What the heck is going on?”

Assuming our world measured time the same way this one did, it had been nine months since we took our walk.