EE Chapter 7

# Chapter Seven - "Miyamoto-sama"

    "No, it's fine. It's actually pretty nice. Very… firm."

    "I can get you another if you'd like. Some of the more sensitive guests need to double up on mattresses."

    "Nah, really, it's fine. It's not like I've never slept on one before. I used to travel a ton with my dad and we stayed at places like this now and then. Just not for years now."

    "So, you're well traveled? That sounds rather delightful. Mother has stories from her trips all over the world. Was it for your father's work?"

    "Yeah… I guess so." Dad's "work", the family business. The entire reason I needed to have all these different layers to my image to begin with. And truthfully, I've loved the life it's let me live. Even if it's a life that is… I guess, maybe was… pretty lonely. "Thanks again for letting me stay in here with you."

    "You're quite welcome. It does make it feel a little more like a group outing having you here with me. Are you sure you don't need some cuddles though?"

    Her question caught me on an exhale and I made an ugly croak of a laugh.

    "That's a pretty weak line, even for us." When I rolled over to face her - I had been staring at her wall, which felt significantly less awkward - instead of Megumi I was met by a fluffy, gray plush elephant.

    "That's not nice. Miyamoto-sama's really cuddly."

    "Cute, but no thank you. We aren't little kids."

    "How about a bunny?" She held out a black and white stuffed rabbit. Its matted fur made it look a bit shaggy but well-loved in the way that's only ever endearing on animals, stuffed or otherwise. "Or there's a koi around here somewhere. I think a cat, too… Or maybe it's a red panda. It's definitely orangish…"

    "Who even are you right now?"

    "Eimi, I'm Megumi. I'm saddened that you don't remember. How much sake did you have with dinner?"

    "Shut up, you know what I meant. I guess you really like being home."

    "Mm-hmm. It brings back a lot of pleasant memories. I used to lay here every night thinking about what it would be like when I grew up. I always imagined I'd be helping my parents run the inn, cleaning and cooking, maybe meeting an attractive guest and falling in love like they did." Though it was a little difficult to see with only the light coming through the window to go by, I was fairly certain that Megumi was playing out a pretend battle between the rabbit and the elephant as we talked. The rabbit was winning. "I never imagined then that this is how I'd end up."

    "Yeah, well, don't sell yourself too short. There's lots of things you'd probably be good at, and most of them probably wouldn't be running an inn."

    "You think so?" She stopped her make-believe and focused on me as though I had some authority on the subject.

    "Sure. I mean, maybe you'll never be Ei! Mi! Inagawa! But maybe you could, like, open for me or something if this whole schtick we're trying doesn't work out. You've got a gimmick and you're pretty good looking, so we could make it work."

    "Well, thanks Eimi. That's… *sort of* encouraging. I always did hope I'd end up with my mother's good looks, so I guess I got lucky."

    "You two do look a lot alike. I mean except for the obvious. Plus it doesn't hurt that your dad's kind of hot too, for an old guy."

    "Eww!” Megumi made a sound of total disgust just before I found myself hit in the chest with Miyamoto. I tucked him under my arm for safekeeping. I guess we were going to be sharing a bed tonight after all, since mean old Megumi didn't want him.

    "I'm just sayin'..." We laughed, though for her it may have been in lieu of any other reasonable response. "So what's the rabbit's name?"

    "Eimi Inagawa, my newest friend, this is my oldest friend, Mr. Hoppy Pants. He's very pleased to meet you." She held out the plush toy and, using two fingers, made it wave a paw at me. I… what?

    "Mr. Hoppy Pants?"

    "I was three! I doubt you could've done better at three."

    "Let's see… At three, I had a little blonde teddy bear named Torakuma I got from one of my aunts. I think I tried to figure out 'teddy bear' and got a little jumbled with my languages…"

    "Well, he sounds lovely. Is he at home too?"

    "I think so. Probably in my room at my parents' place somewhere…" Right at the head of the bed, nestled between two pillows, with the blankets pulled up so he doesn't get cold…

    "Say hello from us the next time you're home, then." The rabbit was waving at me again.

    "So, this is the Megumi Aihara I worked so hard to figure out? Playing with stuffies and laughing at dumb jokes? It's like you're…"

    "A normal teenage girl?"

    "I don't know about 'normal', but you do seem pretty happy."

    "Gee, thanks again, Ms. Inagawa."

    I chuckled to myself. What did she expect? If Megumi were "normal" she'd probably be barely half as interesting, and I'm pretty sure that would place her far below the line necessary to catch my attention.

    "Do you ever feel like people don't really see you?"

    "Huh? Not really. People haven't stopped staring at me since I grew… uh, up. Attention is kind of my entire brand, you know?"

    "That's true. But not quite what I meant. I mean it like… all people ever seem to see when they look at me is "weird, old-fashioned Megumi." They never see anything beyond the kimono, so I find I have to mostly stick with that or they ignore me entirely."

    "I think we all saw beyond the kimono tonight."

    "You really think so?"

    "Yeah. We all took a bath together, so we saw all the way beyond the kimono…" Megumi made a small sound of derision, then extended an arm.

    "I'm going to need Miyamoto-sama back."

    I clutched the elephant harder to my chest. Not because he was, in actuality, ridiculously soft and comfortable, but because I knew what would happen if I returned him.

    "No, you're just gonna throw him at me again." After a short burst of laughter from both sides of the room, I rolled onto my back and added something less flippant. "I think it worked a little though. You certainly seem less…" The word I was thinking wasn't very polite, and though I had called Megumi weird plenty of times when we were exchanging playful barbs, using it now seemed… too harsh. Megumi may not be the only one I'm having trouble recognizing tonight, but that's probably just from the sake and being tired from traveling. "You seem more comfortable being yourself."

    "Thank you. And now you know my terrible secret. Just remember, you promised you'd keep it to yourself. Or else." The bunny gesturing at me made her threat really funny, and I had to fight back against a snicker.

    "I remember." I yawned widely, too full of food and drained of energy to keep this up for too long. Secrets though? Secrets I could probably keep forever. "Your secret's safe. Idol's honor, whatever that is. Nobody will ever know that you're kind of a dork sometimes."

    A few minutes passed, and that seemed to be a satisfactory end to our conversation. The futon actually was, much to my pleasant surprise, a lot more comfortable than I had been expecting… just like Miyamoto. It was a relief, not only because it meant I would probably sleep well, but because of a peculiarity of my relationship with Megumi. We joke around a whole lot and try to one up each other at pretty much everything, and while a lot of that means acting and playing with the truth a little, none of it ever goes so far as to be a boldfaced lie. At least not from my end, but I have a feeling that Megumi practices the same sort of situational honesty. Lies of omission happen, sure, but those are the unspoken rules of the game we play. For our purposes, a lie has to be explicit, otherwise the game simply wouldn't work. In any case, it always feels nice when even a little white lie turns out to have been the truth all along. Smiling slightly at how that always seems to work out when Megumi is concerned, I glanced to my side to say goodnight to my friend, only to find her… well, "staring" may carry connotations that are a bit creepier than I intend, and Megumi is certainly no stranger to a well-timed gaze, but something close to that wouldn't be wrong. Her right arm was extended out from under her and off of the mattress, again in my general direction, but not like she was trying to reach out and touch me. It was more like when you have trouble getting comfortable because your arms and your boobs can't agree on where everything should be - though I'm not sure that's a problem she struggles with - so you just stick your arm out to the side to get it out of the way. Or maybe it was like when you're a bit warm under the blankets so you stick one arm or leg out from under the covers hoping it'll cool you down. In any case, the overall effect was that her attention seemed to be focused very much in my direction. After a moment, during which I figured that she was doing it deliberately, I broke the silence.

    "Yeah?"

    "I've never had a sleepover before. Can you believe that? I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do."

    "Well, traditionally, this would be the point where we sleep." That answer seemed to slightly satisfy Megumi, getting her to roll onto her back, clutching her rabbit to her chest. Satisfied myself, I closed my eyes, only to have the same sneaking suspicion that I was being watched again. Opening them, she was right back where she had been, more or less, green eyes gazing in my direction like it wasn't strange at all. "Yes, Ms. Aihara?"

    "Eimi… we're best friends, right? I've never really had one before, and-"

    "Obviously. Why would you pick anyone else when you could have me? Now go to sleep."

    Yes, it was very touching. Yes, I'm pretty sure that if I had felt the need to examine my own feelings on the subject I likely would have discovered I felt the same way at the moment. Especially given my… complex history… with other girls our age. Yes, I ignored all of that and stated a simple yes instead of dealing with it. I did roll over and extend my arm toward her, but only because her room was way too warm, and because laying on my back was annoying on the shabby futon I had to put up with, and because Miyamoto was hard to get comfortable with.

    "Goodnight, Eimi."

    "Night, Megumi."

    The fact that our arms touched just slightly before I started fading into unconsciousness, and the sense of contentment that warmed the tiny room on this winter's night, like nearly everything else so far on this trip, was entirely the fault of my best friend Megumi.

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