Backup: Sudden Roommate (10) Fumie's Family

Backup of https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/12/sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.

[Scratch work at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/12/sbk-sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.]

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Previous: Fumie

"There's where I live." Fumie indicated the subdivision of neat rows of houses packed closely together on the streets stretching vertically away from us, across the major road where we were waiting for the light, almost in the shadow of the high-rise condominium block to our left and behind us. The afternoon sun glinted off upper-story windows across the street.

"They all look the same!" Teru shook her head in bemusement.

I had to agree with Teru. Modular mix-and-match construction gave some individuality to the houses, but there was an underlying sameness. Five-by-twelve meter rectangular plots, three-and-a-half stories, less than a meter between each house, one-meter deep micro-garden or general-use area in front of the entryway, carport area one side or the other overhung by the second floor. For all that each house presented its own distinct facade, there's not really a lot of variation possible in that tight a space.

"Wait. Is that your house? The third one in on the second street over there? The blue and pink one, with the kaki tree in front threatening to hang fruit over the fence?" Teru pointed, and I leaned in to get a view over her shoulder. Jun scoped it out from behind us.

Fumie nodded. "Very good guess. We have to trim that persimmon twice a year."

"Give good fruit?" I asked.

"For an inner-city tree."

"There's something different about the house, the colors, the layout," Teru observed. "It makes me think of you."

"S' yer dad w's th' construction manager when this w's goin' up?"

"My mom. The houses were constructed in modules at a factory. Dad led the team that built the module design and layout software. And then they decided to live here when they got married."

Jun nodded. "Makes sense."

Teru added, "Your dad and mom would do more with the software than the average customer working with the sales agent, I guess."

"Yeah, but I think it takes a special eye to notice it."

The light changed and we crossed the street. Entering the subdivision, we skirted the per-hour parking lot at the end of the first street, passed the first two houses on the next, and stopped in front of the micro-garden underneath the persimmon tree. Fumie opened the gate and the front door, and aromas of udon noodles and soybeans with a simple pork and vegetable broth seasoned with cayenne and sesame oil wafted out.

Jun tested the air. "Smells good."

"Uhm." Fumie nodded. "Tada-ima," she called out as she let us in.

We filed in after her, echoing, "Tada-ima!" and adding the obligatory apology, "Shitsu-rei shimasu," as we left our shoes in the genkan and stepped up onto the inner floor, then shuffled into the carpeted first-floor kyaku-ma where we dodged the low-hanging ceiling lamp to stand between the couch and the electric piano. A computer keyboard and screen stood on a small desk in a corner, and bookshelves stood against the far wall, with books and magazines on a variety of subjects, including a selection of religious and philosophical works that I recognized.


"Ah," a deep bass voice resonated down the stairwell. "Fumie. Teru, Ryō, and Jun are with you, right?"

"Right, Dad."

"Is the kotatsu set up down there?"

The low table for the kyakuma was not in sight.

"No, ..."

"Honey, no need for formalities between friends," a contralto voice resonated from above in turn. "Bring them up here where the food is."

"Okay." Fumie indicated the stairs with her head. "Is the kitchen okay?"

The three of us nodded. "Sure." "Yeah." "Sounds great."

She led the way up the narrow stairs, Teru following. Jun nodded for me to go first, then came behind.

At the top of the stairs, Fumie moved ahead on the landing between two doors, so we could enter the kitchen first. Fumie's mother turned to greet us as we squeezed in, wiping her hands on her apron.

Her dad was tending the pot at the stove, some of the steam condensing on his brow.  He stopped to nod welcomingly towards us.

"Oh, Teru. Welcome. Welcome!" Fumie's mom took Teru into a big hug, then leaned back to look her in the face. "Been so looking forward to meeting you."

I could see Teru's back stiffen as she took the hug. She ducked her head, not able to give a proper o-jigi bow between the table, the wall, and Fumie's mom. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Masamichi."

"Emari. Call me Em." She patted Teru on the back reassuringly. Teru's back remained stiff.

Looking over Teru's shoulder, Emari checked my face first, and then Jun's. She turned back to me and nodded. "Ah, Ryō."

"Mrs. Masamichi." I had room for a proper o-jigi in reply.

Then she turned again to Jun. "And Teru's wonderful big brother, Jun, who takes such good care of his little sister." There was no trace of irony or sarcasm in her voice as she separated from Teru and squeezed past me to pull Jun into a hug.

Teru turned and followed Emari with her eyes, raising her eyebrows, then gave me an inquiring look. I replied with with a small shrug.

Jun didn't miss a beat. "In 'n ideal world, in an ideal world." He returned the hug easily. "Thank ye for th' inv'tation, Ms. Masamichi."

"Em."

"Thanky', Em."

They patted each other on the back.

Jun looked at me over her shoulder with questions in his eyes. Again, there was nothing I could do but shrug quietly.

Fumie's dad shut the flame off and set the ladle down, and came over to shake our hands with a warm grin. "Seisaburō, but you guys can call me Sei. Sure glad you could come today."

The three of us returned his greetings. Now I could see Teru beginning to relax.

Emari separated from Jun and looked out the door, catching Fumie's eye. "I guess the kitchen table really isn't big enough for seven. Fu-chan, since Nats still hasn't come down, can you and Ryō set up the kotatsu in the ima?" She nodded at the door across the landing.

Fumie looked in at me. "Uhm, can I ask your help?"

I checked with Teru and she blinked and gave me a small go-ahead nod.

Jun's eyebrows were still slightly raised.

"I guess, ...," I answered a little more hesitantly than was polite.

"Thank you." Mrs. Masamichi stepped outside so I could get through.

"Your turn," I subvocalized to Jun as I squeezed past. He grimaced.

When we were up the stairs and around the corner, Fumie asked in a whisper, "So how do you and my mother know each other?"

"I wasn't aware that we did," I whispered back.

 She stopped and turned to face me. "Then what was that all about?"

I shook my head. "No idea."

Still puzzled, she turned and continued up the stairs. At the 3rd floor landing, she knocked on the nearest door. "Nazoru, are you coming down to meet Teru?"

"After my team finishes this battle."

"What are you playing?" I asked through the door.

The door slid open, and a teen-aged boy about Teru's age looked at me from where he sat in front of his game machine with a headset on, one hand on the door and one on his controller. "Got company," he said into the mike. Then he turned back to his game. "Dragon's Dogma."

"Ah, yeah. Teru used to really get into that one."

"Used to?" He digested that for a minute while he attacked the on-screen beast with his teammates. "Are you Teru's big brother?"

 "Nah, I'm not Jun, I'm their friend Ryō."

"Hang on," he said into the mike, and the on-screen avatars of his teammates moved into defensive formation. He turned back to examine me doubtfully for a moment, then returned to his game again. "Let's go." The on-screen battle resumed. "You're as old as Fumie," he commented, keeping his focus on the screen.

"True."

"Is that why you're not interested in Teru?"

"Natsu, ..." Fumie's voice had a warning tone.

"Heh. Nothing of the sort."

"Then why don't you go ahead put her in your family registry instead of sending her here to live?"

"Nazoru!"

"Life really is not as simple as many people think. But she's pretty much agreed to join my family when she is old enough, since you ask."

"My mother thinks you're dodging your responsibilities."

"Nazoru, really!"

"Might be. But that's between Teru and me and God. Would you rather she didn't come here to stay for a while?"

"Nah, I'm okay with it. Just wondering." He reached back without looking and slid the door shut again. "Take that, you beast!" we heard through the door. "There's the healing potion. Sorry I was a little slow."

Fumie and I retrieved the kotatsu from the middle room under the stairs, and I took the front end as we carried it down to the second floor to set it up on the tatami in the ima.

Dressers against the wall indicated that the designated living room doubled as Fumie's parents' bedroom at night.

"Kotatsu's set up," Fumie announced through the kitchen door.

"Oh, good. The udon is ready, too, let's all move into the ima. Jun, can you grab these bowls, and Teru, can you get the salad? I was just telling Teru and Jun how Sei and I know your parents, Ryō."

"I didn't know they knew you."

Teru brought the salad in and set it on the table, and Jun followed her with the bowls. Seisaburō came after with the pot and ladle.

Emari came last, carrying the rice cooker and shamoji.

"We're members of the jiko-no-tō."

The individualist party. Serious politics. Some say reactionary or ultra conservative. Some say ultra liberal. If you go far enough either right or left, you end up on the other end of the spectrum. I have sometimes participated, but have not declared myself a member.

"Your mother has worked with me on researching the hidden histories of o-mikoshi, and your father and Seisaburō have been researching the true origins of logographic characters. Why don't you sit here by me," she indicated service side, right of kami-za. "Jun can sit opposite you, and Teru can sit next to him, opposite Fumie." That put Fumie on the service side to my right. "Nats can sit next to Teru," she indicated kyakuza-right, "so they can get to know each other. He seems to think he is the glorious guest anyway."

The joke about Nazoru fell flat, and neither Fumie nor I could think of a way to cover it.

Teru's forehead creased, and she bit her lip.

I have to admit, I did not feel as awkward about all of this as I probably should have. I can't say why, except that during my two years of religious service I often found myself in really awkward social situations.

Seisaburō came to the rescue. "Sweetheart, if we aren't standing on formalities, perhaps we could let them sit where they choose."

Emari looked disconserted.

"Thank you, Sei." I quickly took Teru's hand and assumed the sub-kyaku-za position to the left of kami-za, with Teru to my left. Jun moved to kyakuza-right, around the corner from Teru.

Fumie gave her dad and us a quick smile. "I'll go get some mugi-cha and cups," she announced, heading back to the kitchen.

Seisaburō rubbed his wife's back encouragingly and took his seat at kami-za left, kneeling formally. Emari kneeled hesitantly, and Jun, Teru, and I followed suit.

Fumie brought the teapot and cups in and set them down, then kneeled around the corner from her mother and began to serve up wheat tea.

Suddenly Nazoru came crashing down the stairs, sounding like he was taking four steps at a time, and arrived at the door with a clomp.

"Hi!"

And he froze, staring at Teru.

"Nats, don't just stand there with nothing to say," Emari turned to him, confidence returning. "Go get the hashi and senbei."

He turned and walked obediently into the kitchen.

"So where should we start?" Seisaburō lifted the lid of the pot and filled a bowl. Emari lifted the lid of the rice cooker and started spooning rice into bowls with the shamoji.

"Perhaps we should clarify our situation," I suggested as I took the bowl Seisaburō handed me and passed it to Teru, who passed it to Jun.

"I think it would be wise. Too many people are assuming too many things." Seisaburō fillled another bowl from the pot.

Emari handed me a bowl of rice, and I passed it on to Teru for her to pass to Jun.

"Well, Teru, Jun, and I grew up together. We lived next door to each other." I took the second bowl of udon from Seisaburō and passed it to Teru.

"So we've heard." Emari handed me another bowl of rice, and I passed that to Teru, too.

"Fumie says you know about their family connections." I accepted the bowl Seisaburō handed to me and set in front of myself.

"We do, and we understand that their parents were killed in inter-kumi arguments." Emari handed me my bowl of rice.

I reached out for Teru's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back.

"That's one way t' put it, ma'am." Jun's tone was even, so I knew he was giving them the benefit of the doubt.

"Here are the o-hashi and senbei." Nazoru rushed in and set the box of chopsticks and a bowl of rice crackers on the table, then sat down cross-legged across from Teru, leaning back. "Now we can eat!"

"Natsu!" Fumie chided him.

He sat straight, then moved to a kneeling position. "Sorry."

"Oh, why don't we all relax?" Seisaburō grinned wryly and shifted to sitting cross-legged.

Everyone shifted to more relaxed sitting positions with murmurs of appreciation.

Nazoru peeked across the table at Teru, then looked back down.

Teru's grip on my hand tightened.

Then he looked back up. "Uh, hi, Teru. I'm Nats. Everyone calls me Nazoru. I mean, ..."

"Hello, Nats." Teru gave him a carefully friendly nod. I squeezed her hand again, and she squeezed back.

Nazoru turned to Jun. "And you're Jun."

"'Ight."

He turned back to Teru. "So, I hear you play Dragon's Dogma."

"I haven't had time to for a while."

"Do you want to join my team?"

"I don't have a game machine. I had to leave a lot of stuff behind when I came. And I think I'll be kind of busy with school for a while."

"Oh." Nazoru's disappointment was visible.

"Not to offer temptation," Fumie offered. "But I've got a game machine you could use anytime you think you have time." Then she shook her head. "Oh, but you won't have your avatar."

Teru smiled. "I can retrieve my avatars, if I need to." Under the table, her grip on my hand intensified.

"You can?" Nazoru was incredulous.

"Maybe I shouldn't admit that." She tilted her head and shook it with a wry smile. "Oh, but we can do it. Give me a few weeks to settle down first." She released my hand and started tracing circles on the inside of my wrist. "You could join us, Ryō?"

"Maybe. If Jun and Fumie join us, too." I tickled her palm, and she grabbed my finger.

Jun sensing what was going on under the table, smirked.

"Do you game, too, Jun?" Nazoru looked hopeful.

"Uh, sometimes. Beenawhile."

When we were twelve or so, Jun and I could watch gameplay for no more than half an hour and name the internal game engine. Teru was never far behind us. Sometimes we competed against each other, other times we played on the same teams. We knew where to find any cheats we didn't know, but we rarely used them.

I can't say whether our grades suffered because of the gaming, but we all eventually grew tired of it by the time Jun and I were fourteen. I think I was the first to suggest we move on to other things, but I'm not sure. But neither Jun nor Teru felt it necessary to explain that much.

"Nazuro, you must not interfere with Teru's studies." Seisaburō was firm.

 "Like I say, give me at least a couple of weeks."

"I'm sure she has a lot to catch up with." Emari's voice was not quite as firm. "So, Teru, you were saying you three grew up together?"

"Yes, I was a bit of a tomboy, and I tagged along when Jun and Ryō did stuff. I'm sure I got in the way."

She dug a fingernail into my palm, so I refrained from correcting that last bit.

Jun did not refrain. "When we were ten, we often thought she was in the way. But in high school, we were a team."

"After their parents died, various relatives came to their house to look after them."

"And the house," Teru corrected me. "Our aunt Fumiyo and uncle Nozomu took charge of us  longer than anyone."

"Their last guardian was a step-stepmother named Amanoko, who was called Angel, but behaved more like an angel of the devil."

Seisaburō nodded. "We've heard that part."

Emari shook her head. "You poor child."

"Jun protected me from the worst of it."

"Before my parents split up, they were always welcome out our house, but things got really bad after my parents split up and the family moved away while I was out doing my two years of service."

"We'd like to hear about your service." Emari smiled at me.

"Sure. Sometime. I'm afraid my attempts to minister to other people were enothing  spectacular, but I learned a lot of important things."

Seisaburō nodded again. "Spectacular is not what the Lord usually does."

"That was one of the things I learned." I looked at Jun, and wondered whether he'd understand. At the time, I did not think I was not worried about whether Teru understood.

"I'd liike to hear these stories, too," Jun commented with a forced casual tone.

"We do need to talk about it." Teru beat me to the reply.

Teru and I looked at each other.

"So, Teru," Emari paused. "Should we ask you or Ryō to clear up our understanding of the relationship between you two?"

Teru grinned. I let my eyes widen before turning back to face Emari and Seisaburō to reply.

"We're married."

I closed my mouth and turned back to Teru. "I've never been sure whether betrothed or married would correctly apply to the old traditions, but it only applies if my parents had accepted the negotiations. Fumiyo may know the shikitari well, but her understanding of our scriptures is not complete. You have to be free to make the choice."

"And, in the modern and ancient world, Ryō, so do you. Even in the corrupt interpretations left in our public scriptures, a boy who has been manipulated into a situation is not required to give up his duty of choice."

I turned again to face Seisaburō in surprise.

"Ryō's parents told you about that, too?" Jun completely dropped the dialect in his surprise.

"Not the details, only that no actual coitus was claimed, and that they did not agree. Is that not correct?" Seisaburō wanted an exact answer on this, and it was his right to know, if they were going to have Teru stay with them.

Teru and I were searching each other's eyes.

"It is correct," I answered. "But, for the record, I never considered myself bound by it."

I paused. "But my family and the church have supported me in my free choices. Teru has not had the church to help her up until now, much to my dismay. And her family, such as they are, are quite persistent in their efforts to impose that agreement on both of us."


Again I paused, and when I continued, my voice was rather firm. "I don't know whether I need more time to decide, but Teru needs to experience life without the obligations of the shikitari before she takes on duties and obligations she doesn't understand. And," I turned back to Seisaburō and Emari, "you both know that I am not simply speaking of old traditions about family, nor the modern social theories of the same."

Emari pursed her lips. "I'm afraid I don't understand those obligations and duties very well, myself."

Seisaburō added, "They can't be understood without experience."

I nodded. "Jun and Teru's present situation would prevent them from actually experiencing the hidden parts. This is something I've had long conversations with our Father about."

Seisaburō and Emari looked at each other. Seisaburō spoke. "You're sure of this."

"How can anyone really choose without at least some knowledge of what would result?"

"The choice in the garden, ...," Emari hesitated.

"Brought them to the knowledge they needed to make further choices. But the scriptures fail to tell us how they prepared."

Emari set her mouth in a displeased frown. "And if Teru chooses otherwise?"

"Each one of us, when we chose to come to this world, accepted the possibility of heartbreak."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Teru, this man you have chosen has a heart of stone."

"Ah, but you haven't seen his heart the way I have." Teru smiled, and my heart broke.

In that moment, a gap opened in certain unseen walls, and certain old whispers of doubt clamored for my attention. "You're not a decent man." "A decent man would claim her now." "A decent man would not ask her to go through more trouble than she already has." "A decent man --"

I prayed silently for help, and the voices faded away as the breach in the walls closed.

Emari humphed. "If she can say that about you, what further reassurance do you need?"

"If I have to talk about what I need, I need to know that she knows that I am not the only decent man in this world." I turned and, in the heat of my emotion, may have drilled Nazoru a bit harshly with my eyes.

"Whoah. Way too heavy for me."

Teru giggled, and I relaxed and laughed. "Thanks, Nats. Perfect answer."

He grinned, and I knew I had somehow won an ally. "Udon's getting cold," he pointed out.

Teru leaned on my shoulder, and I pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple.

Seisaburō shook himself. "Well, yes. This has gotten a bit heavy. Let's eat."

Next

TOC

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Backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/12/bk-sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.
Initial scratch work at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/12/sbk-sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.

Scratch Backup: Sudden Roommate (10) Fumie's Family

[Actual chapter is at https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/12/sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.
Backup of completed chapter is at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/12/bk-sudden-roommate-10-fumies-family.html.]

[JMR: Scratchwork from between 20191216 and 20191222:]

"There's where I live." Fumie indicated the subdivision of neat rows of houses packed close together on the streets stretching vertically away from us, across the major road where we waited for the light, almost in the shadow of the high-rise condominium block to our left and behind us. The afternoon sun glinted off upper-story windows.

"They all look the same!" Teru shook her head in bemusement.

I had to agree with Teru. Modular mix-and-match construction gave some individuality to the houses, but there was an underlying sameness. Four-by-eleven meter rectangular plots, three-and-a-half stories, less than a meter between each house, one-meter deep garden or general-use area in front of the entryway, with carport area one side or the other overhung by the second floor. For all that each house had it's own variations, there's not a lot of variation possible in that tight a space.

"Wait. Is that your house? The third one in on the second street over there? The blue and pink one, with the kaki tree in front threatening to hang fruit over the fence?" Teru pointed, and I leaned in to get a view over her shoulder. Jun scoped it out from behind us.

Fumie nodded. "Very good guess. We have to trim that persimmon twice a year."

"Give good fruit?" I asked.

"For an inner-city tree."

"There's something different about the house, the colors, the layout," Teru observed. It makes me think of you."

"S' yer dad manag'd th' construction when this's goin' up?"

"My mom. The houses were constructed in modules at a factory. Dad led the team that built the module design and layout software. And then they decided to live here when they got married."

Teru nodded. "Your dad and mom could do more with the software than the average customer and the sales architect working together, I guess."

"Yeah, but I think it takes a special eye to notice it."

The light changed and we crossed the street. Entering the subdivision, we skirted the common parking lot at the end of the first street, passed the first two houses, and crowded into the micro-garden beside the persimmon tree. Fumie opened the front door and aromas of udon noodles and soybeans with pork and vegetable broth, seasoned with cayenne and sesame oil and other traditional spices, wafted out.

Jun tested the air. "Smells good."

"Yeah." Fumie nodded. "Tada-ima," she called out as she let us in.

We filed in after her, echoing, "Tada-ima!" and adding the obligatory apology, "Shitsu-rei shimasu," as we left our shoes in the genkan and stepped up onto the inner floor, then shuffled into the carpeted first-floor kyakuma where we dodged the low-hanging ceiling lamp to stand between the couch and the electric piano. A computer keyboard and screen stood on a small desk in a corner, and bookshelves stood against the far wall, with books and magazines on a variety of subjects, including a selection of religious and philosophical works that I recognized.


"Ah," a deep male voice resonated down the stairwell. "Fumie. Teru, Ryō, and Jun are with you, right?"

"Right, Dad."

"Is the kotatsu set up down there?"

The low table for the kyakuma was nowhere in sight.

"No, ..."

"Honey, no need for formalities between friends," a contralto voice resonated from above in turn. "Bring them up here where the food is."

"Okay." Fumie indicated the stairs with her head. "Is the kitchen okay?"

The three of us nodded. "Sure." "Yeah." "Sounds great."

She led the way up the narrow stairs, Teru following. Jun nodded for me to go first, then came behind, all of us following the smell of good food wafting down from upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, Fumie moved ahead on the landing between the open kitchen door on the right and the closed door on the left, so we could enter first. Fumie's mother turned to greet us as we squeezed in, wiping her hands on her apron. Her dad was tending the pot at the stove, sweating lightly in the steam.  He also turned and nodded welcomingly towards us.

"Ah, Teru. Welcome!" Fumie's mom took Teru into a big hug, then leaned back to look her in the face. "Been so looking forward to meeting you."

I could see Teru's back stiffen as she took the hug. She ducked her head, not able to give a proper o-jigi bow between the table, the wall, and Fumie's mom. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Masamichi."

"Emari. Call me Em." She patted Teru on the back reassuringly. Looking over her shoulder, she checking my face first and then Jun's. She turned back to me and nodded. "Ah, Ryō."

"Mrs. Masamichi." I had room for a proper o-jigi in reply.

"And Teru's wonderful big brother, Jun, who takes such good care of his little sister." There was no trace of irony or sarcasm in her voice as she separated from Teru and squeezed past me to pull Jun into a hug.

Teru turned and followed Emari with her eyes, raising her eyebrows, then turning slightly to look inquiringly at me. I gave her a little shrug and shake of my head, muttering under my breath, "You got me."

Jun didn't miss a beat. "In 'n ideal world, Ms. Masamichi, in an ideal world." He returned the hug easily. "Thank 'e for yer inv'tation."

"Em, to you, too."

"Thanky', Em."

They patted each other on the back. Jun and I exchanged glances over her shoulder.

Fumie's dad put the ladle down and shut the flame off, and came over to shake our hands with a warm grin. "Seisaburō, but you guys can call me Sei. Sure glad you could come today."

The three of us returned his greetings.

Emari separated from Jun and looked out the door, catching Fumie's eye. "I guess the kitchen table really isn't big enough for seven. Fu-chan, since Nats still hasn't come down, can you and Ryō set up the kotatsu in the ima?" She nodded at the door across the landing.

Fumie looked in at me with puzzlement in her eyes. "Is that okay?"

I gave her an "I don't know what's going on!" look in reply, but she didn't seem to be reading me. So I turned to Teru and asked her with my eyes if she was okay.

She was keeping her face a mask. She nodded just enough for me to see, and gave me just enough of a straightened mouth to let me know she wasn't happy.

"I guess, ...," I answered a little more hesitantly than was polite.

"Thank you." Mrs. Masamichi stepped outside so I could get through. I looked quickly towards Teru and mouthed, "Hang in there."

Again, she nodded just enough for me to see.

Jun's eyebrows were raising slightly.

"You're on," I undertoned to him as I squeezed past.

When we were up the stairs and around the corner, Fumie whispered, "So my mother knows you?"
"Not that I am aware of," I whispered back.

 She stopped turned to face me. "Then what is this all about?"

I shook my head. "No idea."

Still puzzled, she turned and continued up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she knocked on the nearest door. "Nazoru, are you coming down to meet Teru?"

"After my team finishes this battle."

"What are you playing?" I asked.

The door slid open, and a teen-aged boy about Teru's age looked at me from where he sat in front of his game machine with a headset on, one hand on the door and one on his controller. "Got company," he said into the mike. Then he turned back to his game. "Dragon's Dogma."

"Ah, yeah. Teru used to really get into that one."

"Used to?" He digested that for a minute while he attacked the on-screen beast with his teammates. "Are you Teru's big brother?"

 "Nah, I'm not Jun, I'm their friend Ryō."

"Hang on," he said into the mike, and the on-screen avatars of his teammates moved into defensive formation. He turned back to examine me doubtfully for a moment, then returned to his game again. "Let's go." The on-screen battle resumed. "You're as old as Fumie," he commented, keeping his focus on the screen.

"True."

"Is that why you're not interested in Teru?"


"Natsu, ..." Fumie's voice had a warning tone.

"Heh. Nothing of the sort."

"Then why don't you put her in your family registry?"

"Nazoru!"

"Life really is not as simple as many people think. But she's pretty much agreed to marry when she is old enough, since you ask."

"My mother thinks you're dodging your responsibilities."

"Nazoru, really!"

"Might be. But that's between Teru and me and God."

"Mmmff." He reached back without looking and slid the door shut again. "Take that, you beast!" we heard through the door. "There's the healing potion. Sorry I was a little slow."

Fumie and I retrieved the kotatsu from the middle room and I took the front end as we carried it down to the second floor and set it up on the tatami in the ima. Dressers against the wall indicated that the living room doubled as Fumie's parents' bedroom at night.

"Kotatsu's ready," Fumie announced through the kitchen door.

"Oh, good. The udon is ready, too, let's all move into the ima. Jun, can you grab these dishes, and Teru, can you get the salad? I was just telling Teru and Jun how I know you're parents, Ryō."

"I didn't know that."

Teru picked up the salad and Jun picked up the dishes, and Seisaburō put a lid on the pot and picked it up with hotpads, and they moved into the ima where we were waiting.


Emari followed with the rice cooker. "Your mother has worked with me on researching the hidden histories of o-mikoshi, and your father is a member of a group Seisaburō and I are in, researching lesser known connections in the history of logographic characters. Why don't you sit here by me," she indicated service side, right of kami-za. "Jun can sit opposite you, and Teru can sit next to him, opposite Fumie." That put Fumie on the service side to my right. "Nats can sit next to Teru," she indicated kyakuza-right, "so they can get to know each other. He seems to think he is the glorious guest anyway."

The joke about Nazoru fell flat, and neither Fumie nor I could think of a way to cover it.

Teru's forehead creased, and she bit her lip.

I have to admit, I did not feel as awkward about all of this as I should have. I can't say why, except that during my two years of religious service I often found myself in socially awkward situations.

Seisaburō came to the rescue. "Honey, if we aren't standing on formalities, perhaps we could let them sit where they choose."

Emari looked puzzled.

"Thank you, Sei," I said quietly, moving quickly to take Teru's hand and assume the sub-kyaku-za position to the left of kami-za. Jun also reacted quickly, moving to stand around the corner of the table from Teru.

Fumie gave her dad and us a quick smile of appreciation. "I'll go get some senbei and mugi-cha," she announced, heading back to the kitchen.

Seisaburō sat kami-za left, patting his wife on the back as he took his place. She sat hesitantly, still with a puzzled look on her face.

We followed suit, and Fumie brought the rice crackers and wheat tea in, sitting around the corner from her mother.

And then Nazoru came down the stairs noisily, sounding like he was taking four steps at a time, arriving at the door with a clomp.

"Hi!"

And he froze, staring at Teru.

"Nats, don't just stand there gaping," Emari turned to him. "Come in and sit down." She was again confident.

He walked timidly around behind Fumie, to stand to her right, across from Teru. "Uh, hi, Teru. I'm Nats. Everyone calls me Nazoru. I mean, ..."

"Hi, Nats." Teru ducked her head with a wry smile. She squeezed my hand under the table.

Nazoru sat down and turned to Jun. "And you're Jun."

"'Ight."

He turned back. "So, I hear you play Dragon's Dogma."

"I haven't had time to for a while."

"Do you want to join my team?"

"No game machine to play on here. I had to leave a lot of stuff behind when I came here. And I think I'll be kind of busy with school for a while."

"Oh." Nazoru's disappointment was visible.

"Not to offer temptation," but Fumie was offering. "But I've got a game machine you could use when you think you have time." Then she did a small double-take. "Oh, but you won't have your avatar."

Teru smiled. "I can retrieve my avatars, when I need to." Under the table, her grip on my hand intensified.

"You can?" Nazoru was incredulous.

"Maybe I shouldn't admit that." She tilted her head and shook it. "Oh, but we can do that. Give me a few weeks." Her grip on my hand loosened, but she started tracing circles on the inside of my wrist. "You could join us, Ryō?"

"Maybe. If Jun and Fumie join us, too." I tickled her palm, and she grabbed my finger.

Jun sensing what was going on under the table, smirked.

"Do you game, too, Jun?" Nazoru looked hopeful.

"Uh, sometimes."

There had been a time when Jun and I could watch gameplay for a half an hour and name the internal game engine.

"Are you interested in our country's history?

 [JMR: End scratchwork.]

[JMR: Scratchwork from between 20191212 and 20191216:]

"There's where I live." Fumie indicated the subdivision of neat rows of houses packed close together on the streets stretching vertically away from us, across the major road where we waited for the light, almost in the shadow of the high-rise condominium block to our left and behind us. The afternoon sun glinted off upper-story windows.

"They all look the same!" Teru shook her head in partial disappointment.

I had to agree with Teru. Modular mix-and-match construction gave some individuality to the houses, but there was an underlying sameness. Four-by-eleven meter rectangular plots, three-and-a-half stories, less than a meter between each house, one-meter deep garden area in front of the entryway, with carport area one side or the other overhung by the second floor. For all that each house had it's own variations, there's not a lot of variation possible in that tight a space.

"Wait. Is that your house? The third one in on the second street over there? The blue and pink one, with the kaki tree in front threatening to hang fruit over the fence?" Teru pointed, and I leaned in to get a view over her shoulder. Jun scoped it out from behind us.

Fumie nodded. "Very good guess. We have to trim that persimmon twice a year."

"Give good fruit?" I asked.

"For an inner-city tree."

"There's something different about the house, the colors, the layout," Teru observed. It makes me think of you."

"S' yer dad manag'd th' construction when this's goin' up?"

"My mom. The houses were constructed in modules at a factory. Dad led the team built the module design and layout software. And then they decided to live here when they got married."

Teru nodded. "So your dad could do more with the software than the average customer and sales architect together, I guess."

"Yeah, but I think it takes a special eye to see it."

The light changed and we crossed the street into the subdivision, skirted the communal paid parking lot on the end of the first street and passed the first two houses, and Fumie opened her front door. Aromas of heavy udon noodles and soybeans with pork in vegetable broth, seasoned with cayenne and sesame oil and other traditional spices, wafted out.

Jun tested the air. "Smells good."

"Tada-ima," Fumie called out as she let us in.

We filed in after her, saying, "Shitsu-rei shimasu," by turn as we left our shoes in the genkan, to wait in the carpeted first-floor kyakuma, dodging the low-hanging ceiling lamp. An electronic keyboard stood on a stand in a near corner, and a network terminal computer stood on a small desk in a far corner. Bookshelves against the far wall held books and magazines on a variety of subjects, including a large selection of church books and works of modern utilitarian philosophy. [***This still needs work.]

"Ah," a deep male voice resonated down the stairs beside the genkan. "Fumie. Teru, Ryō, and Jun with you, right?"

"Yeah, Dad."

"Is the kotatsu set up down there?"

The low table for the kyakuma was indeed nowhere in sight.

"No, ..."

"Honey, no need for formalities between friends," a contralto voice resonated from above in turn. "Bring them up here where the food is."

Fumie indicated the stairs with her head. "Is the kitchen okay?"

The three of us nodded. "Sure." "Yeah." "Sounds great."

She led us up the narrow stairs, Teru following. Jun nodded for me to go first, then came behind. Steam carried the aromas of lunch down the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Fumie slipped out of the way past the kitchen door so we could enter the kitchen first. Fumie's mother met us as we squeezed in, wiping her hands on her apron. Fumie followed Jun in.

Fumie's dad was tending the pot at the stove, sweating lightly in the steam.  He turned and nodded welcomingly towards us. "Hi, guys."

"Ah, Teru. Welcome!" she took her into a hug, then leaned back to look her in the face. "Been so looking forward to meeting you."

Teru took the hug a little stiffly, and ducked her head, not able to give a formal o-jigi bow in the tight space between the table, the wall, and Fumie's mom. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Masamichi."
"Emari. Call me Em." She patted Teru on the back reassuringly and scouted out my face, then Jun's, over her shoulder. "Ah, Ryō." She nodded to me perfunctorily and shook my hand around Teru's waist.

"Mrs. Masamichi." I had room to give o-jigi in reply.

Teru turned to let her pass and she reached around me to shake Jun's hand warmly. "And Teru's wonderful big brother, Jun, who takes such good care of his little sister." There was no trace of irony or sarcasm in her voice.

Teru raised her eyebrows inquiringly at me from behind Emari, and I tilted my head very slightly and blinked non-commitally and let Emari pass. She gave Jun a hug, too.

"In 'n ideal world, Ms. Masamichi, in an ideal world." Jun returned the hug easily. "Thank 'e for yer inv'tation." Yeah, Jun could be very socially savy.

"Em, to you."

"Thanky', Em."

The patted each other on the back.

Fumie's dad put the ladle down and came over to shake our hands. "Seisaburō, but you guys can call me Sei. Glad you could come today."

The three of us returned greetings.

"I guess the kitchen table really isn't big enough for seven." Emari stuck her head out the door. "Nats still hasn't come down. Fumie, can you and Ryō set up the kotatsu in the ima?"

Fumie looked at me with puzzlement. "Is that okay?"

I gave her an "I don't know what's going on!" look in reply, but she didn't seem to be reading me.

I turned to Teru and asked her silently, "Will you be okay?"

Teru was keeping her face a mask. She barely nodded, but she wasn't happy.

 "I guess, ...," I answered a little more hesitantly than was polite and turned for the door.

Jun's eyebrows were raising slightly.

"You take over," I mouthed.

His head tilted slightly as I moved towards the door, and I read doubt in his eyes.

Fumie backed out into the hall, and her mother let me past. Jun whispered, "What's going on here?" as I squeezed past him.

"Don't know. Play it out." I whispered back and followed Fumie out the door and up the stairs.

"Do you and my mom know each other?"

"Not that I am aware."

"I don't understand what's going on." She knocked on her brother's door at the top of the stairs. "Nats, Teru's here. Are you coming to meet her?"

"In a minute. My team's in a battle."

She shook her head. "The spare kotatsu is in this room." She opened the door to the middle of the upstairs rooms, turning the light on as she went in.

I followed her.

She indicated a low table leaning against the wall and picked up one end, and I picked up the other. As we returned to the stairs, her brother's door opened, and Nats looked out from where he sat in front of the game console. "Are you Teru's brother, Jun?"

I chuckled. "I'm Teru and Jun's friend, Ryō."

"Oh. Her boyfriend who won't do right by her."

"Nats, where did you get that from?"

"It's what Mom said."

"Well," I laughed low, "she might be right and she might not. I'm trying the best I know how. Whatcha playing?"

He moved out of the way so I could see. "Battle Spirits."

"Not familiar with that one. You'll have to show me later."

"Okay."

We descended the stairs.

"Ryō, what are you doing?"

"Just playing this out to see where it goes."

"You think this is just a game?"

"No."

Fumie sighed through her nostrils, but didn't press the question. She opened the door across from the kitchen with her free hand, and we took the kotatsu in and set it up.

As we turned to leave, she took me by the elbow. "You won't betray Teru's trust?"

"No, of course not. I fully intend to invite her into my family registry when she's old enough to decide for herself."

She didn't quite seem satisfied, but she let it go and we returned to the kitchen.

"Ah, you're back. I was just telling Teru and Jun how I know you're parents, Ryō."

"The food's ready," Seisaburō interrupted. "Let's take into the ima and dig in."

We moved back to the living room, carrying food and dishes with us.

Nazoru came down the stairs

We descended the stairs.

"Ryō, what are you doing?"

"Just playing this out to see where it goes."

"You think this is just a game?"

"No."

Fumie sighed through her nostrils, but didn't press the question. She opened the door across from the kitchen with her free hand, and we took the kotatsu in and set it up.

As we turned to leave, she took me by the elbow. "You won't betray Teru's trust?"

"No, of course not. I fully intend to invite her into my family registry when she's old enough to decide for herself."

She didn't quite seem satisfied, but she let it go and we returned to the kitchen.


[JMR: End scratchwork.]

[JMR: Scratchwork from before 20191212:]


To our left was a high-rise danchi subdivision, several long high-rise apartment buildings with probably a thousand apartments in the group. Across the street, we could see into the streets of a single-dwelling subdivision.

Less than a half meter of space between the houses made one doubt whether the fire warden had actually dropped by to check while the houses were going up. In front of each was less than a square meter of garden or other private-use space, fronting on the front door or a full-length veranda window. To one side or the other of the tiny garden was parking space, just big enough to safely park a sub-compact family car, although there were larger compact cars squeezed into many of the parking spaces and bicycles instead of cars in others. The second story of each house invariably hung over the parking space or the garden, or both. There might be a veranda with laundry posts showing on either the second or third floor.

Lots of little variations, but they only served to emphasize how tightly the houses were squeezed together, and the mix-and-match component style of construction -- and the underlying commonalities.





"Ours is the third house from the corner." Fumie indicated the house with her hand.



Most had room next to the entrance to park a sub-compact low-roof vehicle. Each house was three stories, and the parking area was overhung by what one might guess was the staircase inside. The garden was maybe a square meter of space beside the

 From our approach, we could see the houses lined up in a row on the nearest street, and streets branching off the street Houses lined up against the road along the street we were facing, and

Teru looked from house to house. "Well, not exactly the same. Little differences, but

"Comput'r aid'd man'factur'n'."

"Every


Fumie's house was in the middle of one of the new development areas.

My dad would have called them modern row houses. He had shown me pictures of cheap housing of the previous century, row upon row of houses that all looked exactly the same. Cookie cutter construction, he called it.

Once, he mentioned to me with some expressions of regret that he had helped pioneer the software that had enabled the modern version of mass housing developments, using automated computer-aided design and manufacturing to give a certain variety to the houses that were built. But seeing all the houses together left you with an impression of an underlying sameness.

The Masamichi house showed some customization.


"We're here!" Fumie called out as she let us in the front door of her house.

***


"Fumie, you're here," her father called from the kitchen as Fumie let us in. "Everybody come on in and let's get acquainted!"

We said helloes and his as we removed our shoes and left them in the entryway, stepping up into the living area.

Her mother came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Hi, Teru." She reached out and drew Teru into a hug.

Teru took the hug stiffly at first, but then I could see the stress in her shoulders relax. "Hi. Thanks, Mrs. Masamichi."

"Emari, but call me Em." Mrs. Masamichi looked over Teru's shoulder from Jun to me and back, settling on Jun and giving him a nod. "And you must be Teru's wonderful big brother, who is so careful of her well-being." She reached her free hand out to shake hands with Jun. There was no trace of irony or sarcasm in her tone.

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am." Jun shook hands warmly. His shift in dialect wasn't quite natural.

Then she nodded to me. "Ryō. Hello."

"Hello."

Fumie looked over at me, questions in her eyes. I may have blinked, but I sloughed it off.

"Teru. Jun. Ryō." Fumie's father followed his wife in, borrowing her towel to dry his hands. "I'm Seisaburō, generally answer to anything you call me." He greeted each of us with a nod and a warm smile.
"Where's Natz? Nazoru!" Fumie called out to her little brother while she booted up the family computer on it's desk against the wall.

"I'm sure he's playing one of his games." Mrs. Masamichi patted Teru on the back and disappeared through a doorway. "Nazoru, come welcome your new sister, Teru."

Teru turned to me, eyes widening slightly.

Fumie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then glanced at both of us apologetically.



"He







"Jun. Nice t' meet you, Mr. Masamichi. Ah, uhm, Mrs. Masachi."



Fumie brought us in to the ima (living room) and we sat down at the kotatsu. Her older sister Maina, Maina's husband Matt, and her little brother Nazoru joined us, then her parents, Seisaburō and Emari, came in from the kitchen. We spent a half hour or so in introductions.




Fumie's family were good people. Well, her little brother was a brat and far too interested in Teru's connections with the Sumaguchi family.

PTA rumor story of abusive boyfriend kidnapping causes mrs masamichi's bias.


My mom isn't like this.okay, she may have a bit of a mother cat mode, but she's overboardAlone felt cold.

Landlady's disappointment

[JMR: End scratchwork.]

Backup: Sudden Roommate (9) -- Fumie

Backup of https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/11/sudden-roommate-9-fumie.html.

---

Previous: First Sunday

Fumie called her family, and they invited us to have a late lunch with them that afternoon.

We joined the last-minute planning meeting for Saturday's dinner-dance, and that kept us at church another hour, and then Teru and I headed for the bus stop with her. Fumie and Teru walked ahead of me, chatting somewhat randomly about the dance, Fumie's family, and getting Teru back into a school.

"Ryō, WHAT th' HECK d'ya think you are do--."

I prepared for the slap on the back, but it didn't come. I turned around to find Jun looking past me. I checked his line of sight, but I couldn't tell if he was looking at Teru or Fumie, both of whom had also turned around.

"Aniki!" Teru grinned at her brother.

Jun shifted gears. "Uhmean, how th' heck is it going, Ryō? Hi, Teru, wha's happ'nin'?"

Most people would not have noticed he was having to struggle to shift those gears, but it was plain to me, and probably to Teru, as well. I wondered briefly whether Fumie had registered his confusion.

Teru's and my replies overlapped:

"Yo, Jun. Not bad."

"Hi, yourself. Been to church with Ryō and Fumie. They introduced me to some of their friends."

"Ryō and ... Fumi ... Fumi ... Fumie?"

Fumie nodded.

"'Lo, Fumie." He returned the nod distractedly. "Nice t'meet ya, Ahguess." He looked back to me. "Ryō, w' need t'talk."

"So you would be Teru's big brother, Jun? Nice to meet you too. I've heard good things about you."

"Uh, yeah. Good things. 'Mglad. Lies prob'ly. Unhh, Ryō?"

I turned back towards the bus stop and started walking again, talking over my shoulder. "Well, you're here and that's a good thing. The bus should be along pretty soon. Why don't we talk on the way?" I walked past Teru and Fumie, who stood as if waiting to see what would happen.

Jun stood still, surprised, then hurried after me, and Teru and Fumie followed.

"What are you doing?" His voice was low and urgent. "Who is," he looked back towards Fumie, "she?"

"Fumie is a member of a congregation near here. Teru needs a safe circle of friends, so we're introducing her to people at church. And Fumie's family may be able to give Teru a place to stay."

"That's not the way this is supposed to work. You're ...," he looked back again, "th' one s'pposed t'be takin' care o' Teh-chan."

"Mpphh." Fumie and Teru both suppressed laughs.

"Right. She'll be able to finish high school and make friends and I won't be too much in the way."

"Quit mess'n 'round, Ryō. It's bad 'nough that th' cops come servin' me w'that  notice 'bout child custody 'r some'n yest'dy."

Teru and Fumie remained silent, listening.

"Oh yeah. They called and told me about that. I was surprised they were able to find you. But that's actually going to be a good thing."

"Huh?"

"Now you're officially her guardian. If Angel comes after Teru, we can call in the police."

"Fat lotta good that'll do. If them two girls c'd find me, 'n get hold o' th' records fr'm back home, I'm gonna hava tough time keepin' Angel's people away wi'out callin' Fumi--" He coughed. "Fumiyo f'r help."

"Fumiyo? Teru, did you say Fumiyo is your aunt?" Fumie's voice was barely audible.

"Yeah, the one who decided Ryō and I would get married."

They glanced at each other. Both might have suppressed giggles.

"The police are not as incompetent as you think they are, and Angel can't always just ignore shikitari between kumi."

Jun didn't have a comeback.

I continued. "Angel herself is just a pawn in the game, even if she hates being a pawn and pretends to be a queen."

"She's a Funamoto."

"Exactly. Your mother's family. Cousin, as I recall?"

We arrived at the bus stop, and there were others waiting. Jun grimaced and changed the subject. "So where'm Ah tag'n'long to? Something church?"

"We're going to meet Fumie's family."

"Huh? No way."

"Teru needs a place to stay --"

"You're her place to stay."

"Not yet. She needs a chance to be herself. I need her to be sure of herself before I ask her to take me on, if that's the way it should be."

"What're ya talkin' about? Yer her Sunshine Superboy."

"Exactly. She needs to see me for real, among other things. Fumie is a kind of a new friend, but she and Teru seem to get along okay. Maybe her folks can help."

I could see the wheels turning in his head as he absorbed the information and calculated strategy.

The bus approached.

"Okay. I s'pose I shud show good manners 'n come meet 'em."

"I think you should," Fumie said, turning towards him. "I mean, since you're officially her guardian, it would help in all sorts of ways."

"Eh .. O. K. I'm in."

The bus stopped and we all boarded. Teru and Fumie found a pair of open seats together, and Jun and I stood beside them in the aisle, hanging on to the overhead straps.

Fumie got out her cell phone. "I'll text my family and let them know you're coming, too, Jun." She looked up. "Ten minutes from here to the train station, and it's a fifteen minute walk from there, or a three minute train ride and a five minute walk."

"I'm good for a walk."

"Yeah," Teru nodded.

"Walkin's good fer me, I guess."

Fumie sent the message.

Jun kept checking my line of sight while Fumie and Teru discussed finding a school. I just shook my head.

After a bit, he changed tack. "Why's Teru needin' t' finish school anyway? She knows more'n mos'o' th' teachers."

"A little piece of paper called a diploma will give her significantly more freedom." I'm afraid I used my wet-blanket voice.

Fumie looked up and gave him a you-should-know-better stare. "And why should your little sister miss out on the fun of high school? It's good for a woman to experience choices."

"Free'm? Ain'no such thing. Not 'n this stupi' world. 'N she's got all th' choice she needs."

"Make this world even less free than it is." Fumie turned to Teru with a sniff. "I guess your brother has a few more faults than you said."

"Me? Faults? Wha' faults?"

I chuckled. "Dig yourself into a hole, man."

Teru shrugged and chuckled, too. "But we still love him."

After that he surprised me by listening in silence while Teru and Fumie talked about the nearest schools offering night classes until we got off the bus.

Teru and Fumie walked ahead of Jun and me, talking about courses of study. Jun waited until there wasn't anyone nearby, then interrupted.

"So how did you get the name Fumie?"

Fumie looked back at him in surprise. "My parents wanted me to be good with language and literature."

"Is your family related to the Sumaguchi family?"

"Not that I know of."

"Funamoto family?"

"Again, no. And our political ideologies lean well away from kumi politics."

Jun seemed to relax a bit. "So how long have you and Ryō been dating?"

"That's not your concern."

That put Jun back on edge.

I thought I'd take advantage of the edge. "You do realize, Jun, that putting Teru and me together in a situation where we'd feel compelled to become lovers was trying to play us into both Angel's and Aunt Fumiyo's hands?"

Jun stopped and let us walk ahead. After maybe half a minute, he started walking,  after another minute he ran to catch up. "Play me for a fool. I'm blind."

"That doesn't mean Teru and I shouldn't get together, but we need it to be clear to both your families that they can't use our relationship as leverage. So we wait and see how she feels in a couple of years."

Fumie looked over her shoulder. "And you let your little sister have some say in what happens to her."

Again Jun surprised me, yielding the field and mostly keeping counsel with his own thoughts for several minutes. It was tempting to guess why, but I was also interested in listening to Fumie draw Teru into talking about long-term plans.

"Teru's growing up." Jun's voice was low enough not to carry forward to his sister's ears.

"Just like you and me."

"Doesn't it worry you?"

"How should it?"

"She'll change."

"Of course. And she needs to be free to change."

"Can't you just watch over her while she does?"

"I plan to. From enough distance."

"What if she changes her mind?"

"She should be free to make that choice. The plans your aunt has for her won't give her that freedom."

Jun stopped and I stopped, and he looked at me while he thought. Then he looked towards Teru and Fumie, who continued walking ahead.  He nodded in their direction. "Are you sure she, uhm, Fumie, is not involved with the kumi?"

It was my turn to think, and pray. Various impressions came into my heart.

"Well, let's see what her family is like, anyway." I started walking again, and Jun followed me.

Next

TOC

---

Backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/11/bk-sudden-roommate-9-fumie.html .

Backup: Sudden Roommate (8) -- First Sunday

Backup of https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/10/sudden-roommate-8-first-sunday.html.

---

*** Content warning: inconvenient biological functions generally considered not appropriate for general conversation. ***

Previous: The Woman on the Train

Dawn filtered in through the veranda window curtains. Over the end of the rolled-up kakebuton, Teru's eyes met mine. She put one hand on the kakebuton between us, and I put my hand over hers.

"Run today?" She didn't look enthusiastic about the idea.

"I think we need a down day. It's Sunday."

She smiled in response. "Tomorrow, we conquer the world."

"Again."

She was quiet, and I drifted out for a bit.

"Ryō?"

I drifted back. "Hmm?"

"So what do I do at church? I hope we don't just listen to o-kyō all day."

"Well, there are some sermons, and sometimes they are similar to o-kyō, and there are classes to participate in, where we discuss what scriptures mean and how to follow Jesus and things like that. We have a congregation choir if we want to join that. And sometimes there are activities to plan.

"Group dates?"

"Maybe. Probably. Anyway, some of it is boring, some is fun."

"Fun just doesn't sound like church. But I guess I just tag along today and see."

"Good idea. If it gets too boring, we can go for a walk or something."

"Okay."

Again we were both silent for a bit.

"I was thinking we'd keep breakfast simple today."

"I wanta make pancakes. I think we have the stuff to make 'em with."

I yielded without a fight. "Simple pancakes."

Teru laughed.

We talked kind of randomly for about a quarter hour, and then Teru kicked the kakebuton out of the way and scooted over to cuddle.

"But this is cheating, because waking up and cuddling in the morning with another date is something that will never happen. We need things we can compare."

Teru smiled. "I need this." And she gave me a peck on the lips before getting up.

I got up, too, and we dug flour and powdered milk out of my small cupboards, and milk and eggs from the fridge, and started making pancakes. I added kinako (roasted soy flour) to stretch the milk, over Teru's protests.

"It'll make them flat."

"A little apple vinegar and real milk will help that."

"If we use all the milk there won't be any to drink."

"Stupid small fridge. We need a bigger one."

Teru looked at me with a small, sad smile.

"In a couple of years." I swallowed hard.

She brightened and nodded in partial agreement as we mixed things together.

We got some pancakes cooked, and I took a turn with the pan.

"So, did you understand what being born of water is?"

"Getting baptized?"

"That's where it starts."

"I'll take the frying pan back, you read to me."

I let her take back over and got out my hardcopy scriptures, turning to Acts.

For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

"I guess I can see a connection."

I contnued in the first verses of the next chapter.

... And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, ...

"I guess I know the expression 'baptism by fire' from somewhere. But it usually means going through some hard test, doesn't it?"

"When things are hard and we choose to follow God anyway is when the Holy Spirit influences us most easily."

"Hmm. So if I tempt you and you refuse the temptations, you get this spirit thing?"

"Deliberately testing each other is usually against the rules."

"Darn. Is there a scripture for that?"

"I'm sure I can find one, but which should I do? Refuse or give in?"

She focused on the pancake in the pan and got it browned just right and slipped it onto the waiting stack before she answered.

"You know, maybe I want both."

I laughed. "Time and season for everything."

"Is that a scripture?"

I found it and read it to her as she slipped the last pancake onto the stack.

She cut off the flame and set the pan down.

"Something in my heart makes me feel happy to hear that verse. Is that your holy ghost?"

"Not just mine. Yours, too, responding to God's Holy Spirit."

"But -- isn't deciding to wait deliberately testing each other?"

The inside of my mouth turned dry.

"Never mind. I know." She turned and faced me resolutely. "When we're following God, it's not the same. Let's eat."

My appetite returned. "No peanut butter. Nerigoma in the fridge, did you have that in mind?" Nerigoma is sesame paste, like tahini but with only the natural sesame oil.

"Uh huh. Apples and plums from last night, too?"

"Of course."

As Teru ate her second pancake, she asked, between bites, "Do you trust God?"

I put down the knife I was using to spread nerigoma on my third and took her free hand. "I know Jun says he doesn't think you guys got a fair deal, losing your real parents before you ever knew your real mother and having Aunt Fumiyo and Uncle Nozomu rescue you from your original stepparents, and then being taken away from Aunt Fumiyo when Uncle Nozome died, --"

"Was killed."

"Was killed. And then bouncing around and ending up with Angel and her string of abusive boyfriends. Only bribes, blackmail can explain that.

"At least Aunt Fumiyo and Uncle Nozomu cared, in their way."

"So why should I trust your God? Why did I need to be born into the Sumaguchi family? If he exists, he must have let that happen."

"You tell me this: why should we be careful when testing each other?"

"What? Why ... because it can go too far."

"Too far?"

"Can't fix it far. Too far to make up for."

"Right. But, not only can God fix it no matter how far it goes, He does so."

"Really? He fixes it? When?" She put her fork down.

"In His own time. But this is why Jesus suffered and died for us. Now He knows everything we can suffer, so He knows how to undo the damage. And He also knows which problems we need to able to grow in good ways."

"Feels like abuse to me."

"Jun's trying to teach me to fight and cheat felt like abuse to me. Aunt Fumiyo's trying to put you and me together sometimes felt like abuse to me. But when I learned to talk with God about it, He showed me how to learn things I needed from the experiences."

I guess I wasn't paying attention to Teru's reactions as I continued. "My two years of service was my opportunity to get myself emotionally free."

I realized I had explained one thing too far as Teru's face froze and she tried to keep from crumbling. So I reached across the tatami with my foot and tickled her knee with my toes. She swatted my foot away, so I slid my legs out from under the kotatsu and crawled around it, and sat beside her, wrapping her into a hug.

She resisted, and I relented, leaving my arm across her shoulders. She didn't fight that.

"And here I am trying to drag you back." Tears welled up in her eyes and she closed them.

I kissed the corner of her eye, registering the salt in her tears. And I kept my mouth shut. She'd heard enough from me.

"Sympathy card?"

"It's only a problem if it doesn't really hurt inside. There's no such thing as perfect freedom."

After a few minutes, she said, "I really like Fumie."

"We've found a good friend."

"How can I like my rival so much?"

"Love your enemies? You know, even the people closest to us can be our enemies in some senses. There's nothing unusual about that."

"Nothing unusual?"

"Look at me and my dad. We work things out."

I kissed her forehead.

"Are you really so okay with me manipulating you?"

"You could say I'm manipulating you, too. But we are really just negotiating. Manipulating is when there are no options allowed."

"You're not letting me think."

"I'll shut up now." I moved away, but she pulled me back, and we just sat quietly for maybe five minutes.

Finally she picked up her fork and took another bite. "I'm just being silly."

"Silly? Maybe ... but silly is okay sometimes."

At that, she burst into tears and buried her face in my chest, and I just held her until the tears subsided, and a minute or so after.

"I'm trying not to manipulate you."

"Me too."

"I need fo go to the toilet."

I chuckled, and she stood and ducked into the combination unit bath and toilet, and shut the door behind her.

I picked up my fork to finish my pancake, sliding my plate over from the other side of the kotatsu.

"Uhm, Ryō?"

"Yeah?"

"This is embarrassing."

"What? I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Can you hand me my purse?"

"Purse?"

I picked it up from where it was lying against the wall and took it to her, being careful to hand it in from the side where I wouldn't be looking in.

"Wait." After a moment she handed it back out to me. "Thanks."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just spotting early. Maybe that's why I'm being so silly."

"No worries."

"Can I ask another favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you get me another pair of lacies?"

"In your suticase, right?"

"Have I taken over any of your closet space or drawers?"

"But you need your own space. Well, do you care which?"

"Do you have a favorite? No, I shouldn't ask you that. Whatever's on top."

I took the pair that was closest to the top in the suitcase and handed them to her through the door again, still being careful not to look in.

When she came out, she said, "It will be nice when we are legally married. For now, I'll keep living out of my suitcase."

We finished eating and prepared for church. I took a few pictures of Teru in the outfit we had bought for her, so she could see how it looked again, because the mirror in the unit bath was not in the right position or big enough. She let me post them to the family Line group.

Church was a twenty minute walk. We could ride a bus, but neither of us thought the wait was worth it. As we approached the meetinghouse, we saw Fumie get off at the bus stop coming the other way. She saw us and waved, and joined as we went inside.

She was a youth advisor for the area, so she knew the members Teru's age and introduced her to many of them before the organ music announced the beginning of communion and sermons. The three of us sat together with some of the other young adults.

Teru payed attention, abstaining from communion until she understood it better, listening to the witnessing and lay sermons, sometimes asking questions.

After Sister Asatsuki finished the main sermon, Fumie joined Teru in the youth class, for emotional support, while I stayed out of the way and went to the young adult class. After the classes, the three of us were talking with some of the other members, and Sister Asatsuki joined the group. Fumie unobtrusively redirected the conversation any time it got close to Teru's living arrangements.

At a moment when the conversation was lively, but Teru and I were not directly involved, Sister Asatsuki asked to talk with Teru and me privately. I signaled Fumie and then Teru with my eyes, and then Teru and I left quietly while Fumie continued the conversation. Sister Asatsuki joined us about a minute later.
 
Teru looked a little nervouse.

"I want you to understand, Teru, that I think I have reason to trust Ryō's judgement. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and anyone he trusts, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, even in circumstances such as yours."

"I'd feel more comfortable if Fumie were with us."

"Okay, I'll see if she is willing to join us."

Sister Asatsuki returned with Fumie shortly.

"First, Teru, I want you know that most of the members would like to help in some way, but none of them feel they have room so that you could stay and work on your studies without distractions. Now that they've met you, I'm hoping that changes. But I have also taken the question up with the leaders of the area."

Teru just nodded.

I was disappointed, but I didn't say so. "Okay. Do you have any suggestions? My boss at work is offering to ask around as well."

"What did you say?"

"I asked her to wait until we found out how things look here."

"How are you two handling it? Ryō, you indicated that you felt some romantic attachment to Teru, and that you felt it was returned."

Teru looked at me sideways, eyes questioning my sanity.

"I think we can trust Sister Asatsuki."

"Would you mind talking with me alone, Teru?"

"I guess I could."

Fumie and I stepped out and talked in the hall while we waited.

"Are you wondering why I came today?"

"Yes and no. Half wondering why we never met before last week, but I guess you're busy in your own congregation and with the youth programs in the area. It's good of you to watch after Teru today."

She smiled. "Glad to be able to help. Have you been getting information on getting her into a school yet?"

"Let myself get too busy."

"I don't know if I'd say that, but let's see what we can find out now."

We took out our phones, and together we looked up information on school programs that would allow her to work and finish high school.

I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long when Sister Asatsuki stepped out and asked to talk with me alone. Teru was looking much more comfortable as we traded places.

"So, how confident of your feelings towards Teru are you?"

"Wow. That's a surprise question."

"Teru is very confident of her feelings towards you, and thinks you return her feelings."

"I do. But her situation, growing up within the kumi, I'm pretty sure she needs some time to be free before she takes on the burdens of making her own family."

"That's important, but it's not what I'm asking."

"We've known each other pretty much all our lives, and I've had a pretty big crush on her for as long as I remember. I was kind of planning on trying to contact her without tangling myself up with her older brother again, if I could, once things got stable here."

"That's also important, but it's not what I'm asking."

"At this point, I'm planning on asking her to let me enter her in my family registry once she turns eighteen and no longer needs Angel's permission. She knows I could not enter her family registry." That's the way the laws in this country work. One will enter the other's family registry.

"That's what I wanted to know."

"And?"

"Worst comes to worst about getting her a safe place to live, I'm inclined to tell you not to be so idealistic about her needs to experience freedom."

I thought for a moment. "If it comes to that, I probably won't need you to tell me."

"Good." She stood up and opened the door.

"Teru, Fumie?"

Fumie and Teru came back in, and Sister Asatsuki shut the door.

Fumie looked at me. "Ryō, would it be okay with you if my family offered to accept Teru while she finishes high school?"

I looked at Teru, and she bit her lip and shook her head. "No, I don't want to do this. I've been hoping there wouldn't be anyone else willing to put me up." She took a breath and loked at Fumie before continuing, "But it may be a good idea. Can I meet your family first?"

I looked at Sister Asatsuki.

"Yes, Fumie did mention this to me."

I turned back to Fumie. "You've talked it over with your parents?"

"We had a family council last night. Everyone prayed, and we decided we should offer."

"They know she has connections with the Sumaguchi family?"

"Yeah."

I suppressed my disappointment. "Then let's go meet your family."

Next

TOC

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Backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/10/bk-sudden-roommate-8-first-sunday.html.

Backup: Sudden Roommate (7) -- The Woman on the Train

Backup of https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/10/sudden-roommate-7-woman-on-train.html.

---

Previous: Night Horrors

I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or disappointed that Fumie was not on the same train as me Saturday morning. There weren't any messages from her on Line before I got to work.

I spent the time on the train reading the scriptures I had suggested to Teru. 

At lunch, the boss joined me at the kitchen window when I picked up the taster's tray. They had her tray ready as well, and we sat in the cafeteria to eat. The menu for the day was one I liked, baked saba (Japanese mackerel), rice, miso, and a steamed salad of moyashi (bean sprouts), string beans, carrots, leek, and myōga. Desert was a fresh fruit salad, with an optional sweet sauce which I gave to my boss.

"If I didn't know better, I'd guess you and Teru had sex last night."

"Huh?"

"You're work is really loose today."

"Am I making mistakes?"

"No, no, actually, I like your work better this way. You're paying more attention to the residents. So how was your first time?"

"No."

"No?"

"Teru had a bad date with a guy from work yesterday."

"And you had to comfort her."

"You have a one-track mind."

"Okay, you didn't have sex, but fighting the temptation left you short of sleep."

"You have a one--"

"--track mind." She chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want me to ask around for you?"

"Maybe. I need to check my phone."

There was an e-mail from Teru and a message from Fumie.

> I read the first five chapters of John before
> work.

Great. I read them on the train.

> I want to talk about them when you get home.

Let's do it.

> I'm thinking it might be good to invite Fumie.

I'll see what she says.

I sent that, then read the message from Fumie.

Fumie: Sorry I couldn't meet you on the train.

Fumie: Can we meet sometime soon?
Maybe with Teru?

I prayed in my heart, then replied to Fumie.

Ryō: Teru wants to study from John tonight, and 
then we're planning on setting up my computer
properly. Interested in joining us?

I looked at the boss and she raised her eyebrows.

"The woman on the train."

"No comment."

I took a bite of the saba. "A little salty, isn't it?"

"Put that in your report."

I had finished about half the tray when my phone pinged.

Fumie: Okay. Where?

Ryō: My place.

I sent her my address and she replied immediately.

Fumie: I see it on my map.

Fumie: If you're at lunch and with other people,
there's no need to answer now, but do you know
what your feelings for Teru are?

Ryō: I know enough to be confused.
It doesn't seem fair, but I think what both she
and I need is non-romantic friendships, like the
single adult activities at church.

Fumie: Actually, that's the answer I was hoping
for from you.

Fumie: Do you know her feelings?

Ryō: I'm not sure she needs to know her feelings
yet, and I sure don't.

Ryō: One thing I know, I'm not going to be making
any commitments to anyone besides her until she
graduates from high school and can make up her
own mind about what she wants to do.

Fumie: Good. What time should I be there by?

Ryō: Are you interested in fixing dinner
together?

Fumie: Sure.

Ryō: How about if we meet at my station at 6:30?

Fumie: Sounds good. See you there.

Ryō: See you there.

I sent another message to Teru.

So, Fumie says she's good to come over. I invited
her to meet me at the station at 6:30 and join us
in making dinner, too. Is that okay?

By the time I could check my e-mail after work, Teru had replied that she would meet us there, too. I hurried to clean up, change out of my uniform, and get to the train.
 
Fumie texted me that she had already arrived when I got to the station at 6:25, and I caught a glimpse of her waiting outside the gates as the train pulled into the station. From the platform, as I headed for the gates, I watched Teru approach the gates.

They seemed to notice each other, and started talking. Introductions were complete by the time I had gotten through the gates, and they were already getting to know each other.

"Uhm, Tada-ima?"

"Ah, Ryō, o-kaeri."

"Hi." And they continued talking with each other.

"Uhm, should we shop for some ingredients on the way?"

They stopped talking long enough to nod.

"Sure."

"Good idea."

And they kept talking.

"How about my special home-made yakisoba?"

"Great."

"Sounds good."

So I started walking to the supermarket in the mall and they followed, deep in conversation that was too fast and thick for me to keep up.

I had enough onions, raw ginger root, apple vinegar, soy sauce, prunes, and potatoes at the apartment, so I picked up the yakisoba noodles, pork, tofu, more cabbage and carrots, moyashi, an apple, and couple of plums.

Fumie was impressed, but not necessarily positively. "This is going to be an interesting yakisoba."

"He always makes things that taste better than they sound."

"It's a recipe I worked out while I was doing my service."

We passed the electronics and small appliances store where Teru and I had bought the micro-SD cards.

"Say, Teru, are you on Line?"

"No phone."

"She had to leave it behind."

"Jun helped me cancel the contract, to avoid leaving clues about where I'm at."

Fumie looked concerned. "Ryō said it was a bad situation ..."

"It was."

"But you need a phone," I insisted. "I'll be your contract guarantor."

Fumie pointed to the store. "They should be able to order you a libre phone over there."

"Not tonight, anyway. Maybe later."

Between the three of us, dinner was quick to put together. Fumie got her notebook workstation PC out of her bag and hooked it to an open connection on my router, so she could monitor the traffic on my cheap PC, and we were able to satisfy ourselves nothing was phoning home with any regularity.

Then Teru rebooted the PC and stopped the boot process in the host operating system. After some planning, she and Fumie restructured the formatting of the internal SD persistent store and started a download-and-install script to get userland tools for the host OS from the Reiisi Kenkyū mirrors.

Then we got out our scriptures and started reading. Teru was full of questions, so we answered a few.

"What's this 'Word' thing?"

Fumie and I looked at each other.

"You want to take this?"

Fumie shook her head. "I think you should."

"The quickest answer is that it's a metaphorical name for the Savior."

"It means something?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to explain."

Teru sighed. "Okay, save it for later. What's this, 'just belieave' business?"

"If your big brother hadn't believed Ryō would help you, would he have brought you to him?"

Teru thought for a bit. "But if I just believe Angel will quit being bad, I don't think that will change her."

Fumie nodded. "Yes, you have to believe true things."

I added, "But it sure couldn't hurt to believe she might change."

"But true things happen even if you don't believe."

I took Teru's hand. "If Jun hadn't believed, he would not have brought you here. On the other hand, if he said he believed and didn't bring you here, ..."

"Then I guess it would mean he didn't really believe that it was worth doing."

I nodded.

Fumie added, "What the Savior says here is to believe in Him."

"What does that even mean?"

I answered, "His name means something like 'God is help' in the original languages."

"Oh. So we should believe that God will help us, and that will motivate us."

I gave her a sideways nod. "Something like that, maybe it's good enough for now."

"Being 'born again' is fundamentally changing your attitude, I guess," Teru turned her palms up. "But what is this being born of the water and spirit?"

Fumie explained. "When I committed myself to believing in the Savior, I got baptized. 'Baptize' means 'submerge'. Someone who had authority from God met me in the water, said words of the covenant, and --"

"The Words?"

"Sort of. And he put my body under the water and brought me back up. It represents the old person dying and being brought back to life as a new person."

I found the scripture in Romans 6 and read it.

Therefore are we buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. 

"Resurrection means to live again, doesn't it? But you have to live right to be resurrected, right?"

Fumie responded, "Well, if we want to be resurrected with the Savior, to life, we have to do what He says."

I added, "But in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he said,

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

"Everyone lives again, but we don't all live again with God."

"Even Angel?"

"Even Angel's boyfriend." Fumie was earnest. "More important, even you and your big brother. And if you believe and do what Jesus teaches, you can live with God again."

"I'm sure I'm not ready for that."

I looked at my PC, which had just finished downloading and installing the userland toolset. "I don't know how ready I am for this split-stack operating system, whatever that means, but I believe you and Fumie when you tell me I can get ready."

"That's cheat logic."

"Cheap allegory, but it's true."

Teru and Fumie proceeded to work through some setup procedures, and soon the PC had an admin user and three work users, one for each of us, and was set up to spawn ehpemeral users to run applications in. Then Fumie helped Teru move Microsoft's abomination virtual machine to a jailed ephemeral user template while I watched. I did not follow half of what they did.

Then I logged in on my work account and started an instance of the abomination, spun off a web browser and looked around on the web, took a copy of something random, and shut the instance down saving the copy buffer. Then I started another instance, started a word processor document, and pasted the copied stuff in. It was a little clumsy, but it worked, and the VM was not burdened down by anti-malware/anti-virus software.

I logged back out, and the two of them conferred for a few minutes, then set up a place in the file system where I could store the manuals for work and access them from VMs my work user started, but not from other work user accounts.

We set up internet relay chat for the PC and for my phone, and checked that Teru could use it to chat from the PC to Fumie and me on our phones.

"What about Line?" I asked.

Teru logged in to her work account, started a VM instance, installed the Line client for the abomination, and imported it into a linked template. I have no idea what that means, but she was able to run a full Line app from the PC, and we chatted with my family some more, and introduced Fumie to them. Dad was especially interested in meeting her.

I think it was close to eleven when the three of us walked back to the station.

I thought I saw Mr. Inoshita at the station, but I wasn't sure.

Teru and I had no problems with dreams or temptations that night.

Next

TOC

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Backed up at .

Backup: Sudden Roommate (6) -- Night Horrors

Backup of https://joelrees-novels.blogspot.com/2019/10/sudden-roommate-6-night-horrors.html.
*** Content warning: nudity, questionable education techniques, possible child abuse, inconvenient biological functions generally considered not appropriate for general conversation. ***

---

Previous: Bad Date

Things their Aunt Fumiyo had said, to me, and in my hearing, and things she had arranged for us to do back then, came back to me in my dreams that night.

In my dreams, I saw the three of us playing in the Sumaguchi's bath house and attached meditative gardens before retiring in various stages of dress under her watchful eye to the sleeping room. Jun and I were eight, and Teru was four.

In many parts of my country, no one thinks twice about young children of separate families bathing or sleeping together. Children are children, and exploring is natural. And there are still public baths which are not segregated, even for the adults. In the old traditions, it was not a problem.

My dreams shifted, and we were older.

Mixing western and eastern traditions randomly produces random results. In the Victorian western tradition, there are things that should not be talked about in mixed company, because of the excitement and confusion they can cause.

But I am not trying to appeal to prurience, in telling about the dreams.

"Oh, how cute." Aunt Fumiyo looked at the water in the tub. "Did you know, Ryō-chan? According to your Bible, you and Teh-chan are now married."

"Married?" The eleven year-old me was doubtful, but the evidence she claimed was before my eyes, floating in the water of the bath.

Teru was laughing happily, across from me in the medium-hot tub. "Married! But you still have cooties. Don't kiss me!"

Jun laughed a horse laugh from where he was soaking in the hottest tub.

Mrs. Sumaguchi scooped the whitish droplet out of the water and laid it on a clean napkin. "In our traditions, we could present this to the go-between, as evidence that you are Teru are compatible. But I'm afraid it would not persuade your parents. I don't think they understand their own Bible."

My dreams changed again, and again I saw four children playing together in the Sumaguchi's bath house and gardens. But these four children playing under a decade older Aunt Fumiyo's watchful eye were not children any more.

Fumiyo had been deliberately working to bring me under the influence of their family -- into their kumi -- for a long time. It was not yet clear to me why, but it seemed clear I had been chosen by their family as Teru's o-miai aite from a rather early age.

I assumed Jun didn't intend it that way, but he was helping Fumiyo Sumaguchi's plans when he brought Teru to me for protection.

Once again, my dreams shifted, and Teru was sleeping curled up against me, the scent of her hair in my nostrils, her body warm against mine. It felt like a very real dream, and the way my body was responding was very inconvenient.

Part of me wanted to stay in the dream, but part of me struggled to wake up.

My eyes opened, and I saw my room bathed in the light of the full moon.

But I did not see Teru.

She was not curled up with me, but she was also not lying across from me on the futon. My body felt cold where the memories of the dream said she had been.

There was no place in the room for her to hide, so I checked the veranda. I saw her out there, standing with her back to me in the moonlight, looking out over the darkened city.

"Something wrong?" My voice felt strange in my ears.

She half-turned, and her silhouette in the moonlight through my tee-shirt showed me things I had been avoiding looking at.

"You're awake." Her voice was little more than a whisper.

"So are you." I looked away, distracting myself with the clock on the floor. One thirty. I tried getting up, but my legs wouldn't obey my will.

She turned my question back to me. "Are you okay?"

"Not really. Rough dreams. How about you?" I mentally kicked myself for repeating the question.

"I had some dreams, too, dreams that kind of scare me. I think I want to go for a walk."

This time I was able to get my legs underneath me and stand up. I joined her on the veranda and we stood together looking out across the city lights shining in the dark instead of at each other.

I broke the silence. "So, do you want me to go for a walk with you?"

"Better than walking alone. Maybe."

I turned, and she followed me to the entryway without further comment, grabbing her cardkey as we left. We descended the stairs in silence and walked aimlessly for ten or more minutes until we came to a park with a playground.

"I haven't seen this park before." Teru went to the swings and sat in one, kicking herself back. I followed and caught the swing, then gave her a gentle push. She swung away and then back to me and I caught the chains again.

She leaned back into my arms, and we stood there for a moment, giving each other warmth. Then I pulled the swing back and pushed gently again, and she took over, swinging under her own power.

I took the swing beside her, and we raced to see who could get the highest arc, until both of us were flying horizontal at the peaks, synchronized with each other in the moonlight. Then, as if mutually hypnotized, we both left off pushing, letting the swings slow down naturally.

Before the swings stopped, Teru jumped out of hers. "This is not helping me get my balance back."

I used my feet to stop, and stood up. "Me, neither."

She turned to me. "What are you doing out here in your pajamas?"

I looked down at what I was wearing. "You're right. Let's go back.

We held hands as we walked.

I spoke hesitantly. "I dreamed about when we were young and I would spend the night with you and Jun. And then we weren't children any more in my dreams. And there was a fourth."

"Who was the fourth?"

"I didn't see her clearly."

She stopped and leaned back into my arms, shivering. I wrapped both my arms around her and hugged her until the shivering stopped, and we resumed walking.
"And I remembered things that your Aunt Fumiyo said. And things she let us do."

"Did you dream the time when Aunt Fumiyo said we were married?"

"I did."

"What about now?"

"Nocturnal emissions?"

"You say that so casually."

"It doesn't matter, but, no. Although I was kind of on edge when I woke up."

"Oh. She's been trying to put us together since we were children, hasn't she?"

"Apparently so."

"Why?"

"Why? indeed." We continued to walk in silence.

As we neared the apartment, Teru spoke. "I dreamed the same things. Then I woke up curled up against you."

I stopped. "That wasn't a dream."

She came to a stop too, and turned and pulled me to her, with a fierceness in her eyes that should have scared me. "I didn't want to move away. But I could feel your body responding."

"Uhm ..."

"It's only natural." She smiled, and the fierceness changed to tenderness, and the tenderness made my heart pound. "But I know you want to wait. And if I hadn't gone to the veranda, I dont think I could have waited any more."

I didn't know what to say.

"I still want to kiss you, but if I do, ...."

The silence dragged out and I fought my own impulse to close the remaining gap between us.

"If I do, I'm pretty sure you'll have to put me in your family registry."

Finally, there was something for me to say. "We'll both be giving up our right to choose before we make the formal commitments. Dad told me he and Mom made that mistake, and that's what he thinks is driving them apart."

She looked down, deliberately breaking the connection between us. But the connection didn't really break. "In my family, that's the way things have always been done."

"Well, we can't stay out here all night. We both have work today." I was the one who said it, but it was Teru that moved first, and we returned to the apartment still holding hands.

We lay down on the futon, carefully replacing the rolled-up kakebuton between us.

"Are you going to be okay?" Her voice was almost pleading.

"We're going to be okay, but if we don't get back to sleep, I'm afraid we'll be making love even if we don't touch each other."

"I feel like we already are. Can you pray for us?"

Teru's suggestion moved to my knees, and she followed suit, kneeling in front of me and taking my hands. And we both prayed, in words and in our hearts.

For the first time in several days, my alarm went off before I woke up. I reached to shut it off, trying to reorient myself from the jumble that we had fallen asleep in. Teru was lying across my chest, my legs were bent awkwardly away, and the partially flattened kakebuton underneath us felt lumpy.

Teru rolled off of me and reached my phone first. She handed it to me. "Did we make it through the night okay?"

"I think so." I shut the alarm off.

"I was lying on top of you."

"Crosswise. But we have avoided deliberately getting each other excited. That's enough that the devil can't legally tell us we are bad."

She looked at me in confusion.

"Yeah, that's bad analysis and bad allegory. Anyway, we haven't creaetd the possibility of a pregnancy, and we are still trying to give each other room to make decisions."

"That much I can agree with. So, should we go to the pond park again today?"

"I need something to work the kinks out, even if you don't."

"I think I do, too."

"Want to try a new route?"

"Got something in mind?"

"We could explore some of the roads along the tracks past the mall."

"Okay."

So we ran a different direction, around the mall to the tracks and past the station.

"Your woman on the train ..."

"My woman on the train?"

"I've done one date. It's your turn. I'm ready to meet her now."

"Okay, I'll see what she says."

"Is this a park?"

"Huh? Yeah. Just a kids' playground, mostly."

"Exercise stations?" Teru stopped by a situps board.

"And I guess it has exercise stations. Want to try it?" I jogged backwards to where she was reading the instructions plaque.

She sat down on the board and swung around, hooking her feet under the foot pegs, then leaned back and did twenty situps. "Feels awkward."

"One size does not fit all."

We traded places, and I leaned back. My head and shoulders hung off the top of the board. "This will be a slightly different exercise for me." But I did twenty myself before we started running again.

"I don't know if I can get through another night like that." Teru's voice finally revealed how tired she was.

"I'm going to have a hard time staying awake on the train."

We kept running.

"I've said that, if my mom or my sisters were close, they'd let you stay with them. Maybe we should actually ask if they've got room."

"Good idea. Maybe we should call them when we get back."

So when we returned to the apartment, I sent them texts via our family group on Line:

Ryō: Need to do a conference call.

We ate breakfast while waiting.

"You're on the early shift today, right?"

"Regular shift, starting at nine. Don't know if I'll have time to run before the early shift when they let me start that. Oh, and the night shift is a killer."

"No time to make lunch together today," Teru said wistfully.

"Yeah. But we'll have time after work to do something."

"Set your computer up for real?"

"That'd be useful."

"I can buy something from the sōzai corner for lunch. What do you plan to do?"

"It's my turn to be the lunch taster, so I've got lunch covered."

"Is it good?"

"Generally pretty good, but not really to my taste."

My phone pinged, and I checked it.

Haruo: I've got about thirty minutes I can give
you. What's up?

The phone pinged again while I was trying to think where to start for Dad.

Misachi: I can join the call anytime within the
next hour. Dad, if Ryō says he needs a conference
call, I assume he wants to talk with us all at the
same time.

I figured it would be good to make myself explicit.

Ryō: Yeah. And I'm sure I don't trust this to
text messages.

Haruo: Okay, I'll wait.

Finishing breakfast, I pulled out my scriptures. "Are you up for some of this?"

"I'm not going to be a good listener this morning."

"That's okay. Sometimes I get my best instruction when I read even though I don't feel like listening to the Spirit."

"Okay, I'll try."

"There's this guy named Nicodemus, and he's a rabbi among the Pharisees."

Teru gave me a blank look.

"He's like a teacher and a priest."

"A sensei?"

My phone pinged again.

Horoyo: I'm here whenever. Now we just need
Mom. Should I ping her by phone?

Fuyuko: I have a premonition this is a call
I don't want to be in on.

Horoyo: Mom, Ryō is your son.

Fuyuko: I have no son. There was some little
boy ran away to be with God for two years when
I needed him most, but I have no son.

Ryō: I love you, too, Mom. And I need you to
be in on this call, even though I'm sure
you'll think you didn't want to be.

Fuyuko: Hmph. I assume her name starts with
Teh.

I ignored Mom's intuition and her bait, and initiated the video call session in the group. Mom did accept the connection and the screen divided in four.

Teru moved to sit beside me, so she would be in the camera range.

"Hi."

"Oh, Teru, it's so nice to see you." For some reason, my mother's voice did not betray the cattiness I expected. "Awfully early in the morning, though." The words could well be catty, but the tone was not.

"Nice to see you, too, Mom. Nice to see all of you."

"So, Ryō, you move to the city and spend the spring dating your nemesis?"

"Dad, just shut up and listen to your son." Horoyo took my side.

Misachi chose an inappropriate time to tease. "And to your daughter-in-law-to-be." Maybe she knew she wasn't teasing.

"Have you betrayed your covenants to God?"

"Haruo, just shut up." Even with the change in tone towards Teru, my mother's sharpness took me by surprise.

"Angel got a new boyfriend who would not keep his hands off me. Jun brought me here because he knew Ryō would take care of me."

"Ryō still needs his freedom."

"So does Teru, Haruo."

My father's expression visibly darkened at my mother's words.

"Okay, let me tell you what is before we start arguing about what should be. I needed to be where Jun couldn't find me, and that's why I didn't stay when I got home. You know how he used to try to take over my life. I've been working here about three and a half months in elder care, with no contact with the Sumaguchi family."

"But there you are with Teru." Dad interjected.

"Three days ago, Jun caught up with me and brought Teru, for her safety. It's the first I've seen either of them in over two years."

"Dad, I know about this." Misachi took her turn. "What I have heard about Angel's new live-in boyfriend is anything but good. Jun was right in getting Teru out of there."

"And who put Angel together with this new boyfriend, I wonder."

"Yeah, Dad, I know." I swallowed. "Believe me, we know. Sometimes you have to play through check to protect your queen." I shut my eyes at the slip. "Or king or whatever."

Dad chuckled. "So, your queen is in your apartment. It looks like a really tiny apartment. Is there even a second room?"

"No."

"How can you maintain your covenants and your freedom in this situation?"

"I know, Dad. I'm doing what I can to help him."

"That's a bit hard to believe, Teru."

"Things have changed for me. We know staying together is not going to work, but I need a place to stay so I can finish high school."

Dad's expression loosened and lightened.

"That's, true, Teru. You needed a place to stay a long time ago." Suddenly his tone become apologeitc. "Both you and Jun. I should have let Fuyuko offer you a permanent place years ago, even though I knew what Fumiyo was up to."

Mom and both of my sisters were as surprised as I at Dad's words.

"It's okay, Dad, it really wasn't our place to ask."

"You shouldn't have had to ask. I'm sorry." Dad's face suddenly crumpled. "I've been arguing with God about this for too long. I'm really sorry. Unfortunately, I can't offer you a place now."

"It's okay, Dad."

Mom's face showed her concern. "I'm staying with my parents, and I'm not sure it would be wise to have you come here, honey, but I'll talk it over with them."

"Teru, you know we'd love to have you, but I don't think having you sleep with the boys would be good." Horoyo's two oldest were boys. "The baby sleeps with us, and that's all the rooms we have."

Misachi looked distressed. "Tomu and I only have one room and the kitchen. It's not much bigger than what you have with Ryō."

"Well, thanks. Just knowing you guys know what's going on will help. Anyway, I'm talking with the congregation leader here. Teru's coming to church tomorrow. Hopefully she'll make friends and we'll find something for her."

"Teru, please don't judge me wrong for this, but, Ryō, there's a woman there you need to meet."

Teru didn't wait for me to answer. "I understand about that, Dad."

"We both understand. We are trying to keep things open so that, if we are both still free when Teru graduates from high school, we can get together of our own free will. And we know that we have to keep dating others until she does."

Dad looked down. "Well, now I feel like a heel for interfering, but her name is Fumie Masamichi. I understand she attends a congregation near there." He looked back at us with a bit of a helpless expression. "From what I've heard about her, you would understand each other implicitly."

"Starting with the same opinions, Dad, is not always the best course." Horoyo came to Teru's defense.

"I think I've met her, Dad."

"If it's the woman Ryō has been talking to on the train, I'll meet her, too, soon."

"Teru, I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I'd almost tell you to just take my son now, but I guess that wouldn't help."

"Mom!" My sisters were practically in unison in their objection.

"I'm not sure I disagree with Fuyuko about this."

How silence across a conference call line can be deafening, I'm not sure, but no one but Mom seemed was expecting Dad to say such a thing.

"She did say almost, you know."

"I did," Mom agreed. "Go meet this Fumie and trust God."

"Thank you guys. No matter which directions things go, having you guys as a proxy for the family we don't have really helps me. Jun feels the same way."

After we said goodbye and cut the connection, I wrote some scripture references down for Teru and ran for the train.

Next

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Backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/10/bk-sudden-roommate-6-night-horrors.html.
Earlier draft backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/10/bka-sudden-roommate-6-night-horrors.html.