Kei: Mmph!
Reluctantly, begrudgingly, I nod my head.
I do want to take a bath, but it wouldn’t be good to worry them.
Sakuya: There, there, that’s a good girl.
Kei: Uu~, you’re mean. My hair’s all soggy and gross.
I didn’t want my head patted in the first place, and Sakuya-san’s rubbing it a little too rough.
If only she would, you know… treat me more gently, like Yumei-san—
In a fleeting glance, I compare the two.
Kei: Wishing that probably won’t amount to anything……
Sakuya: Mm? Won’t amount to what? If you have a wish, I can bring you back a souvenir, at least.
Kei: Souvenir?
Sakuya: Like canned peaches, or ice cream, or something.
Tsudzura: Ah, ice cream. That sounds nice. It is summer, it is hot, and I’ll wager eating it just out of the bath would be soo~ delicious!
Sakuya: I’ll bet it would, too. Still, if you’re comin’ outta the bath, isn’t there something a little more fitting? Like tiltin’ back a cold one!
Tsudzura: Would you mean fruity milk? That would go down smoothly, indeed.
Sakuya: Oh, no. I mean something refreshing in the throat, with a nice little buzz.
Tsudzura: Too bad for you, but beer is off limits!
Tsudzura: If I had a driver’s license, I would let you drink all you want, but going by the maxim, “if you’re drinking, don’t drive, and if you’re driving, don’t drink” you—
Tsudzura: Ah… Kei-onee-san, is something the matter?
Kei: …………
Sakuya: Kei?
Kei: ……Are you two just bragging without a care in the world? Are you bragging about being able to take a bath?!
Tsudzura: T-t-t-that isn’t it at all!
Sakuya: Yeah, yeah, your mind’s just playin’ tricks on you, Kei. Come on, Tsudzura, let’s skidaddle!
Tsudzura: I am right behind you, Sakuya-san!
Kei: Take it easy, you two. The bath isn’t going to run off, anywhere, so there’s no need to rush.
Sakuya: Oh, no, ya gotta rush a little bit. If we lounge about, the water’ll cool off.
Tsudzura: That is the issue, Kei-onee-san, so we will be going, now!
Kei: ……Geez! They left without even cleaning up the scraps.
Yumei: It’s good to see them light and cheery, isn’t it?
Kei: For Tsudzura-chan, maybe. But I think it would be nice if Sakuya-san settled down to act her age.
Yumei: It would be awful if that happened, you know.
Kei: Awful?……
Well, I admit I can’t really imagine Sakuya-san settling down, but isn’t “awful” going a bit too far?
Yumei: Kei-chan, is something wrong?
Kei: No, nothing.
Yumei: I see.
Yumei-san stands, and begins gathering together all the eating utensils.
Kei: Ah, I’ll help you.
Yumei: This isn’t an amount that I need help with.
Yumei: Before that, Kei-chan, you should sleep. Sakuya-san said the same, didn’t she?
And so I am eased back into the futon.
Kei: Uuu, I’ll become a cow……
Yumei: If it’ll make you go to sleep, I wouldn’t mind if you became a cow.
Kei: But still, I really feel fine, you know? There aren’t any chills, difficulty standing, or any sort of feeling of my body being weak, so……
Yumei: You can’t be too careful, right now.
Kei: But I don’t feel like I can sleep, at all. Just by laying down in the futon, the air gets stuffy and hot, and my body feels sticky……
Yumei: Okay. Wait for just a minute.
Kei: Eh?
Without waiting for a response, Yumei-san departs from the room.
I don’t think it’ll work, but I relax my body and close my eyes.
I hear the sound of running water.
It sounds like she’s washing the dishes, but it would seem that isn’t the case.
Not much time passes before the sound of water stops, and the sounds of footsteps whisper across the rush as Yumei-san returns.
Yumei: ……Kei-chan, are you already asleep?
Kei: No. Like I thought, it didn’t work.
At the call of her whispering voice, I open my half-closed eyes and respond.
Yumei: In that case, Kei-chan, can I have you up for a little while?
Kei: Okay.
She tells me to go to sleep, then to wake up. If it was Sakuya-san, I would probably be leaking out a complaint or two about now.
Sitting down to neighbor my prone body, Yumei-san holds a towel and a wash basin at her side.
Since it’s so hot, it might help me sleep if she put a wet towel over my forehead, but…
Kei: I don’t really have a fever, or anything.
Yumei: That’s true. But you might sleep more easily if we wipe off your body and make you comfortable.
She wrings out the water-soaked towel, letting rise the cool, cascading sound of dripping water.
Yumei: And your sweat’s dried, too, right? You sounded really eager to go to the bath, Kei-chan, so I thought I should do this for you, at least.
Yumei: ……Here. Hold out your hand.
With the towel folded again and tight in one hand, she takes my arm in the other.
Kei: Mm……
At the chill of the wet towel upon the back of my hand, my shoulders crimp, and my body stirs slightly.
Yumei: Is it too cold?
Kei: It’s okay. It’s cool, and feels nice.
Yumei: Okay.
As she answers, she slips the towel from my backhand to my forearm.
Yumei-san’s hand dips under the wide yukata sleeve and slips inside, slowly and gently progressing from the forearm to the upper arm.
It makes me happy that she’s caring for me like this, but it tickles, and it’s a little embarrassing.
Kei: Yumei-san, my body can move freely now, so I think I can do that much by myself, you know.
Yumei: You think so? Your hands and face might be easy enough, but your back would be difficult, don’t you think?
Kei: Well, I guess you’re… right……
Yumei: In that case, will you face your back this way?
Restlessly twisting at my knees and bottom, I adjust my facing.
Kei: Is this okay?
Yumei: That’s fine. Now, will you pull your hair to the front for me?
Gathering the hair that covers the entirety of my back when let down, I pull it over my shoulder to hang it from the front, leaving my back bare.
Yumei: Shall we comb your hair out, after this?
Before the trailing notes of her voice fade from my ears, a vague, sweet scent – the same as the flowers of that sacred tree – softly floats over my senses.
Reaching forth as if to embrace me about my chest, with practiced hand movements, she unravels the yukata sash.
Kei: Wah! Yumei-san, wait a minute!?
Yumei: What is it?
Kei: The yukata… that is… do I have to…… take it off……?
Yumei: I can’t properly wipe you off if I just go in through the gaps, right?
Kei: That’s true……
The fully spread collar lifts its touch from my shoulders, and leaving the sound of rustling cloth, falls away from my body.
Reflexively, I grip my shoulders, and peer over at Yumei-san.
Yumei: ……What’s the matter?
Kei: Umm… well… it’s kind of…… embarrassing.
Yumei: Okay.
Smiling softly, Yumei-san says nothing more as she stoops to wet the towel again, submerging it in the wash basin.
Uuu… my heart is beating so loud……
Nervously tightening the grips of my hands on my shoulders, I suppress my anxiety as I wait for the dripping sounds of water to stop.
The sensation of waiting through each step is much like waiting for a doctor to prepare an injection, a fidgety nervousness that won’t go away.
The dripping water stops.
Yumei: Kei-chan, don’t be so tense. It’ll only tire you out, right?
Kei: That’s true, but……
Yumei: You’ll get used to it before you know it.
The towel is promptly pressed to my skin.
Kei: Mng!……
Yumei: Is this soft enough?
Restraining her pressure with a good balance to make sure it doesn’t hurt, she slides the towel smoothly over my back.
As the dust, sweat, and other manner of filth stuck to my back is wiped away, I feel as if my body is growing lighter, and my breathing becoming easier.
Yumei: How is it, Kei-chan?
Kei: Yeah… it feels nice.
In the towel’s passing, the dampness melts into the summer atmosphere and leaves a cool, pleasant feeling.
Abstractedly closing my eyes, I entrust my relaxing body to Yumei-san.
Yumei: Would you raise your arms a little, and open your sides?
Kei: Ah, yeah…… hya!
The hand holding the towel passes over my waist and up over my ribs.
Yumei: Did that tickle?
Kei: Yeah…… just now, a little. Maybe it wouldn’t if you put a little more strength into it.
Yumei: Then, would this be okay?
Kei: Yeah, that much is fine……
Yumei-san gathers strength in her hands, and I am sandwiched between the hand across the towel, and the opposite hands in front that I brace to keep my body from swaying.
Far stronger than ever before, I feel pressure enough to dig deep into my skin, and I am reminded once more that Yumei-san has a definite, physical body.
Kei: Ah…… but, Yumei-san…
At the typical hesitant tone of my words, I feel the movements wiping my body stop.
Kei: What about you? Are you okay?
Yumei: With what?
Kei: You’ve been like that the whole time, but isn’t it hard, or painful?
For Yumei-san to be here in that material form, she has to be using enough power to maintain it.
For Yumei-san, that’s—
Yumei: Thank you for worrying about me. I’m still fine, though.
Kei: ……Still?
Yumei: Don’t be sad, Kei-chan. I just don’t know when it’s going to happen; that’s all. I don’t have to endure pain, and there’s no real strain.
Yumei: It’s just… I can’t say that this will last forever.
Kei: Yeah…… I can tell……
Not too long ago, I was thinking that mom would be with me forever, but she died, and left me behind.
Kei: ……You know, Yumei-san…
Yumei: What is it?
Kei: I don’t want you to overdo it, okay? If it hurts, tell me it hurts, and if it’s hard, make sure to tell me it’s hard, okay?
Kei: I’m too dense, and I won’t know unless you tell me. If you don’t tell me, I can’t do anything for you……
Kei: Because I’m a girl who can’t do anything… who didn’t even notice her mother was tired, until she collapsed from exhaustion……
Yumei-san’s hand falls upon my downcast head.
Much like mom did for me before, patting gently upon it.
Yumei: Thank you, Kei-chan. You’re so kind. Those feelings are more than enough for me.
Kei: ……That’s wrong, though. I’m not kind at all. I’m just selfish.
Kei: I’m saying this for my own benefit, you know. Because I hate blaming myself when it’s too late……
Kei: I hate it… when the people I love go away.
If Yumei-san were to suddenly disappear one day, I would—
| 血を飲んでもらう | 。。。。 |
| Make her drink my blood | ………… |