[Yamatai] Yumi Revisited

ON: Kyoto

Yumi stepped down the stairs quietly, hair a mess and nails unpainted. She was dressed in a thin nightgown, nothing more, as she had slept quite late today. Much later than she had intended - she had missed her class entirely, and was as such not in an exceedingly good mood. She looked at her father, and decided not to bother him, as he looked busy, instead pulling aside a (much more involved) mechanic from his schematics, and demanding of him, "Where is Tetsukana?"

Her father looked up from his smart-newspaper and replied in a gravelly voice, "oh, out in the garage again. He's quite taken with his pet project. If that robot would ever work, perhaps he would come sit down and have a nice cup of tea with us. I keep telling the man that the problem lies within the software, but not being much of a programmer, Tetsukana is intent on working mostly on the hardware. Why don't you go out there and pull the man inside, dear? He's got his toy so perfected by now that surely he can only make things worse by continually messing with it." The mechanic, interrupted by the older man, simply smiled politely.

Yumi nodded gravely, listening in dead serious to every word her father said. She still saw him as the god of her life, and loved him quite dearly. She always showed him, ultimately, far more respect than he was due. With a little bow of her head and a laugh, she pranced off towards the garage, then burst in, a sudden face of mock anger put on. "Tetsukana! Why did you let me sleep in again?" Ah, she did enjoy Tetsukana, always so eager to help her, but too timid to ever be of much use. She loved him as well, though he had grown more and more preoccupied over the past two years, and they had talked less and less as the days wore on.

"Yumi!" The man exclaimed. Dressed in dark gray slacks and a white dress shirt with a necktie slung over the shoulder, he was leaning over a humanoid figure, an artificial woman, in fact, who bore a great resemblance to Yumi. As Tetsukana looked to his favorite non-android girl, his creation also looked over to see what had caught his eye. With a soft, warm smile, the robot nodded her head respectfully. The "Computational assistance android" was supposed to be an automated tool for banks and businessman, sort of like a secretary, but less human (and therefore less lazy). There were rumors that it was also usable as a sex toy, but Tetsukana had always avoided the subject. "You look terrific, Yumi," Tetsukana grinned, despite her crazy hair.

Yumi tilted her head, scowling, eyes burning still with that mock rage. "You didn't answer me, Tetsukana. Why did you let me sleep in again?" She crossed her arms, and pursed her lips into an elongated pout. She was wearing lipstick - a deep rouge that made those lips stand out against her starkly pale olive complexion.

"I'm sorry," Tetsukana said. "I was recalibrating some of her sensor systems and lost track of the time," he apologized, although the both of them knew it was empty of meaning. He turned back to his robot for a moment, and switched her off, before covering her with a protective plastic cover. Letting out a sigh, he rose to his full standing height and walked over to the girl, placing his arms around her waist and hugging her to him. "But you enjoyed the extra rest, didn't you?" he smiled playfully.

Yumi laughed, kissed both his cheeks affectionately, then pulled away. "Yes, Tetsu, but I cant keep missing my classes! I'll fail! Then I'll never be scouted for Lau's filmmmaking..." She tilted her head. "You've become so distant! You spend more time on any one of her gears than with me and Daddy anymore!" She no longer feigned anger, only a little bit of disappointment. "You don't want me to go back to wasting my mind on my network chatting do you?" A stifled giggle at this.

"Oh, no no," the man frowned slightly, wary of the chat rooms. "You should be careful with that sort of thing." He paused, quickly looking over her thin nightgown and feeling a wave of excitement. "So, what can I do for you princess?" he grinned, looking into her big, dark eyes.

A tilt of her head, and a ponderous expression. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Come have tea with daddy and me!" She giggled, and pulled a little harder, throwing her rather scant weight into that action.

Tetsukana followed along, grinning as the scantily-clad young woman led him by the hand.

Yumi pursed her lips, pulling Tetsukana back into the room. "Tea! Tetsukana will have tea! And tell us what exactly has kept him so far from us!" She spoke frenziedly, dragged the man towards her father, whereupon - being thrown into a great fit of excitement - she grabbed for his hand as well, insistently.

Yumi's father peered out from behind his newspaper for a moment, then put it down, squeezing Yumi's hand in his own. Tetsukana frowned ever so slightly. He liked Yumi, especially when she was excited, but these days he didn't really want to spend any more time with her father than business required, primarily because deep down he felt guilty for his involvement with Yumi.

Yumi looked from Tetsukana to Yi Tai, one after the other, pondering at the silence between them. She had never remembered them so quiet around each other in her life. Perhaps business wasn't doing well, but that wasn't really any of her concern. "Up!" She chided her father gently, flashing a dazzling smile. "We never talk anymore!"

"Go easy on an old man," Yi told Yumi, slowly bringing himself to his feet. "I'm surprised to see your hair so wild," he commented, poking at it with a small smile on his face. "Where to, then?"

She giggled, slightly, at that bit of much-craved attention from her father. Since she had been allowed to stop attending his business deals, there had been almost no real contact. "Food! We need food, and tea. And maybe cake for after that!" She paused contemplatively. "And I think we could all use gyoza, as there is no finer food the world over..." Her eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly first at Yi Tai, then Tetsukana, wondering.

Her father groaned tiredly. "Ah, I suppose we're going to have to go out," he half-asked, half stated. Tetsukana smiled politely, wishing he could go out with her alone instead. "I can take her if you wish," he offered.

Yumi tilted her head, and smiled. "If you're too tired its alright, daddy. I'll be sure to bring you a newspaper and gyoza." She enjoyed being pampered like this, could really not see it any other way. "And cake if you want, too."

"I'll stay, then," her father nodded. "You are such a very kind daughter," he warmly smiled. "I'll get to work on negotiating some contracts, in that case." Tetsukana squeezed Yumi's hand as her father's slipped away, glad that it would be just the two of them, after all. "Very good, sir."

She was a little disappointed, it was difficult to ellicit any attention out of either of them anymore. But she would take whatever she could get. "Where to, then, Tetsukana? I still can't navigate the streets with any luck..." And yes, Yumi was utterly inept at finding her way through a city. She rarely needed to, though.

As Yi Tai shuffled away, Tetsukana pulled Yumi closer to him, chuckling a little. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

A slight tilt of her head, questioningly. "Eh? What?" It then, of course, struck her that she wore nothing but the nightgown. "Oh!" Blushing furiously, she made the mad dash for her room which was becoming rather frequent these days, as her thoughts were more occupied with school and less with the basics of life, such as eating, washing, and dressing.

The man followed along with a brisk walk, "Would you like some help?" he offered, stepping into her room. Every once a while, he'd pop in on her, helping her scrub her back, pick outfits, find makeup, or zip the back of her dress up. As he entered, his hands smoothed out his necktie. He smoothed over his excitement with nonchalance, acting casually.

Staring towards the ceiling in thought, Yumi shook her head. "No; Today I think I will just wash my hair and put on a skirt... no makeup for a while. It makes my skin itch." She tilted her head. "I think a red skirt and white blouse, if you could find them, please?" He did seem to enjoy rifling through her clothing for her, and she allowed him that.

"Yes, darling," Tetsukana smiled happily. "Anything under that today?" he asked curiously, looking back and forth between her and her closet every so often (as not to miss anything). He found a blouse fairly quickly, a silk one with many small buttons and embroidered with little flowers and leaves around the neckline. "And is this one alright?"

Yumi cast a quick glance before slipping off to wash her hair. "It will do fine, yes. Thank you." Not only did he love doing it, but he had a fairly keen sense of fashion and color, which simply could not be said for most people she knew.

The man grinned and set the blouse down on the bed, rummaging though her clothing some more, careful not to unfold anything as he did so. He had a pretty good idea of where each element of her clothing was, and before long he was examining her skirts. Eyeing the red of the skirt and the red of the little embroidered flowers on the blouse, he felt a little sense of accomplishment. Keeping it with him, he also grabbed a matching red velvet purse and filled it with her essentials.

Finishing with the process of cleaning her hair, Yumi returned to her room, looking over the garment selection Tetsukana had laid out for her. "Thank you." She, entirely lacking shame about Tetsukana for he had most always been there, began dressing herself. "I think I'll eschew the purse today and see what it feels like to walk with my hands free..." It was actually a good deal less logical than that. Her entire appearance was currently based off a favorite character from an old script.

"Oh, really?" Tetsukana said, leaving the purse on her dresser, and turning around. He held up the pretty little skirt in both hands at face level. "For you, madame," he said, his face hidden by the garment, but able to see her bottom half. Oh, how he sometimes wished she wasn't his boss's daughter!

With a chuckle, she took the skirt, slid it up over her legs, and bowed slightly, wet hair cascading across her face. "If you would be so kind, m'lord?" She extended her hand.

Her companion leaned forward and kissed her hand before placing it snugly in his palm. "You look stunning as always," he complimented her; he never ceased to appreciate her beauty and charming personality that made her such a treasure.

She blushed, very very slightly, and quickly hid it, leading Tetsukana out of her room. "Enough, Tetsu-kun. Find us a place to go. And please explain how the addresses work, again?" She had other things on her mind, like the fact that Adrian Lau would be speaking and she needed money to see him, but that could wait.

"I don't know if anyone knows how they work anymore but the postal workers, Yumi-jou. I tend to just use my little pocket organizer myself when I'm on foot," the man admitted as he took the lead and brought her towards his sleek, silver electric car. "The car has a navigation system too, so if you know the number or address, it isn't that difficult. My robot I'm working on has navigation features, too, you know," he commented, opening the right rear door, then pausing. "Would you like to ride in the front?" he asked, smiling.

Yumi tilted her head quietly. "Yes, I think I will." She laughed. "I have no need to be chauffeured about, unless there is something I am unaware of." She opened the door on her own, and clambered, with a bit of lacking grace, into the car. She didn't much like such machines but was entirely unsure how she would locate anything without it. Other than her campus, which was simple enough. "Do you know who Adrian Lau is?" A leading question, and she had explained many times to Tetsukana the importance of Lau as a screenwriter, and actor, and a director.

"He's that rock star isn't he?" Tetsukana asked. He kept his tone serious, but he was joking. "The one with the neon green and fuchsia hair, right?" He went to his side of the vehicle and got inside, pulling a key from his pocket and putting into the keyhole. With a swift turn of the wrist, the car hummed to life and the interior displays faded on. Warm air poured from the vents around them.

Yumi smiled and shook her head. "No, that would be Eren Weill. And the Iron Monkeys." She laughed, slightly. "Adrian Lau is the man I model my future after, Tetsukana! He is the greatest director ever to live..." She pouted, tilting her head at an awkward angle to cast an offended glance towards him.

"I hope he's wealthy, successful, and married to a charming Asian man then," Tetsukana chucked as they rolled out of the driveway into the street. "Probably not, though. So...what sort of food are we questing for again? "

Yumi looked back forward, blankly. "Gyoza. And dim sum. And maybe lassis afterwards. Oh, and saag paneer and alu ghobi! And cake, cant ever forget cake!" She giggled, and began adding a few more items to the proper course of the meal. Then, stopped. "Do you have any Vic Marhen to play? We need music..." She sounded hopeful, but not too hopeful. You just cant trust old people to like good music...

"Cake sounds good." The man sighed wistfully. Why couldn't she just settle for some pork fried rice? He flipped on the radio, filling the car with the sounds of taiko drums, one of his personal favorites. "I don't think I do, but I could download some," he told her. He passed through their community's main security gate, stopped at a corner, and looked both ways before heading out onto a larger road.

He was so graciously accommodating, offering to download glam rock for her. "Would you please?" She smiled dazzlingly for a moment. "Have you ever heard Marhen, or have you ignored his existence and forgotten his name like everyone else I tell you about?" A bit of pointed humor from her, something that had grown far more common since she had begun attending school again.

"I can't say I'm particularly familiar with him," Tetsukana replied candidly, looking down for a moment to his car's computer screen and navigating to the download menu. Up ahead, the skyline of Kyoto drew nearer.


"Well," Yumi gave a daunting grin, "I can tell you all about him if you like. Or you can simply listen to him play guitar. And sing. I might be in love with the man, were it not for Lau." She leaned up against the window, quiet for a moment, ponderous.

Her guardian momentarily looked up from the computer screen, just soon enough to avoid having to come to a screeching halt for a car stopped at the next intersection. "Dammit," he muttered quietly, a little angry and shaken. Ahead, a Nekovalkyrja stood in the middle of the intersection on a small circular raised platform, directing traffic. Recently there seemed to be an increase in these sort of jobs, as the government scrambled to try and find work for the ungodly numbers of Nekovalkyrja being discharged from the Army's disbanded fleets.

Yumi looked out at the Neko, wondering why it was there directing traffic, but not particularly keen on asking. Tetsukana had gone into a bit of an angry state at this turn of events. "Thats a Neko? Shurata-sensei doesnt like them, says it was a mistake to make them at all." She was actually quite prone to agreeing with her history professor. "I dont understand why its necessary to make physically superior creatures. Flaws make us all unique." She was, mostly, parroting other philosophy students. But they had made her think a little bit, and slowly she was forming opinions of her own.

"And your Marhen almost got us in an accident," Tetsukana pointed out, now heading through the light and into the city's "culinary district," which seemed especially crowded today. "I don't think Nekovalkyrja were a mistake. Maybe they're not necessary, but they've constantly proven their worth to the rest of us."

The older man rounded a corner, entering a long road with many restaurants lining both of its sides. Even from inside the car, the aromas of fresh cooking scented the air. "Although," he added, "perhaps in doing so they made us appear less useful, thus the reason some dislike them."

Yumi didn't respond for a long while. Rather, she drew her legs up to her chest and stared at the floor. When she did speak, it was more subdued and apologetic in tone. "We created them, and thus we have an obligation to them. I don't know what to think about making them; they are already made. But do we really have the right to tamper with life like that?" Tetsukana had probably heard that before. It had been the theme of her first paper for her philosophy classes, a month ago. And she had gone to him for help on it, and gotten little as he was busy with his robot.

"How could we not?" Tetsukana countered.

Yumi stared at him. "How could we not have the right to tamper with life?" She looked entirely incredulous at that remark, then simply decided not to reply, and looked back out the window, wondering if it was her schooling that was driving away Tetsukana so much.

The man nodded. He didn't expect her to have an answer, much less one that would hold up. He silently hoped that she wasn't going to turn into one of those nuts with a "religion." Out the window, Yumi could see a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant coming up on the right.

She stared at the restaurant, and sniffed at the air, but said nothing. She was quite resolute in her desire for Chinese and Indian food. And then cake. "The government thinks they can make people better, I don't hold to that... people come to mass-producing other people. Mass-producing minds and emotions, then instilling controls on them. Creating a master-race, if you will, but one they can control. And one that they use mostly for killing. Better killing isn't an improvement, Tetsukana. And you cant make people better. We are who we are because of our flaws."

"I don't think things like disease benefit humanity," retorted the Japanese man.

Yumi was silent for awhile, then took note of a sufficiently appealing place at which they might find gyoza. "There should be good, Tetsu." It was a rundown little dimsum kitchen with greasy windows and little attention paid to its appearance. But the smell told her that within there were far greater things worked. "It smells right. None of the others do."

"Very well!" Tetsukana nodded, pulling his car into a nearby parking lot. It was beginning to lightly sprinkle outside, and as the car stopped, tiny droplets of water began to appear on the windshield. The man stepped out of the car, allowing a rush of chilly air to rush through the car's interior. Grabbing an umbrella form the door compartment, Tetsukana opened it and held it over Yumi's door before opening it for her.

Yumi shivered slightly, allowing a slight laugh at the shower of rain and cold air. She enjoyed it, strange as it may have been. Rain was a very beautiful thing, though sometimes a difficult phenomenon to deal with. She bowed her head slightly, and closed the door after her, offering silent thanks to Tetsukana for dropping the debate with her. She could have argued on, but had no desire to. It drove them apart, and with her father growing even more distant, he was the last person she looked up to.

Although truely he was hungry for some Chinese fast food, Tetsukana told himself that this would be fine. He was suddenly so hungry, at this point, that he probably would've accepted a greasy, half-eaten hamburger, and the thought of something to eat made him salivate in anticipation. The sidewalk to the restaurant was only a short walk and in a moment, the two were inside and ready to order.

Yumi spoke as soon as she could manage in broken Chinese to the waiter. "Ni-hao! Wo de lia u-" Noting the inevitable amused stares, she quickly slipped into her much more graceful Japanese. "Dimsum and gyoza, we will need. And a place to sit. And Tetsukana may wish something else, too. Oh! Jellyfish!" She stopped herself before becoming too caught up in the wonders of food.

"Jellyfish?" Tetsukana said, looking a tad sickened at the though. "You can't be serious." Their waiter nodded and led the two to a small green table with golden edges and matching chairs that had little dragons embroidered on their velvet upholstery. Looking over his menu, Tetsukana struggled to find something he could identify, all the while presenting Yumi with a nervous smile.

"Yes! Jellyfish, deep fried in oil and sesame. It is wonderfully tasty." She laughed softly at his somewhat nervous glancing across the menu, and offered a suggestion. "Lomein is usually safe, is it not? And gyoza I am quite sure you will find likeable." She pondered a little more. "Or liasun, as that is mostly rice and ginger." A slight tilt of her head, raven hair tumbling over her eyes. "Pretty upholstery here! Most places like this are far greasier."

"Lomein is good," smiled the man, ordering tea and a fairly mundane variety to consume from their waiter, who hovered next to the table with a polite smile. Already having Yumi's order, the waiter quickly left the two to their own business, along with a teapot and a cup for each of the two. "What's on your mind lately?" the older man asked curiously, sensing she had something rattling around of there that needed to come out her mouth.

"Contradictions!" She giggled at the word, then solemnly poured herself a cup of tea, smiling offhandedly. "Philosophy homework, that I need help with. I have a hard time dictating things to paper, especially in a form that Shurata-sensei will accept. My hands cant keep up with my mind, then my mind loses track of itself." She stared at a passing fly, for a long while. "We are very strange creatures, Tetsukana. Very strange."

"How so?" the man asked. "Our paradoxical behaviour?"

"Not so much that, Tetsu." She shook her head. "We are very intelligent, Geshrin are. Nepleslians as well, and Elysians, and most every race of similar form we have made contact with. Brilliant, innovative, ingenius. And at the same time," She allowed the shadow of a smile to form again, "Hierarchical. And the two dont mix well..."

"How's that? Don't you think the smartest should lead the not-so-gifted?" Tetsukana asked her. "Almost every animal--especially social animals--is part of a social hierarchy. It's the relationships with others of our species that define who we are as individuals."

Yumi tilted her head. "Maybe the smartest should lead the not-so-gifted, as you call them. But that isnt how it works out. We are innovative, and that is secondary to hierarchy. We think freely but are bound into hierarchy, and that causes conflict. Conflict which is, in turn, continued by our innovation and intellect." She sniffed the air. Frying jellyfish. A wonderful smell it was. "Since the intelligence allows us to create better defenses and better weapons, and pound away until nothing is left but dust. But it also tells us to stop before then, so we can rebuild into some new hierarchy and repeat the process."

"I'm not sure I follow you," Tetsukana objected. "Sounds to me like you're saying we're universally doomed to struggle forever against ourselves."

Nodding vigorously, Yumi smiled. "Yes, you do follow completely. Before, we struggled against our own 'race', if you will. Then against others that are far more similar than different from us, that fought largely for the same reasons we did. That resent us because they lost or because we were brutal, and will likely return to fighting us some time in the future." She tilted her head. "We may not be doomed to this forever. But not even the common enemy of the Mishhu kept us from skirmish and conflict with those like us."