Saiyuu no Ryokou: The Continuing Adventures of Yuriko
The Story So Far: Yuriko is becomingly increasingly convinced that the tour has been cursed.
Her own personal problems pale in comparison to the idea that a multi-million dollar production
might never get off the ground unless the problem is solved.
Volume 3, Issue 9
"Spotlight"
"Yes, fine," Yuriko muttered into her cell phone. "I'd love to. You
have no idea how much I'd love to." She smiled at nothing, and nodded.
"Right. We'll bring dessert. See you at eight." She rang off and folded the
phone away in her pocket, turning to her companion. "That was Hachi, Mariko bought
him a new pasta maker."
"Mmmm," Midori answered dreamily. "Fresh pasta. I can't think of
anything better."
Yuriko smiled at that, pulling the other woman into an embrace. Smiling broadly she
leaned down and whispered into the author's ear, "I can."
***
When they were once again dressed, the two women decided to walk to a local bakery for
an appropriate dessert. The evening air was sticky, pregnant with moisture, but the
streets were packed solid with people heading home from work, or out from their homes.
"So," Yuriko asked, as they stood on line at the bakery. "Please tell me
about your day, because I don't want to think about mine."
Midori set a hand on the blonde's arm. "You've been saying that a lot
this week. What's going on?"
"No," Yuriko forestalled her with a raised hand. "I'm not even
going there. I'll tell you what," she interrupted her lover's protest.
"I'll tell you the whole story over dinner. This way we can see if Mari's
heard anything and I don't have to slog through it twice."
"That bad?" Midori mused. "Well, then let me tell you about my day of
researching students at one of our leading universities." She paused dramatically.
"It was boring. Utterly, mind-numbingly dull. Apparently college students at our
prestigious school come in two types - those who really wanted to get in and learn, and
those who really wanted to get in so they could get out. The first stay forever, the
second leave as early as possible. The worst were all the young women who go to college
just to meet an eligible young executive wannabee. Absolutely appalling."
"Sounds depressing," Yuriko agreed cheerfully.
They stepped up to the counter and placed their order, after which Midori continued her
rant.
"The lowest point was as I interviewed a lovely, bright young woman in the history
department. She's studying Kofun art, and was very knowledgeable about Korean
influences on ceramics and sculpture. When I asked her what she planned on doing with her
degree you know what she said to me? She said that she planned on getting married and
having a child and staying home, because it wasn't like there was a job out there for
her anyway." Midori's expression was grim. "It just made me so mad to think
of all that knowledge going to waste."
Yuriko opened her mouth to answer, when the sound of her name being squealed brought
her to a crashing halt.
"Oh my god!" a young girl cut the line and ran up to the two women.
"You're Yuriko!"
Yuriko smiled broadly, despite her irritation at the interruption. She glanced out the
corner of her eye at Midori, hoping that the writer would take advantage of the moment and
escape. But Midori stood firm as the onslaught began.
"Can you sign this, please?" A book was thrust into Yuri's chest.
She took it and searched the faces around her for the owner. "What's your
name?" she asked the girl.
"Risa," the voice came back, shrill over the noise of the small crowd that
had surrounded the singer. People in line for the bakery began to grumble as the number of
people in the shop grew, blocking the entrance.
Yuriko handed the book back and took the next object offered, inscribing that
carefully. She glanced at Midori, whose expression was pleasantly bland, then back at the
crowd, which now included several young men and more girls.
While Midori finished filling their order, Yuriko smiled and signed and shook hands
with her fans. One or two took a surreptitious photograph with a cell phone, but Yuriko
didn't begrudge them - after all, this *was* what she did for a living, right? She
smiled brighter at a shy girl who hung back, leaning forward to take possession of a
hesitantly offered autograph book.
After a quick grab at a few more autoraphable objects, Yuriko sensed that the bakery
was getting far too crowded. She excused herself, but the crush of people was too thick to
move through. She smiled and nodded her way towards the door, but got no more than a few
feet. She gave the employees behind the counter an apologetic look, but they were too busy
to notice.
"Alright girls, that's enough," a commanding voice spoke, breaking
through the crowd noise and startling Yuriko's fans into momentary silence.
"Yuriko's always glad to sign a few autographs, but she has somewhere she has to
be right now. Can you make some room for us, please?" This last was spoken sweetly to
two large boys who stood by the door. Having been deputized by a ravishing dark-haired
beauty, they cleared a path efficiently for the two women.
Midori took Yuriko's arm and led her towards the door. She smiled beatifically at
the gathered fans as they passed.
"Who is that?" One girl asked another as they walked by.
"Must be her manager," the other answered.
Yuriko paused in front of them and pinned the two girls with a look. "She's
not my manager," she smiled, putting her arm around Midori's slim waist. She
leaned in close, but let her voice be heard clearly throughout the small space, "This
is Yukano Midori...my girlfriend." And the two women passed out of the bakery into an
atmosphere no less humid than the store had been.
Behind her, Yuriko could hear someone say, "Her girlfriend? I thought that whole
lesbian thing was hype..."
Yuriko smiled at Midori, who laughed behind her hand, as they walked quickly through
the growing crowds.
***
"Your fans never cease to amaze me," Mariko said with her usual clairvoyance,
as she opened the door to Hachigoro's house.
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," Midori quipped, with a squeeze for
Yuriko's arm.
"Funny," Yuriko echoed, "I was thinking the same thing about you."
She smiled down at her lover.
"That my fans never cease to amaze you?"
"No, that you never cease to amaze me." Yuri turned to include Mariko in the
exchange. "Midori is not only an accomplished writer, and a fine public speaker,
she's also my personal bodyguard."
"Ah," Mariko said with a nod to the author. "Beating them off
again?"
"No!" Yuriko insisted. "She's seducing them away from me, if you can
believe it."
Midori just laughed. "We were mobbed at the bakery - I just asked a few of the
young men to help clear a path to the door."
Hachi joined them with welcoming smiles for both women. He wore an unfortunate apron
decorated with anthropomorphized vegetables. "Well, then, I imagine that they jumped
at the chance to ingratiate themselves with you!"
"It wasn't anything!" Midori protested. Turning to Mariko in an effort to
turn the attention away from herself, she said, "So, you were saying?"
"Oh," Mariko waved her hand. "I was just listening to a call-in radio
show. A top ten kind of thing...there were an inordinate number of dedications of your
music, and several declarations of love - to you, mostly. All very stimulating,"
Mariko lead them into a spacious living area, where she served them drinks, while Hachi
retreated into the kitchen to continue with dinner preparations.
"I'm learning how not to be jealous," Midori commented. "It's much more
difficult than I imagined. Especially when Yuri is so very...friendly...to her
audience." The author shot a sly look towards her lover, but Yuriko seemed miles away
and didn't respond.
"Yes, I went through something similar in the early days, Mari grinned, leaning
forward confidentially. "Eventually I learned to use my position as her best friend
for personal gain, if you know what I mean."
The two women laughed, but grew quiet when they saw that the idol wasn't listening.
"Okay, spill it." Mariko demanded, then smiled up at her fiancée' as he
brought in a tray of drinks. "What's eating you, Yuri? You look positively
glum."
Yuriko jumped slightly at her name, apologizing hastily. "I'm sorry - it's
been a tough week."
"You keep saying that!" Midori announced testily. "Are you going to let
us in on it, or have you taken up being a martyr?"
Yuriko shot the author a pained look. "No, I just didn't want to be accused of
being a whiner." She took a deep breath and let it out audibly. "Okay,
then," she looked each of her companions in the eye in turn, then said, "I have
two announcements. One," she gestured towards Midori, "I hereby announce that I
concede our contest - you win. And two..." she picked up her glass of wine and
took a long drink from it. "Two, she said with another sigh, "this tour...is
cursed."
Continued
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Saiyuu no Ryokou, all characters and situation copyright E. Friedman. All rights
reserved.