Under Pressure

Kou told Rebecca, "You have crumbs," to which she responded by licking said crumbs off the sides of her mouth. Scowling, he reached for a napkin (Shigure must've brought them), then violently wiped her face. Her response was to snicker. Romance these days was very strange and worrisome.

Shigure, meanwhile, said, "I know. I know," to the entity at the other end of the line. He knew what? Would either party find out if Stella connected to the line? From what she'd seen, 'phones' didn't seem that different to their past iterations.

Might as well try.

"...what... doing..."

It seemed to be working. She'd just have to be as discreet as possible. Line interference had never been her forte.

"I'm helping her connect to the local community," Shigure told the entity at the other end of the line. "It's not just about, uh, settling, but adapting."

The entity laughed. Or cried? Or coughed. "...don't give me that... this is..." Stella tugged at her ears for better connection. "...and you're wasting it eating peach pie with strangers. Fuyukawa, listen to me. Listen to me."

There was a five second pause. Stella counted. "I'm listening."

"Many, many people are doing their best so you can move forward. We're here to help. The issue is, you have to want to be helped. Just like Stella."

Another pause. That was around the time Stella remembered every concrete concept in the universe was finite. It took roughly four seconds for light to travel to Earth, then back to the moon. "Got it."

"You better. We're being extremely accomodating. Those luxury suits you're renting are not essentials, as you've filed them, nor is the wine, or the suite with a jacuzzi. But guess what? I fought on your behalf in order to cover the costs. Do you know why?"

"I didn't ask you to cover them," was Shigure's reply.

"I know, but I did anyway. Do you know why?"

"Because the government loves wasting money."

Kou and Rebecca's ears were perked. Were they listening in, too? Was security that feeble these days? Before Stella's second life, this would've easily led to a bomb being dropped on top of their heads. After Shigure said that, the couple exchanged glances.

The response of the entity at the other end of the line took almost ten seconds. Fifteen, not counting the sigh. "You have until the end of the day to get her what she wants."

"Fine."

"I'm ending all financial support after this call ends."

"Good."

 Another ten second pause. "How I wish you'd..." Five seconds. "Have a blessed day."

"You t—"

The call ended there.

Stella told the couple, "Eavesdropping is rude."

Rebecca jumped. "I-I wasn't—"

"You were."

"You were," Kou echoed.

"Well, so were the two of you!"

When Shigure walked back inside, Kou leaped back into the sea of cushions. Rebecca looked away instantly. Stella? She didn't know how to react yet. With that said, none of what she'd heard surprised her in the slightest. "I'm sorry," he said, "But we're kind of in a hurry. Stella, I'll wait for you outside. Rebecca, thank you for your hospitality."

"Welcome," Rebecca mumbled, ears flattened. She waited for him to exit again to speak. "...is he okay?"

"No," replied Stella.

"Ohh..."

"Did you connect to the call?"

"Huh? You mean like...? No, no. I just, um, I just heard what he said. So, uh. Just know that, um. If you guys ever need anything, we're here to help. Yeah. My house is your house."

That was an idiom. "Understood."

Rebecca gave her this strange, incomprehensible look, then placed her hand on Stella's shoulder. It was a gentle touch. It was nice. "I mean it."

"Thank you. In that case, could you find us both a job that requires no experience?"

Rebecca looked like a startled cat.

"So no. I understand." Stella stood up. "I must leave, but I'll be back at the end of the day. Don't worry about the dishes. I'll wash them later."

"I... can think of something?"

"I can think of many things. See you later." Stella left after that. She would've said goodbye to Kou, but she didn't feel like it. Why was everyone so strange? Why was it so hard to say what they felt, what they wanted? If governments could fund frivolities for criminals now, what stopped anyone from asking for help? Why did problems still exist?

By the third failed attempt at getting Stella a job, Shigure's foul mood was back. Stella didn't try to console him because he's done it to himself—whatever it was. Knowing him, and this bizarre society, his crime probably was to be a weapon that only aimed at himself.

By the fifth, as they exited the job office, Stella told him, "Let's go for food."

"I'm fine."

"No."

"Do you want a break?" He asked. "I guess... I think there's a park nearby. Let me check."

He used the wristwatch this time. The phone seemed to be for general use, the screen for more in-depth searches, and the watch to call for cabs, check addresses, and probably check the time. They'd been to two job offices (they probably had a different name, but Stella could barely read the language with her two century old database on Japanese) already.

"Ah, yeah. There is. Follow me."

With no mountain ranges at the horizon, fields brimming with crops, or a sky that changed colors on a whim, most of the moon city's landscape seemed... lonely. The glowing lights and lush hanging gardens did little to hide the void outside the dome.

Still, the park was nice. It was full of jobless bums like Stella. Shigure and her sat under a tree on a bench, which was pretty funny considering how useless that was as blocking sunlight. Earth things. "We'll get you something," Shigure said. "You'll see."

"And if we don't?"

"We will."

"And if we don't?"

"Then you can kill three million people to get stuck in social work, too."

Aside from the killing people bit, that actually didn't sound too bad. Social work seemed nice, though she still didn't get why it existed when poverty and discrimination apparently did not. Despite her earlier bitterness, she mimicked Rebecca, gently placing a hand on Shigure's shoulder. He glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. Bad idea. She didn't know what to say. "I don't know what to say."

Still, he snorted. That was a good thing? Maybe?

"Is that a happy smile or a sad smile?"

He looked away. Bad thing. "Neither. I don't know."

"Angry?"

"Not angry, no. I'm sorry. I know I've been acting like an asshole all day."

Idiom (hopefully). "That's fine. You're a bizarre creature and I've come to terms with it."

Now, that made him laugh. Way to prove her point. It was the first time he'd done so—with her, at least. But of course, he had to ruin it by muffling it with the back of his hand. "You're also a bizarre creature."

Now she had  to come up with more things to make him laugh. But what? She couldn't tell jokes. She couldn't tell what was funny. She hadn't been programmed to laugh. "I know," she said.

"I know you do. It's... it's getting late. Let's keep looking."

"No."

"Still tired?"

"I'm not..." Stella trailed off. Fellow jobless bums walked by in pairs, or alone, or in a group—didn't matter. What caught her attention was the pace. None of them rushed. They had that luxury. "Why are you being forced to do this?"

"To do what?"

So he was acting oblivious again. "Your job. I don't understand. Is what you did that bad?"

"Nope." Shigure stood up. "Not answering that. Let's go."

"You nope. I'm not moving until you tell me."

What he did was the opposite of smiling, and it, too, was the first time he directed such a look at her.

Still, Stella stayed put. She curled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

A couple passed by. They stared. Without context, him staring her down while she Kou'd herself probably looked indecorous.

Then his phone rang. "Fuck's sake," he said, taking it to his ear. His other hand was in his pocket. The pocket of the luxury suit he'd rented with government money. "Yes?"

Spy time. Spy time. "What are you doing?" Asked the man from before. "I just woke up from a nap because the AI alarm went off. Why is she like that?"

Shigure hung up.

Were they being monitored? No, stupid question—of course they were. "That does it," Stella said. Against her word, she stood up. She jumped. An instant before she could snatch Shigure's phone, he held it further above. "No!" She jumped more. He moved his hand to the side. "Let. Me. Talk. To. Your. Boss!"

But it was no use. She refused to use violence against a civilian, but he really was testing her limits. And not just hers: the phone rang again.

"Then you talk to your boss!"

"I will. Later."

"Now!"

"Just—" He grimaced. Shigure held his head, wobbling back to the bench. His phone fell on the ground, but nothing broke, because moon, and because technology. No matter. Neither of them reached out for it. "...just... don't... touch..."

"Something wrong?" Asked a woman passing by, but before Stella could answer, a red light flickered on Shigure's watch. As though something had zapped her, too, the woman flinched. "Oh!"

The watch projected something Stella could not understand. Shigure quickly covered it with his hand, but the woman fled anyway. Fled. That was the word. Not only her—several passersby took their distance.

Green was good, red bad. The signal probably meant something like 'do not approach'. As for his sudden headache... how? And why? Had 'they' caused this? Had Stella?

The phone lay on the ground, still. Neither of them reached out for it or spoke.

This was what they called 'regret'. 

Everything had been going so well, and then...

Shigure didn't stop her when she took the phone, nor did he react when she placed it on his hands, or when she sat beside him.

No one walked by anymore. As they approached, they'd spin on their heels, or they'd stay at the other side of the park. 'Do not approach', had said the light. Why would they disobey?

"Are you... is... are you all right?"

Shigure's response was, "I'll just transfer your case to somebody else."

Again, Stella had misread their level of closeness. Two years were two minutes and two days. Not only were they monitoring him, but apparently they could physically hurt him if they as much as suspected he could be misbehaving, and with someone like Stella, how could he not?

Thus, she replied, "Understood."