Voiced Concerns & Building Steam

The next morning was awkward to say the least.

Hinoka had woken up on the couch to the smell of breakfast. The table had been set, a plate of food waiting for her, and Miyami had been sitting across from it, her head down and her cheeks flushed.

Neither one of them said much during the meal, but every once in a while, they would make fleeting glimpses at one another, steam up, then quickly look away.

The walk to work was much the same as well, with both of them commuting in silence through the cool but tension-thick morning air.

It wasn't until they had actually reached the shop and settled in that the quiet was finally broken by their boss. In spite of the stupid fact that the police wouldn't do anything further, Kaitoji had insisted on working in the front, leaving the two of them either in the safety of the office, or the storeroom.

He'd also handed them both a can of iced coffee and given them a reassuring smile, telling them that everything would be okay—the same thing he'd done to Hinoka upon first hiring her.

The ponytailed girl absentmindedly separated some wires in her hands, her thoughts drifting to her boss' kindness.

She could remember the day clearly, when she had walked in the shop, looking to get a job. She'd been desperate. Ten company interviews immolated beyond repair, and no hope in sight.

Kaitoji had interviewed her, and despite her being a complete nervous wreck and saying a bunch of stupid shit, he'd still given her the job, and even offered to help her learn to control her attitude—said how if one could manage to get through retail without losing their mind, then anything else would be a cake walk.

The thud of plastic against cardboard drew her out of her thoughts, and she saw that Miyami was putting away boxes from their latest order. She watched her as she worked. It was hard to determine what was going through the woman's mind right now, but she could at least tell she was uncomfortable.

Her movements were rigid, like whenever she needed to engage in a conversation with a customer. And every time their eyes met, she'd force a light smile before swiftly turning away.

It physically hurt to watch.

She had to fix this. She had to apologize. Maybe make a joke?

*click*

The sound of the door to the storage room opening made her jump, and she turned to see Kaitoji standing there, a serious look on his face.

"Erm. Sorry to bug the both of you, but could you come with me to the break room? Got something to tell the both of you."

It wasn't very often that the boss resembled a stone slab of rock, but here it was now.

There was the briefest of hesitation before they both wordlessly got up and followed after him, footsteps echoing off the linoleum.

***

The lights buzzed above them, and the air felt tense. The hum of the fridge was the only perceivable sound in the wake of what the two women had just heard.

Miyami glanced over at Hinoka, looking as stoic as ever, but the way her fingers gripped the table betrayed the anxiety beneath. Miyami's own hands were trembling as she looked back to the man who'd just given the news, the older Nozari propping himself slightly on the table.

"You serious about this, Boss?" Hinoka asked, her tone flat enough to be one-dimensional. "You really want us to go on 'vacation'?"

"Yeah. I'm not risking either of you until the PI gets to the bottom of things." Kaitoji folded his hands over themselves as he addressed both of them. "I'll manage the store myself until the end of next week, so go to a resort, get a hotel, or do whatever you'd like aside from staying at Hinoka's place."

The brown-haired woman opened her mouth to say something else before Kaitoji interjected. "And yes, I am certain. You two will still be getting paid, so don't worry about that either. It's the least I can do for the crap you've had to deal with."

"B-but Boss—"

"I said you're taking the time off. End of story. I'm just grateful the shop's been getting the business necessary to where I can even afford to do this. So, please, take it easy, you two. Let me handle the rest of it."

Hinoka's mouth snapped shut. But Miyami wasn't so easily swayed, and she pulled out her phone.

────────⊳⋆⊲────────

 > Uncle? I get why you'd give Hinoka time off, but you shouldn't have to do this for me. I'm not being targeted. I can still help, and I can handle it if the creep comes.

 > Plus, I only really started working here, and I'm not even that good at my job. You don't need to spend the money for me.

────────⊳⋆⊲────────

"…" Kaitoji's eyes squinted in confusion as he read the message, before looking up to her with an expression that screamed 'you serious?'

Miyami's gaze flickered from side to side, her hands already typing a follow-up message.

But her uncle spoke up first.

"Listen, Miyami. I don't know what hell my damn brother's put you through in the past, but value yourself. Your safety and sanity are extremely important."

His hands clasped over her phone, and she could feel the warmth of his rough palms.

"Please. Just let me protect you two, alright? You're not alone anymore."

Silence. Then, Miyami's breath hitched as her vision went wobbly.

She wasn't alone anymore…?

"…"

When she mustered enough energy to nod. Her uncle smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "That's my, er… girl." His gaze shot over to Hinoka to skim over his awkwardness.

"You better be thanking your lucky stars to have someone like Miyami!"

It took several more seconds until the words registered. Hinoka's ears blushed, and Miyami's heart nearly stopped at the implication.

"S-shit, you damn old geezer!" Hinoka pounded her fist against the table. "The hell are you trying to say? W-we're just good friends and coworkers!"

The old man cleared his throat. "Mm, talking back to your boss? I thought you said you were trying to improve your attitude."

Her face curled downward into an angry pout-scowl. "Whatever! You just want us gone so you can slack off and watch tv in the office!"

The older Nozari tensed guiltily before pushing back against the fiery woman. "R-really now? Care to say that again? Because all I'm hearing is that you're asking for another week off instead—"

Miyami launched herself forward to break up the fight, startling the other two by the suddenness. However, she lost her balance and instead fell across the smooth tabletop like a penguin, flailing helplessly as her momentum slid her off the edge.

*thump*

"…"

Oh hey. It was her increasingly familiar friend: ☆~Linoleum Floor~☆.

Scuffling chairs and concerned noises bounced around the room until Miyami felt the two of them standing over her, their faces casting shadows onto the ground.

"…You um, okay?" Hinoka's voice came from overhead, likely trying to figure out what to do with the prone figure.

"…"

*thumbs-up*

***

Steam drifted through the humid air as Miyami felt all her anxieties and troubles melt away in the warm water. Cream tiles and porcelain surrounded her on all sides as the soaking tub enveloped her in its heat. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting her hair drift in the water around her.

*breath*

The evening soak was what she needed after such a frantic talk, and it helped to take her mind off of everything—even the fact that Hinoka was currently in the kitchen, cleaning up their mess from last night.

After the ponytailed girl had given a panic inducing and extremely sincere apology about last night that Miyami was still confused about, she'd offered Hinoka her place to stay at for the time being. Y'know, considering the entire stalker situation.

*pwop*

Water rippled around her body as she readjusted herself in the tub.

All things considered, it was a reasonable invitation. Miyami's apartment had better security in the form of a number pad lock, it'd be much cheaper than gallivanting somewhere else, and they were admittedly getting pretty close to one another.

However, that meant that they'd be living together, just the two of them, and that meant…

A handful of bubbles breached the surface of her reprieve.

*fwoop*

Ah. Darn. Some repressed memories were escaping now.

Flashes of the previous evening suddenly caressed her thoughts—of how the shorter girl's hand had felt so soft beneath her chin; how her amber eyes had been lit with fire after Miyami's real voice had come out of its cage; or how she'd woken up with her shorts halfway down her thighs and her vulnerability in kitten-print exposed to the cool air.

*fwomp*

She sank into the water and covered her burning face in her hands, wishing that she could just melt into the bubbles and disappear.

She'd already had to deal with the shame of having Hinoka witness her true voice. But that?

"Uuuuuuugh—" *bubble-bubble*

Miyami's face submerged under the water. Dampening her mortification slightly.

The mental CGs of what happened last night were rather blurry, but still, she'd been so ashamed this morning that she couldn't even look Hinnoka in the eye. She didn't know how things had exactly ended up that way, but she must've completely ruined things.

Now? Her friend and coworker was probably thinking of how weird she was, how she'd never want to be around her again, or perhaps—

*fwoosh* "Ack!" *cough-cough*

She gasped for air as her head broke the surface again, her hands wiping the water out of her eyes as bathwater expelled from her nose. Darn it. She'd forgotten she was underwater.

*cough-cough*

"…"

She sighed and pulled her head up once the last of it was out, staring blankly at the ceiling.

No. Those spiraling thoughts just now were delusions, not reality.

Hinoka had been kind, considerate, and gentle last night. She'd returned her to the bedroom after reaching 0 HP, despite the chaos running rampant in her own life. And of course, that fateful moment when Miyami's voice had accidentally revealed itself…

Miyami stirred the water with her finger as Hinoka's words echoed themselves.

"…I love your voice. Let me hear some more."

Miyami's blush turned a deep cherry crimson.

Just like her trained voice, no one had EVER told her that they'd liked her real voice. Not a single soul.

It was why she'd tried training herself to use a pitched up, more feminine one in the first place. She'd wanted to be a normal girl—to be accepted and liked.

So to think that her coworker-friend somehow accepted both, and even seemed eager to hear more of them? 

That'd been… nice.

Miyami drooped a little as her hand splashed a bit of water around, and the sounds of clinking from the kitchen briefly intruded into the foggy space.

Unfortunately, even if that was the case, it didn't change how her vocal cords hated her. They never let her speak properly. Trauma had scarred them shut.

Echoes of disgust, gasps, screams, and yelling faintly floated through the back of her mind. Her classmates, her teachers, her coworkers.

Her own family.

The moment her voice came out in any capacity, they would know exactly what she was.

Or rather, what she was trying to be.

Their expressions would twist, their mouths would contort, their eyes would bulge. Politeness would turn to coldness, and then eventually even worse should they fancy it.

Her father, in particular, would call her a 'disgrace.' A 'shame to his name.' A 'failure to the family line.' And she'd always just agree with him, even if only to soothe his revulsion slightly.

Miyami glanced downward at her reflection in the surface, shaking the weights from her head.

No. She didn’t need to think of that now. She had a second chance, in a city far away from her past, with a family member who actually cared about her, and a coworker who liked her.

And maybe even… loved her?

"!"

*ba-dump*

Oh no. A forbidden thought.

Chibi Hinoka suddenly reappeared from the dungeons of her mind, touting a flag that read, 'Obviously!'

Miyami desperately tried to shove her back in there, but the little gremlin was strong enough to fight back. It took her several long seconds before she finally managed to lock her away.

Crap. She wasn't prepared for this encounter now. She'd just finished processing that fact that she was crushing on Hinoka the other night!

She needed more experience, better armor, a higher level. S-something she didn't have yet!

*knock-knock*

"…!"

The door to the bathroom rattled slightly.

"M-Miyami? You okay in there?" Hinoka's voice called from behind the wood.

Darn. So that's why she hadn't heard any other sounds from the kitchen recently.

"…" Miyami paused, then nodded before realizing she couldn't see that.

*knock-knock*

"Um. Please say something, okay? I'm a bit worried. It's been a while."

*ba-dump!* Her heart became a taiko drum, beating out a rhythm in her chest as the steam thickened in the air.

*ba-dump!* Was this how the next week and a half would be like?! Living together with Hinoka—just the two of them?!

*ba-dump!* It was too early to be thinking about this, darn it! She needed more time to prepare. To look up guides or—

*BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!"

A sudden calmness.

"…"

*plunk* 

*plunk*

The steady drip of water faded in her mind as she slowly realized just what she needed to do.

She had an opportunity to get even closer to the girl of her dreams—to become comfortable with her, and to make her happy, despite everything life was lobbing their way.

Miyami inhaled the steamy air as the loading bar finished.

Question was: Was she brave enough to reach out and try?