The Roles We Play

The immediate reaction to scream won out before her reason could catch up to her. It only took a few seconds for her to slap her hands over her mouth realizing that she would alert whomever in the house to her presence. Assumptions that those would be her family, if this were the story that she faced. Her eyes darted around to the sides checking with her ears to any sounds of footsteps.

While she didn’t hear anything immediately, as she waited sounds started to surface from the creaking pressure of weight on wood planks. There was a slight hurried shuffle to the sound clearly concerned about the scream that they heard. She had so little in the way of understanding of the situation. This presented an opportunity for her. ‘If I consider this logically, whomever is coming is connected to me in some fashion. I just need to get information out of them to understand this new world…’

That was the plan anyway, at least in Yumi’s mind.

It wasn’t quite the bursting entrance that she expected to happen when someone screamed loudly to shatter the peace of the house. But that should have been more obvious to her when the footfalls that she heard didn’t have a heavy weight to them. Sliding the door open to her room a woman in neutral brown colored kimono with the sleeves drawn up by a thin strip of cloth. She had a slightly annoyed look coming over her smooth yet starting to show signs of aging face that the woman quickly snapped away given the difference in their status. “What’s wrong Mistress Yoshiko?”

‘Yoshiko?! That’s me, they gave me a different name?’ So many new questions came up from that single question that the servant delivered. The ramification of that bothered Yumi more than she expected. ‘I’m not playing me or some stranger added to the world? Is this what they meant by it getting harder each time?’

The silence seemed not to be going over very well with the servant, who seemed to want to be anywhere but where she was right now tending after a screaming child. She let a little of her expression slip her annoyance thinking that she was only dealing with a child.

Several answers ran through her mind that she could give. Her only hesitation was with that fact that she appeared not to be herself anymore. And given that, she knew nothing about what was the right and wrong answer. ‘Things are not going to be like the last world where I loop until I get things right. I’m quite certain that was unique to that world alone. I get the feeling that each world has unique rules guiding based on some sort of logic that’s still beyond me…’

A safe answer seemed to be the best option for her. “I-I had a nightmare…”

“A nightmare…so a child after all,” the woman muttered softly to herself.

“Hm?”

“I said nothing, Mistress.”

‘Without ruining any sort of established relationship with this woman, I can’t ask her anything. I’m going to have to figure things out on my own.’ Yumi turned away from the servant trying to formulate a plan in her mind.

“I’ll return to my work then.” The servant slid the door closed and the light shuffle of feet over the wood slowly disappeared. Once Yumi felt they were completely out of range she could relax a little. There was a history between that woman and her character, she was certain of that much. Unfortunately, there was little else that she could get from such a limited interaction. Guess work wouldn’t do her any favors if she was to fit into this new world.

Immediately, she did a test to confirm what she already knew to be certain. ‘No powers here. In Masa’s world that was the unique element. I won’t have to worry about it for much longer though. Once this world is finished and I’m back in control things will be normal once again.’ Yumi could finally see the end in sight for her. “One last time…”

Chapter 498 – The Roles We Play

In a change of clothes, Yumi pushed past leftovers of her sleep to focus on the immediate objective. ‘If this is Earth and based off a historical period I need to figure out when in time I am. Everything I’m seeing says it’s probably at least 200 years ago. But I haven’t seen enough to make anything more than a guess…’

Yumi began her investigation in the most logical place she had, the room she started in. She looked around trying to find anything that might have given her an idea of what sort of person that she was supposed to be. ‘Damnit…though I guess this is about what I should expect…’ she thought with frustration that exercised in her tiny hands that could barely do much more than crumble paper.

Across the span of the room drawers were lifted open and cabinets slid open. Boxes and chests remained ajar and few things toppled over from her failure to reach successfully. Fortunately, the tatami mat didn’t take any tears from her slips. The only story that the meaningless things told her was that she was a child with zero cares or worries. Everything that she found was toys, make-up and extremely luxurious kimonos that she never could have hoped to wear in her modern time period. They had wealth, if the servant wasn’t already an indication of that. But that didn’t really tell her anything useful about history or personality. The child remained as large of an empty void in her mind as before. ‘This could be to my favor. She might be young enough that if I deviate it might not be questioned…’

It felt more like a hope at the moment. Previous worlds told her how much value there was fitting in and the punishment that comes from failing that.

Her options came to an end with a kendama that hardly fit in her hand making her question how she could even naturally swing the ball to land into the stick without hurting herself in the process. It felt like a period on her sentence.

And a sign.

Closing or straightening up the mess, Yumi put the room back in order before she made her way to the door. Given that she already saw a servant, she wasn’t sure if she should expect to find more shuffling about the estate or find them empty. ‘The number of servants will tell me a little…’

Quiet and stillness, along with a cleanliness that she wasn’t familiar with. In their home back in the real world, it was always something that she shared with her brother. Though with school and his work on the council, even that was difficult. It would never get to where they wanted it, but was always enough. This feeling was different, as though there was a lot of love and attention put into it. A strange sort of shine came from everything as though it repelled dust away from it.

Yumi glanced around to see if there was anyone in the area. Empty halls stared back at her as she scanned left and right. Not even the sound of feet reached her. ‘Either it’s empty at the moment or there’s not very many people around… Sort of imagined with one servant there might be more. I get that sort of feeling from the place already…’

A slow cautious walk poked her around the hallway as it turned to lead to a courtyard. She looked still not finding anyone. It started to feel a little like she was in an abandoned home despite the orderly presentation. ‘Are they still just in some other part of this place?’ The size of the estate remained unknown to her. It was a little unnerving if that were to be the case. Even the mansion in Masa’s world didn’t feel this large.

As she walked closer to the courtyard in the hopes of finding someone, she came by a door. Not the first that she found, but it started to make her curious. There might have been someone in the room as well. The possible risks that came with such a situation only lightly hung in the back of her mind as her tiny hand stretched up to the proper place to open the door. It came as more of a stretch than she was used to at the moment. She could hardly remember being this young.

Flicking her fingers at the hand holds that were carved into the wood didn’t even make the door slide a centimeter for her. A disappointed grunt escaped her lips as she bounced up trying to reach it. In reality she could have just grabbed any part of it to open the door, which wasn’t completely lost on her, though currently it was. Stubbornness surfaced in her as she made further attempts to budge the door. Another jump and her fingers caught the slot in the door, though her feet didn’t quite fully hit the ground. She dangled with her toes tapping loosely on the wood floor trying to get her traction back. ‘Almost…got it…’

Corners of the wood started to dig into her fingers as her weight pulled on her. It didn’t matter how much she held onto the door, it wasn’t moving for her. And when her fingers’ strength ran out (very quickly, unsurprisingly), she dropped on her butt grumbling at it refusing her. But as though it took pity on her attempts, the door slowly opened itself.

Yumi scrambled back up to her feet to see into the opening. Hopefully something useful would be inside. ‘Anyone in there?’ Poking her head through, she tried to find anything that would help her. She found it completely empty like the halls, though remained undecided if that was a good thing or not. But it was at least safe to step into the room.

As she looked around, there were paintings of nature to her left and right. They flanked a well maintained looking suit of samurai armor. ‘It looks almost new, like it’s not a display piece in a wealthy house, but rather something that has seen battle… That says something about the era I’m in…’ She went up to the armor feeling a strong urge to touch it, though resisted it as best as she could. It was nothing like what she had seen in museums before, old and worn with a faded life that barely clung together.

“The little of Japanese history I know tells me that these were common for a while, but it’s been a century or two maybe since they had this sort of use… If this world is based on Earth and Japan like it seems, I’m far back in history. My immediate guess would say the Warring States Era, but only because that’s really the only thing I remember too clearly. It could be anything.”

Lost in the sight of something that felt historically impressive, Yumi forgot about the time that she drained away on it. It wasn’t until a distant voice that she snapped out of her gaze, which returned her senses back to normal. They quickly became louder and apparently behind her when she tilted around.

It wasn’t the same woman as before, but she had the same attire appearing to be another servant. ‘Two now…’ Younger and tied back black hair, she looked roughly about the age Yumi had been when she entered Sumiko’s world. A slightly distressed look covered her eyes as she looked down.

“W-what are you doing here, Mistress? Y-your father…” She reached down grabbing Yumi’s wrist to guide her back out. “N-no I don’t even want to think about it!” Even if Yumi wanted to resist, there was little that she could have done against an adult with the body that she had. No powers meant that she had the same strength of a child. There was no winning. But she had no further use for the room as well.

The door shut and the woman trying to cover her own ass, Yumi slipped away not planning on sticking around. At least, that was the plan she had until the woman noticed her escape surprisingly fast. Perhaps, it was because Yumi was part of the trouble and she had to be sure the source wasn’t getting into further mischief. Which certainly was prevented now.

Yumi wanted to struggle, but confirmed it to be useless. She didn’t have the strength to break free from the woman. “I’ll take you over to your lessons, Mistress. You don’t want to get in trouble, do you?”

‘Lessons? I have a schedule?’ She had more things that she had to learn. It became clearer that this wasn’t her life to live the way that she wanted. As a child, she wouldn’t have that opportunity, especially if she was back in the dark ages of social progressiveness. ‘How am I going to solve this world if they’re going to put me on a ball and chain…or is that the point?’ Any sort of guesses that she had couldn’t be answered at the moment.

The servant led her around the estate quickly and in a manner that Yumi failed to keep memorized. She knew that she was going to be lost trying on her own. All she could resolve for herself was trying to store recognizable landmarks to help her for later.

On the second floor as they passed by the deck, Yumi caught sight of the outside for the first time. Even her room lacked anything other than a view to another side of the overwhelming mansion. She managed to slip out of the grip of the relaxed and off guard servant. It wouldn’t be long before she came back for her, but Yumi hoped that it might tell her something about where or when she was. Though she wasn’t expecting the sight that she saw.

The deck gave a magnificent expansive view that these grounds looked over. Through the clearing of trees down tucked into the valley between the legs of the mountains rested a large city. A crystal clear view of the city wrapped itself in the wide azure wings of the sky that found slight imperfections in the dots of clouds. There was no hint of the heavy overpowered presence of civilization like she found familiar in her hometown. The city pierced as a scar upon the lands for sure, but it lacked the same tainting effect of modern society. Perhaps it was from the sights of someone looking back to see better days, but it was nothing like what she could find in her time. ‘It’s beautiful…this world…’