Tokyo Love (21 page)

Her wrist vibrated and she looked down. Ai had texted her.

What if Yuriko came along?

Kathleen frowned.
I told you we would talk about this later.

But you would like that, right?

Kathleen ignored her, looking away from her wrist. They were almost to the station now, crowded with the morning commute. At least it wasn't packed here, in Matsudo. As they traveled into Tokyo, it was bound to get crushed.

“What did Ai want?” Yuriko asked, heading toward the platform.

“How did you know it was Ai?”

“You looked fondly annoyed.” Yuriko smirked.

“That doesn't make any sense.”

They stepped onto the train. Yuriko would ride with Kathleen as far as Ueno, but then she had to continue on. Kathleen was grateful there were some seats on this train, even though they wouldn't be riding it for that long. She sat down, sighing. Just a little walk to the train station and she was already beat.

Yuriko stood in front of her, grabbing the handrail. “So? What did she say?”

“She wants to invite you.”

Yuriko only looked a little surprised. “Really?”

“I think she hopes it will convince me to go.”

Yuriko was silent for a moment, eyes glancing up at the window as they pulled into another station. Kathleen could hear the station chiming as the doors opened. Already the day was heating up again, bringing in a humid gust of air into the cooled train compartment. More people pressed on and Yuriko bumped into Kathleen's knees.

“Would it?” Yuriko looked down at Kathleen again. She looked curious, but also something else that Kathleen couldn't describe.

Kathleen shrugged. “Maybe. At least it wouldn't look like I'm on some private getaway with my love robot.”

Yuriko grinned, looking back up as the train left the station. “Okay. I'll check my schedule, but I think I can do this weekend.”

“Really?” Kathleen realized she sounded just a little too happy. “I mean, I don't want to mess up your work.”

“It's fine. I'm owed some time off anyway.”

“Okay, if it's not too much trouble. Thanks, I mean.”

Yuriko shrugged. “Hey, if Ai plans everything, it's no trouble. Just tell me where we are going when you know.”

Kathleen nodded. Her wrist buzzed again and she looked down to see another text from Ai.

Did you ask her yet?

Shut up.

“Where are the beds?”

Yuriko walked past Kathleen to the closets, sliding them open to reveal the bedding folded inside. “It's in here.”

Kathleen stared at her. “We sleep in the closet?”

Yuriko snorted. “No. In the evening the staff will come around, move the table to the side, and put the beds out on the floor for us.”

“We sleep on the
floor?
”

Ai slid open the door, bringing up the last of the luggage. “I've got a schedule of when the baths will be open as well as the hours and pricing for the shrines.” She held out some pamphlets. Yuriko took them, if only because Kathleen was still stunned.

“Don't you have this all downloaded?” Yuriko asked.

Ai smiled. “Yes, but some of us have to appear human.” She looked to Kathleen. “When will you be ready to head out?”

Kathleen was staring at the closet. “We sleep on the
floor?
” she repeated.

Ai sighed. “Here I was hoping you'd embrace the traditional culture of this fine nation you've chosen to live in.”

“The floor is, like,
hard
.”

Yuriko went to rummage in her bag for a fresh shirt. It was much cooler here in Nikko than it had been in Tokyo. While they had all sweated through the long train ride up here, now they were in the mountains. Yuriko was very ready to be not sweating through all her clothes. “The
tatami
floors have some give in them and the
futon
can be rather soft. Besides, after walking around all day, you'll probably pass out on concrete.”

Kathleen knelt to the floor, pressing on the
tatami
with her fingers, frowning. “I have a delicate spine, you know.”

Yuriko quickly shed her shirt. “You wonder why I call you pathetic.” She tugged the new shirt over her head, running a hair through her mussed hair. She noticed Kathleen was staring. “What?”

Kathleen blinked and quickly got to her feet. “Nothing. So where are we heading to first?”

Yuriko tugged at the hem of her shirt. Had Kathleen been checking her out? She felt her neck heat at the idea, but she quickly pushed away the feeling. Kathleen had probably just zoned out or something.

Ai, who Yuriko just realized was still there, curled her arm around Kathleen. “I think we should definitely cross the Shinkyo Bridge.”

“What's special about it?”

Ai leaned forward, making Kathleen lean back. “Well, they say if a couple crosses it together they will be blessed with a happy life together.”

Kathleen twisted out of her grasp. “Don't even start.”

Yuriko grabbed a spare sweatshirt, in case it became too cold. “I thought it was a sacred bridge that helped a bunch of monks cross the river.”

Ai stuck out her tongue. “Neither of you are nearly romantic enough to be making Personal Love Companions.”

Kathleen threw her purse over her shoulder. “Hey, we somehow made you.”

Yuriko had been to Nikko only once before, when she had first moved to Tokyo. Mashida had hosted a team building weekend there, since their department was still fairly new at the time. The weekend had been fun, full of food and drink and spending time in various
onsen
. They had gone out together to see the shrines, but that had been a blur of excitement and far too many tourists. Yuriko couldn't even quite remember what all she had seen. With over a hundred buildings and other locations to see, she doubted her ability to navigate to anywhere.

However Ai was leading them, with her internal GPS and pre-programmed itinerary. She took Kathleen's hand when they exited the bus just outside the main complex of the World Heritage Site. They faced the river and Ai pointed to the red wooden bridge spanning the rapids below.

“That's the Shinkyo Bridge. Legend says that a god made the bridge from two snakes so that the priest Shodo and his followers could cross the Daiya River,” Ai commented.

“Funny how you left that out before,” Yuriko said.

Kathleen looked enraptured. “Wow, it's so beautiful and the water is so blue! Come on, let's get a better look!”

They ended up going to the next bridge over, in which cars crossed, and people who didn't want to pay to walk on the sacred bridge. Kathleen pulled out a camera from her purse and started taking pictures.

“You have a camera?” Yuriko asked. Most foreigner tourists just used their wrist phones for easy pictures. Though, in this area, Yuriko noticed quite a few Japanese tourists towing around larger, more expensive cameras with tripods.

Kathleen gave a sheepish smile. “A gift from my brother before I left America. It's a decent camera, but not super fancy.” She quickly checked over her photos. “I think he wanted me to go traveling and take pictures to show them at home.”

Ai spoke. “I do have Internet reception here. I could instantly send those pictures to him now.”

Kathleen handed over the camera. “I doubt he's awake. But why not? Let's show him how outgoing and adventurous I am.”

Ai touched the camera, selecting a picture. Her eyes did a strange, jerking motion. Then she looked up. “Sent.”

Kathleen's wrist instantly chimed and she looked down, frowning.

“Did he already respond?” Yuriko asked.

Kathleen rolled her eyes and held up her wrist so Yuriko could see it.

One scenic picture is not going to convince me you are outside your apartment.

Ai smiled. “Such a kind brother.” She held out a hand. “Here, let me take a picture of you. Maybe it will convince him.”

Kathleen nodded, though it was instantly obvious to Yuriko that it had been awhile since Kathleen had a photo taken of her. She stood stiffly against the railing and gave a forced smile.

Yuriko, almost instinctively, jumped into the picture. She put her arm around Kathleen and squeezed her side, making her gasp out a surprised laugh. Yuriko heard the artificial shutter go off as Ai took the picture.

Kathleen shoved Yuriko away, grabbing the camera back. Yuriko couldn't help but lean over her shoulder to look. Kathleen didn't look stiff in the picture, body slightly twisted in Yuriko's arms, face a strange grimace and grin. Yuriko was smiling sweetly, her free hand making a “V” next to her cheek.

Kathleen groaned. “We are
not
sending him that one.”

Ai laughed. “Come on. We've got a lot more to see and he'll eventually be convinced.”

She led them across the street and up through the main path into the forest.

It was beautiful. The air was damp and cool without being cold. The stone steps they walked on were dark with moisture and small rivers and creeks flowed down beside the path. People walked beside them, laughing or taking pictures as they all ascended up the mountains towards the largest of the shrines.

Yuriko noticed Kathleen straying closer to her as the crowds began to thicken. She kept her camera up, still taking many pictures as they went, but her eyes kept straying. “Just how big is this place?” she asked.

Ai stepped closer, a hand curling around Kathleen's wrist. She did not move from the touch this time. “There are hundreds of sites here in Nikko. We are heading to one of the larger complexes. We'll try to see Toshogu Shrine and Futarasan Shrine.”

Kathleen grinned, though with something like anxious anticipation. Yuriko noticed that she took Ai's offered hand more securely. She wondered when Kathleen had changed around Ai. When had she gotten so comfortable that she no longer looked afraid or disgusted by her touch? As the crowds grew larger, the closer they got, the more Kathleen pressed into Ai for support. For all she did to insult Ai or keep her hidden in her apartment, Yuriko wondered if Kathleen didn't mind her so much.

Yuriko knew, logically, that it shouldn't bother her. Ai was made to be a perfect companion. She was supposed to be supportive and attentive and someone made specifically for Kathleen. It was in her programming to notice that Kathleen didn't like large crowds or that she got nervous in new situations. It was in her programming to pull Kathleen closer, make her feel safe or keep her distracted from any anxieties.

She found her gut twisting uncomfortably as she watched them walk before her.

Kathleen decided that shrines, Shinto or Buddhist, were amazing and beautiful and she would totally live in one if she could.

The main courtyard of the Toshogu shrine was lined with stone lanterns, all covered in moss and buzzing with dragonflies. Behind them were the stone and red walls of the buildings. In the distance, Kathleen could only spot more of the curved roofs and a tall pagoda. Beyond that were the trees, shading everything but the center of the stone courtyard. If it weren't for the modern tourists, it would be like stepping back in time.

Kathleen wondered what it would look like empty or with only monks or priests roaming around. No phones or fancy cameras. It would be quiet, she figured, even if the road still existed by the river. The mountain and the trees would absorb all the noise and leave only the sounds of soft feet on stone.

When Kathleen had first come to Tokyo, it hadn't looked so different from a large city in America. It had the same skyscrapers and cars. It had all the holo ads, noise, and smells. It had all modern conveniences that she expected. What had torn her were the small differences.

The strange food in the supermarket. The way people spoke, even if they did know English. Small customs like taking off your shoes in homes and some buildings. Being silent on the train, even in heavy rush hour. The way the toilet and the bath worked. Customs in the workplace, even one so global like Mashida. It felt too easy to make a cultural mistake, thinking that just because the city looked like any other city didn't mean they all behaved that way.

This … this was different. This was what Kathleen had imagined a foreign country would look like: totally unrecognizable and much more intimidating.

Yet, maybe it was because Kathleen had been in Tokyo for almost four months now, that she had learned a little how to adapt when she was so clearly out of her element. However all she could see in this place was familiarity. The tourists here were the same as anywhere else in the world. They dressed comfortably for a day of walking. They stopped a lot to take pictures. They constantly asked questions to anyone who looked vaguely official. They talked just a little too loud, laughed a little more freely. Everyone here was on vacation, trying to get away just for a little bit.

When Kathleen turned to Ai to ask what the bubbling spring water flowing from a decorated well was for, she found several other tourists stopped and listened with her.

Ai reached out and took a ladle that had been set there. “It's to purify yourself. So hold out your hands.” The water was cold and clear as it poured over Kathleen's hands. “You can also wash your face or pray, if you like.”

When they walked away, Kathleen turned to find those same people who listened in now pouring water over their hands. Here, they were all the same, no matter where they came from.

Kathleen took a picture of a white gate, decorated with dragons and embossed with gold. Ai was elsewhere, grabbing a ticket for them so they could enter the temple and see some sort of crying dragon. She noticed Yuriko leaning on the railing beside her, looking at the motif with vague interest.

“Is it weird that tourists come to these sacred places and walk around and take pictures?” Kathleen asked.

Yuriko glanced up at her. “Well, most of the time these shrines need the revenue to help with the upkeep.”