And the World Shall Forget You

[Nayt]

Etsu pulled away from Eld, though this time much more . . . gently than the last. She didn't pull away nearly as far, either, just enough to put half a foot of space between their shoulders and face, enough room to let her look him in the eyes with sincere inquisition.

Though it was a bit confusing, almost out of place even, Etsu did feel a little better. Eld doubted his potential with Akizets, but Etsu knew better. Something was wrong with Akizetsumei of Terra-- something seriously wrong that she couldn't help. That was why she'd never come to see Eld since she fell ill. Eld had his doubts, but Etsu did not. She knew there was bound to be something between them, and so long as Etsu wasn't complicating that, she was happy. Even if kissing Eld so much and letting him touch her ludely was fairly immoral, it was still undoubtedly a little bit enjoyable. Her only issue was coming between Eld and Akizets.

And if he was certain that was a non-issue, then she felt a little better about all that . . .

But there was something else about it. Eld was suggesting something more than just that. He brought that up out of nowhere, after all. His reassurance was kind and made her feel a bit better about their previous circumstances, but they were not without reason. Etsu might have felt vaguely put off were it anyone else, though; had she not have actually liked being close to him and all . . .

". . . what are you saying?" she asked, though not outright judgmental. She just wanted to know what was on his mind, was all.

[Zach Kaiser]

What was he getting at? Eld wasn't sure himself at first; he'd thought he just wanted to make sure Etsu didn't feel guilty, but no, there was something more behind his words. It didn't take long to figure out what--it was something rather hard to ignore.

"I guess...I'm saying...I wouldn't mind if we...continued from before, or started again, or something. But only if you want to," he added hastily. He gave a kind of guilty look--not because he thought the idea was wrong, but because he couldn't suppress his instincts better.

Would he feel guilty for the actions themselves? Maybe a little bit, but he was beginning to think he'd regret it more if he didn't.

[Nayt]

So that was it. Etsu lowered her eyes and felt her breathing slow to a gradual stop. She bit her lower lip and remained silent for several long moments. She was yet to take her arms off of Eld, though, or even remove herself from his lap. She had to think about this. It was hard to turn down a request from Eld, now. He told her he'd have liked to have her as a wife under different circumstances, after all. There was no going back from that as far as Etsu was concerned. Considering what they were supposed to be, Eld's priority in her life had stepped up significantly in a very short period of time.

Still, though, when actually faced with this question and not just thinking about the hypothetical, morality again popped up in Etsu's mind, and she had to deal with all her apprehensions all over again. Many seconds of silence ensued as she dealt with them. Issues of morality, issues of romance, and issues of false hopes all berated her. She did not want to be a loose woman. She did not want to get in the way of Eld and Akizetsumei. She did not want to get her hopes up again that she might be married. Two of these were easy to push away. They were bound to die off if Eld so much as kissed her lips again, anyways.

But no matter how much Eld vocalized his doubts about he and Akizetsumei, Etsu was now especially unable to throw away her anxieties.

". . . you are certain I am not . . . be-tween any-thing?" she asked hesitantly, "Th-- that I . . . hurt nothing?"

Etsu rose her head and searched his eyes for some sign of reassurance. He'd said it before, but now he was asking specifically if they could return to how they were . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld considered this one last time, going over both his gut reaction and what his mind knew. He liked Akizetsumei, this was true; he wanted to go out with her, even. But they weren't together yet. And even if they did get together (which was something he was no longer sure of), it likely wouldn't happen for some time yet. Until she was feeling better, at least, if not cured entirely.

"I don't know whether everybody's like this, or if it's just me, but I don't think hearts are simple things." He looked at her with certainty now. "I like you, Etsu...but that doesn't mean I like her any less. You won't be hurting either of us." It was funny; in any other circumstances his words might have been not taken well, or even considered downright hurtful. But right now it seemed it was Etsu wanted to hear. She wanted assurance that her own happiness would not be at the expense of someone else's.

And if she needed any more assurance that his words, she'd receive in the tender way he looked at her before leaning in and stealing another kiss from her lips.

[Nayt]

That was . . . reassuring, yes. And maybe it was odd for her to be so worried about that-- but she was confused, personally, and knew that interrupting any lives and romances here would just make life all the more confounding. And if she consciously tried to steal Eld away from Akizetsumei, she'd just wind up doing that girl a horrible injustice.

Yet at the same time, she didn't mind the idea of being like this with Eld. There was a chance she could even enjoy it still. That was the most confusing part of all, really. It was only with Eld, though. Etsu couldn't imagine herself kissing any other boy right now. Maybe when she went home, she'd be able to relax and actually stop beating up on boys in town and maybe actually open herself up to the idea of talking to the decent ones. But for now, for this moment, perhaps even the duration of this camping trip of theirs, she was likely to be Eld's and Eld's alone.

I am not . . . loose, for considering this? Etsu asked herself as an afterthought.

She'd have asked Eld, too, but there was something about the way he looked at her and the way he held her that made her want to say no further. Instead of speaking further, she hesitated, watched his face, and soon felt his lips as they pressed against her own.

The kiss erased all doubt. It was soft and sweet, just like it was earlier. Etsu shut her eyes, pulled gently away from his lips, took in a breath, and leaned into him with no further concerns . . .

---

Offtopic: Perhaps to be expected, this led to an overtly sexual encounter between Eld and Etsu. It was, however, wholly disappointing for Eld, who essentially got nothing out of it. He stripped Etsu down and got her off, and she curled up on him and fell asleep shortly thereafter.

---

An evening fell rather eventfully. They indulged each other's company and Etsu fell asleep in Eld's arms. It wasn't long after, a few hours, in fact, that she woke up and let Eld up so that they may eat dinner. It was a highly awkward and disconcertingly uncomfortable dinner, with the both of them fully clothed and about four feet of space between them at all times. This gap was eventually broached, of course, but not to return to intimacy. Rather, to try and return to normalcy. Regardless, they mutually came to one stalwart conclusion:

When they got back to Hillcrest, they were going to need separate rooms.

Speaking of . . .

Etsu, poised next to Eld, sat eating corn from the can he'd brought. They were at the lake again, under the stars and warmed by a fire. That was when the question came up to her.

"How r-rong wir-rr we stay here?"

[Zach Kaiser]

This was a rather practical question, and a welcome distraction from the other thoughts that had been filling Eld's mind. Normalcy, it seemed, was going to be a bit of a struggle for awhile, at least on his end. It was difficult to even look at Etsu without blushing.

"I don't know...probably not much longer." It was almost a forgotten point by now that the entire purpose of this camping trip was supposed to be to try and catch whomever was acting as caretaker of the graveyard, under the hope that they would know more about the "haunting" that afflicted Toushikyo and Akizetsumei.

So far, they hadn't had any luck. While at times their attention to their duty was questionable, they'd been pretty good about keeping within sight and earshot of the trail during daylight; it was unlikely they would have missed someone else walking way out here, even if they weren't expressly keeping watch.

By this point he longed for a bath and a real bed (or at least his futon), and it was seeming unlikely they were going to run into anybody. If the caretaker had noticed their presence, would he or she turn around and stay away until they were gone? Or maybe they knew an alternate route to the graveyard, even though he hadn't spotted any other likely exits from it.

"Tonight should probably be our last night," he suggested. Any longer was probably going to be futile; not to mention people might start come looking for them if they stayed out here much longer.

Not to mention if he spent much more time alone with Etsu in this close of proximity, it was going to drive him crazy.

[Nayt]

"So we r-reave tomorrow mor-ning. O-kay," Etsu acknowledged with a nod of her head.

She was fine with that. Too much longer would probably be an issue, anyways. It was going to be tremendously awkward to spend any more time with Eld alone for awhile, and it was probably best that she avoided it for a few weeks. Maybe a couple of months. Who knows. At least, spending time alone with him in private. Being someplace where there were other people around, like his house, would be just fine. But out secluded in the woods like this . . . they were probably just going to relapse into depravity again, and that wasn't for the best. If they did much more, Etsu was certain they were going to ruin more than one relationship.

Etsu drew her knees to her chest and looked past the fire, out into the water. It was a nice night. Chilly, but the warmth of the fire was enough to keep her sated.

"I wonder if Ojisan has fixed up room for me," she thought aloud.

It would certainly be a pleasant surprise if she returned to Eld's house to find a room all made up for her. Wherever that room might be. In the clinic, maybe? She really didn't know where he planned on squeezing her into the house, only that he had plans of it.

[Zach Kaiser]

"I don't know what he has planned," Eld admitted. "I know he wants to build a guest room--which would be your room while you're here--but how soon that will happen..." He shrugged. It all depended on money, really; no matter what, his parents didn't have the time (or, he imagined, the necessary skill) to build the room themselves, so they'd have to pay someone to build an addition to the house. And while they made a fair amount of money, much of the left over gains after taking into account the clinic's expenses went towards his college fund, and any suggestion they dip into that was bound to be rebuffed.

He was less worried about the how and more worried about convincing his parents of the urgency of the need. Staying in the same room as Etsu just wasn't going to be an option, but he was definitely not going to tell his parents why that was. So if they were in no hurry to give them separate rooms, convincing them it was necessary might prove difficult.

"I'm more worried about what to do now about this haunting business. This was kind of the only lead we had." If they didn't catch this caretaker, then what? Poking around the graveyard accomplished nothing, Toushikyo hadn't been much more informed than he was, and all signs pointed to Remmy having left the area for awhile. And if there was any information in an ordinary book around, people would have known about it.

[Nayt]

And the only other lead they had was a book that Etsu was in the progress of reading. That was was consistently failing to make any progress on.

". . . and I stir-rr need to read that book," she admitted.

Because of certain issues, she hadn't gotten much reading done-- and there was no way she was going to get any done tonight, either.

"When we are back, I wir-rr read more," she declared with a nod.

It was unfortunate they hadn't run into a caretaker of any sort. All the scenarios she'd invented of assailing the caretaker and beating them to a pulp if they didn't talk were all lost. She had some pretty hefty fantasies about what a caretaker would look like. Big, brawny, and in his twenties. Sort of like how she pictured this fabled Remmy character that she'd never met. Eld talked about him, but he could have been Eld and Akizetsumei's collective imaginary friend for all she knew. Same for everyone else, for that matter. Eld and Akizets were the only two of this social group that had ever met Remmy, and with one of these two being kind of insane (or something vaguely similar, at least), that left the potential that Eld, too, was crazy and he'd just dreamed Remmy up.

That would just be silly, though.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Oh yeah, the book." Eld had forgotten about that; he hadn't been keeping his notepad on him since they'd been camping, which was probably for the best given that it would have been ruined when Etsu pushed him into the lake earlier. In any case, he wasn't terribly hopeful about the book; it seemed tangentially related at best to him.

Still, if Etsu wanted to read it, it couldn't hurt; he would have been doing so himself if she didn't want to, on the off chance there really was something useful in there.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh; life was suddenly getting really, really complicated for him. After a long time of relative harmony, it was as though fate was dumping every single complication possible on his head at once.

[Nayt]

Etsu frowned when Eld sighed. She sort of wanted to comfort him, but there really wasn't much she could do right now, not without making things tremendously awkward again. And so she sat there and did nothing. Regretted it, but still did nothing about it.

It wasn't long before they put the fire out and adjourned back to their tent. Conversation was fairly slim and they wound up going to sleep soon after laying down . . . with about three feet of space between them at all times, that is. One more night was spent together like this. One last night. That was the end of it, though. Eld and Etsu were unlikely to ever share a bed again, and come morning, when they woke up and started packing, it was silently acknowledged between them that it was best to just try to move on, if not forget that anything ever happened (something Etsu was all for, but Eld probably was not; this was not actually discussed between them, however).

Having failed to find any sort of caretaker of the Graveyard, Eld and Etsu bid the lake farewell for the season. Soon enough it was going to be too cold to swim and Eld wasn't likely to go lakeside just to enjoy being at the lake until late spring, at least--and Etsu probably was going to be back home by then.

Back at the house, there was, indeed, construction. The whole living room-dining room combo was a mess, what with an addition being constructed next to the kitchen and all. It wasn't done yet, though, and there was a crew of five men going in and out regularly to work on it. The room was going to lead out into the dining room-living room, but was situated right next to the kitchen, making it the first room one would walk by when entering the house from the actual front door, rather than the clinic portion.

It was a mess and a little bit hard to breath, enough that Etsu decided to head out for awhile after dropping her stuff off. She was off to Sarah's, hoping to possibly find a place to sleep for a few nights whilst construction continued. At the very least, that'd let Eld sleep in his own bed for once.

Fortunately for Etsu, Sarah was home and more than willing to let Etsu hang her head there for a few nights. Unfortunately, Etsu had forgotten several things. Or, rather, all of her things. She needed a couple changes of clothes at the very least, so she wound up going back to Eld's in search of. Doubly unfortunate was the fact that she did not return to find a particularly friendly environment . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

It started quietly enough; Eld was talking to his parents in their room. But it wasn't long before Etsu would hear voices getting louder, indistinct but clearly agitated. Whatever they were discussing, someone was getting upset about it. And given what had been talked about while they were camping, she'd probably be able to guess what.

Eld's voice would be the first she'd hear clearly: "I had a right to know!"

There was a lower voice next, both in pitch and in volume; it could only be Urikuse. However his words could not be made out.

Then was a higher, female voice: Rebbecca. "It was for your own good!"

"You don't understand, she-"

"No, you don't understand, Eldridge! You don't know what it's like to feel like you have no say in your own future, and I didn't want you to!"

"Do you really think I don't?!"

Silence. For several long moments, no sound whatsoever escaped that room--not even muffled sound. And then the door flew open, and Eld stormed out of the house entirely, not even noticing Etsu's presence.

[Nayt]

Etsu was attracted to the sounds shortly after entering the house. Curiously, she proceeded down the hall, past the construction and past the kitchen, bathroom, and stopped only when she stood outside of her aunt and uncle's room, where it seemed the sounds were coming from. Well . . . it wasn't like she was going out of her way. Eld's room was just down the hall, and that's where she needed to go, anyways. It only took a second of listening in, to hear Eld say he had the right to know something, for Etsu to understand what was happening: Eld was confronting his parents about the arranged marriage.

If it was anything else, Etsu would have sauntered off and took care of what she needed to take care of. Got her clothes and left. But this was something that directly dealt with her, and she personally wanted to know why Eld's parents never said anything to him, too.

Unfortunately, the truth-- or what could be perceived as the truth --was harsher than she expected. Was she not good enough? Did she not meet Rebbecca and/or Urikuse's standards for a daughter-in-law? Is that why they never told Eld about it? That's something that never even crossed her mind before, but when she heard Rebbecca say that it was for Eld's own good that he was never told . . .

Even though Rebbecca somewhat debunked the idea, Etsu couldn't let the thought go. It was like a seed of doubt, spreading through her heart and filling her with a horrible and sick feeling. It wasn't long before Eld stormed out of the room, passing Etsu by as he did. Standing before the doorway as is, she was nearly bowled over by him, and had to take a step back to avoid him. She watched him go, and felt the temporary urge to race after him. But she didn't. Not yet, at least. Maybe she wouldn't do it at all, even. The only real urge Etsu had now was getting as much of her stuff as she could, staying with Sarah, and not coming back here.

Awkwardly, she stood there before the doorway, trying neither to stare into the room nor turn and run after Eld. In the end, all she could do was stare at the floor and try to force herself to make no decisions at all. Somehow, it felt like if she got involved with this, she'd only make matters worse.

[Zach Kaiser]

It wasn't long after Eld left that Rebbecca exited the room too, muttering something about having patients to take care of. She, too, either didn't notice or didn't heed Etsu's presence, and simply walked briskly off to the clinic, visibly upset.

Urikuse emerged shortly thereafter, ostensibly to follow his wife, but unlike the rest of his family he noticed Etsu's presence and stopped to regard her. "Etsu-chan...I suppose you overheard that?" It was merely an observation, not an accusation; clearly it wasn't her fault if she'd caught some of that fight.

[Nayt]

Rebbecca not noticing Etsu there either served to only make matters worse. Rebbecca was the one that said it was for Eld's own good that he was never told. She was the vocal one. Might have even been the most opinionated one, too. Etsu let her eyes follow her aunt as she left, and when she was gone, all she could do was stare at the floor again, though her profile now faced the doorway.

By the time Urikuse noticed her, Etsu had almost stopped glaring. She hadn't even noticed that she'd started to glare at all, though.

". . . hai," she replied, meek yet audibly angry.

And now she felt the urge to run away without her clothes. Storm off like Eld did, maybe. Because now it seemed to her like she'd gone from a bad situation to another bad situation, something she was becoming very upset with at a fairly rapid pace.