[FFML] [FIC][BGC] Frozen Butterfly Arc 2 Chapter 3 (second half)

[skychan]

Here is the rest of what will be chapter 3.  My thanks to Matthew Campbell
who gave me a lot of good suggestions that I will need to incorporate into
the rest of the story.  One of the things I'm considering is just how much
of the minutia I should cut to keep the story moving and how much should be
left in as world building/exposition and to show more of Kari's personality.
 If nothing else please let me know what you think of those bits and bobs.
As ever this is my as yet unproofed and unreviewed work I just wanted to
get out the entirety of what will be chapter 3.

The "finished" versions of my chapters can be found at
http://www.fanfiction.net/~skywiseskychan for anyone who is interested in
reading them.  They usually have been through the wash one or two more
times than the copies sent to this list.

Thank you,

SkywiseSkychan.



*****

As I walked the rest of the way 'home' to my hotel room I ruminated about
how quickly life can change.  Last night I saw the future stretching out
with a bleak unforgiving lonely monotony, without hope or light.  Then a
butterfly flapped its wings and in a few short hours that desolate vision
was torn to pieces by a hurricane.

Being patient is hard.  I wanted everything to happen right now, but I knew
it couldn’t.  It took me an unreasonably long time to realize that I didn't
just have to sit quietly in my hotel room waiting for the phone to ring.  I
knew I would have a job, that meant that I needed to get a place to stay.  No
matter how kind Nene had been so far I didn't want to even contemplate
risking things by asking her if I could be a roommate.  Our friendship too
new, and the risk of her realizing the truth about me too great.

Instead I started searching the web for places to stay.  To my surprise
there were more options than I was expecting, even if half of them were
well out of my expected salary range and despite the electrons I could
almost smell the sleaze coming off the other half.  One add was even so
bold as to list rent as being, 10,000 yen plus favors a month, female
tenants only. It's nice to see that the future is such a fine and
upstanding time to live.

Buckling down and comparing crime statistic maps against the locations of
those apartments that I could afford, I finally came up with three halfway
decent options.  A little more checking narrowed it down to just two, the
third requiring a year's rent in advance something even with the reduced
rent I couldn't possibly afford, and it was the best of the three too.  That
left one near an area of dropping crime and fairly convenient to the city
center, from the photos it actually looked far nicer than the rent being
asked would explain.  The other was little more than a shoebox but while
not near any police stations the violent crime rate for the neighborhood
was almost suspiciously low.

With nothing else to pass the time I set out again to check on each.
Unfortunately
it had gotten late enough that the subway line was packed.  Sliding through
gaps in the crowd I found myself a pole to hang onto against the dizzying
rush of sound and smells.

I couldn't help but react.  My body betrayed my mind; I leaned against the
cool metal for support, drowning in a sea of pheromones.  Angery,
desperate, yearning, frustrated, aroused, all of the stronger emotions of
mankind lapping against me like waves, and no matter what I tried to tell
myself I couldn't keep from responding as designed.  Pulling at my blouse
helped hide the most visible reaction, but any parents around would have
been familiar with the pee pee dance I ended up doing just to keep from
making a more embarrassing scene of myself with the pole.

I lasted just two stops before I had to flee the confines and went running
for the privacy of the womens loo to hide my tears of frustration and shame
from the world at large.  *Master would be getting home soon, and would be
looking for me, he could make it all go away, he could provide the relief I
needed.*  I actually found myself wiping my face to look better for him
when I realized just where those thoughts had come from and brutally
suppressed them again.  Deep slow breaths, deep slow breaths, deep slow
breaths and the pheromone count was down enough to think clearly again.

I needed a better way to travel, at least during rush hour or I wouldn't
make it till my fluidic's gave out, I would be just one more statistic, one
more rogue boomer and notch on the belt of some AD Policeman.  It wouldn't
take those mysterious Knight Sabers from the news to subdue me.

Climbing the stairs to the surface I got my jittery feelings under control
again.  I stopped looking at everyone around me subconsciously working to
analyze just what they might desire of me and again could think of them as
people instead of walking bundles of needs I could fulfill.

The cooling evening air and still warm brick of the building I leaned back
against helped too, calming me down as I rested with my eyes shut trying
NOT to think too deeply on what had just happened.  It was worse this time.
Was it because I had been away from my Master longer, because I had made an
emotional connection, or just some kind of timer urging my body to function
as designed.  Searching my 'owner's manual' didn't provide any answers but
it did take long enough that I drew some attention.

"Hey you, no loitering."  Eyes snapping open I pushed off of the wall to
face the voice and had to look up to get past the imposing breadth of chest
in a coal black suit and fine tie to meet my reflection in dark sunglasses
below short slicked back hair.

Mind going a mile a minute, or kilometer I suppose I should say given I was
in japan I realized two things.  The first that adding what looked to be a
tattoo peeking out beneath the cuff of his black shirt on one wrist to the
other clues meant that this man was probably yakuza, and that it was
possible from my appearance and behavior he thought I was a hooker or
stoned, or both.

Still blocks away from the second apartment site I knew why the crime rate
was so low, at least for reported crimes.  Giving the enforcer a deep bow I
scrambled to extricate myself from the situation.  "Please excuse me fine
sir.  I was simply catching my breath.  The subway was very crowded, I did
not mean to intrude.  I will be more careful in the future."  Holding the
bow I watched his feet shuffle slightly trying to gauge his body language
from the knees down.

Apparently the truth will set you free, at least some of the time.  With a
grunt he responded with a simple "good." Before his feet scuffed the ground
and he headed back joining several other young, similarly dressed men
standing around the parking entrance of a building across the street.

Hesitating only a moment I went on to check out the apartment on foot.  The
walk would be good for clearing the air and the time it took would
hopefully see the subways clear of the rush hour crush.  When I got there
and was shown the matchbox sized apartment I was not impressed.  Maintaining
a polite veneer for the landlord I knew I wouldn't be back unless the final
possibility on my list was even more unbearably small, cramped, and noisy
as this one had turned out to be.

Hesitating at the yawning mouth of the subway stairs one more I dithered
for long moments, *00:00:14,* before descending.  Tensing up the deeper I
got until standing on the platform I realized I was worried over almost
nothing.  Body barely tingling from the leftover crush of humanity I
slipped onto the ever efficient subway system and made my way to what I
hoped might become my new home.

It was dusky, night falling in truth as I walked a block from the subway
towards the housing complex and almost immediately I realized why this
apartment had such a reasonable rate.  The sign indicating that "Coming
soon, Technologically Integrated Economic City Project" with the proud
Genom logo let everyone know that these apartments weren't long for the
world.

It looked like a lot of low income family housing, a guess supported by the
number of kids running rampant around the place.  This could be just what I
was looking for.  Finding the manager's office wasn't hard, and nor was
getting him to let me look at a place once he realized I was here to rent
and not moving out.

The apartments weren't large, per se, but they had been designed with full
families in mind, and so seemed far more familiar to the ordinary
apartments I was familiar with from my own time right out of school.  The
landlord, Ashitaka san, was almost desperate to get me to sign.  All he had
needed to hear was that I was moving into the city and looking for a
temporary place to stay.  Even without proof of a job, or even showing him
an ID he was ready to do up the paperwork on the spot.

His growing need was becoming almost unbearable.  I could feel myself
getting skittish and antsy with the need to do something almost anything to
relieve him.  Cutting off his next batch of assurances I told him I would
need to sleep on it, but to give me the paperwork and I would let him know
tomorrow if I would take it.

More than pleased he assured me he would hold the apartment open for me.  Not
that I was worried given the number of darkened windows I saw on my way out.
There almost had to be some reason for his desperation and looking through
the paperwork I was able to find it.  A disclaimer that the land had been
purchased by Genom with full redevelopment rights already secured.  It took
most of the rest of the ride and reading through all the legalese to find
the other shoe.  They could with 48 hours' notice evict any and every one
living there.

I would get back any rent paid on a pro-rated basis, but the deposit would
be lost, not to mention having only 48 hours to move.  I was sure I could
talk him out of the deposit, and the rent for a four room apartment here
was less than the one room back above the pachinko parlor in Yakuza country.
I didn't tell him yet, but I was sold.

Just looking at the hotel stairs had me feeling tired, but a check of my
systems showed I had plenty of juice remaining.  This was plain old muscle
fatigue from a long day's activity and made me wonder again at the
perversity of designing a robot that could get tired.  Taking the elevator
to my room I stripped off, set the air conditioner on high and took a
shower to wash the remaining grime and aromas of Megatokyo from my skin.

Snuggling deep under the covers I let my eyes fall shut and set out to
pester my newest and best friend.  Having exchanged contact information
earlier made it a lot easier to say hi, connecting to my phone and then the
hotels network let me contact her on Skype.  She was logged in at work,
probably against regulations but who was I to spurn a perfectly good
opportunity.

Galatea: Hi Pinku Neko, how's your day been?  I hit the streets and think
I've found a place to stay.  Any word on the job, and are you slacking off
right now or should I pester you later?

Pinku Neko: Hey, good, glad to hear.  Working now should be done by end of
shift.  Where you find?

Galatea: Well, there is this place, it's going to be part of the new Genom
development so people have been moving out for a while I guess.  What it
means though is they are pretty desperate to get anyone in that they can.  The
rent is cheap, they aren’t about to ask a lot of questions, and most
important I can actually afford it to stay there until I start getting some
money in from my new job.

Pinku Neko: Ick, Genom bad on evictions, hear stories around office.  You
sure?

Galatea: It's not like I have many options right now.  Maybe in a month or
two but it's cheap and spacious and even if Genom does bulldoze the lot it
isn't as if I own more than I can carry on my back.  <download attachment
apt.zip> It's only 30,000 yen a month.

I sent along a series of pictures, well images really converted to gif
format from my own memory to help try and convince her I wasn't just crazy
and it was a good deal.

Pinku Neko: Sure, but that doesn't mean it will last that long.  Probably
knock the building down in your sleep!

Galatea: Now you're just exaggerating.  They have to give us at least two
days' notice so that won't happen.  Besides even if I'm only there for two
days AND I don't get anything of my rent back It's still less expensive
than renting a room.  Don't you think it's worth it from that perspective
if nothing else?

Pinku Neko: Okay, but I reserve the right to say I told you so.  Anyway
I've gtg ttyl k?

Galatea: Night Neko.

Pinku Neko: Night.

I disconnected from my phone's Bluetooth but left the skype client running
still hooked up to the hotel's wi-fi.  I suppose I could have stayed
connected through the night but I'm not to the point of trusting my
unconscious mind to not start downloading some kind of virus while I sleep.
Tomorrow would be a new day, and with luck I would get both a job and a
home.
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