She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 71)
by BrDPirateMan

The second day of our mountain resort getaway played out very similarly to yesterday, thankfully with less skiing accidents and no encounters with bears. I also learnt from my mistakes and made sure to bathe at the correct time. As a result, it was much more fun for both of us, missed opportunities from the lack of mixed baths notwithstanding.

Eri even made me promise that in the future we simply had to book a place that allowed us to share baths.

"You don't call it a bath unless you're together and naked," she said. Her words of wisdom have always leaned on the weird side.

That aside, there was one thing we did differently today. We were done with our baths and clad in yukatas. Eyes narrowed, we stared at each other intently. The tension was high and we were going to get dangerous.

"So," she said, grinning, "are you ready?"

I gulped hard hearing that sexy drawl of hers but boy was I game. "I've been ready since forever."

"Good! C'mon, let's party already. I can't wait!"

We didn't waste another second more. We tore right into each other like the world was ending and it was a glorious time. We were heaving, sweating, making all sorts of weird orgasmic-sounding noises.

"Eri… unh!"

"Aah!"

"Hyah…!"

"Come on!"

"Ugh? Oh, crud!"

"Yes!" whooped Eri. "Score one for me!"

I picked the ping pong ball off the floor and prepared to serve again. Table tennis was pretty good exercise despite how simple it looked. Back in high school Eri was a ghost member in the table tennis club. What little she learnt there was put to the test in our little match.

But there were no real rules to be had here. I didn't know all of the rules anyway and neither did she. We didn't keep score either – the only reason Eri said "Score one for me" was because she felt like it was the sort of thing to say when you "win". The goal was simply to keep the ball going as long as possible. Whoever missed lost and the other won. Championship players we most definitely were not.

Our battle attracted the attention of a few curious onlookers. We just let them be, but their giggling told me they knew we weren't playing by the rules.

Eri swiped at the air futilely as the ball sailed past her for the sixth time in a row. Between us both I was clearly the better player. She never could beat me in high school and now, about five or six years later, the results were very much the same.

"Again?" she sighed, almost resigned to her defeat. "I'm not playing this right, am I?"

"We never were," I said, smirking. "But even then, the main issue here is that you just… suck."

"We'll see who sucks when I pull out all the stops."

The match was getting so heated with the ball bouncing back and forth between us at a breakneck pace. As we continued to make a mockery of table tennis, our robes, originally dark green, now began to look quite black from our sweat. I knew we should have played before taking that bath… After this, we'd have to take another one…

"Neku," gasped Eri, "getting tired?"

"Not really! You?"

"Hardly!" And she whacked the ball to my left. Luckily I was able to hit it back.

From that point onwards Eri tried every dirty trick in the book to distract me from the game. She's clearly joking, but I wasn't quite ready to fold yet, not even for the laughs.

"Behind you!" she called.

Without breaking stride I returned the ball her way. "Try harder!"

"Free food next door!"

"Nah, I'll pass."

"You're getting sleepy… Your paddle is getting heavier…"

"Oh, come on. Really?"

Hmm… Let's give her a taste of her own medicine… It's a really old trick I've used before, but it's never failed me.

"Whoa!" I cried out. "Clothing sale!"

"Huh?! Where?!"

…Fell for it hook, line and sinker. Looking around, she forgot about the ball, which zipped past her. That was too easy…

When she realized she had been tricked and it was her turn to serve again, she protested, "No fair, Neku. That was against the rules!"

Sniggering, I countered, "What rules?"

"Oh… right."

She swatted the ball at me with a vengeance and another round of vicious play began. This time we were really going at it like we were gunning for a trophy.

Then a trio of youngsters – all pretty girls who looked to be in their late teens – ambled into the room. They're the fashionable sort if their makeup and costume jewelry was anything to go by. They're like a bunch of poor man's versions of Eri.

Anyway, while I was playing, I glanced at them very briefly. You know when someone enters the room and you have the tendency to look at them for a second? That's what I did. Not strange behavior at any rate.

But as soon as that one second was over I felt the ball smash into my tummy and knock the breath out of me. I even went "oof!"

Eri's face was as dark as the evening sky. Although mostly calm, there was this undercurrent of suppressed annoyance as she spoke. The smile on her face was at odds with her words.

"Pay attention to the ball, honey."

"Ow… ow… I got it."

I saw our audience take a couple of steps back out of instinct. Never take your chances when there's a clingy jealous girlfriend in the vicinity.

The match continued like normal after that, though I took extra care to keep my attention focused on Eri and the ball. Scarily enough, she snapped out of her jealousy so quickly she was back to taunting me within the next ten seconds.

But then I noticed something, even amongst the chaos. Eri's robe was steadily getting more disheveled with every minute. Her movements were too sharp and her strokes unnecessarily wide, causing it to unravel, bit by bit. Any more, and it'd show off her best bits to the audience who had gathered.

I had to warn her. "Eri, fix up your robe!"

"Can't fool me!" she said, mistakenly thinking I was trying to distract her. "Fool me once, shame on – "

"No, Eri. I'm serious." I caught the ball in my free hand to momentarily pause our match. "Your robe is – "

"Aha! Foul! This win is mine! Yes!"

She pumped both fists into the air, high above her head… and as though in slow-motion, the sash on her robe became undone and both leaves of her robe flew wide open. Her underwear was pure white, like the snow that carpeted the mountain. She wasn't going commando, if that counted as cold comfort.

Gah! I knew this would happen!

I rushed to tie up her sash and cover her up but it was too late. Our spectators had seen her and were now cheering. Embarrassed, I hurriedly ushered Eri out of there, putting an end to our game with no clear indication who had won.

She wasn't too bothered by her wardrobe malfunction though. In fact, she was more concerned about the game.

"Hold on! We still have at least two more rounds to play!"

"W-We'll do that next time. I do get worried about your safety, you know. After all, being in the same room as a bunch of horny guys isn't exactly… safe."

She was about to protest, but calmed down.

"Alright, but I win by default," she chuckled.

"Win by default? Does that make me the better player, then?"

"There you go again! You always like to rain on people's parades!"

"Heh."

As we walked back to our room, I looped an arm around her waist but immediately retracted it in disgust.

"Damn, you're sweaty!"

"Hey, you're no better. Go wash up, why don't you. Actually, let's both do that."

"You know we can't. It's the women's turn to use the bath now. And I am not going to have a repeat of what I had to go through yesterday!"

"Oh, that?" she giggled. "I never said it had to be the outdoor bath."

XOXOXOXOXO

The air was thick with steam and the sound of Eri's voice as she sighed in a decidedly erotic manner. We were in our personal bathroom, languishing in a tub full of hot water. And she wouldn't stop proclaiming how life was good.

"This is great!" she said. "I feel alive again."

Tired from our game, she stretched her arms. She also rolled her head from side to side, making a cracking noise with her neck vertebrae which was kinda alarming.

"I could live here," she continued. "Could do without the wild animals though."

"Yeah, bears are real spoilsports like that."

"Two bear encounters in one lifetime is more than enough for me!"

"I'm not too crazy about the macaques around here either."

As a call back to what I said to her yesterday, Eri sniggered, "Oh? I'm certain they'll welcome you with open arms."

"Sure, that'll work. I'm already going out with one after all."

She narrowed her eyes at me as I chuckled at a comeback well done. But not a second later she was laughing too.

"You sure know how to monkey around sometimes."

"Oh god, stop, Eri." I clutched my forehead, pretending to be in pain. "Bear jokes are bad enough, I don't need monkey puns on top of that."

"Hee hee!"

Silence punctuated the air for a few moments.

"Wanna cuddle?" she asked.

How could I say no? Skinship in the bathroom was always a good thing.

"Get over here, Eri."

And she closed the distance gladly, making her way into my waiting arms.

"Um, Eri? Aren't you supposed to be facing the other way?"

Usually she rested with her back against me, but here we were actually face-to-face, which made affairs a whole lot more intimate. She even managed to straddle me, legs locked around my waist in a stunning display of dexterity.

Seductively, she purred, "Can't hurt to spice things up now and again, right?"

And she scooched over even closer – good god. Knowing her, this was definitely deliberate on her part. Her breasts, her skin… I could feel her everything on my person and it was heaven on earth. The blood rushed down below like people doing last-minute Christmas shopping at the department store.

Hands wrapped behind my neck, even she was impressed by her own audacity and grew red in the face. But it didn't mean she wasn't enjoying it. And if she was in a good mood, it couldn't hurt to take risks myself, so I reached out and gently cupped her buttocks in my hands. She took it very well.

"Wow," she giggled. "Will you look at us now."

"Y-Yeah, great position, huh?"

"Like sardines in a can. Really sexy sardines I might add. Fancy my butt that much, huh?"

"Hey, it's cute. Can't fault a guy for liking it."

"Well, I like how your muscles have been turning out." She fondled one of my arms to appreciate the firmness first-hand. "All that practice in the pool did you a whole lot of good, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I've got you to thank for that. You got me into swimming in the first place."

"Heh, you're wel– uh, did you just squeeze my butt?"

I chuckled. "Yup. We gotta do this more often."

"My! Such a naughty boy! But hey, I'm a naughty girl myself, so… that works." She licked her lips. "I wonder how long you'll last before you give in?"

"I'm always up for a challenge."

We leaned in and shared the longest kiss in a while. No words could describe our little slice of heaven.

And as for what we were up to after our bath, well…

That's a secret.

XOXOXOXOXO

Finally home after our mountain resort getaway, we returned to doing the things we used to do on a regular basis – cooking on Saturdays, swimming on Sundays. Eri even resumed work as a part-time model. Without the need to attend classes and rush to meet assignment deadlines anymore, we could do whatever we liked without a shred of guilt. We went on dates once every two or three days. Occasionally we'd do our own thing, hanging out with our respective college buddies. Having so much freedom all of a sudden was awfully liberating.

In fact, maybe we had too much…

One particularly dull afternoon I helped myself into Eri's room to pay her a visit. She was lying on her side in bed, fiddling with her phone. Her face was slack, her eyes lifeless. She prodded the screen of her phone at random, with neither purpose nor interest.

"Yo, Eri," I said. "'Sup."

She rolled onto her back and managed a limp, pathetic-looking wave. "Hi. I'm… kinda bored."

"I can tell. You up for a date? Bet we could put some zest back in you."

"But we went on a date this morning. And yesterday. And the day before that. I know you mean well, but right now, the last thing I want is another date."

"Th-That's true. I think we may have overdone it. I was just so excited to have so many free days all of a sudden."

"Yeah, me too. The novelty sure wore off fast, huh?"

"Too much of a good thing. Would be nice if we had some real work to do… Well, you still have your modeling which is nice. I haven't had much luck finding someone who'd hire me part-time."

"Can't say I blame them. Ain't no point hiring a guy who'll graduate in a couple of weeks and start looking for work elsewhere."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Oh, that's right!" Eri suddenly sat up and was excited all of a sudden. "My manager got me something to do and it's pretty rad."

"What's that? Another bikini photoshoot?"

"No, even better! It's a TV ad for Fresh-'n'-Go soybean milk! A TV ad, Neku! I'll be on TV!"

"Damn, that is pretty cool." Happy for her, I smiled. "Looks like you're really taking off now."

"I'd still be in a bikini, but progress is progress! Can you imagine how my resume would look afterward? I'd be every potential employer's wet dream!"

"Man, now I'm actually envious. Part of me wishes I could be on TV too."

"If I put in a good word for you," she giggled, "they might rope you in as an extra."

"Uh, I was just kidding – "

"And then people will look at you and be like, 'That is some weird hair'."

"It's good hair!" I protested in jest, caressing my locks.

She laughed. "I don't know about that. Hedgehog hair isn't exactly trendy these days."

"Hey, you got your fashion statement, I got mine. Anyway, this is great news. This calls for a celebratory dinner."

"Ooh, really?"

"Yeah, I'll make something but I'll need to go get some ingredients."

"Whatcha making?"

I grinned. "Hey now, won't be a surprise if I told you, right?"

We drove out onto the streets, eager to get some shopping done. However, at this time in the afternoon the city was bustling with more people than usual. The traffic was a nightmare. The parking lot at the supermarket was full and I actually had to drive around the surrounding area looking for parking space. It was only through a stroke of luck that we were able to locate a free spot, but that meant we had to walk quite a ways to the supermarket.

But at least the trip proved bountiful, and our arms ached with the stuff we carried back – two bagfuls for me, one for her. We were waiting to get on the zebra crossing, and Eri was looking peppy, clearly anticipating what we'd have for dinner.

"When does filming start?" I asked. "Tomorrow?"

"No, it won't be that early. They still need to prepare and stuff. But we should be able to get started in two weeks."

"They're probably picking out your swimsuits as we speak."

"Of course!" she giggled. "When you shoot an ad you gotta leave a lasting impression!"

"Soybean milk's about to get a whole lot sexier, eh?"

"Like you won't believe."

The green light came on and the pedestrians started to move. Eri and I scarcely took two steps onto the zebra crossing…

…then, without warning, the sound of screeching tires seared through the air, sharp like a knife.

It all happened so fast. Everyone bolted in all directions in a disorganized flurry, some faster than others. It was pandemonium. Eri's eyes were wide with panic.

Then I looked to my left, and there… right there inches away from us… was a guy on a motorbike who couldn't slow down in time. He was speeding towards us so quickly I had no time to react.

The scream of his bike's tires split my eardrums.

But the crunch when it slammed right into me was far worse. My left arm felt like it'd been snapped in two. And while my mouth was agape with shock, my voice refused to work and the scream I made was silent.

The force of the impact threw my body away and I skidded across the road like a hockey puck. I lay there, motionless with my body racked in unbelievable pain as people started to gather around. Even as I began to lose my grip on my consciousness, however, my thoughts turned to one person.

Eri. Where… Where was she?!

Looking around as far as I could see within my cone of vision, she was nowhere nearby. Why… Why couldn't I find her? Don't tell me she…

I forced myself to brave the pain and lolled my head the other way. To my horror there she was, splayed on the road much like me, face down on the asphalt. Her hands and what little I could see of her face were tinged red with blood.

Eri… Eri, oh god!

I attempted to call out to her, but much of my energy had already left me and I was fading fast.

"E-Eri…"

That was all I could say before I passed out.

XOXOXOXOXO

Where was I?

I woke up to find myself lying in a bed that wasn't mine. Staring up at a ceiling that wasn't my own.

Looking around, I saw various equipment. There was an IV drip nearby… that my right arm was hooked up to. My left arm was in a cast, propped up on a pillow. I also saw the worried faces of my foster parents. Their presence surprised me.

"A-Auntie?" I said weakly. "Uncle?"

"What exactly happened to you?!" my aunt demanded, her brow stern and concerned. "We were told you got into an accident. How'd it happen?"

"More importantly," said my far calmer uncle, "how are you feeling? Where does it hurt?"

Ah… so I'd ended up in hospital. That road accident did a real number on me. Just my luck…

"Gimme a moment," I mumbled. "Agh, my head…"

"Take your time." Uncle gave me a glass of water which I greedily gulped down.

"I… I was out shopping with Eri, and we – "

Wait a minute… What happened to her? She's nowhere to be seen!

"H-Hang on. Eri. Where… Where is Eri?!"

"Keep your voice down," said Auntie, pressing a finger to her lips. "She's in the bed next to yours."

She pointed at the bed to my left, which was concealed with a curtain. I tried to sit up so I could see her for myself, but my entire body felt so sluggish and I could only shift about in place. After a couple such half-hearted attempts, I resigned myself to the circumstances at hand and gave up.

"I… I need to see Eri."

"Now's not a good time, Neku," said Uncle, parting the curtain ajar. "She needs rest."

Through the gap I saw Eri, sleeping soundly. Her forehead was swathed in bandages and so was her right arm. She was a sorry sight, and I felt very bad.

If I hadn't told her I was going out to buy ingredients for dinner, she wouldn't have tagged along… and she wouldn't have been involved in the accident. I should have just made do with what I had at home…

Yes, there's no way I could have predicted this. It was a freak accident – some irresponsible jerk on a motorbike was speeding and we happened to be directly in his path when we were crossing the road. If it's anyone's fault, it should be his.

But I should have been more careful myself… At the very least, even if I got hit, I'd have seen the bike coming beforehand and pushed her out of the way.

It's just too cruel for her to suffer this sort of fate…

"If you're going to talk to her," continued Uncle, "then do it when she's awake. If it helps, she has no life-threatening injuries. Apparently, you took most of the brunt of the impact and that's why she's not so badly affected. Of course, that means you have it worse… At least, that's what the doctor told us."

"But right now," said Auntie, "you need to tell us your side of the story."

Looks like Eri would be all right for the time being. Cold comfort but it'd have to do. With nothing more that I could do for her, I explained the circumstances that led to our mishap. My folks were sympathetic, to say the least. They said a lot of things to help me feel better, but it basically boiled down to how lucky we were to still be alive despite everything that went down.

"Don't worry too much, Neku," reassured Auntie. "You'll be right as rain soon enough."

"It's not myself I'm worried about," I said. "It's…"

"Eri?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Eri's a tough girl; she'll pull through. You should know that by now!"

But she's never been in a road accident before!

Visiting hours were soon over and Auntie and Uncle had to leave. Amidst repeated orders to rest up and keep the worries at a minimum, they also promised to come back tomorrow with fruits and snacks, with her emphasizing that she would definitely bring her special braised chicken dish… of which I wasn't a fan. Too many herbs, you know. Got a taste too strong for my liking. You know what they say: if it tastes bad it must be good for you.

Sleepiness began to overcome me. Maybe it's the side-effects of whatever medicine they were pumping into me, but whatever the case may be, I dozed off in a matter of minutes before I could ponder about the accident any more.

I could worry about Eri in the morning.

XOXOXOXOXO

The morning sun seeped through my eyelids. Even before I opened my eyes, I hoped that everything was all just a bad dream.

Then I looked out upon the world and was disappointed that I was still stuck in a hospital ward, left arm still cocooned in that stupid cast. What sort of luck was this to suffer a broken arm for the second time in my life? It wasn't my dominant arm this time round, at least.

Of all the patients in my ward, I was the last to wake up. The others were already having breakfast. The smell of miso soup was thick in the room.

But none of that was important. Eri was awake, much to my great relief. She appeared to be in a daze but at least she was still here. You tend not to worry about the small details when good news comes your way.

Overjoyed, I greeted her. "Eri, looking good this morning!"

She glanced at me, startled. I must've caught her off guard, being asleep the whole time till now and all. For some reason, she wasn't able to come up with a suitable reply. I didn't think much of it and kept talking.

"I was so worried, you know. I thought for sure you'd bitten it! So how are you feeling anyway?"

She flashed me a small polite smile and replied, "I, um… I think I'm fine…"

"No broken bones anywhere?"

"N-No…"

"Really? Okay, that's good." I gestured towards my left arm and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I got careless and now the doctors have left me with a nice present."

"Oh, uh… that's a shame. I hope it's not that bad."

"Heh, yeah, me neither."

At that moment a nurse wheeled a food cart in and laid my breakfast on a tray. It wasn't five star material but at least it looked decent enough. Trying to eat with one hand proved to be a bit of a challenge but thankfully all of my food was easy to work around with just a fork. I dreaded to think how I'd go about my daily life using only my one good arm, but with Eri by my side things should be much easier. We could help each other until the cast was off of me.

"Heh, that'll teach me to take my two arms for granted," I chuckled. "Well, Eri, I guess I'll be counting on you a lot more from now on."

She looked at me briefly to acknowledged that I had just spoken to her, but said nothing and resumed eating afterward.

Strange… why was she so quiet? She wasn't… angry, was she? But I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't say anything wrong either. Why the cold shoulder?

Maybe she's just shaken by the accident. Ah, that's got to be it. I mean, I'm shaken myself, but I understood that we were both alive and relatively well so there's little to worry about except taking lots of rest. So I decided to change topics and divert her attention away from the accident instead.

"Yo, Eri."

"H-Huh?"

"I know it probably sounds inappropriate, but when we get discharged, we should totally get some ice cream to celebrate. I'll even get you your favourite blueberry flavor. What do you say?"

"Uh…"

"We survived getting banged up in that road accident. I'd say that's something to crack a few cans of soda over, eh?"

"I… um…"

"Oh? Ice-cream's no good? Then anything else is fine! Cheesecake, sushi, takoyaki, anything at all. Just say the word! Go on, don't be shy! Or maybe you'd like some time to think about it?"

I couldn't help but notice how increasingly flustered she was becoming. Now I was starting to get a little worried. Was it something I said?

"Eri?"

"Hey, uh… I h-hate to burst your bubble… I mean, i-it's nice that you're being so generous, but…"

"Um… but?"

"…do I… know you from somewhere?"

What? Wh-What kind of question was that? What's that supposed to –

No, hang on! This was Eri we're talking about. She loved to play harmless pranks now and again. I was certain she was just messing with me. She's caught me off guard lots of times in the past because I wasn't savvy enough. But not this time!

I let out a hearty laugh, being careful not to be too loud for everyone else's sake. "Good try, Eri. You're not fooling me this time though! And come on, really? You gotta do better than – "

"No, seriously!" she snapped, a little too loudly.

In slight embarrassment at her own outburst, she cleared her throat and mumbled an apology before making herself clear:

"Who… Who are you?"

I saw how confused she was. Honestly, she even looked a little scared. She's pretty good at fooling people, but no amount of acting could convey the discomfort she was feeling right now. This was the real deal.

When I realized this, my head started to spin and my emotions did a complete 180. This wasn't happening…

"Eri," I gulped, dread thick in my belly, "do you not know who I am?"

She stared at me intensely, like she was trying her hardest to recall a particular detail but couldn't. Eventually she just shook her head, setting my suspicions in stone.

Eri had completely forgotten who I was. She'd lost her memory!