Chapter 49

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."

- J. Joplin

"Chad, would you have sex with me?"

Why did the women in my life always choose to ask me shocking questions when I was drinking something? I had suspected something was up by the way she had been behaving, so I had kept my guard up; otherwise I would have known how hot canned coffee felt passing through one's nostrils.

"No," I replied.

"Why not?"

"I can think of three reasons: Traci for one, and Pollyanna for the second."

"Well, duh, Traci said it was okay as long as she was able to watch. As for my girlfriend, we've talked about it. She even wants a shot at you," Rose said with a grin.

After the conversation I had with Michelle, I was not the least bit surprised that voyeuristic my girlfriend had given her approval. I also began to suspect that there might be something in the water in Japan to bring about these recent revelations. Nodding, I said, "I would rather have sex with Pollyanna than have sex with you."

I swore silently to myself. As the words passed through my lips, I knew I should have phrased that better. Rose's reaction confirmed my fear; her grin faded, and there was a tad bit of pain in her voice when she asked, "Is it because I'm not attractive enough?"

"Baka! How many times have I said that the four of you are the prettiest, sexiest, cutest, and most adorable freshman at Central High? No, I meant to say I would feel more comfortable having sex with Pollyanna, because I would know that she would not feel beholden to me."

Rose took a moment for what I said to sink in. With a trace of a smile creeping into her lips, she said, "Are you sure you don't want to 'beholden' these," and with that, she cupped her ample breasts.

We were standing in a fairly decent line waiting to enter Animate, a store dedicated to anime, games, and manga. While the young ladies in line around us may not have understood our conversation, Rose calling me an idiot in Japanese and heaving her breasts at me gave them enough of a clue to amuse them. For her part, Rose paid them no heed and gave me a large grin.

I chuckled at her play on words. My moronic sense of humor must be rubbing off on her, I thought. I then grew serious and said, "Rose, as hard as I've tried to convey that you are a part of the household, I keep feeling that you think that you owe me something for living there. If you were to have sex with me, how can I be sure you're not doing it because you think it is paying off some debt to me?"

"But I'm not, I swear. I'm attracted to you, and I am curious what it would be like with a guy."

"Oh, I see. You just want to use my body then, is that it?" I said with playfulness in my voice. I then grew serious yet again. "You really need to think about how sex will affect not just how you and I interact, but what it might do with your relationship with Pollyanna. It took quite a while for me to show Traci that my love for her could handle having sex with Lori. During that time, Traci was able to understand that our love for one another could handle it. Are you positive that you and Pollyanna's love for each other is strong enough?"

"I think so," Rose answered.

"No, you need to be one hundred percent sure. Because, if there is even the slimmest doubt, it will blossom into outright jealously. I think part of the reason why Traci is so understanding about what I am doing now is that it's with Marge and Lori, two people that she has always loved. So, even if I was positive that you, Pollyanna, and I could handle it, I still have to consider Traci's views."

"I told you, Traci's down with it."

First it was Michelle, then the remark to Jean at dinner the previous night, and now Rose. Traci and I were going to have a long heart-to-heart about the dangerous road that she seemed determined for us to take. Frankly, I knew that I could have intercourse with all three women without it affecting me emotionally, but the same could not be said about others. With a serious expression on my face, I told Rose, "You've known Traci long enough to know that she is prone to act on impulses instead of thinking things through. She and I will be having a little discussion about that, but have you run your plan by Lori and Marge? Those two have an equal right to know what is going on."

"Okay, I get it. If we have sex, it's not just you and I that I have to worry about, there's a lot of people that I have to consider."

I smiled and nodded.

She continued on, "Have you thought about having sex with me?"

From the confused looks we had been receiving, I had felt secure with our discussion, but for effect, I leaned in and whispered seductively into Rose's ear, "What, do I ever think about you wearing the light blue maid's outfit, the one with the short skirt, walking into the kitchen while you are cooking breakfast, lifting up the hem of the dress, sliding your white silk panties aside, sliding my hard cock deep into your tight wet pussy, filling you with one thrust? I then fuck you from behind while you scramble the eggs, all the while, I'm 'beholden' your soft, but yet firm breasts, pinching your nipples through the light material of your top, no bra to interfere with my hands as they knead your luscious globes as if they were dough?" I then stepped back and said normally, "Nope, never thought about it in a million years."

She let out a forced chuckle, redness creeping into her cheeks. I had been around Rose long enough now that I could tell it was a sexual flush and not one of embarrassment. I then added, "I think it is human nature to think about sex with others, even ones we know we can't have."

"Alright, I think I understand. Even if everybody else was okay with it, you would still be uncomfortable because, in your twisted mind, you'd think I'd be doing it out of obligation instead of what it really would be, experimentation."

Nodding, I added, "There's also birth control."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "You do know that I'm on the pill, and of course it will be after your little snipsnip."

It should not have surprised me that Rose knew about my upcoming operation, but I still let out a long sigh and brought my left hand to my forehead, my thumb and middle finger seeking out my temples and began massaging. Eyes closed, I asked wearily, "Is Traci the last to know again?"

Rose let out a chuckle and answered, "I doubt it -- I overhead Mrs. Casper on the phone scheduling the appointment." After a moment's pause, she added in an apparent afterthought, "I didn't tell Pollyanna, if that is what you are worrying about."

I opened my eyes and assured Rose, "I would never think that. You've always been good at keeping secrets and not passing along gossip. Hell, I could tell you some of my deepest and darkest secrets, secure with the knowledge that you'd not pass it on."

A strange look appeared briefly on Rose's face before she gave me a warm smile at my off-handed compliment. As I took a swig of the canned coffee, I began to wonder if I could ever tell any of my loved ones about my true past. Would me telling them ever be worth the risk that they would be exposed to by having the knowledge of the existence of the CYA?

"What did you two do, buy out the store?" Traci asked as she opened the door to the hotel room.

Rose answered, "Hardly. Actually, we'll need to head on back with Lori so that she can buy the hentai. Plus, a third set of hands would be useful."

I deposited the large blue Animate bags that I was carrying onto one of the beds, and Rose followed my lead by doing likewise. We also emptied out our backpacks of the smaller blue bags that we had been able to stuff inside.

"What's that?" Traci asked, pointing with her finger.

I picked up what had caught Traci's eye and handed it to her, explaining, "This is the reason why Rose and I ended up standing in a line for fifteen minutes after the store opened."

Rose let out a soft chuckle as Traci removed the blue bag that was wrapped around the manga and pulled it out. The cover illustration of two pretty boys in a close embrace seemed to clue my girlfriend into the contents without her having to know Japanese to read the title. After a few moments' pause, she asked, "Why?"

"Why not? Besides, the author signed it," I answered.

It had been shortly after the conversation with Rose about my vasectomy that a pair of store employees had come out from the store and began to hand out numbers corresponding to titles listed on a sign board that one of them carried. Since yaoi (boy/boy love stories) was not one of my areas of specialties, I had never heard of the author before, so Rose and I had chosen two different ones. While I was unsure what I was going to do with my copy, Rose said it was the perfect gag gift for David.

Rose confirmed my words by nodding at Traci when my girlfriend looked at her, as the redhead picked up the phone and called her room. I maneuvered over to the chair in which I had received much pleasure the previous night and proceeded to light up a cigarette. When Traci looked up from the manga, she noted where I was sitting and, while she tried to remain unfazed, a bit of color crept into her cheeks when I gave her a wink and tilted my head slightly towards the floor in front of me.

By the time I had finished my cigarette, Pollyanna, Lori, and Michelle had joined us in the room. A minute after that, Jean and Marge came in as well. Since I had been trained to notice even the minutest detail of body language, I easily picked up that Marge and Jean had indeed spent the night together -- their subtle glances as well as restrained smiles at one another were as bright as day to me.

It was decided that we would have brunch at MOS Burger and then head to Asakusa to do some sightseeing there. We were able to use the Rail Pass to make our way to Ueno via train and then transfer to Metro Ginza line to reach there. It was just a short walk to reach Kaminarimon, the "Thunder Gate" that lead to Sensji, the largest Buddhist temple in Tokyo.

After we took a few pictures of us standing in front of the famous gate, we began to walk through the large arcade of shops that lay between the gate and the temple. It became quickly apparent that we were not going to making much progress anytime soon, as just about every shop caught the eye of somebody in our large horde. Not only were the shops small, but they were cramped as the storeowners tried to pack in as much as possible. Not wanting to spend the entire day in the shopping arcade, I decided to speak up.

"How about if we split up and meet back at the Kaminarimon in an hour?" I suggested. After receiving a few dubious looks, I asked, "An hour and a half?"

Nodding, Marge said, "Sounds like a plan."

Instead of everyone breaking off in different directions, we continued to make our way towards the temple as a group, but our numbers quickly dwindled as different kitsch drew the girls away. Rose and I seemed to be the only ones with blinders on as we pretty much walked straight to the temple itself; Pollyanna opted to check out a shop that was selling toys and outfits for pets. When we traveled through Hzmon, the main gate to the temple at the end of the arcade, we paused to marvel at that as well as a five-story pagoda.

Since it was a weekday, the main temple itself was only moderately crowded, so Rose and I were able to burn some incense and, after depositing some coins in the long donation box that was in front of the altar, say a prayer with relative ease. There was a booth that was selling some merchandise associated with the temple so I bought two sets of men's prayer beads.

"Is one of those for Mike?" Rose asked, and when I nodded my head, she gave me a small pout, saying, "I was going to buy him one." She then proceeded to buy a woman's set of prayer beads, and after she finished the transaction, she tried to buy Mike's from me. I was tempted to suggest that we could 'go halvesies', but I recognized the determined look in her eyes and acceded.

As Rose and I were going down the steps of the temple, we spotted Pollyanna and met up with her. Rose's girlfriend did not have much interest in seeing inside, so we proceeded back towards the Kamirarimon. Instead of retracing our steps through the arcade, we decided to take one of the parallel streets and see the shops along there. While they were still somewhat geared towards tourists, they were more specialized, and what they lacked in quantity, they made up with quality.

It was in one of these shops that I found some new footwear. The two girls did not comment when I found jika-tabi (tabi that contact the ground) in my size, but they did seem interested when I slipped on the geta. Rose let out a loud exaggerated sigh and began to shake her head from side-to-side.

"Nani?" I asked, not bothering to hide my grin. I knew exactly the reason why my small-statured friend was bothered: the wooden sandals added five centimeters to my height.

"Baka," Rose retorted.

"You know, you could always buy a set for yourself."

Rose went ahead and did just that, though the geta she bought were more feminine -- black lacquered with a red decorative thong. While the teeth of her geta were wider, they were only half as high as mine. Pollyanna choose to buy a pair of zori, a different type of throng sandals that were made from rice straw instead of wood like the geta. After we had left the shop and started to walk down the street, Pollyanna began to laugh.

"There's no way I'll lose either of you. I just have to keep my ear open for the click-clack," Pollyanna said between fits of laughter.

"Oh, hush you," Rose admonished her girlfriend, explaining, "I think there are cute."

Pollyanna actually reached up to cover her mouth to stifle any further laughter, but that only lasted for a few moments before she could not stand it any longer and began to laugh anew. Even a stern look from Rose did not stop her, especially when I corrected Pollyanna.

"The sound it makes is not 'click-clack', but 'karankoron'."

When Rose, Pollyanna, and I made it back to meeting spot, we found Traci waiting for us. I do not know which was a bigger surprise: Traci being early, or Lori being the last to arrive -- late. After Lori finished apologizing for being tardy, Traci teased her older sister, "Someone's going to be punished."

Lori retorted, "If we had to punish you for every time you were late, you'd still be at home, grounded."

"Girls," Marge said, interrupting any further comments from them, "Knock it off. I'll send the two of you back to the hotel if need be. Besides, we've all been guilty of running late before, well, excluding our anal retentive, Y-chromosomed companion."

"Gomen," I replied. "I'll try to chill during our vacation. So, where to next?"

Since I had acquiesced to the planning by the others, we had ended up with a list of places to go without any set schedule. It suited me just fine, so long as I was able to get to Yasukuni by sunset today. Jean had a guidebook out and was consulting a map of Tokyo, getting her bearings. After a few moments, she commented, "We transferred at Ueno, right? We could head there or Akihabara. Both seem nearby."

I closed my eyes and visualized the street map of the area. After a quick calculation, I stated, "Ueno is close to two and a quarter kilometers away; easily within walking distance." When I opened my eyes, I received a few dumbfounded looks. It was Rose who seemed to voice what everybody else was thinking.

"It cost us, what, 160 yen to take the subway from here to Ueno? Even I'm not that cheap."

A six-minute ride on the subway took us from Asakusa to Ueno, one of the exits dumping us out right at one of Ueno Park's many entrances. After climbing a couple sets of steps, we came across the statue of Saig Takamori, which had become over time a well-known meeting place in the Park. Since the park was rather big, we decided to break up into two groups: Michelle, Pollyanna, Jean, and Marge opted to check out Ueno Zoo, while the rest of us choosing to visit the National Museum. We figured that two hours should be ample time to explore both venues and would meet back at the statue by four o'clock.