Mayako-san's Inn

Part 2: There's A Monster In The Closet!

Twenty minutes later, and Mayako had fallen to her knees. The woman was a sniffy, sobbing mess. And it was Fumiko who held her now as she slowly began to calm down. Through gasps and many tears, Mayako had revealed that she’d lost her mother at a young age. Before her mother’s passing, she taught her daughter everything she needed to know to run the inn. To be an amazing wife, and a mother to children of her own one day. So when she’d heard that Fumiko had lost her mother young, the woman lost it. She felt so strongly for her. For this child who showed no emotion. Not even when talking of her deceased mother. The person who should be most important to every little girl.

But to Fumiko, it was nothing more than a fact. Her mother had died. That fact didn’t sting. It didn’t cause her to cry or feel as though she’d lost out on anything. So she couldn’t fathom why Mayako-san was so upset. Especially on her behalf. Why was she crying for someone else? A stranger, no less. It would seem I still have much more to learn, she thought, softly patting Mayako-san’s head. It was a soothing motion she’d read about in books, though it only seemed to make her cry even more.

Even after all I’ve read…how can there still be so much that I don’t know? the thought troubled her, but at the same time, she was excited. Her thirst for knowledge knew no bounds. Not even the great rock walls of Iwagakure had been able to stop her.

“Mayako-san?” It was the first word that had been spoken since Mayako had shared her past with Fumiko. And the woman brushed a few rogue tears from her bright blue eyes, gazing up at Fumiko at forcing a smile. ”Yes, dear?” she asked, slowly breaking free from the hug and pushing herself up off the floor. On the way up she grabbed the sheet they’d dropped, and quickly folded it before setting it with the rest. ”I’ll help.” she said, nodding towards the stack of clean sheets. And once more the bright, genuine smile of Mayako’s returned. She eagerly scooped up the stack of clean, folded sheets, and nodded for Fumiko to follow her out of the laundry room.

”We’ll start with west wing, then make our way back over to the east wing, ok?” she said in a sing song tone, leading the way down the west wing and knocking on the first door to their left. For this first room, Mayako-san did all of the work. Instructing Fumiko on the proper place for the sheets in the cabinet. As well as easy conversation starters in case the tenants were in their room.

”Here, you take this room. I’ll be right in here.” she said, handing Fumiko a fresh set of warm sheets before disappearing into another room. Lightly knocking on the door in front of her, Fumiko waited exactly one minute (as instructed) before entering the room. Clutching the sheets close to her chest, she enjoyed the fresh scent of lilac that wafted off the sheets. And the warmth that almost made her want to hold onto them a little longer than she needed to. Approaching the closet, she slowly reached out for the handle. Open the closet, place the sheets on the middle shelf, right cubby. she recited to herself.

Lost in thought as she mulled over the details, she was unaware of the muffled breathing within the closet until it was too late. The second she opened the closet, three men came toppling out. Tripping over each other and groaning over how cramped it had been. One came dangerously close to falling on Fumiko, causing her to stumble backwards, falling on her bum.

”Well hello there, little lady~”