Wayside - 1920s Japan Dramedy

“Alright, that’s the last of ‘em, Yuko!" Kicking a wooden box from the hallway into the kitchen, Alfred Hampton swiped what seemed to be the thousandth drop of sweat of the day from his forehead. He had to admit, lugging two thirty-pound leather suitcases for a mile and a half in the blazing Kansai sun encouraged him to appreciate his “string bean” arms much more than he had done so in the past. Maybe now his niece would have the heart to stop subjecting him and his arms to such ridiculous name calling.

「 Oh, thank you so much, Al!」 Yuko Hasegawa tip-toed up to meet Alfred at the doorway, stepping atop the rickety box to peck his cheek. "I really don't know what we would do without you."

"Um, yeah, speak for yourself please." Long wavy strands of tawny hair tumbled into sight as Lucy Hampton pushed a patchy traveling bag across the narrow hallway floor. "I know exactly what I would do without him, thank you very much."

Alfred rolled his eyes, exhausted from his niece’s non-stop complaining. "Luce, we're here, we left, get over it–"

"Lucy! Oh–" Alfred’s fiancé flew out of his arms and back onto the floor, her hands interlocking with Lucy's wrists. "You're going to get–what are they called?" Yuko flung their hands in the air above the bag, looking long and hard at the younger girl's sweaty palms. 「 When wood goes into your skin.」

"Splinters?" Lucy blinked, gently pulling away from Yuko's grip.

"Yes, yes! Go take a break!"

"But this bag isn't made of wood–"

"On you go!"

Two flapping hands hurried Lucy out of the hallway and up the staircase, leaving Yuko and Alfred in much-deserved solitude for the first time that day.

"See, now if I told her something like that, she'd stay at my throat for a good ten minutes at least." Alfred chuckled, his usual lopsided grin spreading as he reached for Yuko to join him back in the sunny kitchen.

"It's a woman's charm." Two petite shoulders shrugged up and down underneath Yuko's soft cotton shirt as she returned to the top of the box, her wrists and fingers resting around Alfred's dampened shirt collar. She was usually seen donning fitted dresses and twinkling jewels, but today called for a much more utilitarian fashion–fashion she would perhaps have to become used to, given their current state of affairs. "She needs time. She can speak wonderfully and she's already learning to read, I'm much more worried about you!"

"Me!?" Placing a palm over his heart, Alfred was taken aback at the speed at which it was beating along with how his arm muscles ached at such a slight motion. "Hey hey, if my arms and hands can survive a forty-minute march uphill with two full suitcases, what's a couple hundred symbols and pictures, huh?"

"Kanji, Al." Another laugh escaped Alfred as he felt Yuko's head plop down onto his chest. "They're kanji, and there's many more than a 'couple hundred.' Not to mention you only know about ten!"

"The ten most important!"

Yuko couldn't stop the hand lightly slapping into her forehead, attempting to force Alfred's ridiculous logic somewhere into the recesses of her own brain to no avail. 「Important? Alcohol, money, food, wom–」

"Medicine! Don't act like I don't know how to read 'medicine!’ Come on!'" Alfred's arms spread wide across the kitchen, head lilting to the side as if he expected Yuko to praise his lackluster prowess in vocabulary. "Medicine and doctor!"

"I'm saved." Yuko gave a small giggle as it was her turn to roll her eyes, hopping off the small box and stepping towards the kitchen sink. "Sorry, I'll let you do the fixing up around here and if I ever do need it, I'll have Lucy do the talking for me."

She brushed off the tiny scoff nearly inaudible behind her as she fiddled with the pump.

Hm.

Well, it certainly wasn't supposed to be a rusty brownish color.

After a few twists and pushes, water finally came in unpredictable gushes.

Oh my, well water definitely wasn't supposed to be a brownish color.

Yuko flinched backwards as a few wayward drops threatened to sully her white blouse. She wondered if perhaps the navy would have been a better option for the day.

"Your first job!" Wrapping her knuckles against the cool sink tiles, Yuko turned back towards Alfred still standing near the box. "Fix this and maybe I'll join you over there again."

"The lady drives a hard bargain." He couldn't help the tiny swoon in his chest at her coy wink. Rolling up his sleeves, Alfred stepped to the sink, quietly shooing Yuko away as he allowed himself a better look at the sorry sight before him. "Hopefully we don't die of thirst before I can fix this. And Jesus, your family ever hear of curtains?" Leaning against the sink countertop, Yuko was about to roll her eyes once more until she was blinded by the sudden burst of sunlight ricocheting off her lover's eyeglasses.

"One problem at a time, Al." She huffed as she escaped towards the kitchen table, running a hand through her sweaty head of hair.

...Eugh.

"We don't usually have curtains in houses here, and we should be grateful they're letting us stay here at all." Her hands met her hips while she observed Alfred from a distance, fingers drumming against the table’s wooden surface. "They could have just sold it to the Miyagi family, you know. Get some money instead of just a good conscience."

"It's not that I'm not grateful, it's just–son of a b-" Spurts of rusty water flowed freely into the sink and splashed onto Alfred's pants after a couple more pulls on the pump.

Yuko struggled to bite back tears, either from laughter or despair, of which she wasn't certain. "Be careful what you say."

"I know, I know." He held out his arms on either side, turning to face Yuko at the table. "...Towel?"

「 One's...here somewhere. Ah! Here we go.」 Kneeling down and searching the floor, Yuko looked until her eyes landed upon a white fabric corner poking out from an unsealed box. "Oh, I think I should go check on her up there." Now dabbing at Alfred's soaked and stained shirt, Yuko's worries were beginning to wander upstairs. "We know a quiet Lucy probably means–"

"A second flood? The rapture?" Alfred's eyes were blown wide with feigned fear, lips curled upward and heart jumping as Yuko's nimble fingers eased the color out of the stain.

"You're just as bad as her, you know that right?" Whipping the towel on the countertop, Yuko patted his cheek before leaving Alfred and the leaky plumbing for the hallway. "Please, try to have that fixed by tonight. I know there's no tools but use your head."

"Sorry, he hasn't been used in a while, afraid we gotta get reacquainted!"

Gulping back another laugh, she forced herself to ignore the clangs and grumbles seeping out from the kitchen as she climbed the stairway, only to be met with more grumbles coming from behind a shut door.

Wonderful.

At the very least, someone was settling in.

Knock knock.

「 Lu-chan!」

Yuko just wished it was herself.