Club Rainbow ①

【Synopsis】
Rui, a drag queen who sings at Club Rainbow in Susukino, the great entertainment district of the north, lives with Satowa, a former stripper who lost her breasts to illness.
As the New Year approaches in Sapporo and the Snow Festival draws near, Aguri, the club's owner, decides to sponsor an ice sculpture competition. Rui, a young ice sculptor, is looking for a model for his ice statue and falls in love at first sight with Satowa, who works at the club as a server.
While practicing for the club's show to coincide with the Snow Festival, Rui learns that Satowa has a digital tattoo carved into her body. That was what led her to become a stripper, but after losing her breasts, she lost her will to live and had come to the northern land with nothing but herself—

　When I opened the front door, the humid heat enveloped my body.

　Even though the temperature outside has been below freezing for days, the thought of the kerosene bill from keeping the stove on 24/7 is terrifying. However, the cat I'm looking after is weak against the cold, and I couldn't bring myself to turn off the stove, thinking of her shivering in my absence.

“I'm home.”

　I kicked off my snow-covered boots and called out. There was no reply, but I heard the bed springs creak, so I figured she had been sleeping until now.

　A studio apartment near Susukino Station. Rent is high in the center of Sapporo, and the small room is filled just by placing a bed. Living a life where day and night are reversed, the TV is just a piece of furniture, and the houseplants withered long ago. There is no heat in the kitchen, and the refrigerator contains only mineral water and a few supplements.

　The star of this room is a glamorous dresser. And clothes, clothes, clothes hanging all over the walls. The laundry I hung up before going out has increased the room's humidity, but it's probably better for my skin than the dry air from the stove.

　As I pushed aside the laundry, which smelled of fabric softener, like a curtain, the cat let out a big yawn on the bed.

“Satowa.”

　Even when I called her, she didn't make a sound. When I put down the fast food bag I bought on the way home, she slowly approached, drawn by the smell.

“At least put some clothes on.”

　The cat I keep had skin as white as porcelain.

　Her long, slender limbs were thin, and her well-shaped buttocks didn't lose their firmness even when she lay face down. The only thing covering her stark-naked body was her long, flowing black hair.

　The cat's habitat is my room, on top of the semi-double bed. She doesn't clean, she doesn't do laundry, and she won't eat unless I feed her. Just because she has the form of a woman, her essence is that of a cat that indulges in lazy sleep all day long.

　Watching her munch on french fries, I sat in front of the dresser while peeling off my false eyelashes. Next to the mirror is a large light that blows away all the inconveniences like dullness and wrinkles on my skin with its brightness. I soaked a cotton pad with makeup remover and wiped off the thick layer of foundation.

　Nose shadow applied to make my nose look even a little higher. Lipstick applied with a larger outline than the real thing. Concealer to create the illusion of fine skin. Eyeshadow applied thickly and deeply, like the kumadori makeup of Kabuki.

　Satowa watched with interest as I went through one cotton pad after another, tossing them into the trash can.

“...Rui.”

　When I was called and turned around, a french fry was thrust in front of my nose.

“No, I'll get fat if I eat something with that many calories.”

　She still wouldn't pull the fry away. I reluctantly took it in my mouth, took off my wig, and scratched my stuffy head. When I turned off the dresser light, I covered the mirror with the dress I had taken off.

　The unlit mirror shows me the truth. The skin roughened by the alcohol I drink every night, the fine lines that increase because I sleep without taking off my makeup, the gray hairs lurking in my short-cut hair—if I don't look, they are the same as if they didn't exist.

　Even the stubble that regrows in just half a day.

“Move, I'm going to sleep for a bit.”

　Satowa was eating her hamburger in silence. When I rested my head on her thighs, which she wouldn't move even if I tried, she stayed that way, surprisingly docile.

　The curtains must have been left open all night; the room, with the fluorescent light off, was bright, welcoming the late dawn of midwinter. I could hear the sound of a newspaper delivery bike, and footsteps climbed the apartment stairs lightly.

　I want to sleep like the dead just like this. By the time I wake up, this morning sun will have set. My eyelids were drooping heavily, and just as I was about to drift off, I smelled a pickle near my nose.

“...I don't want it.”

　Even though I said that, she never backed down. When I opened my mouth, she forced it in.

　Satowa's expression as she looked down at me was hidden by her long hair, blending into the shadows. The hair tips brushing against my face were ticklish, and when I shook my head to escape, her thighs moved slightly.

“Your stubble is prickly.”

“Sorry about that.”

　I tried to get up, but it was her who held me back.

　As if covering me, she embraced my face. Her sweet scent came from her skin and hair.

　Soft upper arms. Skin that felt like it would cling to you. Sensual thighs and the modest thicket hidden behind them. The sweet scent filling this room seemed to be rising from her entire body.

　The chest covered by her long hair. I know that there used to be two round breasts there.

　Now, all that is there are the scarred marks.

　The cat I keep has no breasts.