Chapter Two - Jun

“Kasumi!” I sagged in defeat but continued to walk. The river raged below the bridge from the constant rain of the past four days, and I could get away with pretending I didn’t hear her if I walked faster I reasoned. “Kasumiii!” The shout was louder, and I stopped, bowing my head in defeat. I turned to find my little sister reaching the other end of the bridge, running toward me, arms waving frantically while her backpack bounced wildly behind her. “Are you going home, Kasumi?”

“No, I figured I’d swim to Korea, actually,” I replied, affecting a pensive look. The rain had finally subsided leaving only angry-looking clouds piling up on the mountains to the south and it seemed almost as if the sun had a passing interest in shining through to see what had been going on in its absence.

“That sort of thing isn’t cute at all,” my sister, Mio, lectured me, falling into step beside me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, shivering as the wind blew in from the ocean, lifting my skirt curiously before losing interest and moving up the street to play in some trash.

“Girls shouldn’t use sarcasm; it makes them appear ugly. Even beautiful girls like you,” Mio lectured me. I rolled my eyes.

“It’s less cute to read useless magazines written by pampered princesses in high rise apartments in Tokyo and then chastise others,” I retorted, sticking my tongue out.

“That’s not cute, either, you know,” Mio frowned, puffing her cheeks out in displeasure.

“Why should I care what’s cute or not?” I asked as we turned right onto the road leading to the high pass.

“Don’t you want to be like that girl, there?” Mio asked, gesturing toward one of the cafes nestled between a hardware store and bank. I glanced over and chuckled. The American really did move fast. She was already having coffee with one of the third years. Oh, oh my, I thought. She was having coffee with Midori’s boyfriend. That should be interesting when it plays out. Our eyes met for a brief moment and an expression of shame, humiliation, discomfort, helplessness, and fear all mingled on her face. She appeared vaguely constipated, I thought idly. I smirked at her and continued on my way. What she did in her private time was certainly no concern of mine.

“Not particularly,” I replied disinterestedly. “People like that make me tired.”

“Do I make you tired?” Mio asked.

“Of course, you do,” I replied as we turned from the road onto the meandering dirt path we called the high pass. It wandered through the rolling fields and woods skirting the coastline for nearly 2 km before spilling out onto the small coastal village I called home. Though the main road was a smoother walk it added half an hour onto the travel time, and I simply had no interest in being outside any longer than absolutely necessary.

By the time we’d made it back home the sun had made its brief appearance for the week and, finding nothing interesting, had departed sulkily behind the clouds again. The clouds, plainly taking it as a sign the parent was no longer watching decided to drop even more rain. Our feet made disgusting squelching sounds on the muddy path as the house loomed larger in front of us.

Our house had been a fishing hut at some point in time and, through renovation, careful planning and hard work was still a fishing hut but one with a garden, shutters and a heater that worked nearly 75% of the time. With enough additional flair and hard work, I felt it had a reasonable chance of resembling a real home someday. Unfortunately, a terminal lack of interest in doing anything more was likely to doom it to its current state for as long as my family owned it. With a cry of warning, I took off at a brisk run, leaving my sister floundering behind me as she waddled through the muck. By the time I stomped into the house my shoes were soaked through and covered with mud. My sister rushed through the door a moment after me, panting heavily.

“How was school?” Mom called to us from the kitchen where she was loudly talking on the phone. “Nanami says hi!” My aunt, Nanami, was a dumpster fire of a human being at the best of times. Of course, the best of times never seemed to apply to Nanami. She staggered from one disaster to the next with the grace and dignity of a gravely wounded yak, bellowing loudly and flailing impotently. She was eternally underemployed, between relationships and miserable about both.

“Let me tell you! Kasumi was mean to me!” Mio called to her, rushing forward after taking off her socks and shoes.

“That’s a lie!” I called after her. I had gotten my shoes and stockings off and was shrugging out of my jacket when I heard the frantic patter of feet on the stairs. A moment later a girl emerged from the stairway leading to the second floor, long dark hair flowing behind her, tears staining her face.

“Hiya, Chiya,” I murmured. Chiya was a girl a year older than I was who had tried multiple times to recruit me to the track and field club. She seemed significantly less enthusiastic with her eyes red and nose watering from crying. Jun was obviously at work once again.

“I-I’m sorry, K-Kasumi,” Chiya stammered, fumbling at her shoes.

“Nah,” I replied waving away her apology. “Do what you do.” She choked down another sob and rushed out the door, coming back only briefly to retrieve her jacket, bag and umbrella.

“Making friends and influencing people again, eh, Jun?” I said, drying my hair with a towel hanging near the door. I glanced over at my brother standing at the foot of the stairs and shook my head, clicking my tongue disapprovingly.

“It just wasn’t going to work out,” Jun replied with a shrug. I looked almost exactly like Jun to the point we could have been twins. We both had the same runner’s body, lithe and lean and muscled with the same foxlike face. Mio’s face was more rounded with softer edges and a more rotund body.

“Was that before or after you had sex with her, Jun?” I shook my head. “You know she’s only 17, right? That’s…what…two so far and you’ve only been here for ten days. Aren’t you popular?”

“Why don’t you shut up, Kasumi? She was legal.” He snarled. It was always like this. Ever since I was little, we never seemed to agree on anything. Though he was five years older than I was we fought like twins. He had inherited my mother’s fiery temper while I’d gotten my father’s more measured personality. Much like our parents, we simply did not mesh, though truthfully, we fought far more often than they did. Somewhere along the line my father had given up and simply folded when my mother would rage at him. I hadn’t reached that point and, something told me, I never would.

“Why don’t you try to make me, Jun?” I taunted. I was a far better martial artist than he ever could be and would ruin him and we both knew it.

“You’re not worth my time, child,” Jun sneered, leaning easily against the doorway.

“Aren’t you so mature dating my schoolmates and all, you low-rent Lothario?” I chuckled mockingly; finishing drying my hair and hanging the towel back up on the hook. “One day you’re going to find someone who’s going to shatter your heart into a million pieces, and I just want to be there to see it.”

“That’ll happen around the time you find someone to remind you that you have one, I guess,” Jun sniped back smugly, no doubt congratulating himself on his witty comeback. “I don’t need your smart mouth right now; I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Like ‘how many illegitimate spawn did I sire this month? ‘. Or ‘how am I going to pay child support for 36 kids working at a ramen shop part time?’ Things like that? “His face was getting redder, and I smiled. The explosion was coming.

“Both of you stop it!” My mother called angrily from the kitchen, stopping the eruption, much to my disappointment. “Kasumi, stop antagonizing your brother!”

“Wow! My fault again,” I muttered under my breath. “Shocker.”

“You should be more ladylike,” My mother chastised me. “How are you ever going to become a dependable woman if you’re antagonistic?”

Dependable. That was a joke. In my mother’s world dependable was a euphemism for meek and subservient. Dependable was fawning over your man like he was a god come to earth until you’d gotten that coveted ring on your finger and popped out a kid to cement your bond. Then you could be as abrasive and spiteful and useless as you wanted. Well, I certainly didn’t want to be ‘dependable’.

“You’re a wonderful girl when you try. You’ll make some lucky man incredibly happy someday,” she continued from the kitchen. I caught Jun’s smirk out of the corner of my eye, and it was all I could do to stop myself from wiping it off for him.

“Wow,” I snarled sarcastically. “Aren’t I the lucky one to maybe one day dream of becoming an ornament? Yay me.”

“That’s it, young lady,” she growled. “Go to your room. Your attitude is just so unruly I can’t deal with you right now.”

“My attitude is unruly?” I demanded aghast. “You’re the one acting like I need to pawn myself off to the first thing with a penis I find!”

“Don’t you dare use that word in this house!” My mother yelled, appearing in the doorway angrily.

“What word? Pawn?” I grinned in what I knew to be an insufferably infuriating way.

“Go to your room, Kasumi!” She snapped angrily. “This conversation is over!”

“Oh, yes, her glorious Empress has spoken, and it is so,” I muttered, turning on my heel and stalking toward my room.

“Don’t talk back to me!” She shrieked like a banshee at me as I pushed past Jun.

“You should try being nicer, Kasumi, you’d be almost pretty if you smiled,” Jun said mockingly.

“You should try not being a moron, Jun, you’d be almost human if you didn’t use the little brain,” I replied without looking back, holding my fingers up about a centimeter apart. “You get me, right? Of course, you do. You’re living the dream.” I went into my room and left Jun struggling for a reply. God, I hate my life, I thought as I flopped onto my bed.

“What are you drawing, Kasumi?” Mio asked, trying to look over my arm as we sat under the Kotatsu after dinner. My parents chatted with Jun at the kitchen table while I half-heartedly watched TV in the living room with Mio. I held up my creation proudly and Mio shrunk away from it as if burned.

“What is that thing?” Mio breathed, horrified. I looked down at what I had wrought and grinned.

“This is what will happen if Mizuki and Yuto breed,” I said, laying my drawing on the table and scooting closer proudly. “Here’s it’s ears, round ping pong ball head, buggy eyes, soft fish white belly, hunched back, buck teeth, round head and haircut that looks like someone trimmed around a mixing bowl.” I pointed out each feature, one more horrifying than the last proudly.

“Why does it have chicken legs?” Mio laughed, pointing at the legs.

“I figured it’d develop some disturbing genetics on its own, so I gave it chicken legs, webbed feet, a pig tail and monkey arms tipped with crab claws and a unibrow,” I explained.

“You really are a terrible person,” Mio chastised me, giggling nonetheless. “She’s your best friend after all.” I cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not sure what point you’re getting at. She knows her flaws,” I sniffed indignantly.

“You should call it Dumball,” Mio tittered. I stared at her, eyes wide. “Like Dumbo and Meatball all rolled into one package!” I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face me. “W-What is it?” I pulled her close and held her tightly in my arms.

“I love you, Mio. So much. This is the proudest moment of my life,” I whispered, eyes closed tight in rapture. “My little sister’s all grown up, now.”

“You make me think mean thoughts!” Mio blushed furiously.

“I-I’m so happy,” I said, sobbing in mock joy.

“Wah! Let go of me!” She giggled, pushing me off. I pulled my phone out and navigated to my Twitter account, typing one single word ‘#Dumball’

“You are an evil genius,” I enthused, watching as the people following me tried to figure out what I was talking about. “I can do nothing but bask in your ruthless glory, Mio. I’m so proud.”

“So, I’m going back to Uni this Saturday,” Jun said haughtily, striding into the living room. “I’ll be going back to a real town.”

“What time?” I asked, looking up at him, phone held at the ready.

“Why? Are you going to miss me?” Jun chuckled.

“I need to know when to schedule the delousing so none of us end up with crabs,” I replied, delighting in Jun’s look of rage.

“I like crabs!” Mio asked enthused.

“Not these you don’t, my dear sister,” I said, shaking my head as Jun’s face grew redder and redder. “These are really pubic lice you get from dirty man whores.” I turned to stare meaningfully at Jun.

“That is so gross!” Mio gagged and giggled at the same time.

“Yes, he really is,” I agreed.

“You are such a bitch!” Jun yelled at me, face red, eyes screwed together in anger.

“We’d been waiting a distance from the peak for several days for Mount Jun to erupt,” I intoned excitedly, doing my best to sound like a documentary film announcer. “In the end we were not disappointed. The line of volcanic drool coming from the peak was truly noteworthy. The newest volcano in the Ring of Fire had, finally, spectacularly, come to life!” His mouth opened and closed like a fish for a long moment before he gave up and stomped upstairs.

“Go to bed, Kasumi!” Mom yelled at me. I sighed and picked up my drawing, winking at Mio who tried to hide a giggle behind her hand.