"Dad, Kagura's been in the bathroom for an hour!" Kamui complained as he was standing outside the bathroom door, foot tapping incessantly.
"Kagura, let your brother use the bathroom!" Umibozu shouted from the kitchen as he was preparing his kids' bento. Being a widowed father was tough, especially when you had two monsters as kids. Umibozu heaved a giant sigh as he once again had to endure a morning of screams and spats between his children. He only found relief at the fact that no doors and bones had been broken, yet.
"Kagura, you've been in there for an hour!" Kamui continued his pestering.
"So?" She retorted from behind the door.
"Get out of there! I have school!"
"So do I!"
It was the same scene from yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that-Kagura hogging the bathroom when it was a school day. This was the very reason Kamui demanded to have his own stuff, because he was tired of fighting over the remote control, the recliner, the front seat, and even the last Oreo with his sister. And now, he wanted his own bathroom.
"Get out of there!"
"Go sit in the sink!"
Kagura hadn't realized that an hour had gone by since she jumped in the tub. She simply wanted to be squeaky clean. And play with her hair with the suds. And watch her fingers go wrinkly from being in the water too long. And straighten her bangs with a flat iron. And look her extra best because a guy in her class was always teasing her, calling her names like ugly, stupid, and Ms. Piggy. But remembering how angry Kamui gets sometimes, Kagura put on her school uniform and wrapped up her beauty routine to prevent payback from her older brother. Yesterday, it was a toy cockroach he sneaked into her school bag.
"Dad, Kagura's still in the bathroom!"
Umibozu also wanted to prevent further damage. He left the kitchen and stood outside the bathroom door. "Kagura, your brother's going to be late. Aren't you finished yet?"
A few seconds later, the father and son took in the sound of hasty shuffling of the door knob, and out came a disheveled and out of breath Kagura. Her breath came in broken gasps, her left hair bun was undone, skin covered in grime, and clothes-which they'd never seen before-soiled with dirt. Blood was streaming from her head. Seeing Kamui made her jump and get into a defensive stance.
"Kagura, what happened?" Umibozu panicked.
"Poppy!" Her eyes were begging for help. "Where am I? Where's Gin-chan?"