Tango of Mortality
Chapter 9: Announcement
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Ayashi no Ceres, or any of the characters that appear in either show.
Author's Note: Ototo-chan means "little brother" in Japanese.
They had to ride the bullet train there, which was embarrassing to say the least, and they had to stand up the whole way so as not to get wet paint on the seats. The whole thing was exhausting. Then they had to put up with being stared at as they walked through Minamino's neighborhood – her neighborhood, too, actually – which wasn't that surprising but it still grated on her nerves.
"Dad's company deals in art supplies – dad's a former art student himself – so I'm sure he'll know what to do about this." Minamino reassured her as they drew closer to his house.
"Dad? Minamino, you're dad's been dead for…Oh, that's right. Shiori remarried." Maya recalled in a dreamy voice. The chemical smell of the paint was really starting to get to her. It didn't help that she'd been feeling fatigued before any of this even happened.
"Yeah, that's right. Dad's great, I'm glad mom found such a nice guy. I have a younger step-brother now, too. He's going to Meio now, like I did. His name's Shuichi, just like me, but we all call him Kokota." Minamino explained.
"Kokota? Is that like a wordplay on ototo-chan?" Maya asked as they stopped in front of his house. She was struck by the familiarity of the place. She would've expected them to have moved into a new house, but no.
"Mom wouldn't move." Minamino remarked, as if he'd read her mind. "I think it's because dad designed this house. Kazuyu-san was really understanding, though. He even sold the house he'd been living in with Kokota so he could move in with us. I admit, I'd do anything for mom, but I'm glad we didn't move. This place has so many memories attached to it. I'd have hated it if someone else had moved in."
"There's the cherry tree. Your dad had it moved here from Kyoto and planted in the front yard. It's really old, right?" Maya asked, peering at it. The branches were bare, now, but she remembered with sudden clarity what it looked like in spring, when the leaves were full of vibrant pink cherry blossoms.
"Yeah, about 200 years old, I think. I remember my mom used to tell me what a hard time they had transporting it here without killing it. Dad would've never been able to do it if he hadn't been a Partner in one of the most successful Architectural Firms in Tokyo. That's also how mom and I were able to live so well after he died. Mom still worked part-time a lot to pay for mundane expenses, though. She's been saving up for my college education, she says." Minamino's voice had taken on a thoughtful tone, and she could've sworn she heard what might have been regret mixed in there too. They walked up to the doorstep and he rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" An older woman's voice called from somewhere in the house. Maya was once again struck by the familiarity of that voice. This feeling she kept having…it was like she'd forgotten something very important and was only just now starting to remember. The door opened and a lovely older woman with long black hair and caramel-colored tan skin stood in front of them, smiling brightly. The smile faded and her eyes widened as she surveyed the scene in front of her.
"Shuichi, what on earth…?" Her eyes bugged out when she caught sight of Maya, who must have looked ten times worse than her son did.
"Um…there was an…accident. It's all my fault. I was working on something for the school festival, and I accidentally tipped over this bucket of paint. It fell right on her head. It's oil-based, too. I really think we're going to need dad's help on this." He explained, not making a move to step inside.
"Hm. He won't be home for another hour or so. Maybe we should start with the hose. I know it's oil-based, but it might help anyway." Shiori gestured that they should head over to the backyard. The next hour was spent unsuccessfully trying to wash the red paint off. At least the water was keeping it from drying on her skin. They were completely soaked to the bone by the time Shuichi's dad stepped out onto the lawn.
"Wow. You've really done a number on yourselves." He remarked. "Well, go ahead and take off your shoes. We'll go down to the basement."
They took off their shoes and socks and followed him. Maya remembered that the basement had once been a playroom, and she and Shuichi had played there often with the other neighborhood children when she was younger. She was surprised to see it had been turned into a small art studio.
"People usually wear throw-away clothes when they're working with oil-based paint, but there are those times when it gets on good clothing – or a school uniform." He winked at them and Maya couldn't help but smile. "There is a solution that makes the paint dissolve and wash off. Luckily most of it is on your uniform. Other than that it's just on your head, hands and a few smatterings on your legs. You should be able to just rub this on yourself and get under the shower. It'll wash off like regular paint after that."
He gave her a few tubules of clear stuff and she found herself being led to the bathroom by Shuichi.
"Wait. You're going to let me do that here?" She asked, scandalized by this for some reason.
"Well, of course. What are we supposed to do, send you all the way back to the dorm and make you do it there? You'd catch your death if we made you walk all the way back like that. It's not quite winter yet, but the temperature is starting to drop when the sun goes down. It's five o'clock now, and it won't be light out much longer. You'll probably stay for dinner too." Minamino said, smiling the whole time. He gently pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door. Dinner? She was invited to dinner? That was going to be a problem. She was going to have to eat every bite of what she was served, especially given the situation. She could plead illness, which was believable given the paint fumes she'd been breathing in for hours now, but still…it didn't feel right lying to Shiori. She took off her ruined uniform, rubbed it down with the solution, and placed it in the sink, which she had filled with water. Kazuyu-san had told her that as soon as most of the paint was off Shiori would try to launder it as best she could. Then she started to rub the solution in her hair, on her hands and face, and on her legs. It didn't smell nearly as strong as the paint had, and it was similar in texture to egg whites so it went on smoothly. She stepped under the shower and let the warm water sluice over her, vigorously running her hands through her hair. She felt the semi-hardened paint become wet again and run off her face. She opened her eyes and saw that the paint had disappeared from her hands and legs. She stayed under the water for a long while, uncertain if it would come out of hair as easily as it had skin. Finally, when her skin was so pruny she couldn't handle it any longer, she stepped out and used a towel to wipe the fog off the mirror. She was pleasantly surprised to see that her hair looked normal again and the red was gone from her skin. She put on a bathrobe and wrapped a towel around her head, and then got to work on her uniform. She drained the sink and run water over the uniform until most of the residue paint had washed off. At least you could see that it had been silver at one point, even if it was permeated with a red stain. She took her uniform in her arms and opened the bathroom door, stopping as she stepped out and looking hesitantly down the hallway.
"Are you done?" Shiori's voice came from a much closer vicinity that Maya would have expected and she jumped in surprise.
"Um…yes. What should I do now?" Maya asked, still rooted to the spot.
"Come in here and let me get a look at that uniform." Shiori instructed, and Maya saw a hand beckon to her from the door of a room that was a few feet away on the other side of the hall. She walked hesitantly over and peaked in, only to be pulled in by Shiori, who shut the door behind them. She then took the uniform from Maya and examined it.
"Looks like most of it came out, but we won't know for sure until I wash it. Anyway, we'd better find something for you to wear. Can't have you stuck in a bathrobe, now can we?" Shiori teased, walking over to the closet and opening it. She rifled around until she came up with a modest blue summer dress with a pattern of tiny white flowers.
"I think this should fit you. It's better than nothing, I suppose." Then she turned to Maya with a twinkle in her eye. "Do you mind if I dry your hair?"
"What?" Maya asked. She'd forgotten how disarming and bewildering Shiori's presence could be. She was so pleasant she just swept you off your feet.
"Oh, I know, you're old enough to do it on your own, but I never get to play with anyone's hair except mine. Shuichi won't let me touch his. That's why I really do hope that…" Shiori stopped short, as if she'd been about to say something she shouldn't have, then looked expectantly at Maya.
"Um…alright, if you want." Maya said, wishing there was a hole somewhere in the room she could crawl into. Becoming this involved with Shuichi's family was the exact opposite of what she'd planned! If only she'd been more alert and had dodged the paint in time…
"It's still short." Shiori commented as she worked on it with a brush and comb.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's easier to take care of that way. I mean, can you imagine what a nightmare it would've been if I'd been hit with that paint and I'd had long hair?" They both laughed, then fell silent as Shiori started on her with the hair dryer. It only took about ten minutes to dry, causing Shiori to grumble that it ended too quickly.
"Well, I'd better go finish up with dinner. I've had Kokota watching over it for me while I was up here, but I'm not sure he could handle a culinary crisis should it rear its ugly head. Go ahead and put on that dress, and there's some slippers for you right by the door. Come right down once you're ready." Shiori instructed as she headed out the door, shutting it behind her. Maya stared numbly after her for an indeterminate amount of time before she finally put on the dress and slippers and headed downstairs. The stairs led to the dining room. The Kazuyus had a Western-style dining table with chairs and everything. She saw a young boy with short brown hair that was just a little darker than her own hair setting the table. That must be Kokota.
"Oh, hello." He said as he caught sight of her, stopping what he was doing.
"Hello. I'm sorry to put you out like this." She excused herself, bowing.
"Oh, that's alright. I heard about how Shuichi dumped paint on you." He said, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "I had to stay after school for debate club, so I didn't get here in time to see it."
"Well, he didn't exactly dump paint on me…but, he may as well have." Maya amended. Kokota shrugged and went back to setting the table. Maya moved toward the kitchen and peeked in.
"Ah, so you're fit to appear in front of civilized society again, I see. No more red war paint. Be a dear and help me put the dishes on the table would you?" Shiori called, gesturing to the serving plates. After the table was fully set, the family assembled in the dining room and sat down to eat.
"So, I think you two owe us an explanation as to how that whole situation with the paint actually happened." Kazuyu-san prompted. She almost choked on the tiny morsel of fish she'd been eating.
"This all happened because someone left a bucket of paint where they shouldn't have, and I mistook it for an empty bucket." Minamino immediately took charge, for which she was grateful. "Someone had left it propped up above the students' shoe cubbies for some reason, and when I saw it up there I figured I should take it down and put it back with the cleaning supplies. Maya was standing next to me at the time, opening her cubby. Well, I started to take it down, but didn't expect the extra weight, and I realized it was going to fall. So I shoved it away from me…and straight onto Maya."
"That's weird. Why would someone leave a bucket of red paint in a place like that?" Kokota asked.
"I think this won't be the last incident like that we see in the coming weeks, actually. It's getting near the time for the school festival. People are always leaving potentially messy or dangerous stuff lying around in unexpected places when a school festival's on." Minamino continued, seemingly unruffled by the fact that he was telling a complete and total lie. At the mention of the school festival, both Shiori and Kazuyu-san launched off on countless stories they had of bizarre happenings during or before school festivals that they had experienced in their youth. It took up most of the dinner conversation. Maya was relieved. She didn't think she could muster anything light-hearted to talk about given her…unique situation. As they were about to get up to clear the table, Shiori tapped a chopstick against a wine glass, indicating she had something to say. The other diners fell silent, their full attention on Shiori.
"I have an announcement to make." Shiori said, sounding calm although Maya noticed she took a deep breath before she continued.
"I'm pregnant."
Silence followed for several moments.
"Wow, really?" Kokota asked, looking questioningly at his father, who nodded.
"That's wonderful, Mother." Shuichi said, although he sounded shaken. He sat silently for several moments, obviously deep in thought. Maya watched him, feeling a twinge of concern.
"I also have an announcement to make." Shuichi said, rising. The rest of the family fell silent. Maya's eyes widened. What, did he have cancer or something? She couldn't imagine what else he could be announcing that would engender the serious expression on his face.
"I know you've all wondered since I started Junior High. I know you've wracked your brains trying to figure out whether I had a girlfriend or not, and if I did have one, who she was. Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore. I have a girlfriend, and she's sitting right here at this table." He gestured at Maya. Rather than feeling happy, though, she immediately lapsed back into the mood she'd been in when he'd said her name in front of the whole class. In other words, she felt like throwing a chair at his head. But Shiori and Kazuyu-san were smiling and clapping, for god's sake, so that wasn't a viable option. It seemed the whole paint thing had actually caused them to develop a fondness for her.
"Well, I guess you had better walk her home, then." Shiori prompted, smiling almost from ear to ear. Her uniform had been washed and dried, and Shiori handed it to her at the door. "Don't worry about the dress, you can return it anytime. You can even keep it if you want, though I don't suppose you'd want that old thing. Good night."
She waited until they were safely on the bullet train before she unleashed her wrath on Minamino.
"What the hell was that? How dare you do something like that without consulting me! That's not just going to go away, you know!"
"I know, but I think you'll agree with me if you hear me out." Minamino said, putting a hand up to silence her. "This is the best way to get even with the Romantic Soldier Fanclub. If I know Momoko, she's already heard from Tasaka about how I left with you the other day, and it'll be all over the school by tomorrow. I suggest we also find some way to let everyone know, unequivocally, that we are going out, and that it happened because of the paint situation. That'll really drive Saemi insane to hear that her plan backfired that badly."
"Oh. I get it. A mutually beneficial lie." Maya said, realization dawning on her.
"Well…maybe." He continued before she could get on him about what he meant by maybe. "But I don't mean to stop there. I want that fanclub abolished for good, and if it means that I have to display some of the less…palatable aspects of myself, so be it, but I can't take it anymore. I want to be a normal student for once, and if to reach that goal I have to go from being adored to being hated, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
"If what I saw today is any indication, most of the boys in the school should be more than happy to help you with that, Minamino." She said, thinking back to how little prodding she and Sayo had had to do to get the soccer team to go along with their plans.
"Right. And remember, call me Shuichi from now on, not Minamino. I know Momoko will be more than happy to lend her assistance, although I'm reluctant to accept it. It's akin to making a deal with the devil." Shuichi said, recalling Momoko's behavior the day they'd stayed behind to clean the classrooms.
"I agree with you about Momoko, but we can't do without her. She seems like one of the only girls in the school who's inclined to defy Saemi." The bullet train stopped at their destination and they got off. Shuichi walked her to the dorms.
"Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow. It's too bad you don't live in my neighborhood anymore, I could walk you to school." He said, watching as she made her way to the dorm entrance.
"Yeah. Goodnight." She disappeared inside the dorm building. Shuichi lingered for a few more moments, then turned and walked back the way they had come.
