By : Naki
Chapter Four
Mitsuko stood motionless in the doorway, looking at this strange man and wondering why on earth he would want to see Jiro. He'd just come back this morning, so she'd be damned if she was going to let him go again.
"What do you want with Jiro?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The stranger's dark hair was matted to his head from the rain and only his left eye was visible. He blinked as if he failed to understand the question. "I ask again: is Jiro here?"
Mitsuko went on the defensive. "I'm not going to tell you anything until you answer my question!" There was something about this man that made her feel, not just suspicious, but uneasy.
"I asked first."
"Get off my property before I call the police!" Mitsuko yelled. The man didn't flinch even as she slammed the door in his face. He didn't move; he just stood there, staring at the door.
"Bitchy, isn't she?"
The man turned around. "That is not polite."
Another young man, with dark, yet wild, hair, sat on the seat of a motorcycle out in the pouring rain. He had his arms crossed and a cheeky grin on his face. "Seems some of Jiro has rubbed off on you, Rei. At least you're talking more now."
Rei gave him his patented dead stare before turning back to the door and knocking again.
The other appeared next to Rei. "Look, man, why don't you just answer her question? I mean, it wouldn't hurt to tell her that Jiro's our brother."
Rei turned his head towards him. "You have a long way to mental maturity, Ichiro. Besides, I asked my question first."
Ichiro snorted. "And you just said I was the immature one! Listen to yourself. 'I asked my question first.' Man, you're stubborn."
Rei's stare had returned to the wide front door. "You're one to talk."
Ichiro's hands balled into fists and he shook one at Rei. "Hey!"
Just then the door opened again and Mitsuko glared at Rei. "Are you learning-impaired? I told you to leave!"
Ichiro, incensed by her tone, launched himself blindly into one of his rash episodes. Just as Mitsuko went to close, or rather, slam, the door again, he moved his hand and stopped the door by exerting his weight upon it.
"Hold on, lady! Look, we're not here to hurt Jiro! We've been looking for him for a long time, and would like to see him. We're not a threat. Now, is he here or not?"
Mitsuko took a step back from the doorway. She hadn't seen the second man and he had scared her. "H-How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"
"You're just going to have to trust us, of course."
Mitsuko stayed silent for a moment as she tried to decide whether or not these men were trustworthy. Just as she opened her mouth to announce her verdict, she heard the voice of her little brother coming up behind her.
"Mitsuko-neechan, who's at the door?" Masaru asked, looking around her. But before she could answer him, Jiro appeared from down the hall, coming up behind Masaru. His face was a picture of utter disbelief and shock.
Ichiro waved his hand excitedly at Jiro, a great grin on his face. "Jiro! Hey bro!"
"'Bro?'" Masaru repeated, looking up at Jiro.
Jiro remained silent for a moment, staring at the two men standing just outside the door. Once the shock settled, he found his voice once more. "I-Ichi-Ichiro?" He whispered. "Ichiro? Rei?" He said louder, his tone more in awe. "How...how can this be? You two were..." He didn't finish the sentence. Or the thought. He didn't want to. He knew what he had done to his brothers in the end.
"Yeah, I know," Ichiro went on, in his usual self, not missing a beat, "but that priest guy that Rei knows fixed us up. Nifty, huh?"
This whole situation was leaving Mitsuko feeling a bit unsettled. She turned to Jiro, not really knowing what to say. She settled on his name. "Jiro...?"
"These are my brothers, Mitsuko," he said, smiling brightly, which was very uncharacteristic of him. "They're just like me."
"Like you in what way?" Mitsuko asked.
"We're Kikaider models," Ichiro piped up. Mitsuko turned her head to the other side.
"You can trust them, Mitsuko." Jiro said, causing Mitsuko to turn her head back to him, leaving her feeling a bit dizzy. He still had a smile on his face, though now it was a bit toned down. "You can trust them. Though I can't promise that Ichiro won't wake you up in the middle of the night playing his trumpet."
"Whoa...you play the trumpet? Cool!" Masaru interjected from his spot half-behind Mitsuko.
Ichiro smirked down at him and it seemed like both Jiro and Rei could sense the characteristic feel of Ichiro's ego inflating. "That's right, kid. And pretty darn good at it, too."
"Not good, just loud," Rei said, brushing past Ichiro and into the foyer. He looked at Mitsuko. "If you have dry clothes, I'd be much obliged."
He was dripping water all over the floor like a pipe that had sprung a leak. Mitsuko allowed herself a small smile; this situation struck her as somewhat humorous. Ichiro joined his brother, shutting the front door behind him as he entered. The puddle on the floor doubled so that it looked as if both Ichiro and Rei were surrounded by a tiny moat.
"Wait here," Mitsuko instructed. "Masaru, you come to. I'll need an extra set of hands."
They left the trio alone. Jiro didn't know what to say. And, as usual, Ichiro was a veritable fountain of things to say. He was furious at Rei for that wisecrack.
"Rei! What was with that, huh? 'Not good, just loud?' What the hell is this, 'Crack on Ichiro Day?'"
Before Rei could respond (and no one could tell if he even was going to or not) Jiro interrupted, in one of his Ichiro-like slipups again.
"How can we not make fun of you? You're a walking target."
The look on Ichiro's face was, well, priceless. He had not expected that. What he had expected was that his question remain what he meant it to be: rhetorical. He had expected Rei to stay silent. The fact that Jiro answered threw him for a loop.
After a moment the mood became somber. Jiro still didn't know what to say, but he still wanted to address his brothers. He decided to wing it. "I...I can't believe you two are...well..." he trailed off, lost for the right word.
Ichiro smirked. "Can't say 'alive' can ya? Yep, it's just one of the million or so words that don't apply to us. It's a discriminate world, I tell ya."
"I think the word you're looking for is 'functional.'" Rei's voice was in its usual monotone, and it made him sound even more so like a machine. This struck an awkwardly humorous chord, and the two oldest chuckled dryly, while the youngest, to the surprise of the other two, managed a small smile.
As if on cue, Mitsuko returned with Masaru trailing behind her. She carried folded clothes and Masaru had several folded towels of varying colors.
"These are some of my father's old clothes. I'm fairly sure he'd have no problem if you two wore them for a while. Once you're dried off, put these on and I'll take your wet clothes and toss them in the dryer."
Mitsuko laid the clothes on the first step of the staircase.
Masaru took one towel and cocked his arm back. "Here, catch!" He threw it at Rei, who caught it. Then Masaru heaved another at Ichiro. Said android wasn't paying attention ('tis a rare occasion indeed that he truly does) and the towel struck him on the side of his head, wrapping around him and blocking his line of vision. When Masaru started to laugh, Ichiro spoke through the towel. "Hardy-har-har, kid," his voice was muffled. He pulled the towel off his head. "Real funny."
Mitsuko decided that it was time to go when Ichiro decided to try to strip his shirt off and it stuck to him as he tried to pull it over his head. When it came to pass that he was stuck in that position, Jiro moved in to help and then Rei joined him as they attempted to figure out how to get it off Ichiro. When the trio finally managed to get the shirt off, Ichiro flung it on the floor in frustration, where it landed with a heavy, wet squish.
Mitsuko placed a hand on Masaru's back and steered him up the stairs.
"Where we goin', Mitsuko-neechan?"
"We're going to give them some privacy. It's not polite to watch someone get dressed."
"You used to watch me get dressed all the time, Mitsuko-neechan."
"I was helping you get dressed, not watching you. There's a big difference between the two."
Their voices faded as they topped the stairs and went down the hall.
"They are very...interesting," Rei commented.
Jiro replied with a small smile, "They're...my family."
Ichiro put his hands on his hips. "I thought Rei and I were your family, Jiro."
"You are," Jiro corrected. "But so are they."
Rei didn't add a comment, he simply peeled off his own shirt with ease and dropped it next to Ichiro's.
Speaking of the loud-mouthed eldest brother, Ichiro shook his head side-to-side wildly, spraying his brothers with water.
In response to this, Rei, not Jiro this time, gave Ichiro his rendition of the flat-eyed Luna look. [see: Sailor Moon] He then spoke in a tone that was a dead monotone, his attempt at sarcasm. "Thank you." He squelched over to where the towels lie at the foot of the stairs.
Jiro looked from Rei to Ichiro. Ichiro's hair was now more poofed then it usually was. Jiro couldn't ignore the obvious humor just staring him straight in the face. He cracked a grin and laughed softly.
Ichiro went into defense mode and his one visible eye blazed. "What's so funny, little brother?"
"It's just...you look like..." Jiro paused, thinking of the right thing to say. He heard the slight jingle of a bell in the distance and blurted out, "like a cat out of the dryer."
Ichiro cocked his head to one side, confusion replacing his anger. "The hell?" he said. He found the humor in the statement and tilted his head back. The foyer rang with his roaring laughter.