Part Two: His Secret
Chapter Four: Mother
By late afternoon, a thick bank of clouds had rolled in, obscuring the sun from Odaiba residents view. A thunderstorm was on its way, or at least so the daily weather forecast had claimed. At the local middle school, the end of day chime had sounded well over half an hour ago, resulting in the orderly exit of much of the student body. Kari Kamiya had not been one of them. Her brother's school finished thirty minutes after her own and it would take him at least ten to cycle from there to here. So she had spent the extra time working on the first piece in a mountain of homework that had been dished out over the course of the day. Apparently, her class' free weekend had come at a cost.
A glance at the clock told her that Tai would have left the high school about five minutes ago. Finishing the sentence she had been writing, Kari closed over her notebook and put down her pen. Standing up she began to pack away her things. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the other girls do the same; Hitana if memory served. Paying her no mind, she picked up her bag and casually walked to the door. Out in the corridor, she headed for the nearest exit.
Even though she knew what awaited her at home, she was glad to be leaving. From the moment she had locked up her bike that morning, whispers had followed her everywhere. In hushed voices, she had heard people saying things like, "is that Kamiya?" followed by replies such as, "no way is that Kari… holy crap I think it is." Needless to say, her new hairdo had been the main focus of the grapevine all morning. By break time, the first boy had plucked up the courage to come over to her and ask her out. She'd politely rejected him. After TK and Davis, she had no wish to date other boys. Either it would just not work out or she would have to break another heart. Two other boys and one girl had also tried their luck, to no avail.
Reaching the bike racks, she unlocked her blue framed bicycle and wheeled it out towards the exit, where she could see Tai was already waiting for her.
Her brother smiled at her as she approached, "what took you so long."
"I stayed behind to make a start on my mountain of homework," she replied glumly.
"You guys too, huh," he said before adding, "we'd best be on our way home. No sense in delaying the inevitable." He gave her a grin, but she could tell it was forced. For they both knew that an argument almost certainly awaited them when they got there.
Kari nodded her head and they set off in the direction of home; pushing their bikes. Once they had crossed onto the opposite sidewalk, Tai asked her, "so, how was your day?"
Kari smiled as she replied, "the usual. Whispers following me around everywhere I went. A couple of boys asking me out… a girl asking me out."
Tai burst out laughing at her last comment, "seriously?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't realise Teiko had given your sexual orientation a makeover as well as your hair."
"She definitely didn't," Kari laughed. "The girl apologised, but said I looked too gorgeous for her not to try her luck."
He gave her a knowing look, "I bet the boys all thought the same."
"I said no to them too, if that's what you're asking."
Tai turned to face her, "you'll find someone… someday, Kari."
She sighed as her reddish-brown eyes met with his chocolate ones, "I already did, that's the problem."
They walked the rest of the way home in silence. Locking their bikes up in the undercroft, Kari followed Tai up the stairs and to their apartment. When they reached the door, Tai stopped her before he opened it. "No matter what mom says, I'm responsible, ok."
After a moment in which she felt a wave of guilt crash down upon her, she nodded her head. In front of her, Tai opened the door and they stepped inside.
"We're home," he called out as they swapped outdoor for indoor shoes.
"Hi, kid's," Kari heard their mother call out from the kitchen, her voice followed by the sound of footsteps. The woman came into view, carrying an empty pot. Clearly, she was in the process of making dinner. "You're father's had to pop out but he'll…" there was a loud metallic thud as the pot hit the floor. "KARI KAMIYA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAIR!"
True to form, Tai immediately stepped between them. "It's my fault, Mom," he said firmly. "I took her to get it done."
"What!" their mother exclaimed as she rounded on her brother.
This scenario was nothing new to Kari. Any time throughout their childhood that they were both in trouble, Tai would say something to get their mothers attention. Then, for some reason, their mother would rain the bulk of her furry down upon him. And Kari had a fair idea of what that reason was. Their mother, in her opinion, had never managed to fully forgive her brother for the incident all those years ago where he had taken her to the park when she was ill.
"I took her to a salon where my friend, Teiko, works as a stylist and I paid her to do it," Tai replied, maintaining his strong posture.
"Kari, go to your room. I'll deal with you later," their mother barked.
Knowing that anything she said or did would only make matters worse, Kari did as she was told. As she passed her brother, she gave his hand a light squeeze, trying to convey how sorry she was through it. Their mother gave her a reproachful glare. Walking slowly to her bedroom door, she crossed the threshold and closed it behind her. This was all her fault. She should never have let Tai talk her into getting her hair done. Now he was in serious trouble. Pressing her head back against the woodwork, she listened to the ensuing argument.
"What gives you the right to decide whether or not your sister can do that to her hair!"
"Because you would never have let her and she wouldn't have done it by herself."
"With good reason! Unlike you, your sister has some measure of common sense and restraint. Her only fault is she falls victim to your corrupting influence. Do you have any idea what that sort of hair makes her look like?"
"Herself!"
"A delinquent!"
Kari put her head in her hands as she listened to her mother and brother fight. This was not how these things normally went down. Tai usually stayed silent as the hammer battered down and took the inevitable punishment when it was eventually doled out without question. However, today he was fighting back. This could not possibly end well.
"Wake up and smell the coffee, Mom, she's not this perfect little eight-year-old angel that you and dad cant dispel the image of."
"How dare you suggest I don't know my own daughter!"
"What music does she like to listen too, Mom? Where would she buy the bulk of her clothes if she could?"
The questions seemed to catch her mother off guard as there was a definite pause. "Who do you think you are, questioning me like that?"
"The person actually took the time to get to know the real Kari over the past few days."
"I KNOW WHO MY DAUGHTER IS!"
Kari heard Tai let out a loud snort, "you don't."
SMACK! The noise, though barely louder than a handclap, rang in Kari's ears like a thunderclap. In horror, she covered her mouth with her hands. Her mother had just hit Tai! It had been a long time since the woman had lost her temper to the point that she lashed out at her brother. Regardless, it was all her fault. A torrent of guilt, sorrow and regret flooded over her in the deathly silence that hung in the wake of their mother's actions.
After a few moments, Kari heard the soft sound of footsteps in her direction. The owner walked passed her door and down the hall. She then heard Tai say something in a quiet monotone, "Mike Oldfield and . If you care at all, you'll ask her about it." The noise of what she presumed was his door opening and closing quickly followed.
This was all her fault. Because of her desire to have her hair dyed, their mom had hit her brother. Out of nowhere she suddenly felt an unfamiliar anger rise to the surface. How dare she hit Tai! Well, she was not going to just stay in her room until her mom decided to come and punish her too. Her brother needed comfort right now and she was going to give it to him. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and opened her bedroom door.
##
The door closed behind Tai and he slumped down onto the edge of his bed. His left cheek hurt like hell. The force of his mother's blow having been enough to jerk his neck around. While he had been fully prepared for her to be angry, he had not anticipated just how incensed with rage his argument would make her. However, if he had to pay the price so that Kari could be herself, then so be it. His sister deserved the right to express herself out with the confines of her own bedroom.
He raised a hand and winced when it came into contact with his stinging skin. When he was younger, his mother would normally take her frustrations out on his backside. It was only in those rare instances, when her anger reached a certain level, that she lost control and struck him across the cheek. Today marked number four. Images flashed through his head of the previous three occasions. The time in the hospital after he had almost killed Kari… When he and Kari had stayed out well past their bedtime to play with kids in the neighbourhood… And when she had found out he'd taken Kari and Yolei to a concert she'd deemed inappropriate.
From out in the hallway he heard the sound of a door opening and he strained his ears to listen. The accompanying footsteps headed away from his room and towards the main living area of the apartment. Kari, he breathed wordlessly. He would have expected her to remain in her room until their mother decided to go and yell at her.
"What are you doing?" he heard his mom shout. "Did I say you could leave your room?"
Either Kari did not reply or he was unable to hear her do so. However, his sister's choice quickly became apparent.
"Answer me, young Lady."
Another heartbeat of silence passed before he heard Kari reply, "you hit my brother."
Not distance nor door could mask the cold deadpan nature of his sister's tone. Deep inside Tai knew that she was angry. As though he could feel the emotion for himself. And this was not like the momentary flash he had witnessed on Friday night. No, this was something else… something deep-seated.
"That is none of your concern, young Lady."
"He was only trying to protect me and you hit him."
"Stop it, Kari."
Tai froze at the sound of worry in his mother's voice. Never before had he heard that in her tone when in the middle of an argument. Then again, this whole situation was uncharted territory. His sister never argued with their parents nor did she get angry.
"How many times, Mom. How many times have you hit him?"
"Kari, I'm warning you, stop it."
There was clear desperation in his mother's voice now, but Tai could only sit there, rooted to the spot. While It was clear that his sister had touched a nerve, he could only wonder what Kari's facial expression looked like to elicit that level of fear in a woman over twice her age.
"Or what, Mom, you'll hit me too?"
"Kari I would never…"
"That's exactly the point, Mom. You never would hit me. So why did you hit Tai?"
This was something that he knew full well to be true. Their mother never had and never would hit his sister. For some reason, whether it was because he always threw himself in front of Kari or not, their mother did not have it in her to hit her daughter. When the woman next responded her voice had started to crack.
"I need to protect you, Kari… your brother… he has a habit of doing rash, foolish things that put you in unnecessary danger."
"I don't need to be protected from my brother, but sometimes I think he needs to be protected from you."
"Kari... you don't underst..."
"He was eight, Mom! He didn't understand what he was doing and made a mistake!"
A trickle of cold sweat ran down Tai's back and caused him to involuntarily shudder. Had he not been listening to the argument, he would probably have dismissed its content ridiculous. Except hearing those words made it all too real. His own mother thought him a bad, potentially dangerous influence on his sister. And, unfortunately, his own brain had already provided the supporting evidence. All four occasions when she had lost control of her temper and struck him had revolved around Kari. Could it be true, he wondered? For the first time since that fateful day when he was eight, Tai was forced to consider the possibility that he was a bad influence on his little sister. That he put her in dangerous situations because of his own foolishness.
"I'm not listening to any more of this, young Lady."
"I've said all I needed to say to you." A sound that may have been the fridge door opening followed Kari's words. Soon after he could hear the distinct sound of soft footsteps coming in his direction.
"Tomorrow after you finish school you're getting your hair put back to its proper colour!" his mother called out.
From directly outside his door, Tai heard Kari reply definitively, "no," before it opened and she stepped inside. She turned to face him, "hi," she said softly.
He raised a hand, "hi yourself." He shuffled over on the bed to make space for her to sit down.
She accepted the invitation to join him. The look on his face must have shown how he felt, for she then said, "you heard all of that, didn't you?"
"About as much as you heard of my spat with mom."
Kari reached out and threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Tai. This is all my fault."
"It's not your fault that you're not the person people think you are. Mom's just going to have to learn to deal with it."
"But it's because of me that she..."
He gently cut her off before she could finish the sentence, "it's not because of you. Mom obviously feels that she needs to stop me being such a bad influence."
Kari tore herself away and looked him straight in the eyes. "You're not. And don't let Mom make you feel that way." She then picked up an ice pack that she'd brought with her and held it against his left cheek. "Here, I thought this might help."
Tai felt the sting intensify for a few moments before the numbing effect of the ice took over. He reached up a hand to take the pack from his sister. Her normally warm fingers felt cold, but that was to be expected.
"Kari," he said after a brief period of silence, "don't let mom change your hair back. Fight if you have to. I'll support you all the way."
She stared into his eyes again and he gave her a steely look of determination. "I will," she nodded. They embraced again before Kari said, "I'd best go start my homework before dinner. It turns out there's no such thing as a free weekend."
Tai laughed, "same here. The way our teachers acted today, you'd have thought we'd had a full week off."
His sister gave him a warm smile, stood up from the bed and left the room. Leaving Tai alone with his thoughts. "Am I a bad influence on you?" he whispered to himself. His mind thought back to the weekend and in particular the aftermath of Saturday night's conversation. If his knee jerk reaction had turned out to be true, he certainly would be. And if this was how their mom had reacted to him enabling Kari to dye her hair, what would she do if it had transpired that they were both in love with each other and she found out? He did not want to think about that. However, not good would probably have transpired to be the understatement of the century.