„Hikari” by GreatMarta

Episode 14: Going out

This was going to be a beautiful day.

That’s what Kari thought when she woke up. She had a suspiciously good mood. Her new friends have promised to take her sightseeing. She was going to take lots of photos and maybe even do some sketching – for practice and for fun. That itself was making her happy.

Having received a phone call from her brother, Miss Mazaki packed her shoulder bag and left the room. Her father had left earlier in the morning, to do business. She didn’t mind, knowing the Bennetts will be keeping her company. She found them outside the hotel and instantly noticed a new person – a girl. Her face reminded Kari of Avril Lavigne a little, but she had red hair and green eyes.

“Kari, I would like you to meet Nicole, my girlfriend” Eric introduced the girl. Nicole offered Kari her hand to shake.

“I’m pleased to meet you”

“Same here” Kari shook hands with Nicole, directing an accusing gaze at Bunji. He should’ve warned her. She felt a discomfort because of this unexpected addition to their group. She knew she should try to act nicely, since the Bennetts were her hosts, but she couldn’t help her distrust for strangers.

Nicole didn’t seem to realize she’s being perceived in a negative way. She was smiling and looking at Kari with kindness.

“My, you really do look like Bunji. If I hadn’t known you’re half-siblings, I’d guess you’re twins” she stated. It made Kari froze. She knew?

“Oh, don’t overdo it, Nic” Eric told his girlfriend “They don’t look that much alike”

“Right, Bunji isn’t as charming as his big sister” Meg noticed. Bunji replied with a grin.

“You mean Nee-san or yourself?” he asked, teasing her. She presented a contra grin.

“Both of us” she decided, putting one arm on Kari’s shoulder “Together and separately likewise”

Kari was starting to get lost. The whole talk concerning her seemed to be going to somewhere out of her reach.

“Big sister?” Nicole seemed surprised “I thought she was younger. She doesn’t look to be more than 15”

Right, Kari thought, that one was true. She did look awfully young, at least for Western standards. That’s why the life guard at the water park insisted on informing her parents. He didn’t want to believe she was 19 and wouldn’t allow her to go to the changing room to get her ID. But that was beside the point.

“I’m 19” she said, finally getting hold of herself “Turned in April. But! That doesn’t matter. What I’d like to know is who told you about me” the demand was made at Nicole, but Kari’s eyes nailed the Bennetts. How could they just spread the information concerning her relationship with Bunji like some gossip? Didn’t they have any tact?

“Geez, Nee-san” her brother said “What makes you so angry? Are you ashamed of me or what?” Oh great. There comes misunderstanding.

“Of course not” she said “It’s just that I barely know you. For almost two decades I lived unaware of your existence. Now that I’ve learned I have a brother, I’d like to keep him to myself. To me, our relationship is so special that I don’t want to share it with anybody else. At least in the nearest future. Do you understand?” she hoped he did. It made her feel uncomfortable to make such declarations in public, so he’d better appreciate it.

Fortunately, he did. He was obviously pleased, maybe even touched. His need for love and attention was satisfied.

“Oh, you’ve become possessive of me? That’s so cute” he smiled. Kari frowned. Did he just direct a baby talk at her?

The rest of the group had “aw” in their eyes. Nobody perceived her declaration as egoistic. Good grief.

“Don’t get so excited” Kari suggested “Nothing much happened”

JD disagreed.

“I’d say you made a huge progress in comparison to yesterday. You’re much more open than you were before”

“Maybe, but I’d rather you didn’t put my openness to such drastic tests. I had the right to know you were going to invite somebody from outside the family to join us” she remarked.

“But Nic’s almost a family” Bunji stated “She and Eric are going to get married sooner or later, so we can treat her like a sister-in-law already”

“When we will be getting married, we’ll be sure to invite you” Nicole offered.

“Besides…” Meg cut in “We could certainly use another woman in your education”

Education?

“You see, Nic is the ultimate shopping specialist”

Shopping?!

“Not only in clothes, but cosmetics and jewelry as well”

Oh crap!

“You’ll see, we’re going to have lots of fun!”

Like hell!

“Do I have to remind you…” Kari started, getting angry “What happened yesterday?” she was getting creeps at the memory of her father’s eruption.

“This time is going to be different” Meg assured “Your father will never know of anything we did, which means you’ll be safe”

“It’s not about my father, it’s about me!” Kari yelled “I’ve told you I despise fancy clothes, cosmetics and all that crap! Why don’t you understand?!” she demanded. She could see that the Bennetts and Nicole thought it was rude of her, but she had to fight back. They had to understand they can’t just force her to do something she hates. Being as civilized as they claimed to be, they should respect her rights.

Surprisingly, it was Nicole who showed her some understanding.

“We won’t be forcing you to do anything” she assured “Especially when it comes to cosmetics. With your type of fairness, you don’t really need them”

Kari’s eyes winded.

“No?”

“Not at all. Like I said, you look very young. I don’t see any imperfections that would need to be hidden. Maybe that your skin seems a little too pale, but I’ve heard pale complexion is preferable in Japan”

“Yup” Bunji confirmed “So say the geisha”

“Of course” Nicole went on “we could use some mascara and lipstick to make your eyes and mouth seem bigger, not so drastically bigger, or else it wouldn’t look natural, but it’s not necessary. I’d even say it’s pointless, considering we will be sightseeing in the burning sun of California. However, I could teach you a few tricks to use in case you were going out for a date” with that, she sent Kari a blink.

Kari couldn’t believe it. That Nicole was very reasonable about this whole female business. Rather than acting like a mad stylist, she was politely giving her opinion, preserving respect for the rights of the other side. Perhaps this time won’t end up as bad as yesterday?

“Oh, Nee-san doesn’t need any tricks to use on a date” Bunji suddenly laughed “She has more admirers than she can stand!” with that he blinked at his adoptive siblings, grinning. Everybody smiled, which meant they understood the allusion.

“Oh, right” Eric agreed, amused with the memory “Especially one horse-haired Zambo!”

The Bennetts laughed, remembering Sparky trying to seduce Kari. Kari herself found it annoying.

“This isn’t funny!” she revolted. She perceived the water park accident as embarrassing and humiliating. She had to make a fool out of herself just because her brother didn’t stand up for her. As if bringing dishonor to both of them wasn’t bad enough, he made jokes about it. Disgusting!

“Sorry, Nee-san” Bunji said, pleasurably unaware of the scale of his sister’s feelings “It’s beyond our control”

“But it’s because of Sparky, not you, so don’t worry” Meg added, remembering how sensitive Miss Mazaki could be. Nicole willingly supported her.

“It’s true, Kari, everybody laughs at Sparky. He’s a major goofball”

“I’d say he’s a major jerk” Kari opposed. To her, a 17-year-old acting like a 13-year-old was unacceptable. Well, except for Kuro-kun, but he can’t be blamed for having such a low IQ.

“That’s because you don’t know him as well as we do” Bunji said “He’s a really funny guy. He’s loyal and trustworthy too. I seriously don’t understand why girls don’t like him”

“You want the short list or the long?” Kari offered, amused. It was her turn to show some sense of humor.

“Ha hah, very funny” Bunji replied sarcastically.

“Taking boys” Nicole started, sensing a potential new topic “Do you have a boyfriend, Kari?”

The Bennetts knew she did not. The only boy she did mention was Kuro-kun, whom she claimed to be her best friend. Thus they were highly surprised to see their Japanese sister look aside and scratch the back of her head.

“Well… sort of” she said.

Their eyes winded.

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?” Bunji demanded “Is there even such a thing like ‘sort of boyfriend’?”

“It’s complicated”

“We have time. Fire away”

Kari sighed. Should have kept her mouth shut.

“Like I said” she started “I have a friend. My best and only friend Kuro-kun. He doesn’t have friends apart from me either, so we almost always hang out together, just the two of us. It’s been like this since we were children. As we grew older we started to wander if we could become a couple. It’s natural, I suppose. But no matter what, we couldn’t fall in love with each other. He is precious to me, but only as a friend. I’m still trying to do something about it, but nothing came out of it”

“You girls enjoy complicating your life, don’t you?” Eric commented and received a nudge with an elbow from his girlfriend “Auch! What was that for?” he demanded.

“I’d tell you what, honey, but it’d be so complicated you wouldn’t understand” she said sweetly, making him grumble and look aside. Women. They always find a reason to annoy innocent guys.

Ignoring her boyfriend’s behavior, Nicole turned to Kari.

“I can see your point in clinging to that friend of yours, Kari” she started, speaking with compassion and concern “ However, I believe it’ll be the best for both of you if you give in. Like you said, he is your best friend. If you know he couldn’t possibly be anything more, don’t push it. If you do, you might end up losing this friendship rather than finding love” she made a pause, giving her interlocutor some time to consider the advice. The Japanese didn’t show much emotion, but her eyes told Nicole that she knows it all too well. Only that she won’t admit it.

“Nic is right” Meg joined the conversation “You can’t force yourself to love somebody. It’s just… wrong”

“Right on” Eric unusually agreed with his sister “People fall in love independently from their will”

“Exactly” JD supported the thesis “Do you think Romeo and Juliet had a choice? Or Tristan and Isolde? If they could choose, they wouldn’t have chosen somebody whom they mustn’t love”

“Like Kotaishi-sama and Masako-sama…” Kari sighed.

“Huh?” came from everybody except JD.

Kari rolled her eyes.

“Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako” she explained “At first, it was only love from the prince’s side. Masako-sama wanted to make a career. But Kotaishi-sama kept on courting her so long she finally had to give in. She gave up her freedom, dreams, ambitions, everything to be his wife. And now some jerks accuse her of using the prince like a toilet paper just because she didn’t give birth to a son. That’s the kind of justice we women get in Japan”

Before Kari could went further into the topic, Bunji cut in.

“Man, it’s so late!” he exclaimed, determined to prevent his sister from making another lecture on women’s rights “Come on, guys! We gotta sightseeing to do!”

Everybody agreed with him. Kari getting into the feminist mode could be dangerous. Besides, they will have more chances to talk later.

Author’s Notes: Nicole belongs to Lilith. Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako are actual people.

Another boring chapter. The next two chapters will include new visions (unless something unpredictable happens).