Interlude Six – Families

Interlude Six – Families

Sana grimaced as her stepsister let out a happy cry watching the television. Ugh, I really can’t stand her. Though it’s not like I don’t totes get her excitement. It’s amazing, am I right?

The TV was displaying the press conference again. It was big news, not just because of the strange, impossible thing it represented, which was incredible enough, battles, magic, and supernatural beings, but because Japanese people were involved. Her grimace turned into a smile, putting aside her annoying bitch of a stepsister for a moment. I can hardly believe it. I knew there was a lot of strange stuff going down at dad’s new workplace, but it’s even bigger than I thought. It’s like, crazy, right?

“He’s so handsome!” she squawked, and her voice set Sana’s teeth on edge. Sure, her bitch of a stepsister wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t half as pretty as she thought she was, just an ordinary highschooler, a year older than Sana. Even so, she was treated way better by her own mom, which made Sana unhappy. She’s only doing it to impress her boyfriend. I mean, how lame is that?

Despite her distaste for speaking to her stepsister, Sana had to speak up, feeling almost compelled, a good feeling. “Yeah, he’s totes hot. No question.”

Her stepsister, Ikeda-san, turned to took at Sana, and her face crumpled up into the usual annoyingly superior, smug expression that Sana utterly loathed. “There’s no point in you getting all excited, Sana-chan. Looking like that, he wouldn’t be interested in you.”

“Don’t call me Sana-chan, Ikeda-san.” Sana snapped back, frustrated as usual. “We’re not close.”

“Nonsense.” Her mom called from where she was busy in the kitchen. “She’s your sister, Sana dear. I’ve told you to get along. Call her Aya-chan.”

“No way. I’d totes rather drink bleach.” Sana crossed her arms under her chest, frowning. Mom, I’m your daughter not her... why are you always taking her side? I hate this. Maybe... maybe I should move in with dad after all. He’s going to be moving soon, right? To that fancy new building... and the Shrine has everything... saunas, swimming pool, more...

“Sana!” her mother hissed, coming into the room, angry. “I didn’t raise you to be such a bad child! It’s all your father’s fault. He never had any ambition and was always too soft on you!”

“It’s not your fault, mother.” The bitch said, smiling maliciously at Sana. “Sana-chan is just going through a phase. Though she has been staying out late a lot more recently. It’s probably... no, I don’t want to say it.” Her smile was now a wide smirk, as she toyed idly with her dark brown hair, in a way she thought was cute. I’ve seen real cute, and ya don’t cut it, haughty cow.

“Why not say it?” Sana glared back. “Ya think I’m scared of you?”

“Well, you are made-up like a slut, and dressed like that, I bet you’re doing compensated dating.” Ikeda-san continued, and Sana felt anger boiling up inside her as she continued. “Why else would you dress like a gyaru tramp? It doesn’t make you any cuter, Sana-chan. And you do seem to have a lot of unexplained money. What else could it be?”

“No, Sana wouldn’t do that.” Her mother said, and for a brief moment Sana thought she was siding with her for a change, until her next words dashed those faint hopes. “You wouldn’t, would you? Doing that would ruin your life forever. Though you have been staying out late, saying you’ve been with your father. I do think you should get rid of that makeup and fake tan, Sana. It... doesn’t look good. I feel ashamed to see you next to the studious Aya-chan. Why can’t you be a good, proper girl like her? I know it, it’s your father’s fault. You take after him. I wish you’d be more like your new father and Aya-chan.”

Seeing red, Sana resisted the urge to scream and hit out. Her eyes strayed to the TV, where her dad’s boss was showing off. Oddly, that calmed her down, well, not so much him, but the girls with him. Taking a deep breath, ignoring the gleam in Ikeda-san’s eyes, as she was expecting Sana to lose her temper and thus be in the wrong, Sana managed a smile of her own, though it was rather brittle. Not this time, high and mighty bitch. You think you’re so special, but I know special. You’re totes not it.

“Mom, ya’d take her side over me? I’m your daughter, that’s lame and so unfair.” she said calmly.

“Well, Aya-chan is my daughter too, and your sister. I don’t want to be disappointed in you all the time but it’s hard. But you didn’t answer my question. Just what have you been doing?”

“She’s not my sister!” she snapped back reflexively. “Besides, I’ve already told ya, I’ve been spending time with dad and at his workplace.” Sana said, tossing her head, offended.

“Oh really? I bet he’s just covering for you.” Ikeda-san scoffed. “After all, you’ve always said he was a loser without ambition, not like my dad. Why would you want to hang around his loser workplace? Ugh, why are we even talking about this?” she turned back to the TV. “Those girls are gorgeous. I wish I was like them.” She turned back to Sana. “None of them are dressed up like a tramp, Sana-chan, why don’t you learn from them? Maybe you can reach my level if you try. Well, for a few years.”

“Dad was a loser.” Sana admitted. “I was embarrassed by him, ashamed of him. But he’s totes trying to act his age and get a real job.” She defended him, enjoying her superiority. It was then she shuddered, remembering. That rich girl Hinata-chan was scary, and I’ve not said a word since, don’t want to get me or dad in trouble. I’ve kept the secrets, but now there’s no point. Her smile grew superior, and she revelled in the way her calm demeanour was annoying her bitch of a stepsister. You think it’s just those girls on TV? You’re out of the loop. You don’t know anything. “In fact, he’s working for someone very important.”

“Your father doesn’t have that level of drive or luck.” Her mom denied. “He’ll never be successful. It would take real magic to make that happen.”

“Oh, I see.” Sana knew she’d won. Damn, this is going to be satisfying. “Well, Aya-chan...” she said, nearly choking on that manner of address, trying not to see her mom’s annoying, delighted smile at that. “... so, you like those girls then? They are totes cute, ya feel me? I’d like to get some fashion tips from them. Maybe I will go for a new look.”

Taking the bait, the bitch sneered again. “They wouldn’t give you the time of day, Sana-chan. People like that, important, beautiful people, they don’t hang around with the likes of you. But me... one day I’ll be somebody! I’ve got ambition, more ambition than seedy dates and selling my body in dirty Tokyo bars.”

I’m trying to be good here, but she makes it damn hard to ignore her slanders. And mom’s just letting her talk shit about me again. Yeah, I’m totes moving in with dad when the move happens. Even if he was still a lame loser and an embarrassment, at least he cares about me. “Oh, I don’t sell myself, Aya-chan. But if I was, I’m sure I’d make more than ya would. Guys like girls who aren’t stuck-up bitches, ya get it? I doubt they’d even pay a single coin for you.” As her mom shouted at her to apologise, and the bitch turned bright red with anger, Sana continued. “Who cares about that though? Ya think you have what it takes to be like those girls? Don’t make me laugh. Ya ain’t nice enough, that’s for sure. Those girls are totes kind and don’t look down on others.”

“How the hell would you know?” her stepsister snarled, angry at being called out. It’s called a taste of your own medicine, bitch. “You think you’re so popular and know it all, don’t you? Well, like father, like daughter. You’ll be lucky to work in a dead-end job when you’re not young and interesting to dirty old perverts.”

This is when you step in, mom. This is the worst row we’ve ever had. No? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn ya... be happy with her as your daughter and him as your husband. I’m done... Since her mom only stood in silence, unwilling to criticise the bitch even after all her insults, Sana decided.

“Maybe I’ll work with dad. I’m not smart, but it’s getting in on the ground floor.” She smirked. “The TV sure is interesting. What do you think they do, actually?”

Thrown off by her calm change of subject, the bitch flapped her lips like a fish, and Sana held in a grin at how stupid she looked. Her mom, happy that the fight had momentarily stopped, spoke up. “Sana, from what they say, it’s all fighting and saving the world, like they saved Prince Henry and Princess Eleanor, right? As a Japanese person, it makes me proud to see our own doing well.”

Maybe you should show me the same respect, mom? Dad too... ugh, no, it’s hard to blame her for splitting up with him, but people change. Dad for the better, mom way totes for the worse. “No way, most of it’s business, ya know. There’s a lot more to it. Ya got to have a lot of staff handling the research. Crazy stuff, sometimes.”

“That won’t...” she wanted to say it couldn’t happen, but she was unable to lie. Japan was largely safe, serious crimes rare, but young girls were attacked by perverts. It wasn’t unknown.

“Marika has also made connections. Look.” The TV was showing Oshiro-san and Dannan-san, two that Junko had met and had persuaded her to relinquish her little Marika. Now they were famous, celebrities, and apparently the heroes of Britain. “The world will continue to change. What was once hidden is now freely discussed. For fifteen hundred years and more the shrines and temples of Japan guarded these secrets. Now we reap our just reward.” He smiled at her look of disbelief.

“I did it for faith of course. But I believe good work should be rewarded. Fortunately, so does Oshiro-san. He grieved for the fallen, but he saved a number of them. You were there, you know this. And Marika... you said her future would be dim indeed, if she continued to inherit Chairoakitara shrine. Now, being the head of such a shrine will be a noble, prestigious thing. There are many thousands of shrines in Japan, but the number of those that remain true is but a fraction of that, and it has shrunk.”

“I don’t want Marika to be involved in dangerous things.” Junko repeated.

“Dangerous things come unbidden. Would you rather she faces these alone, or...” he pointed to the TV. “... have her under the care of the heroes of Britain? They know how to fight and to win, and how to make others stronger. More to the point, they have compassion for others.” He pointed out, and Junko had to admit that was true. Even in Kyoto, she had seen Oshiro-san was devastated by the losses yet in the end he didn’t give up and let it break him.

Before she could answer, her oldest daughter came out, hurrying over. “Mother, that’s Oshiro-san, right, right?” she said excitedly. “I know his sister, he used to live here in town!”

I know he did. Looking at her wide-eyed daughter, she sighed softly. “Yes, that’s him. His sister and her friends visit the shrine a lot.”

“Marika-chan is with him in Tokyo, right? I wanted to go to school in the big city...” she puffed out her cheeks in a pout, and Junko snatched her up in a hug, making her giggle.

“I can’t let all my daughters go, can I? I’d be lonely. Besides, I never wanted Marika to go... she’s too young.”

“Why?” her middle daughter asked, eyes still glued to the TV, sighing in wonder. It’s the young who don’t realise what this means. The chaos, the danger, the end of all we know. They didn’t see the protests or the escalating riots, the dangers of criminals misusing such mystical powers. Wars. All they see is the excitement, like one of their storybooks or cartoons.

“She gets to play around with heroes!” her daughter continued, giggling. “I wonder, do you think Marika-chan might be on TV too? I wish I was... then everyone at school would be so jealous.”

“Hey, when Oshiro-chan comes to the shrine next, we should go speak to her. Her brother is special, she is too, right?” her oldest asked, and the middle sister nodded enthusiastically, still gripped by the footage, which was now Dannan-san running faster than a car, leaping tall walls.

“Yeah, yeah! We can ask her how Marika-chan is doing, and... maybe she can show us some more magic? Seeing her burn up that desk was crazy. But that’s nothing compared to her brother.”

“No, I don’t want you getting involved.” Junko protested. “This isn’t a game. People... people have died.”

“Marika-chan’s fine though, right? She texts and calls a lot, and even writes letters. Who even writes nowadays?” her middle daughter laughed.

“Yes, but she could have been killed, if she put a foot wrong.” Junko refused to back down.

“But she wasn’t, was she, daughter-in-law?” her father-in-law said. “Accidents can happen. Even crossing the road is dangerous. I don’t expect to make a point that the dangers are the same, but... Junko, it’s time you took an interest in the shrine. If you read the records, the old wisdom... even if you don’t approve of Marika’s choice, you can understand it. As for the others...” he smiled at his other two granddaughters. “Would you like me to speak to Oshiro-san for you? She might be able to teach you a little. Though she does not come to the shrine so much anymore. I believe her strength is now beyond that.”

“You would? Awesome!” her middle daughter clapped happily, while the oldest nodded, brown eyes sparkling.

“I don’t...” Junko began, before trailing off. Father-in-law is right. It pains me to admit it, but burying my head in the sand won’t make it go away. We’re lucky there’s been no trouble here in Nishimorioka, probably because the town is close-knit and the Oshiro’s are well known here. “... no. I’ll do it myself.” At that her daughters were surprised, her middle daughter even looking away from the TV for a moment. Meeting their eyes, she spoke, deadly serious. “This isn’t a game, or a fun story. You aren’t going to be playing around, wielding magic like Oshiro-san. No. This is just ... I want my daughters to be safe. And... I honestly don’t know how now.” Memories of the horrors of Kyoto came flooding back, the wailing relatives of the dead sons and daughters of the shrine. If that was my Marika lying there, cold and bloody... I’d have tried to kill him. Whether his fault or not... he took her away. Yes, father-in-law is right. Marika has advantages, much as I hate to admit it. As a genuine shrine maiden, now with gifts, her future is secure. She can go far. But... the danger matches the gain. Perhaps exceeds it...

“Mother, it’ll be fine. We won’t do anything dangerous.” Her eldest said, and father-in-law spoke.

“I insist you learn about Chairoakitara shrine.” He said firmly. “I know you found it boring and foolish before, but...what if you could meet our kami? Marika could, when she returns. And she has met other kami, in the flesh. Besides...” he grinned. “Aren’t hakama cute?”

“Well yeah.” Her middle daughter said, pouting. “But all the dancing and the ceremonies are boring... wait, are they?” she realised it, and Junko held in a sigh. “No, I bet the old ceremonies have something to do with the magic, right?”

“I don’t mind putting in a word with Oshiro-san, and helping you learn the ceremonies. But you two have to promise me that you’ll treat them with respect, and give it your all, as Marika would. That’s why she was chosen to travel to Tokyo. She believed and was rewarded.”

“We promise.” They chorused, and began to watch the TV again, chattering about Oshiro-san and their own prospects, what they’d like to be able to do in the future.

“See, Junko?” father-in-law said, a warm smile on his face. “I expect that true shrines around Japan will be bombarded with applicants. Shrine maidens are no longer a part-time job to earn a few coins of pocket money. A genuine shrine maiden can command actual power and respect. Not so bad now, our dusty old shrine, is it?” and as he laughed, Junko had no answer, which annoyed her.

“I guess not. But... I wish Marika could come home.”

“She will return during the holidays.” He comforted her. “And I dare say you will be shocked by how much she has changed, even from Kyoto. They grow up so fast at that age, and a strong-willed, hard-working girl like Marika will give her all. Be proud of her. Worry for her yes, but trust in him.” He pointed at the TV. “After all, he saved the Princess, did he not? He would do the same for Marika, I’m sure.”

“He’d better. Because if Marika gets hurt, I swear I’ll never forgive him. I don’t know what I could do in revenge, but I’d find a way...” Marika. I still don’t know what possessed me to let you go. I know you’re happy now, but even so... you’re so young. Be well, be safe, and... come home soon. I miss you. Watching the news, which had pushed out almost all other events worldwide, commentary, documentaries, reports and more on an endless loop, she finally released her long sigh. In the end, it’s too late for any protests now. If I took Marika back, and the worst did happen here in Nishimorioka... ugh, what’s the right choice? I just don’t know...