Chapter 18: The Iwata Family

Chapter 18:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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A gentle breeze soothed the air as the birds arose from their slumber to begin their morning chirpings. Faint beams of sunlight pierced through the windows of the Iwata Tofu Shop, awakening the two individuals that rested inside its second story. 

"That's right, I don't have school today." The man in charge of the outlet stretched his arms as a deep yawn escaped his lips. His bones creaked as he stood up to walk to his washroom, groaning at the sight of two profound eyebags beneath his lower eyelids.

"I haven't received any new assignments either. Maybe I should just kick back and relax for the day?" Though the notion would usually sound rather endearing, something about doing nothing, even for a day, just didn't sit right with him anymore. "I could do some training, but I don't really feel up to it at the moment." 

He scratched his stubble as he set aside the question for the time being, instead, he walked towards his kitchen and started brewing himself a warm cup of coffee to fight his fatigue. 

"Jin-sama? You're already awake?" More likely than not awoken by the sound of his footsteps, his assistant had come to, and by the looks of things his mood wasn't all that different from Jin's. 

"I had trouble sleeping, it's way too warm in there." 

"You had the airconditioning on full blast Jin-sama. I had to use four extra blankets." Jin scratched his head, surely his assistant was just exaggerating. It wasn't as if he was a snow-leopard or something. 

"Huh, strange." He mused, pouring a second cup for Oron. 

"Why not just let Azazel-sama make some renovations? If you want to live like a polar bear, you could at least spare me from it." 

"I'll consider it." 

"Anyhow, what are our plans for today?" Jin shrugged as he tapped the side of his mug. 

"I've gotten no word from Azazel, it looks like we're on our own for the time-being. Any suggestions?" He popped a smoke into his mouth as he stared out the window aimlessly. 

"I'm just as lost as you, Jin-sama." Jin hummed in thought until the sight of a set of keys on the counter blessed him with an idea. 

"I'm going for a drive, wanna come?" 

"You have a car?" He nodded as he led Oron to the garage, which hadn't been opened ever since he had been placed under new "employment".

"It belonged to my old man, it's nothing fancy but it got the job done when I needed to make deliveries." As stated, it was a rather plain looking red-car, save for its bold aerodynamic styling, accompanied by its detailed grille and headlights.

(I didn't have my license when I made those deliveries, but there's no need for it to be public information. No harm no foul right?)

The Toyota GT86, affordable and efficient. Just as intended. 

"It suits you, Jin-sama." 

"You think?" 

As the two hopped inside, Jin's pocket lit up as it emitted a stark buzzing sound. Oron's interest piqued as Jin seemed rather surprised once he looked at the number on the screen. 

"Who is it?" 

"My sister." The assistant's jaw dropped, a natural result of the fact that Jin hadn't told him that he still had living relatives. In an obvious attempt to avoid his questions, Jin quickly brought his phone to his ear as he turned his head away. 

"What do you want, Kyouko?" 

"What's with that tone? Aren't you glad that your beloved Nee-san is calling you? Oh, maybe you're just being shy?"

 As per usual, Jin's expression was completely bleak. "Just get to the point, woman." He responded half-jokingly.

"Cold as always, anyhow I need you to pick me up at the airport. I don't wanna take a cab." 

"The airport? You realize that's at least a two hour drive from here right? Also, if you were flying over couldn't you have considered that I might've appreciated a heads up?" Oron's ears perked up as it sounded like he was about to meet Jin's sister. 

"And? What's the problem? You used to drive around Ashigara all the time, you'll be able to make it in one if you try." 

"You see, unlike Ashigara there's this funny thing called a speed limit on highways. Might serve as a minor inconvenience, you know?" He said brimming with sarcasm. "Moreover, why did you even take a plane to begin with? You could've just taken the bullet train." 

"You're not the only one in the family who's good with money, you know? What's the point of having it if I don't use it?"

"And what about keeping that money?" He groaned as he lamented the fact that the living embodiment of a headache had set foot in Tokyo. "You should've rang up Ryosuke instead, he lives closer to the airport." 

"Ryosuke's no fun, he keeps threatening me every time I try to tease him. Such a buzzkill!" 

"Kyokou, your definition of teasing and sexual harassment are the same. Just for the record, I'm on Ryosuke's side." Jin plopped his keys into the ignition as he prepared himself for the antics of his sister. "Whatever, try to find something to keep yourself entertained. I'll see you there." 

"Love you Ji–!" 

He swiftly hung up the phone, not wanting to hear her grating voice for even another second. "She sounds interesting." Oron commented. Jin could practically see the sparkles in his assistant's eyes as he dipped his head. 

"Yes, you can come along if you want." Though he feigned composure, Jin knew how giddy Oron was deep down. And chances were, meeting his sister in person would promptly topple any expectations he had about her. "However, if you get too close, don't blame me if she gets all touchy with you." 

With his words going in through one ear and out the other, Oron eagerly nodded as Jin fiddled with the dashboard.

🎵 "Get out my head, get out my heart. Away baby, I won't fall apart."🎵 

"Jin-sama?" 

🎵 "Get out my head, get out my heart. Away baby, I won't fall apart."🎵 

"My car, my songs." With his foot on the gas, the two were off to meet the second oldest member of the Iwata family.

🎵 "You really made a mess of me. No baby, don't deny it."🎵

------------

As per usual, Haneda Airport was filled to the brim with returning relatives, tourists, or those simply arriving intent on getting by on a day to day basis. 

Sat on the stool of a cafe positioned adjacent to the terminal gate, was a woman with dark-brown hair fashioned into a ponytail. Her eyes were lusterless shielded by the large round glasses resting on her ears. 

In spite of the arguably "goofy" nature of her eyewear, the real kicker was what comforted her torso. An oversized beige trenchcoat, under which she donned a dark turtleneck t-shirt. 

And considering the fact that it was warm enough to cook an egg on the lid of a metal bin, most considered her to be out of her mind. 

"Ma'am, would you like to add a desert to make it a meal?" 

"No thanks." 

''Understood, that'll be ¥400." As she handed the money over, her attention was caught by the sight of a sleek red car pulling up to the front gate. 

"Here's your receip—" Before the words could leave the barista's mouth, she had already taken off in a full sprint towards the front gate, somehow not spilling her coffee on the way. "Why does this shop always attract the weirdos?" The poor, minimum-wage employee lamented.

As the car's front-door opened, a man with long spiky light-brown hair stepped out. He wore nothing more than a plain white shirt, and gray pants. And for some reason sported blue slippers despite being out and about.

"JIN!" She yelled, assaulting him with a rib-crushing hug as the latter reluctantly returned the gesture. 

"Good to see you too, Kyouko." 

"Have you been working out? Normally my hugs leave you winded." His eye twitched as the passenger-side door opened, revealing a second figure accompanying her brother.

"This is?" With her arms still around Jin, she turned her head towards the "strange" individual.

"He's a friend of mine, been helping out at the shop." The figure performed a polite-bow as Kyouko returned the gesture. 

"I see he has a good taste in fashion." Rather than his appearance, the first thing that caught her attention was the fact that he was a fellow trenchcoat enjoyer. "Your name?" 

"Oron, as you guessed I'm from overseas. Jin-sa, I mean Jin has told me a lot about you." By "a lot" he meant the countless warnings Jin had given him, as if his sister were some sort of wild beast.

"I must say, your Japanese is superb for a foreigner. If you don't mind me asking, how did the two of you meet?" Thankfully, Jin seemed to have a knack for cover stories.

"I'm a transfer student, Jin's been helping me perfect my spoken-Japanese and given me plenty of chances to try to converse with the locals." 

"Well he's clearly doing a good job. It sounds like you're planning on staying here?" 

"I am, my father is planning on relocating his headquarters over here. But I couldn't make heads or tails of the specifics even if I tried, haha." A faint bead of sweat ran down his forehead as Kyouko approached him, with her fingers under her chin like some sort of detective.

"I see. First and foremost we should inspect what you're packing down here!" Sensing the upcoming danger, Jin quickly reached around and picked his sister up by the collar like you would a cat. "What are you doing!?" She beckoned.

"Stopping you from committing a literal crime, just get in already." He tossed her into the backseat as he shot an apologetic look Oron's way. "Sorry about that." 

"Fine, I'll just have to settle for you instead." She snapped from within the car. 

"I'm your brother god damnit!" He gripped his forehead in shame as he stepped into the driver's-seat. "Seriously, would it kill you to not molest people on sight? Especially when you're somewhere brimming with cops." 

"Don't be so dramatic, I'm sure he would've enjoyed it if you let me continue." The fact that she could utter such an unholy sentence without stuttering, was reason enough for her to be locked up in his eyes. "Aren't I right?" Oron simply continued to stare out the window, as if she hadn't said a word. Which was probably for the best.

"So, how's university been?" He figured his best would be to steer the conversation in a not-so-perverted direction. "You're in your second year now right?" 

"Yeah, can't say criminology is all that interesting a subject. At least on paper, especially when I can't stock up on my Jinanium whilst I'm away." She groaned as she slouched into her seat. 

(Jinanium? She can't be serious?) 

"Oh, that's right. How's it been with that girl? You know the one with the serial-killer eyes and all that." Though he continued to stare out the window, Oron's ears had once again perked up. 

(You just had to bring it up didn't you?) 

"We broke up." He replied plainly. 

"Is that so? Good, I don't need another woman interfering with the amount of Jin-time I get, damn homewrecker." Jin's fingers shook as he considered swerving off the highway that very instant. 

(Remember Jin, Oron is still in the car. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.) 

Some time passed as Jin propped his rear view mirror downwards, only to see that his sister had fallen sound asleep on the backseat. "Must have been a long flight." He gently released some of the pressure on his accel in order to make the drive smoother. 

 "Jin-sama, I take it you've already realized?" He gave an affirmative nod as he spared a quick glance to his assistant. "What should we do?" 

"Nothing. It's still her, and there's a chance she's picked up on the two of us as well. Once we're there, go inside so I can talk to her in private. It's probably best that she doesn't feel pressured." Though Oron didn't take kindly to the idea of leaving Jin alone, he had little choice other than to trust Jin knew his sister well enough.