Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Akasaka Moon ❯ Carp ( Chapter 22 )

Carp

Juriko and Haruka seemed to live a charmed life. They always looked so beautiful. Juriko had the charm of a social butterfly that she needed to survive in the real world. Haruka had a mysterious charm that drew men to her. They were both at the top of their class. Many girls envied them. Guys had crushes on them all around. Even I couldn't get enough of them. The twins had the perfect image.

However one day before my birthday, I learned an ugly truth about them.

I decided to see where the fox twins lived. My mother was asleep in bed at the time and I had nothing else to do. So I slipped out of the house and walked down the road. Everything around me felt too quiet, almost like an old German horror film. The dying trees along the road didn't really help either. No birds filled the sky this afternoon. I shuddered as I forced myself to keep walking. The wind helped me to do so.

I came to the end of the road. The house looked like a typical Japanese house of the time. The lawn looked to be dying with the season. Two white benches sat on either side of a matching table. I smiled as I tried to picture the set in the summer time.

But then, I noticed Juriko standing on her front lawn, looking around in a rushed way. Curious, I observed her for a couple of minutes. She had on a Western-style dress with no shoes. I kept wondering what she is such a hurry from. Suddenly, my fox angel looked up and noticed me. She power walked up to me.

“What are you doing here?!” she asked in a hushed tone. I blinked.

“Is… something wrong?” I asked.

“Get out here! Now!” she hissed.

“What do you mean? Why?” I asked. Crash! The sound made me jump in the autumn afternoon.

“What was that?!” I cried. I got the answer to my question before it came out of my mouth.

“You're so useless! I hate you!” I heard a woman screaming from inside the house. “You never can commit to anything around here! And you always screw everything up!”

“Shut up, you Japanese spy!” a man yelled back.

“Oh, that's your excuse to blame for everything, isn't?! I'm so mad I could kill you right now!”

“Go on, try it! I have seen combat and Hell in my years on the battlefield!”

“Oh yeah, you got out of that one by being a POW!”

I didn't care to hear anymore as my stomach dropped. Juriko grabbed me by the hand and led me all the way into the woods. I didn't ask questions as I ran after her to the sound of our footsteps behind us. We stopped once we were in the woods and breathed heavily.

“Hey, Juriko-chan,” I said once I got my breath back. “What was that all about? Who were they?”

“My parents,” she replied. I paused and looked up at the tone of her voice. All of the seductive glow died away from her face. Her airy voice became heavy with seriousness.

“What's wrong with them?” I asked. Juriko looked away.

“My father fought in the war,” she said. “He was taken prisoner in the middle of it. When he came home, their fights got worse.” She grabbed onto my skinny frame. “Hold me, Iwao-kun. I feel sick.”

“Okay…” I mumbled. I slowly put my arms around her and looked up at the sky. For some reason, it was nice to see her all vulnerable like this. It adds a nice change to the situation between the three of us.