Lilly Route: Conflict: 2-9: Tea For One

I finish eating and Jigoro takes my plate, discarding it like he did his own with a careless toss in the sink. Then he pours two cups of coffee and slams one in front of me. "Here, it is a special blend of coffee. I grind the beans myself."
The drink in front of me is black as sin and thick as oil. I blanch a little looking at it. I haven't drunk coffee much recently; I've really become a tea person since coming to Yamaku and meeting Lilly.

Still, I don't think I should turn anything down Jigoro gives me. He'd probably take it as a grave offense and start insulting me and my choices in life if I turned my nose up to his coffee he seems to take so much pride in. I tell myself to just play along and keep my thoughts to myself; if I can just get through a whole conversation with him, maybe I'll be off the hook.

I drink the fluid and it's like coffee flavored glue with chunks of beans floating in it. It hits me like a brick wall and I think my heart is drowning in the muddy liquid.

"How does it taste?"
"It's... ugh, unique."
"It should be. It comes from a war-torn country in South America. I have it flown here. Men have suffered and died to bring me this coffee. You can taste their sacrifice in the rich, bold flavoring. Here, let me fill your cup."

I barely took a sip and he tops my mug off again. For his part, he sucks his coffee down and pours a constant supply down his throat. "May I ask what you are doing awake this early? I am usually alone at this hour. My son sleeps in entirely too late."

That's strange. Hideaki was up almost an hour ago. Maybe he went back to his room to avoid his father's attention. "I woke up early so I could get a jog in."
"Are you an athlete?"
"No, no, far from it. I've just started running for my health."
"Why?"
"I need to get in shape."
"A worthy goal, though running will do nothing for you. I have a very large gym with a wide selection of weight machines. You have permission to use them; simply follow the rules in chapter six of the binder I gave you. Lifting will be better for you than running."
"Well, I need to work on my heart, so jogging is probably better for me than muscle training."
"Your heart? Does that have to do with you being a cripple?"
I'm stunned cold with his bluntness. "Excuse me?"
"You go to Yamaku, like my daughter, who is lazy, and my niece, who is blind. That must mean there is something wrong with you, but it is not obvious to me; is it your heart?"

I should have expected this. Mr. Satou had no issue prying into my health, so I imagine Jigoro wouldn't have any tact about it either. I'm torn by what to say: on one hand, it could be rude to change the subject or ignore his question. On the other, I'm still not very comfortable talking about this with people so soon after having met them. What used to be a private issue of mine seems to be getting a lot of attention recently, especially from people who have no business knowing about my condition. I'm getting a little sick of so much importance being placed on it. If my reason for being at Yamaku could be plainly seen, like I was missing a leg or was blind, would people be so blatant about asking or would they keep their curiosity in check? Do they not believe I have a condition since it can't be seen? Needless to say, neither Mr. Satou or Jigoro seem to have any issues when it comes to the topic.
"I'd actually rather not talk about it."

Jigoro scowls at me. "I asked you a simple question. Rude. Why are you so hesitant to speak about it? Are you contagious? Suspicious. Why are you keeping secrets?"
"It's just not something I want to talk about. You would think I was being rude if I asked personal questions about you out of nowhere. We just met."
"You are correct. That would be rude. Still, you are a guest in my house. I am your host. I have a right to know these things."
My eyes narrow into a glare. "No, you don't. Not this thing," I say with an edge I don't mean to be there.

He glares back at me and I refuse to allow myself to give in like I did with Mr. Satou. Just when I think he's about to say something, our attention is caught by a yawning Shizune, who enters the kitchen and stops in her tracks.

For a moment she looks confused, frozen in mid-motion with her hand covering her wide open mouth, seeing the two of us sitting across from each other and sipping coffee together. The conversation and its current tone are lost on her, but the image must be enough to give her pause. She looks both bewildered and suspicious, glancing between us as if we were doing something intensely bizarre.

"What?" Jigoro asks in a foul tone. "You are interrupting an important conversation. Where are your manners?"

He does know she can't hear him, right?

I give Shizune a wave and she takes a step back, still unsure of what is going on. The look on her face tells me that this is the last thing she expected to see, her father and me sitting down to breakfast together, drinking our coffee pleasantly in mid conversation. Her body language is tight, like she thinks we were plotting against her together, colluding for some secret and nefarious purpose. That or she's not used to seeing something so mundane in such an odd family.

"Well, are you just going to stand there?" Jigoro asks. "There is food. If you had been up at a decent hour like this young man, it would still be warm."

I point to the stove helpfully where breakfast waits. Shizune glances at it, her eyes narrowing, questioning if it's a trap or maybe poisoned. She slowly makes her way to it and starts preparing two plates of food, likely for her and Misha, keeping on eye on me and her father. I can only imagine the questions she's asking herself right about now: what are they doing? What are they talking about? Why are they together? Did something happen? Should I be concerned? They can't possibly be getting along, could they?

I imagine this isn't the scene she expected to meet when she woke up.

I give a smile and wave which sets her slightly at ease. Jigoro huffs. "Not even a 'thank you' for cooking breakfast." He turns to me. "You see what I have to deal with? No 'Thank You, Father,' no 'Good Mornings,' nothing. Ungrateful! She has never complimented my cooking once and you did so within only a few minutes. This is the type of daughter I have been cursed with. It's unfair, an injustice! My excellent parenting skills are gone to waste on these unworthy children. It is as if they have never noticed my coffee mug! See? I bought it myself."

I take a look at the mug. On its surface are the words 'Number One Father.'

I don't understand where he is coming from; he knows Shizune is deaf, so does he expect her to be able to speak? How would she even be able to? I know Shizune can... make sounds, but I don't think she could make words enough to be understandable. Honestly, Jigoro comes off as a madman with his insistence that Shizune speak or pay attention when he talks, correction, bellows, at her. It's extremely rude. No, it goes beyond rude! It's almost cruel and inhumane to expect her to be capable of doing those things. I know Lilly and him don't get along, but I can't imagine the type of person who is so stubborn they expect others to overcome physical impossibilities for his own convenience and pleasure.

I had thought Jigoro was a nice guy; it turns out his personality is just as complicated, and troubling, as Mr. Satou's is.

Shizune finishes the two plates and carries them off, stopping to give one last glance at the two of us. Jigoro just glares at her, but I give Shizune a 'good morning' nod.

That's when I finally notice that she is still in her sleepwear...

...her very cute, light blue and fluffy sleepwear.

She nods back, but her face suddenly turns very red; she must have noticed me looking at her. She looks down at herself, doing a once over; still in her pajamas, her hair sticking up at odd angles, glasses slightly askew, she looks far from the prepared and sharp presentation she usually comports herself with. Cheeks still bright red, she glances up at my amused smile and she rushes out of my sight.

"Not even a 'goodbye'. I don't know what to do with these children. Hopeless! My daughter is rude and lazy and my son is rude, lazy and inexperienced! He will never grow up to be a man at this rate."

Again with the criticism. Hideaki may be young, but he seems to be a good kid to me. Nothing must ever satisfy Jigoro and his outrageous demands.

Now I know why Lilly felt so sorry for Hideaki and Shizune growing up in this house; now I do too.

Jigoro turns back to me, obviously forgetting all about the conversation we were having. "You at least seem to have your life in order; why can't my son be more like you? Maybe, during your time here, some of your initiative will rub off on him. He has talked about you enough; I hope that your example will be enough to shame him into making something of himself. If my excellent parenting skills did not fix him, I doubt you will have any effect though."

I hear a tapping coming towards the kitchen, not the gentle click-click of a guide cane like I was hoping for, but the thump-thump of a much heavier device, a familiar sound that sends shivers up my spine.

He approaches.

Mr. Satou glides into the room, cane in hand. He wears a different suit from the one he wore the other day, this one coal black but still with the familiar pinstripes, a burgundy shirt and tie, his cross pin glittering at the center of his chest. I notice a small bruise on his cheek when he stops in the doorway, glaring at Jigoro, who turns to face him and he glares right back.

"Good morning, cretin," he says.
"Good morning, race traitor," is the reply.

Both men continue to glare.
I can feel the temperature in the room rise slowly as their subdued tempers get warmer. That or it's my coffee which I nervously sip from.

Mr. Satou glances at me, a surprised look in his eye. "Hisao? I had not expected you to be up this early; what are you doing?"

I'm about to answer, when Jigoro rushes in, putting a hand on my shoulder in a companionable manner. "The young man and I were having a pleasant conversation!" Jigoro snarls. "Until you arrived."

Satou cocks an eyebrow at me disapprovingly. "Were you?"
Again I try to respond, but Jigoro cuts me off. "Yes, we were. This young man was up before the sun! Running, exercise, personal training! An admirable trait in a young man! Unlike you, he got a head start on the day. A boy after my own heart!"

Thanks for the compliment, Jigoro, you big jerk!

Mr. Satou looks down at me. "Running?"
"Yes. I've been trying to get in shape."
He smirks, but I don't see what's so amusing about it.
"If you'll recall, Jigoro," he says, ignoring me again, "I had to handle business last night that kept me up late. You remember, Jigoro, don't you? That... business?"
"Is that how you got that shiner on your face?"
"No different than the gash on your forehead or that black eye of yours."
"These things? Bah! I have had worse. Mere bumps! If you did not want to mess up your pretty face, you should not have agreed to a wrestling match to determine our arrangements. I imagine that broken nose from years ago still troubles you and your good looks."

Mr. Satou glowers at his brother. So that's how that happened.

Jigoro leans towards me. "You see his nose, Hisao? It was broken when we were teenagers. I did that. Every day he looks in the mirror, the first thing he thinks of is me."
"As I recall, Jigoro, I set it myself and proceeded to give you a whipping you did not soon forget."
"You set it poorly. I can still see the break. And I have long since recovered from the beating. You will carry that reminder the rest of your life."

Satou laughs. "That is all right; unlike you, I can afford it."
Jigoro snarls like an angry dog.

Mr. Satou strides to the coffee mug and picks it up, the light weight telling. He turns it upside down and finds it empty. "Do you not have the decency to brew enough coffee for your guests, or are you so poor you cannot afford enough for everyone? Do you ration in this house?"
Jigoro slams back his mug and drinks the scalding hot liquid faster than I think is healthy and safe. He sighs when he is finished and slams his mug back down. "We are out. Hisao has the last cup."

Ah, so this is what the underside of a bus looks like.

Mr. Satou turns his nose down at me.
"I hardly had any. You can have it, if you want, Mr. Satou," I offer.
"I would rather do without."
"How rude of you, Hiroyuki!" Jigoro says. "The boys offers you his own coffee and you turn it down? And you have the arrogance to criticize my manners? Amusing! It is as if you did not know the first thing about being a gracious guest."
"I will not be criticized on politeness and conduct by a brute like you."
"My manners are perfect! You have no room to complain. Have I not opened my home to you?"
"Under ridiculous circumstances."
"I asked you to simply follow the rules of my home and you call them ridiculous? Outrageous! Your arrogance is astounding!"
"I think a three-ring binder filled with redundant guidelines is a bit overboard, do you not agree?"
Jigoro grins and again puts his hand on my shoulder. "Hisao has the same binder and said he would go to the effort of following every rule I laid out. Unlike you, he is a proper house guest!"

Now I get it: Jigoro wasn't being nice to me; he was getting along with me because I'm just another issue the two of them can argue and fight about! Mr. Satou dislikes me so, immediately, Jigoro wants to become my best friend!

Mr. Satou scoffs at Jigoro's implication. "As agreed, so long as you follow my wishes, I will make my best effort to follow the rules of your household, no matter how ridiculous they may be."
"See that you do."
Satou waves the conversation gone. "Anyway, I do not even want to drink coffee, least of all that swill you brew, brother."
"Is my coffee not good enough for your sensitive pallet, brother?"
"As a matter of fact, it is not. I may follow the price of it, but I would not drink crude oil, nor would I partake of that swill you drink." Satou grins widely. "Speaking of investments, brother, have you been watching the markets? I have. I've been doing very well. How have your investments been doing?"

Jigoro snarls again and looks to be at the end of his leash.
Satou ignores the growling sounds. "I would prefer a cup of tea, anyway."

I quickly stand from my seat, taking my chance to get out from between them. "I was going to make some tea myself, Mr. Satou; I'd be happy to make some for you."

Mr. Satou's face twists in distaste. "Brown nosing will not get you anywhere with me, boy, but if you insist...."

He takes my vacated chair across from his brother.

I rush off and begin searching the cabinets for tea, thankful just to be out from the center of those two. It's like being in the middle of a dog fight or stuck in a thirty car pileup with nowhere to go. The two brothers just don't stop sending barbs at each other and it feels like I could get pulled in at any moment. I narrowly avoided Jigoro using me as a tool to antagonize Mr. Satou, which is the last thing I need right now. I had better avoid getting involved with their disputes or I might end up either having to choose sides or get run over and risk getting caught in the crossfire.

I go through the practiced movements of making tea. It takes some time to find everything I need. Nothing in the place is where I expect it to be, but I find the supplies eventually and I'm pleased to see that Jigoro has a well-stocked supply of various tea leaves. I hesitate over what to make to please Mr. Satou, but I decide to go with the old reliable French vanilla black tea. It works for Lilly and it's what I usually have in the morning since I stopped drinking coffee; I only hope it suits Mr. Satou's taste as well. I boil the water, gather the leaves, thankfully finding it to be loose leaf and in a few minutes have a tea kettle with a healthy amount of steam flowing from it. Turning around, I see both men in the same position they were in when I started, sitting across from each other, glaring at one another unblinking and perfectly still. It must take a great amount of concentration, and hate, to be able to keep up that much animosity for so long. They haven't said a word since they sat down.

I pour the tea for Mr. Satou first, setting the cup in front of him. When he doesn't react, Jigoro smiles. "Drink your tea, Hiroyuki."
"I will when I am good and ready."
"It will get cold."
"I do not mind."
Without looking at the cup or taking his eyes off his brother, Mr. Satou takes the drink in his hand and gently sips at it.

Please be perfect, I silently pray.

He sets the cup down.
No answer.

I want to ask, but I don't dare interrupt the two of them.
"Hisao?"
I jump to attention. "Yes, Mr. Satou?"
"Do you usually drink black tea in the morning?"
"Uh, yes, sir."
Mr. Satou nods. "Then you have good taste. The tea is excellent, thank you for making it."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yes, very good taste. The tea is very good," he repeats, "I prefer lapsang souchong, but I do not expect my brother can afford such luxuries. It helps that he, despite his poor taste in everything in his life, manages to keep a well stocked-cabinet, as much as he can. A shame he cannot apply the same expertise to his business dealings."
"Business? Laughable! You've only just regained the lead over me in worth. You have nothing to boast about!"
"A lead you have failed to take back for six years. Perhaps if you had paid more attention, your investments would not be suffering as they are."
"Perhaps some of us have their loyalties with their home country and refuse to invest in foreign interests, unlike some of us who run off to join whatever foreigner waves a check in their face."
"It is a global economy, Jigoro; you must learn to deal with that. You isolate yourself and make your investments vulnerable by focusing too heavily on domestic concerns. If you expanded your horizons, you would be better off, though that may be too much to expect from someone who is, how should I put this, stuck in the past? Your little fishing boats won't save you from drowning this time."
"I would rather keep my interests close to home and tradition than go running off to some other country at the beck and call of my masters and abandon our family. Some of us have our own business to run and do not answer to foreign interlopers."
"I am an attorney; it is my job to answer for other people. The day will come when the companies you 'consult' will finally realize that you are not worth your commission, then what will you do?"
"I have backup plans."
"You never plan for anything."
"Then I will handle those issues when they arrive!"
"So impulsive! Just as when we were children. This is why Mother and Father loved me more."
"You? Hah! If they liked you so much, Hiroyuki, why did they leave me the house when they retired to the country?"
"Perhaps they thought you needed the extra help to get by? You know what that is like, don't you, Jigoro? Needing help? Isn't that why you got married to Mayoi?"
Jigoro's face turns an angry shade. "If you speak that name again, I will throw you into the street."

Mr. Satou tightens his grip on his cane.
Jigoro goes for his sword.

I'm about to dive for cover, hide in a cabinet or crawl into the corner of the room for protection when help arrives in the form of an angel.
Lilly, her hand on the wall to guide her, steps halfway out from the hall, poking her head into the kitchen. "Father? I heard raised voices."

Instantly both men release their grasps on their respective weapons, visibly cooling off and taking a step back from each other. I understand Mr. Satou not wanting to fight when Lilly is around, but I'm surprised Jigoro does as well.

I smile, seeing Lilly in her familiar pajamas. I'll never get used to the sight. It always makes me grin at how beautiful she looks when she just wakes up. Her hair is still a little tussled from sleep and the tiny lines around her eyes show how tired she must be. It is early compared to when she normally wakes up. She and I got into the habit of being very late risers, a habit enforced by the simple enjoyment of sleeping next to one another and the laid back lifestyle at Yamaku.

I take my eyes off Lilly and see Mr. Satou's stony gaze on me as I admire Lilly.

I avert my eyes.

"Good morning, Lillian," Mr. Satou says, his previously antagonistic tone gone and replaced by a pleasant greeting, "How did you sleep?"
"Oh, fine, Father. I heard voices. Were you... arguing with someone?"
Mr. Satou shoots a glare at Jigoro who sneers and crosses his arms over his chest with a smirk. "No, Lillian, not at all," he says. "Your uncle and I were simply having a discussion." Mr. Satou leaves the table and steps up to Lilly, placing his hand on her shoulder for a moment before kissing her on the top of her head, Lilly smiling under the gesture. "Is anyone else up?" Lilly asks.

I smile and open my mouth, but I'm interrupted. "Never mind that," Mr. Satou says, cutting me off. He flashes a look at me, then at Lilly in her pajamas. "How did you get downstairs?"
"I... walked, of course."
"Lillian, I don't think you should be using the stairs alone."
"Oh, Father, that's silly," Lilly giggles with a casual wave of her hand. "I've been in the house long enough to know where everything is located."
"I insist. I'll take you back upstairs so you can get dressed. You shouldn't be walking around the house like that; who knows who might run into you?"
She smirks a little to herself. "I rather doubt there's anyone in the house that it should matter too."
He looks at me momentarily. "Nonetheless, it would make me feel better. Where is Akira? She should have the decency to help you in the morning."
"Father, I don't need help. I'm perfectly capable on my own. Akira should get her sleep."
"What she needs is to take proper care of her younger sister, a responsibility I had entrusted her with. Now, go to the stairs and wait for me; I'll be right behind you."

Lilly shakes her head and laughs lightly at her father's worrying tone, using the wall to guide her back. Seeing her leave makes me feel worse than I thought it would; I know she couldn't possibly have known I was in the room, but it still feels like I just got ignored.

Watching her walk down the hall, Mr. Satou turns back to me when she is far out of ear shot, sticking the head of his cane right in my face. "I don't appreciate you ogling my daughter like that. Next time it happens, I'll give you a reason to run other than your heart."

He sweeps out of the room after Lilly, leaving me speechless.

I turn back to my tea and lukewarm coffee in a black mood. It takes me a while to notice, but Jigoro is staring at me and has been for some time.
"What?" I say, testily.
"I am merely curious."
"Curious? About what?"
"About why you let him speak to you like that just now."
"I just... never mind."
He harrumphs. "Interesting. I thought you were dating my niece."
"I am." At least, last time I checked I was.

"Then why did you not say 'good morning' to her? First my daughter, now you. Do young people not have polite greetings for their loved ones anymore? Or do you always allow people to intimidate you into silence?"

I doubt Shizune would categorize her father as a 'loved one', but I don't say that to him. "He didn't give me the chance."
"You should have made the chance. For someone who barged into my home, banging on my door in the middle of the night, you seem oddly pathetic and meek around him. Disappointing. I had thought you were more substantial than that. I do not think I would want my daughter dating you. In fact, I do not think I want you in my house; it is already beginning to stink of your cowardliness."

"I'm not here to impress you!" I shout back at him, my frustration blasting out of me. In my anger, I spill some of my tea, splashing the counter top and scalding my hand.

He chuckles at my tone. It came out angrier that I had thought it would. I would otherwise have never spoken to him like that. I'm a guest in the man's house; I have no right to speak to him that way.

"Ah, so there is some fire left!" he says with a fierce grin, a pleased look in his eye. "I had thought you let my brother snuff it out of you. Intriguing. It is a shame you do not use that same tone with him. You don't need to impress him either. Good morning."

Jigoro takes my teacup, drinks the what remains in one gulp, sets it back in front of me and walks out of the kitchen, leaving me to stare at his back as he leaves.

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2-10: http://pastebin.com/KFQK68gg