“There is no law requiring an ex to pay for one’s own cosmetic surgery!” Tsukasa cut straight to the point.
The men in the gallery nodded as they watched the exchange between my sister and the plaintiff.
“What could a young person like you understand about my situation, with big ones like that?!” The woman was starting to get carried away in her agitation. “You think you’re so hot, looking down on me like that! Screw the court! Nothing but a waste of taxpayer money!”
Snap. I could practically hear a vein in Tsukasa’s head popping.
“If you have a problem with it…” The judge stood. Her black robe, signifying the impartiality of her profession, fluttered open to reveal her clothes beneath. She raised her hand high above her head. “…you may appeal your case to the high court!” Her fist came down onto the bench like a gavel.
My sister’s huge breasts jiggled as a roar echoed through the court.
“Eek—!” The plaintiff shrank back.
Absolute silence overwhelmed the courtroom for a moment.
“Oral argument concluded. The decision will be delivered after the court’s summer recess at 1:15 PM one month from today. We will send you an official copy of the decision so there is no need to come in person. Clerk, please.”
The court clerk stopped, awkwardly cowering before the bench to check the schedule on the computer. After hastily writing a note, he answered, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Given the mood of the courtroom, you could tell what the decision would be. The claim for damages would definitely be rejected completely.
Judge Tsukasa Wagatsuma, still standing, glared toward the gallery. Her expression softened into a faint smile only I recognized when her eyes found me again. Then she exited the courtroom through the back door.
An unconventional trial, as always… But it was really cool.
The plaintiff was left alone in the court.
“W-waaaah! Waaaaah!”
After some ugly crying, she said, “And after I made my boobs big for him! Dammit!!”
She ran out of the courtroom.
“Ahhhhh! I loooove alcohol!”
Sometime after five, I found myself at a cheap pub in Toranomon with my sister.
Having changed out of her robe and into her regular clothes, Tsukasa was heartily chugging a beer.
“I just wuv an ice-cold beer after work! Tee-hee!”
Her face relaxed and she took on a kind of drunken baby talk.
This was her “off mode.” It’s how she usually acted when she had alcohol.
“But! But…what I wuv even more is when my Akky hangs out with me after work! So that means I’ve got two things I wuv all at once! And that makes me sooo happy, I think I’ll give you a widdle kiss! Akkyyy!”
“Tsukasa, your mouth is covered in beer foam. Here, have a napkin.”
“Tank you! Wipey, wipey… Aw, don’t avoid me! I’ll just have to get back at you by cleaning your room when you’re not looking. I’ll find all your porno mags and destroy them!”
“No one uses magazines anymore. And please stop going into my room.”
“Hee-hee, so you didn’t notice me sleeping next to you last night?”
“What?”
“…Just kidding. Anyway, how’s summer vacation going? Are you getting your homework done?”
In an instant, her fawning expression shifted to her best impersonation of a parental one.
All this, including her teasing, was part of her “off mode.”
I bet we looked like quite an odd pair to the people around us.
I met Tsukasa when I was three years old—she was the child of the woman my father got remarried to. As she was twelve years older than me, she’d been fifteen at the time. She’d taken quite a liking to me instantly and had been looking after me and calling me Akky ever since. Even thirteen years later, she still had a brother complex. Presently, our parents were off on an extended vacation for their twelfth wedding anniversary. Tsukasa and I had been living alone for almost a year. We’d grown pretty close as a result.
There’s nothing weird about it. Even if she’s my stepsister, we’re still family. Yep.
“If you have trouble with your homework, I can help!”
She looked at me with her gentle reddish-brown eyes. Her unguarded demeanor was totally unlike how she behaved in court. I was the only person she ever acted this kind to.
“It won’t be a problem. The homework is so easy I can play video games while I do it.”
“Just like I thought! My little Akky is so good at all sorts of things, unlike me. You always keep a broad outlook and notice all the important details. I think you could do just about anything you set your mind to!”
“I’m just passable at lots of things.”
Tsukasa always complimented me excessively, but I knew I didn’t deserve it. My skills were broad and shallow. There was nothing I was truly good at.
It’s much more amazing when a person completely masters one thing, like she has.
Naturally, I kept that thought to myself for risk of Tsukasa getting more annoyingly carried away with her praise.
“You like those games where odd creatures use weird magic, right?” She gulped down her drink.
“It’s not weird. It’s fantasy.” I sipped from my own cup. I was drinking something nonalcoholic called Hoppy.
“I don’t really get it, but…keep at it! You’re smarter than me!”
“Should you really say that after graduating from the country’s top law school and getting the highest score on the bar exam?”
“Yes! And it’s true! Plus, I only do my best when you’re in the courtroom!”
“Don’t treat me like some kind of lucky charm.”
She makes it sound like I have kind a magical effect that improves her judging ability.
Glug! “Aaaaahhhhh! More alcohol, pwease!”
Tsukasa ordered another drink, content to ignore my comment. She undid a button on her blouse that held in her huge F cups and let out a sigh. There was something borderline obscene about her appearance. It drew the gazes of the men around us.