Campione! - Volume 18 - Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5 - The Kusanagi Family's Part-time Job 

Part 1 

"This time, I really feel like I got duped by Onii-chan..."  

Kusanagi Shizuka frowned unhappily.  

Although she was a very cute girl, it was unbelievably intimidating whenever she put on such an expression. This possibly stemmed from her queen-like airs.  

"Promising he was going to quit gambling, yet secretly taking a large group of girls on a trip to the South Seas..."  

"Let me explain first, Shizuka."  

Inside the living room in the Kusanagi residence, the one who talked back was Shizuka's older brother, Godou, of course.  

There was only one day left in the winter break. The Kusanagi siblings had just returned from their separate long-distance trips.  

"I didn't go on a trip 'secretly.' I already told you in advance I was going out. I even informed mom that I won't be home for a while."  

"Y-You clearly omitted your destination and who you were traveling with!"  

"What does it matter? I'm not obliged to report even this kind of stuff to my little sister. It's not like we're infants, right?"  

"Hmph. In your case, I'm pretty sure there's a need every now and then."  

Godou calmly confronted the furious Shizuka.  

After all, he was a man without any sort of sister complex at all. Hence, he truly believed what he was saying. As the childhood friend of this pair of siblings, Tokunaga Asuka knew this very well.  

"One day, Onii-chan, you'll turn into a womanizer rivaling Grandpa."  

"Like I keep saying, don't compare me to Grandpa."  

The sibling's grandfather, Kusanagi Ichirou, was a very popular figure in the neighborhood of Nezu's Area 3. Godou apparently bore a great resemblance to this old man in his youth.  

That being said, the comparison was on facial terms. Their personalities were quite different.  

Compared to the extroverted and uninhibited Ichirou, the grandson was quite rigid in personality. But the frightening thing was his ability to display "skills" rivaling his grandfather in spite of that.  

"By the way, Shizuka-chan."  

Asuka slowly began.  

"Uncle Genzou continues to be such a free spirit, spending the whole New Year's over in the Caribbean."  

Genzou was the father of the Kusanagi siblings.  

Like that of his son's, it took many strokes to write out the kanji of his first name. Asuka recalled that his family name was also comparable to "Kusanagi" in complexity, requiring around thirty strokes to write out. After marrying into 

Genzou's family, the mother of the Kusanagi siblings, Mayo, had divorced when Godou first reached the age of understanding. After returning to her parents' home, Mayo had reverted back to her family name of Kusanagi.  

That was also when the siblings first became acquainted with Asuka.  

Next, Shizuka began to talk in a laid back manner about this father whose family name she did not share.  

"Yeah, I think he went there last year. He mentioned something about making another fortune."  

"Dad remains the same as always, huh? Our father is an investor while our mother is a queen..."  

Godou muttered poignantly in response to his sister's report.  

Hearing the siblings' comments, Asuka could not help but interject.  

"Godou, you mean something like an entrepreneur or an industrialist, right?"  

"Really? Dad sometimes uses something like 'film producer' on his business card but suddenly switches to other titles sometimes. It's all very suspicious."  

"As for Mom... I guess she's a queen after all."  

"That social network is plain extraordinary."  

"The Kusanagi family situation remains so complicated."  

Asuka shared a relationship with the siblings where they could chat like this in the living room of the Kusanagi residence.  

Precisely because of that, Asuka knew quite well how "different" this family was from ordinary families.  

"Nothing less expected from Godou and Shizuka-chan's parents."  

"Hold on, Asuka."  

"Yes. Putting Onii-chan aside, I don't agree with lumping me with them."  

"...I have to state for the record. Compared to me, Shizuka is far more likely to end up as someone extraordinary."  

"W-What are you talking about!? I am the only normal person in this family filled with weirdos. Don't group me with Onii-chan and the rest!"  

"Hmm... The way I see it as a neighbor, you're probably not that different."  Asuka remarked quietly.  

The Kusanagi siblings were nothing similar in terms of looks and personality. However, they shared the common trait of "acting differently from what they claimed."  

Feeling indignant about the earlier comment, Shizuka raised a counterargument.  

"Jeez... I'll make this clear first: I am someone with common sense. That makes me completely different from Onii-chan, right? Asuka-chan."  

"Hold on, Shizuka, I have common sense too."  

"Hmph. That's totally unconvincing coming from someone who's flirting with four or five girls with them always serving at your side."  

While the little sister was making a face at her brother...  

A text message alert sounded from Shizuka's cellphone on the table.  

"Looks like there's a text message. What is it about? ...Oh, so it won't work out?"  

"What happened?" asked Godou.  

Looking at the cellphone screen, the younger sister sighed.  

"Do you remember my friend Yui? My classmate, very petite."  

"...Vaguely."  

"We were planning to go on a graduation trip, but it's not working out now."  

Shizuka was a third-year student at Jounan Academy's middle school division. In two months, she was going to graduate and join the high school division.  "Actually, her father was recently laid off."  

"That's such a shame..."  

"Will trip expenses be a burden on her parents?"  

While Godou muttered, Asuka asked in worry next to him.  

They were discussing a girl whom Asuka had seen a couple times. Asuka remembered she was definitely from Jounan Academy's middel school.  

And now, she was facing a difficult situation—  

Asuka felt sympathetic.  

"True, I guess her father's employment is top priority."  

"Oh, that's not a problem. I already introduced him to Mom."  

"You introduced him to Aunt Mayo!?"  

"Yes. I heard he was willing to do any kind of work and found a new job immediately. It's only during times like these that I feel that Mom is truly amazing."  

"But Shizuka, that should be a respectable job, right?"  

"Don't worry about that... Probably. Moreover."  

Shizuka shrugged and made a very characteristic statement very much in her style as Kusanagi Godou's younger sister.  

"As long as it's not outright illegal, it's better to work even if there's a bit of risk."  

"Well, there's truth in that."  

"Listen here, I don't think students in high school and middle school who can talk about these things with such open-mindedness can be considered ordinary."  

"But Asuka-chan, the important thing here is finding a job."  

Ignoring a common sense comment completely, Shizuka spoke:  

"In any case, her father has landed a job, so Yui won't have to worry about school fees. But in consideration of her family situation, she intends to give up on the graduation trip."  

"She's a middle schooler after all. It's not like she could work part-time to pay for the trip."  

After Asuka made a very common sense statement, Godou nodded, followed by Shizuka who nodded vigorously.  

"That's right. After all, there's no place that'll hire a third-year middle school student."  

"Uh..."  

Asuka groaned. This pair of siblings actually shared a common trait of "ignoring their own circumstances."  

Towards Godou and Shizuka who were unaware of this, Asuka slowly spoke:  

"Let me ask you, the Kusanagi siblings brimming with common sense... Aren't you two rich from a long time ago? Godou always makes a killing at the gambling party every New Year. Shizuka-chan always has more pocket money than she can spend."  

"I-I don't earn money from gambling alone."  

The Kusanagi clan's customary New Year gathering included a gambling party. The first-year high school student, who had kept the top spot for several years in a row, frantically denied.  

"I'm working respectable jobs too."  

"Yeah, I know. You're a hardworking person by nature and feel uncomfortable about undeserved earnings. In that sense, you're quite respectable."  

As the childhood friend who knew Kusanagi Godou's character very well, Asuka nodded.  

On the other hand, Shizuka spoke in a very "surprised" manner:  

"M-My pocket money isn't that much either. Rather, Mom is the type who advocates earning your own spending money."  

"Very true, but occasionally, she does give on whim."  

"Even so, things have been tough since we were young. You know that too, don't you, Asuka-chan?"  

"Yeah, I know. So how about sharing some of your experiences in this area with Shizuka-chan's friend?"  

" "......" "  

The siblings fell into deep thought after hearing this suggestion. Then they began to chatter in a discussion.  

"There are two more months until graduation, there should be enough time to work a job, right...?"  

"She doesn't have any problems advancing to the next year, right?"  

"None. Like me, we're already set to be promoted from middle school to high school."  

"Well, you're allowed to work part-time once you're in high school. Bending rules a bit at the end of middle school—Should be fine, right?"  "Wanna try asking places that'll hire high schoolers?"  

"There's probably no problem if we ask our relatives. But the hourly wage won't be very high. The goal is raise cash to pay for the trip, right?"  

"In that case, it'll be more efficient if we did it ourselves..."  

While listening to the older brother's opinion, the younger sister asked slowly:  

"So, Onii-chan, are you willing to invest some capital?"