Timaeus thinks.
Timaeus
Do you have a large family…?
Jurou laughs.
Jurou
Yuh huh! There’s Momma and Poppa and my nine older brothers and a lil' babby sister!

He spoke so casually, it took me a few moments to realize what he’d just said.

Tim yells.
Timaeus
Nine brothers?!
Jurou grins.
Jurou
Hahaw! Yup, lessee, there’s Ichirou an' Jirou, an' Saburou, an' Shirou, an' Gorou, Rikurou, Shichirou, Hachirou, Kurou… And I’m Jurou! Number ten!

He held up a finger for each name, as if he had trouble keeping track of them himself. I could barely imagine having a brother in the first place, let alone nine…

Jurou fawns over his little sister.
Jurou
An' then there’s lil' babby Chou, we can’t forget her!! She is just precious, I oughta show ya pictures sometime…

I tried to imagine a baby Jurou, but it was hard to mentally remove the bright green hair and hardware store’s worth of piercings in his face.

Tim grins.
Timaeus
I’m sure she is! Why do you make all their food, though? Can’t they make their own lunches?
Jurou laughs.
Jurou
Well sure they can, they ain’t bums or somethin'! But they’re workin' out on the farm all day! I ain’t as hardy as them, I stay home an' help Momma cook an' stuff… an' take care o' the babby, an' the flowers…

His voice trailed off as he hovered over the last roll on the cutting board.

Jurou frowns.
Jurou
…I hope they’re all okay…
Tim smiles gently.
Timaeus
I hope so too. I’m sure they’re all nice folks, if they’re anything like you!
Jurou blushes.
Jurou
Oh gawsh… They’re all great, yeah! Even if they get a lil', uh… Rambunctious!
Tim laughs.
Timaeus
Oh, I can imagine…
Jurou laughs.
Jurou
Hahahaw! Boy I should tell ya ‘bout summa the shenanigans they get up to! But mebbe later, looks like lunch is all ready…

He chopped up the last roll and drizzled some eel sauce expertly over the top.

I helped him carry the sushi out to the buffet bar in preparation for lunchtime. All of his dishes looked like they belonged in an art museum… Guess some aspects of ikebana apply to plating food, too. I went back to pick up my dish, and looked down at my miserable tube of rice with a rueful laugh.

Jurou huffs.
Jurou
Hey now, what’s that face about? Looks great fer yer first roll! C’mere, lemme have a piece…

He reached over with his chopsticks to pluck a piece of the sushi from my plate, and stuffed it in his mouth.

Jurou munches on Tim's sushi.
Jurou
Still tastes great! And you’ll get it lookin' purty with practice, yeah?
Timaeus laughs shyly.
Timaeus
Y-yeah… I’ll, um, keep working on it–
Jurou yells.
Jurou
C’mon buddy, that all ya got? Where’s yer conviction?! Lemme hear ya say yeah!
Tim grins.
Timaeus
Yeah!
Jurou laughs.
Jurou
Hahahahahaw! I better see ya ‘round in the kitchen, y’hear?

With that, he rambled off to the other rooms to loudly announce the sushi he’d made for lunch, first come first serve.

I sat down at a table with my homely creation, and tried a piece for myself. He was right– it still tasted great, no matter how it looked on the outside. That was definitely due to his skill at preparing the ingredients, but still…

Jurou was like that too, wasn’t he? He might look kinda intimidating on the outside, but once you get to talking to him, he’s such a pleasant person! And it sounds like he cares a lot about his family, too… man, nine brothers, holy crap.

He said he has pictures, right? I wonder if they all dress as goth as he does…