Chapter 22: Father?!

Yuki watched Daisuke carefully. She took a seat next to Akiko and tried not to let the worry show on her face. She wasn't sure if she made the right choice in allowing a complete stranger who claimed to be her son-in-law's father. 

"Relax mom."  Akiko muttered.  "Narumi and Daiki will be downstairs really soon." 

"I know."  Yuki sighed, "I just... She trailed off because Narumi finally came downstairs.

"What's wrong, mom?" She asked, then looked at Daisuke. "Who is that?" 

"Be patient; let Daiki come here too." Yuki said, but before Narumi could protest, Daiki came rushing down the stairs. He was about to say something, but his face turned pale when he saw Daisuke. 

He immediately backed away. "What is he doing here?" 

"Daiki, my child." Daisuke stood up; he tried to come closer, but Daiki stepped back.

"Don't you dare come closer—or even call me your son?" He growled out. His eyes were glinting dangerously, and for a moment, everyone got frightened. 

"Listen, my son.  I know you hate me, but at least let me speak to you. It's being so long." Daisuke pleaded, but Daiki didn't want to hear anything. 

"Yes, I do hate you because of everything you did. Mom, Misaki, Emiko, and Mio are no longer alive because of you." Daiki snapped, and his tone was cold. "I hate you because you are a horrible husband and father." The last part hit Daisuke because he looked as if he had been hit with lightning. Narumi and her family members were confused, but one thing was certain: father and son have serious issues. 

"Daiki I'm sorry for everything." Daisuke choked out. "I am a horrible person who destroyed his family with his own hands. I'm…   I'm so sorry." He bowed his head and waited for his son to speak.

"Oh wow!"  Daiki yelled, tears rolling down his face as anger filled him, "I don't understand how an amazing woman like my mother ended up with a man like you who tortured her daily. I hate you." 

With that, Daiki rushed upstairs while his father fell back to the coach and started crying loudly. 

"Listen, Mr. Tsukumo I humbly request that you leave my house." Narumi said. "Your presence has affected Daiki, and his reaction is something none of us has ever seen before.  You can come back on Saturday to talk to him, but not today." 

Daisuke wiped his tears and stood up. "I understand. Please do talk to Daiki and try to calm him down a little bit." 

"Don't worry. We will do that." Narumi muttered.   "Please leave."

Daisuke nodded and left the house. Yuki and her daughters looked at each other for a while.

"I have never seen Daiki so angry before." Akiko broke the silence.  She was playing with her fingernails nervously and biting the inside of her mouth.

"I'm worried about him." Yuki said.   "He looked so angry and hurt. I wonder what issues happened in his family." 

"Relax mom."  Narumi muttered.  "He will be fine; let's just give him time and space."

"No, my dear child, that's not what he needs." Yuki shook her head. "He needs someone to keep him company and comfort him. We need to help."

"Mom."  Narumi sighed.  All of a sudden, a huge crash was heard from upstairs. It sounded like a mirror shattering. 

"That sound came from Daiki's old room." Akiko said.    "Let's go check this out."

Everyone rushed upstairs to check what happened, and they found Daiki lying on the floor with a large broken mirror in front of him. His shirt was torn open and his hand was bleeding; there was also glass embedded in his arm and his hair. When they all saw it, their hearts dropped into their stomachs.

"Daiki."  Yuki gasped.  "Oh my gosh, get the first aid box, Akiko." Her daughter quickly grabbed the box that was in the room.

"Are you insane, Daiki?" Narumi asked.   Her voice was shaky with fear, but her face still held a hard look. "Why on Earth would you destroy a mirror? Why on Earth would you make yourself bleed?"

Daiki said nothing. His eyes seemed blank with shock and hurt. 

"Mom, you should leave with Akiko. I will handle Daiki." Narumi said softly. Yuki wanted to disagree, but she decided not to. 

"If you insist, my dear," Yuki gave her daughter a soft smile before leaving the room with Akiko. As soon as they left, Narumi started working on the bleeding wound and cleaning the blood off the mirror that was lying in pieces on the floor. A few minutes later, she had put bandages on him, but he was still completely dejected.

"Daiki, please share your pain with me." Narumi said softly. "I'm here for you." Daiki still didn't say anything, so she continued with the conversation. "Mom and Akiko are really worried about you."

"I know."  Daiki croaked after several seconds. "They are always worried about me."

"I am also... worried too." Narumi admitted.  "About you."

Daiki looked at her. "Really?"  The disbelief on his face said more than any words.

"Of course I am!" Narumi protested.  "You can share your pain with me; I will listen." 

Then she softened. "I know our marriage is a contract one, but we can still be friends at least."

"Friends."   Daiki repeated, and he smiled a little bit. "I will tell you everything." He paused before he continued. "I was born in Okinawa; my father was a horrible man; he was a lazy drunkard plus a gambler. He wanted to have four or five children with a high number of male children, but that didn't happen because my mom had three girls and a boy." Daiki chuckled bitterly. "He used to beat my mom up whenever she made a mistake and yell at my sisters, but he pampered me because I was a boy. When my mom gave birth to me, she was warned by her doctor not to get pregnant again, but my dad ignored the warning, and eventually my mom died in labor; both mother and child didn't survive." 

"That's why you believe a woman should decide how many children she wants?" Narumi asked. 

"Yes.  I lost my mom when I was four, but my elder sisters ensured that I didn't suffer. Misaki was 13, Emiko was 11, and Mio was 9. We loved each other and tried to support ourselves. After a year, my dad brought a woman and a child home; the boy was six years old, a year older than me, which meant that he cheated on our mom before I was born. My sisters were angry, but there was nothing they could do; we had a stepmother who tortured us, and the only reason she couldn't do much to me was because I'm a boy." Daiki continued.  "When my elder sister Misaki was twenty and Emiko was nineteen, my dad pushed them into marriage because he wasn't able to pay back some people. Their husbands were horrible men; they tortured my sisters, mistreated them, and abused them; eventually my sisters passed away because the pain was too much."

Narumi was shocked and horrified; she never thought such things could happen, and hearing about them made her feel sick. 

Daiki wiped the tears that were running down his face. "My father didn't even feel sorry for what he did. When it was time for Mio to get married, she killed herself because she didn't want to marry a man who abused women. I was seventeen years old and completely miserable; my loved ones were gone for good, Narumi. When I turned nineteen, I left my father's house and village completely because I wanted nothing to do with them again." 

"Daiki …."  Narumi breathed.  She hugged him and held him close to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks; her body shivered and trembled while she clutched onto his shirt.

'How can a person have a painful past yet still be cheerful person?' Narumi thought as she still held on to Daiki tightly.