Chapter 7: Kioshi's Saga

Dad was sitting on the couch watching some baseball game. I was in my room sulking. Today would have been Mom's birthday. Dad didn't care though. All he cared about was himself. He never once considered how I would feel.

I got up from my bed and walked into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator, and, to my unsurprise, it was empty. Dad never bothered buying groceries. He always drank his money away.

"Is there nothing to eat in here?" I growled.

"Hey, shut the hell up!" dad yelled.

"Well, if you would actually buy food, maybe I wouldn't have to complain."

He glared at me, and I knew I was going to get it. Dad stomped into the kitchen, and before I could make a run for it, he grabbed the front of my shirt.

"Look at you. Pathetic." he slurred. I didn't say anything, which pissed him off even more. "Answer me when I'm talking to you."

I shoved him away. "Fuck off."

Dad slapped me across the face, and I crashed into the counter. I stumbled up and held onto my cheek. He kicked me in the gut, and I was knocked down. Before hitting the ground, my head hit the edge of the dining table. I landed with a thud and everything started to go black.

I woke up a few hours later with a throbbing headache and a flashlight shining in my face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" someone asked. I groaned, not giving a proper answer.

"Kid, stay with us. What's your name?"

"Kioshi," I mumbled. "What's your last name, Kioshi?"

"Yamamoto."

"Alright, Kioshi. What happened to you?"

"I don't remember..." I lied.

"It's not good for you to lie, son."

"Well, it's the truth." I insisted.

The doctor sighed and said, "Well, you're lucky to be here. A nice man brought you in saying he found in the middle of the street."

"A nice man, huh?" I laughed. "Who would've thought."

"Get some rest. Someone will check up on you in a bit."

I covered my face with my arms and closed my eyes. When I heard the curtain close, I sat up and took the IV out of my arm.

I climbed out of the hospital bed and slipped my shoes back on. It was pretty easy to slip out unnoticed. They should probably work on that.

I walked down the streets with a hood covering my face. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a voice called.

Shit. Loan sharks.

"Looks like the kid's awake," another one snickered. I was surrounded by five men who looked twice as big as me. I clenched my fists.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked angrily. They all laughed and shoved my beaten up Father to the ground in front of me.

"1 million yen. You have two days." the first one sneered. "Or else." the other finished. They left snickering.

"I hate you." I whispered.

"No, you don't." the old man muttered.

"Actually, I do. I'm sick and tired of you." I growled.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd still be on the streets. You should be grateful."

"Grateful?! You've done nothing but abuse and mistreat me! Why would I be grateful?!" I yelled.

"Because, without me, you wouldn't be where you are today." he argued.

"Yes, and where I am today is a miserable, broken soul. Thanks a lot, dad."

I was about to leave, but dad grabbed my ankle. "Please, Kioshi. I know I haven't been the best father, but I really need the money. Please." I yanked my leg free. "Then you should've thought about that before wasting your money on booze. Figure it out yourself. I'm not going to help you."

I left him laying there, and made my way back to the apartment.

Once I got there, I took a shower, changed clothes, and cleaned myself up. The doorbell rang, and I went to open it. There was a letter attached to the door. It was from those damn loan sharks. It read, 'Remember, 1 million yen or else.' I crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the floor.

"Dammit!" I shouted. I started wrecking everything around me, no matter what it was. Until, I heard the sound of ceramic shattering. I look down on the floor to see my mother's ashes spread out on the floor.

"Mom...Mom I'm sorry. Please forgive me." I sobbed. "Please..." I cried. I cupped both of my hands and tried to gather her ashes back together. But they fell through my fingers.

"You little shit." I heard a voice behind me. It was my father. "What the hell did you do?! What did you do to Asami?!" I stood up, and, before I could say anything, he slapped me across the face. "How dare you ruin her ashes. How dare you disrespect her."

My father grabbed a nearby broom and came after me. "Don't!" I screamed, blocking the hits. "Stop it!"

"You think you can disrespect her and get away with it?!" he yelled.

"It was an accident, okay?!"

"Accident or not, you're a disgrace."

"Why are you doing this to me?! Why did mom have to die and leave us? Why are you drinking your life away?!"

"You're better off dead. If it wasn't for her, you would have been dead long ago. I'm the unluckiest man in the world to have a little bitch of a son like you." he spat. He threw the broom down and fell over my mother's ashes. "Asami...Asami..." he cried.

"I'm done." I said quietly. "Go drink yourself to death."

I packed a duffel bag and stuffed it full of clothes, my schoolbooks, and whatever else I thought was necessary. "I hope you die." I mumbled under my breath.

"Where the hell are you going you little fucker?!" my dad yelled. I moved past him, doing my best to ignore him.

  "Don't ignore me you ugly fuck! Come here!"

He grabbed my hair from the back of my head and slammed me against the wall. "Let go of me!" I growled.

"No. You're not going anywhere. Not without paying up." he demanded. "Where is it?" He started going through my bag, searching for money. "There's no way a waste of life like you has that much cash."

"Give it back!" I cried, trying to pull his arm away. He started dumping the entire contents of my bag on the floor. Clothes, schoolbooks, money, pictures, and anything else.

"What's this? Pictures of your mommy and sister?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Oh, what a cute picture. Is this when you were 8? And your mommy and daddy are still happily in love." he mocked.

"Don't touch that!" I screamed.

"Too bad." he said, ripping the photo. "You know, if she was here, she would hate you too. She tried to abort you; you know."

I clenched my fist and punched him in the nose. "You're lying." I accused.

"You're gonna pay for that." he threatened.

"Yeah, I am. And so are you." I swung my arm back, and punched him again. I could hear the crunching sound. I continued to beat him to a pulp. Until, I realized what I was doing.

"What's wrong? Can't finish the job?"

I got off of him. "Go to hell." I spit.

"You're a monster. Just like me kid. Just like me!" he yelled as I ran outside.

"You're a coward, Kioshi! You'll always be a goddamn coward!" I could still hear his shouts as I ran further and further.