Beginnings and Ends (9)

The sun shines through the curtains in Kodak's room, hitting his face with its bright light. Kodak puts a pillow over his face to protect himself from the blinding light while groaning from the light hitting his face.

"5 more minutes," He muttered, tired from yesterday's events. 

Something nudges Kodak, trying to wake him up.

"Kodak-San, you need to wake up." The voice sounded familiar, and Kodak opened his eyes. Upon opening them he saw Kiko standing before him, catching him by surprise.

"Kiko-San?!" Kodak expressed loudly, confused about how Kiko was standing there.

"Shh, You'll wake the others," Kiko says, placing her finger on Kodak's upper lip.

"That still doesn't answer how I can see you in the real world right now," Kodak said, thoroughly annoyed by Kiko's shenanigans.

"You are needy for an answer Kodak-San. Fine, I'll tell you how I'm here. The reason you're able to see me right now is because of the deal we made yesterday. But your future revenant abilities also might correlate with Kuroi & I."

Kodak gets up from his bed and walks into the bathroom.

"(I wonder what abilities I'll unlock. Maybe it's an elemental power like in some mangas I've seen. Maybe I'll get an overpowered ability.)" 

Kodak's deep thoughts are then interrupted by Satsujin.

"Kodak-San, Are you doing better than yesterday?" He said he wanted to know if Kodak was okay.

"Yeah, I'm ok Jin-San. What about you and Aiya-San? Are you guys ok?" He asks, concerned for Satsujin and Aiya.

Satsujin's attitude changes completely from Kodak's questions.

"About that, Aiya is still in the hospital with an unknown sickness that the doctors don't know. And what's even weirder, is that it happened after that crazy driver tried killing us."

Kodak's eyes widen as he fears what spilled from Satsujin's lips, the fear of losing another beloved person.

"(Even Aiya-San, Just how many of my friends and family get killed until this bastard stops?!)"

Kodak's fist clenched tightly, the mere pressure from it dug deeper and deeper until blood bled onto the white-colored tile floor of the bathroom.

"(NO! I REFUSE TO LET HIM HURT ANOTHER INNOCENT LIFE AGAIN!)"

Kodak's eyes portrayed an undying fury deep within himself. Kodak walks away from Satsujin and his eyes linger forward with determination to end that murderer, But before he can take another step forward he feels Satsujin's hand placed on his shoulder.

"Kodak don't, I understand that you want to kill that bastard. Believe me, I would in a heartbeat, but we need to be patient," Satsujin's eyes reflected Kodak's, showing that he desired the same intentions as Kodak.

"Fine. But if I see the chance to kill him I won't hesitate." Kodak's eyes radiate an immense amount of killing intent, it shook Satsujin, But he knew simple words couldn't suppress Kodak's rage. He needed something more convincing.

"Would this fit your family's path and your ideals? Or is this what you want personally?" Satsujin's question shook Kodak.

He suddenly turned around and immediately pinned Satsujin. His grip strength was mighty and the position Satsujin was put in felt painful.

"Repeat what you said, you bastard." Kodak's grip tightened even further, his rage was beginning to show itself for what it truly was, Angry, ruthless, and unwavering.

"If you think this way of solving this is right, I won't stop you. But would your sister and mother approve of this? Would this match the convictions of the Kawanari family & what you've been training up to this point?"

Kodak's hold on Satsujin weakened, did he want to go on a path of vengeance?

Suddenly, Kodak was thrown off Satsujin, he slowly turned his head while caught in a painful grapple.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING KODAK!?"

It was Ashiro, His grip on Kodak only continued to tighten as his yelling echoed throughout the house, alerting everyone else to the commotion.

Atsuo walked out of his room, still tired. But before he could do anything Atsuo saw Kodak being restrained by Ashiro.

"What are you doing Ashiro?" 

Atsuo whimpered, scared of the next move to be made.

"Atsuo it's not what this looks like-"

Ashiro feels his hold on Kodak slipping.

"(He's escaping a joint lock with just his physical strength!?)"

Kodak finally escapes the hold Ashiro had him in, getting into a defensive stance, seemingly ready to fight.

"How about we calm down for a second Ashiro."

Kodak said, gesturing for his friend to calm down.

"Calm down?!"

"You had my father in a chokehold with your knee forced into his vitals, and you want me to calm down!?"

Ashiro rushes forward but before he can reach Kodak a hand stops him. He turns around and notices his father.

"Stop it, both of you. You two are brothers now so you should act like it."

Kodak and Ashiro cease their stances, putting down their fists and relaxing their muscles.

"I'll explain everything Ashiro, just follow me to the living room."

Kodak and Ashiro sit down in the living room. The air was tense, even the slightest thing such as breathing felt heavy. 

Kodak opens his mouth, breaking the silence that lingered in the room. "The reason Jin-San and I got into that little brawl, was cause he said my father would act differently."

"I get that, But that doesn't justify you lashing out at him."

Kodak tightly grips his hands resting on the couch he sat on, his hands begin to dig into it. 

He breaths deeply, releasing his grip on the leather.

"Ashiro, I have molded by strength through the hardships I've faced and forged my ideals that. So tell me this, how would you feel if someone questioned those and disregarded them so harshly, and then they told you the strength you pursued was going down a wrong path."

Kodak looked at Ashiro intensely, waiting eagerly for an answer. 

Ashiro thinks for a moment about Kodak's explanation.

"(So that's why he lashed at my Father. His family died and he wants to end that murderous bastard once and for all.)

"I get it Kodak, you felt threatened by my father questioning your way of dealing with this, But don't do this alone. Let us help you find that killer and stop that bastard once and for all!"

Kodak smiles toward Ashiro and stands up.

"Alright, but we do it when the time is right."

Kodak puts his hand out, gesturing for a deal to be made. Ashiro stares at it for a little bit but ultimately shakes Kodak's hand.

Ashiro then hears a small buzzing sound from his phone.

"Oh shit! We're gonna be late Kodak!"

Ashiro and Kodak immediately rush into their rooms, rushing to get ready for the day.

Satsujin looks from the kitchen, watching Kodak and Ashiro struggling with their poor time management.

"(I swear those two never learn.)" 

Satsujin watches as the two run out the door, their brief and fast-paced goodbyes were mildly amusing at the least.

He walks around the kitchen and pulls out a stack of flyers, saying:

The Decade anniversary is upon us!

Come celebrate the decade anniversary with the Tensai family.

Visit the diner for a new and improved look of its animatronics, complemented by a buffet, ball pit, and brand-new trampoline course!

Kodak and Ashiro run down the street, trying to hurry to their school. Their scurry was interrupted by Fumiko's friends running after them.

Ashiro and Kodak immediately stop as they see a car driving down the hill towards Fumiko at dangerous speeds.

Kodak runs towards them, fear plastered over his face.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" his voice shouted throughout the neighborhood. The girls looked behind themselves and swiftly moved out of the way.

Fumiko turns around and looks at the car, trying to determine the person inside the car. Kodak continues running up the hill, attempting to stop the reckless driver.

The driver continues getting closer to Fumiko. Kodak yells at her to run, but she refuses.

The car gets closer but Fumiko doesn't let up her stubbornness. The car etches closer & closer, the driver starts laughing like a maniac.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE YOU STUPID GIRL!" The man's crazed laughter echoed from the car and into the ears of Kodak and his friends.

The driver's eyes glow a deep crimson red as he gets ever so closer to Fumiko. 

"Nice try."

Fumiko jumps over the car and shatters the window, grabbing the driver out of the vehicle.

Kodak finally reaches the two of them and runs up to the driver, delivering a right hook straight to his jaw.

"YOUR GONNA FUCKING PAY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Kodak's yelling alerts the surrounding neighbors. Ashiro notices this and rushes over to him, pulling him off.

"Keep an eye on him Fumiko-San. I'll try to control Kodak."

Ashiro brings Kodak into an alleyway.

"Do you not realize what-" Before Ashiro could continue his scolding towards Kodak, he lightly pushed him away from him, Kodak's face was confused but angry.

"DAMMIT ALL!" Kodak yells while kicking a nearby trash can.

"W-what the?" Ashiro stood there, confused about why Kodak was randomly getting angry.

"IT'S THE WRONG GUY!"

Ashiro looks at Kodak in shock from the information he just told him.

"Impossible, He had the exact description from the news report."

"The guy from before had a pale face, with snake bite piercings around his lips. This guy is just some random, but he had the same attitude as my mother and sister's killer. Even his eyes felt the same, it was like nothing but pure murderous intent was stabbing into me."

Ashiro thinks for a moment but can't conclude it, but then an idea popped into his head.

"Kodak, you know something don't you?"

His face begins to sweat nervously and Kodak's skin starts to crawl.

"(Shit, I can't let him know about revenant. Not yet, I don't know what he'll do.)"

Kodak shakes his head, denying the possibility of knowing something that the others didn't.

Ashiro's jaw tensed up and he spoke only one word, but it struck Kodak deeply. 

"Bullshit."

Kodak looked at him, trying to act confused about the situation. But he knew all too well what spilled next from Ashiro's lips.

"Don't act dumb Kodak! Do you know something important or not!" Ashiro grabs Kodak by the collar and gets in his face.

Kodak looks down at Ashiro's arms and legs, they seem ready to make an aggressive move on him, but at the same time, they're holding back from doing anything rash.

"Don't Kodak, he is not ready to know the secrets of revenant and you're not even ready yourself," Kiko spoke through Kodak's mind, the words echoed throughout him.

"(I know that much Kiko-San.)"

Kodak focuses back to Ashiro and shakes his head again.

"I'm sorry Ashiro. We're not ready for what's to come so please be patient." Kodak's words bounced off Ashiro, his face was red with anger. He looked at Kodak even more aggressively but he could tell by Kodak's body gestures and facial expressions that he was telling the truth. 

He unhands Kodak's collar and walks back to the others.

"If you truly can't say a word, then I won't pursue answers from you anymore."

A wave of relief washes over Kodak.

"But, if you're lying about this and it causes our friends to suffer I'll never forgive you for this!" Ashiro's eyes then flash an abundance of different colors, his hand grabs Kodak by the collar again, but something is different. His hand begins to feel warmer and the ground starts changing.

Kodak instinctively jumps back and notices a burn mark from Ashiro's hand etched on his collar.

Kiko looks at the burn marks closely and her eyes widen at it.

"(Burn marks!? Looks similar to Godai, the elemental god of the Heian period. That boy might be the reincarnation of Godai's lost child Tomo. He'll be a great rival for a Kodak.)"

Kodak hears Kiko's observation, questioning her. "(Godai?! He exists Kiko-San?)"

"(Yes, he does, and not only was he powerful, but cursed with knowledge. They called him an elemental genius due to how diverse his revenant abilities are.)"

"(Noted Kiko.)"

Ashiro's eyes fade back to their normal color. He then looks over at Kodak and sees Kiko.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" He shouted while pointing at Kiko frantically.

"Aw crap." Kodak mutters under his breath.