Katawa Shoujo Forums

There is much more to love than just a temporary physical embrace and the satisfaction of animalistic urges. There is an emotional and spiritual aspect that, if pure enough, can be far more potent than said urges and physical gratification.


Act I (contained below)
Act II
Act III
Act IV Part I
Act IV Part II: TBA
Act V: TBA
=================================

ACT I

"Daddy, I drew you this picture. It's a Sakura."

"What have I told you about bothering me in my office?!"

"I'm sorry, Y-you looked sad, I wanted to make you happy."

"Well, you failed. Now get out of my office. I need to get some work done."

"...... When is mommy back from Scotia?"

"DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ME?! I SAID GET OUT!"

"You said she would be back soon! I miss mommy!"

I see my father quickly raise from his button leather office chair, Me marches towards me shouting,

"WILL YOU EVER STOP WHINING?!"

I see his left hand come flying towards me. He strikes my right cheek. I lose my balance and start falling. I hit the ground like a piece of deadwood.

My entire body tenses up like being struck by lightning. I rise rapidly from my position on my couch. I can feel the beads of sweating dripping down my face. I'm also out of breath. I state to myself in anger,

"Fucking Old bastard"

It is then that I hear a muffled sound. I look down and see Hideaki sleeping, resting his head on my thigh. He seems to become somewhat aware of my movements. I try to not wake him up and caress the back of his head.

"It's alright kiddo, don't worry, Go back to sleep."

He repositions himself, and within seconds is out like a light.

I like having him around, his lack of social skills is really cute, and his funky sense of style always seems to amaze me. Either way, it's still better than leaving him around that asshole of a father. Too fucking busy to take his sick son to the doctor.

I come to visit him one day, I find that Pompous ass Jigoro on the couch dictating to a woman who looks like she's never had fun in her life. He talking about how he's had to work hard for everything he had and how he was an inspiration to those around him growing up. Pure bullshit. I don't spot Hideaki, usually he's around the living room re-organizing things or helping his douche of a father. I ask Jigoro,

"Hey Jigs, Where's Hideaki?"

The smug bastard finishes his sentence and then looks at me with contempt

"The wimp is in bed. Whining about feeling sick. BAH! when I was a kid my dad made me lift weights when I was sick, and then my Grandfather made me go walk 2 Kilometers to buy him sake."

"Yeah sureeee~ ,Jigs. I'm going to check up on him"

I walk through the room and within seconds Jigoro is spewing words again. I walk up the stairs and find Hideaki's room. I peer inside and shout

"Heeeeeyyyyyy!~"

Hideaki is still lying in bed, bunched up in his covers like cocooned caterpillar. I walk over to him and shake him slightly.

"You okay Hideaki?"

He Turns his head towards mine and opens his eyes slowly, He barely speaks the words

"I-I think....... fe-fever."

I feel his forehead. Its abnormally hot, I run to the medicine cabinet in the guest room and grab a thermometer. I get Hideaki to open his mouth enough for me to get the thing in. Within 30 seconds the thing goes off.

"Fucking Hell, 44 Degrees. Hang on, I'm gonna get you some meds!"

I run back to the guest room and find a bottle of Acetaminophen. I grab a glass of warm water and run back to Hideaki. The kid still hasn't moved. I slowly climb onto the bed and prop him up against me. He begins shivering uncontrollably because of this, but I emphatically state

"You gotta take these, otherwise you'll end up the hospital!"

I slowly place the pills in his mouth and then give him water. He swallows, but it's hard for him to do so. I hold him in place and try to comfort him. Before I know it.... I'm crying. Not full out wailing, but tears are streaming down my cheeks. It was then that I realized how much the little guy meant to me. He would always cheer up whenever I took him out and would never complain or question anything I told him. He's such a good kid, why does he have to have such a shitty father? He shouldn't have to go through what I did. I try to stop myself, but the tears keep coming. I end up quietly sobbing on him. All the while he's just trying to keep consciousness.

About half an hour passes and his fever still isn't going down. I decide to take a drastic measure. I run to his bathroom and draw a lukewarm bath. Just warm enough to keep him from convulsing from the temperature change, but cold enough that it would aid his temperature in lowering. I also grab him another Acetaminophen and make sure he drank a good amount of the glass of water as well.

It's then that I start to unravel the cocoon he made for himself. Every layer I remove causes him to shiver more. I had to be quick. I take off his sweat soaked pajamas and i scoop him up into my arms. As I'm walking I whisper to him,

"Look this is going to be really uncomfortable okay? but its something we have to do. We have to get your temperature down. I'm going to be right beside you the entire time okay?"

I begin to lower him into the tub, he begins to shiver as soon as his legs hit the water. Once I have him in he begins shaking. I grab his hand and begin caressing it. If this failed I would have to take him to the hospital, and that's something his dad would just give him shit for. I sat there for Half an hour caressing his hand. Finally he began to stop shivering and he was able to take deeper breaths. I keep him there for another 15 min just to be sure and then I grab a towel and lift him out. Although being much more aware, I tell him not so speak, just to try to rest. I put a nice new pair of Pjs on him and then Put him back in bed. I didn't want to leave him alone, his fever could come back and i doubt anyone else would come to check up on him. I walk into Jigoro's room, borrow one of his Pj suits, and hop in bed with him. Now that his tempreature was returning to normal I hugged him and slept by his side. Got in a good 3 hour nap until he started to wake up. He was Shy and nervous when he woke up with my arms around him. He was able to turn around slowly and face me. He looked into my eyes and then his started filling with tears. Instinctively I ask him,

“Why the need for tears?”

He blinks and the tears fall from his eyes and on to the pillows.

“I’m weak, I wasn’t able to take care of myself, someone else had to do it. Dad was right, I’m just a little wimp. I’m sorry Akira.”

His lip begins to quiver and more tears begin streaming down his face. I wipe away some tears, but more just keep coming.

“Why does he hate me? I try my best to make him happy, yet all he does is make fun of me. Yesterday he started questioning my ability to be a man. He said that because I don’t hang out with girls, I’m going to be a queer. I feel even worse because I haven’t even kissed a girl yet, while all my friends have. I think he’s right.”

I caress his cheek with my hand. I look him straight in the eyes and state,

“Your father acts like this because he is hiding his own weakness, He’s just like my douche of a father in the sense that he tries to make himself feel better by putting down all those around him. Your Dad is actually better than mine. You’re not going to turn out queer, trust me.”

“But I haven’t even kissed a gir-”

It is then that I place my hand on his chin and tilt his head upwards a bit. I bring my face closer and give him a full hearted kiss on the lips in mid sentence. I even add a little bit of tongue in the end for emphasis. I pull back and he looks into my eyes with shock and awe.

“B-but…t-t-that’s not ho-“

Tears well up in eyes again and he comes forward, buries his face in between my breasts, and begins sobbing. I caress the back of his head

“ssshhh, It’s alright… now you can stand up to your Dad and proudly say you HAVE kissed a girl.”

I try to calm him down. It looks like I overwhelmed the poor guy. I hear his muffled voice from in between my breasts

“I-i-im s-sorry Akira…”

“No need to be sorry, yeh? Just try to calm down okay?”

I keep caressing his head and we stay in this position until he is able to breathe without the hiccups that come with intense crying. Our hug ends and he brings his face up to mine. Bringing his face closer, he pecked me on the cheek. That was the first time that HE kissed me. Right after he did it, he calmly stated,

"Thank you, Akira"

He melted my heart, right then and there.

I look back down at him in current sleep bound state. It's angelic. However, With that nightmare of my monster of a father still bothering me I decide to get a drink. taking Insomnia pills at this time of the night would be unwise. I slowly get out from underneath Hideaki and put the covers over him. I walk towards my kitchen counter, I always keep a bottle of Crown Royal Black there. I walk up to the Island counter and feel around for the bottle. I grab it, open it, and take 10 second swig. As I finish, I let the taste sit on my toungue

"Jesus Christ that's good."

I put the bottle back, and then start walking to the couch. As I walk by the main counter where I keep my keys and telephone, I kick something. I track it down from the sound it makes and then pick it up. I turn on the light and look at it. It's my bottle of Anti-depressants. As I look at the bottle that says "60mgs daily at bedtime" it hits me.

"I took my medicine before I went to bed. I drank with them in my system.... Looks like I'm going to Hell."

I put the bottle back on the counter and go to my bedroom, I slowly shut the door and lie down again the wall, I put my back up and try to breathe. I breath in and out for 20 Min. It's too late to vomit up the alcohol, I have to deal with it. About another 20 minutes pass by when I begin to hear the voices.

"You're fucking worthless, what the fuck do you think you're going to accomplish my staying alive? Just end it now..."

I try to keep calm and keep my focus on some of my favorite songs.

"You know why dad hit you? It's because you fucking deserve it! What will you ever do to raise the family name?!"

With that negative thought my father's voice resonates through my mind.

"quit your whining! You'll never amount to anything anyway! go get me a beer."

With that i scream to myself in my mind,

"get out of my head you old FUCK!"

It's then that I notice that I screamed the word "fuck" out loud. I pray that Hideaki didn't hear that. I don't want him to see me like this. The nightmare effect turns me into an emotional wreck, I need to be strong for him. The voices keep coming and some are getting louder. I look up to see the door swing open and the outer room's lights on, Hideaki in the doorway wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Akira... what are you doing?.. are we going to move the bed? I hope so, the couch feels funny. "

In my dilapidated state I try to calmly re-assure him but my words are quick and jumbled together.

"Imfine....justgobacktothecouchokay? I'llonlybeaminute"

He comes over to me and gets on my level

"Akira, what wrong? are you hurt? do you need me to get something?"

"yeahgetmesomewaterplease. Imstartingtosweat."

He runs out of the room and into the kitchen to get me a glass. Even though the voices are ravaging my mind, I still manage to say to myself that he's a good kid. He's like my little angel, always trying to help me out or make things less bothersome for me in one way or another, I begin to get a little watery eyed thinking about him. He returns with the glass and I gulp it down in a matter of seconds.

"Thankskiddoineededthat"

"Are you sure there isn't something else i can do? why are you like this Akira?"

"IdidsomethingbadHideaki."

I try as hard as possible to speak clearly

"I d-drank with my Anti-depressants s-still in my system."

"What does that do to you? Is it dangerous?"

"It... Does bad things to my mind, It makes me hear things... things are not pleasant. I call it the 'nightmare effect'"

The tears are beginning to come, His presence alone is one of the thing that's causing them. Emotions are running rampant. Hideaki then puts his hand on my shoulder and says,

"Don't worry! I'll call an ambulance, we'll get you better!"

As he tries to get up and leave my side I leap up and grab him.

"NO! NO PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE, HIDEAKI!"

Its then that the waterworks start coming and begin heavily sobbing. Hideaki is completely taken aback.

"A-Akira... I've never seen you like this. This...This is my fault Isn't it?"

I Squeeze him and reply back in full force and emotion

"ITS NOT YOU'RE FAULT! ITS NOT! DON'T HURT YOURSELF BECAUSE OF ME!"

He then does something that I've never seen him do, He drops down and actually starts comforting me beginning with a strongest hug he's ever given me.

"Akira, It's okay... you need to calm down"

Calm down.... the same words I said to him all those months ago. He then begins rubbing my back.

"It's gonna be okay Akira."

I am able to keep my voice at a tolerable level but the hiccups from sobbing are still there.

"N-No, This is M-my fault. I-I-I- I shouldn't have put my problems upon your shoulders."

"I never knew you had problems Akira. You always look so happy."

"I always l-l-l-look happy because...."

I can't contain it any it longer and I begin full out sobbing again. I manage to shout my words while my face is buried in his right shoulder.

"I-I-I LOVE YOU! I-I LOVE YOU, HIDEAKI!....."

He goes completely silent, but I could not stop myself in that outburst, but gain control of my speech a bit.

"W-whenever I'm around you I'm the happiest I can be. You make me want to l-live to see the next day. Your style, attitude, and even your c-cute looks. It's why I come to see you so m-much."

I sob again on his shoulder, but then he responds.

"I love you too, Akira. You're my everything, You're the one who made me keep my style, and the way I act. I was planning on......because of my dad.... and the kids at school.... I-I was...."

He then lets loose as well, He falls on me and just sobs. We sat there for 15 minutes. The voices kept coming in my mind, but at least his embrace was something I could concentrate on. I was able to keep the voices away because of it. Once again he was the one to surprise me, He let go of me when he was sure my sobbing and hiccups had subsided and took off his hair ribbon.

"I want you to have this, Akira. With it I'll always be with you. I have more of these, but this one is special. It was the first one that I ever tied in my hair."

Another act of unbridled kindness. I was about to begin crying again, but I stopped myself. I took off a ring from my right hand and gave it to him.

"Hideaki, With this ring, you'll always have my love and my protection. It's too big for you right now, but I'm sure you can figure something out, you're cute like that.

He begins to blush before he enters my arms again, retreating to his safe place between by breasts. We ended up falling asleep like that, locked in each other's arms and on the floor.

I wake up the morning with a clear mind and sore eyes. I can feel something through his back. It's his heartbeat. I try to concentrate on mine as well, It seems like they are almost in sync. I slowly turn my head to look at his face. I lean forward and kiss his forehead. I then whisper as quietly as I can

"My problems still haunt me, I don't want them to do the same to you. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. Even if I'm dragged to Scotland, I'll find a way to keep you safe if I can't bring you with me."

I take a deep breath and concentrate on his heartbeat again. It's so soothing.

One thing: 44degrees of fever means Dead. Full stop.
Anything above 42 degeees will result in permanent brain damage.
I suggest changing that to a more realistic 40 or 40,5. Anything more is life threatening and should be treated by professionals.
Also I realize that you couldn't resist having Akira undressing him and putting him in a bathtub, but that's actually something you shouldn't do with a semiconscious person.

Yeah, 44 is kinda out of range. The worst I had was 40.5 and I nearly died from it.

That said, really nice story. You need a beta reader to smooth out the spelling and all, but the concept and thought are clear. Well done.

Oh god, I read this on Pastebin last night. Love the full story.

Guest wrote:Oh god, I read this on Pastebin last night. Love the full story.

Same. Checked to see if anyone had snagged my waifu yet. They had.

...

Good story, though, give or take apparent medical inaccuracies.

Total Destruction wrote:

Guest wrote:Oh god, I read this on Pastebin last night. Love the full story.

Same. Checked to see if anyone had snagged my waifu yet. They had.

...

Good story, though, give or take apparent medical inaccuracies.

funny thing is, I asked a family member who is a doctor about it. he misheard me when I asked about 44, he thought I said 40 and I thought he heard me correctly. When I told this morning that he was apparently wrong he replied,

"44 will kill you, stupid. listen better next time.

I really enjoyed this, Will there be more added or is that it?

Revvy wrote:I really enjoyed this, Will there be more added or is that it?

Act II
Act III

My alarm goes off and I slam my hand on it to silence it.

"Fucking great, its Monday."

I pull the covers off myself and turn to the side of my bed, planting my feet. I look at my clock, 6:30, I got two hours to get ready. I get up and start drudging to the washroom, I turn on the light and get in the shower.

"This is the same place where she saved my brain from frying itself."

I try not to think about and start a lukewarm shower. I lean on the wall of the showerhead and let the water stream down my back. I end up brushing my teeth in the shower to save time. I exit the shower and look at myself in the mirror. I've grown a bit, and have some facial hair starting to appear. From my necklace I look to my chest. I really need to get more muscle on me.

I walk out of the washroom and head into my closet. I begin to don my underwear, pants, undershirt, Shirt, tie and dress shoes. I really hate wearing a uniform but until I can get into a different school I have to put up with this. I kneel to tie my laces and that is when I see it. The shoebox in the corner. I try to keep my eyes off it and leave, but I cannot. How many times do I have to do this? I end up sitting down and opening it again. I take out some of the pictures of her and myself, and then I finally get to the envelope. I open it, remove the sheet of paper, and begin reading.

"My dearest Hideaki,
Forgive me. I have to leave. I do this for your Safety and well being. Please do not try to contact me, No emails, letters, or phone calls. Please Hideaki, you have to abide by this. I know this is all very confusing but I will explain it to you one day when we meet again. I will always love you Hideaki.
Goodbye.
-Akira."

I feel the rage and sadness welling up inside of me again. I throw the letter back in the box, get up, and kick it into another corner.

"Fucking BULLSHIT!"

I start breathing to calm myself down, The old man mustn't know my emotions. Once I'm in control again I walk downstairs. I check my phone, It's 7am. I walk past the dining room and as usual the old fart is there drinking again. A bottle of sake and the shot glass. I swear he's drinking more and more every day. I walk to the kitchen and grab a protein bar and then walk back. As I walk back past the dining room, I shout,

"heading to school!"

I can hear the old man groan in reply and I walk out the door. Since he hates driving me I've made the habit of taking an hour to get there myself. I just take one train and then walk the rest of the way. It's a good way to wake myself up in the morning as well. As I'm walking the words of the letter keep appearing in my mind, but I push them back. I reach the train station and wait on the platform until the train comes screeching in. Most people on the train look out the window towards the sunrise and take in the "most beautiful" part of the day. I just close my eyes and lean my head back. I don't even care about that stuff anymore. Before I know it the train screeches to a halt and I'm at my stop. I swiftly walk the rest of the way. I try to keep a steady pace so as to keep my blood flowing and I'm at the gates of my school. I look at my watch, It's 8:15. I hear some laughter and I look to the left, I can see parents dropping off their kids en mass. This is where Akira would always drop me off as well. Suddenly her voice rings throughout my head,

"keep out of trouble, yeh!"

I stop, and in a rage I force the voice from my consciousness. I try to concentrate on something else. Remembering her is not benefiting me, therefore it should be avoided as much as possible. I walk up to the front door of the school, and within minutes I'm inside and in the hallway which has my locker. There are already kids gathering their things for their first couple of classes. I keep my eyes looking forward and walk to my destination. I can hear people whispering and speaking about me as I walk by.

"That's the Hakamichi kid, He has enough money to buy the whole school!"

"That's Jigoro's son, I wish I had a dad like his, He's so cool."

"I hear his dad knows the Emperor on a first name basis."

Every comment brings me nothing but disgust. I hate being associated with the Zaibatsu and the old bastard. I wish people would just look at me for me, and not my worthless name and father. If only people knew what he was really like instead of only looking at him from media appearances. It's then that her voice enters once again,

"Your father acts like this because he is hiding his own weakness, He’s just like my douche of a father in the sense that he tries to make himself feel better by putting down all those around him."

I become enraged again, I clench my teeth and use my right hand to squeeze my temple so as to hide my expression. It's been 3 goddamn years, why can't I forget her? She forgot about me, she's probably having the time of her life right now, unburdened and self indulgent. I need to become stronger and block my memories and emotions.

I reach my locker and enter my combination. When it I open it I look to my schedule which I had taped to my door. My first class today is 16th century history. at least I can something to distract me, I always found history interesting. After that I have English. I've gotten pretty good at reading and writing, and my teacher says my speech is alright, but it could use some more practice. I grab my textbook and binder and start walking to class. On my way I see a poster advertising an exchange program. Looks like some students can temporarily study abroad. Too bad my old man would never allow it.

I get to my class and set my books down. I've always been able to absorb information about history without taking notes, so I've stopped bringing a binder to class. I just sit there for 10 minutes while the other kids talk and get prepared. Eventually our teacher comes in and sets his briefcase down on the front desk. He Immediately pulls down a map from above the chalkboard at the front of the room. It's a map of North America. He states,

"Today we will be talking about the New World."

It was just another lecture until he said,

"This was the place where people could form new, prosperous lives outside of tyranny and oppression."

As soon as he said that something clicked in my mind. That's exactly what I wanted. I could escape the Hakamichi name and HER memory at the same time. I began to think of where I could go. I blocked out my teacher's words so I could concentrate properly. I would never be able to make it in the US, I've seen the kind of kids they breed, obsessed with everything Japanese. I wouldn't be able to function around that. I need someplace small and quiet. I look up for a second at the map and coincidentally my teacher is pointing at a large area of land on the west coast.

"This is New Caledonia, now known as British Columbia. It's largest city, Vancouver, which was once a small trading post."

I take out my smartphone and discreetly start looking up information on Vancouver. Compared to those US, it's quite a nice little city. It's an Immigrant hub, so many people come there to form new lives. Suddenly something clicks in my head. I decide to check the exchange poster after class. I don't want to stay there temporarily, but if there is a corresponding school it'll give me a good place to start off. As soon as the bell rings to mark the end of first period I run into the hallway and find the poster. I look at the list of schools by country and I find Canada. I pray to god that there is one in Vancouver. Then I see it, "Vancouver, Canada- 1 or 2 year stay". My heart jumps to a hundred beats per minute. I've found a way out!

I half-ass my way through the rest of the school day and as soon as I get home I start sending emails. I send one to the Vancouver School Board and Immigration Canada. I explain my situation in wanting to study long term In Canada so as to have a "better grasp on the language for business purposes". It's complete bullshit but I hope it goes through. If it does I can easily get my hands on a ticket and temporary housing. But I will have to make the degenerate agree. I'll be livid if he doesn't.

A couple of days pass and then I receive a reply from Immigration Canada. They said they would need me to do an interview with the Ambassador at the nearest embassy. After that they would handle the rest. They said that he already knows of my plans and that I'm free to visit him anytime.

I end up skipping the next school day to head down to the embassy in Tokyo. Instead of being over formal, I decide to wear a Polo shirt, Sneakers, and nice pair of Jeans. The Interview was a joke. It was basically a checklist to see if I was still serious. And the Ambassador who was interviewing me was wearing shorts and a Canadian "Roots" jacket. I guess they're a lot more laid back then their American and British counterparts. Once it was done, the Ambassador put my details in the Immigration Canada Database. He said the school would be notified.

I arrived home around 7pm. I would have to confront him as soon as possible to make sure I can get this done. I walk to the dining room, and as usual he is there with a bottle of something. I don't care to identify it this time, I need to concentrate on my objective. I get closer and speak out to him. Speaking to him like this is going to be degrading, but it has to be done.

"Dad?"

"H-huh? What?!"

"I've been accepted to study abroad in Vancouver, Canada. They have everything set and all I need is your approval."

"HAH! like a little wimp like you could survive in Canada. Besides I want you here so I can keep an eye on you. You're my number 1 investment. I need to make sure you payoff."

"That's a fucking horrible thing to say..."

"Does it look like I care about what you think? Now get the fuck out my way. I need another drink."

He gets up from the table and walks along it, passing me, something inside of me snaps. I take three long strides to build up my speed and then heel kick as hard as I can into the back of his left knee. He screams in pain, but this is just the beginning. As he is falling back I grab him by the hair and pull him down, increasing the speed of his impact on the ground. The impact causes him to lose the grip on his Katana and it goes flying just out of his reach. Though being winded, he turns on to his stomach and attempts to get a hold of it. I cannot let that happen. I run and kick him in back of the head. Driving his face into the ground. I then quickly grab his Katana. I look at him as he is now on his side, cringing in pain and trying to stop the blood coming from his nose with one hand.

"What's wrong old man?! Can't fight fair? Why the fuck do you need a weapon?! Guess what you old fucking bastard, I'm going to Canada and you are going to pay for it."

He responds in a rage,

"FUCK YOU! OVER MY FUCKING BODY!"

It then I unsheath his Katana, and drive it into his free hand. He Screams in pain, but it's nothing but music to my ears.

"You are GOING to pay for my stay in CANADA! GOT IT! You call yourself a man of honour, well, you've just been bested, You can either accept defeat and give into the demands of the victor, like a MAN, or deny them like a little bitch!"

"RAAAAGGGHHHHH! OKAY, YOU WIN".

I remove the Katana from his hand and begin walking to my room. I gotta start packing. My flight will be in a week.

My suitcases were only filled with the essentials. I left my pictures her in my closet along with my more eccentric clothing. The only eccentric thing I'm keeping are my hair ribbons. The old man kept his word and did not retaliate for my actions. He even paid for a taxi to take me to the airport. When I got there I was half an hour early. It was just enough time to take one last look at my apparent "home" from the entrance of the airport.

"I'm leaving everything behind...especially her."

It is then that I take out my necklace. When I look at it, memories of her flood my mind. I become enraged. I state to myself,

"I should fucking throw you into traffic right now."

This new Hideaki..
I love it.

Keep up the good work sir.

One week? Pretty short notice for such a thing...
Never did it myself so I can't be certain, though.

Daaamn Hideaki, you scary!

The engine of my bike dies down and I shake my hair to get some of the water off. Most of the residue falls on the shoulders of my beige Superdry hunting jacket. All of a sudden my phone vibrates. I open it up and "7:55 PM> 'отац' " appears. Looks like dad sent me a message.

"I plugged you in for graveyard next Sunday. Get some rest and keep that wound bandaged. The union will take care of the rest. You did a brave thing taking that whip for the new kid. He's the grandson of the head Foreman at SurreyPort. He never forgets when people help him or his family."

Dad always remembers to save me a graveyard. It's amazing how he never forgets. I slowly get off my bike, so as to not strain the bandages on my upper-back, and push it into the holding area of my apartment. I'm glad I paid extra for this; it’s a lot easier than putting it in the underground. As I put it up on its stand, I reach into the side pocket and grab my sheathed machete. I clip it to my waist and walk to the elevator. It makes a clicking sound every time my left leg moves. I've become so accustomed to it that I can't walk without the sound. The police sometimes give me trouble because of it, but thanks to the route I take home I see the same officers everyday and they've grown to not mind. I enter the elevator and hit the button for floor 11. I take a deep breath and exhale.

"Jesus, what a day."

The elevator rings, the door opens, and I walk down a hallway to my door. As I'm about to use my key, I notice there is a new nick on my lock. It's similar to the one's I used to make on Niko's door when I wanted some of his weed and he wouldn't share.

"Someone's bumped my lock."

I keep a grip on my Machete, unlock the door, and enter. I shut the door quickly behind me, so as to keep it dark. I hold my breath and take a couple steps; suddenly I see a puff of an E-Cigarette in my living room. I quickly run up and Shout,

"Ја не знам ко сте, али ја ћу да те убијем јебени! (I don't know who you are, but I'm going to FUCKING kill you.)"

"What kind of bullshit is spewing from your mouth? Is that fucking Russian?"

"То је српску копиле!" (It's Serbian, you bastard!)

"Seems too slurred to be Russian, must be Slavic or something."

I decide to answer In English, since the crazy Serb angle isn't affecting him.

"Look, you better fucking show yourself before I come at you. I swear to God, this will not be pretty."

I see the light from the cigarette move; it goes over my coffee table and then disappears. It is then I hear the click of the side-table lamp. The room becomes illuminated and I see who's there. It's woman with blonde hair, wearing a cardigan sweater, with a pair of loose fitting ragged jeans.

"What’s wrong Kiddo? Don't recognize me?"

I'm completely taken aback, my guard has dropped and my machete hand is now dangling at my waist.

"A....Akira?"

"What’s wrong? Look like you've seen a ghost."

I regain composure and slowly sheath my machete, keeping my eyes on her.

"The hell do you want? Did the old bastard send you? I don't give a fuck what he does now, I'm not going back."

"I promised you I would come back. Here I am. As for your old man, we'll discuss that later."

"Well considering you broke the promise before that, I stopped considering it valid. You and your words mean nothing now."

I can see a look of shock rush over her. I think I may have hurt her. Good, now she knows how it felt all those years ago. I move my hand over my head and to the back of my neck, it’s still soaking wet. Akira brings herself to my attention again.

"Look, we really need to talk."

"Well, it can wait. I need to change my clothes, I'm soaking wet. So.... I guess you can just wait here as you were."

With that I begin walking to my room after I take off my steeltoes and place them by the door. When I enter my room I quickly lock the door. I then take off all my clothes and throw them in a corner. I take out a long-sleeve cotton shirt and some flannel pyjama pants from my dresser. I immediately put on the pants but take the shirt with me to my washroom. I turn on the tap and rapidly wash my face. I look at myself in the mirror.

"She's back... why is she here? I was doing fine, I had practically forgotten her and was able to live normally again."

I look myself over. There are so many scars on my arms and flanks from the years working manual labour. No one besides Dad and Niko should know of these. As I look between my pectorals I see the ring necklace and the circular burn it left from the time my jumpsuit caught on fire during welding. I can't let her see the necklace, if she knows I still have it she may try to pull something. I take it off and place in one of the sink drawers. I then turn on the tap and wash my face. I look up into the mirror with the water still dripping off my face.

"It's fucking disgusting how I look like him."

The one thing I couldn't change was my genetics. I look like my father and I hate myself for it. I wipe the water from my face, going over the thin scar on my left eyebrow, and then the chinstrap with the horizontal scar on my cheek. Then in my usual fashion let my hand flow over my short hair in the front to my small mullet in the back. I slowly put on the shirt and then walk out of the room. Akira smiles to me as I walk back and sit down on the loveseat in front of her. I try to show as little emotion as possible. There is an awkward silence, but she breaks it with small talk.

"So... Nice place you have here. How'd you get it?"

"Spilling blood, sweat, and tears for four years combined with a price crash."

"I... see."

"So what do you do for work now? You used to be all about your books and clothes."

"I stopped worrying heavily about vanity long ago. I try to get as much reading done as I can. I work Longshore, at a lumber mill, and up in the Kootnay mountains with dynamite."

"Sounds dangerous, Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

"It doesn't matter, If I can survive and make some money, I'm willing to take that risk. Dad gave me his blessing, that's all I need."

"Dad? I thought you hated him."

"That man is not my father. He is my real father."

I point to a picture on the left wall, its Dad, Me, and Niko celebrating at a bar once I had gotten into the Longshore Union.

"That man is Braninmir CvetoJevic'. The most hardworking man I have ever known. He adopted me and treated me like his own."

"He's the one that allowed you to stay once your Visa was up."

"He made me his own and gave me a new life; I even adopted his surname to show my loyalty and love."

"That's quite noble of you."

"It's just something that I deemed necessary, even after the adoption."

I'm growing tired of this small talk, I want to get on with this so that she can leave and I can get back on with my life.

"Enough of this chatter, what is it you came here to do."

Once again, Akira looks shocked.

"I-I want to tell you why I left you all those years ago."

The rage begins swelling inside of me, after all this time of having no response she decides now is the time to give me one?! I decide to give her a piece of my mind; I stand up as quick as I can.

"LOOK, I DON'T NE-"

It's then that I feel the extreme pain of my bandages peeling off the newly formed scabs on my back. I can feel the warm blood starting to seep from the wounds. I must not let her find out about them; otherwise she may want to stay to treat my wounds. I calm myself mid sentence and walk towards the nearest wall. If I can put some pressure against the wound, I can try to stop the bleeding without her even finding out.

"Look, I appreciate the fact that you think you owe me some kind of answer but let's face it, I’m no child. I know how the world works now, and I probably think of the reasons why you left. Money, lifestyle, and maybe even the dislike of responsibility."

As I'm saying this Akira seems out of it. She's not looking at me, but at the wall behind me. Have I finally broken her?

"H-Hideaki.... You're bleeding."

I quickly look down to the bottom of the wall where the moulding meets the hardwood. Sure enough there is a small but steady stream of blood forming a puddle. I push off the wall, and attempt to reach the washroom. Akira stops me midway.

"W-wait! What happened?! Please let me take a look."

"It's none of your concern. I just got a little hurt at work. I just have to change some bandages. I can bandage my back myself."

"Your back!? Look, let me help you change your bandages. No one can bandage their back properly without help; you'd just end up bleeding again. Please, Hideaki let me help you."

I hesitate for a minute, but then I see the logic in her answer. This would save me a trip to Dad's and save Niko some time by not helping me.

"Fine.... The first aid kit is under my bed."

Akira rushes off to my bedroom; I begin to chuckle a bit. She's appears as if she actually cares. What is she trying to get out of me? I sit sideways on my loveseat and wait for her return.

"Here we are. Take off your shirt."

I begin to slowly take off my shirt. The pain from the bandages being pulled off with it is immense. It's as if I'm a bloody sloth. It takes a bit but I eventually get it off. I look over my shoulder and say

"You ready? Swab it with some alcohol first, then use the gauze."

It takes a minute for Akira to actually reply. She begins slowly flowing her fingers over the scabbed wounds and other scars on my back.

"H-Hideaki..... w-what happened to you?"

"Welcome to the real world, it's no fucking fairytale. Let’s get started, the sooner this is done the sooner we can get back to the actual business."

I hear the click of the alcohol bottle and the 'glub glub' as she turns it over on some cotton balls.

"Hideaki, please lie down, that way the blood and alcohol has less of a chance of getting on the couch and even a better one at coagulating."

I oblige, and as she begins dabbing my wound with the cotton balls it feels as if I'm being stung by bees. It goes on for a bit, but once she reaches the lower portion of my back, she stops. I then do a kind of semi plank so she can wrap the gauze around me. I begin to feel more stings. Why is she applying more alcohol? I calmly state to her,

"You don't have to use that much, a little goes a long way."

"S-s-sorry"

She's stuttering. She must be nervous doing this for the first time. I stay in the position for a bit longer and then I feel her wrap the last wrung around my lower back and then tell me to sit back up. When I do, I turn to her. Her eyes are bloodshot. Those weren't dabs of alcohol. In confusion and awe I ask her,

"Why are you crying? It's just a wound."

"I-it must be so painful. I-I hope you can recover quickly."

I see through her fake concern. I stand up and look directly into her eyes.

"Don't give me that bullshit! Come clean! What the fuck did you come here for? Come to drag me back to my old man so I can "follow in his footsteps"?"

She begins to shake, and I can see the veins in her neck begin to appear.

"n-no.... I ca-"

"If not, then walk the fuck out that door. Leaving without giving a solid answer is what you're good at anyway."

I blink and suddenly feeling a searing pain on my left cheek. Before my vision had even rendered she had stood up and slapped me. I read my left arm for a hook, but stop myself midway when she beings to yell.

"I CAME BACK FOR YOU! I NEVER BROKE MY PROMISE! YOU ONLY THOUGHT I DID! I WAS PROTECTING YOU THE ENTIRE TIME! FROM.....THE........THE MAN YOU USED TO CALL FATHER!"

It's now me who is in shock. I manage to get out one word in this state.

"Explain"

In a now calmer voice, Akira begins her story.

"I never broke the promise I made to you. Yes I couldn't take you with me, but I did protect you. I went to your father to get his permission to take you along with me to Scotland, even if it was only for a couple months. He became enraged. He stated that he saw through my ruse. He thought it was a plan by my father to steal the rights to the Hakamichi Zaibatsu. It's then that he sealed your fate for the future years."

Akira begins to tear up again.

"H-he.... he said he was going to kill you if I tried to bring you with me or even try to communicate with you. I asked him why, he said you were expendable; he could just have another child with another woman. He said this was an oath he would keep until the day he died. I saw the look in his eyes.... he was dead serious. I didn't want to risk hurting you. I had no choice but to leave you."

I just stand there, dumbfounded. I don't know what to say. The thoughts and mental state that I have built up all these years are crumbling.

"The reason I'm back now is.... He's dead. He died a week ago from Alcohol poisoning. His funeral was two days ago. It was on the Japanese news."

My hearts starts rapidly beating. Every conclusion that I had thought through was a lie created by myself. I begin to lose it. A rage rushes over me. I run to nearest wall and begin delivering left hook after left hook into it. Grunting with each punch,

"IT WAS ME!"

"IT WAS MY OWN MIND!"

"I WISHED EVERY KIND OF CURSE UPON YOU!"

"I WAS THE ONE!"

The first few punches go through the drywall like rice-paper. But I didn't stop even when I hit a stud; I kept going until it was broken. I only stopped when I felt her arms around my waist and heard her cry.

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP! DONT HURT YOURSELF!"

I drop to my knees and begin to sob heavily.

"OH GOD. IM SORRY, I GAVE UP HOPE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE FOR GOOD. I CALLED YOU EVERY NAME IN THE BOOK. YOU DID IT FOR ME. PLEASE. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FORGIVE ME!"

Akira only replies,

"Just please stop hurting yourself!!!!!"

I black out for a moment. The next thing I know, I'm on the floor and my back is up against the wall. I look to my left hand, it’s been bandaged, and there is a rolled up sock in my palm, a makeshift splint. I hear a noise and look to my right, Akira comes walking out of my kitchen nook with a bowl and a washcloth. When she sees that I'm awake she puts down the bowl and washcloth and rushes towards me and wraps her arms around me.

"Thank god you woke up! I was going to call 911 soon if you didn't."

"Akira... I'm so-"

"Hush, they'll be time to talk later. Let’s try to get you back on your feet. First we're gonna cold towel your neck and wrists. When someone passes out their body temperature increases and that can cause discomfort when they wake up."

I keep my mouth shut from then on. I do exactly what she tells me. I lean forward so she can place washcloth, now soaked in cold water, on the back of my neck. She lets it rest there for a couple of minutes before re-soaking it and applying it to my wrists.

"Alright, you need some rest. Let's get you into bed. I folded out your couch I'll be there."

I try to get up, but I'm not quite able to balance properly. Akira acts as a stabilizer and helps me to my bed.

"No talking now, just try to get some sleep."

And with that she put me into bed and tucks me in. I'm exhausted. I worked 8 hours as a steel slingman, pulling the chains to and fro and then attaching then to 3 tonne beams. I also took that steel wire to the back while pushing the new kid out of the way. That one really needs more practice tightening turnbuckles. I need this rest. Within minutes I begin to feel my eyes droop, the last thing I see is Akira in my doorway telling me to call her if I need anything.

Instead of my sleep being comprised of darkness, I begin to see things. Suddenly I'm in downtown Vancouver. The crows are immense. I walk for a bit when in a window of a bar I see a tall blonde. It's Akira. She's talking to two men. One is old and the other is young. After getting closer I realise that it is Dad and Niko. The woman and two men who shared and still share a place in my heart. I call out to them. Before I know it I'm running, I don't know why, but I'm screaming their names.

"AKIRA! DAD! NIKO! HEY! OUT HERE!"

Just as I'm about to reach the entrance of the bar, the entire thing explodes. I'm thrown back. In a haze I to focus my vision, to the left I spot someone. It's Niko, and blood is seeping from his mouth. I scream at the top of my Lungs,

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I jolt upwards, I'm breathing heavily. For some reason there is a large amount of pressure on my neck. Suddenly I hear,

"Shhhh, it’s okay! You had a bad dream, I'm here. You’re going to be fine."

I try to say something to her, but I just end up sobbing heavily.

"It's okay Hids, just let it out. It's alright, I'm here."

I'm crying as hard as I can into her shoulder. It's as if my every repressed emotion expelled out of me at once. Once my breathing went back to a manageable rate I began talking to her. It seems she borrowed a Team Canada t-shirt and some flannel pyjama pants.

"I-I H-had a nightmare. Y-you, d-dad, N-Niko.... you a-all di-"

She stops me.

"It's alright we're all here and we're not going anywhere."

I take a couple deep breaths push off from her shoulder and look into her eyes.

"A-Akira. I'm sorry. All these years I made myself believe that you broke your promise, that you didn't love me. It grew into hatred. Forgive me, please!"

"I will never forgive you for you've done nothing wrong, and therefore don't need to be forgiven. You acted just as any normal person would."

"I still feel horrible."

"We'll don't"

Akira suddenly looks down to my chest and runs her fingers over my circular scar. I look down and then remember where it came from.

"Wait here!"

Before she can even object to me moving I'm up and hobbling over to my washroom. I open the sink drawer and grad the necklace. As I return to her I ask her to close her eyes and open her hand. I place it in her palm and ask her to open her eyes. When she sees it tears well up in her eyes.

"Even after all these years.... you still have it. Although, even if you didn't I wouldn't blame you."

"You did what you had to. I may not have understood it then, but I do now. I tried throwing it away the day I left Japan. I just couldn't. Even though my hate was consuming me, the little amount of love I still had kept me from doing it."

Akira then leans forward and kisses the scar on my chest. She then moves upward and kisses my forehead.

"You're still the same loving and pure hearted kid from all those years ago, even if you're 10 times as big and scarred."

I chuckle at that the latter statement. She's right. I've changed a lot, but there are still large parts of me that are the same.

"Hideaki, I also have something to show you."

Akira pulls back and reaches into her shirt and brings forth a crystal locket. With a push of a button at its base it swings open. Inside is a ragged red ribbon. I was going to start sobbing again, but Akira stops me.

"What's done is done, we’re together now and that's what counts."

I lunge forward and hug her as hard as I can, holding back tears all the while.

"Akira, please don't leave me again."

"I'm not going anywhere kiddo, we’re always going to be together now. How bout we get some sleep now?"

Akira slowly helps me back and we both climb into the sheets. We pass out in minutes.

When I wake up, Akira is wrapped around me. Her head on my breast, arm over my torso and feet entwined around my left leg. She's holding onto me so tightly that I can feel her heartbeat. I look to the right at my alarm clock, its 5:57. The sun should be coming up soon. I carefully exit Akira's embrace and head towards the living room. I head to the window and lean up against it. The city slowly awakening. Without warning I feel hands go around my waist and someone's head on my back.

"Morning."

"Good morning to you too."

"So, what do we do now, Akira?"

"Anything we want, we have all the time in the world."



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Image Credit to Thighs.

Looking good so far. I'm pretty impressed.

As much as I like the story, I can't help but be put off by your characterization of Jigoro. I mean, you're obviously exaggerating his hatred and violent nature for the fic, but I seriously hope you don't think that he would do any of this in-canon, right?