*Riiiiiiiiiing* School just let out in a small earth bending city. All of the kids that can bend are tearing down the walls, running through, and putting the wall back up behind them. All but one earth bender however. Kovu. He stands at 6'5", lean but built, with visible scars riddling his body. Although he has an intimidating stature, he gets pushed around by just about everyone in school, teachers included.
He waits inside the school another 30 minutes or so every day to try to avoid bumping into anyone, even though he knows that there's always someone there waiting. And today is no different. As soon as he steps outside, the ground beneath his feet shoot up, sending him into the air. Kovu hits the floor and rolls a few feet from the impact, stopping right at Gin's feet.
"What was that for...? I didn't do anything to you..."
"Just seeing you pisses me off Kovu. How many times I have to tell you, huh?"
Gin stomps on the ground and Kovu is quickly sent back onto his feet. Then steps and slides his foot forward, moving Kovu back a couple of feet. Kovu knows that there's nothing he can do but try not to get his face smashed in, so he, nervously, gets into fighting position.
"So, you're actually going to fight me? Thought you'd bitch out like you normally do."
"Not like I have a choice, you'll attack me from behind..."
"Maybe you're growing some balls, about time."
And right away, Gin begins his onslaught. Stomping his feet, kicking and punching the stones that came up. Sliding back and forth, sending slabs of earth toward Kovu.
Kovu however, isn't attacking at all. He's putting up walls just in time to stop the stones from hitting him. And with his focus on the stones, he's barely dodging the slabs of earth coming at him. Each slab grazes his body, most of them cutting into his flesh.
"Is that all you got Kovu? Try hitting me with something!"
"I don't want to fight! Leave me alone!"
Gin focuses for a second and manipulates the stones floating around him into a boulder and sends it toward Kovu. Kovu quickly steps back and raises a wall in front of him. The boulder crashes into the wall, crumbling the wall and obliterating the boulder. Kovu thought he was in the clear until a smaller rock flies through the dust and slams into his stomach.
The sudden impact knocks the wind out of him and sends him flying back. Gin laughs while Kovu struggles to breathe. Gin starts to walk toward him, and by the time he reaches Kovu, Kovu is on his hands and knees coughing up some blood.
"Oh Kovu, you seem to like groveling at my feet. I would've thought that you rather have others groveling at yours, but you always seem to be like that by time we finish playing. How about I help you stay down?"
Gin squats down and places his hands on the ground. He presses down and turns them. The ground at Kovu's hands and knees sink in and then covers them, trapping him. Then he gets up and starts to walk away but doesn't get far before he kicks back a pebble to hit Kovu in the face.
Kovu just stays there for a while trying to catch his breath. Tears hit the ground. Not from pain, but from anger. And once he gets enough stamina, he gets himself out of the humiliating confinement and walks home.
Takes him about 20 minutes to get home but he's already an hour late and he knows that his father is waiting for him inside. Thinking about what's going to happen scares him more than anything. After a couple of minutes standing outside the door, he takes a deep breath and walks in.
"Why you late? Should've been here an hour ago! You got shit to do!"
"I'm sorry dad. I was..."
"I don't want to hear it. Do what you have to do and when you're done come back to me. I'll have more things for you to do."
"I have homework though..."
"Well if you got here on time, you'd have time for that wouldn't you! Get to work!"
"Whatever..."
Kovu cleans himself up and starts his chores. He cleans the living room, bathroom, dining room, and kitchen before he starts cooking dinner. All while his father, Donj, sits around drinking a beer. While the food is cooking, Kovu starts to set up the table. He grabs the plates and the silverware and sets up enough for three people. Donj sees this but says nothing, just looks away as he takes another drink from his bottle. Soon after the food is ready and Kovu puts the food in the middle of the table.
"The food is ready dad."
"Why'd you put the extra plate on the table?"
"Stop asking me that. You know that I always set up that extra plate."
"She's not coming back Kovu!"
"You don't know that..."
"Yes, I do, I know tha-"
"The only thing you know is that she left because you're an abusive drunk! Now shut up and eat your dinner."
This is how it was almost every night, well on the nights that Donj was there for dinner anyways. And after every argument, Donj would sit silent, defeated, and lost in his own mind. Kovu would sit there smug, knowing that he had won that fight, yet sad because he knew that his mother wasn't coming back. Why would she after 5 years.
Back then everything seemed normal until Donj began drinking. Then he started to come home drunk and mad for no good reason. Then he'd beat on both Felice and Kovu. It was like that for about 2 years. But one night, Donj came home more drunk than ever. Furious because of some stupid bet he lost at work. He stumbled in the house and beat them both relentlessly before passing out in the bathroom. It took Felice about 3 days to recover and Kovu a little more than 1 day. And that's when Kovu started taking over some of the chores in order to help her out since she was weak.
After Felice had enough strength to take over, she had Kovu spend the day at a friend's house, telling him that he should just have fun after helping out so much. While at his friend's house, he was questioned by them about his cuts and bruises. He told them the same old lie that he always gives them, that things got a little out of hand during one of his bending training sessions. And they believed it since he was quite skilled for his age. He got his training from using his bending to fight off his father as much as he could when his father was drunk.
Little did he know that the real reason that Felice sent him off was so that she could leave, for good. She cleaned the house, did the laundry, and even prepared their dinner before leaving. She left all of her personal belongings and a note on each of the beds.
Donj went to pick up Kovu after work before going home. When they arrived, they went around the house looking for her only to find the notes on their beds. Kovu's note read, "Have hope. Be strong. Remember that none of this was your fault. I love you." As naive as he was, he didn't understand the meaning of the note. He put it down and washed up for dinner.
Taped to an empty bottle of liquor, Donj's read, "This is the bottle you came home with that night and don't pretend like you don't know which night I'm talking about. This became your blind happiness. Now it's your undoing." He gripped the bottle and threw it against the wall, shattering it into pieces. Then he stormed out of the room only to see Kovu running towards him.
"Dad, what's wrong? Where's Mom?
"She's not here."
"Where is she? What happened in the room?"
"Don't go in there, I accidentally broke a bottle and there's glass everywhere. Go eat and then go to bed. I'll be back..."
"Eat alone?"
"I'm going out to look for Felice, I trust you to be good and do as I say, okay?"
"Okay..."
Kovu did as Donj said. As he walked out the door, Kovu went to the dining room and ate, then went to bed. A few hours later, Donj came home. With the door slammed and Donj tripping over his own feet, Kovu woke up and went downstairs to see what the noise was about and to see if his mother was there.
"Dad, where's Mom?"
"Can't you tell idiot? She left and isn't coming back! It's all your fault too!"
"No, it's not. I didn't do anything. She said so herself that it wasn't my fault!"
"She said it wasn't your fault?"
"She left a note on my bed saying so... but I wasn't sure what she was talking about..."
"Idiot. Why didn't you do the dishes, huh!?"
"Mom does them so I thou-"
"Well she's not here is she!? Go do them then clean the glass from the floor on my room."
"But..."
"Now Kovu!"
Just then, Donj attacked Kovu. He threw a rock straight for him. Kovu put up a small wall just in time to block it. Then he turned around and walked into the kitchen as Donj collapsed on the floor. Crying, Kovu began to hum a song that Felice used to sing when she was cleaning in the house. He finished the dishes and went up to his parents' room to clean up the glass. Against the wall where the glass lay scattered, he found a handful of glass being held together by the bottle's label, which said Death Butterfly. And attached to the label was the note written by Felice.
"This is the bottle from that night?" He thought to himself and quickly realized what she was talking about. This is from that last night that he came home in a rage and attacked them both.
"It's his fault Mom left... his not mines!"
Kovu ran into the living room where Donj lay motionless and stomped on the floor, raising the floor violently under Donj to get him up onto his feet. Donj woke up surprised and confused.
"It's your fault Mom left! I saw the letter! Your fault and you tried to blame me!"
"What did you say to me?!"
That's when they began to fight. Kovu held up against his father for a moment before Donj's drunken rage made him overpower Kovu entirely. The more Kovu resisted, the angrier Donj became and the more punishment he dealt. Since that night, nothing was the same. Kovu has rarely used his bending and closed himself off to everyone. Donj drank more often. Usually causing him to remember the note and then drank more to try to forget it.
They finished eating dinner at about the same time. Donj stood up and told Kovu to clean up and that he was going out. Kovu didn't say anything. He stayed in his seat until his father left. Then he got up and began to hum as he cleaned. After dishes, he sat back down at the table to do his homework, trying to get it done before his father gets back from drinking. Unfortunately, a few hours pass and he's still at the table working on his homework. Donj walks into the house and is drunk as usual. He walls past the living room and into the dining room to find Kovu still at the table.
"Kovu!" Donj yells jokingly.
"Dad..."
"What are you doing up?"
"Homework. Not done yet."
"Just go to bed okay?" He says still laughing.
"Not done yet. Give me like 10 minutes." Kovu says without looking up at him.
"Listen to me!" Donj's mood suddenly changes. "Go to bed!" And he slams a bottle onto the table in front of Kovu.
"Why are you drinking that?" Kovu asks, recognizing the name on the bottle.
"What?"
"Death Butterfly. I can't forget such a stupid name. Why are you drinking that?"
"What do you care? And how do you know this name? I haven't drank this in years."
"You think I'm stupid? I know you haven't drank it in years. 5 years to be precise. That's the bottle that you threw against the wall. The one that had the note from Mom."
"What? Did I hear you right just now? Listen to me ok-"
"Listen, what? I'm tired of this bullshit. I've had to put up with it for almost 7 years. 7 YEARS! You've been beating the shit out of me for 7 years and you drove Mom away 5 years ago!"
The house begins to shake. Plates start falling off the shelves, breaking on the floor. Pots hit the floor with a loud crash as they are shaken off the stove. Cracks slowly appear all around the floor. But it seems like all of this is happening locally. It might even be confined into the house itself. There's no commotion outside.
"What the hell?"
"Forget the first 2 years Dad. But do you have any idea of what I've been going through since Mom left? Huh?! Do you have even the slightest clue of what's happening to me here or outside?!"
"What are you talking about?"
The cracks on the floor are getting deeper. Pieces of rock are rising from the floor. Most of them are a few feet above ground now. The closer to Kovu, the higher in the air they are.
"Of course you don't know. Ever since you started drinking, you stopped giving a shit about us. You're always drunk. And when you're not drunk, you're mad for no reason."
"Kovu…" He starts to back away. "I'm sorry…"
"Sorry? You have to be kidding me. Sorry!? Now you're sorry, huh? You've never felt sorry about anything that you did to me, that you did to Mom. Never! Are you scared? Is that it?"
"No… that's not it… I am sorry. For everything, Kovu. What's wrong? Tell me so I can help"
Kovu gets up from the table and faces Donj and smiles. He begins to laugh maniacally while taking a few steps toward Donj. At this point, there are rocks spiraling around him. Some of them are being whipped away, breaking into the walls, shattering a window, and some of them are hitting Donj. But Donj doesn't even notice it. He's too scared to move.
"HA! You really want to know? Okay… let's see… That night Mom was DRIVEN away you beat me so bad that I was scared to use my bending. Scared, dad… So scared that the only time I use it is if I absolutely have no choice. And because of that fear I get beat up in school on a regular basis. That's why I get home late all the time. The older kids think I'm a punching bag. The younger kids laugh and hit me too. The teachers… the teachers don't do anything; shit sometimes they make it worse. Then when I get home, I have to deal with your bullshit. Your drunkenness. Your abusiveness. And feeling completely alone. I think about killing myself on a regular basis. But the reason why I can't do it is because I think about Mom's note. It keeps me hopeful and strong enough to deal with it."
At this point, the house has stopped shaking. But with every step Kovu takes, the ground beneath his feet depresses. And the rocks that were swirling around him have started to meld together around his fists. Donj took a fighting stance already knowing what was coming. But he can't help but to step back from Kovu. They're heading away from the dining room and back into the living room.
"Kovu, I'm sorry. I should've asked you about school and I shouldn't be hitting you."
"Too late for that Dad. Way, way too late. And I don't feel scared to use my bending anymore. I'm not scared of you anymore."
Kovu starts laughing and begins his onslaught. He lunges towards Donj and punches him in the stomach and then in the face with his rock covered fists. Donj was too scared to move and took the full force of each hit. The stomach punch forced him onto his knees and the headshot laid him out on the floor.
"Kovu…" Donj mutters, spitting up some blood. "Please stop…"
"HA! Are you asking me to stop? What about all the times I asked you to stop? Did you?"
Kovu stomps his right foot on the floor and raises a column under Donj that throws him into the air. Lifting his foot off the floor, the column flattens back into the floor and Donj slams onto the floor. Kovu does this repeatedly with a smile on his face. Donj screams every time he hits the floor and then he starts to scream for help.
"Screaming for help Dad? You never cared when I screamed. You think that's going to stop me?"
"Kovu, please. I was wrong, I know I was."
"Remember that one time you bound my mouth shut? You muzzled me! You bended some dirt over my mouth…" Kovu waves his hand starting to do the same, "then around the back of my head and under my chin…" Kovu finishes binding Donj and he tries to scream but nothing comes out but a low groan. "But you know what? I want to hear you scream for your life."
Kovu drops the muzzle off Donj and then bends down to pick him up. Kovu let's go and Donj falls back onto his knees, crying. Kovu takes a few steps back and starts to look around the living room.
"I need to make some room. I feel too… cramped in here. Don't you?"
Sobbing, "What do you mean?"
"Just that I'm going to try my hardest to make you feel 7 years' worth of pain tonight, even if it kills you."
"Kill me? Kovu… you can't…"
"All I want is for you to feel what I feel. If you die in the process, well that's on you."
"Wha-"
Kovu turns around and opens up the wall dividing the living room from the dining room. Then he turns back around raises his arms, starting a wave that begins from each of the remaining walls. Each wave is bigger than the last and with every wave, the living room furniture moves closer towards him and Donj. Donj still kneeling has a look of amazement yet fear. The last of the waves puts the couches, table, and television, all broken, right in front of them. He turns and faces Donj. Stomps his foot and levitates a stone next to him. With a slight nod the stone flies toward Donj and hits him in the chest, sending him back a couple of feet. Kovu walks to the other side of the rubble of furniture and using a wall that he raised between him and the pile, he pushed everything out of the room through the hole in the wall. He raises his hand with an open palm at the hole and then clenches his fist, closing the hole. Now the entire room is empty, except for him and Donj.
"Wow it's been so long since I used my bending this much. Feels kinda good. It's like…. All this bent up frustration is going into everything I do."
"You won't really kill me, will you?"
"Like I said, I'm going to inflict as much pain as possible. If you die, it's because you're not strong enough. Now, get up and fight back Dad. GET UP AND FIGHT ME!"
Kovu looks around the room as his father struggles to stand. He concentrates on one wall and raises another wall made of earth in front of it. Then he does the same to the other four walls, sealing them inside, soundproofing the room from the outside world. Donj sees what's going on and finally stands up and readies himself, knowing that his son won't stop. Kovu on the other hand, doesn't move. He stands there facing his father motionless. Donj jumps and stomps on the ground, raising two stones from the floor, and then throws two punches sending them flying towards Kovu. Kovu takes a small step back and raises an arm, forming a wall in front of him blocking the stones. Donj summons a few more stones and focuses. He jabs one of them straight towards Kovu, forcing him to block it, and then spins kicks the other, trying to curve it around Kovu's defense. Kovu knows this trick all too well and ducks down, raising his hands to form a dome all around him instead of a single wall.
"You blocked it…"
Kovu drops the dome and stands up; "C'mon Dad, you've only hit me with that move like 100 times. You really think that I wouldn't figure out how to stop it?"
"You've never pulled that move off before."
"You're going to see a lot of new moves from me today."
Donj forms a wall in front of him and sends it toward Kovu. He counters with a wall of his own and they get into a pushing match, trying to see whose wall, or focus, breaks first. Donj is struggling to keep his wall from losing ground against Kovus's but Kovu doesn't seem to be trying hard at all. In fact, he drops one hand from in front of him and with the free hand, builds a support wall angled behind his original one to keep it from moving. Donj doesn't even notice what Kovu did.
"Hey Dad? How you holding up?" Kovu says laughing.
"Shut up Kovu, I won't let you beat me…"
"Ha! Too late!"
With the support up on his wall, Kovu let's go and rushes toward the slanted wall. By the time that he reaches the top of the wall, he has already molded himself some rock-solid gauntlets. Kovu leaps forward and punches Donj in the face in midair. Kovu lands and then hits him with an uppercut, knocking Donj off his feet. Kovu jumps straight up into the air and then lands. A platform from under Donj throws him in the air. Kovu throws a left jab and then a right cross, sending his gauntlets flying and hitting Donj while he's in the air.
"No resistance Dad?"
"Ju-…" Donj tried to speak but spits up blood.
"That's fine. I'm having fun anyways."
Kovu walks up to Donj and takes a knee next to him and grabs Donj's hair, holding up his head up off the floor. Kovu starts punching him in the face. He punches him over and over without any resistance. All Donj can do is groan from the pain. Kovu stops and let's go of his head, letting it bounce off the floor with a low thud. Kovu walks around to his father's feet and creates a stone bed under Donj. The bed starts to rise at Donj's head, standing him back up. But he doesn't have the energy to stand anymore. He starts to fall forward but Kovu puts his hand onto Donj's chest to keep him on the wall.
"Tired already? I thought you'd last longer."
Donj stares at Kovu without a word.
"It's okay Dad. Let's try to finish okay?"
With his free hand, Kovu grabs onto Donj's right wrist and extends it on the wall. Then he shackles him to the wall. Kovu switches hands in order to do the same to his father's left wrist. Kovu let's go and then takes a step back and looks at his father.
"Right now, you remind me of how I've been feeling for a long time. Being chained to a wall. Not knowing what to do or how to get out. Defenseless. Scared. Weak. How does it feel Dad?"
Donj spits out a wad of blood to clear his throat, "I promise I'll never touch you again, just let me go…"
"Always making promises you won't keep. You promised me and Mom that you'd stop drinking after the first time you hit us. Then you did it again. You promised us that you'd never hit us again. You broke that too a week or so later. I can't trust you."
Donj drops his head and sobs.
"Pick your head up Dad. I want to see the pain and fear in your eyes."
Donj doesn't move.
"I said pick your head up!"
Kovu walks up to him, grabs his hair and lifts his head up. He uses his free hand to bend a shackle around Donj's neck to keep his head up. Kovu steps back and kicks Donj in the stomach, sending the wall that Donj is chained to up against the room's wall.
Donj starts screaming for help.
"Oh, so now you're screaming for help? Now you realize that you're not going anywhere."
"HEEEEELLLLPPPPP!"
"Dad, Dad, Dad. No one is going to hear you."
"HEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
"Dad! The walls I put up to seal us in this room are at least 6 inches thick. No one is going to here you. I bet no one even knows about what is going on in here. You… are… screwed."
Donj stops screaming and looks around in disbelief. He had no idea what was going on. Then with some revived energy, or maybe fear induced adrenaline, Donj gets himself out of the shackles and attacks Kovu. Kovu dodges, quickly forms a rock glove around his right hand, and punches Donj square on his solar plexus. This knocks all the wind and energy out of him. Kovu smiles at his father's attempt to fight back. Donj is now hanging off Kovu's shoulder. Kovu picks him up with ease and walks him back to the wall and re-shackles him.
"Please… stop…"
Kovu ignores him and walks to the center of the room.
"Some… one… help me…" Donj slowly mutters.
Kovu seems to jog in place for a few seconds, readying himself. He stops, takes a deep breath in and out, raises his arms at his sides, and does a quick 360° turn. Doing this, he raises about 20 fist sized stones, floating in a circle around him. He places his hand on one of the stones and slowly pushes it away. Doing so spreads all the stones out farther from him without breaking the circle. Then he spins around with his arms spread out to get another circle of stones. He spreads that new set out to add it to the 1st line.
"What are you doing?" Donj mutters.
"You'll see soon enough Dad. Don't worry."
Kovu jabbed a few times sending two of the stones at Donj. Both stones hit Donj's right shoulder back to back. The first stone fractures his shoulder but the second one shatters it. Donj starts screaming in agony. Kovu smiles and sets up his next move. The stones move clockwise, taking the place of the stones that were thrown.
"That sounded a little worse than that time you broke my shoulder. I'm sorry." Kovu laughs. "Let's try to make you forget about that pain, shall we?"
Kovu punches the next stones. These two land on his left hand. His hand is crushed, and his pinky finger is hanging off by a shred of skin. Donj screams frantically, trying to release himself from the shackles with no luck.
"Looks like you forgot about that shoulder of yours. But I hope you're not ready to give up on me yet. I have a lot of ammo left."
The stones move into place and Kovu unleashes a flurry of punches and kicks. Stone after stone smashing against Donj. A cloud of dust and debris swallows Donj as the stones break against his body. The screams fade away as he begins to lose consciousness, both from pain and lack of oxygen. Kovu stops before using the last stone. The cloud became so thick that it's hard to aim accurately. So Kovu waits it out a few minutes to let it clear up.
"Dad. Oh Dad! Wakey wakey! I can hear your breath, so I know you're not dead. Wake up I want you to see what's coming next." Kovu taunts him while waiting for the rest of the smoke to clear.
"Kill… *cough* me…"
"You're asking to be killed more than I ever did. That's a bit ironic don't you think. But I have one more thing for you okay."
Kovu waits another minute and then the smoke is clear enough for him to see Donj's face clearly. He grabs one of the remaining stones that are still floating and merges them. And then rolls it into a ball. Kovu positions it a little off to his right mid-air. He takes a few steps back and to his left and then hops in place. He faces the sphere and begins to focus on it. Thinking over on how he wants to do this, everything starts to go in slow motion. He hops in place, landing with a light thud each time. He takes a step forward and swings his arms to his left. He jumps and spins in the air and at the end of the 360° he kicks the sphere with his right foot. The sphere curves a little bit to the right but then goes back in trained into Donj's face. Still feeling like the world is in slow motion. Kovu lands on his right foot and has to spin back around to face Donj due to his momentum. Kovu manages to catch a glimpse of his father's face right before the sphere hits him. He doesn't look scared at all. He's staring at Kovu instead, staring at him with apologetic eyes. Kovu doesn't care, he just smiles knowing that its finally over. The sphere smashes into Donj's face with a thud and loud crack. It cracked his skull open against the wall. His hands become limp. Blood trickles down the wall, out of his nose, and out of his mouth. His head is stuck in the wall.
"You won't hurt me ever again. And maybe Mom will come back now."
Kovu stands up straight and raises his arms, takes a breath, and drops the walls that he put up. And with the walls, Donj's body drops onto the floor, still and contorted. He looks at his father's lifeless body for a few minutes then shrugs his shoulders and walks to his room and lies down. What he just did doesn't even faze him All he can think of now is trying to remember if he finished his homework and that he has to get up for school in the morning. He looks over at the clock in his room, "11:13… still kind of early." Kovu rolls over in bed, shuts his eyes, and slowly doves off.
He wakes up a little after 5am. Gets up, showers, and brushes his teeth. While brushing his teeth he looks at himself in the mirror with his glazed over eyes. He doesn't see himself however, he sees the face of his father staring back at him. The same look Donj gave him right before he died, before he was killed. Kovu breaks the mirror and goes back to his room. After getting everything ready for school, Kovu walks back into the living room. He gets hit by the strong smell of his father's body.
"Good morning Dad. No lecture this morning? Guess not huh. You smell like shit though. No one noticed what happened last night, but I'm sure someone will notice your smell. I'll have to do something about this…"
He thinks about it for a second and does the easiest thing he could do. Kovu takes his father's clothes and bags them then buries him under the living room, deep under the house. "And now to clean up this mess we made last night." He opens the walls between the living room and the dining room again to get to the furniture that was thrown out. Bending the floor beneath the furniture, he pulls two of the four couches and places them against the far side. The Grand Piano and Grandfather Clock comes in and they are put back at the end of the room. The entertainment center, with T.V. and all, goes at the front side of the living room. Now comes in the cocktail table in the middle and finally the last two couches. Kovu puts up the wall again and pushes the couches back against it.
"Hmm… still kinda dusty. I'll finish cleaning up after school. What time is it?" He turns to look at the clock. "7:48. Finished faster than I thought I would. I'm still going to be a little late. Thanks a lot Dad; even now you're fucking me over."
He drops the bag in the trash and grabs his book bag and goes to school. He gets there 12 minutes late and is harassed as usual by the teachers.
"Kovu why are you late?"
"Does it matter? I'm always late. And it's only by a few minutes, calm down."
"Who do think you are telling me to calm down? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and talk to me however you want."
"I don't care, and it has nothing to do with money, as you can see I look like shit. I don't see any of that money."
"Because that's all you're worth! Sit your ass down."
It's always like that. All day. Every day. The rest of the school day goes exactly as it always does. He waits half an hour before leaving and Gin catches him outside again.
"What do you want Gin? Not in the mood to deal with your shit today."
"Whoa, look at that. Finally bought yourself some guts with all that cash you got?"
"Not… today."
"What are you going to do about it? C'mon, get on your hands and knees and beg me to let you go."
"Gin, I'm not going to tell you again. Fuck off or else I will rip you into shreds."
"Wow! You've never said anything like that before! Let's see what you got then."
Gin gets behind Kovu and pushes him forward, then stomps his foot, trying to send Kovu into the air. He's already used to this type of attack, so he waits for the pillar to come from under his feet and as it rises, he squats down and grabs the sides of it. Once the pillar stops rising, Kovu keeps his grip on it and takes piece that he was holding with him into the air. Gin looks on, completely baffled. Kovu starts to do a front flip as he rips the piece of the pillar that he took into two separate disks. Once he is upside-down, Kovu looks at Gin and throws both disks, one at a time.
"Shit…!" Is all Gin has time to say before he realizes that he has to protect himself. He jumps back and pulls a wall up from the ground to block Kovu's attack, but he didn't realize that it was a little too late. Gin smiles when he hears a loud crash and sees a cloud of smoke, but the smile disappears quickly after he sees something coming out from the smoke. The wall may have come up in time to block one of the disks, but it only clipped the very back of the first one. Now it's spinning wildly in his direction. It hits the ground in front of him and bounces back up, hitting him in the stomach before he has time to prepare for it.
Kovu lands on his feet the moment Gin was struck. He turns around to see Gin rolling on the floor in pain. He looks around and notices that, for the first time, the few students remaining are paying attention to the fight. They never pay any attention. Maybe it's because Gin is now at the receiving end of a hit and on the floor. He's not sure if it's a good thing or not though. In one way, it's good because they're seeing Gin getting what he deserves. It's bad at the same time because he can't finish him the way he wants to.
Kovu walks toward Gin, takes a knee, grabs him by the collar, and pulls him up enough to whisper in his ear.
"I told you that I was going to rip you to shreds, didn't I?
"…"
"The only reason why you're breathing is because there are too many people watching."
"I'm… not… done yet."
"Pull yourself together Gin, you only took one hit."
Kovu starts to get back up and throws him back on to the floor. He looks up to the sky and says, "I have to get home before Father notices that I'm late." Then he steps over Gin and starts walking home.
He gets to the door of his home and stands outside for a few minutes before going inside. "Sorry I'm late Dad", he says as he walks towards his room to get his things for a quick shower. After a quick shower, he starts his chores just like he always. Taking out the trash, cleans the house (giving extra attention to the living room), and prepares to cook dinner. He doesn't make as much as he usually does though. His Mother doesn't like Roasted Bison as much as his Father does, but this is the scheduled Friday dinner.
After he's done cooking, he fixes up the table with 3 plates and 3 sets of silverware. Gets a beer for his Father and some water for his Mother and himself. Places some mats at the middle of table and goes to the kitchen to get the food, putting them on top of the mats. Now he finally sits and gets to serve himself some food. Although he's not a big fan of Roasted Bison either, he eats a big portion of it leaving just enough for his parents.
"…"
"What was that Dad? Why was I late? I had to finish something up in school that's all…"
"…"
"Sorry, what? No, Mom everything is okay I promise."
"…"
"Can the two of you stop fighting?! You're always fighting! Just ea…"
Kovu was about to slam his knife and fork onto the table until he heard a knock on the door.
"Don't get up Mom, I'll get the door. Excuse me."
He slowly gets up and walks over to the door. He looks at the monitor next to the door but it's too dark to tell who it is. So, he opens the door anyways.
"Gin what are you doing here?"
"Quite a nice house you got. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"What do you want?"
"Can I come in? Or will your Dad flip out?"
"He's not here. He left. What is it that you want Gin?"
"To talk, that's it, I promise."
"Come inside, I'll take you into the living room.
Kovu walks him past the entrance room and the hallway, into the living room.
"Damn this house is big."
"Want a beer?"
"Beer? Um… sure."
Kovu leaves Gin in the living room and now walks into the kitchen. He grabs a new beer from the fridge and pops it open using another bottle.
"Calm down Dad, I'll get you some more tomorrow."
Then he walks back to the living room.
Laughs jokingly, "Got lost in your own big ass house?"
"Here's your beer. Now, what do you want to talk about?"
"I'm glad your Dad ain't home." Gin suddenly becomes serious. "Thought I would just let you get away with making me look bad at school?"
"Well I did leave you on the floor. And I'm hoping that's not why you came here. You're in my house now. All alone."
"Yeah, well, that was just a fluke. You caught me off guard. You never fought back before."
"You're full of shit Gin. I could've beaten you any time, but-"
Gin spits out his beer in laughter, "HAHAHAHA - Are you fucking kidding? There's no one here to impress Kovu. You're a good for nothing piece of shit. Your own dad doesn't give a shit about you. And your mom," Gin takes another drink and smirks as Kovu begins to stare him down, "she probably never loved you."
Kovu's eyes look down and his face becomes blank as those last words echo in his head. A few seconds later, as the echoing stops, Kovu locks eyes with Gin again. Gin, who thought that he'd broken Kovu, is now quickly becoming overwhelmed with an uneasiness that he's never felt before.
"Listen, I didn't mean that. Sorry Kovu. You know what? Let's forget any of this happened, okay?"
Kovu's eyes remained locked.
"Maybe I should just go before your dad gets home."
Gin puts his beer down and begins walking towards the door.
"Where are you going Gin? You should stay and meet my dad. You two have a lot in common now that I think about it."
"What do you mean? Maybe another day, okay?"
"No. You're going to meet him tonight."
Gin tries to dash for the door.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
Gin stops, not because he wants to, but because his feet have sunk into the ground.
"What the fuck? Let me go Kovu." Gin stutters.
"But you were trying to leave. I want you to stay and meet my dad. didn't you hear me?"
Gin focuses for a moment and with a quick hand motion frees himself from the floor. He looks back at Kovu, sees a smile on his face, and then tries for the door again.
Kovu's smile fades and he quickly turns the living room into the same chamber that he killed Donj in.
"The door… The door's gone!" Gin starts to scream as he pounds away at the wall where the door used to be. "What the fuck are you doing?!"
"You're going to meet my dad. I thought I told you that already." Kovu says with a confused look on his face. "Aren't you listening?"
"What does that even mean…." Gin's voice trails off as he turns around and sees Donj's corpse, still chained to a wall. "Is… is that…" Gin begins to break into a cold sweat.
Kovu walks over to Gin, with a smile on his face, places a hand on Gin's shoulder, and begins to walk him over to Donj.
"Dad, this is Gin, a friend from school. Gin, this is my dad, Donj. You two have quite a bit in common."
"What… what…?" Gin stutters in shock.
"What was that, dad? Why haven't I mentioned him before? I'm sure I have. We hang out afterschool sometimes. That's why I get home late." Kovu looks at Gin and whispers, "He can be very forgetful sometimes, he drinks too much."
Gin pushes Kovu off and steps back, "You're… you're crazy man! Did… did you do this to him?!" Gin starts to panic. "You killed your dad?! You stupid piece of shit! You killed him and hid him under the under the house?!"
"You see, I told you that you two had a lot in common. You both yell at me. You both call me… names!" His voice begins to rise. "YOU BOTH BELITTLE ME! YOU BOTH ABUSE ME! YEARS, UPON YEARS, UPON YEARS OF ABUSE!" His voice lowers back to normal, head cocks to the side, "And as of tonight… you'll both be dead…" Gin turns around and tried to break out of the house.
Kovu pushes the wall that Donj is chained to, to the far side of the room. Gin continues to try to bend his way out of the house, unsuccessfully since Kovu replenishes the wall with each attempt.
"So… how would you like to die tonight? Fighting me like a man? Or groveling like a bitch?"
"I'm not dying here! I'm not dying here!"
"I like your spirit. Y'know, my dad didn't think he was going to die either. But let's make a deal. If you can beat me, knock me unconscious, kill me, whatever, you can go free. If you win and I'm still alive, I won't even go looking for you."
"I'M NOT DYING HERE!" Gin raises a wall and pushes it toward Kovu. Kovu doesn't move a muscle. The walls suddenly split open, inches in front of Kovu, and Gin appears behind it with stone gauntlets. He throws a flurry of punches, all avoided except for the last one that connects to Kovu's stomach, forcing Kovu back a few steps.
Panting, "You're fast… but I got you…" Gin gloats as he watches Kovu hold his stomach.
"Wow," laughing, "you didn't even notice that I shielded myself from that last shot." Kovu straightens up and shows Gin a stone tile that he was holding in front of his stomach. "I let you hit me."
"How…? When…? When did you do that?!"
"When I ducked under a few of your punches. I was able to grab just enough up off the floor to make this before I let you hit me."
Frustrated, Gin begins another onslaught. Putting walls up. Throwing boulders from every angle. Trying to get Kovu off balance by moving he ground under him. But nothing. Nothing works.
Dropping to his knees, "Why… Why?! Why can't I hit you?!
"Because, Gin. This whole time, this whole fuckin' time!... I've been allowing you to hit me. Allowing dad to hit. Allowing everyone to step all over me. You don't understand. You'll never understand!" Kovu starts crying softly, "How WORTHLESS… I've felt. To have my mother just walk out on me… to allow a man like my father to regularly beat me, while she's out dong whatever it is that she's doing… She could've taken me with her…
"I get it. I get it man. Your dad is a prick. She shouldn't have left. But that doesn't have anything to do with me. Just… just let me go. I swear I won't tell. I swear it."
The tears stop as Kovu's eyes lock with Gin's. "Nothing to do with you? Nothing to do with you? How did you forget so fast?! We used to be friends, Gin. We were fuckin' friends!"
"That… was long ago…"
"Long ago? After mom left, I became a wreck! Depressed. Anxious. Then we had one fight. ONE! And you beat me that day. We've sparred before, but you've never won. But you won that time, and that was just the beginning. I could barely bend anymore, and you took full fuckin' advantage. Then it became a regular routine. Didn't it?"
"But…"
"DIDN'T IT?!"
"Please… Let me go…"
"Begging, just like dad. But you know that I can't just let you go. You've done too much. You know to much." Kovu puts up four walls.
"I swear! I'm sorry!"
"I can't risk it." The four walls surround and lock into each other around Gin. Kovu raises his hands, palms up, blank stare on his face, and slowly clenches his fists, closing the top of Gin's new prison. "Things could've been a whole lot different."
Gin's screams can barely be heard. Kovu then opens his arms wide and slowly brings his hands together, forcing the cube to become smaller, and smaller.
Kovu falls to his knees. Looks around. Sees Donj on one side of the room, sees Gin's cube, and he slumps over and holds his head in his hands.