Kyoto Prefecture

Maizuru, Japan

November 20, 1968

10:45am Chapter Two –Unwanted

Snow fell silently covering the city in a thick white blanket of purity that only winter could bring. While the air was cold and still the inside of homes were warm and alive with people talking and laughing. The upcoming Christmas season was a concept not entirely new to the Japanese but in the face of their old traditions it was a change. This Santa Claus fellow was an awfully strange man to be dressed all in red and white like that, and why was he so damn fat? At the very least the image of a man riding around pulled by caribou was actually pretty unreal. However everyone in Japan took this opportunity to do gift shopping or hang out with their sweethearts. A five year old would not be interested in these things more so they would rather play with toys. A six level apartment was home to many families in the downtown area of Maizuru near the bay. On the fifth floor down the very far left end one unit was home to a most unusual family and many neighbors always wondered about them. The father worked long hours or was away on business a lot and the mother did her best to keep her son attended to. However, on this day she was caught up cleaning and listening to a radio show barely paying attention to Tatsuo.

"Okaasan can I go outside and play?" The child asked standing near the kotetsu table in the middle of the room. His mother, Mayuko didn't even give a glance up as she waved her hand as if shooing him away from her. Tetsuo frowned and went to put his small snow boots on and winter coat looking over his shoulder. She was in the kitchen now looking like what seemed to be mopping so he opened the door and walked out into the cold. There was no wind but there was an awful lot of snow so he hurriedly went down the flights of stairs never taking the elevator. Last year a man got stuck in there for eight hours until he could be freed finally. Since then Tatsuo refused to set foot in one opting to take the long flight of stairs down instead. As his feet planted in the snow he soon realized he was up to his knees in the stuff but he smiled suddenly. It was always fun to go outside and run around when there weren't too many people around and all. He dashed off down the sidewalk towards a park near his neighborhood where the other kids were congregating at he knew. When he ran up he saw the kids running back and forth chasing each other playing tag he guessed.

"Nagakura-kun you came out today?" One girl inquired before getting pelted with a snowball. He nodded and walked over to climb up on the jungle gym getting to the top and sitting down. A few of the boys climbed up there too and sat at various places.

"Nakagura you weren't outside yesterday or the day before what happened?" One asked.

"Just things…" he answered poking at the iron bars, "Okaasan said I should stay in more and not risk getting sick." Though in truth he wasn't even sure if that was his mother's reason because she never even told him that at all. Still he had to listen to her regardless because she was his mother but today he felt like being a bit rebellious. One of the boys took out a snack he had been clutching and took a bite out of it chewing rather loudly.

"So, we're thinkin about going down to the boat docks are you game?" The kid asked with a small grin and Tatsuo returned it.

"Yea, Okaasan is so busy cleaning it isn't going to matter." He jumped down and followed the boys out of the park.

A band of four boys walking towards the docks didn't raise the alarm of many people since lots of kids were around the area. Tatsuo shuffled towards the edge where the boats were currently away from and looked over the bay. He often wondered how fun it would be to sail out like that and live life just like in those stories he read. As of right now though he was a five year old who wasn't going to be sailing out on any ships anytime soon though.

"Nagakura, come here look at this!" One of the kids was hunched over a crate that had been left partially open. The other boys crowded around a few stepped back looking scared so curiously Tetsuo walked over and looked right in. His eyes widened and he jumped back as if he were suddenly burned by something.

"That-that's a…" He managed to get out looking freaked.

"A person…? Or what was part of a person….woah…" One child was completely caught off guard and closed the lid a little bit looking at the other boys. None of them knew what to do and they mostly looked at one another with wide eyed expressions.

"We need to call the police!" One said.

"Or get rid of the person since they're half rotting." Another chimed in.

"….I'm going to go home." Tatsuo said backing up and turning to quickly get away before he got ill from the smell. As he got away from the docks and down the street he shivered and shook off the fact he just saw a rotting corpse. As afraid as he was he wondered what could have made the person die and why would someone kill the person? It was on the news a lot about how people murder people or something for whatever reason. He wasn't sure if he quite understood what this murder was but whatever it was it seemed dangerous.

The sun was setting but he barely noticed because of the cloud cover and kept his faithful trek around the city. Tatsuo stopped in front of a street vendor and could smell the Udon noodles being cooked up and it made him hungry. Now was a good time to start heading home and to see if his mother even noticed he was missing. As he approached his street he saw a familiar figure stomping towards him, very familiar, and she looked positively enraged.

"Nagakura Tatsuo you do not run off like that, at all! You are an obstinate little brat aren't you?" Mayuko quickly grabbed his wrist and walked swiftly back to the complex standing firmly infront of the elevator doors. Tatsuo squirmed and whined some trying to get away from his mother and the elevator more importantly.

"Okaasan I don't want to go on the elevator! What if it gets stuck?" He tugged again looking for anyway to weasel out of it. His mother looked down and held her grip tighter making her nails dig into his wrist a little bit.

"Don't whine it's unbecoming." She sneered. Tatsuo made a face a kin to a glare and tugged and tugged causing his mother a bit of trouble in holding on.

"I don't like it! Someone got stuck and I don't want to be in it!" He practically announced as he finally ripped away from her falling back on his rear.

"You're afraid? What is this my son is a coward? Toughen up your father would be ashamed!" She reached down to grab his arm but as a split second reaction he slapped her hand away. Shocked his mother stood there long after the elevator made its bell noise to indicate the doors had opened. Tatsuo went to stand up but his mother grabbed him and shoved him in the elevator just as the doors started to close. Freaked he stood there inside the box looking around frantically and felt it was not moving yet which encouraged his fear. The boy wanted to scream and cry but knew that would encourage his mother's temperament more so he did not. Going up to the panel with the different buttons he shakily brought a finger up to the one reading five and pushed it. Somewhat jerkily the elevator moved up until that bell sound was emitted and the doors opened allowing him to walk out. There his mother was waiting with an expression he couldn't quite read at all.

"See was that so hard? You were making a fuss over something so trivial." She opened the door of their apartment and went inside, Tatsuo followed with his head down frowning the whole time. Why did his mother get like this when his father was gone? Taking his shoes and jacket off Tatsuo sullenly wandered to sit by the window feeling all that childish anger build up. His mother was so terrible and completely vindictive even though she tried to put on an act around other people. It was unfair and even at a young age as he was he was aware of it. So unfair in fact he couldn't scarcely believe no one else noticed but he knew his father had to of; hence why he was hardly there. As his mother busied herself in the kitchen Tatsuo felt his frustration peak.

"Why are you always so mean Okaasan? You always yell at me or pull me and I don't like it at all!" As any five year old would do he argued his point by the excessive shouting. Mayuko looked at him with an apathetic expression that he knew all too well.

"It's because you are never a good child and you always cause problems for me. Do you know why your father isn't around much? It's because I have you and we didn't want you but my family would have found it shameful to give you away." She spoke and articulated so coldly and matter of fact about the subject it made him feel numb just hearing it. There was no way he would cry though because then he knew he would get no sympathy from her at all.

"Otoosan leaves a lot because he doesn't like you Okaasan! You're mean to everyone and you are stupid!" The best argument a child could throw up with the lack of proper vocabulary or skill to make a more prominent point.

"Shut up you little brat!" She stormed over and slapped him hard across the face which stunned and angered the boy. He saw his mother and father fight a lot and the one time he recalled his mother hit his father but, his father actually hit her back so he was certain that is what he needed to do. Flailing his small arms Tatsuo hit her in the stomach and on the legs as hard as he could while she tried to control him. He slipped away and she chased him right into the kitchen where he was wriggling and dodging her as she attempted more discipline.

"You sorry excuse for a child why did I keep you? Why! Get over here!" Mayuko reached to grab him but Tatsuo threw all this little weight into her legs knocking her off balance. The woman fell back against the counter hitting her head on the edge of it and slumped down dazed by the blow. Tatsuo meanwhile stood back away from her a little shocked about what just happened but still frightened and upset.

"Drop dead Okaasan I hate you! Just die!" Big words for a child to say but he heard these things so many times it seemed perfectly normal to him. He ran out of the kitchen and into his room leaving his mother laying against the drawers still half out of it. Jumping on his bed and laid face first in the pillow and tried to calm himself down enough to stop the ringing in his ears. Did he just hurt his own mother? It was actually an accident but she had been trying to hurt him and he had no clue what else to do other than push her. All he knew was that once she woke up she was going to be so furious with him that he knew he was in deep trouble. Without his father here though there was no where he could go and his grandparents lived in the next city over so that was impossible. Curling up in a ball he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep hoping that his mother wouldn't bother him until morning.