Chapter Seven: Harsh Reality (Wocky Kitaki)

Time: A day after Apollo's death

Location: Kitaki Mansion

The young fox-faced mobster heir was sitting on his bed, staring at his wall. He had been doing this for some time now. While it concerned his mother to no end, his father knew that he had to go through this.

Wocky wasn't a stranger to death. Throughout his childhood, many of his father's... er... accomplices... had met their end carrying out the boss's orders. And while Big Wins pretended to be indifferent, Wocky always knew how much he was hurting over sending someone to their death. Of course, at the time, Wocky had always dismissed it as a sign of weakness. A real O.G. don't care about that, man!

Then came Wocky's first tangle with death, when he was shot by the Rivales family. Looking back, it all seemed so stupid. Running in by himself 15 minutes before the appointed time... what was he thinking? But hey, at least he met his soulmate at the hospital.

And then, six months later, he found himself in custody all of a sudden, suspected for a crime he didn't commit. And then during the trial, he was told that the bullet from the Rivales thing was still in his chest. And then that pointy-headed idiot of a lawyer had to implicate his little imposter, of all things. How the heck could he even suspect Alita of doing something like that? But somehow, he was right. Wocky had been furious for a good year.

When his trial was over, Big Wins shipped him off to some strange hospital... it was called Caduceus or something strange like that. The attending surgeon, one Dr. Derek Stiles, was awkward, but his great reputation proved not to be for show as he pulled the bullet out of Wocky's chest with no trouble at all. Big Wins had thanked him overbearingly, while Wocky had muttered a 'Thanks, G', and hoped that the doc's hot nurse girlfriend (as adamantly as they denied it) wouldn't become guilty of murder any time soon.

And so Wocky had continued his life. He took up work in his father's pie shop, where his O.G. Cracker was a pretty major success (although not quite as successful as his father's lime pie). In time, the lawyers from the agency that got him acquitted began to frequent the place, and a friendship of sorts was born. Of course, Wocky had no intention to bake pies forever. One day, he would run the yard, and then everyone would know what time it was. Represent!

...that is, until only the day before, when the Pointy-Locks lawyer was murdered.

The murder of Apollo Justice had shocked Wocky to the core. His friend (of sorts) was gone. Gone forever. Since then, he had simply sat on his bed, staring at his wall. Little Plum was going out of her mind with worry, but Big Wins had simply put a hand on his son's shoulder and said that he would be there when Wocky was ready to talk.

Wocky rose from his bed and left his room. He needed to talk to someone.

He knocked on the grand oak doors of the boss's office. "Enter", came the deep voice of his father.

Wocky did so, somewhat hesitantly. "Dad? You got a minute?"

Big Wins was slightly surprised to see his son, who virtually never came to his office. But he hid it well. "Sure, Wocky. What can I do for you?"

Wocky took a seat across from his father's mahogany desk. He sat there, looking at his hands for a bit, not knowing what to say.

Big Wins had a feeling what was eating at his son, but refrained from bringing it up. It was better if Wocky started it.

"It's not fair", he suddenly blurted out.

"What isn't?" Big Wins asked.

"What happened to him." Big Wins didn't have to ask what it was; he knew it was about Justice. "Why did he have to die? I don't understand!"

"Wocky", his father interrupted. "There are some things you need to understand. The men I sent to their deaths did so willingly, but it didn't hurt any less. And they were prepared for the possibility of them dying."

"Yeah, but..."

"That's part of the reason why I decided to go legitimate. That, and what happened to you. I could turn a blind eye towards people dying as long as they weren't close to me, as much as it hurt, but you are my only son. When someone you care about dies, or gets close to, it really hits home. You get me?"

"Yeah", Wocky said, then voiced his primary concern. "But Pointy... Apollo didn't do anything wrong! He was just fighting for his client, and then he died! Why?!"

"Son", Big Wins said, straight to the point. "People die for a lot of different reasons. Some choose to end it. Some die naturally. Some die at the behest of others. And some, like Apollo, die simply because they're at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not fair, but that's how life works."

"Yeah." Wocky's voice was barely above a whisper. "I think I understand now. Why you went legit and why you kept telling me I didn't know. I think I'll be fine now."

Big Wins nodded, and in a rare gesture, got up from behind his desk and pulled his son into a tight, bone-cracking hug. "It'll take some time, but I'll be there to help you recover." He let his son go. "Now what do you say we get down to business? I feel it's time to refresh the pie selection at the shop. Got any ideas?"

For the first time since the day before, Wocky cracked a tentative smile. "Yeah, I just may have a few..."

Maybe baking pies forever wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Author's note:

Alright, this came up a lot slower than expected. Sorry about that. I'm back on track now, and I'll try to crank out a new chapter every few days or so.

And yes, I do enjoy my references from time to time. ^^