Childhood Relapse

Chapter 10: Habashira Family

Habashira Raito, the father of Rui, was a man of good intentions. He was a moral man, a kind soul. Nevertheless, his sons naturally followed how he was when he was a youngster. In time, they too would see the wrongdoings they had committed and would become just like their good father. But until now, they were brash and temperamental boys.

Tokage was the mellower of the two—managing his rage more than Rui and was known for his boisterous laughter. He was a cheery and spontaneous lad, however feared by many he was recognized as the leader of his tough clique. Rui idolized his older brother and did what he can to imitate that fearsome dictatorship, and eventually he earned the same trepidation from the students at his school.

Rui was not born with a burly body like Tokage, so he had to rely on his long arms and swiftness. The boy grew proud of his particular aspects and continued to demonstrate them by rising up to power. His father often scolded him of such, but as usual he would brush it off and pretend to be apologetic for his behavior. There were times when he would wonder what his mother would say if she was still alive, alive long enough to see him enter elementary school and see his attendance award and see his new backpack and see how much he had grown.

Then one day he heard a rumor about a girl from the neighboring school talking smack about him. This ignited his fury and he immediately horded his gang, marching over there to seize her. It turned out that the rumor was false—only conjured by dimwits—and that his actions had nearly taken away the girl's life.

He would have been a killer, as his brother had pointed out.

The girl's adoptive parents said that she was involved in an incident years ago: a mere car crash—a disaster that had cost her biological parents' lives and nearly taking away hers. Kobayakawa Sena was fragile, breakable, and ironically so she stood up to him and fought back, despite how weak her attempts were she was persistent. And it was funny—whereas she was well aware of the consequences, she let her stubbornness get to her and momentarily shed away her meekness.

Now she was locked away in the hospital as he locked himself in his room.

"Oi, Rui, Dad and I are going. Wanna come?" Tokage called behind the door of his room.

The older brother and the father had been dropping by the hospital to see how Sena was doing. Initially, Raito was the one who was keen on these visits since he was obliged with responsibility for Rui's part, but he forced Tokage to come along. The father didn't bother Rui, however, knowing that he was in a depressed state. Tokage's protests ceased as his amiable self had kicked in after the first few visits, finding pleasure in meeting the girl disregarding his opinion about her being a boring character, but it was understandable since she was emotionally scarred at a young age.

"I know that you would keep on sulking in your room and ignore me, but I'll let it slide as always even though it's starting to piss me off," Tokage went on. When he received no answer, he snorted and headed down, muttering under his breath, "Sulking for a week straight—come on, Rui. Jeez."

He stopped on his tracks when he heard the door open, revealing a grave-faced boy staring down at the floor. "…I'll come," he said.

During the drive, Rui remained silent, just like whenever he came down for his meals. It irritated Tokage, but he wouldn't allow himself to loose his composure—he learned something interesting from Sena's roommate, Ponyo, and intended on doing what she instructed him to do. Keeping his cool. Perhaps if he introduced Rui to the woman, she might get a reaction out of him (she always had tricks in her sleeves).

Raito was once concerned about his youngest son, but was relieved when he decided to come along. This could do Rui some good.

"Yo, Gen!" Tokage called to a boy about Rui's age. Said boy raised an eyebrow as he walked towards them.

"Hey," the boy replied, then casting a glance at Rui. "A friend of yours?"

"Nah, my brother. Don't we look alike?"

Gen smiled. "I can see the resemblance." His eyes then became critical as he examined him. "Weird. I thought your brother would be as beefy as you."

"Ha! Just because Rui's not as big as me doesn't mean he could send anyone black and blue!"

"Is that how Sena came out?"

Rui clenched his fists, making sure his eyes didn't leave the floor. Even though Gen was a friend of Sena's, if he comes up with a snappy remark he'll just have to snap back. There's no way that he would play as the guilty fiend—that just wasn't his style. Plus his temper was on the verge of boiling.

"I guess so." Tokage shrugged. "Most suckers end up like that after Rui finishes them off. Anyway, where's Sena's room?"

Gen shot him a withering look. "Are you serious? That's probably the fifty-eighth time you asked me!"

"Liar! I've been coming here for only a week! How can I possibly ask you fifty-eighth times?"

The other boy snorted and began leading them to the room. "I bet Rui's memory cells haven't died due to video-gaming hours straight." With that said, he sent a good-natured grin at the surprised younger brother.

"Che. I bet you haven't come across the Boss at the last stage in Dragon Wars," the eldest taunted.

"What? No way."

"Yeah, totally!"

"How do I know whether you're making this up or not?"

"He's not," Rui suddenly spoke, startling the two boys.

"Well…" Gen trailed. "I still won't believe it until I see it."

When they were outside the door of Sena's room, Rui was weighed with hesitation. Should he go in? Should he not? What to do? What not to do? If he went in, he might scare the girl. She might scream at him and demand him to get away from her. She would glower at him with tearful eyes and tell him to go die in a hole. Then he would be angry—it wasn't his fault that he liked to beat up people…It wasn't his fault that he didn't know that she wasn't the one who talked about him! It wasn't his fault that she was so weak!

It wasn't.

Was it?

A hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to jump. Looking up, he saw his brother revealing his seldom reassuring grins. Immediately, he felt relief wash away his anxiety. "Until you're ready, you can meet her," he said, patting his back. Tokage followed Gen inside, and Rui heard their cheerful voices mixing in with a woman's and a girl's. Behind the door he could hear a conversation initiating.

"Where is your dad, Tokage?" asked a woman.

"He forgot the groceries as usual," Tokage answered dismissively. "Anyway, guess what, Sena?"

Rui's blood froze when he heard a familiar soft voice say, "What is it?"

"I'm on the last level of Dragon Wars! I saved the game since it was getting late, but once I get back into action I'll kick some Boss butt!"

"Oi, kid, don't you do anything worthwhile than video-gaming?" the woman snorted.

"Don't call me kid!"

"He's lying, by the way," Gen said.

"I'm not lying!"

"Who's that at the door?"

Rui held his breath.

"You got a good eye, Sena," the woman said. "So, is it an eavesdropping monster ready to pounce on us or what?"

"No, don't be ridiculous," Tokage snorted. "It's my brother."

"The fella who challenged Sena?"

Rui couldn't breathe anymore.

"Is he going to come in?" Sena asked.

Tokage grunted. "Well, he should be. I guess he's still hesitating."

Rui backed away. He can't do this. It was impossible.

"Oh. I wanted to see him though."

He stopped.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't!" Rui cried, barging into the room. When all eyes were on him, he swallowed his fear and said fiercely, "You shouldn't because I'm the one who should."

Sena didn't reply to that. Instead she smiled and said, "Hi."