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Jessica looked over at her mother, who was completely unsuspecting to all this...like everyone else...
Was there something that could still be done? Or would she have to leave it up to fate? Well, she had her brass knuckles ready if Sento was going to try anything...but would that be enough?
Sento stepped over to just behind a counter. "I have gathered you all here for a very good reason," he started, "I think it is time we let out little...issues...out on the table. Or perhaps I should take care of that job?"
He paced behind the counter. "As you all know, I haven't exactly been treated like the most valued one in the family. I was born out of lust, into a marriage done solely to protect the family name. What's more, I had a brother born to another woman at around the same time I was born. That's right—my brother was born to the woman whom our father loved; isn't that right, Rudolf?"
Rudolf wasn't sure how to respond to this. He hadn't been sure what to expect of this meeting, but he didn't expect this. He said, "Sento..."
"And wasn't it nice for you, brother," said Sento, gesturing over to Battler, "to have the life I would've had, had it not been for our father's cowardice?"
Rudolf stepped forward. "Now see here, young man—"
"And wasn't it nice for my dear sister," Sento looked over at Jessica, "to be treated with the proper respect for being a biological heir? To be viewed as a blessing, not a stigma? Were you not proof that Ushiromiya Natsuhi was indeed capable of having children? And wasn't I a symbol of her infertility?"
"Sento," Natsuhi spoke up, but Sento continued: "Even if fate insisted it had to be like this, that I should not be raised by my biological parents, than I might've been happy living in this home. My being around should not have affected Jessica's birth; I might've been a good big brother to her. Instead," he stopped pacing and turned his gaze to the reflective counter, "I was not accepted by my father or my mother. I was brought up in an orphanage, not knowing anything about my family. As far as I knew...they might as well be dead."
His fingers curled under the edges of the counter. "The doctor who brought me up knew almost nothing about how to make a child feel warm or welcome. All he did was prevent me from starving myself, as I would have had I the spine to run away from the orphanage."
He looked up at Battler and Beato, not noticing the odd wince Beato had across her face. "In some ways, I envy you," he said almost darkly, "You have a family...a beautiful wife...a child on the way..."
"Well, it's not like I'm viewed as the pride and joy of the family, given what's happened," said Battler slowly.
"They'll accept it," said Sento, on the verge of seething with pent-up jealousy and rage, "In time, they will come to accept it and treat the child of the next head as though it were a blessing. Then again, that just shows the hypocrisy of this family, doesn't it? If you were just an ordinary teenager in a family that didn't concern itself over matters of inheritance, you'd still be the black sheep to this day. You and Beato both."
"Mm-hmm," said Beato tightly, feeling cramps akin to those she had around her period, only much worse...
"And by the way, I find it just wonderful," he spat the word out, "that Beato should manage to overcome her own personal demons despite growing up as an actual orphan herself, and being raised for the purpose of...but that doesn't matter. What matters..."
He looked around the group of five sheep chosen for the wolf's den. "Yes...what matters...is that tonight...you will all see how much this has really affected me."
He turned around and walked over to one of the counters against the wall. Jessica's heart sped up, and she began to reach up one sleeve to slip on the brass knuckles.
He opened up a series of drawers in hopes of finding the one he was looking for. Somewhere, there was a drawer where all the knives were kept. He was not sure which one it was, but it would be this drawer that would seal the fate of the doomed five standing here before him.
All I have to do is find the correct drawer, he thought, and then...within a matter of minutes...this will all be over.
But would it be over? Or would he still feel the rage, the pain—and then the guilt? Furthermore...why wasn't Jessica doing anything to stop him? He had expected her to at least say something to force him to confess. Was she or wasn't she going to protect her family at whatever cost like she kept saying she would?
What if...what if she didn't say or do anything early enough...and he had to kill her?
He had made sure to make his drawer opening look casual, just so he could sneak a quick glimpse before subtly pushing each drawer shut. Nothing so far, but this drawer had to be it. He slowly pulled it a few inches open...
A hand on his shoulder.
"Sento."
Sento turned his head to see a teary-eyed Natsuhi. "Sento," she spoke again, her voice wavering, "I am so, so, so sorry. And not just for what I did...but for denying what I had done."
"What are you talking about?" said Rudolf sharply. He, too, had taken a few steps towards his other son, but was not as close as Natsuhi was, afraid to come any closer.
"I...I lied," said Natsuhi quietly. She choked, "I've been lying all these years!"
She drew her hand away and sobbed, "I—it's time I c—confessed to—to an attempted murder twenty years ago..."
Sento hadn't expected this to happen. Of course, thanks to information acquired in the meta-world, he already knew what Natsuhi was about to confess. Yet he was curious to hear what she was going to say, so he turned his attention away from the drawer and listened to her speak.
"One day," said Natsuhi, her voice quivering, "there was this servant who would attend to you...I tried going out for a walk alone, but...but she kept following...and you wouldn't stop crying...I was unable to tell her to stop. And so..."
She gulped. "When...when we got to a cliff just across the fence...I had the temptation to undo this by...by ending it all right there...then, the servant holding you twisted her ankle and stumbled, leaning on the fence. I told her to look out...and then..."
"And then you pushed her," Sento finished dully. So she had confessed. What was it about his speech that had driven her to do so? Did the mentioning of how he had nearly been killed drive her to nearly maddening guilt?
Natsuhi nodded and nearly fell to the floor sobbing, using the counter to steady herself. "If...if only it hadn't been for me..." she choked, "You would've been so much happier..."
She pulled Sento in for a tight hug. Once again, this touch was alien to him. He looked out of the corner of his eye at the slightly open drawer. He could not see much...but it was enough tosee the edge of a sharp, metal end...
How tempting it was to take that knife with one hand and thrust it into Natsuhi's back, and thus begin these murders...
He quickly averted his eyes. For reasons he did not know...the sight of that knife jerked his stomach as though it were being shoved right through him. He felt repulsed by it, not wanting to go anywhere near it. For right now, this woman...the woman who had nearly killed him all those years ago...was holding him close like a child, sobbing and apologizing for all she had done. The sensation of this touch being alien began to fade...and it felt almost...snug...
Natsuhi let go of Sento just in time for Rudolf to step in and say harshly, "And to think I was told he died in a tragic accident. You and Krauss both misled me into thinking..."
"It's not like I had much of a choice!" said Natsuhi shrilly. "What would have happened if I had said..."
Rudolf turned to Sento. "I think I'm the one who owes you an apology," he said, "If it wasn't for me, and what I had done in switching you and Battler, you wouldn't have nearly been killed. As long as you're safe and alive," now he seemed to be getting nearly emotional, "I'm glad. Now that you're here in a place where you can work to a better life, I am satisfied in seeing the son whom I thought had died long ago about to live his life."
Now he chose to acknowledge his son...now he was choosing to show remorse...
But what if this wasn't hypocrisy? What if...what if he actually cared...what if he really was sorry...?
"We can help you, Sento," spoke up Jessica. She was hoping persuasion just might do the trick after all. "You can stay here, and help dad with his debts somehow. Maybe," she looked over at Natsuhi, "maybe I will go to a university outside of Japan after all."
"Jessica," said Natsuhi softly, but Jessica went on: "Or I could stay here and we could both help together. We will make up for how you were treated in the past. You will be wanted, Sento."
Sento looked into Jessica's eyes. What if these feelings he held for her...what if...
Sento ran across the kitchen to another counter, where he leaned over the edge. He had to do it, he couldn't turn back now even if he wanted to...
He reached for the drawer...pulled it open...
It was another knife drawer.
Almost immediately, the sight brought upon an overwhelming nausea. Furthermore, when he tried to move his fingers towards the drawer, the nausea would grow stronger and almost overwhelm him to the point where he was going to vomit. Already, it was overwhelming him to the point where he was shaking too hard to make any moves.
"Sento?" said Natsuhi sharply. "Is something wrong?"
Sento tried to force himself to look at the knives once more. He instinctively brought his hand up to his mouth to suppress the rising bitter taste in the back of his throat. He closed his eyes and closed the drawer with one hand and drew a few, shudder breaths.
This time, it was Jessica's voice he heard: "Sento? Are you feeling all right?"
"I...I..." Sento gulped and whispered, "I can't do it." He said more loudly, "I can't do it."
"Can't do what?" asked Rudolf strangely.
Sento could only look over at Jessica, who had an almost pitying look in her eyes. "I...I can't..."
"I understand," said Jessica, subtly communicating with Sento, "Do you wish to leave?"
Sento nodded, still shaking.
"Sento," said Battler, stepping over to his brother, "It's going to be okay. We'll all be there to help you however we can, right Beato?"
He turned his head over to Beato...
And noticed a puddle of water on the floor right beneath her feet.
