Dinner with "Yohann" went by with no trouble. For the most part, Candice and her "uncle", made most of the conversation but Arata did comment on a few stuff here and there. To an outsider's perspective, it looked like any other normal family dinner. No nonsense happening whatsoever.
However, that was further from the truth. Candice knew Arata suspected Yhwach the moment he walked in and tried her hardiest to divert his suspicions somewhere else. It was nerve-raking work, one the made her drink almost all the vodka at the table.
Arata and Yhwach meanwhile simply regarded each other as both kept the facade that nothing was amiss. Arata did not have the evidence, but he knew "Yohann" was anything but a happy-go-lucky uncle.
Yhwach simply regards Arata curiously. His powers allowed him to see possible futures and at one point, he foresaw this happening but it was one of those possibilities that was so unlikely to happen that you toss aside. That did not mean he couldn't capitalize on this opportunity. Once he returns to the Wandenreich, he'll act upon this new plan immediately.
He supposed he could thank Sosuke Aizen. If it wasn't for his curiosity, none of this would have happened.
After about two hours, "Yohann" said his farewells and wished his niece well. As he walked away from Candice's house, he felt the judging eyes of Arata as he stared at the back of his head.
The next day...
The school day started off pretty uneventful. He spotted a group of delinquents inside the equipment shed during third period and he scared one of the girls so bad, she pissed herself. The disciplinary office took his side as he didn't do anything other than doing his job and catching lowly delinquents trying to skip class. Other than that, everything has been normal until the end of the school day.
He didn't even need to sense the hollow, it was roaring so loud. He was about to jump out of a nearby window and transform when Ichigo came running out a classroom and started bolting towards the entrance.
He knew what he was doing but, as the security guard of Karakura high, he couldn't allow him to leave. He catches up with Ichigo and grabs the back of his collar, tugging him to stop.
"What the hell Arata!?" the orange-haired boy exclaims.
"I'll take care of this. Just get back to class" he told the teen.
Ichigo knew Arata can more than handle it by himself and nods. He and Arata start going opposite directions until Ichigo calls out, "Yuzu asked me to invite you to dinner tonight. You game?"
Remembering the taste of the eleven year old's extravagant cooking, he agrees before heading out to kill the hollow. Ichigo watched him run off and he scowls. Personally, he didn't want to invite Arata back into his house as he found his lack of sympathy and twisted morals sickening, but relented, knowing that he wasn't so bad to be around. That, and Yuzu took a liking to him. She confided in Ichigo a day after Arata's first visit to the house that she found the man's presence rather calming.
Later...
After coming home and telling Candice he would be eating out, the woman insisted on coming along.
"Do you realize how lonely it is to eat alone when your housemate's out eating somewhere nice?" Candice said.
"Didn't realize you hate being alone" stated Arata. He shrugs and sees no harm in having her tag along.
The reason to why she wanted to come along wasn't just because she didn't want to be alone. In addition to keeping an eye on Arata, Candice also had to keep an eye on Ichigo Kurosaki and dinner at his place seemed like the best plan.
They left the house around six in the evening and came to the Kurosaki clinic at about fifteen minutes later. Arata knocks on the door and Yuzu answers, smiling when she sees the man, but looks questioningly at the green-haired bombshell behind him. Upon asking who she was, Candice beat him to the punch. "I'm his girlfriend" she smirked.
Yuzu smiles delightfully. "You are? Woah Mr. Takahashi, you sure know how to pick women who stand out!"
Arata wasn't sure what a "girlfriend" was, but he lets the comment go.
"Dinner's not ready yet so just wait a bit alright?" Yuzu said.
"Oh, let me help you" Candice suggested. Get on good graces with Ichigo's family and they won't bat an eye at her.
Yuzu looked a little flustered as she tried to politely decline, saying that she was a guest, but Candice pressed on until Yuzu accepted.
They walk inside and see Karin at the coach watching T.V. Arata was going to join her until he hears a gasp of surprise from upstairs. He looks up to see a small figure for a second until it bolts away. Suspicious, he heads up the stairs, under the pretense he was going to talk to Ichigo.
Once up stairs, he looks around until he finds a door slightly cracked open. He opens it and sees Ichigo's bedroom, indicated by his combat pass on his desk. He walks inside and tries sensing the being he knows is inside.
"What're you doing in my room?" Ichigo interrogates as he sees Arata in his room for some reason.
"Something's here. Something small" Arata states.
And he found the reason. Ichigo sighs as he walks to his closet, opens it, and pulls out a struggling lion plushie.
"Ichigo, what are you doing!? Don't you see there a psycho killer in the room!? If you don't value your safety, at least let me value mine!" the lion exclaimed.
"Quit yappin' Kon. Arata's..." he trailed off. To say he was harmless would be factually wrong. "He's not gonna hurt us, alright" he finished.
"'Kon'?" Arata questions.
"He's a mod soul. Rukia and I picked him up after a Kisuke gave use the wrong product and he's been living here with us ever since. Although he more trouble than he's worth" and Ichigo twirled Kon around until his eyes were nothing but swirls.
"What is this toy's 'worth'?" Arata asks, not seeing the point in keeping an annoying chatterbox.
"Basically, if I want a double to cover for me while I do soul reaper business, I use Kon" Ichigo answers. Hearing this, Arata became even more confused.
"How does that work?"
The teen said nothing as he picks up his combat pass and presses it against the back of Kon's head. The stuffed toy spits out a green, spherical candy on the ground and the toy goes limp.
"I swallow that and Kon enters my body while I go into my soul reaper form"
Arata picks up the candy and studies it. "Interesting" and he swallows the candy.
Ichigo was surprised he did that and even more when it actually worked. Arata popped out of his body in his shihakusho while Kon controlled his body.
"Holy cow!" said Kon as he flexed Arata's muscles. "This body's so strong! Ichigo, why don't you go to the gym more often? You could have this killer body in no time!"
"Why did you do that?" groaned Ichigo.
"I wanted to see if it actually worked"
"Man, this mask is stuffy. Why do you wear this thing?" Kon said as he put his hand on the bottom of the mask and began to lift it off.
He did not go far as Arata grasped the back of Kon's, or more technically, his neck and squeezed until Kon started flailing in pain. "Move that mask another inch and I grind your pill into powder and flush it down the toilet. Do you understand me?" Arata threatened with murderous intent.
"YEAH I GOT IT! JUST LET ME GO ALREADY!"
Arata lets Kon go before grabbing Ichigo's combat pass and pressing it on his back. The green candy spits out of the mask hole, to which Ichigo catches and places him on his desk beside the lion toy. Arata gets back inside his body before checking if he can still use his mask to transform. Fortunately, Kon's presence didn't mess that up.
Arata sighs in relief that his face wasn't revealed. Seeing this, Ichigo scowl deepens. He can talk about his dead mom and his drunk dad without pause but if his mask is threatened to be lifted, THEN he reacts?
Arata found that he's been doing that a lot lately, especially around him. He figured now was about a good a time as any. "You have a problem?"
Ichigo shakes his head. "Nothing's wrong" he said, but Arata wasn't convinced.
"I already have enough problems with Orihime being uneasy around me. The last thing I need is some moody teen's disapproval to inconvenience me"
"You know what? Fine. You know what I don't like about you?" Ichigo said as he stood up and glared up at the hitokiri.
"I don't. That's why I am asking you what your problem is" Arata retorts dryly.
Ichigo scowls at the comeback but continues on. "I have a problem with your lack of emotion! Even Kenpachi has more sympathy than you. How can you be so damn cold to just not give a damn about your own parents!? Your mom died and your father became depressed! How can you just say 'That doesn't bother me'!? Don't they matter to you? Hell, did you even love them in the first place or were they just... distractions or something?!" the teen ranted.
Arata looked down at the scathing teen calmly and simply replied, "Just because your own mother died does not give you the authority to tell other people how they should feel or think"
"That's not-"
"You don't know what happened. You don't know my mother, my father, and most importantly, me. Just because you still ache from the memory of your mother's death doesn't mean I have to as well. Everyone has their own way of coping. Don't you know that?"
"No shit I do. I just want to know why you aren't bothered about what happened"
Arata places his hands in his pockets and says, "It would be an insult to my mentor's teachings. She taught me that living in the past is for the weak and to be bothered by it, even to this day, is a sign of weakness". That riled Ichigo up. He might not have said it but he insinuated that his pain over his mom's death was weakness. Just when he was about to shout at him for that, Arata silenced him with what he said next. "That, and because I know my mother would not want me to continue suffering because of her. She was the type of woman who put others before her, and if she knew or even felt that I was still hurting, she would be rolling in her grave"
Ichigo saw something in that moment; vulnerability, or at least, a part of it. It was like when he spoke about his dad to him. It honestly shook him as Arata never shown something like that to this level before. He asked another question. "... Do you still love them then? Your mom and dad, I mean"
He paused for a moment. For a millisecond, he thought about. Arata knew he loved his parents like any normal child before everything, but now...
"I don't know. It's been a long time since I felt any love for someone" he shrugged.
Ichigo crosses his arms and looks at him solemnly. "Doesn't it bother you? Being so heartless and cold that you can barely make lasting connections"
Yuzu suddenly calls them down, telling them dinner was ready. Arata started to make his way out and when he was at the door, Ichigo stopped him. "Arata, what about-?"
"Ichigo," Arata stops him. "I'm better off alone. Simple as that" and he walks down stairs.
Ichigo stayed near the door for a minute until he went to pick up Kon's pill and stuffed him back inside the lion toy. The mod soul gasped loudly, relieved he was still alive. "Ichigo, never bring that psycho back here. Got it!?" he yelled but his word reached deaf ears as Ichigo tossed him back inside the closet and followed suit to dinner.
'Arata, you say you're okay but are you really?' was what he thought before he engaged in the night's events.
The next day...
Last night's dinner went swimmingly as Yuzu made Nikujaga with some shrimp tempura as a side. To everyone's delight, Candice made apple pie afterwards. By the end of the night, everyone went to bed completely satisfied.
Right now, Arata was once again at Kisuke
"Alright Arata, show me your shikai" Kisuke said. Arata nods and pulls out his sword.
"Execute my enemies: Hitokiri"
His sword transforms into an axe and Kisuke whistles, impressed. "Beautiful axe. Takes my breathe away everytime I see it" the ex-captain complimented. He released his own sword and the two sparred.
Arata usually trained at Kisuke's for about two hours. He divided his time between the three people there and went to them for about forty minutes until he went to the next teacher. After Arata finished his forty minutes with Kisuke, he went to train his kido skill with Tessai but before that, Kisuke stopped him.
"Hold on, Arata. I got a little present for you" and he gives him a box.
Arata opens it and sees his armor pieces he gave to be modified. "They're finished?"
"Yep. Should be able to attach them to your soul reaper form. Try them out" Kisuke said proudly.
The first thing Arata did was cleanly ripping off his shihakusho sleeves. He then put on his long, cloth gloves before strapping on his forearm protection with the red rope attachments. Next came his bicep armor, which he simply strapped on. He pulled up hakama pants and put his leg armor on. He let the pants sleeves cover the armor. Eyeing his tattoos, he opens up his shihakusho a little more to let more of his chest and tattoos show.
With the metal armor back on, his hitokiri identity advanced and he let out a content sigh. "Thanks"
"No problem! I don't want to take anymore of your time so you better get to Tessai" Kisuke said. Arata nods and leaves.
Little does Arata know, Kisuke did more than make his armaments adjust to his soul reaper form. He also put small tracking devices on each piece. 'Better safe than sorry' the shopkeeper thought.
"Mr. Urahara" someone called out. Kisuke looked and saw Chad walking over to him.
"Ah, it's good to see you today Chad. How are ya?" Kisuke greeted.
"Fine. Is Renji not here today?"
"Unfortunately, no". He looks over to the Arata conversing with Tessai and an idea forms inside his head. "However, I know a good sparring partner. Arata! Come over here!"
Tessai nods at him and Arata comes to Kisuke once again. "What?" he said.
"Chad here wants to train as well. How about you two go at each other" Kisuke suggests.
Arata shrugs, agreeing. "So, Chad, what do you do?"
Chad says nothing as he holds out his arm. A black substance emerges from his hand and encoats his entire right arm until it solidified into a black armor. The shoulder had an extension pointed up. Magenta lines traversed his arm in an intricate design.
"Interesting" and Arata released his zanpakuto. Kisuke backs up until he was a safe distance from the two. They stood in anticipation, waiting for one of them to make a move.
Chad acted first, charging at Arata with his fist raised. When he was at arm's length, Arata blocks using the large surface of Hitokiri. The power behind the punch was great. Although, comparing it to Kenpachi's regular attacks, it left much to be desired.
Arata pushes him off and slashes at Chad's right but the teen blocks him using his armored right arm. Using his unarmored hand, he strikes Arata in the stomach. The attack knocked a little wind out of him, but otherwise, Arata still stood. He pushes Chad off, and kicks him in the gut before swinging an attack aimed at his head, but the teen blocks him yet again.
Though Chad's firepower did not match him, it did not mean he was useless. Arata noted that Chad had very good reflexes, being able to counter his moves. His durability was also pretty good too. Arata may not have kicked and attacked at full power, but the fact that the teen was able to withstand them was something to note.
His arm. Its armor was strong. Arata knew his strength and acknowledged the durability of the arm. He then remembered the times Arata went up against knights, lawbringers especially. Their armors were hard to cut. It would have taken at least an hour to fully cut them up. Compiling his past experiences, Arata knew what to do.
An axe was anything but a blunt weapon. It was specifically designed to cut, not bruise. However, with a hitokiri's brand of axe, the rules were a bit different. Arata kicked Chad back, creating some distance, before turning his axe so the blade wasn't aimed at Chad, but instead the large "face".
Arata swung, slamming his axe into Chad's right arm. It had its intended effects, as Chad was caught off balanced from the blunt force of Arata's attack. He shoved Chad back and goes in to attack, but Chad stops him, punching him straight in the face with a fulled powered punch.
Arata staggers back, clutching his face. The pain that accompanied the attack lingered as Arata felt like he was having the god of headaches.
But then, a piece drops.
Chad's punch wasn't enough to completely break his mask, but it did manage to break off a piece from the top of the mask and cause a crack in the middle. Arata sees the fallen piece and just stared at in shock.
Chad broke his mask.
Without a single word, he flash steps behind Chad, catching him off guard and slamming him in his back. Chad attempts to attack but he was blocked. With his hand still on Arata's weapon, Arata started moving forward, pushing Chad back until the teen lost his footing and fell on his back. With Arata standing over him, the hitokiri aligned the top of the axe with his face and dropped his axe.
But stops before impact was made. Chad was panting as the weapon was touching his nose. He looks up to see Arata staring down at him but what caught his attention was his mask.
Arata's mask began to self-repair itself. The chip was replaced and the crack healed, as if nothing happened. Upon realizing this, Arata stopped his weapon in mid-motion.
Well, it wasn't just Arata that helped stopped the falling axe. Kisuke, with Benihime at Arata neck and a hand on Hitokiri's shaft, also helped.
With a sigh, Arata got off Chad. His reverts Hitokiri back into a sword and sheathes it before feeling over his mask, relieved no damage was present. He looks down at Chad and helps him up with a hand.
Before anyone could say anything, Chad speaks first. "I'm sorry". Kisuke and Arata look at him surprised. He goes on by saying, "Your mask is clearly something important to you, and I broke it. I'm sorry Mr. Takahashi"
Arata was a little perplexed to say the least. He was the one that nearly smashed the teen's head over a chipped piece, and it was the teen that was apologizing? "It's fine. Just don't aim for the face next time we spar". Chad nods. "You're power is significant and strong. You should be proud of that. With time, I'm sure you will reach great levels of power" Arata states. Just from this one spar, Arata could tell the teen had potential. He just needed to cultivate it. Chad accepts Arata's praise with another nod.
The masked man turns to Kisuke. "Kisuke, I have a question"
"Oh? Do tell"
"Can we start working on my Bankai?"
Kisuke stared at him before chuckling. As Arata continued staring down at him, the ex-captain realized he was serious. He sighs. "Look Arata, you want to get stronger. I completely get that but-"
"'But'?"
"BUT... I don't think you're ready yet" Kisuke said simply.
"What?" Arata said, confused. "How am I not ready?".
"You've learned your zanpakuto's name like... what, a few days ago? You and Hitokiri barely know each other. You both haven't grown your abilities like Renji and Byakuya. Hell, even Ichigo" Kisuke explains. He was hesitant in teaching Arata Bankai. He worried the training won't just negatively affect him, but Hitokiri as well. The two just recently gained shikai. With Ichigo, he at least trained and fought with Zangetsu for a considerable amount of time until he trained to gain Bankai with Yoruichi.
The dish just needed more time to cook until it was fully complete.
Arata sighs, frustrated, but relents to Kisuke's advice. "Can you at least tell me what I can expect from a Bankai?"
Kisuke nods. "Well, it's different with every other soul reaper. Renji can summon a giant bone snake, Ichigo gets an increase in base stats, Byakuya Kuchiki gets millions of cherry blossom blades; really, it could be anything as long it still relates to your zanpakuto"
Arata takes all this information in and nods before going to Tessai. It frustrated him a bit knowing he had to take more time but Arata was nothing if not patient. That, and the ex-captain was also clearly more experienced than he was in terms of the inner working of soul reaper powers. He will take his word on this subject and continue to improve.
Kisuke then turns to Chad. "You alright? The spar wasn't nothing from what I saw"
Chad simply nods. "He cares about that mask dearly. I can relate" he says as he touches his necklace.
Kisuke laughed, "He sure does. Who knew our little manslayer was the sentimental type"
Later...
After training, Arata decided to patrol the town before returning home. Nothing eventful really happened; one or two hollows here and there but they weren't anything to write home about.
He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he looked at an abandoned factory building and saw a familiar face.
He jumps down to see Uryu Ishida shooting man-made, circular targets with a wooden bow and many arrows. He walked to him quietly and for a time, he thought he didn't notice him until Uryu turned an fired an arrow at his face. Without much effort, he caught the arrow and continued walking to the black-haired teen.
"What do you want?"
Arata looked at the targets and the bow. He then said, "Wanted to know what was happening down here but from what I'm seeing, you are clearly practicing your archery skills"
"What gave it away?" Uryu said sarcastically. Arata ignored him as he picked up a spare bow and took aim at one of the targets. Uryu scoffs. "Oh, please. In terms of bowmanship, quincies hold supremacy over-"
Arata let the arrow fly as it hits a bulls-eye. "What were you saying? I was actually tuning you out"
"I... I," Uryu stammered at first before gaining back his composure. "Lucky shot".
"I don't believe in luck". He then shoot another bullseye at another target. "I believe in skill".
Arata looked at Uryu's surprised face and was somewhat amused. The teen clearly didn't foresee a soul reaper being good at archery. "My mentor had me practice with the bow and arrow. Said range combat is an optimal option should you face other other range fighters. But, to be honest, I prefer to be up close and personal" Arata briefly explained.
"Makes me wonder what else you can do" Uryu noted.
"You would be surprised actually" and the two went about shooting targets together.
Uryu wouldn't say it, but the company was welcomed. He had been feeling rather down considering the event that transpired in the Soul Society. He used Letz Stil against Mayuri Kurotsuchi during his fight and in the end, he won, but it came at a price. That price being his quincy powers. Now, Uryu Ishida was nothing more than a regular human who can see spirits.
He flinches when Arata split one of his landed arrows with his own. Though Uryu found Arata company relaxing, his quincy pride was taking a beating at the fact this soul reaper was besting a quincy in archery.
He aims at one of Arata's targets and splits his arrows. He didn't stop until all his arrows were split apart.
"A bit petty don't you think?" Arata mentions.
"Just wanted showcase a quincy's prowess is all" Uryu smirked.
"Quincy. You say that word as if it means something. What is a 'quincy'?" Arata questions.
Uryu subsequently remembered that Arata was still relatively new to the spiritual and powerful and explained to him what quincies actually are. He basically explained that they were human that can absorb and manipulate reishi, sprit energy, and can use that energy to create weapons, typically ranged weapons.
Arata attentively listened to the teens explanation. He then asked, "Where are the other quincies?"
Uryu sighs. "Exterminated. They threatened the balance of the three world with how they dispatched hollows. To make a long story short, the soul reapers acted and the quincies nearly became extinct. I don't know if there are anymore quincies in the world, but I do know that me and my father could the last remaining quincies currently existing"
That last sentence made him ask another question. "What about your mother?"
"She passed away" Uryu answered solemnly as he fired another arrow.
Arata nods in understanding. He then fired off a few more arrows until he felt he was satisfied with his range practice. Arata took his leave. "Your skill with the bow is impressive. You make your people proud" Arata said as he left.
Uryu stared at Arata back before going to cleaning up the targets. "You weren't bad yourself" he muttered.
Later...
As Arata entered Candice's house, he immediately knew something was off. For starters, there was a few empty liquor bottles behind the couch and he was hearing sniffling noises from the couch itself. Female sniffling.
"This is new" he mutters. he moves to one of the couch's armrest and saw the crying form of Candice. She was was lying down of the couch, her left arm over her eyes as she cried while her right hand held a half empty bottle of whatever. She brings the bitter drink to her lips and takes a heavy swig, drowning herself in the liquor.
Arata had no clue as to what had happened. She was fine in the last couple days. Why was she acting up now? "Candice" he called out. She either didn't hear him or ignored him, but that did not matter. He tried again, but louder. "Candice". Again, he was left unanswered.
He quietly groans. He looks down to see her bare feet and an idea hatches within his mind. He grabs both her ankles in one hand and uses the other to harshly tickle her soles. That got her going as she started laughing hysterically, thrashing herself around to escape her tormentor's grasp. It wasn't until a liquor bottle was thrown at his head did he stop his tickling assault.
"DON"T EVER FUCKING DO THAT AGAIN!" she screamed at him.
"Next time, don't ignore me when I call you" he groaned.
"I don't need to answer to you! You aren't my king!" she slurred as she pointed a finger at him. Arata looked at her face to see mascara running down her cheeks, evidence of her crying. Her eyes were bloodshot, telling him that she had been crying for quite some time before he came back.
'Wait...'King'?' he thinks but shakes his head, disregarding the statement.
He groans as he goes into the kitchen. Candice sits up tries to find the remote control but failing to do so. Arata comes back into the living room with a bottle of water and hand it to Candice... only for her to then slap it out of his hand.
"I want beer!" she yelled. "Get me beer!"
"I am not getting you more alcohol when you are already drunk" Arata sternly said as he picks up the water bottle. 'What is the meaning of this. Explain"
"I don't go-... gotta explain jack SHIT!" she yelled.
He got into her face and stared menacingly into her drunk eyes. "Explain why you are drinking yourself to death or I will shave your head"
Candice gasps. She shield her head as she scoots away from him. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, I do dare. Try me woman"
"Why do you even care!?" she yelled.
"Until I fix my relationship with my cousin, I am living with you. Your emotional and drunken state will only add to my already existing problems. I prefer it straightened out. Now"
Candice growls as she, even in her shit-faced state, knew she was backed into a corner. If there was one thing she knew about Arata, it was that he follows through with his threats.
She calms herself as she pulls her legs to her chest. "I was thinking about my parents".
Well, this was a first. In all the time he spent with the green-haired vixen, she had never spoken about her family. She spoke about her friends, sure, but family? Nothing. Even when "Yohann" came by, they did not talk anything family-related, which he found odd, but did not look into it so much.
He sits down next to her and listens to her speak. "You know, I used to hate my hair, believe it or not". Considering the amount of care and protection the woman had over her hair, Arata did not believe it at first upon hearing it. "I used to get teased a lot about the color. I was known as the 'alien' throughout elementary. 'Cause, you know, aliens are green".
She continues. "My mom was the definition of beauty. Long, beautiful blonde hair, blue eyes, a killer body; Just think of the most hottest German woman possible and you would get my mom. Whenever I tried to pull out my own hair out of resentment, she was always there to stop me and brush my hair soon after". She then began to tear up again. "Fuck..." she cursed. "S-...She made me feel confident in my hair. Helped me recognized the beauty in it, even if everyone else hated it"
"...What about your father?"
"Oh my god..." she muttered, shuddering, tears pouring down her cheeks. Without thinking, she leaned on Arata's shoulder. As soon as she realized what she did, she thought the man was going to push her off, but, to her surprise, he didn't. He let her cry on his shoulder. "He taught me how to be tough. Told me that even though I was girl, it didn't mean I couldn't learn how to handle myself. He was hard, but I knew it was his way of loving me".
"What happened then?"
She choked on her words as the memory came back to her in full force. "It was on stormy night. I was about... eight when it happened. W-We were on our way back home from the city. We used to live in small town miles away from Berlin. The rain was coming down hard and-and we were driving near along a cliff. Th... There...". She choked again, more tearing falling from her face. "There was so much fucking thunder and lighting and rain and Next thing I know, our car fell off the cliff, skidded along the surface until we hit tree at the bottom". She moved herself closer to Arata. Talking to him felt... therapeutic and she appreciated he was taking the time to listen to her speak about her most traumatizing memory. "My dad flew own the front window and cracked his neck! And my mom... oh god, my mom... her face crashed into the window and her face was embedded with glass shards! She died bleeding to death"
Her crying continued for some time after her retelling. Arata wanted to question her, like how did she survive? How did she get back to civilization? All that sort of stuff, but he just let her cry. Perhaps he should turn on the T.V? Maybe some movies would cheer her spirit, Arata thought.
Before he could even look for the remote, Candice placed a hand on his chest. "Hey... can-can you tell me about your parents? If they died, it doesn't have to be about their deaths. Just... tell me something!" she softly said.
He lightly shrugs. "What's there to say? Mom was raped and killed. Dad became a miserable drunk. Probably dead with the way he was drinking. After that, I ran away from home and never looked back"
Candice didn't like that he spoke briefly about their fates when she went into full details, but the mention of rape makes her stomach turn and anger fill her veins. "Please tell me justice was done for your mom" she growled.
Arata nods. "I killed the man after the deed was done"
"Good riddance"
Even now, the memory of the event was still vivid.
*Flashback*
He remembered it being any other normal day until night rolled in and a Viking raiding party suddenly appeared.
The village was caught completely off guard. Their forces were skilled but were overwhelmed by the viking's sheer, raw power. The samurai fought bravely and in the end, won, but with all the losses and casualties they had, they hardly counted it as a victory.
Civilians were either killed or taken as slaves. The military force of the village was nearly decimated, with only a handful remaining. Building were destroyed as were the crops.
Arata's village won, but not without a price.
As the chaos ensued around Arata and his mother, the two were doing their best to get to safety, traveling in between building, and to hopeful make it to their home.
Little did Arata and his mother know was that they were being followed.
Arata gazed at everything around him. He saw samurai fighting against vikings, people getting beaten and/or killed. His mother tried to prevent him from watching anymore violence. "Don't look!" she hissed. But it was all for naught. The damage had already been done. His mind was forever stained red from all the blood and cruelty.
They made it to their home in the middle of town. The two quickly got inside and locked the door behind them. Arata's mother quickly fished out a key from a box and opened a secret door to a secret safe room in case of emergencies. Arata's mother quickly ushered in her terrified son, shaking from all he had seen.
"Mommy... a-are we gonna be okay? Are the bad people gonna go away?". His voice was trembling as he tried to make sense of what he had seen.
His mother gave her best comforting smile, but even she was scared too. "It's going to be okay sweetie. Let's just head inside-"
Suddenly, the door was being pulled open. Without hesitation, Arata's mother pushed her son into the room and shut the door. The door to the house was ripped open and a giant of a man was at the door. He was shirtless, clothed only with a pair of pants and boots. He was armored with an armored banner at his side and leather armor on his shoulder with a metal helmet with a human skull as an ornament. In his hands was a large dane axe, but drops it as he saw he did not need it at the moment.
As soon as he saw only the woman, he anger fumed. "Where is your brat?" he demands.
"Someplace safe" she said as she stood her ground.
"Tell me or I will break you" he threatened as he slowly walked to her, pinning her to the wall.
"Never!"
He scowl deepens and he suddenly rips her top off and throws her to the ground. She immediate knew what he was planning to do and tried to crawl away, only to be dragged back to the viking. She shrieks in horror when he then rips of her undergarments and quickly fished out his filthy cock out his pants. He entered her harshly and began fucking her at a hard pace, giving her no quarter to even adjust.
There was a small crack in the wall that allowed Arata to look out. All he saw was the viking's back as he pistoned himself in and out of his pleading mother. "Please... mercy..." she cried, but the man only quickened his already brutal pace.
Stored in the safe room were weapons. One of them being a kunai. Arata grabbed it and was about to attack the man attacking his mother but as he looked out the hole, he froze.
Why was he tensing up? His mother was being raped! He had to do something! His mind was at conflict with his body. His heart and soul realize what was happening was wrong, but his body denied him, listening only to its instinct as it said to stay in the safe room, safe from harm.
He continued watching the horrible event take place. He couldn't tear his eyes away. He didn't know how long it was. Five minutes, ten minutes, an hour, an eternity, whatever, but he watched, ingraining the moment in his already tainted mind. Arata wanted to do something, but he was frozen with fear. Fear at what this man could do to him if he tried anything. He put his own safety before his mother's.
Arata's mother couldn't take much more abuse and turned to the viking and uppercuted him in the jaw. The man recoils back in pain before looking at the woman with murderous eyes. Seeing how screwed she was, Arata's mother tried crawling away again, but due to the intense fucking she just went through, her legs were weak. The viking pulled out a dagger and got to work, stabbing into the poor woman repeatedly, spewing blood in the once clean, peaceful house.
When Arata saw the familar sight of the crimson liquid and the metallic scent, he squashed any resistance his pitiful body had, pulling the safe room door open and charging at the man.
The raider was caught off guard when a screaming child pounced on him and began stabbing him, first in the chest before he slowly moved up to his throat. He was dead by the time he reached his throat.
He got off the dead viking and approached his mother only to gag before hurling his lunch to the floor. Her eyes were wide open, petrified in fear. Her chest had a giant, bloody hole. Her lower hole was naked and leaked the bastard's fluids along with blood. He defiled her so brutally, he made her bleed.
Arata collapsed next to his mother's dead corpse and gently touched her hand. "Mommy?" he quivered. When no response came, he tried again and again and again, but all ended the same. His mother was gone.
"MOMMY!" he screamed in anguish. Just then, a man in bloodied, wooden, samurai armor ran to the door. His helmet was discarded, showing his long black hair tied in a low ponytail. This was Arata's father.
"Arata! What happened-" he stopped as soon as he saw his dead wife and his crying son. He couldn't comprehend what was happening, what he was seeing right now. He only stood there in shock, but his face slowly contorted in sadness as he began to cry along with his son.
"No... no... no..." his father whimpered.
In that moment, everything changed.
*Flashback ends*
"Hey Arata" Candice softly called.
"What?"
"... We're pretty fucked up huh?" she chuckled.
Looking back on everything that has happened to him, he had to agree. "Yeah".
"...Think we can be fucked up together?"
He looked at her quizzically for a second,noting that her crying has lessened, but shrugged. "Sure". A question then came to mind. "What were your parents names?"
"I'll tell if you do"
He softly sighs. "Sure"
"Lindsay and Paul Catnipp"
"My parents were Daisuke and Miyako Takahashi"
Candice picked up her discarded alcohol bottle that she threw at Arata. Fortunately, there a little bit left, about two or three gulps worth. "Here's to our awesome folks! Let's only hope their not frowning down at us right now"
Before the bottle could reach her lips, Arata confiscates it. "No. You already had too much already"
"Then you drink it then!"
"... Will you be content if I do?" Arata sighed, exasperated.
"Yep"
He sighs deeply before downing the rest of the drink. The liquid burned his mouth and his throat as it traveled down. "Wow. That's hard". He could still feel the burn.
"It's brandy! It's supposed to be hard!" Candice laughs. She laughed until all the alcohol in her system finally caught up with her and put her to sleep on Arata's shoulder.
Arata gives one final sigh before he hefts Candice up, bridal style. "Why is my life so hard?"
