Chapter Two: Words

-----

Fucker. Rude growled dangerously. Stupid, fat, ugly fucker.

Long time ago, Toriko told him. Long time ago. I'm sure Reno has gotten over it.

The sheer anger and protectiveness rolling off of Rude gave Toriko a little shock. He never has. Not even the little things. You would never believe.

He doesn't seem too angry.

No, just scared shitless, Rude spat. I shoulda killed the motherfucker sooner.

…Sooner?

…

Okay. I can tell you don't want to talk about it. You know, she added after a moment, Reno doesn't look anything like his father. He looks more like his mother. I don't think he's that man's son at all.

How do you know what his mother looks like? I don't even think Reno knows.

He does. He'll never forget.

Rude knew that they were a few years later, though he barely felt the difference in Reno's physical memory. Reno was still diminutive, physically weak, and listless. And what's more, he was still lying in the same crib under the same blanket—but the railing had been ripped off to create a sort of raised bed. Not that the lack of railing mattered; Reno was still too small to climb up to or down from the bed safely.

Reno's father came into the room and squatted next to the bed. "You're two and a half," he announced without preamble.

Reno nodded and sucked his thumb.

"But you don't talk yet. Your aunt Angela says you should be making sentences by now. Are you stupid or something?"

Reno pushed himself to sit up, and gazed at his father blankly.

"You have no idea what I'm saying, do you. Fucking figures." He stood up and continued to study his son. He pointed at himself and stated, "Daddy. Dah-dee. Can you say that?"

Reno pulled his thumb out of his mouth, but didn't say anything.

"Dah-dee. Dah—oh forget it. I feel like a fuckin moron."

As he turned to walk away, Reno's thin, unused voice squeaked, "Dah-dee."

Reno's father froze, and turned to look at him. He pointed at himself again.

"Daddy," Reno tried again.

"Yes!" Reno's father boomed. "That's right! That's right, Reno!" He moved over to the crib and knelt down, pointing at Reno. "Ree-noh. Reno."

He pointed at himself. "Reno."

"Yes, yes! That's right! That's your name, you little bastard! Reno!"

Reno bounced excitedly, but did not clap his hands or move. "Reno. Name."

"Yes. Say, 'My name is Reno.' 'My name is Reno.'"

"My name… Reno."

"Close enough!" Reno's father swept him up and stood. Reno clung to the man's unwashed T-shirt, and smiled widely enough to split his tiny face in two. "Daddy."

He pointed at the window. "Window."

"Winnow."

"That's right, that's right! Look, 'kitchen.'"

"Kishen."

"Yeah, yeah!" Reno's father chuckled and bounced him excitedly. "Refridgerator."

Reno blinked at him, completely crestfallen.

"Okay, maybe that word is a bit big. Uh… door. Front door."

"Fwon dawr."

"Tee. Tuh. Tee sound. Tuh."

"Huh?"

"Front."

"Fwan-tuh."

"…okay, I can dig it. Living room."

"Libbing woom."

"Sure, right! TV." He pointed at the television.

"TeeVee," Reno proclaimed triumphantly. He giggled excitedly.

"Hey, Reno, what's that over there!"

"Winnow!"

"Yeah! And what's that!"

"Fwan-tuh dawr."

"Yes, yes, exactly right! Reno, you're a mother-fuckin genius!"

Reno squealed with delight as his father dashed from room to room, teaching him words. "Daddy's room."

"Daddy's woom."

"Bed."

"Bed."

"Blanket."

"Blay-ken."

"No, no, Tee sound. Tuh. Blanke-tuh."

"Blay-ken-tuh."

"Whatever. Photo."

"Fow-tow."

"Right. Look, there's… there's mommy, Reno." Reno's father sat on the bed, situating the child on his lap. He reached over to the picture frame on the cluttered nightstand, and held it in one hand. "That's mommy. That's Laurie. See?"

Reno gazed at the photo in awe. He slowly brought his hands over the glass, as if trying to touch his mother. "…mommy?"

"Yes. That's mommy. Isn't she beautiful? Red hair, just like you. Just like you, Reno. Same eyes."

"jus like Reno. Reno's mommy."

"That's right. She had to go away, Reno."

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"She had to go away because of you. Having you was too much for her. All the drugs, and then you. You made her go away." Reno's father's tone had turned from excited to decidedly dark. "Before you were born, you lived in your mommy's tummy, and you sucked all the life out of her so you could grow. She couldn't even survive, let alone make you big and strong. That's why you're so fucking weak, Reno. There just wasn't any more from your mommy that you could take from her." His grip on his son became a little too tight. He shook with anger and sorrow. "You made mommy go away. And she left you to look after. Hospital bills, and your sorry ass."

"Daddy," Reno mewled quietly, tapping his hands open-palmed on his father's arm.

Rude growled more fiercely at the scene, hopelessly ineffective.

"You're all that's left of your mommy, Reno, and I'm sure she loves you very much." Reno's father loosened his grip on him and changed the gesture to a hug. "Your mommy loves you, Reno. Just like I loved her."

Reno froze.

This is the first time his father actually hugged him, Rude observed. In the world outside of Reno's memories, Rude physically shook with anger and disgust. Toriko squeezed his hand.

Reno tentatively wrapped his tiny arms around his father's neck and hugged him back. "Reno loves mommy, too."

"Good, Reno. Good." Reno's father stood up and carried him back to the crib, placing him on the plastic-coated mattress and straightening up, heading back to the kitchen for a beer over which to angst about his wife.

"Daddy?" Reno squeaked.

"What?"

"Reno loves daddy."

The man turned and stared at the boy for a moment, then shook his head quietly and left the room.

FUCKER, Rude spat.

Reno stared at the doorway for a moment, then slumped back to the mat; he curled up in a little ball and hugged himself, feeling completely deserted. "Reno loves daddy," he whispered to himself. "Daddy loves Mommy. Mommy loves Reno." He silently wept. "Mommy went away," he whispered. "Reno made mommy go away. No daddy loves Reno."

If I hadn't already killed the bastard, I'd—

Calm down. If I knew you were going to freak out, I never would have done this.

But he—

Do I need to turn this flashback around and take us home?

…No.

Okay. Reno knows what his mother looks like. Toriko scanned through the next few years. His aunt Angela wasn't so bad. She was his father's sister. It doesn't seem like his mother's family had much to do with him at all.