CH.0-And-A-Half: Prologue Part 2
Reiko Murakami let out a sigh of relief as she finally set the rather heavy cardboard box down in the corner of her living room. After making sure it's contents were still intact, the small elderly woman took a couple seconds to rest her weary legs. There were at least six or seven more boxes just as if not heavier than the one she'd been carrying, and there was no way she would be able to get them all inside by herself without breaking something, be it the boxes or her own body.
"Alright, this should be the last one." Thankfully, she had an extra set of hands helping her out.
Through the front door came a boy in his late teens with tanned skin and a uniquely shaped bob cut that went down to around his chin. "Should I set this one down by the rest?" His Japanese was superb for someone who had only been speaking the language for around half a decade. Though there was still a slight yet noticeable accent to it that betrayed he wasn't a native speaker, if his looks hadn't given that away already. "Yes dear, that'll be fine." Reiko said. The teen gently set the last box down next to it's seven look-a-likes that he'd helped haul into the old woman's home. After letting out a sigh of relief at a job well done, the young man let himself catch his breath for a second while Reiko began fishing something out from her purse.
She attempted to give the youth a wad of bills, but he held his hand up and pushed her offering back. "There's no need for that, Murakami-san." She huffed "It's alright deary, please, take it. The last thing I want is to feel like I've wasted your time." Bruno gave her a reassuring smile "I've only been here for ten minutes Murakami-san, I assure you it's quite alright." She put the money away before giving the teen a small but warm hug. "Bless you Buccellati-san, bless you."
As Bruno made his way out of the older woman's home and back onto the street he'd come from, he turned back "By the way, what exactly was in those boxes? They seemed to be pretty important to you." Reiko paused, before giving the young man a mischievous grin "Well, an old girl's gotta have some secrets doesn't she?" Bruno raised an eyebrow at this, but before he could ask any questions the old woman forcefully slammed the door shut, hiding her from the outside world. He swore he could hear low cackling coming from inside, but instead of investigating any further Bruno just shrugged it off and continued his evening walk around the town chucking a bit at the bizarre event that'd just transpired.
'Morioh sure can be a strange town.' He thought to himself.
After their flight from Italy, and after nearly a month and a half of jumping from hotel-room to hotel-room as they traveled across the country, Paolo had ultimately decided on the small fishing town of Morioh as their new home. It was tiny enough that nobody pursuing them would think to begin their search there, while also having a large enough population that if somebody did come sniffing around they'd still be relatively tough to pin down. The first couple of months had been pretty rough on the two of them as neither one really spoke the language just yet, and they'd used up practically all their funds just getting into the country and finding a place to for them to settle down. Leaving just the scraps of what they'd once had to buy food, clothing, furniture, and practically everything else. The only thing that saved them from ending up homeless and hungry was Paolo managing to land a job as a dockworker down at the harbor.
Another problem they ran into in those tumultuous first few months had been the locals. There weren't exactly that many foreigners living in Morioh, and that led a fair few of it's inhabitants to view the pair with a wariness and suspicion that didn't exactly make the two Italians feel welcome. Though as time went by, and as more of the townsfolk got to know the father-son duo, they soon became well liked (or at the very least tolerated) within most circles of the small city. Bruno in particular becoming a fairly well known pillar of the community, always willing to lend a helping hand with people's various problems and odd-jobs, usually without even asking for anything in return.
It took most of their money and a good amount of blood, sweat, and tears, but they'd done it. They finally had a place the two could stay without constantly looking over their shoulder, a place they could go to sleep without wondering if tonight was the night they'd be smothered in their beds, a place where they felt safe and welcomed.
A place they could finally call home.
After another hour and a half of aimless wandering around town, Bruno began to make his way down the shadowy lamp-lit streets and toward his home near the outskirts of town. But a sudden commotion coming from about a block away startled the young man and snapped him out of his relaxed state. 'Strange,' he thought 'usually the streets are dead quite this time of night...' A sinking feeling started forming in his gut as his footsteps began to quicken, drawing him closer and closer to the sounds that'd cut through the quiet night.
As he rounded the corner he laid eyes on the source of the commotion, a bald middle-aged man in what looked like a very expensive suit roughly clasped the arm of a young women who appeared to be struggling to break free of the older man's grip. She let out a cry for help, but the clearly drunken man ignored her pleas. Bruno felt his eye's narrow and his hands ball into fists, he'd seen all he needed to. "Y-You bitch!" He angrily slurred as he stared daggers at the whore who'd dared to cross him. "You think you can just say no to me!? Do you know who I am!?" He brought his other arm up high, aiming to strike the woman across the face for daring to turn down his advances, but before his arm even began it's descent he felt something tighten around his wrist like a vice.
Confused, the drunkard wheeled around, and came face-to-face with a very pissed off looking teenager, whose blue eyes were boring into his own with a scathing fury. "It looks to me like she doesn't want to be around you right now, so I think you should probably let her go..." The bald man felt Bruno's hand tighten around his wrist, his fingers digging into his flesh. "...For your own sake." The older man's confused expression morphed into a scowl as he tried to yank his arm free from the other man's grip. "Wha- Who the hell are you?! Get your fucking hand off me you little shi-" Upon actually wrenching his arm out of Bruno's grasp however, the man stumbled back. Caught off balance by his own violent pulls as he collapsed face first onto the sidewalk.
Bruno stared down in contempt at the man as he attempted to scramble back onto his feet. He was now covering most of his face with his palm, nursing a fresh gash between his eyebrows that was beginning to pour blood down onto the bridge of his nose. "You damn brat, I'll sue you hear me!" He said shooting the Italian a furious glare. The older man scanned his surrounding for a second before spying a couple of police officers hastening towards them, no doubt drawn to the sounds of the struggle just as Bruno had been. A smirk grew on the drunkard's face as he spied the pair drawing closer, "Officers!" He shouted to the men as he waved them over. "This man just assaulted me, I want him rotting in a cell before daybreak."
The two stared him up and down, seemingly taking stock of the situation before both of the officer's eyebrows shot up in surprise and recognition. "O-Oi, isn't that..." One of the officers began. But before he could finish, the bald man shot him a harsh glare that let the cop know that if he wanted to keep his job, he wouldn't finish that sentence. "I'm sorry, did I stutter? Because I'm fairly certain I told you to haul this brat away, and yet all I see you two morons doing is standing around with your thumbs up your asses." That seemed to snap the cops from their stupor as they both gave a half-hearted "Yes sir." Before marching their way towards a shocked Bruno. "C'mon kid, let's go." One of them said before they both grabbed him by the arms and began taking him to their cruiser.
"Oi! What the hell are you doing!?" Bruno shouted as he tried to shake free from the officers' grip. "It's him you should be arresting, not me! He was about to hit somebody before I stepped in!" One of the officers gave the teen a small look of pity, before shaking his head and letting out an annoyed sigh. "Just calm down kid, you're in deep enough shit as it is, no need to make it worse with a resisting arrest charge." The resigned reluctance of the cop's voice only served to confuse Bruno even more.
He looked over his shoulder to see the drunkard staring at his retreating form, a smug self satisfied smile plastered on his face, while the woman he'd nearly abused stood just a couple yards away from him. Her face carried a look of shame on it, and her eye's looked to be on the verge of tears but she didn't appear to be trying to run away anymore from the man who not even two minutes ago attempted to beat her.
The expensive looking suit he wore, the women he almost assaulted too scared to even move more than a few steps away from him, the cops who seemed to be at his beck and call, all of these things swirled and tumbled around Bruno's mind. Bouncing and echoing off his skull, and convalescing into one crucial question as the police dropped him into the backseat of their cruiser and slammed the door shut.
Who the hell did he just piss off.
After spending an awkward night in the dingy Morioh jail with only a strange manga artist who'd apparantly been caught shoplifting for company, Bruno was finally released at around noon. Though he didn't make it back home till about three-thirty. Partially due to the fact that Morioh's jail was halfway across town from where he lived, and partly because he had no idea what to tell his Dad once he was asked why he hadn't come home last night. So he'd spent an hour or two just wandering around town delaying the inevitable and trying to come up with a decent way to break the news that he'd just spent the last twelve hours in a jail cell.
When he finally arrived at their small cabin near the outskirts of town, Bruno steeled himself and went over his explanation one last time as he marched his way to the door. Just as he was reaching for the handle, he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks. Voices. Muffled ones coming from inside the small rustic house, and they didn't sound familiar.
He yanked the door open, cursing himself for procrastinating so much, to see a group of three men all clad in dark business suits standing over the seated form of his father. Whatever conversation the men had been having with his father stopped as he entered the room, and all three men turned to face the new arrival. Two of them were obviously bodyguards of some kind, sporting dark shades and near expressionless faces. While the third with his greased back hair, conniving eyes, and hollow smile could only be described as some sort of human shaped snake.
The bodyguards gave him what looked to be a wary gaze, while the man shaped reptile seemed to perk up at his presence. "Ah, the man of the hour. We were just talking about you, come and have a-"
"Who are you people, what are you doing in our home?" Bruno interrupted, the standoffishness in his voice apparant. The shifty man's expression showed a brief flash of annoyance before returning to it's regular faux friendliness. "Of course, where are my manners. Hiroshi Yoshimura, I am an attorney representing the man you assaulted last night." The lawyer gave a small bow, but Bruno was too busy reeling from that last bit of information to even notice. "You're... What... How? It hasn't even been a full day yet!" The man let out a self satisfied chuckle. "What can I say, I'm the best in the business. Now, have a seat." A hint of impatience slipped into the man's voice as Bruno reluctantly took a seat on the small couch in their living-room.
He looked over towards his father, who hadn't even moved an inch when he'd entered the house, and found him still sitting in a chair in the corner of the room staring blankly into his own lap. His only source of movement coming from a small wheezing cough escaping his lungs that slightly shook his aged body, a sad memento from the bullet wounds he'd sustained all those years ago. He hadn't seen his Dad this distraught emotionally since he was seven years old, and everything from the utter hopelessness in his eyes to his posture sinking limply into his chair reminded him far too much of the night his mother asked him to chose who he was going to live with.
The worst part however, was the fact that it was all because of him. The consequences of his actions had drudged up memories and feelings he'd hoped would stay buried, and now they were all beginning to surface in his father's listless eyes.
"Now then..." The lawyer began. "My client is a very busy man and would like to see this matter be resolved as soon as possible, so we would like to offer you a very generous plea bargain." Bruno raised an eyebrow at this. "Plea bargain? Why would I ever take a plea bargain when I haven't even done anything wrong to begin with." Hiroshi let out a pity laced chuckle. "And who exactly is going to believe you? My client is a very wealthy and influential man. While you are, pardon me for saying, just some kid living out in the middle of nowhere. Whose word do you think the jury will put more stock in?"
Bruno narrowed his eyes at the man. "I have a witness, she'll corroborate with me on everything that happened that night." It was Hiroshi's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "Oh? You mean the witness I've already spoken to? Well she told me that she saw you deck my client across the face before violently shoving him down onto the pavement. And I imagine she'd give the exact same story if this happened to go to trial."
Bruno felt his scowl deepen. This man was either just boldface lying to him now, or he and the bastard he worked for had somehow managed to force the woman into lying just to fit their version of events. And he wasn't quite sure which one he thought was worse. "Face it boy, either you accept our offer or get sent off to rot in some juvenile detention center for a year at the very least. Tell me, which one would you prefer?" The man's voice had lost all of it's fake cordiality and now had a smug, mocking tone to it that was beginning to infuriate the younger man.
"And just so you know..." Hiroshi began, a sly grin slowly forming on his face. "Jail time isn't the only possible punishment you'll risk if you turn down our offer. I know neither of you are native to this country. So if the trial really, and I mean really doesn't turn out in your favor, there's a very good chance that both of you could be deported right back to Italy."
This caused both Buccellatis to stiffen in their seats, snapping Paolo out of his seemingly catatonic state as he clutched both of the chair's arms with a death grip. While Bruno sprang from the couch and latched on to the slimy man's shirt collar in a bout of rage and desperation. "You wouldn't dare you son of a bitch..." Bruno spat at the lawyer. However Hiroshi didn't seem fazed by the younger man's lashing out, signaling to the rapidly approaching bodyguards to stand down before looking Bruno dead in the eyes.
"Careful there boy," He said with a smirk. "We wouldn't want to add another assault charge to your record now would we?" Bruno grit his teeth together as he prepared to shove the weaselly man to the ground and tell him to get the hell out of their home, but before he had the chance his father spoke up.
"Bruno..." He turned to look and saw his father's desperate, pleading expression. Begging him not to be so rash and potentially throw away everything they had worked so hard to achieve. His hands locked together as if praying to God to give him yet another chance. "Please. Just accept the offer. Please." Bruno's expression softened, and after a moment's deliberation, he let go of the man's collar before slumping back down onto the couch with a defeated look in his eyes.
Hiroshi casually readjusted his suit, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles he may have gotten from the younger man's grip. "Well then, I assume we have a deal?" He said with a noticeable hint of satisfaction in his voice. Bruno sat motionless for a second before giving a halfhearted nod, not wanting to see the victory shining in the attorney's eyes. "Good, I'll be taking my leave then." As he and his guards made their way out of their home however, Hiroshi turned towards the family one last time.
"Oh and one last word of advice: I'd suggest you learn how to pick your battles kid. Cause if you keep this up you're gonna be in for a whole world of trouble, that I can guarantee." After the door closed, the two Italians sat in a long uncertain silence. Neither one of them quite yet sure what to do, or what to say.
A few weeks later, Bruno's court hearing finally arrived. His sentence included a mark on his permanent criminal record, immediate expulsion from Budogaoka High-School, and transferal to Shujin Academy.
Bruno zipped close the mouth of his medium sized duffle bag. He hadn't packed much, just a bunch of spare clothes along with his toothbrush and a few other hygiene supplies, but to be honest he didn't exactly have much to pack. He and his father had lived a fairly frugal lifestyle, and just about the only thing they had really splurged on in recent years was a decently expensive smartphone for Bruno, as living in modern society without one was almost a handicap nowadays.
With packing over and done with Bruno took a deep breath and steeled himself as he slung the bag over his shoulder, opened the door to his room, and began making his way to the front of the house. Waiting for him by the front door was his dad, wanting to give him one last goodbye before his son disappeared from his life for almost a year. Bruno tried to look him in the eyes, but couldn't meet his gaze, shame beginning to build up on his face.
"I... Dad I'm sorry... I didn't mean for-" He was interrupted by a sudden tight hug from his father, enveloping the teenager and stopping his apology in it's tracks. After a few seconds like this his father finally spoke. "Bruno, listen to me." Paolo said backing off from the embrace, but still keeping his hands firmly pressed on his son's shoulders. "You don't need to apologize. You're going to do great things someday, I just know it." Bruno tried to respond. "But I nearly messed everything up, all these years, everything we've worked for, I almost-"
"You were doing what you thought was right." His father interrupted again. "I know you well enough to trust your judgment when it comes to these kinds of things, if you say you're innocent I'll believe your every word." Paolo brought his son back into another embrace, one that Bruno returned this time.
"I love you son, don't ever forget that." At this point tears began streaming down the young man's face as he gave his father one final squeeze before breaking away from the hug. "I'll be back dad, this year will fly by and I'll be right back to getting my life on track, don't you worry." The older man gave his son a small smile before giving him one last reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I have no doubt."
As he left the house giving his father one last wave goodbye, Bruno felt surprisingly reinvigorated in himself. But the farther he got away from home, and the closer he got to Morioh Station, the more doubt and shame began to insidiously creep back in. And by the time he actually got to the station he began to feel hollow, empty, and lifeless. The couple of hours of waiting he did were a blur as the outside world began to fade into the background, leaving him motionless as everything started whizzing past him in a never ending dull drone of people coming and going, lights and sounds. Leaving him as lifeless as his father had been when he'd first come home. By some miracle he heard the announcement of his train to Tokyo, and after shuffling onboard, and plopping himself down onto his seat he went back to his near catatonic state.
After a short boarding process, the train began it's journey. Soon enough he began to see the familiar buildings of Morioh start streaking past his window and sinking into the distance. Leaving behind his home for the last five years, and one of the only places he'd ever felt truly safe. Once all the buildings had gone, and they'd began to move deeper and deeper into the countryside, Bruno shut his eyes and let sleep wash over him. Before slipping into unconsciousness he gave one last wonder at what this year away from home was actually going to be like.
And he prayed that it wouldn't be nearly as bad as he expected.
AN: Alright, let's try this again.
I'd like to say that I've been working on this chapter for the past nearly two years now, or that I just hadn't had the chance to write because I lost both of my hands in a tragic bear-trap accident or something, but that just wouldn't be the case. The truth is I just wasn't that happy with how the first chapter turned out honestly. It was pretty rushed as I wrote a fair bit of it one night, and I didn't even really proofread it after I was done I just shipped it out into the world immediately without a second thought. And both of those things together led to the quality of it being pretty lackluster to my standards which killed most of my motivation when it came to writing new chapters. However, I still find the premise of this story really fun so a couple months ago I decided "Fuck it" and fixed up the first chapter so that it's not shit and began working on this one whenever I could in hopes of rekindling the fic. Which brings us to now. I can't really give you a definitive schedule on when I'm going to update this again but hopefully it won't take another year and three-fourths or however long it's been as I actually think this chapter came out pretty nice.
Hopefully anyway...
Oh and one last thing: Shout out to TheCommonCold as their review was what pushed me over the edge when deciding if I should continue this fic, so if you're reading this idk dm me if you want partial writing credit or something, as I don't think this chapter would exist if not for that review
Anyway till next time I guess