Sitting down by the dining table, Takashi waited for his mother. She soon joined him with two cups of coffee.
"Here." She sets the drink on the table. Takashi nods his thanks. Sitting down herself, she took a sip of her coffee.
"Where to start?" She ponders as her son looks expectantly.
"Just keep it summarize, please. I am tired as well as shocked you know about the dream." Takashi requests grasping his drink and taking a gulp himself.
His mother nods. "Fair enough. I know because I have been through the dream myself."
Takashi was silent at the revelation. He let her continue.
"I was your age when it happened. I partake and finished the hunt."
"But how...? How did you deal with those things?"
"I did the same as you probably did." She answers somberly. She put down her mug to look at her son.
"Takashi, what you and I went through will continue to happen to your descendants."
Takashi gripped his mug. Why? What purpose does it serve?
"Why does this happen?"
"It's in our blood. That dream. It was memories of our ancestors."
Takashi looked up in horror. "No... No. That's not right. I made my choices, I knew what I was doing."
"The beginning and end of the dream are what matters. Each of us can decide how to live that life but the ending is always set in stone." She reaches for her son, clasping her hand on top of his.
"Tell me Takashi, how many times did you repeat?"
Takashi looked down, as if in shame. "Six, six times."
He heard a sharp gasp before a hand touched his face. Looking up, he saw his mother's teary eyes. "Why six? Why did it take you so long? It was only two times that it took me."
"I don't know... But... Wait, by ending which did you mean? As far as I know dream repeats after two of three endings."
Takashi explained to his confused mother about the things he had seen during those last moments of the dream.
"All those times... You could have ended the dream earlier if you had just used the umbilical cords." His mother says with horror and disappointment. She learned how to end the dream during her second attempt, the umbilical cords of great ones was the only item that stand out to her.
"But anyway, you mean to tell me that we dreamt of our ancestor? Who were they?"
"I don't know their exact name, it has been lost for a long time now. But, in English, their name throughout the lands was the "Good Hunter" but our family referred to them as You Kariudo. My mother explained to me that the known theory was that the great one of which the hunter became had found another surrogate, instead of being another great one being born, it was a human who had been cursed to dream of that hunt."
"So the hunt is inevitable."
"Yes, fortunately, once you went through it, you don't ever have to dream of that place again. All the skills and knowledge you learn will be retained."
"That doesn't change the fact that my body changed."
"A side effect. Once you went through the dream, not just psychological changes are happening but physical ones."
Takashi nods, he still didn't quite understand the whole process but it was enough for him.
"What now? Am I supposed to pretend that nothing ever happened?" Takashi wondered as he looked at his stronger physique.
"Yes, no one will believe you besides those who have gone through it themselves or those who have been confided to with the knowledge. Just be a normal high schooler again. Go to class, find a girlfriend, and have fun."
"I was having trouble doing all of those before the dream."
"Then just ease yourself into it. It took me a while to break off some habits but the important ones are still there."
Takashi thought of it before the dream. It was hard to remember anything else before. His mind callused to the hunt. His former lover, Rei, and best friend, Hisashi. The two had found love when he had failed at being a boyfriend. Saya is always so proud and strong-willed. His longest friend. He should try to spend more time with them.
Making amends with his past was the last lesson he learned in the dream.
Takashi nods before finishing his coffee. "Thanks, mom. It's still all a shock to me."
She smiles sincerely. "You will get past this Takashi, you only need time and you have your whole life ahead of you."
The two stayed in silence as nothing couldn't break this bond between mother and son.
Slam*
Takashi rose to his feet faster to look at the sudden noise. His wrist was grasped firmly, and looking back at his mother, she held a calm expression.
"Relax, it's just your father. Your senses are sharp but do not worry. Your safe."
Takashi looked in the direction of the noise, his old man. Dressed in his work clothes. He had jet black hair with a shorter hairstyle similar to himself. Locking the door behind him, he walked to see in surprise his family awake at this hour.
"Takashi, Hiromi, what are you doing up this early?"
"Oh, just a head start is all." Takashi heard his mother explain. He was too stunned to think, his father was right in front of him.
"Takashi? Are you alright?" His father asks with concern setting down his briefcase. The son couldn't handle it anymore, walking forward he hugged his old man.
"Dad..."
"Hey, kid? What's the matter?" The Kuromo Patriarch looked over at his wife in confusion.
"Takashi had a nightmare. A really bad one."
The father instantly caught on. He nodded before hugging his son back. "Welcome home son. It must have been some nightmare."
"You have no idea." Takashi chuckles weakly.
At that moment, his family was here with him. He took for granted all these years. The dream had taught him so much, and he learn things about himself that he didn't know existed. His growth as a person was noticeable to his parents.
While it was true that no one besides Hiromi and Takashi experienced the dream, Takeda, Takashi's father, knew through seeing firsthand what the dream did to the descendants of the Good Hunter.
Takeda and Hiromi were high school lovers back in the day and often spend time in each other's homes. One evening in Hiromi's home after some fun. The two rested on the futon. Takeda awoke during the night to the sounds of his girlfriend screaming and crying. No matter what he did, he couldn't wake her. So instead, he held her the whole night.
Come daylight, Hiromi was not the same girl. She looked as if haunted and traumatized. It took a few weeks before Hiromi could open up to Takeda. The constant nightmares and silence between the two made him confused and worried.
When she spoke of her experience in the dream, at first he didn't believe it. But when she showed him the scars that weren't there before having sex. He accepted this reality.
The years went by and the two grew from that experience. Bonds grew and the two married. Hiromi spoke about how this will continue through their bloodline but Takeda was unafraid of having children. They promised to be there for future children, especially when the time comes.
"Do you want to skip class today?"
"No... I don't want to cause too much attention by being absent and I already don't have a great record." Takashi explains.
"Speaking of attention, you should cut your hair. Your physique is harder to change but can at least be covered by your uniform." Hiromi pointed out, patting her son's long hair.
Takashi nodded before breaking the hug with his father. The patriarch looked at his only child with a smile.
"Want me to cut it for you? You still have time two hours before you have to get ready."
"Sure dad."
As the two men left the living room, Hiromi looked at her husband, due to the high emotions in Takashi's mind, he couldn't sense it as she did.
Illness and blood. A bite mark seemed to be due to the amount of blood has been lost. Judging by the cold sweat from Takeda's neck, he had been wounded for a while.
His upper body was dressed in a white long sleeve dress shirt. No blood there, so it had to be lower. Hiromi looked at where her husband had walked, droplets of blood were there on the wooden floor.
She suppressed her worries before cleaning it. The blood smelt different, despite the years, her experience and knowledge never faded. The blood was indeed human but deathly. A disease.
She promised herself to talk to him later on.
For the next half an hour, Takashi was sitting in the backyard looking onward at the break of dawn. His father circled him, making the necessary cuts needed. He remembered his son's look before today so it was easy to cut the inches away.
"Did you know? About mom?" Takashi asks.
"I was there when she was going through it. That night... It was horrible." Takeda answered sniping a few loose strands.
"What did you do?"
"What could I do? I tried everything, from shaking her, yelling at her to wake up, and even smacking her. But in the end, I just laid next to her and let her continue her pain."
"What about grandma, wasn't she around?"
"Your mother's relationship with your grandmother was strained, Takashi. She wasn't present most of her daughter's life, she only came back when the night ended and that was cause I couldn't help Hiromi.
I pleaded with your grandmother to help her because your mother went through something that I didn't know how to help. When she eventually came, the healing started for your mother."
Takashi took it all as his father explained the past.
"I am worried though, you have a different reaction compared to your mother. Did she tell you her experience with the Hunt?"
Takashi nods. "After finishing the dream twice, she woke up. But for me, it took me six times to eventually wake up."
He felt his father's hand on his shoulder. "It must have been difficult, I am sorry I couldn't do any more for you."
Takashi shakes his head. "It's fine."
"No, it's not. It's not fair to you and mother that you have to go through that." Takeda stresses.
"But I want to know why didn't you tell me about the dream sooner," Takashi asks.
His father let go of his shoulder to comb over the hair. "It wasn't something I wanted to agree to but your mother convinced me that it would be best you lived your life in bliss rather than wait in worry about what's to come. It's inevitable apparently."
"But she could have prepared me... Trained me... Or at least tell me how to go through the dream."
"It's not so simple as that Takashi, and honestly, would you even believe us? Just one day start preparing yourself for the worst night of your life. It would be made the experience worse, as Hiromi told me, that the dream is a blank slate across your mind and body. No amount of prior skill would put you on an even playing field. It was something your Grandmother had told us. She was trained by her father but it was for nothing."
Takashi wanted to say to his father that he would have listened but stopped, it made sense. Before the dream, he was an unmotivated teenager with no desire or direction in life. He also didn't have a good sense of maturity and would have ignored his parents, to begin with.
The dream taught him about purpose and direction. As horrid and fucked up the hunt was, it was the best thing to happen for his growth even at the cost of his sanity and innocence.
Still, that was looking at it logically, he wouldn't be able to rest easy for a while now. He bathed in too much blood, uncovered many secrets, and have more insight than he can ever need.
After a few more minutes of mindless chatter between father and son, Takashi obtained his old look. Standing up to thank his father's help, he paused at the scent that finally reached his nose.
"Dad, are you wounded?" Takashi bluntly asks, catching his father off guard. The silence was the answer, a horrible but truthful one.
"Where?"
"My calve. Some guy at work charged at me and took a bite. He seemed sick but the security had apprehended him. I came home after I bandaged it."
"How long ago was the bite?"
"Less than an hour, I got attacked right as I left the airport."
"We should go to a hospital." Takashi insisted.
"Takashi it's okay. I feel fine, just need to wash up and clean the wound before bandaging it again."
"Can I see it before you put on the wraps?"
His father is hesitant at the question. With trepidation, he nods as he puts away his grooming tools.
Once the two went inside, Takashi saw his father retrieve a medkit kept in their living closet and head into the bathroom.
Takashi, concerned, went to look for his mother. He hoped his mother would convince his father to go to a hospital.
She was still in the living room cleaning droplets of blood on the rag. Takashi felt his spine chill. His emotions lead him ignorant of his father's injury.
"So you finally smelled it. Don't blame yourself." His mother consoled him as she worked the last droplets.
"Mom, you need to convince dad to go to a hospital. His wound smelled terrible."
She nods before getting up. "I will take him when I leave for work. For now, let him rest."
Takashi wanted to refuse the lack of action but his mother beat him to it.
"Your father is tired more than usual and that's not just of the minuscule blood loss. Any sane person would have gone to the hospital after being attacked, even your father. He might be experiencing symptoms of serious fatigue. The pain might have been dulled or worse numbed."
"Then we should take him now!"
"In that condition? Let him rest Takashi, for an hour at least. I will drive him to the hospital."
"Do you think he got a disease?"
"It's possible but it's less than an hour's drive from a nearby airport where he works. A disease would rarely act that quickly."
Takashi noted his father's expressions. He was pretending to be okay for his sake. It wasn't right, his father didn't think that his son wouldn't originally noticed the wounds if it hadn't been for the dream.
Waiting with his mother, they both heard the shower stop and his father's voice as he opened the door. "I am done, Takashi come."
His son obeyed, and Takeda waited for his sole heir.
Takashi stopped and turned to look inside the bathroom. His father was setting down the first aid pack.
Takashi felt his spine chill at the wound. It was dark around the wound. Veins and arteries blacken near it. Skin paled overall. It was hard to believe but easy to acknowledge.
His father was sick.
"It looks worse than it is. The bleeding mostly stopped after the shower. I just need to put some gauze and wraps." Takeda explained with a tired smile.
Takashi felt his blood warm up. Whoever attacked his dad, they would pay in blood. "We need to take you to the hospital."
Takeda's smile faltered slightly. "There's no arguing with you I suppose. Let me rest for a bit, we will leave around the time you go to school."
Takashi wanted to argue, and plead with his father to seek medical attention. But his old man held a strong gaze, the kind that he rarely did and it meant to listen to him.
With a nod, Takashi left the bathroom with the intention of going into his room. His mother, by his peripheral, went inside to tend to his father.
Once Takashi made it into his room, he closed the door with a sigh. Walking over to his bed he sat down and reach for the remote. Turning on the television for a local news network.
Sadly the program wouldn't be available until the time he had to leave for school, just re-running television shows and comedy dramas. Leaving it on, Takashi looked into his closet to find his uniform. Trying it on, it felt a bit tight, especially the upper body. All the added muscle on his lean frame made it look noticeable that he was different.
However, any of his other clothes were a no-go. School had a mandatory dress code and breaking that dress code wasn't worth it.
Sitting down on the bed, he turned to check his phone. The thing wasn't even charged. Sighing, he plugged it in and laid down on his bed with nothing else to do.
Closing his eyes, Takashi wanted to see if this was real. That this wasn't part of the curse.
An hour past easily than expected, and despite the caffeine, Takashi rested.
A knock on the door awoke him again. He was in his room, it was real. This morning, the revelation of his family's blood. All of it is real.
Even his father's condition...
Getting up immediately, Takashi made sure to get his phone from the charger and pocketed it. Grabbing his nearby house keys on his desk and his bag.
He met his family downstairs. His mother dressed for her day in elementary school and his father casually dressed. They awaited him with a smile.
"You ready?" Asks his mother. Takashi nods.
"Let's go, I will drop you off first Takashi."
The family of three made it into the sedan with Takashi in the back, his father in the passenger side, and his mother driving.
The ride two schools were uneventful, Takashi took glances at the rear-view mirror. His mother's gaze would meet his and flicker towards his dad's before focusing on the road. Takashi took a glance at his father's expression, he looked worse off. Bags under his eyes. His skin paled more than just the wounded area, now his face, arms, and assumingly the rest of his body lost complexion.
He didn't notice or pay any attention to his wife and son. Just staring ahead.
Once they got to the school, Hiromi parked by the parking space at the bottom of the hill leading to the school.
"Have a nice day Takashi."
"I will, thanks for the ride mom."
Takashi unbuckled his seat belt before feeling a hand on his head. Looking up his father leans and turns to face his son with a smile.
"Take care Takashi. I just want you to know. I am proud of you son."
Blinking in surprise, Takashi felt a surge of emotions in him. He put it down slightly by showing a smile of his own. "Thanks, dad."
His father just smiled at him. Like he was the happiest man in the world.
Their farewells were shared and the parents dropped off Takashi. He looked at the departing vehicle before turning his back to face the school along with many other students. Walking along, pretending to be the old him...
"Hiromi, let's go home..." Takeda suggests. His wife looked at him with concern. Over the hour since Takashi was napping. She noticed the condition was getting worse.
"I can take you to a hospital." She says with urgency.
"No... No need, right now I just want to spend the morning with you." Takeda looks at her.
Hiromi wanted to think logically, the hospital wasn't far. They could make it in time. But they both knew that after all the tests and examinations, it would be over.
Making a choice, she drove back in the direction of home.
His final wish was to be with family, and she would grant him that.
When arriving back home, they walked back to the backyard. The sunshine had bathed the area brightly.
Taking a seat on the grass, they dirted their outfits, laying together. Soon they just talked about things, their life, marriage, and eventually their only child.
"Takashi's grown, hasn't he? Just the other day you were taking him to your elementary school." Takeda chuckled
"Yes, I remember. He was a loud boy."
"Hmm." Takeda agreed. Before coughing, his arm covered his mouth before dropping it, a bloodstain was left on it.
"Hiromi... Take care of Takashi..." He breathlessly requested.
"I will..." Hiromi pleaded.
Both had tears, they didn't know what to do but only that it was close. The end...
"I love you and Takashi..." He said before grunting and coughing. Clutching his chest as if he was being vice gripped by death. Hiromi wept for him. His lasting moments were painful but thought of family.
She checked his pulse, it was gone. The body, cooling down.
She knelt beside him. Hoping that he was finally at rest.
"Raugh..." Hiromi opened her eyes at the sound. It emitted from the body before her.
Looking at him slowly rise...it was haunting. Hiromi's tears did not stop. It was her husband, but no longer him at all.
Immediately, the hunter within her came to life. She evaded the grasp, dashing back to the house.
"Takeda!"
"Raugh!"
He walked towards her. Hiromi prepared to submit him. Going behind him, she kicked the back of the knees causing him to fall forward then soon wrapped him in a chokehold.
"Stop this! It's me!" She screams but he growled as a result. Eventually, the struggle stopped, assuming he was finally unconscious, she heard a sickening snap.
Takeda's head was turning to an impossible degree. It threaten to break his neck, Hiromi let go but before she could his grip got her.
She was surprised, her husband was not this strong, and it was difficult to get off. Even his finger was digging into her flesh. The grip was stronger than she expected, which caused her to shout in pain.
The undead-Takeda growled before opening his jaw immensely. Before tearing into his wife's shoulder. Hiromi, with newfound peril, used an old technique from the hunt. She winded her hand and thrust it into her husband's chest, breaking the sternum and ripping out the heart, the visceral.
It wasn't enough, he didn't let up.
Using all of her strength, she pushed him off her. His fingers left gashes on her skin. Blood gushed from her neck, but she didn't pay any mind. Crushing the heart in her hand, she steeled herself, it was the head.
Takeda stumbled but pushed himself upright once to meet only an incoming dropkick to his face. The heels dug past his eyes and hit his brain.
Hiromi caught herself after her attack, and Takeda fell back and didn't get up.
She sat down trying to process the situation. However, the pain had come too. The wound on her neck left her fatally wounded. She only fought this hard due to adrenaline.
Applying pressure to her wound, Hiromi looked with horror and sadness. It was a disease, a bloodborne. No... It was happening all over again.
"Takashi!" Hiromi realized before attempting to stand up. She felt herself feel fainter than ever. "The blood..." Her whole porch was covered in it. She needed to bandage the wound but...it was hard... To stay awake.
Her boy... All alone...
Takashi, Hiromi felt her body weaken and vision darken. The disease was working its way into her body, her heart, and her brain. They were being affected faster than her husband.
She coughed out her blood... Lies there next to the body of her late husband. She had only thought of her family...
'This is all a bad dream...'
Then came a cry, a soft, animalistic cry, very reminiscent of the Vicar in the distant dream...
Meanwhile...
Takashi did his best to remove himself from this sickening feeling. But it can never go away. The day had started and classes were normal. The only thing not normal was him. How he talked, his averted gaze, and his cold demeanor were noticed by some more observant people. He did his best to ignore their gaze but eventually, it was too much...
"Takashi wait up man!" Hisashi was in the middle of talking to Rei when he noticed him leave.
The class was almost starting, but the teacher hadn't arrived at the class yet.
"What's up with him?" Rei asks coldly.
"Might be a personal problem, I should go see." Hisashi was about to leave but his girlfriend grab his arm.
"Class is almost starting, you can see him when lunch comes by," Rei argued, Hisashi, sighing, relented. Sitting back down, the couple heard a scoff and a seat being moved. It was Saya Takagi. The pink-haired, honor roll student of the school in academics. She left the room abruptly. As some of the class looked in confusion, one of those students was a young man with glasses and an overweight build.
As Takashi made his way to the staircase that he remembers using to collect his thoughts. He passed by a blonde school nurse escorting a young man with a similar bite mark to his father, on his arm. The smell revolted Takashi. Pressing onward, he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry." Takashi apologized before rushing away with the Takagi soon following after him.
The bystander with the kendo practice sword looked at the young man with an unimpressed expression before morphing into a subtle smirk. She found him... After all this time...
A slight giggle left her voice before making her way to the gymnasium.
Overall, everyone else believed it to be mere high school drama and romance in-between. What did you expect from teenagers?
All blissfully aware that their ordinary life was about to end that day...
Next up- Spring (Scourge) of the Dead