Hey guys, this is a longer chapter than I've put up for a while. 4,000+ words. Anyways, I realized since I hadn't revealed how Ayano's family is rich that I had a good opportunity to do that in this chapter. I think this one's a game changer.
Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.
He was supposed to be in school at the moment, supposed to spend another Autumn day in the classroom like the good student that his mother expected him to be, but instead he and Ayano were sitting in the back of one of Masato's cars as the three of them, with the addition of the always present Goro, made their way to Ogano, Saitama. The lakes there had a reputation of being beautiful all year round, as such fishermen quite enjoyed the place, and that was partially the reason that a tiny vacation was apparently something that was needed. Skipping school wasn't usually Takeru's modus operandi, even if he did have his mother's permission that one day of classes was okay for him to miss, but he was looking forward to spending the weekend at the Oshiro family's lake house.
"Smile."
"No."
In any case, Takeru found it a bit strange, yet interestingly amusing, to watch the happy-go-lucky Goro interact with the eternally broody Masato. According to Ayano, the two of them were apparently good friends and fishing buddies, though from Takeru's point of view it just seemed as if Masato was simply annoyed with everything that Goro had to say. This seemed to be even more of the case if what Goro had to say had something to do with taking photographs.
"Come on!"
"No."
"Don't you want to make memories, Masa-chan? It's not everyday that we skip school to get some extra time out on the lakes, right?"
"I told you before not to call me that, especially in front of other people. And no, I don't think I'm going to want to remember this trip anytime soon."
Frowning, Takeru was reminded of how blatantly angry Masato was about the fact that he was going to join them on their trip. As Masato had told his sister with her boyfriend standing right beside her, they were going fishing to get rid of worms, not so that one could relax and have a nice time.
"How about you two?"
As Goro was turning back towards them from the passenger seat up front, Takeru smiled for the camera before he noticed that Ayano wasn't doing the same.
"I would rather not, Goro. Thank you."
He turned his head to look at her, and simply watched for a moment without saying anything as Ayano kept staring outside of her window. As long as he had known her, she had never been the most talkative girl around, Ayano always preferring to go on a quiet walk with him instead of going to a concert or some sort of similar event, but lately Takeru had started to notice that she had been beginning to get somewhat distant with him. He hadn't realized it at first on account of how gradual it had been over the months, but slowly she was detaching herself from him.
"I don't think that one picture would be that much of a problem, would it?"
Resting his hand on hers, it was impossible for Takeru to miss the false smile she gave him once she looked away from the window. It was a smile that was obviously forced, she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that it wasn't really genuine, and Takeru began to think on what he should do about it. She had been showing him less affection than she used to, she had been taking less chances than were given to spend time with him, and what was probably more poignant than anything else, he couldn't remember the last time that she had told him that she loved him without it sounding nonchalant or like an afterthought. True, it was something that he still hadn't said to her after nearly a year of dating, but that didn't mean that he didn't like hearing it himself.
"Okay."
Like the lady that she claimed to be, notwithstanding the dubious sexual escapade here and there, Ayano proudly held up her head for Goro's photograph and smiled. Takeru's hand was still on hers, said hand not really feeling like it belonged there, and it was then that he realized something. She was smiling for Goro, not for him.
A click and a flash later, Takeru watched as Goro put his attention back on Masato in hopes of getting the rare smiling picture, but his mind went elsewhere when he felt Ayano pull her hand away from his. It was subtle, as was the slight frown on her face, but something was bothering her. Maybe it had been bothering her since they first began dating, Takeru having a slight suspicion that it quite possibly had to do Hikari, as did nearly all his relationship problems with Ayano, and that just made things all the more difficult for him. Ignoring the thought, just as he always had done, he decided to just try asking her what was wrong, all the while hoping that it had nothing to do with a certain Yagami.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Takeru."
She was lying to him, and either she didn't care how blatant her lying sounded, or she didn't realize how bad at it she was. Nudging her leg with his hand, getting her to turn and catching her attention, Takeru made sure that she knew that he knew that she wasn't telling the truth.
"Don't give me that. I know that something's bothering you."
He didn't know what to make of it, but she seemed surprised at the sound of concern in his voice. She held her composure, a slight suspicious look being held in her eyes at the thought of Takeru actually being worried about her, and for some reason it pissed him off. He knew that his relationship with her hadn't been some sort of epic romance that would go down in history, and that the two of them being together probably wasn't the most ideal situation considering the circumstances, but that didn't mean that he still didn't have some sort of affection for her. It wasn't that passionate daring youthful sort of love that he had once held for Yagami Hikari, that he wasn't sure whether or not if he still held for his lifelong friend that never failed to give him butterflies when in his presence, but that didn't negate the fact that he still had a special sort of partiality for Ayano.
"I'm just thinking."
"It seems to me that you've been doing a lot of thinking lately."
Thinking terrified Takeru. It was when he was thinking that he realized that he and Ayano didn't really mesh together in practice as they much as they did on paper. Sooner or later, if she hadn't already, she was going to realize that maybe something was broken.
"There have been a lot of things to think about."
"Such as?"
If something was broken, Takeru knew that he could fix it. He wouldn't ever give up Hikari, she would always be too dear to him for that to happen, but the least he could do was maybe try to stop loving her. If not for Ayano's sake, or their relationship's sake, then for his own would suffice. All in all, being in love with Yagami Hikari had never really worked out in his favor. The most it had ever done was break his heart, and make him look like a fool.
"The leaves have changed colors."
It was an odd way for her to respond to him, but at least it wasn't what he was afraid that she was going to say. From the corner of his eyes he glanced at the trees they passed as Masato drove his car, and they were a soothing sight for his worried thoughts. Maybe it was just his cold loving European blood, but Takeru had always been fond of the Autumn. It was a time of year meant for warm clothes, and piano music playing in the breeze.
"Yeah, they're pretty."
"They're dead."
She sounded contemplative, something still swirling in her mind that she hadn't let out yet, but Takeru hoped for the best as he began to appreciate the time of year more and more. Hoping for things was something he that he had always been good at.
"Well, they still look nice, don't you think?"
"Ishida."
Hearing a voice that he didn't expect, Takeru looked forward at the angry sounding Masato.
"Huh?"
"Can't you see that my sister isn't in the mood to talk to you? I think she might finally be coming to her senses."
If anybody wasn't in the mood for something, it was Takeru who wasn't in the mood to put up with anything else that Masato had to say to or about him. He wasn't around Ayano's brother all that much, but every time he was Masato always had an opinion that he had to give. Usually, if not always, said opinion was more akin to a thinly veiled insult if not said outright. Frankly, Takeru was getting pretty damn sick about it.
"What's your problem with me, man? What do you have against me?" In a familiar feeling, something that seemed to follow him wherever he went, the atmosphere in the car instantly became more tense than it was already starting to get. "Does it have to do with the fact that my family doesn't have as much money as yours? Or is it because I'm not full Japanese?"
Masato gave no response for about a minute, in this time Takeru noticing how both Ayano and Goro were now frowning since neither had wanted there to be any sort of conflict on the trip, but with Masato and him being together in a confined space for a prolonged amount of time, conflict was inevitable. It was no secret to Takeru that his girlfriend's brother didn't like him, he had a feeling that maybe the dislike went even further than that, but he had never really gotten any clear clue as to why. There was always the money or class difference, though the rest of the Oshiros not caring at all made that reason a bit less implausible to him, and it made Takeru think that maybe Masato was just an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.
"I honestly don't really care about any of that."
Honestly, it was a pretty surprising statement for Takeru to hear.
"But-"
"I find enjoyment in getting under your skin, Ishida."
He didn't appreciate being cut off as if what he had to say was somehow not important, but what bothered Takeru the most about it was what Masato kept referring to him as.
"Takaishi."
The car was silent again as it just kept driving down the road, nobody daring to say a word, everyone expecting Masato to. Takeru watched Masato's face from his reflection in the rear view mirror, it was a poor angle but it was the best that he could get from his position, and he could see that Masato seemed like he was bothered by something. It wasn't the usual annoyed look that he almost always had on his face, or the pissed off one that came about every once in a while, but something about it looked off. Takeru, thinking that maybe it had to do with the angle of the reflection, couldn't place his finger on what was wrong.
"Your father's name is Ishida, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Then that's what your name should be as well, Ishida, if you have any sort of respect for the man."
With Takeru there was a certain line that could never be crossed by anyone as long as he had any say in it. That line was his family, and as much as he could handle and brush off Masato's disparaging comments about himself, Takeru refused to let him insult his family. He didn't care that this was Ayano's brother, but if necessary Takeru decided that he was going to kick some ass.
"Look, guy, you can say or think anything that you want about me, but don't talk about or disrespect my family."
Making a turn, and happily waving to another prospective fisherman as he drove more down on the otherwise deserted road, Masato wondered if Takeru had any idea just how important what he just said was. As much as he hated to admit it, as much as he hated Ayano's poor choice of a boyfriend, he acknowledged to himself that they shared certain similarities between them. If nothing else, he could at least silently admire Ishida's defensiveness over his family.
"I'll start treating your family with respect once you begin to do the same for mine."
It was an accusation that burned Takeru on the inside, and he hoped that Ayano either wasn't listening or wouldn't make the connection. She was a smart girl so he knew that his hoping would probably be for naught, but as he noticed her squirm for a moment out of the corner of his eye, he knew that her brother's words had hit her on the inside as well. The thought that maybe Ayano didn't feel she was respected wasn't something that boded well with Takeru, and he couldn't help becoming more and more pissed off with Masato by the second.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, asshole."
"Asshole, huh? At least I'm straight about it. At least I don't string some idiot girl along while still swooning over some ex-girlfriend or whatever the hell she is to you."
Hitting a nerve, a nerve that he shared with Ayano, Takeru felt another defensive instinct stir within him. It wasn't just the truth that was held within Masato's words that got to him, but it was the fact that he simply mentioned Hikari. He had once promised to protect her no matter what, and to Takeru that also meant protecting her from words that she would never hear.
"I don't want you talking about Hikari."
In contrast to the serious mood that the rest of the trip had had so far, Masato began to laugh, truly laugh. As Masato pulled his car over to the side of the road, Takeru couldn't help but feel slightly discomforted by the sort of laughing that forced the stop. In the Digital World he had heard his own fair share of psychotic laughing, but just as it had with Ken, the laughing sounded all the more disturbing when it came from a human.
When Masato stopped his laughing though, his face took on a more serious look. Masato considered maybe grabbing for a cigarette, or maybe a cigar since that looked much more impressive, but he decided against it since he didn't want Ayano to hound him later for more than just his confrontational conversation that he had been having with her boyfriend. Unbuckling his seat belt and turning around to get and give a better view, he narrowed his eyes at Takeru.
"You kind of just proved my point right now, Ishida. I just called my sister an idiot, and it's that Hikari girl that you immediately defend."
Not being able to deny it, not even with Ayano sitting beside him, pretending that she wasn't looking at him, Takeru felt like hanging his head in shame. He didn't though, and wouldn't since something like that would only work to please Masato, and he realized that no matter how big of an asshole Masato was, that there was truth in the things that he had been saying. Remaining silent, that being the only response that Takeru felt he could give, he just listened as Masato continued to speak.
"I love my sister very dearly, and to me it's a bit obvious that the same doesn't apply to you."
"I-"
"You can't say that I'm wrong, can you? I can hear it in your stuttering voice that you don't really care about her. It's a shame that my sister can't see that she's only a rebound to you."
Having heard enough, knowing that he would be the one she would go complaining to later in private, Goro tried to sound more forceful than he usually was, more commanding, but the words came out sounding more meek than anything else.
"You're making her feel bad."
Ignoring Goro's protest, Masato just continued to speak at Takeru.
"Did she ever tell you how our older brother died?"
It was a question that caught Takeru off guard with how off base it was with the rest of the conversation. He turned his head to look at Ayano to see if she was going to give any input, but she remained silent and just began staring into her hands that were folded in her lap. Giving his attention back to Masato, having the feeling that Ayano wasn't going to speak up at all as long as her brother had something to say, Takeru wanted answers.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"He was murdered, shot execution style."
Needless to say, that wasn't what he expected to hear. It wasn't just the fact that their brother was murdered that caught Takeru off guard, but what was particularly unsettling was the calmness with which Masato stated the fact. Not knowing how else he could put it, feeling sheepish and uncomfortable all the while, Takeru said the only thing that he felt that he could at the moment.
"I'm sorry."
"So were the people that killed him."
It was cryptic, and something that again felt out of place. His brows furrowed since he had no idea what Masato was getting at, and Takeru was beginning to wish that the conversation would just end so that their trip could be over as soon as possible.
"What?"
"They killed my brother to send a message to my family. A message that we gladly replied to."
Unlike Ayano, Goro decided to speak up and interrupt Masato. There were some things that weren't to be discussed with or in front of outsiders, at least not without severe consequences, and Takeru was the apex definition of an outsider.
"What the hell are you doing? You shouldn't be telling him this. It's none of his business."
"He made it his business the moment he stepped onto my property, and stuck his dick in my sister."
"But-"
Takeru watched as Masato glared at Goro, and knowing his place, as Goro shut his mouth at said glare. This conversation was starting to sound increasingly dangerous, and Takeru was feeling more and more tense the longer it went on. This wasn't something that he was supposed to, or wanted to, hear.
"They put a bullet in one of us, so we put a bullet of our own in every single one of them. Not just the gunman, though, but the family that had ordered the hit as well. Every single last one of them. Every family boss, or big brother, every last scum fuck lawyer, street thug, unknowing wife, or anyone that ever had anything to do with them. Even the kids."
It was that last sentence that changed Takeru's attitude. As one of the Chosen Children he had been a hero and a protector to those who needed it, and sitting in a car listening while someone basically admitted to multiple murders, especially those of children, he felt himself becoming angry. He wasn't sure if Masato was just bluffing or making something up, which seemed unlikely due to the way that Ayano and Goro made no move to correct him, and his hands balled up into fists not knowing what to do.
"You murdered kids?"
"Not Goro or myself personally, we were still too young when all of this happened, but we understand that some things just need to be done. It doesn't matter how ugly things get, but we have to own up to our responsibilities. Had we been old enough, we would have done what was necessary."
"Necessary? Killing kids was necessary?"
"Don't grow some balls on me now, alright, Ishida? Contrary to popular belief, children aren't innocent little creatures. In fact, many of them can be downright cruel."
Having been witness to the savagery that Ken had unleashed on a whole populace of sentient beings once in darker days, Takeru knew full well that children had a great capacity for cruelty. What that fact didn't change though, and what Ken had also proved, everyone also had a chance for redemption.
"It doesn't matter."
"What do you think would have happened had my father decided to leave the kids alone? They would have grown up to be productive members of society? I wouldn't expect you to understand, but life isn't just black and white, or good versus evil. There's a scum fuck inside of all of us, and as benign as you think you think you are, there's a scum fuck inside of you as well. Trust me, I've seen him."
"Your father is the one who had those children killed?"
"My father is the one who avenged Denjiro, but yes, he's the one who gave the word. Every Yakuza does need a leader, after all."
Takeru felt disgusted with himself. Ayano's father was a man that he had had dinner with, a man he had tried to impress, and a man whose approval he once sought. He had assumed that his girlfriend's father was a successful business man of some sort, especially since the man had seemed to be more mild mannered than he would have come to expect from someone who was apparently a Yakuza boss.
"You're gangsters."
It was a word that Takeru spat out instead of outright saying it. It was a word that Masato paid little heed to as he simply continued on.
"We're a family, and family means that we watch out for one another no matter the circumstances. Blood for blood, and all that. It also means not letting outsiders fuck with us. And that in particular is something that I've been wondering about, Keru-chan." Pausing for effect, Masato turned away from Takeru and buckled his seat belt before he began to start up his car again. Beginning to drive once more, not bothering to even look at Takeru again, Masato finally asked what had been on his mind, "Are you fucking with us, Ishida?"
As they began to pass trees once more on the road, Takeru knew full well that what Masato asked was more than just a simple question or accusation, what Masato was saying was a dare. More so, it was a threat not to cross him. Not knowing what he was going to do with the information he had found out on the Oshiro family, not knowing if he was even going to do anything at all, Takeru just answered Masato as simply as he could.
"No."
"Good, because I think that I'm actually starting to like you, Ishida." laughing, Masato seemed to have no care in the world despite all the ugly and revealing things that had been said. "This might be a fun trip after all."
Regretting having agreed to go on the trip out on one of the famous lakes of Ogano, regretting what he had found out about Ayano's family, Takeru just stared at the passing trees, wanting time to go by as fast as it could.
He had always liked the autumn, especially since it was the time of year that piano music lingered on the breeze, but the changing colors of the leaves didn't look as nice or as pretty to him as they once did anymore. For the first time in his life he realized something that he had never paid much mind to as a boy. The leaves were dying.
I do a lot of writing original fiction, and said writing is usually about criminals. Gangsters, mobsters, vigilantes, etc. Figured, let me show you guys that little aspect of what I like to write.
Hikari/Takeru chapter next. It'll be up soon.
