Mr. Reaper

I do not own The World Ends With You, Square Enix does!

Mr. Reaper Part 0 was written as a one-shot for Twelve Shots of Summer: Hexa-Code-Kernal - Week 7...

Subsequent chapters may or may not reflect the same disclaimer format as seen above and will receive author notes when applicable.

...

0 - Mr. Son

Year of 1975...

"Sweetie, you fret over nothing... Sooner or later, Kage will become part of the family, and you will have a father again."

Her son went rigid at those words.

"Father again…?" he echoed bitterly, shaking his head angrily before raising his voice coldly. "Do you really think I should have a father again!?" He gestured to himself and her stiffly. "My father- your husband-" He cried out harshly when thinking about the absurdity as he shot a glare at her, "Do you really think you could just replace him with a scumbag!?"

Her dark gaze sharpened. "He is not scum, he is a wonderful man!"

The near adult incredulously scoffed, "Yeah right- whenever he's belittling you... controlling your life... he is such an angel-"

"Enough of this- I do not like how you have never given him a chance and have affronted him at his every visit!" she shrieked shrilly, and he recoiled upon her reproach. She rose to her feet, her dark brown eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she continued her scolding, "We both lost your father, but that is no excuse for me to remain a widow!" She shook her index finger at him. "I can move on if I want... I know you love your father and miss him, but you cannot snub Kage because he is not your father!"

"That's a perfect reason for me to snub him!" He threw up his arms in frustration, laughing humourlessly before snarling viciously, "He will never be my father! Especially when that swine doesn't even know how to treat you properly with the love and respect you deserve!" He rose to his feet, stiffly standing before his mother. "He doesn't know you like you think you know him- I had to step in front of his hand that was intended for you last time!" He narrowed his eyes to slits, spitting out furiously, "Who raises a hand to someone they're dating!? He doesn't care for you-"

"That is enough!" she snapped. "If you have a problem with him, you do not have to stay living with me!"

He wilted as he widened his eyes in horror, gaping at her speechless for a long minute. Soon, he stuttered out in dismay, "Th-Then who will protect you!?"

"I do not need protection, I just want to be with someone I love!" she huffed as she coldly regarded him with a glare. As her slight facial wrinkles twisted hideously, his heart sunk. "You are nearly old enough to live on your own… I do not care if you are almost twenty, you appear to know better than me, so I think you are now responsible enough to leave since you are the more mature adult out of the two of us."

A heated surface of a knife's blade wouldn't sting as much and sear into his mind as severely as her barbed words had. "Th-That's not what I was talking about! What do you mean I should leave!?" He gaped incredulously afterwards, pleading desperately with his eyes. 'No- no- no- don't do this-!'

The black haired widow pursed her lips, not showing any indication she even heard him. "You should not let my relationship anchor you down from progressing, and you do understand I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She waited, leaving him nonplussed at what to do or say to make her reconsider her decision right now when she raised her voice sternly. "Well?"

He lowered his head as he frowned from hurt. "B-But… mother-" She continued to glower at him, leaving him flailing on the spot helplessly. He had to say something to get through to her or it'll be over! "I can't just leave you with him!"

"Why not?" she asked shallowly in taunt, like she was baiting him in to establish her point the moment he messed up. He hated when she acted like this, intentionally making him feel small and worthless…

That's all she saw him as… worthless. Like he didn't matter to her anymore- like he was just being a badly behaved child when she was no different herself… He lived with her all his life- surely she should have cared about any of his concerns or opinions! Acting like he was a dumb fool sprouting out nonsense… when all that he'd done was love her unconditionally as any son would. He had her best interests at heart, dammit!

He wasn't attacking her or fighting with her about her decision to date the absolute worst person in the world, he was trying to protect her! If anyone was snubbing anyone, she was snubbing him! He wouldn't stand for her to continue on like this, not when she was careless about heeding the signs he saw! He promised his father he would protect her, and even as a twelve-year-old, he understood what had to be done.

And he wouldn't dare to back down… even if he died trying!

"You have to listen to me for once!" he retorted vexedly and almost wearily, shaking his head before he unsteadily breathed while searching her expression for the yield he needed to turn this dangerous discussion around. "If I leave, It'll be an insult to father's final words! I can't ignore the way that sc- man- treats you! It's not like I don't want you to be happy-" He felt his lower lip quiver, sniffing wetly as he whispered defeatedly, "I don't want to lose you too…"

She inhaled slowly, soon giving a measured murmur, "You will not."

His eyes burned. 'Don't lie to yourself, you will…'

"Kage is taking me on another date today," she told him tartly, instantly alarming him as he opened his mouth in protest only to be cut off when she raised a hand to stop him. "I expect you to be polite and play nice or go out for the night to give us some peace." She frowned sadly soon after as she turned to walk to the paper shoji door. As she opened it, she crisply added, "I need this... you must surely understand that."

After she disappeared into the next room, the nineteen-year-old lowered his head into his hands. "You know he's awful… why pretend he'll change or place your own perception of him over your vision?" he asked quietly in the empty room, knowing he wouldn't get an answer even if his mother hadn't left it. He gradually sank back down on his cushion, gripping the fabric of his pants as he settled onto his knees. He shook his head before he choked out fearfully, "You need to understand this isn't healthy for you!"

An impatient knock sounded.

He cursed loudly, his mother immediately shouting out her displeasure of that through the thin walls.

'Isn't this great... He's an hour earlier than he should be here, so that leaves me and him to our lovely chat again until she's satisfied we've played nicely enough with each other!' Refusing to budge at first, he was content to let the knocks continue to keep the scumbag out as long as possible for thinking it was just dandy to drop on in at this ungodly hour, only to groan internally when his mother scathingly shrieked for him to get the door already. He stiffly rose as painfully slow as he could, clenching his fists as he took his time to stomp towards the front door as more sharp knocks sounded and ignored his mother's second angry shriek. 'Because heaven knows why my mother thinks she should spend extra time getting ready just to force me to bond with that arrogant scumbag like it's the smartest idea ever!'

Breathing shakily as his blood boiled, he didn't fail to show how displeased he was to see the man when he opened the door. He glowered icily as Kage's exuberant expression wavered before stabilizing.

"Hey there, Ji-Ji," said the slightly messy haired man in his rumpled dressshirt and scuffed slacks, laughing sheepishly as he pushed past the nineteen-year-old immediately, "Always nice to see you again, I guess..." As the younger male was slammed into the side of the shoji door straightaway, he was dazed as pain throbbed through the side of his face and ribs. Shaking his head a bit, he soon took to observing the unwelcome scumbag when the wooziness cleared.

The sleazy man was pacing and shifting on the ivory tatsumi lazily in his socks, not in the slippers they all had to put on before entering, while acting as if he owned this house! The thought made him narrow his brown eyes more as the thirty-five-year-old man yapped out annoyingly, "Is Amaya-chan around by chance, Ji-Ji?"

'You're younger than her!' He fumed as the shoji door stirred. 'Show some respect to my mother, go back outside and stay out, and stop calling me 'Ji-Ji'!'

His mother popped her head out from the shoji when it slid open, appearing calm unlike how she was when heckling her own son two minutes ago. Upon seeing her shine immediately before grinning at Kage, it made the nineteen-year-old absolutely sick to his stomach. "I did not expect you to arrive so soon!"

'I'm sure you were hoping for that to punish me with his presence!' snarked the younger male coldly in his head, narrowing his eyes. 'Anytime I get home earlier than usual after unloading the produce and doing errands for the Gotarutsus' bodega, you tell me I'm just being lazy!'

"Ah, well…" Kage purred as he sat down on the nineteen-year-old's cushion, not even bothering to regard how much he was angering the nineteen-year-old with his disrespectful demeanour and refusal to regard his wrongful actions. "Work let me out early again. Too many staff today and all…" He shook his head, crossing his arms (pretending to be sage-like) as he grumbled, "You cannot believe how incompetent the managers are- I bet I could do simple work schedules much better than them!"

She smiled back tenderly. "You work hard. I cannot imagine they are not considering a promotion for you."

'What does she see in him!?' thought the nineteen-year-old bitterly as he kept his narrowed eyes set on the man as he smiled appreciatively back while his mother brightened more. 'His over-bloated ego is nothing to swoon at- and he clearly is disregarding the fact it's a busy season! A fucking, busy, season!' He sneered silently towards the man, crossing his arms as he sniffed. 'Does he even think about these factors before blurting these ridiculous statements out!?'

"Hopefully…" drawled the scumbag mindfully, frowning as his ebony eyes narrowed. "I could do it if they actually gave me an opportunity." He threw up his hands to shrug noncommittally and tutted, "It's like they don't trust me… or there's some other sorry excuse they've refrained from informing me about. Can't they just tell it to me straight?" He thumped a hand to his chest, raising his chin up as he snorted, "I'm a guy who could take it!"

'Oh wow, I wonder why they don't trust you yet...' The near adult rolled his eyes during his mental scoff as he pressed his back to the front door, feeling his shoulders go rigid at the syrupy bullshit he was hearing. 'Surely you deserve so much more recognition so your head can finally blow off your neck from all the testosterone they're pumping through your damn system!'

It would be glorious if it did happen. There would be one less scumbag in the world… and his mother finally could be freed from being blinded by her stupid attraction to that swine.

The man paused, cocking his head towards the blond questioningly. "Are you just going to stand there? Your legs must be achy from not resting for so long…" He twisted to face the younger male better, jerking his head to the cushion belonging to the younger male's mother pointedly. "Won't hurt for you to-"

Instantly, the near adult was miffed.

"I'm fine," he bit out sharply, averting his gaze.

"You sure?" the man japed annoyingly. "No one's taking your mother's spot right now…"

'Because you're taking my spot!"

"I'm perfectly fine here," sniffed the younger male dismissively, earning a sharp look from his mother. "Just… continue with yourselves and don't mind me…"

"We could always bring out another cushion?" suggested his mother perkily, smiling at him warmly but all the younger male saw was the raw, ugly annoyance gleaming in her disappointed gaze for him. "We could all sit down and have a nice conversation together-"

The only other cushion was the younger male's father's...

Coldly adopting a pleasant smile, two could play that game. "It got stained earlier," he returned sweetly with innocence, receiving a look of alarm from the scumbag and accusation burning back at him now from his mother. "I was trying to get it out earlier when I had to leave for work… Since it is the busy season and all, Mr. and Mrs. Gotarutsu really need my help lately."

...At least the last statement he told them was true; his muscles did twinge from the memory of all the heavy lifting the old couple had him doing.

"Thanks for the great help!" hooted Mrs. Gotarutsu warmly as the younger man was setting down the last crate. "That is the last one, hon!"

"We would not have gotten it done without you!" added her husband with a wheeze of laughter.

"He is Marusaro's son after all!" murmured Mrs. Gotarutsu with glee, clasping her wrinkly hands together tenderly as she went on to reminisce, "You do not find young men as efficient and diligent as Marusaro was when he wandered on over from Kyoto unless you search for his only atotsugi."

"Then we got the luck of the draw, I suppose!" guffawed Mr. Gatarutsu as his head snapped back to bellow more hearty, wheezy laughs. "Hahaha…"

"And to think all that Marusaro used to do was twiddle a needle and thread at his father and mother's textile shop until he branched over to us in Shibuya!" hummed the old lady with a happy sigh. "I still have all those cushions he used to make for us… and I cannot find it within my heart to separate myself from them."

"Then we turned him into the vigorous man who brought his son into the world to stumble upon us again!" The old man clapped jovially as he shot a look to the youngest among them and gave the young man a big grin with his yellowed, half-intact teeth.

"Our greatest achievement- we created a legend!" bellowed the old lady as she wiped away a single tear before she sniffled happily.

"Now we got to work from the ground up with his son!" continued her husband boastfully with a knowing nod.

"I think he is turning out quite nicely…" Mrs. Gotarutsu murmured warmly, nodding with a hum, "Mmm, look at those biceps he is sporting already!"

The young man smiled small, shaking his head in good nature of their pleasant jabs towards him.

"Oh, sorry about that!" bellowed Mr. Gotarutsu with wheezy laughs when he appeared to remember the young man they were talking about was still with them. "Just our oldster talk you youngsters probably do not care for hearing, eheh-hahah…"

"N-Not a problem…" he replied with a polite nod. "It's always nice to hear stories of my father."

"Oh do not be coy, we all know we jibber jabber too much for our own good!" fussed Mrs. Gotarutsu, a playful light in her eyes that crinkled at him.

"No, no…" he protested sheepishly with a little chuckle, shaking his head briefly. "I'm always welcome to a pleasant conversation, so I don't mind at all."

"Pah- do not be so coy I said!" she scolded with a hearty slap to her knee, laughing hard as the young man merely again chuckled at that. "You have to have a spine to lean on, or you will just fall apart one day!"

"How about you go home, son." The old man walked up as the young man was about to go and close up the waiting pickup truck. "You deserve it."

All the young man did was shy away when a hand landed on his shoulder, feeling uncomfortable at the sensation of the weight and unwelcome familiarity. "It was really nothing… I was just doing my job."

"No, no- we insist!" Mrs. Gotarutsu snapped. "We still are kicking and biting! And working you to your grave is not in the job description we promised you when you came to look for work."

"And you certainly need a break!" also insisted her husband as he stepped back, turning the young man around. "Now git!" He lightly shoved the younger man before wheezily letting out another laugh. "Hahaha… no need for you to fuss over our brittle bones!"

"I-If you don't need any more help, I-I suppose I could…" he murmured in defeat, raising a hand up to wave. "I'll be in by six again!"

"Bah- come at seven!" yelled Mr. Gotarutsu wheezily in mockful frustration. "You got to get some sleep in, you silly little owl, or you will be of no use to our happy bodega if someone mistakes you for the persimmons when checking out!"

"Okay, okay- seven then," he said mildly with a nod as he turned to bow goodbye. "Thank you for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Gotarutsu."

He turned to continue ambling away as the married couple happily chimed back hollers in return, "And thank you for your time! Say hi to Amaya-san for us!"

"I will! Thank you..."

He lowered his head. "I only got home not too long ago when mother needed my help, so I didn't have time to clean it…" He bowed, forcing as much regret he could muster into his voice. "I'm sorry for only bringing it up now…"

When standing normally again, the younger male noticed that while his mother didn't look convinced, the scumbag slowly nodded with widened eyes as he spoke, "You did say the cushions were your wedding gifts from your inlaws, Amaya-chan…" He promptly smiled appraisingly at the younger male, but that served to make him feel contaminated and ill. They shared narrowed eyes with each other before the scumbag went on grandiloquently, "Heirlooms deserve the best care and attention, especially when such textile work cannot be replicated now in our day and age!" He patted the younger male's cushion tenderly with a content 'uh-huh' before he clasped his hands on the old chabudai. "Surely we can suffice without it while Ji-Ji works his magic to restore it to normal."

The youngest shook his head. "I doubt my progress will do so alone. I think we'll need professional expertise if we don't want it to stay like that," added the younger male while cheering over the excellent progression of his performance. "And I know just the place to go- Mrs. Gotarutsu mentioned it once when she told me about how their chabudai broke during one of their meals and ruined the cushions father made them once!" He twirled his thoughts around, trying to remember the exact place before he exclaimed, "It may be on the other side of Shibuya- but I could make it if I go now!"

'I better get some respect and regard from this stunt-' he thought impatiently in gloating, fighting the smile trying to worm onto his face to stop it from ruining his ruse. 'I'm not going to let that scumbag cram his way in and cement his place at the table or steal our spots, father! Even if I'm going on a pointless crusade to do so…'

"Ah, good on you!" hummed the scumbag jovially as he grinned at the younger male's mother. "It's a good thing he didn't forget about it, right, Amaya-chan?"

She looked flustered by that as she stuttered out, "O-Of course, I do not want it to remain ruined…" She gaped like a fish out of water and glanced at him helplessly but the younger male sharpened his gaze, not willing to lend a hand when she was slighting him minutes ago. At least this invited her to try and figure out a way to show that she still held love towards him, and she had no choice now to weasel out of this when her attempts to appear perfect in front of this scumbag was her own fault!

He flattened his lip, starting to feel nervous that she may ignore the opportunity and fuss about the cushion instead when she finally gasped out, "A-And it makes it easier to leave him alone without worrying he will stumble into trouble-"

'Y-You just described a little kid, mother,' he thought with a pang of hurt and disappointment, wilting promptly. 'Give me more credit for once… Am I r-really that schlocky to you that you think of me as th-that? A-A child!?' He refused to cry right now despite how much it wanted to spill out from him. 'D-Do you e-even love me anymore…?'

"Mm-hmm!" hummed the man in agreement, too busy to notice the obvious strain between mother and son. "So responsible!"

She didn't seem to notice how much those words wounded her son from the looks of it, grinning too hard back to the man she thought she loved. "Y-Yes!"

...Perhaps she was right. She wanted him gone, just to chase after this sleazy man because she saw her own son as nothing but a spoiled brat!

He started to feel his hackles rise, breathing in and out harshly before he desperately tried to smother it down and tried his hardest to refocus. He wanted to protect her for his father, but it was clear she didn't care what he did because she wanted him gone!

Tonight.

After this shitshow he was putting on for them, the young man would gather whatever he could and go. Already his heart protested and insisted on remembering his father's last words, but right now-

He couldn't stand this woman enough to care!

Why protect someone who didn't want protecting!? Why care when they didn't give a shit about you!?

'I'm sorry, father… I can't do this anymore.'

Tonight- after tonight- he'll grant her her goddamn wish!

Sighing, pressing back his seething for later, he managed to point his thumb backwards at the front door in a helpful manner instead of blowing up. He quickly cut in, wanting to leave as soon as he could to not look at his mother any longer after the bullshit she just pulled, "Then how about I drop on by before it sets in?"

If the world wants to burn… let it burn.

He hastily started for the built-in cabinet to retrieve it, failing to ignore meeting his mother's ebony eyes. She pursed her lips at once, mouthing to him timidly with apologetic eyes, but he turned away not caring how she realized that she said the wrong thing. It wasn't his fault she wasn't considerate enough to catch on to these cues… wringing out his heart to leave it cold and bitter for not wanting anything else from her if she actually tried to redeem herself right now. For all he cared, she should have cared about how she said the right thing instead of pretending she cared enough to realize she said the wrong thing… Because this woman didn't care about her only offspring!

Upon opening the narrow cabinet, he wrinkled his nose before freezing. 'What the-' His livid thoughts tapered to an abrupt halt upon catching a whiff of the unmistakable harsh odour of spoiled alcohol. But not just any alcohol; it still held out with its sweetness intact from those of plums.

Why did the cabinet smell like umeshu!? They never had alcohol in the house ever- not even before he was born! Then why the hell was there umeshu stinking the damn cabinet up!?

He angrily inspected the cabinet cautiously, soon pinpointing the source to the very item he was hoping to protect. His breathing stopped, feeling lightheaded as he stared, finding it impossible to move, at the dark stain tarnishing it! Someone spilled red umeshu on it- the usual light-coloured wine couldn't have left such a damn obvious footprint behind! The intricately designed cushion haphazardly was ready to jump onto his head from the second highest shelf, not resting in dormant on the top one where he had hoped it would never be disturbed again forever…

This was his father's cushion, dammit! The one he sat at the middle of the table on to flank his son and wife as they gave their thanks every day before beginning their late meals. The cushion that he sat on while tutoring his agotsugi in school to outperform and outwit his classmates, sometimes extending into all-nighter lessons. The younger would never regret attending them as he excelled brilliantly and was the head student of nearly all his classes…

And it was the cushion his father wilted unexpectedly one night on after returning from their trip to Kyoto to visit the young boy's grandparents…

In the middle of a deep conversation about the twelve-year-old's potential career paths he could pursue, the prevously beaming man went ghostly pale and grimaced before coughing out blood onto his son's perfect grade transcript and spittered further across the chubudai's surface. He couldn't make a good enough excuse to settle their alarm as blood streamed out upon puking scarlet in front of his horrorfied son's eyes, who couldn't process why this was happening…

It was the last place his father was sitting when releasing his last breath…

The sound of his father's chuckle softening to raspy, empty air before stilling; the young boy trembling as his father's hand on his shoulder slackened and refused to look away as glinting mossy green eyes dulled right before him; surfaced now. It soaked into his racing, punctured thoughts as the same boy, nineteen currently, stuttered out a breath, 'Wh-Why…?'

His hands trembled, numbly reaching for it as his vision blurred, and felt his face go blank. 'Wh-Why…?' Slowly he glowered the longer he smelled the pungent stench and his eyes zeroed in on to the blemishing blotch on the intricately woven fabric. 'We haven't touched it since he died... Wh-Who could have done this!? D-Don't tell me someone broke and entered our home- j-just to drink damn umeshu on father's cushion! Wh-Who did this!?'

As vomit started to rise into his mouth, upon the sound of the scumbag drumming his fingers on the table, furtively glancing his way from time to time to him in the corner of his gaze, the younger male was broken out of his thoughts to bristle.

That scumbag was a rotten bastard!

No wonder the older male thought it was fine and dandy that the younger mentioned his father's stained cushion… it then gave the scumbag the leeway to try to carefully divert how he was to blame to escape disfavour from the younger male's mother! Seriously… if that bastard thought he could whittle away and walk out smug and freely… he had another fucking thing coming to him!

"I don't know how it could have happened," the younger began slowly, trying to make his voice sound nonplussed and oblivious to a fault. He held the cushion tenderly, shoving down all urges to smother his face with it to yell his fury over what that man had done to it or sob uncontrollably from distraught to simply muse shakily, "W-We haven't taken it out since he passed- y-yet I don't see how it's reeking currently from umeshu!?"

His mother started in horror. "Umeshu!?"

"Oh my-" yelped the scumbag in disbelief, but the younger seethed that going the innocent route instead of owning up to his damn actions was just utter loathful cowardice! "C-Careful with the alcohol next time, Ji-Ji-" he started to laugh blithely, only to turn sheepish when the younger male and his mother shot glares at him. "Wh-What?"

"This is not a joking matter, Kage!" she shrieked in appall, turning her blazed eyes to her son. "How could you-"

"But how could I drink when I'm only nineteen?" the younger countered in shock and hurt as he shifted his eyes to the ruined cushion then to his mother angrily. "I've never gone into a saka-ya, and you know how father felt about it-" He tightened his hold, feeling repulsed at the stickiness the cushion held now. "We never had alcohol in this damn house, mother, honest to all my ancestors who may be witness to me now!

She flinched. "I-I did not mean to-"

He didn't want to hear the rest of it! "So I don't understand how it could have gotten soiled like this- h-how- W-Why!?"

With a sorrowful scowl to his mother, she nodded slowly as her eyes watered, frowning in horror. "It is illegal for you to drink-"

"I know that!" he roared in distraught as he sneered at her frigidly, "I know my age for crying out loud unlike someone I know!"

She widened her eyes as if he slapped her, and all he did was siphon the moment and savour her expression as he coldly flickered his eyes away from that disgusting woman.

The previously celebrating man blanched and stiffened. "A-Are you sure you had no one visit, o-or-"

"No one!" spat the younger man, glaring darkly at the floundering man. "No one… but you!"

If this was the last time the younger man would speak to either of these morons, he would at least make the scumbag suffocate in the flames the younger would beset between them now.

The fourty-eight-year-old woman immediately opened her mouth, only to freeze up as her ebony eyes widened. The younger sharpened his eyes, challenging her to make any excuse to discount the hard evidence he had thrown on the table, then lowered his gaze to the cushion as he staggered to the door.

He felt lightheaded, his ears roaring with blood as he pushed the door open, stiffly sliding his slippers off to situate them next to the door before traversing to his dark brown and white-bottomed tiger sneakers with cream stripes. Even as he placed them on, he refused to let father's cushion go…

"You better get a coat, Ji-Ji, it's-"

Immediately, he whipped to the scumbag peeking through the shoji and snapped loudly, "Leave me be, you bastard!" He raggedly breathed as he surged to the door, watching the scumbag cringe back before the younger man slammed the door in his face. "You've done enough damage- dammit!"

Huffing, he went to do up his shoes on before stepping off the genken. He held the cushion tenderly as he reminded himself it was nearly 4 PM… he had to sprint or hit the toei bus right if he were to make it to the shop in time. Pushing hard on his feet, he jogged away from the woman's sukiya-zukuri only to pause to open the gate and turn the corner and force his body through the narrow space between the scumbag's stupid junkmoble and the fence.

As he sprinted down the sidewalk, allowing himself to finally fume freely about that bastard, something wet hit him. Gawking to the sky as he slowed to a brief jog, he noticed dark clouds were blocking the previously fluffy white that had been blotting it when he got home.

Of course it would be fucking raining at a time like this!

Shaking his head, he pushed hard on his feet, not wanting to go back and waste time and lose his dignity over going back for a jacket after ignoring the scumbag's warning. It wasn't an excuse he was going to let that bastard have for redeeming himself after misshapenly abusing his father's cushion!

Upon hearing a familiar exhaust groan behind him, his heart softened for a moment to cheer at the arriving toei bus. 'Haha- Right on schedule!' he thought in relief, only to hear a horn honking. He stopped, turning to see the junkmoble rolling down the road, blocking the near adult's path to the bus. 'Fuck-'

"Ji-Ji-" yelled the bastard as his smokey grey hunk of junk halted as the nineteen-year-old's saving grace flew on by, making the younger male bristle and glower at the scumbag who rode close to the left lane's curb. Right away, the nineteen-year-old started sprinting again, away from the scumbag grumpily as the man called out in dismay, "I know you're mad right now… but-"

"You made me miss the bus!" snapped the younger male as he kept his narrowed gaze forward. "Go back and enjoy your date with that woman!"

The scumbag's smile faded into a deep frown. "Look, I went out for you even though I know you hate me... So, why don't we go for a ride in the car… just you and me…?"

"What makes you think I'd get into your shitty Cherry, bastard?" retorted the younger male as he pushed himself to run harder, ignoring how the said car revved with a sputter and sped up from behind him.

"It is raining, and we don't want your mother scared half to death about her son foolishly dying from staying out in the mere cold, now would we?" asked the scumbag pointedly, making the younger one scoff and refuse to stop moving away. "Come on, who knows if the stain will still be cleanable if you run out of breath and stagger half the way?"

Dammit- that scumbag had a point!

The near adult felt more rain fall down, his chest constricting physically and from his conflicted heart crying for rest and screaming at him to keep going and stay away from that Cherry… Yet, his eyes burned at the thought of not making it before the umeshu remained and his throat ached from how acid from overexertion threatened to crawl out of it.

But… what if it was the only way?

His mind was the last one screaming at him to run away and keep his distance from the bastard and not be a moron when he stopped, waiting for the scumbag to unlock the door for the front passenger seat before climbing into the goddamn junkomoble. It continued screaming even as he numbly whimpered out the address of the shop before letting himself cradle his father's cushion in his lap as the older man started up his Cherry again before it drove off with the two males. He could have sworn he saw a couple of dark wisps escaping from the Cherry's hood as they reentered light traffic, only to finally soothe his crying mind that it was to be expected from the bastard's junkmoble as the young male preoccupied himself with ignoring the scumbag beside him.

Even at the odds turning in his favour to eat his dignity for the sake of saving his father's cushion, a rock hard ache in his side told him he should have just run.

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter. =3