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Hideo Amamiya, on October 13th was officially pronounced dead. I was convicted of murder, but given the circumstantial evidence, testimonies from eye witnesses, and my age. I was pronounced not guilty, albeit after a long grueling trial at the court.

After that, my mo- Kikuko, proceeded with her marriage to Leroy, and abandoned me. Rumors began to spread.

This was the second time in my life I'd felt darkness. The darkness I felt wasn't that of gore or sex or guns. it was the total absence of light. The total absence of hope.

The name of my darkness was despair.

A few sad moments doesn't imply feelings of despair. What I felt was the loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.

Everyday after the murder, my eyes grew deader and deader. I'd given up on living, I'd given up on life itself. I wanted to end it all, I wanted to die. When I was at the lowest. When I thought I'd reached the end of the line, my savior appeared.

It'd been a week since the incident, and I was receiving psychotherapy. That was when I met him.

I was inside the therapist's office at the hospital.

The nurses at the hospital told him he couldn't see me, but he forced his way through. After making his way through a swarm of people. He swung the door of the therapist's office open. That was when our eyes met.

He was a tall, old man with long shoulder length, slightly unkept hair packed in a ponytail with his bangs brushing against his face, and a long beard, dressed In a hoari worn over a yukata, followed by his wooden sandals. His manner of dressing was a bit odd to say the least, but that wasn't the most striking thing about his appearance. What really caught my eye, was his pure white hair and silver eyes.

"So..."

His breathing was heavy, and ragged.

"It is... True."

"Sir, we can't allow you to be here right now."

"Huh? Am I not allowed to see my grandson?!" he said. His tone was haughty and disdainful.

"Err, we weren't informed any of his relatives were visiting. So please leave."

He looked directly into the eyes of the therapist for a while. I was sure he was about to throw a fit, but then he surprised me.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble."

After that, I resumed my session with the therapist. He asked me a lot of questions regarding the incident, but I mostly answered with "yes" or "no".

When we were through, I was guided to meet the man claiming to be my grandfather.

"Heya." he said waving.

"..."

I remained speechless.

"So, ya got a name or what?"

He was being pretty rude, but I didn't have the energy to judge him about his morals.

"Junichiro."

"Junichiro eh?"

"Yes."

"Um, pardon my ignorance, but can I ask you something?"

"Hm, sure, knock yourself out."

"Ok... Who are you?"

"I'm Toshio Kutsuki Amamiya you're great-grandfather."

Really? I find that hard to believe, but, oh well.

"I see. So have you come to take revenge on me?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, I did kill your grandson."

That is, if he really was who he claimed to be.

"Hideo was always a cheeky little brat. He was too good for his own good."

"Is that so."

"Anyway, you wanna stick with me?"

He was offering to let me stay with him, even though he knew I was a murderer. He was offering me a place to belong.

"Are you sure? I'm a murderer."

"Huh, y'know, yer starting to piss me off. Do ya wanna come with me or not. None of yer relatives accepted you, so you don't really have a choice. It's better than sleeping in the streets, and there's hot girls too. I promise ya, it's gonna be tons of fun. " he said, stretching out his hand.

That was how he pulled me out of my despair.

Shortly after, dad was buried. We didn't hold a funeral. We just cremated his corpse, and that was it.

We spent the remainder of the day traveling to wherever my so-called great-grandfather lived. I slept most of the way, so I couldn't help but be shocked when we arrived. It was a village located at the countryside with a view of mountains, forests, and the sea. Currently, we were standing at the foot of a mountain. With a long staircase in front of us.

"Um, sir, what exactly are we doing here."

"I live here."

You're kidding me.

"Alright." he said. He started climbing.

Although he was old, he wasn't frail. After 50 steps, I'd grown tired, but he was still rearing to go.

"Don't tell me that's all ya got. "

I was panting, but he was just laughing. It felt wrong, I couldn't have this old man showing me up. So I gathered what little stamina I had left and began to run.

"Attaboy, that's the spirit."

He also began to run.

After climbing a total of 200 steps, we arrived at what looked like a shrine. There were japanese styled buildings, and statues. I thought he was a monk, but my expectations were soon shattered.

We walked into the compound, towards a door. We both took off our footwear, and when he slid the door, we were greeted by a lady in a kimono. She looked like a shrine maiden.

"Welcome back Toshio-sama."

She hugged him tightly, pressing her chest against him, and he was grinning. At that moment, it dawned on me. That was when I realized: Toshio Kutsuki Amamiya, was a hopeless pervert.

The lady hugging him looked at me and spoke first.

"Hmm, Toshio-sama, who's the human."

Rude much. Wait, did she just call me human? Who does that?

After she asked her question, Toshio's mood changed. He took a deep breath, then looked her in the eyes, and headbutted her.

Fuck! He just headbutted a lady!

"He's my great-grandson."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm." he said nodding.

When we stepped inside the house, he went somewhere, while I was led to the living room. It was fitted with a large 90 inch tv, accompanied by sound bars, and a large gaming console.

I was sitting politely on my knees, when he arrived.

He'd taken off his haori. He sighed deeply, then spoke.

"No need to be so formal, we're family. This is yer home too. "

I don't know why, but I felt his words resonate deeply within me.

"Ok." I said before sitting crossed legged.

"So, do ya play games?"

"No."

"Well, now's a great time to start." he said handing me a pad.

He turned on the TV, and the gaming console.

"Are you a fan of games, Toshio-san?"

"Huh?!"

"Um, did I say something wrong?"

"Yes. I told you we're family, so you can drop the formalities."

"Ok. Toshio."

"Just call me old man."

"Ok. Old man."

"That's better."

"So, what types of games do you like?"

"Hmmm, it's hard to put my finger on it, but if I had to say, I'd pick MMORPGs. I just can't get enough of them, it's like another world outside reality where you can indulge yourself, and forget about yer troubles. "

Wow, he's a total otaku, isn't he?

"Oh, sorry. You probably don't care."

"It's fine."

"Ok, why don't we go a round."

"Sure."

He switched the game on to PvP mode.

We only planned on going a single round, but before we knew it. It was dark.

"Hah!" I said. I was panting heavily.

"Don't get cocky, you only won one round."

He was right. The score presently, was 99-1

Out of a hundred rounds. I'd only won one.

The lady walked into the living room and yanked out the plug of the console.

"Nooooooo!"

She brought dinner for both of us on a tray.

"Word of advice kid, don't get too hooked on games. They'll turn your brain to sludge, then you'll become a useless, unproductive member of society like the specimen you see beside you."

Geez, that's harsh.

"Just when it was getting good too."

She brought trays of food, and spread them on the table. It was a luxurious spread of miso soup, steamed rice, vegetable tempura, and tuna sashimi.

"""Thanks for the food.""" we all said before digging in.

While we were eating, I took a piece of fish and it went down the wrong pipe. I was hitting my chest when the old man poured me a cup of water, while I received gratefully. When I gulped it down in one go. The next thing I felt was a sharp burning sensation in my throat. What I drank wasn't water. It was alcohol, sake to be precise. I began to cough heavily and my eyes were bloodshot.

When I looked around, the old man and the lady were laughing. They were both laughing.

The lady looked at me with sympathy. She had bright brown colored hair, and eyes.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it." she said.

"Teehee."

They were both in on this?!

"Old man!"

"My bad, my bad, sorry."

This man. He... He... He's totally crazy. He's out of his mind. What is he thinking? Giving a twelve year old alcohol. Now I can see why my dad never talked about him.

We had some random small talk as we ate dinner, then we headed to bed.

I was led into a large room with furniture, and a futon. I quickly leaped into bed, and before I knew it, the exhaustion from travelling, and climbing those stairs kicked in. Before I knew it, I dozed off.