Tragedy

I wake up in a familiar room. I was in one of the guest bedrooms of the Yaoyorozu Mansion.

"Urgh, what happened?"

I sat up but I was hit by a sudden headache and laid back down. I try and recount the events that led me here, but my mind is just all fuzzy and I can't think straight.

The door to the room opens and Momo comes in carrying a tray with a glass of water and a sandwich. I sit back up as she enters and wince slightly.

She looks at me with a concerned face before asking, "Are you ok Shiro?"

"A little tired and hungry, and I have a huge headache, but I think I'm ok. More importantly, why am I here?"

Her look of concern grows as she puts down the tray on the lampstand and pulls up a chair, "You mean you don't remember what happened?"

"What are you ta-..."

Reality hits me as that night's events replay in my head. The dark house, the unhinged door, my father sobbing, and… and… my mother's mangled body.

I slowly lay back down and closed my eyes, 'Death is a natural occurrence. Even more so in this world of heroes and villains, right? It's nothing to feel surprised about. But then why does my chest feel so heavy? Why do I feel so empty?'

Tears start to flow from my face and Momo wraps her arms around me and comforts me. We stay like that for a few minutes before I speak up.

"Thanks, Momo. I feel better now."

She lets go of me and it's my turn to ask questions.

"First off, how long was I out?"

She puts her fingers together and mumbles a few things that I don't catch.

"Sorry I didn't catch that."

"Well you were actually out for 3 days, but you woke up every now and then."

I pause and think, but I don't remember waking up any other time than now, "That's weird, I don't remember that."

She mutters another line that I don't catch and I ask her to repeat it.

"Every time you woke up, you were silent for a few minutes and then you'd remember what happened. And then you'd cry and scream a lot. So we had to knock you out with anesthesia."

My cheeks turn red slightly as I picture the scene, but I quickly dismiss it, "So that's how you knew when to come. Also explains the headache"

"Yes, your dad gave us the estimated times for when you would wake up according to the dosage amount."

"Oh yeah, my dad… how is he?"

She nervously looks at the ground, "It's better for you to come to look for yourself."

I start to feel concerned and I stand up and follow Momo. Outside I am met by Ichika and Daichi who were watching our interaction in case I threw a fit again.

Momo's mom looks at me with concern, "Are you feeling better now?"

I nod, "Yes, thank you for taking care of me."

She looks relieved and Daichi steps in, "Are you sure about visiting your father?"

"I need to know how he is."

Daichi nods at Momo, who taps my shoulder and leads me to another guest room.

She opens the door and the room is dimly light. The lights are off and the curtains have been drawn with the only light source being a crackling fire.

"Is he sleeping?"

"..."

She gestures me in, "I'll let you two have some time," then she turns around and leaves.

I look towards the bed and see nothing, but I step in closer and look around, a smell hits my nose.

'Alcohol.'

On a poofy chair facing the fire, I see an arm hanging off the armrest.

"Dad?"

I get no response and I continue walking forward. My foot hits against something, and I look down and see a bottle of vodka. Cheap vodka, but vodka nonetheless. I quickly look at the floor and see several bottles of cheap liquor.

'It's to be expected, but still…'

Ignoring the reeking smell, I march forward and take a seat across from my father, gazing upon a shadow of the former man.

He had bags under his red eyes, and he was wearing the same shirt he wore when he went to the party with me, with bloodstains across his chest. In his hand was a bottle of wine and on the table was a clean glass and a few more bottles.

'Jesus, he measured out the dosage in this condition?'

He showed the barest sign of recognition when I sat in front of him and continued drinking and looking into the fireplace occasionally glancing at the picture of mom he had set up above the mantle.

"Dad?"

Nothing.

This time a little louder, "Dad?"

Again he ignores me.

"DAD!"

He stirs from his daze and looks at me, "Oh Shiro, you're awake. Good, good, right on time."

He continues nodding and takes a sip of wine from his bottle, "You shouldn't be seeing me like this. I am a disgrace as a father and a husband."

I stay quiet and let him rant.

"I failed to protect my own wife, and I let my friends take care of my son, while I drink myself to death. I truly am the scum of the earth. I am truly sorry Shiro."

"Yes. Yes, you are."

He turns and looks at me surprised at my response.

"You are a disgrace of a father for letting your own son see you in this condition. Yes, you are the scum of the earth. If mom were alive, she would be disgusted with you."

He rushes out of his chair and grabs my shoulder, I wince slightly, "That's the point though. SHE'S DEAD!"

I continue on, "But as a husband, you did everything you could. You loved her and took care of her. It was by fate, and a shitty one at that, that we are in this situation. What happened happened, and we just need to live with it. And as a father, you did the best you could."

He lets go and falls to his knees. I stand up, brush my shoulders, walk out of the room, and shut the door behind me. Once out, I fall to the floor and pull my knees up against my chest, glaring at the wall across from me.

'Whoever you are. I swear, one day… one day, I will pay you back for the murder of my mother, and the grief you caused to my father.'

*Next week*

'It's a terrible day for rain.'

I look at the headstone in front of me.

"In memory of Hina Hirota. A loving mother, wife, and a great chef."

Despite my mother's fame, the funeral ceremony was a small one, with only close friends and a few chefs that were close to her that came to pay respects. Of course, my father and I went as well as the Yaoyarouzu's.

All across Japan and the east coast of Asia, people mourned. While mainly focusing on japan, she had traveled to Korea, China, and Taiwan, and made a good name for herself there. All of her restaurants closed for the day to respect her, and many people left messages and flowers in front of the restaurants.

In the past week, a few things have happened. First, my father had come to his senses and came out of the room for the first time in days after my talk and after Daichi and Ichika went in and talked to him as well.

Two days before the funeral he sat down and talked to me.

*Flashback*

"Listen, I don't want you seeing me like that ever again. After some deliberation and some advice, I have decided to go travel the world. I'll probably go to the east, Asia first, visit Europe, then drop down to Africa and then from there I'll take a trip through South America, take some sun in.

I might travel around America and head up to Canada. After that it is Australia and Oceania, visit some of the islands, Indonesia, and the Philippines, until I come back to Japan. I plan to spend a while in each country so it may take a few years and then some.

I talked to some people and they said that traveling will help me come to peace with myself among some other things."

I slowly nod my head, "Ok, that's good, but what about me? I know I'm homeschooled, but I think I am a bit young to be traveling too much."

"That part I am still figuring out but I have a solution. I was considering that Daichi and Ichika would adopt you and be your guardians until I return. Of course, if you don't want to, that is understandable, and then you'd probably go to an orphanage or come with me. Although staying here is the best option."

I nod my head in agreement, "Yeah definitely."

There is a moment of silence, and my dad speaks up, "I don't want it to seem like I am just dumping you. I just need to-"

I cut him off before he can explain, "No I understand, people cope in different ways, and traveling is one of the more expensive ones, but a method nonetheless. You need to sort yourself out, and that is probably the best way to do it."

He shows a small smile for the first time in a week and ruffles my hair, "You always were mature for your age."

*Flashback end*

Relating to my father's travel expedition, I have been signed up as a transfer student to Momo's school.

At first, when Daichi and Ichika had brought up the topic, I had refused and told them that homeschooling is better for me. But after they insisted and mentioned that Momo would be there as well, I gave in and told them that I would be willing to try.

The third major event that had happened, was that I had seen my mother's killer.

A few days after I had recovered, I asked the security company that installed cameras in our house to send me the video files for that day.

They were hesitant but they did comply and sent over the video files. For the next few minutes, I skimmed through the video, waiting for the killer to make his appearance. He came in through the front door in a large black jacket that covered most of his face.

From a first glance, I could tell that his frame was large, he was tall, reaching maybe 216 cm(7'), maybe more. His shoulders were wide and his limbs were long.

The only thing I could see under his jacket was his wide white smile.

I continued playing the video and a full 40 minutes after entering, he had finally left, all bloody, and his jacket was off. He turned and stared into the camera, the same grin on his face, this his body was sprayed in blood. Short blonde hair and a half-insane look on his face.

A cold look had crossed my face and my eyes darkened, 'Judging from the time he was in there and the injuries I saw, her death wasn't quick.'

'Whoever this guy is, he is definitely cocky and powerful or just plain stupid. Having no fear of being caught after committing a crime like this.'

The video had already been sent to officials, but the suspect had not been identified yet.

'I will remember your face.'

A few days later, a bunch of people was gathered at a terminal in the Narita International Airport. Standing in front of them was a tired-looking man with messy black hair in a long brown trench coat.

"Thank you all for seeing me off" then he turns to me, "Thank you, Shiro. Stay safe, and don't give them a hard time."

I smile lightly, "Don't worry about me."

He comes down on his knee and hugs me tightly, and turns to Daichi and Ichika, "Thank you two for taking care of Shiro."

They both nod and Ichika speaks up, "She was like a sister to me, it's the least we could do."

Daichi solemnly nods in agreement.

He hugs each of them in turn, then goes to say a few words to some of the other people that had come to see him.

After saying bye to everyone, he grabbed his suitcase and bag and went through the check-in procedure.

He turned quickly, a smile on his face, "See you guys in a few years," and he left.

We stayed and watched until the plane had taken off and then headed home.

AN: Writing that emotional type scene was hard and different, so just out of curiosity, I want you guys to tell me if it made sense and if it left some kind of impact.

I know that some people don't like long childhood arcs, but I have some stuff planned and I need to develop his character for this. It'll be over in 2-3 more chapters.

I botched the development part of my other Fanfic so I'm trynna learn from that.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.