Chapter 1: A Fairytale turn Nightmare

Sitting in her bedroom wearing her nightgown was a thirty-five-year-old African American woman named Jasmine Hayashi. The woman have shoulder-length curly black hair that was half braided up and pulled into a high ponytail. Her sad dark brown eyes looked over towards the direction where the spot that her husband should have been sleeping at was empty and still freshly made.

'He didn't come home again,' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes in an attempt to push down the overwhelming desire to cry. Taking a shaken breath, she got out of her bed and start getting ready for the day. It would not be long before their troublemakers would be up. Sure enough, the sound of feet putter-pattering made its way over to her room.

"TIME TO WAKE UP, MAMA!!" The youngest of the three shouted at the top of his lungs as he slammed the door open. Daisuke grinned showing the gap where his tooth was missing.

Daisuke Hayashi was six-years-old, he have a shade lighter skin than his mother and grayish-green eyes. He was wearing his race cars PJs and holding onto a nursery rhyme book.

"Mama this is what I want to bring for my show and tell!" He runs over to his mother and showed the Mother Goose book to her. Jasmine could not help but smile warmly when she saw the determined look that was shining in those beautiful eyes of his.

"Don't let him, Mom," The oldest of the three, Ken said as he and his twin brother came into the room, fully dressed for school. "He brought the same book three times in a roll already. He needs to bring something different."

"Big bro, right," Liam said as he made his way over to them with a mischievous smile on his face. Daisuke took cover behind Jasmine's legs and clutch the book tightly against his chest. "Come on and give the book to big brother and we can go and find something much cooler."

"Go away!" Daisuke demanded making Liam snicker and Ken rolling eyes at his twin teasing.

Unlike Daisuke who had a lighter skin complexion, Ken and Liam were the exact opposite. He and his twin have rich dark brown skin and dark brown eyes. They would have been identical if it was not for the fact that Liam had white skin spots on his arms and the side of his neck.

"Don't be like that~" Liam teased.

"Liam stop messing with your brother and go downstairs for breakfast, you too Ken." Jasmine chimed as she flicked Liam's forehead.

"Fine, fine. I get you next time." Liam lied as he walked away from his mother and younger brother. He turns his head to look at Daisuke again only to find him sticking his tongue out at him. So Liam did the only thing that come naturally, he stuck his tongue out and pulled down his lower eyelid.

"What are you five?" Ken groan as he went to grab his younger brother by the back of his shirt and pull him out the door. "Bye Mom, I make sure that Mrs. Murasaki will serve you and Daisuke's plate."

'I am so blessed to have the sweetest children' Jasmine mused finding the sadness she felt for her absent husband to begin to disappear. However, that was short-lived when her youngest son open his mouth.

"Hey, Mama will Daddy come to my play tonight?" Daisuke asked nervously as he fiddle with his nightclothes before blurting out. "It's okay if he's busy!! I know how important he is."

Her heart dropped as she tried to think of what to say to their little boy something that Daisuke picked up on rather quickly. Pushing down his disappointment, he decided to help out his mother.

"Is it going to be a surprise?" asked Daisuke, feigning excitement initially, but his expression soon turned to one of genuine happiness as his mother latched onto his comment and brightened up.

"That's right, sweetheart. Come on, let's go and get you dressed for school." Jasmine lied cheerfully as she picked up her son and made her towards his room.

While Jasmine was busy getting her son ready for school, the twins were already getting started with their breakfast while chatting with each other. Not noticing that their father had come back into their house.

"You are a real piece of work," Liam stated flatly as he watch his older brother continue eating his cereal. "You really should stop stringing that poor girl along if you ain't interested"

"I don't have a single clue what you are talking about," Ken stated with a frown as he look over to see Liam's unimpressed face. "What? I never asked her to follow me like a lost puppy nor did I actively encourage the behavior. Therefore I should be accused of something so unsavory like being a player."

"I didn't call you that," Liam protested which only made Ken snort crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"But that is what you indicating, correct?"

"Not at all! In fact, if you weren't my own brother I would have assumed that you are a robot." Liam joked. 'That's why I truly think that you might like her.'

"God! Why is my brother so emotionally constipated?!" Liam whined as he threw his hands in the air like he is expecting God to give him an answer. However, he did not expect his father to speak up.

"What are you two doing here?" Their father asked them agitated making them tensed up. The joyful atmosphere was immediately drained away leaving Liam more quiet and emotionless. "Ain't you two supposed to in school."

"We have ten minutes left before it's time for us to be allowed inside the school building," Ken explained to their father calmly yet carefully. Eyeing the way his usual neat and clean appearance was now more hectic; His business jacket was discarded, black hair that used to be slick back was now messy, and narrow grayish-green eyes that filled with irritation and anger. Ken knows how much Liam does not like their father and the last thing he wants was for a fight between them to break out again.

"So you think that excuse you to be lazing around!? Never mind that," Their father snapped at them, he began to search around the kitchen only for his foul mood to become worse when he could not find the person he was looking for. "Where is your mom?"

"She's busy with Dai," Liam answered feeling bitter over the fact since their father came inside the kitchen he never once looked at him and he knows the reason why. 'It's because I don't fit into stupid standards.'

Even though he is just fifteen years old he was not stupid not to notice how their father acts distanced towards them, sometimes looking at them with a mixture of awe and disgust. Never trying to come home to Mom and them instead choosing to stay out and leaving them to distract Mom from the bitterness and sadness that he leaves behind.

'Why did he bother coming now?' Liam thought as his face begin to twist up in annoyance. Their father caught this and begin to sneer at him.

"Is there something that you want to say, boy?" Their father questioned as he crossed his arms and raise an eyebrow, daring him to say anything.

"Lia-"

"Why are you here? Should you be at a bar or something?" Liam blurted out before Ken can get the chance to stop him. "You are ruining the atmosphere, can't you just go away?"

"I pay the bills," Their father begins as he made his way towards him with a mocking smile. "So the idea that my underachieving son thinks that he can tell me where I can and can not go is funny."

Ken flinched and become alarmed when their father called him an underachiever, his grade was something that he always had struggled with and was sensitive about. Ken was right since Liam gritted his teeth to get and clenched his hands into fists.

"You are the worse father that I have the misfortune of having!" Liam yelled as he slammed his hands against the table and stand up. "Why are you like this!? What did we ever do to you that make you so disgusted!?"

"Calm down, Liam!" Ken snapped at him as his heart begin to pound rapidly, scared of the answer that their father will give them.

"What's with all the yelling?"

The sound of his mom's voice made him let out a sigh of relief, hoping that maybe they would calm down since she was here.

.

.

.

.

He was wrong.

"Glad that you are here," Their father stated calmly making Ken's stomach twist up as he sense that something is off. Scared, he got out of his chair in case he needs to help out with something. "It's time for you and these kids to leave."

"What?" Jasmine asked baffled about what he was talking about.

"D..Daddy?" Daisuke stuttered out in fear and begin to tear up when his father look at him coldly.

"I am not your father so stop calling me that." Their father calmly told him not looking a little bit fazed when Daisuke begin crying uncontrollably.

"FUYUTO!!" Jasmine shouted at her husband angrily while patting her son's back in an attempt to calm him down. Confused about what is going on and scared about what will happen next she ordered Liam to take his younger brother and all of them leave to for school.

"WHAT!?" Liam shouted frustrated as he pointed at his emotionless father. "Are you going to just let him say that!? Let me-"

"Liam," Jasmine interrupted his rant before can begin, the anger that she was feeling inside just threatening to hit the surface. "Please, take your brother and go ask the butler to take y'all to school, please."

Liam notices how much his mom and no matter how much he wants to just want to sock his father in his face. The last thing he wants is for his mother to feel even more distressed than she is feeling now. So with much reluctance, he took Daisuke from her arms and left with Ken.

When Ken left the kitchen he stop and glance over toward the direction where he left them at. Trying to shake off the dread he was feeling, he push down their father's comment as best as he can and went to catch up with his siblings. 'He's just having an off day.'