Runaway sons

12.3.2013. Kyoto. 

I was surprised at first to see the city but when I saw similar architecture from my era, I knew I travelled forward to the future. This is the same country where I used to live back in my era. This is Japan 1700 years into the future. No wonder why I felt like I was asleep for so long. 

After I recalled this boy's memories, I found out that his name is Aori Ito, a 9 years old boy in elementary school. He lives with his mother, elder brother and divorced father who crashes in sometimes.

Aori Ito is a shy kid who has no friends but one in school. Good in sports, sturdy, communication and socialization.

 On the otherhand, Aori is a quiet kid, average in studies, and sports and has garbage-type social skills. They are like water and oil but somehow they get along very well.

Aori's mother is an alcoholic so his big brother Fujikawa takes care of the house. He cooks, cleans and Ito helps to buy groceries from the neighbourhood market area.

Such a nice family but why do they have this Ito surname? It's a coincidence that my master also had the same name as theirs. Are they related to my master's?

I looked outside to see the neighbourhood again and looked at the dark sky. It was past 12 so everyone was asleep. A while ago, my brother called me to eat dinner so I ate a little. His cooking is great but I haven't seen my mother yet. I wonder where she is at this hour. No matter how advanced this era is, a lady shouldn't stay outside until midnight. 

Aori then noticed a woman wobbling in front of the house and then entered the front yard. She then threw her cigarette beside the cherry blossom tree and took out a spare key from her red purse. Just by looking at her, he knew that was the mother of the house, Inori Izumaki. 

'So she's my so-called mother. In my past life, I never knew who my mother was so I never felt the need for one. But even though Aori has one, I do not feel anything. She doesn't take care of her children like a mother would. Unlike my new brother, she's just a woman who earns the food and wastes on her alcohol.'

Then I closed the window along with the white curtains. I heard her footsteps coming towards the upper floor so I switched off the lights. The light of the hallway entered my room through the gap in the door to my room and then I saw her shadow. She was starting right in front of my room.

The door suddenly knocked.

"Aori chan, mommy is here. Can you open the door, baby?"

For some reason, my heart started to beat faster than usual. My body started to tremble in terror after hearing her voice. It was only a few hours since I came into this world so I wouldn't recall every bit of my new memories. There were certainly some holes so I assumed my fear was related to those gaps.

I swallowed through my dry throat and stepped back from the door to reach the window. Then I slowly unlocked the lock and then, I heard a key sound. 

Since she was the owner of the house, of course, she had every spare key to every door. She was about to open the door.

My heart started to race a marathon and at that moment my brother came through the window. 

"Thank god that you locked the door. Hurry up, we're running away. We don't have much time so forget about everything."

"B..brother Fujikawa?"

Then he carried my small body on his shoulder and stepped outside the window. I was so surprised so I asked again, "Where are we going? What is going on?"

"No time to explain!"

The door to Aori's room opened and she walked inside with a sharp knife in her hand. "Aori chan? Where are you? Aori??"

Her eyes noticed the open window and she ran towards it. But at that time, both of her boys were already out of the property.

I was surprised at first why Aori's mother was holding a knife in her hands. But when I noticed the wound on my brother's hand, I knew something was wrong and it had something to do with those gaps in my memories. I could recall most of Aori's memories but I couldn't recall how Aori died and what he did on that day and the day before that. Those two days of memories weren't in my brain.

After running for some moment, Fujikawa stopped in front of a subway station and said, "I don't know how to explain because you're just a kid so you probably won't understand. But let me tell you this straight. Mom has been plotting to kill us ever since dad left. She thinks that it's us who ruined her life and killed her mother."

"We killed grandma? Wasn't she terminally ill? How is that our fault?"

"Because we have the blood of the Onmyoji family. She thinks that we're cursed. Come on, we have to get out of this city right now."

"But where are we going?"

"Toyono."

Then I suddenly recalled a gore part of my memory and said, "Isn't that where our father's house is? We're going there? Are you going to be alright?"

"Beggars can't be choosers." My brother replied with a faint smile on the corner of his lips and called a running taxi. "Is it possible to take us away from this city? We will pay good money."

The taxi driver was stunned to see the blood and the wound on my brother's hand. The driver thought that we were in danger so he said, "Young man, are you in danger? Should I call the police?"

"Please take this money and help us reach this destination." Fujikawa showed him a piece of paper and again said, "We are in grave danger. We need to get out of…"

Bang! Bang! Bang!!...

Inori, the mother of those two sons, fired bullets at them. The taxi driver was shocked so he told everyone to get inside the car quickly.

I rushed inside the car with my brother and covered my ears with both of my hands. My mind was the mind of an adult but my body was certainly not. The sound of the gunshot shocked me so much that my stomach started to hurt. I was so frightened that my body was turning into a cold log. 

At that time, Fujikawa held me in his arms and said, "Don't worry, I'm here. We are almost there so go to sleep."

I saw a green light around my brother's index finger and then he touched my forehead with it. I felt the warm flow of aura inside my body and then, I couldn't remember what happened after that.

I am sure I fell asleep because of his odd magic spell.

…

The birds were chirping outside. I heard the sound of sparrows so I thought it was morning already. My body was so weak that I couldn't move it. Neither my eyes were opening so I thought it must be sleep paralysis. I was worried because I thought the children of my master's must be hungry so I have to prepare breakfast right away. 

Then I heard the voice of an unknown young man. He was constantly shaking me to wake me up but I couldn't. My soul was also reacting weirdly so I thought I must have gone into a spiritual state accidentally while I was asleep.

Then, I heard him saying my name.

"Aori! Wake up!!"

My eyes opened wide on their own. The ceiling was different from my room and the atmosphere was also different. I nearly thought that I was kidnapped and then, I remembered that I had already died and I was living inside my new body. 

Now, I am a small boy from the Onmyoji bloodline. A family that studies magic and deals with demons and curses in their way.

"Aori, did you have a nightmare? You were sweating a minute ago?"

I looked at my brother's bright face and said, "Brother. Where are we?"

"We're in our father's house in a small village in Toyono. Anyway, how are you feeling now? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"N..no. How is your wound?"

"It's healed. Don't worry."

At that moment, a middle-aged man walked inside the room with a bottle of cold tea and said, "Looks like the boys are up. Tsk! I told that woman to take care of my kids because I'm always busy with my work. I even gave her tons of money every month to take care of you two. And this is how she repays me? Shooting bullets at my sons? This is outrageous!"

I looked at that man's eyes which were filled with blood aura. It was undoubtedly the eyes of a murderer. But they were also filled with kindness.

I knew it. This is the descendant family of my master. My soul had transferred into my master's descendent.