Groundbreaking 2

My father and I walked a bit more before settling down once and for all, now it was the time for him to tell me everything that caused us to leave Japan when I was in grade school

"Remember when I told you we were living in Kyoto?"

"Yes"

"I didn't get to see everyone for a long time and I missed them all the time we were away, but what I missed more at the time was your mother, She wasn't gone but she was almost at work all the time and when she was home she took care of you with all she had left, so I rarely got to spend time with her or even see her some days, so secretly I paid a visit to Nagano to see Yosuke, Terresa, and Yuoku, and every time I stayed Yuoku sheltered me, we spend too much time together, a lot more than with your mother"

Stop

"So after many months I got attached a little, I knew she was my sister-in-law and was still attending the last year of high school"

Stop, stop, stop

"But I couldn't think of something else than her, so one rainy day when she was soaked I couldn't stop myself from..."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

…

"You wanted the truth Iriasu, That's what I'm telling you right now"

"I don't want to hear it"

"She didn't consent, before I did something even more horrible than what I was already doing I stopped and returned to your mother and told her everything up to this point, and of course she was mad, not because I lost feeling for her, but because I did what I did to Yuoku..."

There is no way, he would never do that, not now or ever, I know he wouldn't do that, I know because... I based all my youth on him

"If I ask Hikita that will she say the same?" I asked as calmly as I could

"She won't"

I got up and started walking home, I didn't believe him, I wanted her to tell me herself

The walk felt hard, it was like I was standing on a boat while there was a storm, my vision was also blurry

After a very long and difficult walk home I opened the door and searched for Hikita, she was sitting on the couch eating yogurt

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" She asked me

Do I look sick?

"Can I ask you something?" When I said that I noticed my father standing next to me

"What is it?" She asked confused

"What did my father do to you?"

"Nothing what do you mean?"

I saw the hesitation, she paused for a bit

"Just tell me the truth, he already told me, that's why you dislike me right? You are just like your father! That's what I keep hearing again and again, does it make you sick looking at me? Do you want me gone?" I asked but there was no answer

Just a gloomy look from her

"I don't hate you Su, I jus..."

"You hate me, don't you? You hate my family! You want to terminate me!"

"Stop right this instant Iriasu!" My father shouted

"You have no right to speak now"

These words felt as real as words could get, a direct zip up of the mouth

"You haven't done anything wrong to me Su, it's just that you look like him when he was younger, that's all"

"So he did what he did?" I asked her as I looked deep into her eyes

She simply nodded with a gloomy look on her face

That's all I wanted to know, I wanted her to confirm the story my father told me, so without saying a word I got into my room took the necessary things and was about to run away, I don't know where but somewhere far, very far from here

"What are you doing Iriasu? Where are you going?" My father said as he grabbed my hand before I got the chance to get out of the house

In an instant I punched him in the face as hard as I could, he let go of me and grabbed into his nose, I didn't break it but I was close to

"Don't touch me"

That was the last words I said as I rode my bike far away

I was speeding as much as I could handle, I didn't care if I hit someone or got hit by someone, I don't care about anything anymore...

That's what I thought when a memory flooded in front of my eyes

What if it was Yua who I hit? Or someone else I knew?

I was far away, maybe countryside, that's where I turned off my bike and lay on top of the grass it was quite cloudy and windy too

It felt calming

"What is that you are doing here sir?" A middle-aged man asked me as he was holding a hoe

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Answering a question with a question? Rude... As for your question no, you are perfectly fine lying here but why are you here? This is private property, plus it is about to rain, wait! Are you a runaway?"

As soon as the man asked me this question I didn't know if I was in trouble but I answered truthfully

"Today I learned that my father did a horrible thing and I'm unable to look him in the eyes, I just need some time alone, is it alright to stay here?"

The man seemed kind of skeptical about my request

"I told you it is about to rain in a bit, why not come inside?"

Without hesitation I followed the man to his house, he was alone with three little kids, two girls and a middle child which was a boy

"You see when I was younger my father used all our money on Pachinko1 and most of the time my mother and I were left empty stomached, so I decided to graduate and make money to help my mother and myself, unfortunately, things didn't work as planned so I ended up inheriting my mother's farm so here I am!"

That was his story, a bit heartbreaking, I guess he told me that to empathize with me

"Oi, why is your skin this dark? Are you dirty?" The younger girl told me

"Stop it, idiot! He is just tanned! You must be from the countryside as well right sir?" The older girl asked me, she was about the age of eleven

"No, I was raised on an island though"

"Island! Then did you surf?" The boy asked me excited

"I'm not Hawaiian sorry!" I said with a smile

I guess only the purity of kids can make a broken person smile

"Stop bothering our guest! He seeks shelter until the rain is done so don't tire him too much! He needs to travel!" The man told them

"Travel? Where are you going? Tokyo?" The little girl asked me

"Maybe... I haven't decided yet"

"If you go to Tokyo can you buy me a robot toy?" The boy asked me while he pointed at his Gundam poster

"Stop being rude or I will make you stand in the rain"

As soon as the boy and the little girl heard that they piped down

…

After playing with the kids they finally took a nap all around the place

"You don't need to forgive him" The man suddenly told me

"What?"

"Your father, whatever bad he did if it was too bad you don't need to forgive him, It might sound tough but sometimes this is the only way to deal with people" The man told me as the rain started to depart from the area

"But he was my idol, what am I supposed to do?"

"Become your idol, be someone you are proud of without having to depend on your father or anyone else, That's what I did, you can't keep looking up to a person that has fallen so low"

At that moment the two of us were already standing and staring at the clear sky as the sun began setting

"I think is time for me to go... Thank you for everything sir"

"The pleasure is mine, kid"

"Before I go can ask for your name?"

"No, you can't. I'm just a random old guy you met on your trip, Now go, run away from here"

The man told me with a sweet smile on his face and without a second thought I left, I left my nameless hero behind and took off to a place even farther from here

After many hours of traveling, I refilled my tank and decided to spend my night in a motel it was relatively cheap so I didn't think twice about booking a room

While I was closing my eyes thoughts of my childhood came into my mind with no signs of stopping, all the good memories I spent with that man and all the hard times we spent together

I remember once he worked delivery, at construction, and at a bar at the same time just for us to have money, just for me to be comfortable

I believe in forgiveness that's why when the man told me "You don't have to forgive him" I felt cornered, this was something he did way back then and regretted it while doing it, so should I really judge him so hard?

If I did something like that would I be able to recover in my life as he did? Could I ever have the courage to face the motherless son I created?

No that's a way too pure way to think, What my dad did was horrible and nobody should be in the place of my aunt ever, but sadly the world is corrupted

I hate that I have nobody to talk to right now

~You have me~ Yu said as he popped into his white space as always

"So what do you think about this?"

~Why does it matter what I think? You are the one damaged and offended by what your father did so why would I call the shots?~ Yu said as he sat on a chair he conjured out of thin air

"You are me right? Then your opinion is as important as mine"

~My suggestion is to look at the bigger picture, our father has asked for forgiveness and has said he is sorry about what he did, Hikita also didn't seem to hold a big grudge, so if you exclude your personal problem with your father then I think you should let the victim judge him and you should remain neutral~

"My personal problem?"

~Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. The need to exceed the expectations they set for you simply because you were the son of Domic, is what made you hate him, yourself, and many others too, You may not know that but that caused every problem you ever had~

The need to exceed the expectations...