One And Only Ichi (Yuiitsu Muni No Ichi)

Truth And Lies

"What the hell, Kai?" Arata growled. "I thought we had a deal?"

The two were inside their shared bedroom. Kai's mom was preparing a simple dinner and his dad had just walked through the front door. "I'm home." The boys heard him announce.

Arata lowered his voice to a dull roar. "Tell her you only said those things in the heat of—"

"I can't." Kai interrupted. "Arata, let's stop here. Aren't you tired?"

"So that's what it is." Arata snickered, getting up from his bed. "You're tired of paying me back for what your parents did."

"What more do you want?" Kai asked through clenched teeth. "I cut classes and get into all sorts of trouble with you. I ended up hurting Chiharu and we almost killed Ichi!"

Kai placed his hands on his head in frustration. "When does it end?"

Arata grabbed Kai by the collar and pulled him up. "I'll tell you when! And if I don't, you don't stop!"

Kai hoped that he could talk him down, that maybe they could put the past behind them once and for all. But now, he could see that wasn't the case. And no matter how hard he looked into Arata's eyes, he saw no trace of remorse.

His heart was heavy as he ripped Arata's hands off his shirt and said, "No, I'm done."

After Kai turned his back, Arata grabbed him by the arm and swung a fist to his face. Kai crashed onto the bedside table and soon, his parents came running.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Maruyama demanded to know.

His wife gasped upon seeing her son on the floor with blood on his lips. "Kai!" She rushed to his side and helped him get up. "Arata, what's the meaning of this?" 

"Go ahead! Gang up on me!" Arata raised his hands in the air mockingly. "That's what you've been doing ever since my parents died."

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Maruyama questioned angrily.

Arata sneered viciously as he turned to face his uncle. "Don't play dumb! I know I should've gotten a large sum of money from my parents' insurance!" Arata pretended to look around as if searching for something. "But where did it go? How come you couldn't send me to school? And weren't you poor as rats? So how did you pay for your wife's chemotherapy while supporting Kai's studies, huh?"

"Is that what you thought?" Mr. Maruyama asked, sounding heartbroken. "Is that what you've been telling Kai?"

"I know that's what happened! I'm not stupid, uncle!"

"Arata, your parents were deep in debt. We even had to take out a loan to pay off everything because the money from the insurance alone wasn't enough." Mrs. Maruyama explained.

"Liar!" Arata exploded, knocking things off of his drawer. His aunt shrieked and his uncle tried to calm him down.

"Arata, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we couldn't send you to school but as you know, your aunt had cancer then and we were hard pressed for money." Mr. Maruyama said. "But we never pocketed any of your parents' money. We were only able to afford the treatment with the help of a charity organization. And as for Kai, the expenses for his studies were more manageable since he was a scholar."

Arata stood in a corner, his eyes wide. He shook his head violently. "You're lying! You're lying!"

This was the first time he and even Kai was hearing the truth and it proved to be too much to bear for Arata who blamed all his wrong decisions on his version of the story. He covered his ears, blocking his aunt's pleas.

"Arata, you have to believe your uncle. He's telling the truth. We're family, we would never do that to you."

"Shut up!" Arata reached his breaking point and stormed out.

Kai's mother embraced him tightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." Kai uttered weakly. His father shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. "It's not your fault, son. It's not your fault."