One And Only Ichi (Yuiitsu Muni No Ichi)

Ichi's Past

Arata and his friends, Jiro and Felix along with a few juniors serving as their slaves, were hanging out by the park near school. It was before Fumiko got home and the group spotted her excitedly putting on some lipgloss on her way.

"Oi, Sato!" Arata called. "What's with the pucker up?"

Fumiko stopped walking abruptly. She felt heat rise from the back of her neck before she even turned to face them. "Arata." She gritted her teeth as she called his name distastefully.

"Woah! You look like you could kill me." Arata teased, his boys erupt in automatic laughter.

Fumiko strode over to him and before he could coin another witty remark, she raised her fists to her cheeks and with one swift swing of her right arm, she threw a hard punch on Arata's midriff.

"Oof!" Arata felt the wind knocked out of him. He staggered backwards, his friends catching him before he lands on his behind.

"The hell? Have you lost your mind, Fumiko?" Felix scowled.

Fumiko dusted her hands and said, "I warned you, didn't I? Now you know I'm not kidding around."

"What did I do, huh?" Arata questioned her.

As she turned, her expression was dark and a look of pure hatred filled her eyes. "I know what really happened that night, at the rooftop."

Alarm crawled into Arata's face. The same went for Jiro and Felix who were there that night too. They began exchanging nervous glances.

"The hell are you talking about?" Arata feigned ignorance.

Fumiko simply looked over her shoulder and just by the look on her face, they knew she wasn't bluffing. "I'm only letting it pass because Ichi asked me to. But don't even linger around me or Ichi because I won't stand for it." She said coldly before walking away.

Arata winced, holding onto his gut. His free hand clenched beside him. "Ichi...I'll make you wish you died that night."

A few days passed, it was a Sunday and Ichi was hanging the laundry out on the balcony when a professional looking woman approached him.

"Nishimiya Ichi?" She inquired.

Ichi bowed his head lightly. "Yes?"

Just then, Fumiko appeared in the doorway. Her gaze flicked to the woman instantly. "Um, who are you?"

"I'm Shigeru Yuri. I'm a social worker." The lady replied, alerting Fumiko to stand in front of Ichi.

"W-what are you here for?" Fumiko asked defensively.

Seconds later, they heard Mrs. Sato approaching. "What's going on out there?"

The four were now inside the apartment, in the living room. Ms. Shigeru sat opposite of the three who all seemed eager yet anxious to know what business she had with Ichi.

Mrs. Sato poured her some tea and asked, "What brings you here, Ms. Shigeru? How do you know our Ichi?"

The lady sipped on her complimentary tea before speaking. "Actually, I only knew Ichi's father."

A look of distraught quickly crossed Ichi's face and his family easily noticed since he's barely ever agitated.

Mrs. Sato chuckled awkwardly to break the tension. "Um, from what we know, he's deceased. As well as Ichi's mother."

Fumiko's eyes shifted to Ichi's tightening fists. She also noticed that he was taking deep breaths, trying to keep himself together.

"He is deceased. He passed away two days ago in a nursing home." Ms. Shigeru informed them.

Fumiko and Mrs. Sato looked surprised but more so than them, Ichi was unable to hide his shock.

"The thing is we couldn't locate any immediate family at first because no one's ever visited him but I soon learned from one of his old neighbors that he had a son who attended Yoshi Academy. That is how I came to see you, Ichi."

Ichi was speechless— or rather, he refused to say anything.

Mrs. Sato decided to do all the talking. "Um, I'm sorry to sound insensitive but what exactly do you want from the boy?"

Ms. Shigeru rested her cup on the table. "Mr. Nishimiya is currently in a funeral parlor. Although we wouldn't mind taking care of his burial, we still try our best to get family involved since it's the least we can do for the deceased." She turned back to Ichi. "We hope you could participate in arranging your father's wake as well as his burial. Also, we have a few of his belongings in our possession. We wanted to hand them over to his son."

The three women were startled when Ichi suddenly stood up and said coldly, "I don't want any of it."

"Ichi..." Mrs. Sato uttered but then, Ichi bowed briefly and marched out of the house.

"I-Ichi!" Fumiko called after him but Mrs. Sato held her by the arm and shook her head.

"Let him go for now." Mrs. Sato said before getting back to their guest. "I'm sorry but I think the boy needs some time. We'd like to talk to him privately first."

Ms. Shigeru stood up politely. "I understand. However, there is another issue at hand which involves your family, Mrs. Sato."

The two women of the house exchanged glances.

"Ichi is a minor and he isn't related to you nor is he legally a part of your family. His current living conditions raises legal concerns." The social worker expounded.

"What?" Fumiko chimed in. "Ichi was in a dire situation when we found him! My parents and I only wanted to help."

"Still, under the law, a minor such as Ichi, especially an orphan has to undergo the proper procedures before he can be re-homed."

"Re-homed?" Fumiko could no longer suppress the anger in her tone. "Ichi's not a puppy that needs rehoming!"

"Fumiko." Mrs. Sato attempted to calm her daughter but it was no use.

"Besides, he'll be eighteen in a couple of months! He'll be an adult!" Fumiko argued, fighting the urge to cry right there and then.

"I'm sorry but I don't make the law." Ms. Shigeru said sternly. "I will give you time to speak with Ichi as well as decide on your course of action but please take note that we will not make exceptions. Good day."

And with that, the guest took her leave. Fumiko turned to her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mrs. Sato, an emotional mess herself, took her daughter in a warm embrace.