Love and Lies [Saioumami]

I Finally Get My Chance

The intruders burst through the venue entrance, Kokichi's biological parents entering as if they had nothing to fear. Kokichi's blood ran cold, goosebumps covering scarred skin, a reminder of his past. "You not welcome here." Gokuhara shot up from his seat, slowly stepping towards the elders with a threatening glare. They never flinched, ignoring the approaching giant.

"Kaho! Sweetie, I'm so glad you're here to talk some sense into your brother," Mrs Ouma smiled. The elderly woman approached her daughter, arms outstretched awaiting a hug.

"Get away from me," Kaho shouted, backing away from the woman. "I'm not your child, I'm not your family! Kokichi can get married to whoever he wants to and you have no say in the matter! You can have an opinion when it's your own child, but you are no parent of ours!"

"Don't be silly, you're our children-"

"Biologically, yes. Unfortunately, we are!" Kaho continued to scream. I know she feels guilty about everything that happened, at least she can get out her anger now. "Stay the fuck away!"

"Don't worry dear, those aren't our children anyway," Kokichi's father laughed maniacally. "We didn't raise a dress-wearing faggot like that thing. Any true child of ours would know how disgusting that is."

"How about we escort you two outside? No need for violence at a time like this," Hirohito attempted to ease the situation. He and Kirgiri Jin approached the intruders, grabbing their upper arms. Without warning, Mr Ouma punched both men in the face, leaping forward towards Kokichi. The younger male gasped, unable to move as his body stiffened in terror.

Rantaro and Shuichi ran in front of Kokichi, attempting to create a shield to protect their shared soulmate. Mr Ouma shoved them to the side with ease, the grooms falling off the platform with a painful thud. Kokichi lost control of his breathing, his chest squeezing tight as he felt like a helpless highschooler again. Memories flooded through his mind like a tsunami, thoughts that he'd kept locked away in the back of his mind.

As the memories of being beaten and abused controlled his trembling body, Kokichi watched helplessly as his biological father reached into his jacket. He pulled out a gun, cocked it and held the cold, metal barrel against Kokichi's head. The room went quiet, not even the wind dared to move as the world stopped to watch the scenario. Kokichi screamed at himself to move, to grab the gun, but he couldn't. His brain told his body to move, but his muscles refused to listen.

Shutting his eyes tight, Kokichi trembled in place, preparing to die at his wedding in front of everyone who'd ever cared about him. His ears exploded, a loud pop deafening the boy as the gun went off. Kokichi fell to the floor, slamming his hands over his ringing ears as tears streaked through his makeup. As Kokichi's breathing slowed, he realised something odd. I don't think I'm dead. He opened his eyes and ears to hear shouting, noticing Chabashira on the ground with his father, the gun nowhere in sight.

Kokichi stood up again, watching as people either helped Rantaro and Shuichi or yelled at his parents. His parents shouted in his face, although he couldn't process what they were saying. He held a blank stare as he watched everything happening, unable to understand or remember any of it. Mr Ouma shoved Chabashira away and grabbed Kokichi's wrist, pulling him off the platform towards the man's wife. Attempting not to trip over his dress, Kokichi blindly went along with the situation, too terrified to defy his parents.

"You're going to become a real man. No son of mine wears dresses or makeup, or even marries another boy!" Mr Ouma shouted in Kokichi's face. Raising his fist into the air, Kokichi watched as it came down towards his face with a familiar force. What am I doing? I'm not eighteen anymore, I'm a strong adult. Regaining consciousness, Kokichi sidestepped the punch, pulling back and pounding his father in the face with all the strength he could muster.

"I'm not scared of you anymore!" Kokichi shouted, taking a few steps away from his parents to create a longer reaction time if necessary. "You're not my parents and I'm not your son, you never treated me like one! How dare you come here and ruin this wedding?! Neither of you has any right to interact with me after beating me! I never went a single week without you hurting me or throwing me down the stairs! Both of you made me gamble so you wouldn't get caught by police, I was nothing more than a free maid to you. You hospitalised me and bribed your way out of jail time, now you're expecting me to just let you into my life again?! 

How fucking dare you come back here and expect your son back? You don't even have the right to breathe in my direction, much less talk to me. Fuck. Off." The room went dead silent again as Kokichi shouted at the sorry excuses of human beings before him. As soon as he finished, Kokichi grinned as he felt a weight lift from his shoulders, finally achieving something he'd only dreamt of for years.

He felt like a crack in his heart had been stitched back together, mending a wound that'd never been able to heal. Kokichi's cheeks stung from his grin, the male standing with his head held high and his chest puffed out in superiority. I am the winner this time. He watched as the failure of parents seemed to struggle to find their next tool of manipulation tactics. "You have one more chance to fix your life Kokichi, come back to us and we won't punish you for this."

Maki stepped next to her best friend, opening her mouth to reply. Kokichi noticed and covered her mouth, shaking her head. "I want to handle this." The brunette nodded, stepped behind Kokichi to give him the stage. "I'm not a child anymore, you have no right to punish me at all. If I need to be disciplined, the police can take care of me."

"Ko-"

"Shut the fuck up," Kokichi interjected, cutting off his father. "It's Saihara-Amami to you, not Kokichi, only people close to me have the right to call me by my first name. I've already made my choice, so listen closely. I'm not coming back to you, ever. I have the perfect life without either of you." To rub salt in the wound, Kokichi marched over to his soulmates and gave them each a deep, passionate kiss as everyone cheered. "They are my perfect life, I need no one else."

Kokichi held a triumphant smirk on his face. Everyone continued to cheer as his parents turned on their heels and left the wedding venue with the aid of Hirohito, Mrs Ludenberg and Jin. "You handled that well Kokichi, I'm so proud of you," Shuichi smiled.

"Let's get a restraining order against them when we're married," Rantaro chuckled.

"Now that the shitshow is over, do you guys want to..." Kokichi trailed off, his grin faltering. "Continue..." He almost finished his train of thought, not quite making it as the shock adrenaline wore off. Kokichi's hands trembled with fear, tears replenishing the streaks on his face as he came to a realisation. His breathing became sporadic and painful, his chest stinging as he stared blankly at his fiancees.

My biological father just tried to shoot me in the head, and he almost succeeded.