Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

The Lightening Tree

Kenichi's POV:

"Kenny! Kenny! Wake up, it's Christmas!" I was jolted awake to the sound of my sister. I looked to my clock next to my bed; it was 6:30 am.

"It's so early..." I groaned. I got out of bed anyways, to not upset her. "Give me a minute."

Mika laughed and ran off, probably going to Hijiri's room.

Although I doubted Hijiri would come of his man cave.

I brushed my hair and put clothes on, but I didn't bother putting anymore effort into my appearance. My family didn't deserve that.

And then I remembered; my family and I had to go to Ryker's house.

This was going to be hell.

I walked downstairs to see my dad surprisingly there, sitting by the Christmas tree he set up, holding coffee. "Good morning, Kenichi."

Don't try to be all buddy-buddy with me, old man. I nodded to him and sat next to him on the couch. He put his large and muscular arm around me. "I got you something I think you'll really like."

I paused. "When are we going to Ryker's house?"

My dad shrugged. "I think we'll go at eleven."

I refrained from letting out a groan. I wanted to see all my friends as soon as possible, and though I would still have to deal with my family at Ryker's house, I'd at least have Shinju to cling to.

So for four and a half hours, I spent time with Mika and my dad. Hijiri didn't bother even coming down, but Mika was nice enough to pile his gifts against his door. Hijiri made my blood boil, literally; he was such a baby.

Mika opened all her presents. They were a variety of clothes, video games, and jewelry I bought her. I only had a few, which was fine by me. As a kid, getting a lot of gifts was overwhelming to me, but now that I'm older the gifts finally slowed down.

I opened the four gifts I received. The first two were clothes, which I was very satisfied with. The third one was a new phone, also satisfying to me. But the fourth one was a figure of my own dad. I turned to him, slightly amused. "Is this a joke?"

My dad bellowed as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

I helped my sister set up her new gaming console for the rest of the time; though Christmas was pretty awkward, I was looking forward to seeing Ryker and Shinju. And hanging out with my sister wasn't so bad.

"Is Hijiri going?" I yelled to my dad, leaving my sister's room.

"Nope." My dad answered.

"I am, actually." Hijiri muttered from behind me. I turned around to face him. My blood started to boil.

"Why?" I challenged.

"Because I want to get out of the house, is that too much to ask?" Hijiri snapped back.

"Don't start a fight." My dad scolded from downstairs. "Kenichi, come down here and help me prepare a dish before we go."

I stuck the middle finger up at Hijiri and turned around, walking down the stairs.

I started preparing pomegranate salad with my dad. As I chopped up the kale, I could feel my dad's gaze burning into me. "Need anything?" I asked him, not looking up.

"You have a girlfriend, don't you?" I froze up at his words. What is he suspecting?

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, knowing he was getting more suspicious by my reaction.