Forced Manipulation

Chapter Forty-Eight

(One and a half hours later)

Kiyoshi smiled as he came across the restaurant sign, the neon letters echoing into the night sky. He couldn't foresee himself making it to the Battered Yam on time, yet, here he was! Hell, he was almost a half-hour early, way before the time Hank, and he agreed on. He let out a tired sigh. Man, the practice took a toll on him today! The only reason why he took the role of emergency head coach was to keep himself involved in the game. It wasn't like he could play for the world team anymore, after all, he is in his fifties. It seemed to appear that Japan's world team needed an athlete of his caliber. He wasn't even practicing, though! Was his age taking a toll on him? The mere sight of the girls' soccer team working out managed to wear him out. All of the girls shouting commands about where to go and what to do reminded him of when he was still playing. But, that was all in the past. The friends that he once made from soccer all graduated, splitting up in all sorts of directions. Some traveled out of the country to go to college. Whereas some stayed at home, working themselves to the bone in their local businesses. Kiyoshi remembered all the good memories he had with his team, all the wins they celebrated in the town. Hell, he even remembered when he and Katsurou would go out on their weekly date! It wasn't anything special, though. The two of them would usually just have a quick bite to eat and how they performed in their games. But to Kiyoshi, they meant the world to him! He would give up anything in the world to get one more date with Katsurou! Yet, as much as he dreamed and fantasized about being in his husband's arms, he knew that he would never get to relive it. It was four years ago, today, that Katsurou took his life. He could remember it as if it was yesterday. How he was going for a jog when he got the phone call from their son, whom they adopted nearly ten years ago. If he knew that Katsurou had those thoughts again, he would have never left his side. He would have made sure that Katsurou knew that he and his kids loved him and cared about him! Yet, he wasn't the one who found Katsurou's body. Their son, who had gotten out of school early, went to their house to get a snack before he went to practice. What he didn't expect to see was Katsurou's corpse lying on the bed, a forty-five caliber pistol resting in his hand. The heavy, metallic scent wafted through the air, while the crimson red liquid splattered all over the walls. He couldn't imagine how his son must've reacted, seeing the father figure that he looked up to, dead on the bed. After all, their son and Katsurou were together most of the time. The black-haired male gave him several tips on how to get better at soccer. Hell, with their help, he would have been better than the two of them combined! But after that dreaded phone call, hearing his son's screaming made Kiyoshi's heart stop. He remembered how desperate he sounded, begging for Kiyoshi to come home and help him. He couldn't remember much after that. But he did remember how fast he had gotten back to their house, sprinting to the point where he nearly had an asthma attack. He recalled how he hugged his son close to him, doing his best to shield him from the carnage.

But, he couldn't keep thinking about it. He still had to help someone who was in the same situation as he was four years ago. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. The familiar scent wafting over to his nostrils. God, he missed this.

"Kiyoshi?" The brunette turned his head, to see it was none other than Misaki Kirishima. "Is that you?"

"Misaki!" Kiyoshi grinned as he opened his arms up, offering her a hug. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"