Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

115 • Hokusei Harui

In the face of death, they say people's memories would flash before their eyes.

His first memories were of his mother, and they were red.

Red dress, red lips, red hair, red eyes, red skin. His mother was red, bright and catching the attention of unwanted insects. Exposed to drugs, sex, and crime, as well as even cruder adults with no filter since before he could walk, Harui learned the dark side of the world sooner than one would like.

"Everyone needs love," she said, applying another layer of red on her cheeks. "Everyone craves love. Everyone is made of love. Everyone loves." The next thing she needed to make red was her lips. "There is a minimum of love needed to live, and the second you cross that line, you can never turn back. So, you mustn't be greedy. Take what you need to live, but never let it make you stay."

If this was the 'love' that had made him, his mother, and the world, then Harui didn't want it.

Harui has always been a bit fucked up in the head. The adults in his mother's house were always angry, screaming profanities and swinging their fists. They declared their hatred for the world and the people in it. They were useless and did more damage to him than not, but Harui needed them.

He hated them. But he relied on them to survive, so he let them hurt him.

No matter how painful it was or which part of him bled, Harui would grit his teeth and take it all, just so he could survive another night.

At four, his mother showed him the most love he had ever seen her give.

"Mommy's gonna go far away now." Like the curse that was his name, his mother's smile gleamed with joy that night. "So, be a good boy and stay with Daddy, okay?"

Hokusei Shiki's mansion was worse than his mother's house. But Harui had learned how to survive, so he quickly figured out what Father expected from him. He smiled and nodded like an obedient dog, following his father around while keeping an uncrackable mask of indifference at the blood and gore he was exposed to.

His father loved him as one would love an object, so Harui increased his worth.

All to survive.

"From now on, she will be your little sister." When the dirty bundle of blankets was handed over to him, Harui accepted it with trembling hands. "Her name is Reina. Hokusei Reina. I'm gonna turn her into the perfect weapon later. But for now, you take care of her."

With skin that was too ashy and cheeks that were too swollen, Reina couldn't even be considered decent, much less cute. She wasn't wearing any clothes, just a napkin tied carelessly around her waist and the dirty blanket, nothing appropriate for the November chill.

For once, Harui felt something other than anger and fear.

"Your life will be miserable," he whispered to the baby who had yet to sleep, bright and big green eyes staring at him silently. "If I kill you now, will you be grateful in the long run?"

The baby blinked when he hovered the pillow over her head. Just one push and he would spare her from a life of miserable pain. Babies were such fragile creatures, after all. However, the baby—Reina—wasn't making a single sound, not even as the pillow got closer and closer to her face.

Stealing a glance at her eyes, Harui couldn't help but chuckle. Those eyes. He could recognize that glint anywhere and he wondered how a baby, of all people, could have them. Reaching his hand out, his knuckles brushed against her cheek.

"You're just like me, aren't you?" Kneeling beside the bed, he took her tiny hand, watching the way she curled her entire hand around his finger. "You'll do anything to survive too, won't you?"