Golden Scars

Chapter Thirteen: Tragic Family Reunion

Toru and I run into Sugu, Chiko, and Shoko in front of the school. Chiko glares at Toru, "Do you have any idea what this is about?"

The tall boy next to me simply shrugs, "Not a clue. They left us in the dark as much as you."

Chiko sighs, "Great, we're going in blind with those old geezers."

Sugu moves closer to me to hold my hand and interlace his long fingers with my own, "We might as well go and get it over with already."

The five of us silently walk down the hallway towards the meeting room. The tension in the air is palpable and nauseating. Sugu leans close to me and whispers, "Don't worry, I'll be right here with you."

I squeeze his hand in acknowledgment of his reassurance. We finally reach the doors; slowly they open up to reveal a pitch black room. Once again we are greeted by the faceless specters of the elders. The large ancient doors close behind us with a deafening thud and all is silent in this dingy meeting room for a moment.

A loud booming voice overshadows the room, "The five of you have been summoned here today for a group mission of killing a certain curse user."

"Yeah, yeah, spare us the theatrics already." Toru groans in frustration at the higher ups.

There is a pause before the voice continues issuing us our orders, "Fine. You must kill the curse user, Hoshiko Kubo."

I gasp and cover my mouth. My mother...they want me to kill my own mother. Chiko speaks up against them, "What kind of sick joke even is that?"

"Chiko..." Toru murmurs as my broken hearted brother continues to rage at the elders.

"Our clan has been putting up with quite enough from you old shit heads! But this! Fucking this! You are ordering children to kill their own mother, where does your vapid cruelty even end!?"

"You dare to speak to us like that boy! That woman killed a fine sorcerer, there is no forgiveness for that!" Another disembodied voice shrieks from the darkness.

"A fine sorcerer...fine sorcerer my ass! But I suppose a coward who bullies those weaker than them would seem like a fine man to you!"

"ENOUGH!" The booming voice shakes the room like rolling thunder, silencing everyone. "If you do not complete this mission, we will take that inaction as treason and have every member of the Kubo clan exterminated."

My heart thumps loudly against my chest at those words. This is all my fault, if I had never killed my father we wouldn't be in this mess. I should've taken the fall all those years ago. I should be the one on the chopping block, not my family and friends. Before I can even free my hand from Sugu's, he leans into my ear and whispers, "Don't you even think about turning yourself in. We're going to get out of this without anyone having to die. Look at Satoru, he clearly already cooked up a plan."

I glance over at Toru and notice that his gaze has changed, it became sharper and more focused; it was that expression alone that put my mind at ease. "Fine, where do you want to send us?"

"As we were saying, you are to kill the curse user Hoshiko Kubo, who has recently been spotted in Fukuoka. Her last known sighting was near the Inunaki tunnel. You should also be prepared for other curses already inhabiting the tunnel due to its infamy. And I expect one of you to report to me should someone go against this order. Is that understood?" The last part clearly being directed at me and my younger brother. Silently we all bow to the higher ups; Toru having to force Chiko's head down. Once the lights come on, we leave without a word. I glance over at Suguru and Satoru, I really do hope those two have a plan because there is no way I could go through with killing my mother...I've put her through enough.

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Takara has always impressed me with how she remains stoic in the face of the higher ups. Once she told me that she refuses to let them see how their words affect her. Almost as though that was her own silent rebellion against them; refusing to satisfy their sadism with showing her pain. But it's also that unwavering nature of hers that makes those old geezers want to break her spirit. I don't think they're going to be ready to see what Takara would be like when she eventually snaps.

"So what's your idea?" Suguru asks me point blank.

After the meeting we all went to a grassy knoll to take a moment to process what just happened. I look over at Takara and see that she remains unmoved and staring straight ahead.

"Well, I have two ideas." Chiko and his older sister perk up at this, "First idea is to kill her and then have Shoko use her reverse cursed technique to bring her back."

"That one sounds sketchy, next." Chiko quickly voices his dissent.

"Second idea is to find something that resembles your mom. Like a cursed doll or mannequin and burn it beyond recognition. Both ideas lead to us somehow sneaking your mom out of the country because she cannot stay in Japan after this." I hold Takara's trembling golden gaze, "I swear to you, no one will kill your mom."

Shoko blows out some stray smoke, "Sounds like a pain but matricide sounds like more of a pain."

"So you're in?" I question her.

She smirks at this, "And fuck with those pretentious old farts? Hell yeah."

Takara signs to me, We have very little time, let's stay the night at my place to formulate a plan. I'm not going to fail my mom this time.

That's when I see it, life comes back to her sunflower eyes. Stubborn, unwavering hope now shines where there was once none. I will protect that beautiful fire sparkling within her, even if I die in the process.

"Right, let's all meet up at the Kubo estate. We are going to come up with an ironclad plan and con those greasy old fucks! We're going to win!" I shout at the bright sunset sky before us.