A Ray of Sunlight

Chapter 13 - It's a Sweet, Sweet Life (Haruto's POV)

The plot thickens 😧

I didn't go back to the cafe after that. I didn't want to. I wandered around for quite a while and was starting to get tired. That's when I looked up and saw that I had reached the park. It was empty because it was in the middle of the day so it was extremely hot. I walked over to the swing set, sat down, and sighed. That's when I heard someone else sigh too. I looked over and there swinging slightly beside me was Katsunori. He wasn't wearing a suit anymore but instead, some tan trousers and a black T-shirt (The same outfit I was wearing?!) but that wasn't the first thing I noticed. The first thing was his arm had a big scar that seemed as if it had been made with a slice of a knife.

"Katsunori! Where is Shiro?!" I said, standing up, feeling alarmed to see him again.

He sighed again.

I walked up to him and grabbed his shirt. "Where's Shiro?!"

His usually dangerous gleam in his eyes was gone. Instead, dull eyes looked back at me. He took the lollipop that was in his mouth out. "Hi Haruto." he sounded defeated. "Shiro's okay. Don't worry about him."

I released his shirt. He didn't sound and look as dangerous as he is but I still have to be careful. "Let Shiro go," I said firmly.

"Haruto, is your father okay?"

"Ehh?" Why was he talking about father?

"Don't you ever feel like you're useless? That you don't even have anything to live for?"

"Ehh? Are you okay?" I was a little concerned. Is this still the Katsunori who was mocking me an hour ago?

"Don't you feel that? Why do you even want to join the Defense Force? It's pointless. It's dangerous and...and they'll blame every little mistake you make even if it's not your fault. Even if you did your best to prevent it...it's all your fault. It will always be your fault."

I sat back down on the swing. "Well..." I wasn't sure what to say.

"How come everyone can be forgiven? How come everyone's good at something? How come everyone knows what they're...they're doing? How come everyone inside is kind and brave and...and...perfect...except me? I didn't cause the incident. I didn't do any fucking thing!" He sighed again. "What a sweet, sweet life." I saw Katsunori wipe the tears forming in his eyes and looked up at the big, blue sky. I saw the lollipop drop from his hands and onto the floor. He got up from the swing, picked up the lollipop, wrapped it in the wrapper, and turned to leave. Before he did, he turned around to face me and reached into his pocket for something, and handed it to me. It was a lollipop "Haruto, prove me wrong. Please." I took the candy and he walked away to who knows where.

I know that was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of him and rescue Shiro but it didn't seem right and besides, I couldn't pry out anything from him in this mental state. I unclenched my fist and looked at the lollipop. It was strawberry flavored, Father's favorite flavor. I didn't know if I could trust whether or not he would poison me. Perhaps it was all just acting and he's back to his usual self, laughing at me for being pathetic and believing his lie but somehow, I could sense his desperation and sorrow. I unwrapped the wrapper and placed it in my mouth. I sighed again. What did he mean by "prove me wrong"?

That night I got scolded by Kazuki for not returning back to the cafe.

"You could've gotten killed, idiot! Or lost or something! Do you not know how worried I am! I was about to call the police! Or as you say, the defense force. You cannot do that again okay Haruto. You'll make me get a heart attack!" His tone gradually changed from angry to worried. Father was nowhere in sight.

"Sorry Kazuki. Umm do you know where father is?"

"Haruto! Do you not feel like you did something wrong? That was the most insincere apology."

I was stunned. "But...but father never scolded me for being outside."

Kazuki gave a disapproving look. "I'm not lecturing you for going outside, I'm lecturing you for going without my notice. You're a teenager already but that doesn't mean you're an adult. Attacks from aliens are happening more often. If I don't know where you are, I can't help you in case you are ever in danger." I did my best to make an apologetic look but it looked more like a blank stare. Kazuki sighed. "Haruto, look at me, I'm just worried about you. That you might get attacked and I won't see you ever again so the next time if you're sad or just want some time alone, just tell me where you're going and I'll let you go. Just don't run off like that ever again, okay Haruto?"

"You're worried about me?" That's a word I'm not used to hearing.

"Of course, I semi-adopted you."

I ran over and gave Kazuki a big hug. What I didn't expect were tears flowing down from my eyes. I heard a door creak open and then creak closed but I didn't care. Kazuki cared about me. Someone cared about me.

"Oh, Haruto...it's okay." Kazuki said, patting my head. "It's okay."

Okay so we can all agree dinner was the most awkward thing ever. I feel like I might make some weird facial expressions or start to cry if I look at my father so I tried my best not to look at him or make any sudden movements or noise. The rest of the dinner continued in an uncomfortable silence.

That night, I was twisting and turning on the mattress, hoping I wouldn't make too much noise when I turned. I was constantly wondering if what Katsunori said was true. It got to a point when I actually started to believe whatever he said. It was true. Despite having father's good genes, I was short (or atleast shorter than I'm expected to be), threw bad punches (Instructor said they could have more power), wasn't smart, kinda sucks at everything and had a bad temper. I sigh and turn again. I was nothing like my father except maybe looking a bit similar to him . When I was little, father would spend time with me but as I grew older, maybe he saw I had no potential and just stopped paying attention.

That thought made me sad. I didn't want to believe it but it could be true. Why couldn't I be a little more like father? What if I was a little more like father? Would he acknowledge me then? Why would I care! If father didn't care about me, then why should I?! But I did. Why am I not good enough? It isn't like I could control it. I already worked so hard. Tears were streaming down my face and onto the pillow. What if?

Just as I was about to turn again, I heard shuffling sounds. I turned to peek and saw father getting up. He just sat there for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what he was doing but I was curious. He was just sitting there, staring at the wall. I was about to get up and ask when I heard the door creak open.

"Hello, my old friend, Kaito. Better not wake the human and your son." It was the smug voice I could recognize anywhere.

"Katsunori." Father got up and left the room, leaving the door open. I was tempted to follow but me following him would probably slow him down. Afterall, there's nothing the great Kaito couldn't handle so I lay in bed, waiting for father to come back.

I was sure father was going to come back soon but he didn't. A few minutes passed and I was getting worried. I got out of bed and tiptoed outside. I glanced from the corner of the wall and saw Katsunori holding father's hands and walking into a portal.

"Where are you going!" I said.

"Be careful Haruto, you might wake the human up."

"Where are you taking father?!" I ran over and he fired a beam of blue light at me. I fell onto the floor with a loud thump. I hope that woke Kazuki up because I'm in trouble right now.

He bent down and tied something to my wrist. It was too dark and I could see it clearly though I could feel it was leathery and had a disk on it. "Oi, you're so skinny, does Kazuki not feed you?" I instantly felt like my limbs became numb and suddenly I couldn't feel anything. Katsunori reached into his pocket, unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it into my mouth. "Come on, let's go Haruto."

Where is he taking me?! I tried resisting but my body got up and followed him into the portal.