Phrenology: E-Lunar (3) Route A (MANUSCRIPT)

Chapter 2: Turn 4

     "It's... sad that it has to end this way, my son. I'm sorry. I just... can't handle being judged like this. When you returned to stand here right in front of me, I thought it was going to be loved. I thought I was going to feel some sort of redemption. We finally had a reunion -- that, by the by, I never thought were going to have -- and yet, you come to offer only more pain. I won't allow that. I've already let Kevin go, and here you are shouting me down. I just... can't handle being judged right now! I can't handle that. I... CAN'T HANDLE IT! I WON'T HANDLE IT!"

     "Dad? Tch, you psychopathic freak, put that down!" 

     "Heh, listen to yourself." Mr. Ahlstrom succumbed to a deep yawn, his middling Japanese accent humming throughout the living-room. "A boy who is so full of potential, but here he is, his voice cracking from all the yelling. And now... he's on the ground squirming." 

     "What? I'm not on the-" Suddenly, Hikaru's dad shot him in the legs- A drunken expression of ego taking over.

      A drunken expression of, if only for a moment, the father forfeiting the life of his son, willingly. 

     "D- D a d." 

     "That'll teach you to disobey. That'll teach you to not judge your own father! THAT'LL TEACH YOU! FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" 

     "Th- This... really hurts, like hell. I should call the cops, but..." Hikaru, suddenly, laughed psychotically. "... is there really no good way for this to end? Already, you've disabled me -- shot in the damn kneecaps -- which'll make Kevin very, very upset. H- However, if I kill you... that'll also make Kevin upset. Here I was... a man skilled in combat. How prideful of me! I ended up getting subdued by the master. Good ol' gun-sensei over here. Who could ever hope to top him?" 

     Hikaru's dad, suddenly, dropped the gun. 

     Backing up from his bleeding son, Mr. Ahlstrom fell to his knees. "O- Oh no. Oh my God! My son, what have I... done? Why did I... do this? What came over me? My son!" 

      "That's the funny thing about..." Hikaru winced "... war. You see, there was a time when men could kill each other honorably. There was a time when men could die honorably. Those days were called... chivalry. But... those days had swords. They lacked guns and bombs. The minute the gun was invented... was the minute a violent death became truly ugly. It was the minute that wars went from one-hundred years... to only four." Hikaru hiccuped as he tried to ignore the searing pain in his knees, bullet holes having filled his shins. "You see, I came here originally to have one last confrontation with you. I've been... recently adopted, you see? Because I, of course... ran away. Kevin... from what I can tell- Oh, Kevin hates me. He might not always hate me, though. There may be a future where me and him can get along, but..." 

     Hikaru continued to breathe heavily. "... in the meantime, I guess I do deserve two gun-shot wounds to the knees. However, father, you inflicted about five... and missed about three." 

     "Son... I'm so sorry! I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME! I think... I've been drinking again. That damned alcohol- It's demonic juice. I didn't mean for it to come this! Please, forgive me! Have mercy on an old man." 

     "Then give me the gun." 

     "W- Why?" 

     "Give- Give me the gun. Give it here. GIVE ME THE GUN!" 

     "O- Okay." Hikaru's father conceded, tossing the gun on over. 

     "Now, since I can't walk anymore... you're going to have to... walk over here, and stick your head between my legs." 

      Hikaru's dad shook his head. "Wh- What? That sounds... oddly sexual, son. What are you planning on doing? You wish to have me pose in a shameful way?" 

      "Do as your told, Mr. Ahlstrom. After all, I'm the one with the gun, now." 

      "O- Okay. I- I... l- love you, son." 

     In the passing seconds, the Ahlstrom household was covered in organs, teeth, and brain matter. Six loud consecutive shots were fired into the vulnerable and morose skull of Mr. Ahlstrom. Hikaru fired each one with a passionate expression. His white eyebrows would rise and fall as he pulled the trigger each time. 

     Now, his pants were covered with blood and tissue from, not only himself, but also the man that... was his biological father.

     His heart pounding in his chest, Hikaru took a deep breath every three seconds. 

     "War... is something so awful, isn't it, father?" 

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