Coroyakuza

Fourteen|| Confrontation

It was the day of Eging Jr's funeral. Inklings all around were getting ready for the ceremony. Emperor and N-Pacer agreed that the funeral should be taken place at their house; Prince noted it was first time they've agreed on something in a while. The younger Houzuki brother was sitting in his room, awaiting the moment N-Pacer would walk in telling him to greet the people that decided to attend the funeral. Prince had been reluctant to be the one that would greet everyone, knowing Eging's father was sure to show up. He had not seen him since his father's funeral. The poor man, Eging Senior (or just Senior), had lost his best friend and now his son; more over, his best friend's daughter was the one that killed his son. Although he was a former feared gang leader, he still had emotions and Prince felt sad knowing Eging's own father wouldn't show such vulnerable emotions at his deceased son's funeral. It reminded him of his brother.

A knock on the door caught Prince's attention. "It's open," he called, fidgeting with the cuffs on his suit jacket. The door opened to reveal Mrs. Houzuki. "Mom..!" the small Inkling quickly ran into his mother's arms. She let out a sad sigh, holding onto her son. She didn't look all that different from him; the youngest Houzuki was given most of his mother's features after all. "I'm so sorry, Princey," she said, holding onto her younger son. Prince held his mother in a tight embrace, tears already spilling from his eyes. "Pearl killed him right in front of my eyes, Mom," he muttered with a small sniffle. "I know," she whispered in his ear, rubbing small circles into his back. "I'm sorry I never visited. Happy late birthday." The golden inkling boy smiled sadly, keeping his arms wrapped tight around his mother. It had been too long since he's seen her. N-Pacer peaked in. "Senior's here," she informed quietly. Mrs. Houzuki pulled away from their hug and held onto his hand reassuringly. "We can both say hi," she said with a sad smile. Prince only nodded before leading his mother out of his room.

Emperor exited his room once he heard N-Pacer say Senior's name. Mrs. Houzuki was giving her condolences to Eging's father, who had a poker face, but a polite and respectful "Thank you" was heard. "Mother," he called. She turned, a smile spreading across her calm face as he came to her. She pulled her much taller son into a tight embrace, and he stiffly returned the gesture.

Prince half heartedly jogged to the door as he heard a knock, frowning when Gloves was standing there in a tux with a small bouquet of flowers. "Emperor's a little busy right now," he said bluntly. "Who said I was busy?" the taller Inkling appeared behind him, opening the door wider for Gloves. "Your Majesty," the green Inkling greeted with a small smile. Prince frowned. "I'll take my leave," he muttered, finding his way to N-Pacer.

"Prince? Why aren't you at the door—" She stopped herself and grimaced when she saw Gloves at Emperor's side, the two were arm in arm. "Why is he here?" she asked. "I- I don't know. I open the door and he's there," the young Houzuki said. She began walking towards him but Prince grabbed her arm and shook his head. "It's not worth it," he said. N-Pacer sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. My mother will be here soon," she mumbled. The two turned at the sound of the door opening, revealing Pearl and surprisingly, Marina, who had a bouquet of white flowers in her hand. N-Pacer glared, visibly fuming. Prince quickly ran up to his sister and frowned. "Pearl, w-" he turned to Marina and noticed her discomfort before turning back to Pearl. "N-Pacer is mad."

"Yeah, I figured," the Oyabun said, squeezing the much taller octoling's hand. "Funny seeing you here, Pearl," Emperor's voice was heard from
behind her. Marina turned and gave the yellow inkling a nervous smile. "I'm assuming you're Marina," he said blankly. She gave a small nod of her head. "You must be Emperor," she said, extending out her hand. He stared at her hand then at her face before turning to Pearl. Before he could say anything to her, N-Pacer pushed him out of the way. "What do you think you're doing here?" she asked rather aggressively.

Everyone's attention turned to what was going on. "Why else would I be here?" the shorter inkling asked bluntly, pulling Marina closer to her. "Pearlie, I think we should go," the octoling suggested nervously. "Listen to your girlfriend. You two coming here was a bad idea," Emperor said bluntly, Gloves awkwardly standing at his side. "Come on, Pearl—"
"No. We're staying. We haven't payed our respects," she insisted. N-Pacer let out a venomous laugh. "You want to pay your respects? You're the one who fucking killed him!"
"You don't think I feel shitty about what I did!? I feel absolutely fucking horrible about it, and I know for a fact that if I didn't show up you'd all be on my ass for it!" N-Pacer glared at her, "Maybe you shouldn't have killed him in the fucking first place, you crazy bitch!"
"Oh, I'm the crazy bitch?!"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, everyone's eyes was on the youngest Houzuki brother. "Both of you, just shut up! It's Eging's funeral and you guys are still arguing!" Emperor frowned at his younger brother. "Prince, stay out of—"
"Oh, please Emperor! You shouldn't be talking, you brought his replacement to his own funeral," he retorted. "Do you even care that he died?" The room went dead silent. "Of course I do," He replied lowly. "Everyday you're out drinking, and getting high, and bringing your hookups over! You never talk to me, or N-Pacer! I don't think you care about anyone but your fuck toys!" Prince screamed, tears running down his cheeks. Nobody spoke a word, but Prince felt their eyes staring at him. He stifled a sob. He was frozen in shame and embarrassment.

Emperor stood idle, shock prominent on his face. Gloves attempted to place a hand on his shoulder, but was sharply swatted away. "Prince, I-" The younger inkling interrupted him by turning swiftly and muttering a soft "sorry" before shutting himself in his room. Emperor frowned and moved to follow him but was stopped by his mother. "Leave him alone." Marina, who was the only octoling there, started on her way to Eging's altar, next to Senior. She placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the smiling picture of the now deceased yellow Inkling.

"An Octoling?" Senior raised an eyebrow. She turned to him with a small smile. "Yeah," she muttered. "Are you Jr's father?" He gave a small nod. "My condolences."
"You don't have to do that." Marina shrugged. "I was there the night your son died. And I talked to him a few hours before the incident. He was nice," she said. Although they weren't necessarily friends, she meant what she said. "Thank you," he said with a small nod. She smiled and said, "You don't have to do that," before walking towards Prince's room. "What is she—" Emperor was hastily cut off by N-Pacer. "Leave her be."

Prince jumped slightly when he heard a small knock on his door. He quickly wiped his tears and got up. He opened the door slightly, raising an eyebrow when he saw Marina. "Y-You're..." She gave him a comforting smile. "Can we talk?" she asked politely. He hesitated before nodding and opening the door for her. He sat on his bed, patting the spot next to him. Once she sat down, she sighed. "I'm sorry. I was originally planning on coming alone but Pearl insisted on coming. Arguing with her really isn't my forte," she apologized while playing with her green tinted fingers. He sighed, "It isn't your fault. Cod, I've never yelled at anyone before. That was... I don't know where I got all that adrenaline from," he muttered. "I'm sure you were real shocked when Pearl told you about her and I," she said with a small chuckle. He smiled. "Yeah, we all were. I'm glad though. That she found someone like you. You two may be polar opposites but she needs someone as nice as you. To keep her sane and stuff..."

"I don't think I'm the person she needs right now," Marina admitted. "What does that mean?" Prince asked curiously. "I think she needs her little brother more than anything." He looked at the much taller Octoling and gave her a small hug. She gasped quietly in surprise but smiled and hugged back. "No wonder you're Pearl's favorite, you're such a sweetheart," she giggled, pinching his cheeks slightly. He let out a playful groan before laughing.

"Maybe you two aren't entirely different."