Categories > Anime/Manga > Gravitation > Euphoria III
Notes:
“Text”= Japanese talking
“/Text/”= English talking
“+Text+”= American talking
“#Text#”= Australian talking
Annoying. Ando’s cell phone rang on his nightstand. He grumbled aloud under the sheets as he continued his dream about lesbians making out on a beach.
“What?” he mumbled. The boy reached out for his cell phone. Ando held it to his ear.
“Hello?” he asked in an understandable grouchy voice.
“Are you Inoue Ando?” a man’s voice asked. Ando narrowed his tired eyes under the sheets.
“Yeah, why?” he asked.
“This is Tokyo Police Department,” the man went on. “We have your mom in jail for drunk and disorderly.” That took a minute for it to sink in. Ando shot right up in bed.
“She’s what?!?” he yelled.
“Please calm down, son,” the cop said. “She just wants you to bail her out—again.”
“No!” the boy hissed.
“Why not?” the cop asked, puzzled.
“It’s two in the morning,” Ando hissed. “I’ll get her in the morning. Let me sleep.”
“Alright,” the cop said, uneasily. Ando hung up with force on the button and tried to go back to sleep.
Keyword being tried.
Subject: Kat and Ando
Seven in the morning. Ando made it to the police station. Oh, his face said that he wanted to be here right now. The station looked to be on a down day today. They were probably just opening up for the day. Ando gave it his all to keep himself from wanting to kill his mother right now. The boy walked up to the front desk. One of the cops on duty looked up at him.
“Can I help you, son?” he asked.
“I came here to pick up Inoue Katsuko,” Ando grumbled.
“One moment please,” the cop said. He opened his book and looked inside. Ando peeked over the desk. The cop looked up at him.
“What is your relationship to her?” he asked.
“I’m her son,” Ando said with a frown. The cop squinted at him, confused.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Seventeen, why?” the boy replied. The cop made a face at him. Ando narrowed his eyes at him.
“What?” he asked. The cop shook his head.
“Nothing,” he lied. ”Ah! She’s already out.”
“Huh?” Ando asked as he looked at the book. “When? Where did she go?” The cop showed him the book. Kat’s bail was paid ten minutes ago. Ando looked at the officer.
“Where did she go?” he asked.
“She didn’t leave,” the cop said. Ando blinked.
“What?” he asked.
“She’s still in the station,” the cop answered.
“Where?”
The cop shrugged at him. Ando sneered at him. Thanks a lot, Dr. No Help!, he thought. Suddenly, they heard giggling. The boy and the cop looked up at the hallway. Kat was walking with her arms a dirty-looking more. She kept kissing him on the cheek and laughing. The man just gave her a greasy grin. His fresh cigarette hung out of his mouth. The couple made it all the way to the front. Kat looked up and saw her son with a pale-looking face with big eyes.
“Oh, hi Ando,” she said. The boy couldn’t speak at first.
“Who the f**k is this?!?” he yelped. The man gave him a hard stare.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he hissed. Kat rubbed on his chest.
“Easy there, baby,” she said. “This is my son, Ando, remember?” The man looked the boy up and down. He squinted his eyes at him for a closer look.
“Oh, so it is,” the man said at last. Ando raised an eyebrow at him.
“Kat, what’s going on here?” he asked. The woman cuddled up closer to the man.
“Blake here, is my husband,” she announced. Ando made an odd face at her.
“Blake’s your what?!?” he asked. The sleazy man slapped Kat on the ass. She only laughed aloud in pain.
“Your mom married me last night!” Blake boomed. Ando thought his soul just left his body for a moment.
“I think I am in hell…” he said almost inaudible.
“Sorry?” Kat asked. Her son shook his head. Oh and it was just about to get worse from there.
Ando could feel everyone staring at him, Kat, and his new step-father staring at them. He could feel his face burning. Kat’s giggling behind him wasn’t helping either. Ando clenched his teeth as he forced himself to keep walking. Kat nuzzled Blake on the neck as he kept squeezing on her ass. Ando even began grinding his teeth to keep his sanity in check. The whispers began buzzing around his head more so than usual. If was as if someone kept thumping him on the ears over and over again. The whispers kept rising higher and higher. Ando kept his head down the whole time. When it got too much, Ando froze in his tracks and lifted his head.
“LOOK!” he shouted. “WE DO THIS EVERYDAY!!! WHY THE F*K DO YOU ALL ACT LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING NEW TO WATCH?!? JUST F**G LEAVE US ALONE, OKAY?!?” Now, everyone was staring at him. Once Ando caught his breath, he took off running down the street. Kat and Blake looked on at him.
“What’s with him?” her husband whispered. Kat only shrugged.
“Beats me,” she said.
The rest of the family didn’t enjoy the marriage news either.
“What?!?” her mother cried.
“No way!” Shinji said. Her grandfather snorted.
“What the hell possessed you?!?” he hissed. “And you didn’t even invite us to the wedding.” Kat cuddled close to Blake.
“But I love him,” she said happily. Ando rolled his eyes at the table. Keiko, Ando’s grandmother, looked on at Blake.
“So, Blake what exactly do you do for a living?” she asked. The man ran his tongue over his teeth.
“Oh, just this and that,” he said. Ando narrowed his eyes at him.
“And that is?” he asked.
“Just many things,” Blake said. Ando cut a glare at him. Something illegal, probably, he thought.
“Uh… care to have breakfast with us?” Keiko asked.
“No,” Ando mumbled under his breath. Kat rested her head on her husband’s chest.
“Please say yes,” she whispered. Blake smirked to himself.
“Sure,” he said. Ando sneered as he sighed. Oh great, more time with this douche bag!, he thought. Couldn’t get better!
Breakfast was rather quiet. Ando kept glaring at his new step-father. Blake gave the boy a strange look. He leaned over to his wife.
“He keeps glaring at me, babe,” the man whispered.
“Ando!” Kat complained. “Quit staring at him.”
“Ando, behave,” Keiko whispered.
“I am,” he mumbled.
“So, where are you and Blake going to live now?” the grandfather asked. Kat and Blake grinned.
“Right here!” Kat cheered. Ando’s face dropped. Even Keiko had to force herself to keep smiling.
“Kat, honey, can I speak with you for a moment in private?” she asked. Her daughter blinked at her.
“Sure, why?” she asked. Keiko didn’t answer; she just grabbed Kat by the arm and dragged her to the kitchen. The boys all watched in silent intent.
“WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO YOUR HEAD THIS TIME?!?” Keiko screamed from the kitchen.
“BUT I LOVE HIM!” Kat yelled back.
“THIS IS NOT A REAL MARRIAGE!!!” her mother shouted. “THIS IS JUST YOU ACTING OUT BECAUSE OF HIM!” Kat looked at her with big eyes. Her face drained of all color. Hana instantly realized her mistake.
“I’m so sorry, Katsuko,” she said. Too late. Kat reached forward and slapped her in the face. Keiko looked at her in shock as she regressed back to a teenage girl.
“YOU!!!” Keiko cried. She hit her daughter back in the face. Kat’s anger shot up more and tackled her mother to the ground. The hits began to come. Hana gave it her all to fight back. The screaming drew the boys straight to the kitchen.
“Kat, mom!” Ando cried. “Stop it!” Hikaru ran forward to break them up. The brothers had to try and hold them back. Ando stood between them. Blake stood in the doorway, watching them. Keiko sat on the ground, panting as her father-in-law held her back.
“You!” the old woman cried out. “GET OUT!!!” Her daughter snorted at her.
“Fine!” she snapped. Kat pushed Ranji and Katsuya off of her and rose up to her feet. She stormed back her husband and went out the door. The rest of the Inoue family watched her storm off before turning to Blake. The sleaze king shrugged at them.
“Nice morning for it,” he said.
Later that morning, Ando met with Shuichi, Lucas, and Jane (Lexie) in the Aqua Juice Lounge. This place was a nice little quasi-bar for minors and people who just didn’t drink. Ando finished his apple sparkle juice.
“Kat and mom got into a fight this morning,” he said. His friends all stared at him.
“+What?!?+” Lucas asked. Ando held his half-empty tumbler cup in his hand.
“Not a petty argument either,” he went on. “It was an actual fist fight.” Ando curled his free hand into a fist and acted like he was actually punching someone. The others stared at him with silent, wide eyes.
“What happened?” Shuichi asked. Ando took another drink.
“Kat got married last night,” he went on.
“WHAT?!?” the other two boys yelled. Jane stared down in her juice as she held the cup in her hands tightly.
“+To who?+” Lucas asked.
“Kanno Blake,” the boy replied. “This guy…” Ando shook his head before speaking. “Total Yakuza wannabe. He is just sleazy. I even think that he is involved in some illegal activity of some sort.”
“Where did she find this guy?” Shuichi asked.
“Where else?” his younger friend asked. “But he has got to go!” Suddenly, Ando’s cell phone rang.
“I wonder who that is,” he said sarcastically. “Excuse me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Hello?” Ando asked in a disappointed tone. His eyes became alert. “Mom?” he asked. “What is it? Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine,” the boy mumbled. He hung up and looked at his friends.
“+Problem?+” Lucas asked. Ando sighed.
“Mom wants me to check on Kat,” he complained. “You know how it is.” His friends didn’t say anything. Jane stared down into her juice still. Ando looked over at her and blinked.
“What’s with her?” he asked.
“+Oh, you know,+” Lucas replied. Ando and Shuichi were silent.
“Lexie still isn’t back?” Shuichi asked. Luke shook his head.
“And you still haven’t gotten hold of the manager?” Ando asked.
“+No,+” said Luke. The Japanese men sat there in thought.
“That’s not good,” Shuichi said. “I’m starting to think that there is something illegal going on here.”
“+Yeah, me too,+” Lucas said. Ando patted his knees and stood up.
“Well, good luck with that,” he said. The boy began to head out the door.
“Where are you going?” Shuichi asked.
“To tend to Kat!” the boy yelled before he went out the door.
On instinct, Ando went out to Daisy Bomb. Kat frequented this place lately. Probably that’s where she met Blake. The boy cringed at his name. What a scumbag! He really had to go! How? Ando was still working on that. But right now, operation Kat. Ando made it to the front door of the club. He could see colored lights on inside. Sweat drop on his head
They’re open this early?, he thought. Oh well, can’t worry about that now. Ando pushed open the door and went inside.
The loud thumping of the music greeted his ears. “Sunrise Nippon” by Arashi to be exact. A few people were here this morning. Most of them in their thirties. Ando’s face dropped as he frowned. Please kill me if I ever get that desperate at thirty!, he thought. The boy continued his search. Alas, he found Kat at the bar as usual. She was laughing, talking, and drinking. The woman was surrounded by many younger guys. A taller man was even rubbing on her breasts as she was kissing on him. This same guy dragged her out on the dance floor. Ando shook his head and walked away. She was just fine.
Kat didn’t come home until early next morning. Katsuya and Ando found her passed out face down on the lawn. His uncle looked at him.
“Should we go out there and wake her up?” he asked. Ando shook his head.
“Nah, I’ve got a better idea,” he said. The boy walked outside to the front lawn. He made it over to the hose and turned to his mother, sneering. Pathetic, he thought. Ando cut on the sprinklers with one swift movement. The cold water awoke Kat with a scream.
“Ahhh!” she cried out. The woman looked up when she noticed a shadow standing over her. Ando shook his head at her.
“Have a good night?” he asked.
“Huh?” Kat asked. Ando shook his head and went back into the house.
“Wait!” his mother called. “Don’t leave me here!”
“Get up yourself!” Ando shot back. “I am not picking you up!”
In a few minutes, Kat got up and went inside. She sat at the kitchen table, nursing a hangover. Ando sat across from her, shaking his head.
“You’re pathetic,” he mumbled. Kat glanced up at him.
“What?” she asked.
“Look at you,” Ando complained. “You’ll be thirty-one in a couple of months and you still act like a drunk, slutty teenager. Why would you even want to marry a creep like Blake?” Kat shot him a cold glare.
“What do you have against my husband?” she hissed.
“He’s a scumbag!” Ando shot back. “He’s probably involved in some illegal activity and will end up beating you death. I’m sorry, but he has to go!” Heated silence. Kat clenched the towel in her hands tightly.
“Why can’t you just let me be happy?!?” she shouted.
“I do want you happy!” her little brother/son yelled. “Just not with him!”
“You’re such a brat!” she cried.
“I’m the brat?!?” Ando shouted back. “I’m not the one who’s thirty and acting like an idiot all because my step-father raped me and got me pregnant at a young age!” Kat looked at him with big eyes. It took Ando to realize his mistake.
“I am so sorry, Kat,” he said. Too late for that. Kat picked up her empty glass and chucked it at him. Ando was lucky enough to duck in time. His mother now had the eyes of Satan.
“GET THE F**K OUT!!!” she cried with tears in her eyes. Ando snorted at her.
“Fine!” he snapped. Then, he got up and walked out the door. Once he was gone, Kat rushed to her room to kill the pain. She reached under her bed and pulled out her secret box of alcohol. The woman began opening up bottle after bottle and drinking them down. When the booze wasn’t enough, she reached up to her dresser drawer and pulled it up. She found her old razor blade and cut her wrists. When that didn’t help, Kat just sat there on the floor and cried.
Outside in the city, Ando walked around in a heavy huff.
“Why is she so stupid?” the boy barked to himself. He stood outside a closed down music store. He leaned against the brick wall and sighed.
“Kat is so pathetic!” Ando complained.
“Is she now?” a voice asked. The boy looked up to see Arisu on the other side of the doorway. She was smoking on a joint. Ando frowned at her.
“Oh,” he said. The girl glanced over at him.
“What’s up?” she asked. Her friend sighed and shrugged.
“Kat being stupid again,” he said. The girl didn’t reply. Ando felt the need to keep running his mouth, so he did.
“She got married two nights ago,” he said.
“Oh?” Arisu asked. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Some low life named Kanno Blake,” Ando said.
“What’s he like?”
The boy sighed aloud. “The picture perfect idea of a Yakuza-wannabe. He’s dirty-looking, sleazy, and he tried to hit on my grandma.”
There was a moment of silence. Arisu took another puff of her joint. “Go back home.”
Ando gave her an odd look. “Say what?”
“She needs you, Ando.”
“No she doesn’t. She needs a padded cell and rehab!”
“You’re the one to get her there.”
“Really now?”
“She needs you. How do you think she feels with no one there to hold her hand and fix her?”
Ando froze up there for a moment. It didn’t hit him until now. Kat may be needy, annoying, and idiotic, but she was just a damaged woman with her own son as a reminder of what hell she had been through in her early teen years. Ando pressed his lips together.
“I’m going home,” he mumbled.
“Go then,” Arisu said. The boy nodded at her and ran all the way home. Arisu took another smoke of her blunt as she watched him run away.
Ando made it all the way to his front door and unlocked it. Kat was sobbing in the living room when she heard the door close. She looked up and saw Ando standing in the doorway, staring at her.
Overnight, Ando was plotting on his new plan to help Kat fix herself. First step was to get rid of her husband. Blake wasn’t going to go away that easily. The only way he would disappear is if the police were involved. It was then Ando came up with a great idea. He had to act fast, however. Ando crawled out of bed and acted on his plan.
The next morning, Blake went out to his car to disappear to wherever he disappeared to yesterday. He was about to get in when a police car pulled up into the Inoue driveway. The man looked up confused as they got out of the car.
“What’s up officers?” he asked. The police walked over to him and his car.
“Sir, we just got a call earlier about drug smuggling,” the first officer said. Ando watched him from inside the house. Blake tried to laugh it all off.
“Come on now,” he said. “What are you talking about?”
“Sir, we’re going to have to check your car,” the other officer said. The man shrugged and unlocked his trunk.
“Fine,” he said. “But you won’t find…” The cops peeked inside and low and behold: a huge bag of coke and marijuana in plain sight in his trunk. They turned to a speechless Blake.
“That doesn’t prove a damn thing!” he tried to say.
“Right, right, put your hands behind your back,” the cop said. Ando watched and took in his step-father being arrested. The plan worked.
So what if Kat slapped him like a little bitch for taking her husband away from her? She’ll thank me for it later, Ando told himself. Maybe…
“Text”= Japanese talking
“/Text/”= English talking
“+Text+”= American talking
“#Text#”= Australian talking
Annoying. Ando’s cell phone rang on his nightstand. He grumbled aloud under the sheets as he continued his dream about lesbians making out on a beach.
“What?” he mumbled. The boy reached out for his cell phone. Ando held it to his ear.
“Hello?” he asked in an understandable grouchy voice.
“Are you Inoue Ando?” a man’s voice asked. Ando narrowed his tired eyes under the sheets.
“Yeah, why?” he asked.
“This is Tokyo Police Department,” the man went on. “We have your mom in jail for drunk and disorderly.” That took a minute for it to sink in. Ando shot right up in bed.
“She’s what?!?” he yelled.
“Please calm down, son,” the cop said. “She just wants you to bail her out—again.”
“No!” the boy hissed.
“Why not?” the cop asked, puzzled.
“It’s two in the morning,” Ando hissed. “I’ll get her in the morning. Let me sleep.”
“Alright,” the cop said, uneasily. Ando hung up with force on the button and tried to go back to sleep.
Keyword being tried.
Subject: Kat and Ando
Seven in the morning. Ando made it to the police station. Oh, his face said that he wanted to be here right now. The station looked to be on a down day today. They were probably just opening up for the day. Ando gave it his all to keep himself from wanting to kill his mother right now. The boy walked up to the front desk. One of the cops on duty looked up at him.
“Can I help you, son?” he asked.
“I came here to pick up Inoue Katsuko,” Ando grumbled.
“One moment please,” the cop said. He opened his book and looked inside. Ando peeked over the desk. The cop looked up at him.
“What is your relationship to her?” he asked.
“I’m her son,” Ando said with a frown. The cop squinted at him, confused.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Seventeen, why?” the boy replied. The cop made a face at him. Ando narrowed his eyes at him.
“What?” he asked. The cop shook his head.
“Nothing,” he lied. ”Ah! She’s already out.”
“Huh?” Ando asked as he looked at the book. “When? Where did she go?” The cop showed him the book. Kat’s bail was paid ten minutes ago. Ando looked at the officer.
“Where did she go?” he asked.
“She didn’t leave,” the cop said. Ando blinked.
“What?” he asked.
“She’s still in the station,” the cop answered.
“Where?”
The cop shrugged at him. Ando sneered at him. Thanks a lot, Dr. No Help!, he thought. Suddenly, they heard giggling. The boy and the cop looked up at the hallway. Kat was walking with her arms a dirty-looking more. She kept kissing him on the cheek and laughing. The man just gave her a greasy grin. His fresh cigarette hung out of his mouth. The couple made it all the way to the front. Kat looked up and saw her son with a pale-looking face with big eyes.
“Oh, hi Ando,” she said. The boy couldn’t speak at first.
“Who the f**k is this?!?” he yelped. The man gave him a hard stare.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he hissed. Kat rubbed on his chest.
“Easy there, baby,” she said. “This is my son, Ando, remember?” The man looked the boy up and down. He squinted his eyes at him for a closer look.
“Oh, so it is,” the man said at last. Ando raised an eyebrow at him.
“Kat, what’s going on here?” he asked. The woman cuddled up closer to the man.
“Blake here, is my husband,” she announced. Ando made an odd face at her.
“Blake’s your what?!?” he asked. The sleazy man slapped Kat on the ass. She only laughed aloud in pain.
“Your mom married me last night!” Blake boomed. Ando thought his soul just left his body for a moment.
“I think I am in hell…” he said almost inaudible.
“Sorry?” Kat asked. Her son shook his head. Oh and it was just about to get worse from there.
Ando could feel everyone staring at him, Kat, and his new step-father staring at them. He could feel his face burning. Kat’s giggling behind him wasn’t helping either. Ando clenched his teeth as he forced himself to keep walking. Kat nuzzled Blake on the neck as he kept squeezing on her ass. Ando even began grinding his teeth to keep his sanity in check. The whispers began buzzing around his head more so than usual. If was as if someone kept thumping him on the ears over and over again. The whispers kept rising higher and higher. Ando kept his head down the whole time. When it got too much, Ando froze in his tracks and lifted his head.
“LOOK!” he shouted. “WE DO THIS EVERYDAY!!! WHY THE F*K DO YOU ALL ACT LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING NEW TO WATCH?!? JUST F**G LEAVE US ALONE, OKAY?!?” Now, everyone was staring at him. Once Ando caught his breath, he took off running down the street. Kat and Blake looked on at him.
“What’s with him?” her husband whispered. Kat only shrugged.
“Beats me,” she said.
The rest of the family didn’t enjoy the marriage news either.
“What?!?” her mother cried.
“No way!” Shinji said. Her grandfather snorted.
“What the hell possessed you?!?” he hissed. “And you didn’t even invite us to the wedding.” Kat cuddled close to Blake.
“But I love him,” she said happily. Ando rolled his eyes at the table. Keiko, Ando’s grandmother, looked on at Blake.
“So, Blake what exactly do you do for a living?” she asked. The man ran his tongue over his teeth.
“Oh, just this and that,” he said. Ando narrowed his eyes at him.
“And that is?” he asked.
“Just many things,” Blake said. Ando cut a glare at him. Something illegal, probably, he thought.
“Uh… care to have breakfast with us?” Keiko asked.
“No,” Ando mumbled under his breath. Kat rested her head on her husband’s chest.
“Please say yes,” she whispered. Blake smirked to himself.
“Sure,” he said. Ando sneered as he sighed. Oh great, more time with this douche bag!, he thought. Couldn’t get better!
Breakfast was rather quiet. Ando kept glaring at his new step-father. Blake gave the boy a strange look. He leaned over to his wife.
“He keeps glaring at me, babe,” the man whispered.
“Ando!” Kat complained. “Quit staring at him.”
“Ando, behave,” Keiko whispered.
“I am,” he mumbled.
“So, where are you and Blake going to live now?” the grandfather asked. Kat and Blake grinned.
“Right here!” Kat cheered. Ando’s face dropped. Even Keiko had to force herself to keep smiling.
“Kat, honey, can I speak with you for a moment in private?” she asked. Her daughter blinked at her.
“Sure, why?” she asked. Keiko didn’t answer; she just grabbed Kat by the arm and dragged her to the kitchen. The boys all watched in silent intent.
“WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO YOUR HEAD THIS TIME?!?” Keiko screamed from the kitchen.
“BUT I LOVE HIM!” Kat yelled back.
“THIS IS NOT A REAL MARRIAGE!!!” her mother shouted. “THIS IS JUST YOU ACTING OUT BECAUSE OF HIM!” Kat looked at her with big eyes. Her face drained of all color. Hana instantly realized her mistake.
“I’m so sorry, Katsuko,” she said. Too late. Kat reached forward and slapped her in the face. Keiko looked at her in shock as she regressed back to a teenage girl.
“YOU!!!” Keiko cried. She hit her daughter back in the face. Kat’s anger shot up more and tackled her mother to the ground. The hits began to come. Hana gave it her all to fight back. The screaming drew the boys straight to the kitchen.
“Kat, mom!” Ando cried. “Stop it!” Hikaru ran forward to break them up. The brothers had to try and hold them back. Ando stood between them. Blake stood in the doorway, watching them. Keiko sat on the ground, panting as her father-in-law held her back.
“You!” the old woman cried out. “GET OUT!!!” Her daughter snorted at her.
“Fine!” she snapped. Kat pushed Ranji and Katsuya off of her and rose up to her feet. She stormed back her husband and went out the door. The rest of the Inoue family watched her storm off before turning to Blake. The sleaze king shrugged at them.
“Nice morning for it,” he said.
Later that morning, Ando met with Shuichi, Lucas, and Jane (Lexie) in the Aqua Juice Lounge. This place was a nice little quasi-bar for minors and people who just didn’t drink. Ando finished his apple sparkle juice.
“Kat and mom got into a fight this morning,” he said. His friends all stared at him.
“+What?!?+” Lucas asked. Ando held his half-empty tumbler cup in his hand.
“Not a petty argument either,” he went on. “It was an actual fist fight.” Ando curled his free hand into a fist and acted like he was actually punching someone. The others stared at him with silent, wide eyes.
“What happened?” Shuichi asked. Ando took another drink.
“Kat got married last night,” he went on.
“WHAT?!?” the other two boys yelled. Jane stared down in her juice as she held the cup in her hands tightly.
“+To who?+” Lucas asked.
“Kanno Blake,” the boy replied. “This guy…” Ando shook his head before speaking. “Total Yakuza wannabe. He is just sleazy. I even think that he is involved in some illegal activity of some sort.”
“Where did she find this guy?” Shuichi asked.
“Where else?” his younger friend asked. “But he has got to go!” Suddenly, Ando’s cell phone rang.
“I wonder who that is,” he said sarcastically. “Excuse me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Hello?” Ando asked in a disappointed tone. His eyes became alert. “Mom?” he asked. “What is it? Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine,” the boy mumbled. He hung up and looked at his friends.
“+Problem?+” Lucas asked. Ando sighed.
“Mom wants me to check on Kat,” he complained. “You know how it is.” His friends didn’t say anything. Jane stared down into her juice still. Ando looked over at her and blinked.
“What’s with her?” he asked.
“+Oh, you know,+” Lucas replied. Ando and Shuichi were silent.
“Lexie still isn’t back?” Shuichi asked. Luke shook his head.
“And you still haven’t gotten hold of the manager?” Ando asked.
“+No,+” said Luke. The Japanese men sat there in thought.
“That’s not good,” Shuichi said. “I’m starting to think that there is something illegal going on here.”
“+Yeah, me too,+” Lucas said. Ando patted his knees and stood up.
“Well, good luck with that,” he said. The boy began to head out the door.
“Where are you going?” Shuichi asked.
“To tend to Kat!” the boy yelled before he went out the door.
On instinct, Ando went out to Daisy Bomb. Kat frequented this place lately. Probably that’s where she met Blake. The boy cringed at his name. What a scumbag! He really had to go! How? Ando was still working on that. But right now, operation Kat. Ando made it to the front door of the club. He could see colored lights on inside. Sweat drop on his head
They’re open this early?, he thought. Oh well, can’t worry about that now. Ando pushed open the door and went inside.
The loud thumping of the music greeted his ears. “Sunrise Nippon” by Arashi to be exact. A few people were here this morning. Most of them in their thirties. Ando’s face dropped as he frowned. Please kill me if I ever get that desperate at thirty!, he thought. The boy continued his search. Alas, he found Kat at the bar as usual. She was laughing, talking, and drinking. The woman was surrounded by many younger guys. A taller man was even rubbing on her breasts as she was kissing on him. This same guy dragged her out on the dance floor. Ando shook his head and walked away. She was just fine.
Kat didn’t come home until early next morning. Katsuya and Ando found her passed out face down on the lawn. His uncle looked at him.
“Should we go out there and wake her up?” he asked. Ando shook his head.
“Nah, I’ve got a better idea,” he said. The boy walked outside to the front lawn. He made it over to the hose and turned to his mother, sneering. Pathetic, he thought. Ando cut on the sprinklers with one swift movement. The cold water awoke Kat with a scream.
“Ahhh!” she cried out. The woman looked up when she noticed a shadow standing over her. Ando shook his head at her.
“Have a good night?” he asked.
“Huh?” Kat asked. Ando shook his head and went back into the house.
“Wait!” his mother called. “Don’t leave me here!”
“Get up yourself!” Ando shot back. “I am not picking you up!”
In a few minutes, Kat got up and went inside. She sat at the kitchen table, nursing a hangover. Ando sat across from her, shaking his head.
“You’re pathetic,” he mumbled. Kat glanced up at him.
“What?” she asked.
“Look at you,” Ando complained. “You’ll be thirty-one in a couple of months and you still act like a drunk, slutty teenager. Why would you even want to marry a creep like Blake?” Kat shot him a cold glare.
“What do you have against my husband?” she hissed.
“He’s a scumbag!” Ando shot back. “He’s probably involved in some illegal activity and will end up beating you death. I’m sorry, but he has to go!” Heated silence. Kat clenched the towel in her hands tightly.
“Why can’t you just let me be happy?!?” she shouted.
“I do want you happy!” her little brother/son yelled. “Just not with him!”
“You’re such a brat!” she cried.
“I’m the brat?!?” Ando shouted back. “I’m not the one who’s thirty and acting like an idiot all because my step-father raped me and got me pregnant at a young age!” Kat looked at him with big eyes. It took Ando to realize his mistake.
“I am so sorry, Kat,” he said. Too late for that. Kat picked up her empty glass and chucked it at him. Ando was lucky enough to duck in time. His mother now had the eyes of Satan.
“GET THE F**K OUT!!!” she cried with tears in her eyes. Ando snorted at her.
“Fine!” he snapped. Then, he got up and walked out the door. Once he was gone, Kat rushed to her room to kill the pain. She reached under her bed and pulled out her secret box of alcohol. The woman began opening up bottle after bottle and drinking them down. When the booze wasn’t enough, she reached up to her dresser drawer and pulled it up. She found her old razor blade and cut her wrists. When that didn’t help, Kat just sat there on the floor and cried.
Outside in the city, Ando walked around in a heavy huff.
“Why is she so stupid?” the boy barked to himself. He stood outside a closed down music store. He leaned against the brick wall and sighed.
“Kat is so pathetic!” Ando complained.
“Is she now?” a voice asked. The boy looked up to see Arisu on the other side of the doorway. She was smoking on a joint. Ando frowned at her.
“Oh,” he said. The girl glanced over at him.
“What’s up?” she asked. Her friend sighed and shrugged.
“Kat being stupid again,” he said. The girl didn’t reply. Ando felt the need to keep running his mouth, so he did.
“She got married two nights ago,” he said.
“Oh?” Arisu asked. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Some low life named Kanno Blake,” Ando said.
“What’s he like?”
The boy sighed aloud. “The picture perfect idea of a Yakuza-wannabe. He’s dirty-looking, sleazy, and he tried to hit on my grandma.”
There was a moment of silence. Arisu took another puff of her joint. “Go back home.”
Ando gave her an odd look. “Say what?”
“She needs you, Ando.”
“No she doesn’t. She needs a padded cell and rehab!”
“You’re the one to get her there.”
“Really now?”
“She needs you. How do you think she feels with no one there to hold her hand and fix her?”
Ando froze up there for a moment. It didn’t hit him until now. Kat may be needy, annoying, and idiotic, but she was just a damaged woman with her own son as a reminder of what hell she had been through in her early teen years. Ando pressed his lips together.
“I’m going home,” he mumbled.
“Go then,” Arisu said. The boy nodded at her and ran all the way home. Arisu took another smoke of her blunt as she watched him run away.
Ando made it all the way to his front door and unlocked it. Kat was sobbing in the living room when she heard the door close. She looked up and saw Ando standing in the doorway, staring at her.
Overnight, Ando was plotting on his new plan to help Kat fix herself. First step was to get rid of her husband. Blake wasn’t going to go away that easily. The only way he would disappear is if the police were involved. It was then Ando came up with a great idea. He had to act fast, however. Ando crawled out of bed and acted on his plan.
The next morning, Blake went out to his car to disappear to wherever he disappeared to yesterday. He was about to get in when a police car pulled up into the Inoue driveway. The man looked up confused as they got out of the car.
“What’s up officers?” he asked. The police walked over to him and his car.
“Sir, we just got a call earlier about drug smuggling,” the first officer said. Ando watched him from inside the house. Blake tried to laugh it all off.
“Come on now,” he said. “What are you talking about?”
“Sir, we’re going to have to check your car,” the other officer said. The man shrugged and unlocked his trunk.
“Fine,” he said. “But you won’t find…” The cops peeked inside and low and behold: a huge bag of coke and marijuana in plain sight in his trunk. They turned to a speechless Blake.
“That doesn’t prove a damn thing!” he tried to say.
“Right, right, put your hands behind your back,” the cop said. Ando watched and took in his step-father being arrested. The plan worked.
So what if Kat slapped him like a little bitch for taking her husband away from her? She’ll thank me for it later, Ando told himself. Maybe…
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