Breaking the rules

Chapter 7

In the Fujiwara family, the punishment for breaking the rules were, running two laps around the neighbourhood, ten push ups, fifty squats, hundred jumping ropes and lastly, fifty crunches. It was enough to make the average, untrained body puke. And for that reason, Rei aimed to create more trouble, in a way, everyone would regret.

It was a beautiful morning, the birds were chirping, the sky was clear, the peopl-

CLANG! CLANG!

Rei almost jumped out of his bed, startled by the sound that resounded all over his room. He held his head with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other, looking around his room as the banging sound stopped but it triggered the alarm instead. He got out of his bed to check who was making this ruckus. He opened the door to see his mother-in-law and father-in-law standing next to each other, looking above. He followed their gaze to see a worn out looking Kaito and Kana but a very energetic Haru at the top of the staircase.

Rule 1# Wake up by Six AM

"I see, everyone's up now." Yamamato Fujiwara nodded and the alarm stopped. "You can go ahead and dress up."

Because of that order, the trio dispersed. Why did everyone wake up so early? Outside of Haru and Kana, did everyone sign up for the earliest morning shift? This really felt like a military camp he stumbled upon. He felt so tired. He stayed up all night because he couldn't sleep that early. He was used to sleeping very late.

Now that he is up though, it was time for him to start his day. The next hour and a half flew by fast as Rei was a late bloomer. After breakfast, Rei flopped on the couch, staring at the family. He was observing them. Yesterday, he thought it was odd there is no television around the house but after reading the rules-

Rule 7# No electronics for entertainment (ex: television, console, radio, etc)

-it was truly a prison.

"I'll be going to school now." Haru waved goodbye cheerily especially to Rei who waved back with equal enthusiasm. Haru was his favourite. He didn't seem like he was born in this family.

...

Oh right, Haru wasn't. He only shared half blood ties with them. It made sense that the two bastard children connected to each other. They were the best, Rei arrogantly thought.

Kana was the next person to leave with Kaito. They looked like adults who hated their life. Although they probably did. One was a medical student while the other was a lawyer, who wouldn't hate their life?

After that, Yamamato also left with a suitcase and a full suit leaving only Rei and Mayumi home. Although Mayumi probably sensed she would be alone with him now that everyone else was gone because she suddenly announced, out loud, for someone to hear. "I'm going to get groceries-"

"Let me come with you."

Her shoulder slumped even more than it should, like she expected him to go his own path but she didn't refuse him. While they both walked past the door, Rei and Mayumi took their phones from the basket.

Rule 5# No phones in the house

Finally having some freedom from that boring house, Rei immediately looked into the news and messages. Scrolling through the internet, what was trending on social media apps were a big scandal following the Itomori Entertainment. A big case of bullying in the workplace with multiple lawsuits against the management, followed by a scandal of their idol dating.They were getting blasted badly left and right as it was the kind of news the public ate up.

Rei followed Mayumi quietly as they both walked for a long distance. He was reading all the bashing comments about the company. Seems like his father had his hands full this time around, trying to clean up the image of the company.

Rei would, occasionally glance, here and there to check the road as they reached the market. It was one of those neighbourhoods where everything seemed urban except one house that stood out like a sore thumb which was the Fujiwara's house.

Rei noticed the attention he got whenever he passed stalls. His white hair was eye-catching and many people glanced at him for his handsome looks. Mayumi didn't pay it any heed, just continuing in stoicism.

"Oh, you came in with a new face this week... haven't seen him before." The older lady looked at Rei with curiosity. Many different kinds of fish were on display surrounded by ice in a countertop refrigerator. Some were even in a water tank to get them out fresh.

"That's my daughter's husband," Mayumi replied emotionlessly. Rei held her shoulder bringing her closer to him in a small side hug. "Yes, I'm her new son!"

"Oh right," She clapped her hands together. "I heard Kana was getting married... I see she picked such a handsome young man!" The lady smiled and Rei smiled brightly, matching her energy.

Usually, barely any words were exchanged as Mayumi never made small chats but with Rei there, the conversation kept going back and forth. Mayumi remained quiet with slight wonderment. He chatted animatedly with shop owners, haggling for discounts.

"It seems like there is some use of you," Mayumi muttered. Checking how her wallet seemed to still be heavier.

"I'm glad to be of use to you mother! Does that mean you like me now?" Rei interlocked his hands together, looking at Mayumi hopefully, with a pink, sparkling background.

"No."

Imaginary bricks fell on his shoulder. He didn't really expect her to like him so he moved on from his hurt phrase after five seconds.

"Hmm although why are you always doing the housework?" Rei asked curiously, walking beside her as they stopped by a fruit stall.

"Because it's a woman's job to be a housewife."

"No, it's not."

"My mother-in-law used to say that all the time before she passed away. What other purpose does a woman have?" She dismissed herself with ease.

That's a very ancient view. He tried to phrase it in a way that didn't overstep his boundary while also making her see his point. "There are a lot of purposes. Look at Kana… she is trying to be a doctor. Besides, are you not tired from doing such mundane and tedious tasks all the time?"

"Well... I am..." Mayumi frowned a little, wondering why she was sharing her true thoughts but Rei kept inquiring because he knew better. He knew how the human mind works and considering the lack of communication between the family, it was easier to get them to talk about themselves because nobody else will.

"Then why not... stop?" Rei hid his face from her direction, a cunning smirk on his face. If he could break the person holding the structure of that family... then he can destroy everything they stand for. His devil horns and tail popped up again, giggling evilly to himself.

"I can't... I don't have any other skills. I'm old now too." Mayumi looked at the watermelon with interest, checking their condition.

"Hmmm?" While he liked creating trouble, he actually felt sad hearing that. "How long have you been doing this?"

"For over twenty years, why?" He can imagine how exhausting it must be doing the same thing over and over again. Mayumi tapped the watermelon, listening to the sound it made.

"I'm sure you have many skills hidden." He believed everyone had a talent, just they either haven't polished them or discovered them yet. "Maybe we should look for them?"

Mayumi picked up the fruits, handing it to the stall owner to pack. She perked up at. "No, I don't have any skills... I'm too old to learn anything new and I don't have time either."

As he took the bag from her, adding it to the rest of the bags he was already holding. Rei paused to think. He wanted to find a way to get her into self discovery. "Hmmm but what if you already have that skill?"

"I told you I don't."

"We will see about that." He mysteriously trailed off, smiling as Mayumi stared at him morbidly. As the shopping was done, heading towards the house, the weight of the bags were enough to make arms fall apart. Despite being a frequent gym member, it was putting a strain on him. "Do you always shop this much?"

"Yes," Mayumi replied without any hesitation. "It's for the rest of the week."

Maybe she was taking small revenge on him but he didn't say it outloud. They both left their phones in the basket and he left the bags on the kitchen counter. For the first time in his life, he continued to help in the kitchen by placing the ingredients in the cupboard. He never cleaned or stepped foot to help until he came into this family. He was just dying of boredom so he was doing what he could to quench it somehow.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It was time for him to continue to plant his little seeds.

Rule 6# Study in the living room

Haru, Kana and Fujiwara were once again studying or doing work like they were in a classroom. Kaito still hasn't returned from work so he was exempted from this rule. He owned a law firm so he was extra busy building his reputation.

Rei secretly apologised to his wife and Haru for dragging in his plan, unaware of the pain he is about to inflict in this family especially on them both. He ran and quickly grabbed Kana's journal out of the desk. Because of how abrupt the movement was, the pen slid, inking the page all the way to the edge that it made her let out a high screech.

Rule 3# Sounds that are above 40Hz will cause an alarm to ring

Yamamoto and Haru both glared at Rei. Rei smiled and shrugged. "I didn't break any rule... Kana did."

As if realising it, Kana stared dumbly at him. "Oh."

"But you caused the disturbance." Yamamoto came to his daughter's defence.

"That wasn't in the rule so I don't think it counts." Rei's shameless answer had them all sweatdrop at his insane logic that Yamamoto couldn't retort.

One hour later

"I'll kill you." Kana let out an exhausted pant, sweating from her forehead, holding her stomach, looking like she was dying.

"I love you too." He made a heart with his hands.

She looked like she would beat him up if she wasn't tired, she dragged her feet to her chair, plopped, laying down for a minute to rest.

Rule 12# No allowance

"W-What are you doing?" Haru asked nervously as Rei handed him twelve thousand yen. Haru looked at the money before side glancing at Kana who suspiciously looked at him.

"I'm... giving you a gift?" No, he was trying to break the rules discreetly. Trying to take advantage of every loophole. "I didn't know what you liked so I couldn't give you a present so I figured money would be the best thing to give."

Yamamoto seemed to have caught on somehow because he responded. "We don't accept money."

"I insist, I would feel super hurt if you rejected it." Rei handed the cash to Haru's hands. There was a chilling glare from Yamamoto to Haru. Sweat slid down the brunette, down his bangs. His emerald eyes nervously looked at Rei. "I can't accept this-"

"Father, you are okay with this, right? It's not breaking any rules, right?" Rei smiled. It wasn't an allowance. He was not Haru's father so it shouldn't be considered that. "Father is so kind, he would never reject a gift."

He gave fake compliments to put pressure on him.

"Stop calling me father… It's Fujiwara-san." Yamamoto placed the pen down, taking a deep breath, avoiding his gaze. "Take it Haru."

Haru seemed surprised before giving Rei a beaming smile, happy. Rei winked back at him.

By the time Kaito came back from work, Rei planned his next target. He waited for him to come home as it would be the perfect time to put his next plan in motion. With an extra person, it meant more people were upset.

"Ahhhh so bored. Nothing to do. This is so boring." Rei lay on the couch, swinging his legs, whining, being a complete disturbance to those who are still studying. He checked early, when he was outside, how high is forty Hz to make sure his voice was loud enough to be annoying but not loud enough to cause the alarm to ring. He practised on his phone his vocal range plus he was a voice actor, he knew ways to be annoying.

"Can you be quiet? You are not the only one in the house." Yamamoto clicked his tongue, annoyed by the little noises that Rei was consistently making. He was like a bee buzzing in his ear.

Kaito, Kana and Haru were busy trying to focus on their work but even they were annoyed by how obnoxious Rei was. They were, low-key, cheering their father on.

"I'm bored. Maybe if I had my phone, I'd be quiet." Rei cheekily grinned, his horns and tail popping up.

A vein popped on Yamamato, getting ticked off from all his antics that kept making his day significantly worse. While it was a very tantalising offer to have Rei be quiet for eternity, this would cause a bigger problem. He couldn't allow Rei to bypass the rule and cause a distraction in his family structure. If he allows Rei, he will have to allow the rest of the family members. Since he set the example, he needed to lead it. "No. I guess you will have to continue whining then."

Rei smirked. He didn't fall for his trap but either way, whatever answer he chose, it was still in his favour anyway.

"Really? I guess I'll continue whining." This time, his voice got louder as Rei created a disturbance. "AAAAAAA!"

Yamamoto clutched his ears as the ringing noise struck.

"LALALALALA!"

"Be quiet. Do you want to be punished that badly?" Yamamato slammed his hand on the table so hard that it caused the alarm to go off. He looked shocked, almost surprised by his own action.

Rei laughed out loud obnoxiously, clutching his stomach being hysterical and loud. "I guess you will take the punishment?"

Kana, Kaito, Haru and Mayumi sweatdropped at how he trapped him. They side glanced. Yamamoto's face was red, about to explode but he held himself together. "You!"

"Me~" Rei smiled happily. "I'll do the punishment too! I think my laugh was so loud that the alarm would have gone off too."

Kaito looked at Kana, sharing a knowing look with his two other siblings. "What is he doing?"

"I don't even know, don't ask me." Kana shrugged, shocked by this development.

"Let's go father!"

"It's Fujiwara-san!" The anger in his tone as he snapped at him was hilarious but he followed along.

Yamamoto and Rei were running around the neighbourhood for a good ten minutes. Yamamato was already out of breath, barely able to run, drenched in sweat. Rei ran on the same spot, making sure he followed his pace.

"Is this the first time you are being punished by your own rules?" Rei mocked. Fujiwara could barely focus on the tone as he stopped, holding his knees in support. "Why make such difficult rules that nobody can handle? Isn't it better to live normally?"

Yamamoto Fujiwara took off his glasses, wiping his forehead and squinting. "A fool like you would not understand. Do you not see how productivity increases? With the rules I've placed, I've created superior children."

Oh... this is who he is dealing with? Someone so narcissistic and controlling.

Yamamoto pushed the glasses back to the bridge of his nose. "They are focused, intelligent and will never be worthless in this society. People who look at them, look at them with admiration, as someone they should look up to."

Although the methods were extreme, he does see a little bit of love in there

"These electronic devices do nothing but pollute the minds of the young children, making them worthless by distracting their focus from what's important. So I-" Yamamoto dramatically pushed a hand out before bringing it in, letting it rest on his chest. "I'm doing them a big favour by creating a perfect system. It will keep them, not only above everyone else, but also healthy as they don't eat that disgusting junk."

Rei puckered his lips, dumbfounded. He was dealing with a god complex here. Maybe he succeeded with Kaito and Haru as they seemed like perfect kids but Kana was trying to be an actress in secret so is the system really perfect? If he lived their lives, it would be mentally taxing on his mind. "Do you not realise you are stripping them from their childhood?"

"Nonsense. This is the greatest childhood they can have." Yamamoto rose his head confidentially.

Rei brows twitched, he can't speak with this man. He thought he had it bad because he was stuck with a father who didn't love him at all but now he realised it can get worse.

He will take his timid revenge for now for the sake of his wife. "We still haven't finished the first lap so let's keep running."

Yamamoto's face looked horrified that he still didn't finish the first. He pressed his lips together as Rei would enjoy watching him suffer.

In the distance, Kana, Kaito and Haru ignored all their tasks, and instead were in their yard, on top of a chair, looking over the fence in amusement as their father was dragging himself pathetically.

"This is nice to watch." Kaito's pitch black eyes bore into the scene.

"It is." Kana smiled happily.

"It's actually funny." Haru tried not to laugh.

"He deserves it." All three children jumped, startled by the feminine voice. Kana almost fell if Kaito didn't hold her arm, dragging her back in. Haru held his chest as Mayumi also joined them. The three sweatdropped. Even their mom was unhappy.

After finishing the laps, Rei turned into a motivational coach, encouraging Yamamoto to finish his set.

"You can do it!"

"Come on!"

"Ten more!"

"Now the push ups!'

"One, two, three-"

Kana, Kaito, Haru, Mayumi sipped tea, watching it as if it were an entertainment show.

"Come on, last one! Just five more! Oooh! One more! You did it!"

"I did it! I did it!" Yamamoto looked extremely happy having finally finished the torturous exercise, almost shedding tears. Rei nodded, proud and gave him a fist bump before Yamamoto turned green, retching as he quickly stood up, wobbling, trying to get to the nearest bathroom. They all heard the man throw up.

While it was funny to watch, a dreadful feeling started to befall the Fujiwara family. This man... they all looked at Rei, who smirked at the scene. They genuinely felt like they could see his horns and tail. Maybe he was way more trouble than they thought.

The day ended peacefully. What happened yesterday, happened today as well.

Rule 11# Inspection at Nine PM

Mayumi found the snacks he smuggled in during their day shopping confiscating them with a shake of her head.

Rule 2# Sleep by Ten PM

Rei was genuinely tired. He flopped down on the bed but he couldn't help but laugh at the thought that he managed to drag his father-in-law into doing the punishment with him. It will not be easy to make him lose his cool again so he had to try a different tactic next time.

There was a small knock on the door, bringing his attention back. When he opened it, Haru was on the other side. "Oh, Haru, what are you doing here?"

Haru extended his hand out, cash in hand, bowing slightly. "I came to return this."

It was the twelve thousand yen he gave him. "I already said you could have it." He pushed his hand back.

"No! Please take it back. I... appreciate the thought behind. I never got any money from anyone else so I'm touched by your kindness but I would like to return it." Slight tears prickled the corner of Haru's eyes as he looked at Rei with his doe-like eyes. Rei felt like an arrow was shot to his heart as Haru wiped his tear with the corner of his knuckles.

"Is it because of your father? He said you can-"

"No, it's not because of him." Haru smiled kindly before looking at his feet, downcast. "Even if I have this money. I don't know what I want to buy so I'll just appreciate the thought behind it."

Rei's gaze hardened. What he meant to say is, he can't buy anything because there are too many restrictions or at least that's what Rei chose to hear. A fire burned in Rei as he took the money back. "I understand."

Haru smiled as he nodded. "Thank you again. I'll let you rest now."

Haru waved him goodbye.

Rei closed his door and in that moment, he felt more passionate about what he was doing. He will destroy these rules even if he has to come again next week. A creepy grin came across his face. Oh, he had many plans. This family will not see peace anytime soon.