Hostages

Chapter 14

"How did you get this bruise on your face?" Kana asked gently, holding an ice pack on Rei's face as he sat in the living room. "You know we have a drama to act in less than a month? Your face can't look like this."

Rei covered up for his mother by acting dramatic over his face bruises while she quietly sneaked when everyone wasn't looking to change her clothes. It worked like a charm because Haru, Kaito and Yamamoto were judging him from the side. "Some random drunkard started a fight with me on the street and we got into a street brawl. I may have lost the fish we were supposed to get but I didn't lose the fight and that's what's important."

He made sure she knew he was a victor. Kana rolled her eyes, slapping his arms and he winced in pain. "Why don't you hold the ice pack since it was just a random bawl?"

"I like being taken care of." Rei resisted the urge to laugh and she hit him again, this time with the ice pack on his face. "Ow, ow. Don't be so mean to me, I'm in pain."

"Doesn't look like it." Kana dropped the pack on his hand, sighing, hands on her hips. "I don't even know why you fought him. You could have just ignored him."

Mayumi came back with another pair of the same exact uniform, looking fixed and organised.

"I couldn't ignore this one..." When he thinks about it, he really shouldn't ignore it. If it was someone else and not Mayumi, it would have gone bad. His face took on a serious look as he held his own ice pack, eyes darkening. He will have to confront Ryouga but for now, he should relax.

Rei pulled out his phone, thinking about what he should do. He can't forgive his brother for what he did. He needed to be better at protecting himself. Maybe he should hire some bodyguards?

Yamamoto didn't seem to care about what's going on, instead he was looking at his watch, looking at the time. Yamamoto smirked, catching Rei's weakness. "Hmph, it seems like this time, you will have to leave."

Kana looked at her father, confused. "What do you mean?"

"He said yesterday if he broke any rules he would leave immediately," Yamamoto reminded.

"What rule did he break?" Kana worriedly glanced at Rei as he seemed confused too.

"He broke lots of rules today. Rule number two, five, and eleven," Yamamato rephrased. "You two went at six yet came back home at ten? You can't seriously tell me you fought a drunkard for four hours? You went somewhere else, didn't you? Dragged my wife with you. Thanks to that, we skipped dinner because Mayumi didn't cook."

"Father..." Kana's head turned left and right, as tension between them thickened. Rei checked the phone and noticed the time was really late. They must have been knocked out for a couple hours. Damn, those kidnappers ruined his plan but it was okay, he can just start it sooner.

"No. It was a mistake. I was late because I reported to the police and that took our time, right Mother," Rei lied and Mayumi nodded.

"I don't care. Keep your word, leave and never come back." Yamamoto leaned on the couch armrest, done with everything.

Rei looked at Haru. Haru looked at him as if to say what? Why was Rei looking at him like that? He looked at Kaito too who avoided his gaze, pretending he wasn't seeing him. He looked at Mayumi who looked confused.

Wow, this family is hopeless. He had no choice but to do this. Since he already broke the fifth rule, Rei typed something on his phone and then raised his phone high, letting the screen show.

"DOUBLE LIFE" These two words slide on the phone over and over again, repeating in a pattern on an app.

All four of them flinched at the words written there. He wrote it to threaten Haru, Kaito and Mayumi but Kana mistook it as a message for her since the shoes fit her too. They sweated as Haru rolled his eyes. Time to put on his perfect little boy act. He took a deep breath and flung himself to hold Yamamoto's hand. "NO! Don't let Rei go! He didn't do anything wrong."

Yamamoto got off the armrest, pulling himself away from Haru, surprised but Haru got on his knees and grabbed his legs, begging, and dramatising it."The rules are just too harsh! The truth is, it's really hard living with these rules!"

"Why are you acting like this-"

"That's right! Rei is… innocent, I guess…" Kaito struggled to get the words, clearly not believing anything that was coming from his own mouth.

"He never meant to break the rules. Please forgive him." Kaito pleaded, kinda looked annoyed but he forced his hands together to plead. "It's... hard for me to live with these restrictions too."

Yamamoto looked confused as to why his sons were begging for Rei.

"That's right! You are being unfair to Rei right now." Kana defended her husband right away. Unlike the other two, it wasn't an act, it was genuine, from her heart.

Mayumi remembered she can't let her secret get out so she cleared her throat. "Dear, why are you doing this to Rei?"

"Are you mad I didn't cook you dinner? I cook for you everyday... to be honest, I'm actually sick of it." Mayumi snapped, hands clenching.

"Everyday, every single day, I felt like a slave of the house! Like my only purpose is to serve, to be the maid of the family." At first, she was going to do it because of Rei but it was actually true.

The three siblings looked at their mother, shocked by her harshness. Haru's hand slipped past Yamamoto's leg, crawling out of the way as he felt the tension actually rise beyond acting.

"I don't like cooking. I have been cooking and cleaning for twenty years. I'm sick of it already. While everyone eats on the table, I'm the only one who eats last, you make me feel like I'm less than everyone else. Only allowed to eat when it's cold." She pointed at all three children and their eyes widened, actually feeling bad and sad about it.

"What is wrong with all of you?" Yamamoto furrowed his brows, shocked by their behaviour.

"Actually, what is wrong with you?" Mayumi accused.

Rei sat on the couch, legs raised up, nails on his teeth, having brought a bag of premade popcorn from his room. He opened one and started to munch, watching. This was entertainment of the century.

What was going through everyone's head two minutes ago.

In Mayumi head.

What? Why is Haru standing up? Are the kids that tired of living in restriction. Even Kaito? Oh dear... what have I done, I should have stopped it from going too far. I'm not surprised Kana is defending him. He is her husband, she has no choice but to defend him but I'm thankful they spoke up, I don't have to worry about getting exposed and now..I might as well tell the truth of how I feel about this.

In Kaito's head.

Why is Haru speaking up? He must have had enough. My poor brother suffered all along. Truly an angel to sacrifice himself for that undeserving bastard. I should side with him so he doesn't take the burnt, I can't let my brother get punished. Ugh, is Kana also standing up for him? Don't tell me she fell for his charm? No, she probably actually felt bad. What is my mother doing? Fuck... is this how she really feels?

In Haru's head.

Did Rei blackmail Kaito? Why is he speaking up too? I don't think he has many flaws. He must have found a weakness somehow, damn... but it can't be worse than mine. Oh, Kana speaking up too? Probably just to defend her husband, she doesn't know his true colors. Mayumi... oh my god, Mayumi is really murdering him. She should dish it out more. I know she has more fire in her.

In Kana's head.

Aww of course my sweet Haru defended him first. What would I do without my brother? Kaito too? I can see it, he would never let us go down. He will go down to protect us. I should help them too. Ah? What? Is this how mother felt? I can't believe this.

Back to the present.

"Honey..." Yamamoto walked slowly towards Mayumi, he held her shoulders but she slapped his arms away. "You don't really mean it..."

"I think you tortured the kids enough. I let it happen because I thought, self discipline is good for our children but when I actually think about it, I let your mother bully me too much into accepting a lot of shit!" Mayumi yelled, pushing him. He seems startled by her attack. "You should have stood up for me. Just because your father had such awful rules, doesn't mean we should all follow him."

"What did you say?" Yamamoto was stunned, unable to comprehend it. "The kids like the rules!"

"Do you actually believe that? You think they like it?" Mayumi suddenly directed her to question it. "Kana, do you like these rules?"

"No... I hate them. " Kana's face twisted into disgust. "I hate them a lot! I wish we never had rules. Growing up, I felt alienated from my classmates because I had no interest outside of studying!"

"See, that's how your daughter feels. How about you Kaito." Mayumi redirected it to Kaito.

"No, I feel suffocated. When I get back home, I want to relax but it feels like I go to work to relax and stay at home to work." Kaito scoffed, almost laughing humorlessly at the ridiculous situation.

"This is how your son feels. What about you Haru?" Mayumi offered Haru the chance to speak.

Since everyone was being honest, it made it easy for the words to flow. For the truth to flow. "I want to live like every other teenage boy getting an allowance from his parents and playing video games... I don't want to study all day long..."

"See? None of us like it." Mayumi suddenly spread her arms. "But I bet you are going to ignore it."

Mayumi then took off her apron, throwing it on the ground. Haru, Kana and Kaito watched with their mouths open at the chaos Rei caused. "I'm not cooking from today onward. Go hire yourself a maid."

Yamamoto shook his head, in denial, holding his head, shocked by the revelation. Mayumi also climbed up the stairs. "Oh and, don't dare think of coming into our bedroom unless you are willing to change."

Mayumi then dived deeper in, fading into the background. The sound of the door slamming closed set the alarm off.

Haru, Kaito and Kana exchanged glances as they stared at their father on his knees, devastated by what his wife said. It was awkward as Haru also got upstairs to go inside his room.

"He deserves it." Kaito had no sympathy for him as he also got upstairs. Kana was the only one who stayed behind, she slowly approached her father but Rei got in her way, shaking his head.

"Let me handle it," Rei softly whispered. "Since I started this, let me finish it."

He gave her a soft smile to comfort her conflicted heart. She nodded and for a moment, she held his hand, squeezing it lightly before letting go, as well going upstairs. The alarm went quiet after a while.

Rei couched down next to Yamamoto, not touching him but instead, he asked softly. "Are you okay?"

The man looked at Rei angrily. "You ruined everything."

"Did I?" Rei asked, not offended. "But why did you do it? Why did you place such rules?

Yamamoto, despite being angry at Rei, didn't hold it in for long. He couldn't when everyone told him how they felt. "My father did this to me. I would live everyday like this until the day he passed away. It was an effective method. If I passed it to my kids, they would be as successful as I am."

"But were you happy when you were doing it?" That was the most important question.

He was met with silence.

"It was... effective." Yamamoto made that his answer. He was not happy, it was just effective.

Rei looked at him sympathetically then held out his hand. "I may not be Kaito, Kana or Haru but I am a son to a father and everyday, I wished my father would give me attention. I felt… hated… and trapped. Like nothing I do can please him..."

Rei showed him his vulnerable side, patting his hand lightly. "I think… you can let your kids go now. They will make you proud. Even if they failed, you can pick them up, right? You would do anything to pick them up because you are their father. You would never let them down and that… what matters to them the most."

Yamamoto closed his eyes and when they opened, tears overflowed his cheeks. He nodded as Rei let go of him, letting him wipe his own tears away. "You are right. I would never let them down."

"It's not late for you to show them your love then." Rei smiled.

Yamamoto stood up, pushing the hem of his shirt as he let out a big sigh. "It seems like I need to talk to my wife and fix this problem that I created."

Rei got up as well, nodding. "You have a lot to do but I'm cheering you on."

Rei gave him a gesture to cheer him on. Yamamoto smiled a little before leaving the living room to beg his wife for forgiveness.

Rei accomplished his goal. He put his hand in his pockets, on his way to the guest room.

"You kept your word."

Rei looked up. Kana was still upstairs, leaning on the railing, watching the whole time.

"I always." Rei cockily shrugged, smirking.

She smiled wide. "I'll let you be arrogant this one time."

"You're going to have to let it slide more often," he teased.

"I might..." She pretended to think about it, tapping her chin.

"So… do you regret marrying me?" he suddenly asked, curious how she felt about him now considering how much she wanted him gone at the start.

"No..." Kana smirked, looking down at him. "I've never been glad to marry someone. For this one… You can let these words get to your head. I'll allow it just this once."

Rei amusedly cocked his head, sarcastically responding, "Thank you for the permission."

"You welcome~" Kana couldn't help but grin. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Rei waved her goodbye. Happy that he made her happy. He never felt content in his life. He always did things for self interest but ever since he married her, he has been doing a lot of things for someone else's interest. He didn't know it felt good to help others...

He may have ruined his wife's family but he started a new one.

This was the end of this chapter of his life but it was the start of another. Little did he know, the wishes he always wished for, were fulfilled on this day.

Fin