Stranded in the Future

Chapter Twenty-Five: Emergency Calls

"How are you still alive? I stabbed you in the heart!" Yukari screamed over the blaring television as Hideo drew closer. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her switchblade before activating it in his direction. "Take another step, and I'll kill you again!"

"Silence! That's no way to behave around your father!" Hideo shouted back, unfazed by her earlier attempt on his life. "I should have disciplined you when I had the chance!"

Yukari tensed up at that bold yet erroneous claim. She could clearly remember a time in her childhood when he'd become consumed by rage and smacked her open palm until the skin was raw and her grandmother had intervened in horror. The thought that her father had forgotten all about something so impactful hurt her greatly, and she sprung from the couch with another cry, aiming her blade at his neck this time.

He seized her wrist before the blade could make contact with his skin, then slammed his other hand against Yukari's left shoulder and shoved her around so that she faced the couch. "Drop the knife now."

Yukari stared at the leathery brown fabric below her while continuing to grip the handle of her switchblade. "No!" She shot out her foot, hitting Hideo square in the right shin. He grunted and loosened his hold, allowing her to pull free before she spun around and delivered a more forceful kick straight at his groin.

The way he doubled over and groaned in pain filled her with glee. A chance had finally come to avenge fifty years of pain, so Yukari felled her father with a swift blow to the temple, then wasted no time piling on several more kicks and stomps to his stomach until he was gasping for air.

"Stop it... you hell spawn..." Hideo managed to rasp, distracting Yukari long enough to realize that she had forgotten to take off her shoes while entering the house earlier. She swallowed in shame right before Hideo reached out to grab her raised leg and sweep her off balance.

Yukari landed face-first on the floor and felt a sharp pain shoot through her nose. She became aware of a warm stickiness above her lips but ignored it in favor of trying to overpower her father again.

She forced herself up and pursued him to the blocked front door, where she grinned in glee at her good luck. With a lick of her bloodied lips, she readied her switchblade again and stabbed Hideo in the neck before he could turn around. He let out a choke and then a gurgle as she pulled her weapon free, spraying yet more dark droplets on the floor.

Hideo collapsed at her feet for the second time that morning, but Yukari feared that he would come back to life all the same. She dropped her switchblade and swept a hand through her messed up hair while swallowing in anguish. Did this mean that he was just like her and Ichiro?

No, that can't be possible. He traded his life in exchange for mine, and he was burned to a crisp when I found him...

Yukari slumped against the hallway wall while remembering a day in early 1945 when the lower half of her body had been charred by a bomb blast, and how she'd dragged herself across the smoking ground like some wretched worm until her legs began the painful process of regeneration. If she'd been capable of recovering from such grave injuries, then who was to say her father couldn't either?

She stared down at Hideo's blood-soaked body and disheveled hair. With a hiss and a puff of steam, the laceration in his neck closed up and his eyes became alert again. His back creaked as he sat up, looking not the least bit amused at the situation. "No matter how many times you try to kill me, I'll just come back to haunt you."

Yukari shuddered and glanced at the front door. She'd thought that obstructing it would a wise course of action, but now all she had done was trap herself in the house with an insane man who wouldn't die.

"Get out of my way," she demanded, having already exhausted her anger for the morning and wanting things to go smoothly.

"Only if you call me Dad first," Hideo said in a resolute manner.

"No."

Hideo bunched his hand into a fist for a moment, then uncurled his fingers with a sigh. "Fine." He stepped aside and allowed Yukari to drag her living room table away from the door before unlocking it to the sight of Futoshi sitting on the front step with his back turned.

"Hey, geezer," Yukari called out while slamming the door behind her. "Why'd you bring my dad? Do you know the hell I just went through?"

Futoshi turned his head and shrugged. "Beats me. Did you break your nose?"

Yukari rubbed dried blood off her face. "Don't change the subject. Answer my question."

"Well," Futoshi hesitated. "Ichiro and I came up with a plan to help you make amends. I decided to take the first step because he's too busy romancing Kumiko."

"Are you serious?" Yukari strode forth and yanked him up by the collar. "You know nothing about my past! There's a reason I can't forgive him!"

"Let me go..." Futoshi begged while reaching for her wrist in an attempt to free himself. "We can talk this through..."

The old man's pleading expression filled Yukari with pity and disgust, so she dropped him to the ground. He got on all fours like some animal, then stood up with difficulty and began to dust himself off. The front door opened behind Yukari, causing her to tremble in fear.

"I plan to take a bath." Hideo announced in a low and menacing voice that only intensified her unease. "And I would like a fresh change of clothes while I'm at it."

Futoshi's face went pale with shock as Yukari laid eyes upon the ghastly sight that was her father drenched in blood from the neck down. She fought the impulse to throw up at the thought of him using her precious bathtub and staining the water with his filth.

With a pained swallow, she ripped her gaze away from Hideo and demanded Futoshi's action. "Don't just stand there! Help me out here!"

"How?" Futoshi shouted back at her, growing just as frustrated. "He's your dad, not mine!"

Yukari fumed and waved her arms. "I know, but can't you call someone? Anyone?"

The wrinkles on Futoshi's forehead became more pronounced. "Fine! I'll ask Kumiko! Just let me use your phone!"

"What an odd friendship," Hideo remarked from behind them. "You'll have to tell me how you met."

******

Ichiro was hesitant to pick up the vibrating mouthpiece of the telephone in Kumiko's absence. He didn't have much faith in his ability to hold a conversation over such a strange device, so he stood a safe distance away and waited for the cacophonic ringing to stop.

What a relief, he thought after peace returned to the apartment. I hope it isn't something urgent...

He turned back towards the bathroom, where a tub of warm water awaited. It was unfortunate that Futoshi wasn't available this morning and Kumiko had had no choice but to leave him home alone, but he supposed that soaking himself in the bath was a good way to pass the next hour.

Ichiro began to undress by removing his jacket, only to freeze when the telephone rang again. He shuffled into the kitchen and swore that the mouthpiece was shaking with more vigor this time.

He stared for a few moments, stewing in his growing anxiety before rushing forward to grab the telephone and raise the mouthpiece to his face. Sweat formed on his back as he heard Futoshi's frantic voice on the other end. "Hello?! Is anyone there?"

"I..." Ichiro swallowed and smiled despite himself. "It's me..."

"Good, I need your help. There's been a terrible accident and now everything's a mess..."

"What?"

"If you can come over with some clean clothes, please do it by all means! I don't want Hideo to kill me!"