Tokyo Revengers; Reminiscence

Chapter 25 -special-

Haitani Genji

My name is Haitani Genji. I'm 16 years old and I'm on the second year of a very prestigious high school. At school they think my parents are very successful business owners. But the truth is that my father is one of the executives of a very very notorious crime syndicate, which is owned by my mother's younger brother. My father's younger brother is an executive as well, by the way. My mother manages a large building which has several very popular host and hostess bars in it, which she manages as well. I know this because my father doesn't really lie, and because I'm not stupid. Because of this, I also know that my dad is abusive to my mom, from time to time. He doesn't do it all the time, but it happens. She tries to hide it, but there's only so many times the 'I fell' excuse works. I asked my dad once how my mom got hurt, and he said. "That's because of me" and when I asked "how come" he said that it's none of my business. But even so, I've been raised lovingly, they both dote on me and I always got everything I needed and wanted. I'm even quite popular at school, and always have been because I look like my dad which means I'm quite handsome and my mom is very pretty too. I look at my dad as he lights a cigarette. It's summer holiday, and we're at the host bar floor of the multiple floored bar my mother manages, and uncle Manjiro owns, but it's still closed for the day. It doesn't open for a couple of hours. I lean my cheek on my hand and touch my hair. "Can I dye my hair?" I ask. Dad slowly blows out the smoke of his cigarette. "No" he says. "Why not?" I ask. Dad looks at me with an amused twinkle in his eye. "Because I say so" he says. "Bartender-san has dyed hair" I say, as he pops up. "Leave me out of it kid" he says grinning. "He is an adult. It's not allowed at your school Genji. The answer is no" Dad says. I sigh. "People still dye their hair even though it's not allowed" I mumble. "I'm not the parent of those people" Dad says. "Bit hypocritical of you to say, isn't it?" Uncle Rindou says grinning. "Shut the fuck up" Dad says annoyed and I smile.

I pull the large blanket, from the big thing in the garage, it reveals a motorcycle. Ryōta, my best friend since elementary whistles. "You never knew what it was?" He asks. "It's been here forever. You know that" I say. "Let's put it outside, so we can take a better look" I add, and Ryōta helps me push it outside. We put it back in it's standard and I walk around it. "It's a little dusty" I say, gliding my hand over some sort of logo in front of its seat. "You said it's been in there forever" Ryōta shrugs. "Does it work?" He then asks. I shrug. "I don't know" I say. The key is in the ignition and when I turn it nothing happens. I try it again while turning the gas a little bit but nothing happens. "Can you fix it?" Ryōta asks. "Do I look like a mechanic?" I ask. "You don't have to be a mechanic to fix cars and bikes." Ryōta scoffs. I look at him. "Can you?" I ask. "Hm maybe. If I find some how to videos on YouTube" he says, bending over to the bike. "What are you doing?" I look up, see Uncle Manjiro, his watchdog Haruchiyo, who is also Uncle Rindou's husband, which makes him also my uncle, and uncle Rindou. Uncle Manjiro and Uncle Haruchiyo both can have an eerie air about them so I understand why Ryōta gets a little pale. But they've always treated me very well so I'm not scared of them. "Found this in the garage" I say. "I see" Uncle Manjiro says softly as he glides his fingertips over its steering wheel. "I can't believe Mizuki still has this" he whispers. "You know it?" I ask. "It's mine" Uncle Manjiro says. "Oh, I'm sorry." I say. "What are you doing?!" Mom rushes out. "You still had it?" Uncle Manjiro asks. "It was his of course I wouldn't let it go to waste" Mom sighs. Manjiro smiles slightly. He then looks at me. "I can teach you how to fix it" he says. "You can?" Ryōta and I ask surprised in unison. "I used to do it all the time" he says. "You can wait inside. Ran will be home soon" Mom says. "Ryōta-kun, will you be staying for dinner?" Mom asks. "No, thank you. In fact I have to go. Call me about the bike Genji!" Ryōta says as he rushes off.

Before I can open the door, I can hear my parents shouting voices. I hesitate but still grab the doorknob. "Wouldn't do that if I were you buddy" I turn my head to see uncle Rindou leaning against the wall. "It's not pretty when they fight" he adds. "Why are you not in there? You know he hurts her" I say. "To stop you from going in" Rindou says. I click my tongue annoyed. "I'm not meddling in their relationship. I never have, it's none of my business. I don't want them meddling in mine either. That's something you'll learn when you get older" uncle Rindou says. "You haven't seen what he has done" I mumble. "I have, buddy. I've seen much worse. Your mother has survived a lot worse. She's much stronger than you think" uncle Rindou says. Then suddenly it's silent. "You can go in now" uncle Rindou says after a while. I hesitate but do walk in. I hear Dads voice and he's talking softly to Mom and every now and then I hear sniffle. I walk in just as he places a kiss against her temple. "Yeah?" He asks softly. Mom nods and he kisses her again. "Okaerinasai" Dad says. "Tadaima" I say, reluctantly. I can see that he has struck her in the face. Mom smiles at me. "How was your day, are you hungry?" She softly pushes Dad aside, and walks over to the kitchen. Even though her back is toward me I can see her wiping her tears. "I'm not really, I had a snack on my way home" I say. Mom turns around. "Tea then?" She asks. "No, thank you. Do you know when uncle Manjiro is coming over again?" I ask. "No, sorry sweetheart" mom says. "If you want him to come over, text him, and he will" Dad says, putting a cigarette between his lips. "Won't he be busy?" I ask. "Probably. But you're someone he'll make time for" Dad says, before walking into the backyard where he lights his cigarette. I walk over to Mom. "You don't have to accept this okaasan. You can just leave" I say. Mom looks at me, her face is serious but her eyes are incredibly sad. "You don't know what you're talking about" she says. "I know he hurts you" I say. "That doesn't mean you know a thing. You don't have to worry about me sweetheart, just focus on your studies" she says.