Chapter 57: Unwelcome Prodigals
Dropping the two girls off at locations that Kenshiro assumed were most likely only in the general area or complete wrong direction so that their real home addresses would be discovered was a relatively easy task. Not that he minded, it was standard procedure for these kinds of situations. But it was the last stop that gave the one eyed man serious pause. Dealing with a regular person's parents usually resulted in them moving slowly and always keeping you in sight, as if they were dealing with an angry cobra. Then there were always a few of them that were either brave or stupid enough to try and spoil for a fight. While Kenshiro wasn't exactly sure that his old man would try and give him a black eye, especially with his younger son present, it wouldn't surprise him.
"How's the old ambulance man been doing anyway?"
"He's b-been doing just fine. He t-tries to make it a p-point to have us eat t-together when he doesn't h-have work."
Kenshiro's grip slightly tightened on the steering wheel, "So he's not around when you get back home after school?"
Benjiro just innocently shook his head, "N-Not every day, b-but he makes sure d-dinner is prepared and wh-when he gets home, he's close by."
Something between a grunt and a growl emanated from Kenshiro's throat. He didn't ask anything further for the remainder of the drive. When they stopped in front of their new home, he made a few observations. The house wasn't exactly big, but it was in decent shape. Well within the price range for their old man's military pension and the right size for a small family. It was a perfectly ordinary house, and for that exact reason, the sight of it made the yakuza enforcer angry.
The younger brother walked up to the door as if it were just a normal evening after school. The door opened before he could even reach for the handle as Fumihiro seemed to be waiting for quite a long time. Not even bothering to hear an explanation, the burly man pulled his son into a tight embrace.
"Oh, thank God", he exclaimed, "I thought you might be across the street but when they said you didn't come today and I was beginning to think I might have to call the police."
He paused to look at who brought him home and his relieved face froze before turning absolutely stone cold.
"And by the looks of it", he continued lowly, "Perhaps I still should make that call."
Kenshiro maintained an equally stony look as he watched his estranged father usher his brother inside.
'Dad, Bro, please don't be angry with each other. It's nobody here's fault what happened today. That's all I ask', Benjiro silently prayed as he went upstairs to distract himself.
After closing the door behind him, Fumihiro turned to face his equally estranged eldest son.
"So after all these years, you finally decide to dredge yourself from who knows where? And to top it all off, it seems like you've once again dragged my son into something terrible."
Kenshiro felt his hand twitch involuntarily, "I'm not even going to acknowledge that and just tell you that Beni's doing just fine. He's a little shaken up but he's otherwise alright. Nothing that won't heal up with a little rest and recovery."
Fumihiro stepped off his porch to stand in front of Kenshiro, "I didn't ask if he would need a little rest and recovery. What I want to know is what in hell's name makes you think you can just walk back into his life, put him in danger again and act as if it's no big deal."
Despite being noticeably shorter than his father, Kenshiro didn't back down, "Considering your own track record, I could throw that exact question right back at you and probably expect just as much of an answer as I'm willing to give."
Both of the men stopped for a second to see that neither was giving any ground, "Regardless, the matter is settled. It was something related to my work and as such I'm currently handling it."
"Oh yeah, you're 'work' as you call it", Fumihiro jabbed, "Most of us would call that crime and intimidation. How good of you to find a new way of labeling it."
"Don't try me, old man", Kenshiro growled, "I noticed that cut he has on his forehead. It's a few days old but that didn't come from a fist. That and he looks like he's barely slept in days. Your son, as you call him, he's still having those nighmares isn't he?"
Fumihiro visibly froze, "That's none of your business. Besides, it's not as if you've done anything to try and help him with them."
Despite the fact that they had only been talking amongst themselves for a few minutes, both men were noticeably red in the face as well as out of breath. Both men took a moment to step back and simply glare at the other. Kenshiro wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting when he was driving his brother home, but he supposed he shouldn't be surprised to receive such a welcome. And as far as Fumihiro was concerned, this was an impromptu family reunion he could've gone a long time without ever having and he would have been perfectly fine with that.
"Just get out of here, Kenshiro", Fumihiro warned, "Benjiro is finally starting to make a few steps in the right direction and he doesn't need you around to try and undo that."
The one eyed giant crossed his arms and let out a humorless scoff, "Oh how generous of you. Claim that he's making progress due to a problem that you yourself are partly responsible for. Yeah, I can just feel the generosity. Must make you feel like you're not a complete failure of a parent."
Fumihiro's face could visibly be seen turning scarlet, "I don't care what you think. You lost the right to be a part of his world when you decided that you'd rather be a hellion than be a big brother. Or when you refused to so much as respond to any of the letters he sent you while you were locked up."
For the second time that day, in the middle of the anger that Kenshiro was feeling, was a tiny pinprick of what could be considered shame or maybe even sadness. Taking a glance behind his estranged father, the cycloptic man made sure that his younger brother wasn't watching from the windows. He leveled a finger at the grizzled man in front of him, "I'm warning you, old man: You may be he only family willing to look out for Ben and I'm willing to concede that. But if I get so much as a hint that you're slipping up, or that history is repeating itself, I won't hesitate to make your life any more miserable than it already is."
Faster than Kenshiro could react, he felt a shooting bolt of pain in his wrist as he kneeled on the pavement. A quick glance up and he saw his father putting a painful lock on his wrist with a glare that could make hell freeze over. Despite being retired from the military for a few years and slightly letting himself go, Fumihiro was still no slouch when it came to discouraging as well as finishing a fight.
"You may be a big bad boogeyman to the rest of your cronies, but you don't scare me. Now get lost before I make good on that phone call to the police."
After his nearly exploded father released him, Kenshiro took deep breaths as silently as he could, massaging his large wrists. It's said that turning your back on an enemy is one of the greatest signs of disrespect, but all that the muscular enforcer could feel as he stalked back to his car and drove off was a black anger that he hadn't felt in nearly seven years. Fumihiro didn't take his eyes off the car until he saw it drive around the corner and not make a repeat pass. After letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, he slumped his shoulders and plopped himself down on the steps of his front porch.
When he had woken up that morning, meeting his son turned gangster that he hadn't seen or heard from in years definitely wasn't one of the top ten things he would've expected to happen. The whole ordeal made the retired rescuer's head spin and his stomach feel like garbage. As much as he was loathe to do it at home, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. A click, a small flash of light, a stream of carcinogen and Fumihiro let a small portion of his stress out. While smoking was a habit he had been trying to quit, the stress of saving lives, raising one son that was psychologically disturbed and reencountering one that made his living on the desperation, greed and death of other people. The number of emergency workers he knew that didn't smoke was a minority that he was trying to be a part of, but at the moment, he really needed something to take the edge off. It wasn't exactly that things were easier, but having both sons in the same area seriously complicated matters.
A long drag and a few considerations and he came up blank. Fumihiro sighed deeply, "What's going to happen now?"
Across town, Kenshiro made a few wide turns, near misses and near fender benders as he arrived back at the base of operations. After squealing into a parking space, he slammed the door so hard that the window shattered. The two guards standing outside tried and failed to keep their knees from trembling and their heads from sweating as if it were a summer day.
Making his way inside, the captain yelled for the chef to meet him in his office. In a moment or two, a visibly shaken man in a white apron came to see him.
In a voice of barely restrained anger, Kenshiro growled, "Chef, I have a special job for you. We're having seafood for dinner tonight. And I want you to prepare one of the dishes in a particular way."
After relaying a set of specific instructions, the Cyclops dismissed the man and spun his chair to look out at the approaching darkness of the autumn afternoon.
'Someone's going to pay for their negligence', he mused darkly to himself, 'And I'm going to enjoy watching them beg for mercy.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone