Chapter 187 - Why are you like him so much?

In his room, Yuki is sitting on the bed with a dull expression. He listens to his mother scolding him for leaving the house without telling her again. When will she stop yelling? He did what his grandfather told him to do.

"How many times have I told you?" Yuki's mother asks him with a tired voice. "You can't leave the house. You should be practicing."

"Grandfather told me to rest," Yuki mumbles. "He said that I shouldn't practice until my wrist is healed again."

His mother glances at his hands. His fingers are full of little wounds. Her voice becomes soothing. "Does your hands hurt?"

"No." Yuki folds his arms, pressing his hands beneath her armpits to hide them from her sight. "My hands are not hurt."

Her son is always like this. He only wants his father. But, his father isn't here right now. She should try to get closer to him. Recalling what happened last night, she grumbles in annoyance. "That boy was rude. What was wrong with him? Why did he attack you suddenly?"

Yuki shrugs and looks away. 

"Show me." She sits down on the bed. "Your wounds might get infected if they are left alone."

He stares at her. She's smiling at him sadly with clear eyes. He's not affected by her sadness. Rather, he's upset about something too. He doesn't understand many things, but he's s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the changes. "When will Father come back?"

Only his father loves him. His mother and grandfather only want him to practice. He doesn't want to play music. He wants his father to be here. If his father was here, he would have taken away the pain. It was his father who taught him to play the violin. Everyone says that he will become famous if he keeps playing this way, but he doesn't care. He only likes to play music with his father.

"Your father..." She sighs. "He is a bit angry at me, but he will come back soon. He can't live without us. Until he comes back, you should let me take care of you. He will scold me if he sees that I let his precious son get hurt."

Yuki relaxes his shoulder a bit. His father will come back. "Can I call him?"

She takes his hands. "He turned off his phone. Your father is like that. He would often close himself from the world when he is in a bad mood."

"You shouldn't have fought with him." Yuki looks at her accusingly. "You yelled at him and threw his books out of the window."

She doesn't answer him. She sighs when she sees the swelling. "It's bad. You are lucky that your mother has a medical degree."

He huffs. "You aren't a doctor."

"Why do you say that?" His mother makes a face. "Do I have to show you my medical degree?"

"But you are still not a doctor." He is still suspicious of her. There are times when she's nice to him. His father told him to not trust her and grandfather. He must do everything that they tell him to do. If they want him to play the violin all day, he must play the violin all day. If they ask him to sit quietly, then he must sit quietly. He must always be a good child until his father can take him away. When will that happen?

"You are right. Just having a medical degree isn't enough." She exhales. She met her husband during the last year in the university. Falling in love with him didn't take any effort. She married him right after graduation. Then...

Her head hurts. She shuts her eyes shut and grasps her head. Several memories flash in her mind. The baby is crying. There's a man. The pill bottle shatters on the ground. Someone is laughing with the pieces of the broken vinyl in her hand. There are blood footprints on the floor. The door is pushed. The bathtub is filled with blood.

Yuki crawls away when he sees his mother laughing. He looks at the door. Can he make it? His father isn't here to save him. His grandfather also becomes like this sometimes, but his mother is worse than him. 

She covers her face and sobs. She can't ever escape. It's everywhere. Yuki will become like him. He is like him. She can't stop it. The music stopped when he died. But, it has started again, waking up the dead. The dead is seeking her and she can't stop them. She can't stop her son from becoming a monster. 

He tries his best to be as still as possible. His father told him to not make any noise when she's like that. His hand slowly moves toward the blanket. If he covers himself, she won't see him. She might leave his room. At the edge of the bed, the book falls when he pulls the blanket. 

She turns her head toward him. Yuki holds his breath when her eyes meet his. There's a smile on her face. Her voice is barely a whisper. "Yuki."

Afraid, he quavers. "I will complete the piece and you will be free."

However, his words don't have any effect on her. She inches closer to him. There's strange glow in her eyes. Yuki dashes toward the door. She seizes her by the scruff of his neck.

"Let me go," Yuki screams with an agonized voice. "Let me go now."

There's no sadness or laughter in those grey eyes. It's filled with raw rage. She pulls him closer and turns him around. She looks into her son's eyes. "Why are you like him so much?"

"Mother, I --" 

Yuki is no longer in her sight. A sixteen years old boy is standing in front of her. He has short honey-blonde hair and light gray amused eyes. 'It is my destiny.'

"Destiny," She whispers. It's strange that she's hearing the same word again. 

He puts his hands inside his pocket and tilts his head. 'Ayaka, you are jealous of me, aren't you? You don't have the ability to complete our mother's last wish. You try so hard every day to get our father's approval, but he will never acknowledge you. You don't have the gift. Your existence is burden to our father. Isn't it better if you just --"

"Disappear?" She cackles. "Do you think that I don't want to disappear? I want to escape, but it haunts my step. I cannot disappear. You won't let me disappear, Elder Brother. Then, why should I even try? I found another way. If you die, he will acknowledge me. He will have no choice. I will complete mother's last wish."

'I am already dead.' Kirishima Heiji shakes his head and smiles with a dark look in his eyes. 'But, look at you! Your son is like me. Can you escape your sins, Ayaka? No, you can never escape me. It's not your destiny to fulfill our mother's last wish."

Kirishima Heiji fades. Yuki is standing in his place with terror in his eyes. But, Ayaka can still hear her brother's mocking laughter. She is still hearing his voice. 

'What can you do, Ayaka? He will embark on the same path as me. You will never be acknowledged. Destiny binds him. Then, who it will be? Have you ever wondered? Is it you? Is it our father? If he completes the piece, what will happen? Who will die? I can't wait to see your end, Ayaka.'

"Mother..." Yuki gasps when her fingers curl around his neck. She pushes him on the floor, choking him. He can't understand why. He's been doing everything that his father told him to do. In his blurring vision, he can see the book on the ground. He recognizes it. 

Where is his father? 

"If you just die, then it will stop." Her voice is gentle and cooing. "Yuki, my son, I will free you from this destiny. I cannot see you walk the same path that my brother did. I will end your life just like I ended his. It will be over within minutes. Then, you won't suffer. You don't have to fulfill anyone's last wish. Die, Yuki, Die."