“Hahaha! That’s hilarious.”
The sound of laughter came out from a large man sitting in his computer chair, watching what appeared to be Anime on the monitor. He wore glasses and sported an unshaven stubble with crumbs on his shirt, likely from his last snack.
He wiped the grease off his fingers with his shirt before leaning forward and typing on the keyboard in front of him.
“Love to Ru really is the best…”
After a few moments he moved the mouse and clicked post, sending his review on the Anime episode. Something he did often during his spare time.
He also had quite a following in the Anime and Manga circle, often being a source of truth for those who wanted recommendations.
DING
Manabu Gomi’s face fell as he heard the notification come from his computer. He opened up the email and let out a grunt of displeasure.
He was an artist and graphic designer, also dabbling in post production for some photographers. The only reason he liked the job was because he could stay at home and work whenever he wanted.
However, his real passion was Anime and Manga. He loved to watch and read and even had dreams of joining an animation studio. Yet he was knocked back from every job he applied for because he had not gone to university and lacked experience.
He was on track to go to university, but things went pear shaped when his girlfriend at the time fell pregnant during the final year of high school. This put a hold on his life, changing its trajectory completely.
Initially he was scared, however the closer the due date came, the more excited he felt.
While it may not be ideal, Manabu had a great girlfriend who he’d known since middle school. He wanted to support her and would do his best to be a good father to their child.
Yet fate was cruel. While giving birth, his girlfriend lost her life, turning his world upside down.
Manabu was left with only the child whom he named Keiho, in order to celebrate the life that had been born from the sacrifice of his partner.
While he did his best for the first couple of years, he eventually became depressed. The boy looked exactly like him, showing none of his mother’s fair features. He then slowly grew apart from the child.
Eventually he moved in with his mother and let her essentially raise him.
Manabu knew that doing so would be wrong, but he already knew that he was a terrible father. There was a part of him that blamed the child for his partner’s death, even as unfair as it sounded.
“Manabu, you have some visitors.”
An elderly voice called out from atop the stairs, breaking him out of his reverie.
“Visitors? Since when has that ever happened?” He mumbled to himself.
All of his work was done remotely, meaning he essentially never had to leave the house. With his mother doing all of the shopping, he was free to stay inside away from the sunlight and eyes of others.
He was a little suspicious, but he still said he would be there in a moment. After quickly dusting the crumbs off his shirt, Manabu slowly made his way up the stairs.
When he finally arrived, slightly out of breath, he almost turned tail and ran back down the stairs at the scary sight in front of him.
There were two men, both wearing a white tank top. One was a balding man with bright tattoos on his arms, while the other looked to be a gangster with muscular arms, instantly intimidating his weak psyche.
“W-Who are you guys?” He stammered, feeling his heart beat quicken in fear.
“Come, take a seat. We have some things to discuss about your son Keiho.” Tsukasa said simply, his tone seeming friendly.
Tetsu on the other hand was doing his best to remain calm. The man in front of him looked exactly like he imagined the brother Minoru should have looked, making him feel uncomfortable.
Manabu looked at his mother for reassurance, only to receive a questioning gaze. It seemed that she also had no idea why these two gentleman had arrived to talk about Keiho. However, there was some concern in her expression.
He considered explaining to the two men that his mother was the one who raised Keiho, but his last shred of morality seemed to prevent him from doing so.
With his head bowed and his anxiety levels at a maximum, he slowly made his way over to the couch opposite the two gentleman and took his seat, trying to avoid eye contact with the scary men.
He gestured for his mother to leave the room, in case something bad happened. She was at first confused, but she listened nonetheless.
“What did my son do?” He asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
“Tetsu, did you want to do the honors?”
Tsukasa called out his friend who was still glaring at Manabu with restrained anger, trying to move the conversation along.
The silence stretched on for an uncomfortably long time, causing the already high anxiety levels of the bespectacled man to reach its peak.
Just when he felt that he was going to faint from all the pressure, he heard a deep voice with a Kansai accent breaking the silence.
“Yer son has blackmailed my daughter. He doctored some photos ta make it look like she and a classmate had been having… inappropriate relations together.”
Manabu’s eye’s widened in disbelief and he subconsciously lifted his head in order to look at Tetsu, as if to confirm his words were true. He saw the repressed rage behind the man’s expression and could instantly tell he wasn’t kidding.
Tetsu leaned forward and dug into his pocket, pulling out an envelope which contained the photos and note from Keiho. He placed them down on the coffee table in front of them before taking his seat once more.
Just as Manabu was about to collect the envelope, an elderly voice called out from the kitchen, startling him.
“Would any of you like some tea?”