Shishio watched his father raise the billiard cue and was about to brandish it into his head. His body responded naturally to dodge, but he forced his body to stay in place as he let the billiard cue hit his head.
*Crack!*
The billiard cue was broken in half as it hit Shishio's forehead. Blood fell from his forehead as it stained the laminate floor. He lowered his head before he raised it again as he looked into his father's eyes.
Takumi was awoken from his anger, but when he saw Shishio's eyes, which were far from giving up, he gritted his teeth as he grasped his son's shirt, dragging him in front of the painting of Shishio's great-grandfather.
"Say it! Can you say your answer again in front of your great-grandfather? Hurry up and say your answer again!" Takumi struck the wall several times with force enough to the wall with his palm irritably.
His father's kind and warm image had long gone, and now he seemed to possess such dignity. Takumi stood flanked by a portrait of his great-grandfather and a painting of the Battle of Tsushima. This huge oil painting showed the vanguard of the Japanese fleet deploying before the Russians in the Sea of Japan, which was more than half taken up with the massive, dark green billows of the ocean.
Shishio was accustomed to watching it from afar, and he only glanced at it with superficial knowledge, preventing him from appreciating the fine detail of the waves, which merged at night into the dark irregular shadows that covered the wall, but now, it is different. The situation he was in when he saw this painting was different.
He saw how the somber blue of the waves towered up in the foreground with ponderous force while in the distance, a lighter green blended in to brighten the dark water, and here and there, foaming white crests topped the waves. The trailing wakes of the maneuvering squadron spread out with smooth uniformity over the surface of this turbulent northern sea with terrible impact. The line of the main Japanese fleet heading farther out to the sea was painted horizontally on the canvas, with its plumes of smoke drifting to the right against a sky whose chilly blue contained a touch of pale green as befitted a northern May.
In contrast, the portrait of Shishio's great-grandfather in military uniform was imbued with human warmth, despite his evident sternness. Even now, he did not seem to chide Shishio but rather admonished him with both dignity and affection.
Was it his imagination?
Or was it something that he wanted to view himself?
No, this was something that his great-grandfather should be currently thinking about.
Shishio knew that his relationship with Chihiro would bring nothing but destruction. They couldn't hover in mid-air forever like a pair of dragonflies making love.
The age of glorious war was no longer there. It ended at the end of the Meiji Era when modernization started. Today, all the stories of past wars have sunk to the level of those edifying accounts he heard from middle-aged teachers in history lessons.
There also wasn't much of a chance for one to die on the battlefield.
The old wars are finished, and a new kind of war has just begun; this is the era of the war of emotion.
The kind of war no one can see, only feel—a war, therefore, that dull and insensitive won't even notice.
But it's begun in earnest.
The young men who have been chosen to wave it have already begun to fight.
'And I'm one of them.'
He didn't doubt it, and it was his new war.
However, just as in the old wars, there will be casualties in the war of emotions.
He was one of the representatives, and he had the resolve to die in this new war.
He took a deep breath and answered, "I am sorry, Father. My answer won't change. I love her, and I can't leave her." The moment those words fell, he was beaten.
Takumi couldn't control his emotions anymore. He raised his fist and struck it in Shishio's face.
Shishio was thrown to the corner of the room, but this was far from over. Many things dropped because of the impact, causing a loud noise, which was even heard from the outside.
"Say it again! Ha! Say it! Say it, you animal!"
Takumi roared as he beat Shishio without mercy.
When the loud noise was heard, Shiroiko and Kayo, who had been standing near the entrance of the billiard room, heard it, and they quickly entered before they were stunned by what they saw.
"I regretted raising you in such a soft and easy way, but I had never realized you'd turn out like this. To lay your hands on your aunt, the little sister of your mother! To stain your family's honor! Throw mud in your father's face! Is this the way that you repay your family after what we have raised you? Your education, status, money, love, everything! Is this how you repay us? You behave like an animal! You have done something that's rotten through and through! Answer me again! Do you still want to defy me?"
Takumi punched and kicked Shishio with all of his might. The anger on his head clouded everything, and even if Shishio was bloody, he kept beating him.
"Stop! Stop! Dear, you are going to kill our son!"
Shioriko couldn't control it anymore, and she hugged her husband as she pushed him away from Shishio.
"Kayo-san, take care of Shishio!"
"Yes!"
Kayo looked at Shishio with distress.
His face was bloody. His handsome and elegant appearance could no longer be seen in him. Even his shirt was dirty from Takumi's shoes.
However, Takumi was far from calm. His wife might have stopped him, but it didn't stop him from stopping his anger toward his son.
"Our son? He won't be any longer of our son if he still defies my words! Listen to me! I will disown you here and now if you don't follow my words and continue to bring shame to our family!"
If his son continued to be in the relationship with Chihiro, then where would his face be?
Where would be the face of the family?
If this wasn't the modern world, then this matter was a small matter, but what era was this?
This is an era where many small things can become big things.
If before one could protect their family with a sword and gun, then in this era, those things were useless. No, it was still useful, but there were some things that were more powerful and dangerous than those weapons.
That is the media.
If the media knew what was happening to the Oga family, they would be like a shark that had smelled the scent of blood. All they would do was charge forward and bite their family like the most delicious feast greedily.
The Oga family was powerful, and they should be able to defend this news, but that price was by disowning Shishio.
Disowning him meant that Shishio didn't have a relationship with the Oga family. Whatever he did, it had nothing to do with the Oga family.
However, how could Takumi bear to disown Shishio?
Shishio was his only son. He was also his pride.
Takumi loved Shishio very much. He knew that his son could do everything, and his future was so bright that it was blinding.
If Shishio wanted to, he could be anything!
Which is why this matter disappointed him so much.
After all, what kind of parents could stay calm when they knew that their son had a relationship with his aunt?
This was messed up!
This mistake might not be much for the Oga family, but it was different for Shishio.
What would happen if Shishio lost the Oga family?
Takumi didn't know, but he didn't want to disown Shishio, so he had to be tough, hoping that Shishio would give up. Shishio might hate him, but it didn't matter since everything was for his future.
Hearing Takumi's words, Shioriko and Kayo knew that Takumi was serious. They were all looking at Shishio in a complicated mood.
While Shioriko was holding her husband, so he wouldn't beat their son anymore, Kayo wiped Shishio's blood with a handkerchief.
This matter... they also knew this matter like Takumi, but unlike him, they couldn't be tough like Takumi. They knew that what their son and Chihiro did was wrong, yet when they thought of Chihiro's tears that day...
Shishio sat on his knees as he pushed Kayo's hand gently.
"Shishio..."
"Kayo-san, let me talk first."
Shishio looked at his father and then bowed his head.
"I am sorry."
"........"
"I am sorry that I have disappointed you. I have stained our family's honor and thrown mud in your face. I am sorry, Father."
Shishio had never thought that he was wrong with his relationship with Chihiro, but he knew in the parents' eyes it would be a different matter. He had disgraced his father, and he knew that he had put a stain on his parents. This fact didn't change since he knew he had wronged his parents because of his selfishness and love.
If there was an unfilial child, he knew that it would be him.
This was why he apologized since he knew that his father cared about him.
This beating was different from the fights that he had encountered.
This beating was his father's love.
"I know that you care about me. You want me to have a bright future, living an easy and comfortable life. You want the best for me."
Takumi looked at his son in a complicated mood.
"By leaving Chihiro, I know that I can get all of that. Thank you for reminding me."
"Then..."
"But... but this isn't a matter of the future. What I want currently is her. She is someone that I love. I won't abandon her for my future."
"So... do you think it is worth it? Is it worth it to throw away your future for love?" Shioriko asked instead of Takumi.
"For me, it is yes." Shishio nodded as he looked at his parents with a calm expression. "Many will say that I am stupid to do this, but if I can abandon someone I love for fear which only happens in the future, then what am I? When we started this relationship, I had thought about the consequences several times, and I am ready for this. This is why... I won't abandon her."
His decision was firm, and no one could change his mind.