Osoro and Ayoshi were still on their way to their mystery destination. He was plastered to Osoro's chest, drinking the strawberry milk they had bought along the way. He was quite relaxed, no longer thinking about dying. He just enjoyed the cool air.
Osoro chuckled at Ayoshi, "And you were worried about dying, but look at you now, enjoying the ride."
"Mn, take me on more."
"Acting so spoiled, what makes you think I'll comply?"
"You owe me a favor."
Osoro snorted loudly, "You want to use your favor on a ride?"
"You owe me. I can use it on whatever I want."
"Ok, but no more favors for you," Osoro said smugly.
"You do owe me another favor. Am I not helping you?"
"Oh… yeah. I fucking forgot," Osoro said with a sigh, but he soon perked up. "Do you want to use that favor on another ride?"
"No."
Osoro's hands tighten on the motorcycle's hands. 'How am I always losing to him? No more strawberry milk for him!' His eyes suddenly widened, 'You're the fucking leader of a gang! Why am I acting so childishly?' He soon became lost in thought, trying to find the answer to his question. As he became lost in thought, they soon made it their destination. He stopped his motorcycle, turned it off, and got off. "Come on, we're here."
Ayoshi got off, with some help, and looked in front of him. There he stood, in front of an animal shelter. He looked at Osoro, asking him why they were here with his eyes.
"My older brother is a kind man who loves animals. So when he moved out of our home, he opened up an animal shelter. I come to help take care of the animals every weekend, but he went on a trip with his lover and asked me to watch over the shelter for him. I can't do it all on my own, so I thought I would ask you. You willing to help?"
Ayoshi looked up at Osoro and nodded aggressively. "Yes, hurry up and take me inside," he said while dragging Osoro towards the door.
"Ok-ok, calm down. The animals aren't going to disappear," Osoro teased as he took out the keys to the door. He finally got the door opened, as the bell above the door chimed. He walked in first and turned on the lights. Then he let Ayoshi into the building.
The front of the animal shelter was a welcoming room. The walls were creamy white, with a wall full of photos of animals that got adopted with their new owners.
There was a light yellow couch with a table in front of it. On top of the table were a variety of treats and photo albums. There were also a few shelves filled with items that new owners could buy for their new pets. Then there was the front desk, it was simple.
After Ayoshi finished looking at the room, Osoro finally returned from where he had disappeared to. "My brother designed uniforms for himself and his lover. He also gave me one, so when we're open we have to wear them. Since you're going to work here, you have to wear one too." He then handed Ayoshi a white shirt with the shelter's logo on it and yellow overalls that had patches of animals on them. "The bathroom is over there. I'll change after you."
Ayoshi walked to the bathroom Osoro pointed to and changed. When he walked out, Osoro walked in after him and changed. When they were both changed, they stood in front of each other silently.
"Is this why you wanted me here instead of your lackeys? You didn't want them to see you in this?"
"I don't give a shit who sees me in this. My older brother worked hard to make these, and it makes him really happy when I wear them, so I don't mind. I didn't want those fools here because I didn't trust them around the animals."
Ayoshi looked at Osoro's uniform and then at his. "Why do you have pants and I have shorts for my overalls?"
"I have a lot of scars on my legs and well, I'm also not the most friendly-looking guy, so combined with all my scars, it scares the kids coming in. So I asked my brother to make me a pair of overalls with pants instead of shorts," Osoro said as he led Ayoshi to where the animals were. Before he walked through the door, he grabbed a hair tie from the front desk. "Can you help me tie up my hair? Some of the puppies like to bite at it if it's down," he asked as he handed Ayoshi the hair tie.
Ayoshi grabbed the tie out of his hand and started putting up Osoro's hair. "The uniform looks nice on you."
Osoro turned around and thanked him. He looked at the way Ayoshi looked in the overalls. 'Cute.'
"The uniform looks nice on you too."
Ayoshi thanked him, and they finally went to where the animals were. Once they walked in, it grew way louder. All around them were noises that the animals were making and the sound of their toys. The room was very large. There were cats, dogs, birds, bunnies, and many other animals.
Ayoshi looked around him with large eyes. "There are so many animals."
Osoro chuckled at the face he made. "Yeah, my brother has rescued a lot of animals. A lot of them are sick or injured when they come in and he takes care of them until they are ready for adoption."
Ayoshi walked over to the birds. There was a blue bird with a broken wing standing on a stand in front of a picture. The picture was of a man and a woman. "Is this your brother and his lover?"
"Yes."
"She's very beautiful."
"They."
"What?"
"My brother's lover uses the pronouns they/them."
"Oh, I see. They're very beautiful." Osoro's brother looks very similar to him, just smaller, and has dark brown hair instead of blond. His lover stood next to him, a few inches taller than him. Their hair is a light brown that spills down their back. Their features are a balanced mixture between feminine and masculine. "Your brother is also very beautiful, but he seems small."
"My brother was born prematurely and it stunted his growth. It made him smaller than he was supposed to be. Our parents were both very tall people. If his growth wasn't stunted, he would probably be taller than me and his lover."
"Were?"
Osoro held a Shikoku puppy when he sighed, "Our parents died when we were young, so we had to live with our grandfather, but he was already a pretty old man. We didn't want to worry him, so we took care of ourselves. My older brother was bullied a lot because of his small size. I worked very hard to grow strong so I could protect him. Eventually, I became a delinquent, my brother didn't like it, but I got good grades and never got into serious trouble, so he didn't bother me too much about it."
"I apologize."
"Don't apologize, you didn't know." Osoro had a big smirk on his face, "The first thing we need to do is clean all the animal kennels." He walked over to Ayoshi and held out a scooper and a trash bag.
"What are these for?"
Osoro started to laugh, "Since you're new, you gotta do the dirty work. These are for the animal's poop," he took out some wipes, "and these are for the more watery ones."
Ayoshi looked down at the things Osoro wanted to hand him and then looked back up at him. "I am not doing that." He then walked around Osoro to the whiteboard that said what food and the amount of food each animal needed.
Osoro felt shocked, "What?"
"I said I am not doing that. I will feed the animals. Now, where is all the food?"
Osoro just sighed and pointed to the closet with the dry food. 'I'll never be free from this wretched task.'
"Thank you."
Osoro spent the next hour and a half cleaning all the kennels before Ayoshi gave the animals food and water. All the animals really liked Ayoshi, showing him lots of affection. They completely ignored him. He scowled, feeling jealous of Ayoshi. He wanted the animals to show him affection, but Ayoshi stole it all.
Ayoshi had given all the animals food except the bunnies, so he walked up to their pen. There were a bunch of different colored bunnies. He gave them their food, and they all started eating except for one. It was the smallest out of all of them. It was pure white and it had a little collar around its neck. He picked it up and held it up to his face. The little bunny's eyes were small, but they were wide open and looking directly at him. It reminded him of the little bunny he found when he was little.
Ayoshi's P.O.V.
At a very young age, my mother told me the story of our family. For many generations, only women had been born. Each and every one of them became a yandere. The majority of their lives they felt nothing. They couldn't feel sadness, anger, or pain. They didn't even feel love for each other. That is until they met their precious love. The one and only person who could make them feel. They become addicted to these emotions and refuse to let go of their love. They were willing to do anything to keep them. Their minds became crazed with love and obsession.
My mother, when she met my father, her mind also became crazed. Her memories before finally capturing my father were a blur. All she can remember is that she did terrible things. I know I should feel disgusted, but I don't care. Even though my heart always feels cold, I feel a slight warmth when I see my mother. I love her and I know she loves me. However, as a child, it was difficult to understand that, but when I was ten, she made me realize she loves me deeply and that I am the most important thing to her in the world.
When my mother got pregnant with me, she thought I was going to be a girl. Her family has only ever had girls. So when I was born, everyone was shocked to see that I was a boy, but that didn't stop my mother from telling me the history of our family.
When she finished telling me everything, I didn't want to have such a life. The women in my mother's family just accepted that they would live a dull and emotionless life. A life that was black and white until that one special person came along. I didn't want my life to be bound to one person. I didn't want my mind to become crazed. I didn't want to hurt anyone.
I wanted to feel, I wanted to choose the person I would spend the rest of my life with. I wanted my life to be filled with pretty colors and things that I liked and enjoyed. I wanted to be a normal person.
So I did everything I could to make myself feel. It didn't matter what I felt as long as I felt something because of me. Not because of some other person… but I failed. I failed and failed. Nothing I did worked. I tried so many things. I did so many things, but I only ever failed. At one point, I hurt myself. I wanted to feel even if it was pain. I felt the sensation of my wound, but it wasn't what I wanted. After that, I had given up. I decided to accept what my life would become.
That was until one day while I visited the park looking at clouds. I heard rustling in the shrubs near me, so I went to look and found a bunny. His fur was pure black, just like my hair. I had picked up the bunny, and when I touched it, I felt my hand get wet. Its fur was so dark I couldn't tell that she was bleeding. She had a wound on the side of her stomach. For the first time in my life, I felt… worried. I didn't want her to die, so I rushed home to find my mother so she could help.
When I had made it home, I didn't see my mother, so I went upstairs to look. I went into my room to place her down, but before I could lay her on my bed, my father walked in.
***
"I have to find mother quickly." I looked down at the little bunny in my arms. She's barely breathing. "Poor thing. Do not worry, mother and I will make sure you are ok."
I walked through the front door and didn't see mother or father. I rushed up the stairs, still looking for mother, when the bunny made a pained sound. I walked to my room. I don't want to hurt her more with all my movements. Before I could lay her down on my bed, I heard steps behind me. I turned around to see father and felt relieved.
"Fath–" Before I could finish my sentence, my father's face twisted in anger.
He rushed towards me, "Ayoshi! What have you done?" He yelled as he snatched the bunny from my hands roughly. His harsh movements caused me to fall back and hit my head on my bed frame. I groaned and blood ran down my face. I touched my head, feeling a wetness. I took my hand back and looked down. My clothes were stained with the bunny's blood and my hand was smeared with a combination of our blood. My ears were ringing and I looked up at my father. "Fath-father?"
"Ayoshi, what have you done? What's wrong with you!" He screamed violently.
His screams made the ringing worse and I gripped my head. "Father, it's… painful."
Father completely ignored my words. "What is wrong with your mind?"
I was deeply confused, 'I do not understand. Why is father angry?'
"I always knew you were a monster! Your mind is messed up! You're always acting strange, even hurting yourself! However, I didn't think you were so much of a monster that you would hurt an animal! A living, breathing being! How could you be so cruel?!"
I stood up, still holding my head. "I… I–"
"I always worried that you would become like your mother! I prayed every day that you would turn out normal! However… you still turned out like her! A monster! You're a monster just like her!"
"Fath-father?" I could feel myself struggling to breathe.
"Look at you… covered in blood! What did you do to it?"
I didn't know how to answer, 'Is this what you see me as, father?'
"Answer me! What did you do to it?"
Father kept yelling and yelling, he wouldn't stop. "Please… stop yelling… please…" I gripped my head and shut my eyes tightly. "Please… it hurts…" I soon saw all black.
***
The next thing I knew, I had woken up in the hospital. I was lying in bed and my mother stood next to me. She hugged me in a death grip.
I wasn't sure what was going on or why I was in the hospital. I asked her and she explained everything. After I got knocked out, my father called an ambulance, but didn't tell my mother, so when she got home she was confused as to why no one was home. When she called my father, he told her where we were.
My father had left the bunny at the house, so my mother first took her to the vet and then rushed to the hospital. When she arrived at the hospital, she completely ignored my father and stayed by my side until I woke up.
I had a slight concussion from hitting my head and I got stitches for my cut. My injury wasn't that serious, so after a day I could leave the hospital and with some rest, I would be fine.
Before I woke up, my mother only knew that I had hit my head and passed out. She asked me what happened and I explained everything. Afterward, I had never seen my mother look so enraged. Her eyes were burning with fury. She stormed out of the room into the hallway, where my father paced back and forth.
The door closed in my room, but I could hear everything. I heard the loud echoing sound of skin against skin, the loud yells of my mother as she screamed at my father, and my father trying to explain himself. However, my mother called him stupid and explained what really happened with the bunny.
After a brief moment of shock from hearing the truth, my father tried to apologize, but my mother wasn't having any of it. She continued to yell at him for another half hour.
A nurse had come in while she yelled. They looked very awkward, but just continued to check up on me. When my mother had finally come back, she told the nurse, with a hoarse voice, to not let my father in the room. The nurse reassured her, then left the room.
While I recovered, my mother stayed by my side the whole time, never leaving me for a second. She even took time off from work. When we went back home from the hospital, we stopped at the vet to pick up the bunny.
At home, my father was there, anxiously waiting for us. He fell to his knees, a heavy flow of tears running down his face the moment he saw me. He gently held my hand, and he apologized profusely. The apologies wouldn't stop pouring out of his mouth, saying how he was wrong, how he didn't mean to hurt me, and that he was the monster, not me. He begged for my forgiveness and said he would do anything to make up for his mistakes.
I had forgiven him immediately, but my mother wasn't so forgiving. My father is my mother's love. He was her entire world. She always took care of him, always showing him affection, and always agreeing with him. She could never see any fault with my father, but that all changed when I got hurt. All the love she once showed boundlessly disappeared. She no longer took care of him and made it so he had to do everything for himself. My mother even refused to talk to him and would leave the room whenever he was there. She refused to acknowledge his existence unless absolutely necessary. It was strange to see.
She began to focus all her attention on me. They were the best moments of my life. My mother would take care of me, but her main focus was usually my father. However, now she constantly showed me attention and love. My mother, the bunny, and I would sleep together in her room, while my father would sleep in the living room. She would tell me stories of when I was younger. We would take care of and play with the bunny together. We would cook dinner together and have our dinner while watching movies with the bunny. She would even go clouding gazing with me and the bunny. When I started going back to school and my mother went back to work, she would help me with my homework while we told each other about our days.
However, soon my injury fully healed and my stitches came out. I no longer needed so much care. The bunny's health started to decline because of her injuries and soon passed away because of her serious wounds. My mother started to get more and more busy with work. She even began to forgive my father and her attention for me dwindled. I didn't blame her for this. I understood she became busy with work and I didn't want her to stay mad at my father much longer. Even though she didn't give me as much attention anymore, she changed. She gave me far more love and attentiveness than before my injury. My mother and I became very close, it made my heart fill with warmth.
My father was always so cold, but once he realized he hurt me, he changed. He would talk to me more, play with me, and always told me how much he loved me while I recovered. However, his care for me started to dwindle after I got better. He wasn't as cold anymore, but the older I got, we began to drift apart, and now we don't have much of a relationship.
Third Person P.O.V.
Ayoshi held the little bunny close to his face, feeling the soft fur on his skin. 'You were wrong, father. I am not a freak. I am not a monster.'
Osoro finished cleaning and he looked toward Ayoshi to check his progress. He noticed Ayoshi standing by the bunnies in the same spot for a while. 'Something is off with him,' he thought while staring at Ayoshi for a few seconds when he got an idea. "Hey, bunbun," he called out mockingly.
Ayoshi snapped out of his daze and turned towards Osoro. "Yes?" He asked, ignoring the nickname he was called.
"Can you go get the blankets from the puppies and put them in the washing machine?" Osoro then explained where the washing machine was and how to wash them.
"Mn," Ayoshi agreed.
While Ayoshi was away, Osoro set something up and made sure everything was safe.
Ayoshi had just finished putting the blankets in the washing machine when Osoro came in and dragged him into a room. "What is this room?"
"This is the playroom for the animals, now come." Osoro dragged Ayoshi to an area in the room that was enclosed by a fence. Inside the fence were a bunch of blankets and pillows with the bunnies eating hay.
"What is this?"
"We put the smaller bunnies in here so they don't get lost or hurt in the room because of how big it is. Now get in."
"Get in?"
Osoro got in, "Yup," he said with a pop of the p.
Ayoshi got in as well, "What are we going to do?"
Osoro laid on the pillows and blankets. "Just lay down and relax."
Ayoshi laid down next to Osoro and a few bunnies started to surround Ayoshi, tickling him with their whiskers. Ayoshi turned to his side to face him. The bunnies ignored Osoro, which made him upset.
A black bunny came up to Ayoshi and licked his face. He grabbed the bunny and held it close to his chest, soon falling asleep. He was tired from remembering and thinking of the past.
Osoro looked at him, 'Huh? What are you doing? You've barely done any work. Don't fall asleep.' He got closer to Ayoshi, staring at the two sleeping, and gently rubbed the bunny's head. 'You two look so much alike.' He then looked at Ayoshi and tucked his hair behind his ear. 'You're lucky you're cute.'