Hell, Feb. 14th 2006 @8:05 AM. Time was unmoving for Genji, lying peacefully asleep in the comfort of his own room. His door softly creaked open, revealing violet eyes peeking in from the other end.
Katrina, 13, carefully stepped inside.
"Genjiiiii, time to wake uuuppp~" She said maliciously, but had no intentions of doing anything of the sort.
She lightly shook him, and even took his blankets off of him. When neither of those things worked, she resorted to tickling. He tried to hold in it, but couldn't stop his laughter escaping.
"Bingo! Gotcha now!"
"Hahahaha!! I'm up, I'm up!! Stop it, big sis!!"
Katrina laughed a bit as well, going on for a little while longer. She stopped to let Genji up. He slid off of his bed, still giggling a bit.
"Good morning, little brother. Sleep well?"
"Yeah, I was having a good dream but you stopped it!"
"I'm sorry, but I had to wake you up. It'd be pretty bad if you were late for the first day of school."
"First day of school? But I don't wanna go!"
"Well you have to. Everyone does at some point. Now come on, I'll help you get ready."
"'Kayy…"
Katrina held her hand out, to which he grabbed. Together, the two of them walked into the bathroom. Genji stood on top of his step stool and reached for his toothbrush. Katrina beat him to it and was layering toothpaste.
"Say "ahhh""
"Katrina, I'm not a baby anymore! I can do it myself!"
"Gosh, where has the time gone? I'm not ready to quit brushing your teeth"
"Well, you're gonna have too!" He held his hand out for her to place. She sighed and laid it on his palm.
"Yes, I suppose so. You're growing up by the day, but no matter what you become you'll always be my little brother."
"And you'll always be my big sis!"
Katrina smiled and decided to do his hair while he brushed his teeth.
With teeth brushed, face washed, hair done, and uniform on. They left for the living room where Sayaka and Sung-ho were.
"Good morning, Genji. Breakfast is on the table." Sayaka said without having to turn around. She was still at the stove finishing up the eggs.
"How's my little champ doing, sleep well?" Sung-ho asked.
"Mmhm! I had a dream that I was flying into space!" He said, pointing his fingers up.
"That sounds like fun. Well c'mon, take your seat. Food is almost ready."
"Sorry dad, but Genji will be late if we eat now. I'll just grab some things and he can eat on the way to school."
"Really?" He motioned his head towards the clock. "Huh, I guess you're right. Better get going then."
"Whaaa?! But I wanted to stay and eat!"
"There's no time for that Genji, c'mon, let's get going."
"Fiiiine. Bye mama, bye papa, see you later!"
"Have a good day at school, Genji." Sung-ho said, waving him goodbye.
Genji saw his backpack by the door and grabbed it, noticing it was heavier than last time when he packed his stuff.
"I put some extra stuff in there, you'll know what to do with them later today." Sayaka said, also waving goodbye.
"'Kayy"
Katrina and Genji left the living room and ran down the stairs, which were curved, one on the left side and the other on the right side of the room. Katrina opened the grand doors, leading to the outside.
"I'll race you there, sis!"
"You're on!"
Genji was already in the lead since Katrina held the door open, and he would stay in the lead since Katrina wanted him to beat her. Not only that, but she had to stay behind to give him directions to the school.
Hell, Feb. 14th 2006 @8:25 AM. With five minutes to spare, the two of them made it to the front gate of Dravux Elementary School. Katrina felt fine, but Genji had to take in some breaths. He really pushed himself to not be beat.
"We're here, and I believe those are most of your classmates."
Other kids were waiting outside, talking amongst themselves. All of which were dressed in the light blue sweater vest with a collared undershirt. The girls had on black skirts to go with it.
Genji was in no rush to get with them, however. Instead, he looked a bit worried.
Katrina knew this without having to see his face. She kneeled in front of him and gave a warm smile.
"I know what you're thinking. "I'm different from the others" right? Well you're not, you're every bit as demon as them, okay? Never forget that, Genji."
"...Do I really have to do this? I just want to play with you, mama, and papa all day long…I'll really miss you."
Katrina could feel some tears begin to rise up, but she pulled Genji in for a hug so he wouldn't see.
"I know, and I want nothing more than to spend time with you as well. But you need school in order to grow…besides. I won't be around as much as I used to be. There are things I have to do."
"Things, what things?"
"I'll tell you real soon, okay? I want you to focus on school today."
Katrina released him and gave him a kiss on his forehead, standing up right after.
"I'll be here to pick you up after school, okay? I'll see you soon." She said, which made Genji happy to hear.
"Okay…see you later." He weakly waved.
Before Genji could turn around, a loud shout was heard.
"GENJIIIIIII!!!!"
Immediately, his hearts began to beat rapidly. He felt the butterflies move from his stomach to the rest of his body as he recognized the voice but didn't expect her to be here. He turned around to see a girl come running from the crowd.
Her white hair and golden eyes stuck out like a sore thumb. She had her arms held out with tears building up.
"Zoey?! You're here?!"
She came in with a much harder hug than he would have expected, nearly falling from it.
"I'm so happy you're here, Genji! I thought you would go to a private school or something!"
"Private school? What's that?"
"A school for rich people!"
"Ohhh, that makes sense. But nope! I'm right here!"
Genji was wondering how long this hug was going to go on for. He noticed her grip was only getting stronger on him, but decided to just wait it out. He also noticed the weird looks they were getting from the other kids.
"Oh, umm, sooo…what'd you get for school?"
"Oh! I got a bunch of things!" She said, releasing her hold on him. "I got a bunch of pretty colored pencils, so we can share them. And a bunch of normal pencils, notebooks, and-!!!" Zoey's face had shock written all over it, catching something in her backpack.
"And what? Is there something else?"
"Uhh, y-yeah! There's another thing…" Her face was turning red, but she found the courage to take out a heart-shaped box of chocolates from her backpack. "It's sudden…but p-please accept it, Genji!" She said, breaking eye contact with him as she held it out.
"Chocolates?...Thanks!" He said, graciously taking the box. Relief washed over Zoey.
Genji opened his backpack, wondering if the "extra stuff" his mom mentioned were gifts. Not much to his surprise, they were.
"I also have some gifts for you. Look."
Zoey's face returned to shock, but she turned her head to see.
"A box of chocolates aaaaand…a teddy bear." He said as he rummaged through his school supplies. He took the gifts out and held it out for her to take.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-WHAAAAT?! F-For me?!!"
"Yeah, who else?"
Zoey felt her hearts pound against her ribs to the point where they might break. She had to turn around and take some deep breaths and yet again find her composure. Once she did, she accepted his gifts with shaky hands.
"W-We can eat our chocolates at lunch today, is that okay?!"
"Yeah, I can't wait." He said excitedly with a smile.
Katrina watched their interaction with each other, and felt the second-hand cuteness from it. She was reminded how grateful her and her family is to have someone like Zoey around.
"Zoey, Genji. Have a great day."
"Thanks, big sis!" They both said simultaneously with a smile at her.
With their goodbyes said, Katrina walked away, far enough to where they wouldn't see her disappear from Hell entirely.
Genji and Zoey were too focused with each other to hear the gossip spreading around amongst the other students. Soon after, smirks that screamed evil intent were plastered on a group of girl's faces.
Underworld, Feb 14th, 2006 @11:37 AM. Recess was in session, and they spent it working on a chalk drawing together. Zoey drew Genji, and vice versa.
"It's coming out pretty well. You're really good at drawing, even with chalk."
"R-Really? You mean that?!"
"Duh, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."
Zoey couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Any compliment from Genji was something she held onto. Though her happiness was suddenly crushed under the shoe of a peer.
"Hm?" Genji looked up to see who it was.
It was an unfamiliar girl, just like everyone else was to him besides Zoey. She had an evil grin on her face as she smeared dirt prints all across the drawing.
Genji and Zoey had very different reactions. Confusion was written all over his while Zoey watched, choking back tears.
"Hey, um, can you please stop? You're messing it up."
The girl looked at him like he was stupid, which she did think.
"Stop? I'm not going to stop until this stupid drawing is destroyed!"
"Destroyed? Why?"
"Because you made it! Anything a stupid boy helps make is trash and needs to be destroyed!"
Genji continued to sit there, feeling a bit saddened.
"Oh, that's why…it's because I'm a boy in a girl's world…"
Genji knew about this truth for a while now. He and his father were one of the only handful of guys in all of Hell. Genji is an especially rare case since he was born in Hell.
Many children only have a mother, or mothers as their parents. The few men before dying spent the last of their years donating to sperm banks so there would be plenty for aspiring parents.
"Yeah, no dip! You can't even call yourself a real demon. You're a blue-eyed boy, you're so weird!"
In addition to being male, he was born with blue eyes. Another rarity in the Underworld. To the majority of people, Genji was at the very bottom of the hierarchy even though he's the son of the King.
"And don't even get me started on you. White hair?! Yellow eyes?! You look like a freaking angel! It's okay because you're a girl, but still!"
He was fine with her picking on him, but going after Zoey was stepping out of line. Finally, he decided to do something.
"Hey…What's your name?"
"Huh? Like I'd ever tell a dumb boy!"
"..."
"Hmph! I guess it's fair if you know the name of your worst nightmare! I'm Alyssa Hajime, and don't forget it!" She said with folded arms.
Alyssa was a prideful girl. She has straight blonde hair and gray eyes. She also wears a small bowtie in her hair.
"Alyssa? It's nice to meet you. I'm Genji Amasaki." He said, standing up.
"I didn't ask for your name, dummy! What are you doing?!"
"I wish we could have been friends, but you made Zoey cry when you stepped on our drawing. So I'm going to tell the teacher."
He ran off for the nearest one, leaving the girls behind.
"H-Hey!! You better not!" She shouted, chasing after him.
Zoey, who was wiping away her tears, noticed they were gone. She watched Alyssa chase after Genji, and was happy he stood up for her.
She wiped and dusted off the drawing and drew a small heart in between the stick Zoey and Genji. Her face turned into a light red, and a small smile appeared on her face. She got up and ran after them to help back Genji up.
Underworld, Feb 14th, 2006 @12:06 PM. With recess over, they moved onto lunch. The smell of hamburgers, pizza, and PB&J sandwiches wafted through the air, enticing the kids to pick their favorites. While some got school lunch, others brought food from home.
Off in a lone corner, Genji and Zoey sat together besides each other. No one wanted to sit with the "freaks" of the school, but they enjoyed having each other's company.
"So, what'd you get for lunch?"
"No idea, big sis packed mine. But since she made it I know it'll be super yummy!"
"Katrina's food is the best…where is it?"
"Yeah…If only I could eat it right now…"
"You forgot it, didn't you?"
"..."
"You sure do that a lot. Good thing I prepared!" She said with a giggle. She opened her lunchbox and gave him a rice ball with red bean paste filling.
"Really? You'll share it with me?"
"Mmhm! Take as much as you want!"
Genji accepted the rice ball and took a bite out of it, his eyes immediately widening.
"Wow!! Dish ish good!!"
Zoey's face reddened again, a common trend throughout the day. She could hardly keep herself still from the excitement pumping in her veins. This mattered to her a lot since she made the rice balls with some of her mom's help.
Despite the disdainful stares and whispers targeted at them, they enjoyed Zoey's lunch and ate their chocolates together.
When school let out, Katrina picked Genji up and parted ways with Zoey for the day. For the next couple of months, their time at school played out like usual. On one particular day, things turned terribly grim.
Underworld, June. 17th, 2006 @12:11 AM. For months now, Genji was subjected to the torment of his peers. Either be food thrown at him, or his lunch destroyed. Zoey was never affected since she is a girl, but with males being viewed as lesser beings with the exception of the king, it was expected.
He never fought back, not that he could due to his condition holding him back from confrontation. He just waited for everyone to get their needs out of their systems and ate whatever remained of his lunch.
Today was a special day, however, and it was because Katrina made his lunch again. The last time she did was on the first day of school, but she was back home for a little while.
Genji would usually wait for someone to come by and slam his head into his food, but instead, he got to eating right away. Eating his sister's cooking always made him feel at ease.
A group of girls at the table were snickering amongst themselves. Soon after, A green-haired girl approached their table, coming from Alyssa's group. Zoey noticed her and immediately got up from her seat.
"Wait, please don't! Not today! Please let him eat, this one is special to him!"
"Special? You think I give a crap if his lunch is special?!"
She shoved Zoey out of the way, causing her to fall. She then grabbed onto Genji's hair and slammed his face down onto his lunch. The table rattled and made a noise no one had heard until today.
"Ooou, that sounded really bad. Hey, Alyssa? Did you see that?! This was probably the best one yet!"
The entire lunchroom was in an uproar of laughter, with the exception of Zoey and the staff, who stood idly by.
"This isn't funny! Why is everyone laughing?! He could be really hurt!" Zoey said, picking herself back up.
"Isn't that the point?! Why do you hang out with this pig anyway?!"
"He's not a pig!! Stop calling him names!" She shouted with tears rising up.
"Of course he is, look at the stupid pig eating! C'mon boy, eat up! Oink oink!" The girl said, getting close to Genji's ear.
"He's not getting up? Jeez, Esther, did you kill him?" Alyssa asked, still laughing.
"Maybe! Hey, we should throw a party if I did!"
The thought of Genji dead tugged away at Zoey's heartstrings. She believed it too since he wasn't reacting at all. He would always raise his head moments after getting slammed, but it was different today.
"G-Genji…please get up. I'm scared…"
Zoey began crying, but tried wiping her tears the moment they rolled down.
Esther turned her back on Genji, not knowing what's to come. No one noticed it except for Zoey, and when she picked up on it her entire body froze stiff.
"...G-Genji?"
Though he was laying right there, his presence felt entirely different. The air around him was starting to turn heavy, and that's when people began to notice. Sinister intent surrounded him as he laid there, but Esther and Zoey were too scared to move.
"...Why? Why do you all pick on me?"
Slowly, Genji picked his head up. His voice sounded coarse and wounded.
"Is it because I'm a boy, or is it because of my eyes? Why are you all picking on me for things I can't change?!"
This side of him was nothing Zoey has ever seen, and she's been around him for as long as she can remember. She wanted to move and calm him down. But dread filled every last one of her cells, and her instincts commanded her body to stay exactly still. Looking at Genji was like staring down a wild beast, primed to attack.
His face started to change, even though he didn't realize it or have any control. From the bottom of his jaw came four dark purple lines, two on each side. The lines stretched up to his bottom eyelid and kept getting sharper the closer they got. In the end, it looked like a wolf's scratch.
His markings weakly crackled with purple electricity as he reached the apex of his rage.
"None of you even know me! I could be as nice as possible, but you would all still pick on me! Do you hate me?! Are you scared of me?! What have I ever done to any of you?! WHY DO YOU ALL TREAT ME THIS WAY?!"
Genji, influenced by his intense emotions, shoved Esther with all of his might. They expected for her to fall down, but she was sent soaring across the room until she hit one of the tables. The force caused the table to unhinge, but not entirely.
"Esther!!" Alyssa shouted as she ran towards her. "What just happened?! Are you okay?!"
"M-My arm…I c-can't feel it…HE BROKE MY ARM!!" She shouted with tears flooding down her cheek.
Immediately, Esther was rushed to the nurse's office with an ambulance on its way. Alyssa's group followed her to the office.
Genji's face eased up as his marking disappeared. He was able to think clearly now, and was deeply troubled with what he did.
"Genji?! Are you okay?!"
He wasn't sure what to say, he just kept taking slow but deep breaths. Zoey did her best to comfort him, but wasn't sure on what to say. This was new for the both of them.
By the end of lunch, Genji received a suspension and was picked up by Sayaka, who was currently having a chat with Ms. Rogers, who is the homeroom teacher for Genji and the others.
"Y'know, this sort of thing would lead to your son being expelled. But with his condition and all, it's sort of expectable. We tried to get those girls to leave him alone for a while now. But I'm sure they've learned their lesson now."
"Yes, I hope so. Once again, I'm sorry about this. He's a good boy and never lashes out. We knew he had a sin but never thought it would wake up so soon. I'll ask him about it when he wakes up so this never happens again."
With that said and done, Sayaka left the teacher's office with Genji sleeping on her back. She walked home, just thinking about his sin.
Underworld, June. 19th, 2006 @4:31 PM. "So, I heard you got suspended from school…care to explain?"
"I don't really know what happened…I just felt really, really angry. I just wanted them to stop bullying me."
"I understand, but violence is not the way to solve things. You should try talking to them first."
"I've already tried, but they don't care!"
"Well, you know how the saying goes. "If at first you don't succeed-""
""-try, try again" yeah, I know…Maybe if I had cool superpowers like Ōkami they wouldn't mess with me."
"Ōkami? How do you know about that?"
"School. The Ōkami is a superhero and is a really big deal, so we learned about it in social studies."
"I see, I forgot schools teach it…"
"Hey, Katrina. Have you ever seen the Ōkami before?"
"Seen the Ōkami? Why yes, every time I look in the mirror."
Her words surprised him enough for him to look at her.
"Wait, are you being serious?"
Have I ever lied to you, Genji?" She said as she lifted her hand. At that moment, a purple flame sparked and surrounded it. "You asked me what things I was going to do while I was away. Well, those "things" are protecting the people of Earth as their Ōkami."
Genji's eyes sparkled and reflected off the violet flame. It felt nice and warm on his face as well.
"No way!! My big sister is the Ōkami?! That's so cool!!"
Katrina dissipated the flame and smiled at his comment.
"Tell me more! I wanna hear all about it!"
"You sure? It's a lot to talk about."
He nodded excitedly, which caused her to giggle a bit.
"Okay, okay. Let's see. To start with…"
From that moment on, Genji learned as much as he could about the Ōkami during his time in suspension. Every little detail he learned was exciting, it was enough to make him want to be the Ōkami. But he knew it would likely never happen, but he would dream of being a hero every night.