Daichi opened the door to his house and headed inside, his emotions conflicted. On one hand he was happy that he had performed well in the training today, fully showcasing his abilities with the bat and ball.
On the other hand, his thoughts moved to Ken who had not managed to achieve the same. Not only could he not throw properly, he had only managed to hit one ball straight back to the pitcher for an out.
He could still see the look of disappointment and frustration in Ken's face before he reverted back to a fake smile. While he tried to hide it on the train ride home, Daichi could tell that his friend was hurting inside.
He should be feeling happy that his friend was so supportive, yet there was something that niggled at him. Ken was bottling up all of his frustrations, internalizing them and suffering in silence.
"And where the hell have you been?" A female voice slurred, breaking him out of his reverie.
"M-Mom… I thought you were working tonight?" Daichi stammered, feeling his mood plummet.
His mother who was currently splayed on the couch with a bunch of beer cans spread across the coffee table. From the slurring of her words and the mess, Daichi could instantly tell that she had been drinking for a while.
"What does it matter when I work?" She said, struggling to get to her feet. When she finally succeeded, she almost stumbled back onto the couch.
"Why isn't the house clean? Do you think you can just freeload while I do all the work? Do you think I'm just a pushover and you can walk all over me? HUH?" She stumbled forward and put her hand on his chin, squeezing tightly as she stared at him.
"You're an ungrateful little bastard, just like your father." Daichi's mom spat those words out.
At the mention of his father, Daichi felt an overwhelming rage threaten to overcome him. His eyes bulged as he tried to quell the feelings that were rising in his chest.
"HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT?"
SLAP
"Wipe that look off your face right this instant!" she yelled, incensed.
Daichi recoiled after being slapped in the face by his mother, feeling the stinging sensation prickle his cheek. He had been hit before, but this one seemed to hurt a lot more because of who had thrown it.
Out of habit, Daichi put on the same smile that he always did to calm down his mother. Yet he felt such a strong sense of revulsion that it quickly dissipated.
His thoughts moved to Ken and his family who had shown him so much love, making him feel like he had another family. Then he looked at his mother who clearly saw him as a burden, someone she was forced to live with.
Then something happened, something that he never thought he would be able to do; he talked back.
"How can you call yourself a Mother? When have you ever shown me love or affection?" Daichi said, his face wearing an emotionless and cold mask despite the red hand print on his cheek.
His Mother paused for a moment in shock, clearly not expecting him to talk back to her. Yet in the next moment her face contorted and she started screaming and throwing her fists at him.
Daichi stood as still as he could while his mother punched him in the head, chest, arms, anywhere she could reach.
It hurt…
It really hurt…
But Daichi received it all without even a whimper, waiting for her to grow tired.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
A shocked youthful voice rang out within the room, putting an end to the rain of blows attacking him. Daichi's mind went blank as he suddenly turned his head to see Ken staring at the scene with utter disbelief from the front door.
Seeing his best friends face at this moment caused all of his hurt and emotions to bubble to the surface. All of the pain and heartache he was holding inside poured out like a fountain, drenching his face with tears.
Ken took one look and was incensed. He saw who he could only imagine was Daichi's mother beating up her son while he stood there and took it all.
"What are you doing in my house? This is none of your business! Get out!" His mother screamed at Ken, lunging at him too.
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
Daichi bellowed like a cornered beast as he intercepted his mother and threw her onto the couch in one fluid motion. His powerful shoulders seemed like mountains as he protected his friend from this pitiful woman.
His mother seemed to finally snap out of her drunken rage and her eyes widened as she looked at her son. The vision of the boys father overlapped on Daichi's wide frame, causing her to recoil in fright.
"Daichi… Come stay at my house for now." Ken said after a moment, trying to calm down the teenager.