Chapter 14
Punishment
"What! That's the end of the story?" Kyo says, standing up in shock.
"Yes, that's the end of the story," Annabelle says.
"Okay— then I have a question?" Kyo stands straight.
"Okay, go on." Annabelle crosses her arms.
"How do you know so much? Weren't you blacked out for most of the story?" Kyo asks, puzzled.
"You're right. But remember the boy who left the face clown card? He was the one who told me the story when I woke up." Annabelle's eyes close, then open again.
"As for how he knew what happened to my husband that night, I don't even know."
This story is definitely strange. I mean, who is this boy, and why do I get such a bad feeling about him? Kyo thinks.
Mei silently raises her right hand and says, "I have a question?"
"You too, huh? Go on."
"What made you end up doing this card silly card game?" Mei says in a stern voice.
"Okay, first, this game is anything but silly, and second, the boy said I should open a shop based around the clown face cards," Annabelle says, smiling.
"And you just took his word?" Mei asks.
'Drip, drip, drip, drip,'
The room is filled with silence as you can only hear Kyo's obnoxious breathing and the water dripping off the roof from the rain.
'Cough, Cough.' "You're right. I didn't just take the boy's word immediately. I mean, why would I? It was someone I had just met, but the look in his eyes was like he could see the future.
Yeah, right, the future? No one can do that. Kyo thinks.
"Then, the words the boy said afterward were what made me do this."
"The boy said, "Just do as I say, and your future is set." That's what the boy said; he even smiled when he said it." Annabelle says.
Mei and Kyo look at Annabelle and then at each other, confused.
Is she in her right mind? Did she really just take this random kid's word? Mei thinks.
"Oh, and I should mention another thing: the boy said he would leave a gift once I got to Japan. You want to guess what it was?" Annabelle says, grinning.
God, this granny is even more ugly than I thought. Missing half of your teeth is weird, especially your two front teeth. Kyo thinks.
"Just tell us already." Mei sighs.
"The gift that boy left me is sitting right next to you guys. He gave me another son." Annabelle's face brightens up.
"Another son?" Mei asks, weirded out.
"Yes, and you want to know the best part about him? He wasn't born in Japan." Annabelle giggles to herself.
"Not from Japan? How is that possible? And where is he from if not Japan?" Kyo asks as he begins to pace around the room in boredom.
"Ahhhh, when we first met, he said he was from somewhere in the Middle East," Annabelle says. "Even though he wasn't born in Japan, he is still Japanese. Isn't that crazy?" Annabelle smirks again.
"Oh, and you asked how it was possible? No one knows. Not even my son knows. He said he Just woke up at a shipping crate place, and someone told him to come find me." Annabelle says.
"I have another question?" Kyo says, raising his right hand.
"Yes—-"
'THUMP!'
Annabelle's son slams his hands on the table in anger.
Kyo's body jumps back in shock, and Mei's head quickly turns toward the son.
Fuck, that scared me! I thought I died for a second there. And why the fuck does he talk now? Kyo thinks.
"Fuckkkk enough with the questions! Let's move on to the punishment already!" Annabelle's son's face gets bright red in anger.
"Wait, surely it won't hurt to answer one more question, won't it?" Annabelle says calmly, giving her son the side eye.
'Tchhh,' "Fine." Says the son.
"Okay, go on, Kyo." Says Annabelle, smiling.
"Right, my question was, why do you call him your son if he really isn't your son?"
The room goes silent, and Mei turns her head towards Kyo in shock.
What the hell is that dumbass thinking? Why are you asking potentially dangerous people a question like that? Mei's face starts to sweat.
'Bang!' Annabelle slams her hands on the table and stands up angrily.
Ooh, she's mad. She even has veins popping out of her forehead, making her look like she is about to explode. Kyo thinks.
Annabelle calms herself and says, "Has your mother never taught you how to use your manners around your elders?" Annabelle looks up at Kyo and smiles an evil smile.
What the hell is up with that smile? And what did this fucking granny say about my mom?
"Hey, my mom raised me the best she could, so don't talk about my mom like that," Kyo says solemnly.
"Hah! Don't make me laugh! She clearly hasn't raised you well enough."
"You— you fucking bitch!" Kyo's lips quiver.
"Here, I will give you another reason: aren't you guys wearing school uniforms right now? Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be in school, but here you are skipping." Annabelle smiles.
Kyo's hands turn into fists, and veins are now popping out on his head.
"Hey, hey, let's calm down." Mei stands up from the chair.
"You're right. These are school uniforms, and we are supposed to be in school, but I must ask, what does that matter to you?" Mei says as she gives Annabelle dagger eyes.
"Hmm, scary pair of eyes you got there. You're right. It doesn't really matter to me what your reasons are for skipping school. I was just simply making a point." Annabelle shrugs her shoulders.
"Now, shall we get to the final event of this game?" Annabelle walks over to the shop entrance.
The nerve this hag has! Kyo thinks.
'Sigh' "Let's just fucking finish this game, Mei, and leave." Kyo says with a serious tone.
"Yeah, let us do that." Says Mei with a calm voice.
Annabelle walks back over to the table with something in her hand.
"Okay, kids, sit down, remember, we still have to carry out the punishment of this game."
Kyo and Mei retake their seats and watch Annabelle reveal the punishment.
Just what is this old hag up to? She gonna definitely pull some bullshit move on us. Kyo thinks, agitated.
"Okay, you guys ready?" Annabelles opens her hand, and one dice comes out.
"Dice?" Asks Kyo.
"Yes, but look at the pictures on the dice. Don't you notice something?" Annabelle holds the dice in the air for Kyo and Mei to see.
"Body parts?" Mei says casually.
Kyo glances over at Mei and then back at the dice.
"Hey, why does the dice have pictures of body parts?" Kyo asks, pointing at the dice.
"I'll explain the game now, and it's quite simple."
***
"First, there will be three participants in this game, excluding Mei because she clearly won the card game…"
"The second rule is all losers have to roll the dice once, and whatever body part it lands on, and you can't back out, you have to take the pain."
"Lastly, Mei has to be the one who inflicts the damage to our bodies." Annabelle fixes her posture. "So you understand the game Kyo?" Annabelle side eyes Kyo.
Why is she looking directly at me like I don't understand this stupid game, or is she looking down on me? Also, why the fuck do we have to do this! This is absurd. She wants Mei to destroy our bodies, essentially? Kyo bites the right side of his lip.
"Hey? You do know that we are high schoolers, right?" Kyo says, looking at her with frightening eyes.
"Of course I do. But just because you are a high schooler doesn't mean you are exempt from the punishment. You must face the punishment if you play in the game and lose."
Let's see about that. Kyo thinks.
"Yeah, and what if I just leave here right now?" Kyo stands up and gets ready to leave.
"It's simple…" Annabelle says as she glances over to her son.
The son gets up, walks over to Kyo, grabs his shirt, lifts him, and throws him to the ground.
'Thump.' "Ah, my back, you fucking bastard! Just what was that?" Kyo performs what looks like the crabwalk, except he's not walking; instead, he tries to grab his back.
"Ah, that fucking hurts." Kyo groans in pain.
"So now you know what will happen if you try to dodge the punishment." Says Annabelle.
"Okay, now are we ready to start?" Again, looking at Kyo, then at Mei.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Says Mei.
The game in itself is pretty straightforward. All they have to do is roll the dice, and I have to be the one to hit them. Mei thinks.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the dice has eight sides, which means anyone could roll any of the eight body parts." Says Annabelle.
"Okay, Kyo, would you like to start us off?" Annabelle hands the dice to Kyo.
ME! Really, she wants me to go first! This fucking hag! Kyo thinks.
Kyo grabs the dice before him and throws it up in the air…
Okay, here we go. Please be something not so bad! Kyo thinks as he watches the dice in the air.
The dice fall back onto the table and make one bounce… then two bounces… then three bounces… then four bounces, then… the dice looks like it's going to land on the foot, but then it slowly leans to one side and lands on the hand.
Ah, that's not so bad. Kyo Sighs.
"Alright, Kyo, you got the hand, so Mei, now you need to pick your weapon from this bag my son is about to bring out. Choose which hand it will be and how you will hurt it."
The son walks to the back of the shop, then returns with a bag and throws it on the ground next to Mei.
"Choose." Says the son with a deep voice.
"Huh?" Mei looks through the bag.
The bag has many stuff to use, including a hammer, a nail gun, a wrench, and screwdrivers. Hmm, I will use this. Mei thinks.
Mei reaches into the bag, then pulls out a…
Hmm? What the fuck is that… Kyo's eyes widen. Is that a hammer? Wait, no, this could be bad. I might seriously get hurt here.
Mei picks up the hammer and walks toward Kyo, "Hey, Kyo, put your right hand flat on the table for me." Mei says, expressionless.
"Wait! Wait! Mei, you're not actually going to do this!" Kyo's body starts to move backward.
"Rules are rules Kyo so put your damn hand flat on the table and just let it be over with." Mei continues to have an expressionless look on her face.
Ah fuck fine! Kyo thinks.
Kyo puts his right hand flat on the table and closes his eyes… Mei lifts the hammer high in the air with her right hand, then comes swinging down on Kyo's hand.
'Crack!' "Ahhhhhhh Fuck! My hand! My hand hurts so baddddd!" Kyo falls to the ground and rolls all over the ground, trying to deal with the pain.
"Good job, Kyo. Alright, who's next?" Mei glances at Annabelle and then at the son.
"I'll go next." Says the son. The son reaches calmly for the dice and then throws the one dice in the air.
The dice fall on the table, make a couple of rolls, and finally land on the face.
"The face it is." Says Mei as she expressionlessly walks over to the son, raises the hammer, and swings right at the jaw.
'Crack!' The son's jaw ends up shattering from the swing, and he falls over to his side, and a ton of blood comes rushing out of the mouth.
"No lost teeth?" Says Mei as she crouches down to examine the son.
Annabelles stands up in fear, "You! What the hell! Don't you think that's too far?" Annabelle points at Mei.
"That's crazy coming from you, granny." Mei stands up and says, "It's your turn now."
"Wait! Wait! Let's talk about this!" Annabelle desperately pleads with Mei to stop.
Fuck My hand hurts so much! How can Mei just do that? Does it not bother her? Just what has she been through? Kyo thinks as he watches Mei.
"Remember, Annabelle, Rules are Rules." Mei puts the hammer on her right shoulder.
'Tchh.' "Fine, I will play by the rules. As Annabelle is reaching for the dice, Mei suddenly swings on her…
'Bop.' Mei hits Annabelle clean on the head.
"You know something, Annabelle, sometimes I just think fuck the rules." Mei drops the hammer and walks over to Kyo. "Hey Kyo, you alright?" Mei says as she crouches over him.
"Does it look like I'm fucking alright! My hand is broken because of you!" Kyo puffs in pain.
"Yeah, sorry about that, but at least we have the money now, right?" Mei gives a smile.
"That looks like a fake smile, Mei. Anyway, let's grab the money and go." Kyo gets up and heads to the back of the shop, where the money is.
"Found it, but you carry it." Says Kyo, still in pain.
"Fine." Says Mei. "Throw it over."
Kyo tosses the bag over, and Mei catches it.
"So now that we have the money, I don't have to do that shadow operation thing anymore, right?" Kyo says.
"No, I think we will still have to," Mei says sternly.
"What? Why?" Kyo asked, confused and still clearly in pain.
"Because we don't know what will happen if we don't show. We also don't know how dangerous they are, so we should show up."
"Fuck, man!"
"Hey, Kyo? Is your hand supposed to be that swollen and purple?" Mei glances at Kyo's hand.
"Ah fuck! I think we should probably find someone that can help!"
"Yeah, let's do that." Says Mei.
Mei and Kyo exit the shop and walk through the disgusting streets, sewage, piss, and dead stuff, and as they are walking, they hear an offer from a shop.
"Medical ade for anyone! Just for 1,000,000 yen!"
Chapter 14 End.