AkiraheartsHideaki Act III

The engine of my bike dies down and I shake my hair to get some of the water off. Most of the residue falls on the shoulders of my beige Superdry hunting jacket. All of a sudden my phone vibrates. I open it up and the words "7:55 PM> 'отац' " appear. Looks like dad sent me a message.

"I plugged you in for graveyard next Sunday. Get some rest and keep that wound bandaged. The union will take care of the rest. You did a brave thing taking that whip for the new kid. He's the grandson of the head Foreman at SurreyPort. He never forgets when people help him or his family."

Dad always remembers to save me a graveyard. It's amazing how he never forgets.  I slowly get off my bike, so as to not strain the bandages on my upper-back, and push it into the holding area of my apartment. I'm glad i paid extra for this, It's a lot easier than putting it in the underground. As I put it up on its stand, I reach into the side pocket and grab my sheathed machete. I clip it to my waist and walk to the elevator.  It makes a clicking sound every time my left leg moves. I've become so accustomed to it that I can't walk without the sound. The police sometimes give me trouble because of it, but thanks to the route I take home I see the same officers everyday and they've grown to not mind. I enter the elevator and hit the button for floor 11. I take a deep breath and and exhale.

"Jesus, what a day."

The elevator rings, the door opens, and I walk down a hallway to my door. As I'm about to use my key, I notice there is a new nick on my lock. It's similar to the one's I used to make on Niko's door when i wanted some of his weed and he wouldn't share.

"Someone's bumped my lock."

I keep a grip on my Machete, unlock the door, and enter. I shut the door quickly behind me, so as too keep it dark.  I hold my breath and take a couple steps, suddenly I see a puff of a E-Cigarette in my living room. I quickly run up and Shout,

"Ја не знам ко сте, али ја ћу да те убијем јебени! (I don't know who you are, but I'm going to FUCKING kill you.)"

"What kind of bullshit is spewing from your mouth? Is that fucking Russian?"

"То је српску копиле!" (It's Serbian, you bastard!)

"Seems too slurred to be Russian, must be Slavic or something."

I decide to answer In English, since the crazy Serb angle isn't affecting him.

"Look, you better fucking show yourself before I come at you. I swear to God, this will not be pretty."

I see the light from the cigarette move, It goes over my coffee table and then disappears. It is then I hear the click of the side-table lamp. The room becomes illuminated and I see who's there. It's woman with blonde hair, wearing a cardigan sweater, with a pair of loose fitting ragged jeans.

"Whats wrong Kiddo? Don't recognize me?"

I'm completely taken aback, my guard has dropped and my machete hand is now dangling at my waist.

"A....Akira?"

"Whats wrong? Look like you've seen a ghost."

I regain composure and slowly sheath my machete, keeping my eyes on her.

"The hell do you want? did the old bastard send you? I don't give a fuck what he does now, I'm not going back."

"I promised you I would come back. Here I am. As for your old man, we'll discuss that later."

"Well considering you broke the promise before that, I stopped considering it valid. You and your words mean nothing now."

I can see a look of shock rush over her. I think I may have hurt her. Good, now she knows how it felt all those years ago. I move my hand over my head and to the back of my neck, It's still soaking wet. Akira brings herself to my attention again.

"Look, we really need to talk."

"Well, it can wait. I need to change my clothes, I'm soaking wet. So.... I guess you can just wait here as you were."

With that i begin walking to my room after i take off my steeltoes and place them by the door. When i enter my room I quickly lock the door. I then take off all my clothes and throw them in a corner. I take out a long-sleeve cotton shirt, and some flannel pj pants from my dresser. I immediately put on the pants but take the shirt with me to my washroom. I turn on the tap and rapidly wash my face. I look at myself in the mirror.

"She's back... why is she here? I was doing fine, i had practically forgotten her and was able to live normally again."

I look myself over. There are so many scars on my arms and flanks from the years working manual labour. Noone besides Dad and Niko should know of these. As I look between my pectorals I see the ring necklace and the circular burn it left from the time my jumpsuit caught on fire during welding. I can't let her see the necklace, if she know i still have it she'll may try to pull something. I take it off and place in one of the sink drawers. I then turn on the tap and wash my face. I look up into the mirror with the water still dripping off my face.

"It's fucking disgusting how i look like him."

The one thing i couldn't change was my genetics. I look like my father and i hate myself for it. I wipe the water from my face, going over the thin scar on my left eyebrow, and then chinstrap with the horizontal scar on my cheek. Then in my usual fashion let my hand flow over my short hair in the front to my small mullet in the back. I slowly put on the shirt and then walk out of the room. Akira smiles to me as i walk back and sit down on the loveseat in front of her. I try to show as little emotion as possible. There is an Awkward silence, but she breaks it with smalltalk.

"So... Nice place you have here. How'd you get it?"

"Spilling blood, sweat, and tears for four years combined with a price crash."

"I... see."

"So what do you do for work now? you used to be all about your books and clothes."

"I stopped worrying heavily about vanity long ago. I try to get as much reading done as a I can. I work Longshore, At a Lumbermill, and up in the kootnay mountains with dynamite."

"Sounds dangerous, Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

"It doesn't matter, If I can survive and make some money, I'm willing to take that risk. Dad gave me his blessing, that's all i need."

"Dad? I thought you hated him"

"That man is not my father. He is my real father."

I point to a picture on the left wall, It's Dad, Me, and Niko celebrating at a bar once i had gotten into the Longshore Union.

"That man is Braninmir CvetoJevic'. The most hardworking man I have ever known. He adopted me and treated me like his own."

"He's the one that allowed you to stay once your Visa was up."

"He made me his own and gave me a new life, I even adopted his surname to show my loyalty and love."

"That's quite Noble of you."

"It's just something that I deemed necessary, even after the adoption."

I'm growing tired of this small talk, I want to get on with this so that she can leave and i can get back on my with my life.

"Enough of this chatter, What is it you came here to do."

Once again, Akira looks shocked.

"I-I want to tell you why I left you all those years ago."

The rage begins swelling inside of me, after all this time of having no response she decides now is the time to give me one?! I decide to give her a piece of my mind, I stand up as quick as I can.

"LOOK, I DON'T NE-"

It's then that i feel the extreme pain of my bandages peeling off the newly formed scabs on my back. I can feel the warm blood starting to seep from the wounds. I must not let her find out about them, otherwise she may want to stay to treat my wounds. I calm myself mid sentence and walk towards the nearest wall. If i can put some pressure against the wound, i can try to stop the bleeding without her even finding out.

"Look, I appreciate the fact that you think you owe me some kind of answer but let's face it,  I'm no child. I know how the world works now, and i probably think of the reasons why you left. Money, lifestyle, and maybe even the dislike of responsibility."

as I'm saying this Akira seems out of it. She's not looking at me, but at the wall behind me. Have I finally broken her?

"H-hideaki.... You're bleeding."

I quickly look down to the bottom of the wall where the molding meets the hardwood. Sure enough there is a small but steady stream of blood forming a puddle. I push off the wall, and attempt to reach the washroom. Akira stops me midway.

"W-wait! what happened?! Please let me take a look."

"It's none of your concern. I just got a little hurt at work. I just have to change some bandages. I can bandage my back myself."

"Your back!? look, let me help you change your bandages. noone can bandage their back properly without help, you'd just end up bleeding again. Please, Hideaki, let me help you."

I hesitate for a minute, but then I see the logic in her answer. This would save me a trip to Dad's and save Niko some time by not helping me.

"Fine.... The first aid kit is under my bed."

Akira rushes off to my bedroom, I begin to chuckle a bit. She's appears as if she actually cares. What is she trying to get out of me? I sit sideways on my loveseat and wait for her return.

"Here we are. Take off your shirt."

I begin to slowly take off my shirt. the pain from the bandages being pulled off with it is immense. It's as if I'm a bloody sloth. it take's a bit but I eventually get it off. I look over my shoulder and say

"You ready? Swab it with some alcohol first, then use the gauze."

It takes a minute for Akira to actually reply. She begins slowly flowing her fingers over the scabbed wounds and other scars on my back.

"H-hideaki..... w-what happened to you?"

"Welcome to the real world, it's no fucking fairytale. Lets get started, the sooner this is done the sooner we can get back to the actual business."

I hear the click of the alcohol bottle and the 'glub glub' as she turns it over on some cotton balls.

"Hideaki, please lie down, that way the blood and alcohol has less of a chance of getting on the couch and even a better one at coagulating."

I oblige, and as she begins dabbing my wound with the cotton balls it feels as if I'm being stung by bees. It goes on for a bit, but once she reaches the lower portion of my back, she stops. I then do a kind of semi plank so she can wrap the gauze around me. I begin to feel more stings. Why is she applying more alcohol? I calmly state to her,

"You don't have to use that much, a little goes a long way."

"s-s-sorry"

She's stuttering. She must be nervous doing this for the first time. I stay in the position for a bit longer and then i feel her wrap the last wrung around my lower back and then tell me to sit back up. When i do, i turn to her. Her eyes are bloodshot. Those weren't dabs of alcohol.

In confusion and awe and ask her,

"Why are you crying? It's just a wound."

"I-it must be so painful. I-i hope you can recover quickly."

I see through her fake concern. I stand up and look directly into her eyes.

"Don't give me that bullshit! come clean! what the fuck did you come here for? Come to drag me back to my old man so I can "follow in his footsteps"?"

She begins to shake, and I can see the veins in her neck begin to appear.

"n-no.... I ca-"

"If not, then walk the fuck out that door. Leaving without giving a solid answer is what you're good at anyway."

I blink and suddenly feeling a seering pain on my left cheek. Before my vision had even rendered she had stood up and slapped me. I ready my left arm for a hook, but stop myself midway when she beings to yell.

"I CAME BACK FOR YOU! I NEVER BROKE MY PROMISE! YOU ONLY THOUGHT I DID! I WAS PROTECTING YOU THE ENTIRE TIME! FROM .....THE........THE MAN YOU USED TO CALL FATHER!"

It's now me who is in shock. I manage to get out one word in this state.

"Explain"

In a now calmer voice, Akira begins her story.

"I never broke the promise i made to you. Yes i couldn't take you with me, but i did protect you. I went to your father to get his permission to take you along with me to Scotland, even if it was only for a couple months. He became enraged. He stated that he saw through my ruse. He thought it was a plan by my father to steal the rights to the Hakamichi Zaibatsu. It's then that he sealed the your fate for the future years."

Akira begins to tear up again.

"H-he.... he said he was going to kill you if i tried to bring you with me or even try to communicate with you. I asked him why, he said you were expendable, he could just have another child with another woman. He said this was an oath he would keep until the day he died. I saw the look in his eyes.... he was dead serious. I didn't want to risk hurting you. I had no choice but to leave you."

I just stand there, dumbfounded. I don't know what to say. The thoughts and mental state that I have built up all these years are crumbling.

"The reason I'm back now is.... He's dead. He died a week ago from Alcohol poisoning. His funeral was two days ago. It was on the Japanese news."

My hearts starts rapidly beating. Every conclusion that I had thought through was a lie created by myself. I begin to loose it. A rage rushes over me. I run to nearest wall and begin delivering left hook after left hook into it. Grunting with each punch,

"IT WAS ME!"

"IT WAS MY OWN MIND!"

"I WISHED EVERY KIND OF CURSE UPON YOU!"

"I WAS THE ONE COMMITTING BETRAYAL!"

the first few punches go through the drywall like rice-paper. But i didn't stop even when i hit a stud, I kept going until it was broken. I only stopped when i felt her arms around my waist and heard her cry.

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP! DONT HURT YOURSELF!"

I drop to my knees and begin to sob heavily.

"OH GOD. IM SORRY, I GAVE UP HOPE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE FOR GOOD. I CALLED YOU EVERY NAME IN THE BOOK. YOU DID IT FOR ME. PLEASE. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FORGIVE ME!"

Akira only replies,

"Just please stop hurting yourself!!!!!"

I black out for a moment. The next thing i know, I'm on the floor and my back is up against the wall. I look to my left hand, Its been bandaged, and there is a rolled up sock in my palm. a makeshift splint. I hear a noise and look to my right, Akira comes walking out of my kitchen nook with a bowl and a washcloth. When she sees that I'm awake she puts down the bowl and washcloth and rushes towards me and wraps her arms around me.

"Thank god you woke up! i was going to call 911 soon if you didn't."

"Akira... I'm So-"

"Hush, they'll be time to talk later. Lets try to get you back on your feet. First we're gonna cold towel your neck and wrists. When someone passes out their body temperature increases and that can cause discomfort when they wake up."

I keep my mouth shut from then on. I do exactly what she tells me. I lean forward so she can place washcloth, now soaked in cold water, on the back of my neck. She lets it rest there for a couple of minutes before re-soaking it and applying it to my wrists.

"Alright, you need some rest. Let's get you into bed. I folded out your couch I'll be there."

I try to get up, but I'm not quite able to balance properly. Akira acts as a stabilizer and helps me to my bed.

"No talking now, Just try to get some sleep."

And with that she put me into bed and tucks me in. I'm exhausted. I worked 8 hours as a steel slinglman, pulling the chains two and fro and then attaching then to 3 tonne beams. I also took that steel wire to the back while pushing the new kid out of the way. That one really needs more practice tightening turnbuckles. I need this rest. Within minutes i begin to feel my eyes droop, the last thing i see is Akira in my doorway telling me to call her if i need anything.

Instead of my sleep being comprised of darkness, I begin to see things.  Suddenly I'm in downtown Vancouver. The crows are immense. I walk for a bit when in a window of a bar I see a tall blonde. It's Akira. She's talking to two men. One is old and the other is young. After getting closer i realise that it is Dad and Niko. The woman and two men who shared and still share a place in my heart. I call out to them. Before i know it I'm running, I don't know why, But I'm screaming their names.

"AKIRA! DAD! NIKO! HEY! OUT HERE!"

Just as I'm about to reach the entrance of the bar, the entire thing explodes. I'm thrown back. In a haze I to focus my vision, To the left i spot someone. It's niko, and blood is seeping form his mouth. I scream at the top of my Lungs,

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I jolt upwards, I'm breathing heavily. for some reason there is a large amount of pressure on my neck. suddenly i hear,

"Shhhh, It's okay! you had a bad dream, I'm here. your going to be fine."

I try to say something to her, but i just end up sobbing heavily.

"It's okay Hids, just let it out. It's alright, I'm here."

I'm crying as hard as i can into her shoulder. It's as if my every repressed emotion expelled out of me at once. Once my breathing went back to a manageable rate i began talking to her. It seems she borrowed a Team Canada t-shirt and some flannel pj pants.

"I-i H-had a nightmare. Y-you, d-dad, n-niko.... you a-all di-"

she stops me.

"It's alright we're all here and we're not going anywhere."

I take a couple deep breaths push off from her shoulder and look into her eyes.

"A-akira. I'm sorry. All these years I made myself believe that you broke your promise, that you didn't love me. It grew into hatred. Forgive me, please!"

"I will never forgive you for you've done nothing wrong, and therefore don't need to be forgiven. You acted just as any normal person would."

"I still feel horrible."

"We'll don't"

Akira suddenly looks down to my chest and runs her fingers over my circular scar. I look down and then remember where it came from.

"Wait here!"

before she can even object to me moving I'm up and hobbling over to my washroom. I open the sink drawer and grad the necklace. As i return to her I ask her to close her eyes and open her hand. I place it in her palm and ask her to open her eyes. When she sees it tears well up in her eyes.

"Even after all these years.... you still have it. Although, even if you didn't i wouldn't blame you."

"You did what you had to. I may not have understood it then, but i do now. I tried throwing it away the day I left Japan. I just couldn't. Even though my hate was consuming me, the little amount of love i still had kept me from doing it."

Akira then leans forward and kisses the scar on my chest. She then moves upward and kisses my forehead.

"You're still the same loving and pure hearted kid from all those years ago, even if you're 10 times as big and scarred."

I chuckle at that the latter statement. She's right. I've changed a lot, but there are still large parts of me that are the same.

"Hideaki, I also have something to show you."

Akira pulls back and reaches into her shirt and brings forth a crystal locket. With a push of a button at its base it swings open. Inside is a ragged red ribbon. I was going to start sobbing again, but Akira stops me.

"What's done is done, We're together now and that's what counts."

I lunge forward and hug her as hard as I can, holding back tears all the while.

"Akira, please don't leave me again."

"I'm not going anywhere kiddo, We're always going to be together now. How bout we get some sleep now?"

Akira slowly helps me back and we both climb into the sheets. We pass out in minutes.

When I wake up, Akira is wrapped around me. her head on my breast, arm over my torso and feet entwined around my left leg. She's holding onto me so tightly that i can feel her heartbeat. I look to the right at my alarm clock, it's 5:57. The sun should be coming up soon. I carefully exit Akira's embrace and head towards the living room. I head to the window and lean up against it. The city slowly awakening. Without warning I feel hands go around my waist and someone's head on my back.

"Morning."

"Good morning to you too."

"So, What do we do now, Akira?"

"Anything we want, we have all the time in the world."