Bab 26: The Sit Down: House of Horrors Part 4
The words dissolve on Miyuki's tongue like cotton candy.
He can't say anything as if he's developed an inconvenient case of laryngitis, which only fuels Kazuhiko's impatience.
They've been sitting at the dining table for ten-odd minutes, periodic drips from the faucet reminding them of the time that's passing by agonizingly slow.
Furuya eyes their packed bags at his feet. They were their ticket to escape in case anything and everything turned against their favor, which he could clearly see occurring the longer Miyuki stalled.
Their truth was a truth not just anyone could accept without throwing a fit at how preposterous it was. It was a truth that defied science, human anatomy, and the logic of their world. With the lack of a uterus, men are physically incapable of bearing a child, but Furuya's case was a phenomenon. He was a living testament to this phenomenon and actively upsets all logic each day he breathes, each day the child within him grows.
Whether it's a blessing or curse he doesn't know, but he firms his resolve that whatever chaos ensues during the next few minutes will not deter him from keeping his and Miyuki's child. Kazuhiko's opinion is essentially inconsequential, but they should perform the common courtesy of informing him.
Miyuki glances at Furuya. He looks relatively calm and composed, confident even.
That's when it hits him.
'I'm pathetic,' Miyuki laughs in his head. 'I'm supposed to be the oldest, yet I'm the one who's panicking. No, I get it. Furuya's not the type to be concerned about anyone's opinion. We're afraid of my father as a person, but what he says doesn't matter.
'We couldn't care less, actually. This old man is not in control of our lives and will never be. I don't know why I've allowed my emotions to be so easily influenced by him. It's time I break this damn imbalance of power.'
Miyuki exhales as he sits up in his seat, "Dad. We have something to tell you."
Kazuhiko rolls his eyes underneath his cap, "I figured that was the case, but you two just sat there and said absolutely nothing for who knows how long. I'm old, so my perception of time is off. Well, what do you have to say? Did you guys break something?"
Miyuki exhales again, "Furuya is…pregnant. With my child. I'm the father."
Furuya nods.
"Oh, come on, aren't you a little too old to be playing these types of pranks?" Kazuhiko says with a genuine smile, "I don't have time for this silly game; I'm heading back to work—"
"This is not a prank," Furuya says, "We no longer have a reason to lie. You welcomed us into your home under the guise that our dorms were under repair, but we are ready to present the truth now. What Miyuki-senpai said was true. We are expecting. We don't know the science behind it, so we can't give you an explanation."
Kazuhiko, who was halfway out of his seat, slowly sits back down. He removes his cap which uncovers his smile that is swiftly replaced by a look of confusion and a hint of disgust. He pulls his head back as he sizes Furuya up and down then pans over to Miyuki.
"Kazuya," he says, stressing the vowels, "I am very perplexed right now. Furuya-kun isn't your usual type."
Miyuki's heart beats double, "Wh-What do you mean?"
'You know exactly what he means,' Furuya sighs internally.
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Kazuhiko continues, "The one you told me about. The loud one with brown hair. How could Furuya-kun possibly be pregnant if you're dating someone else?"
The catcher knows his father is phrasing his words wisely in an effort to rile him up. He's trying to incite a reaction that he'll use against him. However, he wants to be nakedly truthful, so he decides to give the older male a taste of what he desires.
"I was unfaithful," he confesses, "It was an accident, an unfortunate and shameful event that happened due to my negligence. Furuya and I had sex while I was with Eijun and the rest is history. We ended the relationship, but I've acknowledged my shortcomings and accepted this accident in its entirety. I put Furuya through a lot so the least I can do is be a proper father."
"Wonderfully said," Furuya whispers.
Kazuhiko's face is now fully painted with disgust.
To think another family member would pull the exact same shtick under his nose was appalling, nauseating, and disrespectful to the highest degree.
He will not stand for this.
"I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be different; I guess I was wrong. You're always in your room fooling around with that blonde kid and now you've cheated on your partner and got this one pregnant? Are you serious? How can you cheat on Sawamura? Whenever I read the sports magazines he looks so cheerful and lively. Now you're stuck with this…thing?"
"Thing?" Miyuki parrots incredulously, "Watch your mouth, old man."
"Shut it, Kazuya. You really are your mother's son."
Miyuki's eyes widen.
Without warning, the memories of his childhood assault him in blurry herds. His father's words sink deep into his heart like an arrow with the intent to kill, its sharp head piercing through every vein and blood vessel. It's a pain he's never experienced before. The more he tries to fight it the deeper the arrow sinks, and it's only a matter of seconds until the arrow completes its task, and Miyuki succumbs to his father's trap.
"You are just like your mother," Kazuhiko repeats with enhanced spite. He's gotten under his son's skin, bestowing him the ultimate high needed to tear him apart from limb to limb, "You can't be satisfied. You have caused me so much trouble since you were born. Are you aware of that?
"You were always doing your own thing and I always let it slide. I let you come out as a homosexual and I regret it. I should have beaten it out of you while you were still young. How do you think it made me feel when I walked in on you and that blonde kid? Narumiya, right?
"This is entirely your mother's fault. If she didn't treat you as she did, you might have turned out straight. Look at you, Kazuya. You're a disgrace to my name. No father wants a son who cheats, much less a gay one."
The strings keeping Miyuki's sanity fastened tightly to his chest come undone, then snap.
They disintegrate into the volcano of anger and resentment boiling within him at an alarming rate. He's about to erupt and Furuya is too slow to stop him from knocking his chair back.
"Go to hell!" Miyuki shouts, "Who are you to voice an opinion about my orientation? Beat me? You wanted to beat me for being gay? You didn't have the guts to do it because you knew how morally and humanely wrong it was. What else did you say, that it's Mom's fault I'm this way? You couldn't be any more wrong.
"I'm this way because you sorry excuse of parents never gave me the love and attention I deserved as a child. Mom scarred me with what she did and you were always working. As I grew older I filled in that gap with Mei and Eijun's affection. You have no grounds to talk shit about me, old man.
"You've had your fun, but I promise your words and actions will never manipulate me again. I'll lead my own life, starting with the birth of this child."
'Miyuki-senpai…' Furuya thinks, 'I need to intervene…no. This is his chance to reveal the emotions he's buried for years. Having told no one, having suffered the consequences of a tumultuous household all by himself…it must have been painful.'
"You've even inherited that snarky mouth of hers," Kazuhiko counters, seemingly unaffected by the inner turmoils of his son, "You were both ungrateful for the sacrifices I made so we could live as a family. I'm the one that paid for that little private baseball club you joined when you were younger, I'm the one that feeds you and I'm the one that pays for your education, you unappreciative brat. You need me to survive."
"Feed me? Bullshit," Miyuki spits. He walks over to the picture frame and grabs it. He uses his other hand to pick up his chair so he can sit back down, "I'm the one that cooks in this house. I learned how to survive on my own.
"You never taught me anything valuable in life so I have nothing to be grateful for, not a single thing. It's all in your head. Just like how you don't care about me, I don't care about you. You assholes toyed with my existence…"
He runs his index finger along his mother's dust-stained smile, a smile he's only seen once before it vanished like vapor. It was a pleasant memory that was viciously overridden by corrupt ones.
Ones he will never forget.
"Furuya," Miyuki says, "Let me tell you a story. A story of how everything turned upside-down the day after this photo was taken."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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