Chapter 4 "Father and Son"

Chapter 4
Father and Son

The annoying white ceiling is the first thing that Katuo wakes up to. He groans at the sudden pain in his entire body.

“Katuo, are you awake yet?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Tezuka?” Katuo hisses in pain again. It feels like his whole body had hit the car – oh wait, he remembers that he did.

Tezuka takes the last sip of his favorite coffee and then puts his mug on a small table next to him. He is sitting on his chair and crosses his legs in the formal way. “Good, the doctor said that you would wake up today.”

“How was that stupid dragon?” Katuo glances at his idiot father.

Tezuka shrugs his shoulders, making his son roll his dark green eyes.

“How long was I out?”

“Three days,” Tezuka says. “Three broken ribs and one broken leg. You’re lucky that you were wearing the helmet when it happened… or else you would be having concessions for sure. Your skin on your stomach and leg was ripped off, but it’s already healed. You’re sure a fast healer though.”

“Whatever. I don’t need you here telling me what I broke.” Katuo looks away from the Earth President. “I will be more than happy if you leave the room now, Tezuka.”

“Not yet.” Tezuka crosses his arms and gives him a serious stare. “Not until you answer my questions first.”

Katuo scoffs, just like any normal teenager would whenever a parent wants to have a serious talk. “Fine. As long as you leave after I answer your questions.”

“Why did you save that baby dragon?” Tezuka leans forward a little. “First, you didn’t care about the oil spill in the north near Canada. Then, that dangerous tiger escaped in Africa. And, terrorist attack in Philadelphia. Heck, there are so many crimes right in front of you here. Robbery, murder, and so. So, why did you save such a tiny animal?”

Katuo does not answer him for two minutes. Fortunately for him, Tezuka is a very patient man. Finally, the son of the President answers, “How should I know? I just… decided to save it on my own.”

Tezuka chuckles softly. The atmosphere in the room returns to a cheerful mood once again. “Is it because the dragons are almost extinct?”

“Do I look like I care?” Katuo stretches out his arms, groaning at a little pain in his rib area.

Tezuka shakes his head, smiling  brightly. “I guess not. So, did anything strange happen before the accident?”

“Well, Ketsu acted strange, but then it was his mental illness that made him act like that…” the green-eyed teenager yawns sleepily.

“I see. What else?”

“Why are you asking me?” Katuo snaps after he remembers the strange little boy back when he and Siko found the baby dragon. It may be just his imagination though. There is no need to tell his father about it. “I am not a child!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Tezuka smiles at him and picks up the glass of water from the table. “Here. Have some water.”

Suddenly, Katuo feels very thirsty. “Sure, thanks.”

Just as he starts drinking water, Tezuka decides to ask him the question, “So, do you like Siko more than just a friend?”

Such a question is enough to make Katuo spit out water without meaning to. “What the hell, Tezuka?! What kind of question was that?!”

Tezuka gives him a sly smirk. “Aha! So, you do like him after all! You don’t need to be embarrassed! I am your father and I am here to give you advice!”

“Fuck you! Just get out!” Katuo yells, his face completely red.

“Fine. I am just assuming that your recent reaction answered my question anyway,” the lavender-haired man gets up from his chair and picks up his mug. “Well, I’m leaving. I will let others know that you are awake. Feel better soon, so you can get back to school soon!”

“Whatever. Just get out of my sight, you bastard!” Katuo crosses his arms and scowls.

Tezuka fixes his black suit a little bit before he leaves Katuo’s room. He spots a nurse passing through the hallway. “Excuse me, ma’am? I am done with my coffee, so do you mind if you take it with you?”

The nurse smiles brightly at him. “Sure, anything for you, Mr. President!” After Tezuka hands over the mug, she waves her hand. “I hope I will see you soon!”

Tezuka smiles back and waves his hand as well. Then, he makes his way to a nearby men’s bathroom. When he makes sure that no one is in there, he turns to the mirror above the sink.

“Shit…” He has a strong urge to break the mirror, but like any gentleman, he does not. He just grips the sink hard instead. This is too early for my son to start falling in love! Isn’t it supposed to only happen when he turns 18? Why now?

“Tezuka? Are you in here? Oh, there you are!” Ryu opens the door to find Tezuka. “Um, what’s the matter?”

“Ryu,” Tezuka says quietly. “Please tell me that Siko is not still in love yet.”

Ryu widens his eyes. “W-what do you mean? Of course not… at least, not yet! Don’t you remember what He told us? It will only happen when they turn eighteen. They are still sixteen years old, so it is not the time yet.”

“Good." Tezuka straightens his pose as he adjusts his formal suit. He smiles cheerfully at Ryu. “I asked Katuo this question because I noticed that he started acting strangely around Siko. I guess he is just developing a little crush a little earlier than I expected.”

“Crush, eh?”

Tezuka and Ryu freeze at the voice after they come out of the bathroom. They glance at the certain person who is at the side of the bathroom door. Shit, He must have heard the whole thing.

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“What’s wrong with your father?” Siko blinks innocently. “He looked upset. My father ran after him.”

Katuo looks away from his best friend. So, he must hate me just because I like a guy, huh?

“Who cares?” the black-haired teenager shrugs his shoulders. “How’s the baby dragon? The bastard wouldn’t answer the question about it.”

“Oh! The dragon is fine!” Siko exclaims. “He must be really grateful that you saved his life! He is at the vet right now. I decided to name him Gus because his cute red eyes remind me of one of the ancient stories about a hero who appeared on Earth and stopped an evil doer from destroying the planet!”

“Gus, eh? Lame." Katuo scoffs.

Siko pouts cutely at him. “Not only is your father a bastard, you are too!”

“You are such a moron for naming such a weak dragon with a heroic, yet lame name! How about that?” Katuo crosses his arms. He blinks in confusion when he does not hear any response from his friend. “Siko?”

Siko gets up from the chair quickly with a frown on his face. “Katuo, stop it. I’m sick of taking every one of your insults. Can’t you be just nice once in a while?”

“Hn." Katuo scowls. “Why should I be any nicer?”

“You –“ Siko starts, but he suddenly gets pushed onto Katuo by the lavender-haired President.

“Whoops!” Tezuka laughs nervously, still being on the top of Siko, who is still on his son. “My bad. Ryu got angry with me over a silly thing and chased me into your room.”

“Tezuka!” Ryu yells, as he enters the room. “Bastard! How dare you spoil our secret?!”

“Uh, secret?” Siko asks.

“Nothing!” Tezuka snickers and gets off Siko and Katuo. “Sorry, Siko, for crushing onto you like that!”

“Hehe, that’s okay,” Siko laughs lightly.

Unlike Siko, Katuo is completely speechless, and his face is very red like a tomato. He has never been this CLOSE to his best friend. Sure, they had hugged before, but… but… not when his face is close to Siko’s!

“K-Katuo! You’re bleeding!” Siko cries and gets off his best friend quickly. “I’m so sorry!”

Blood starts filling up Katuo’s mouth. Then, he feels an intense pain inside his stomach… It's like something is stabbing into one of his organs. Wait a minute, it is one of his broken ribs that is poking one of his organs!

“Nah, he’s fine!” Tezuka takes a sip of coffee, which comes from nowhere. “He is my son, after all!” He nods his head after saying that with such confidence in his voice.

“No, you idiot! You were in the military, not him!” Ryu whacks Tezuka in the head.

“Hiya, guys! I’m here to check Katuo’s vitals –“ a female doctor comes into the room and stops when she spots a certain visitor. The President is here. Wait - her patient is bleeding to death. But, the President is also here – Oh wait.

“Mr. President!” The doctor bows her head quickly and then makes her way to her patient.

“Oh, hello! You are here to check on his progress, eh, Dr. Sigma?” Tezuka smiles brightly at her.

“Y-yes, Mr. Pres – ahh!” Dr. Sigma bumps into the table with sharp tools, which are being thrown into the air.

Katuo just lays there frozen, as the scalpels come falling toward him. Lucky for him, the tools just barely miss him by an inch.

“My bad! Heheh!” Dr. Sigma laughs nervously.

“You’re such a klutz!” Tezuka laughs heartily. “It’s no wonder that your first name is Klutz!”

“Dr. K…Klutz Sigma?” Siko blinks at the clumsy doctor and takes a good look at her. Pink hair in the bun and pink eyes. She is wearing small square glasses.

Dr. Sigma bows her head. “I am the Kejinto’s family doctor. I used to treat you too, Siko-kun. Hope you remember me!”

“R-really?” Siko blushes lightly at Dr. Sigma’s sweet smile.

“You… you… don’t remember me?” Klutz goes to the corner and sits there with dramatic mushrooms growing on her back somehow. “Boohoohoo!”

“O-of course I do remember you!” Siko laughs nervously, sweatdropping at the doctor.

“Well, well.” Dr. Sigma recovers quickly and goes to check on Katuo. “Oh my. It looks like your broken rib is stabbing something inside, eh? Let me fix it for you!”

“No!” Katuo surprises himself because he has been trying to tell people in the room that he is bleeding to death, for pete’s sake!

“You will be fine!” The female doctor says cheerfully, as she puts on her gloves. She picks up one of the scalpels.

“Um. Aren’t you supposed to give him sedations first?” Tezuka smiles cheerfully.

“Oh!” Too late. Dr. Sigma has already started cutting Katuo’s chest. “My bad! Heheh!”

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“I’m going to visit Gus while Katuo’s ribs are getting fixed.” Siko waves his hand at Tezuka and Ryu before he leaves.

“Well, mission accomplished. That’s what you wanted, right?” Tezuka turns to the same person from when they were being eavesdropped in the bathroom.

“Just seeing Katuo’s reaction to Siko is more than good enough.”

Ryu glances at Tezuka with a sad face. “Then, it’s true…”

“Don’t say too much. There are people here.”

“What do we do?” Tezuka asks. “Do you want us to slow them down or…?”

“No. Actually, let’s do the opposite way.” An ominous chuckle echoes throughout the room.

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One week later

Katuo is angry. It is not his usual anger. He is really, really, angry that he is gripping his cup so hard that he almost breaks it.

Tezuka smiles cheerfully at his son and drinks his coffee.

Yesterday, Katuo was released from the hospital. He is now resting at home.

And, Tezuka has been staying with him ever since they got back home. He has been feeding him, bathing him, and telling stories to get him to sleep.

“I’m not a fucking baby!” Katuo roars and throws his cup of water at Tezuka, but the President dodges it easily. Goddammit, his father wouldn’t dodge that easily if he weren’t in the military a long time ago.

“It’s your fault that you did the dangerous thing.” Tezuka sits back down on the chair. “Your ribs are not fully recovered yet… although, you sure recover fast. You were supposed to stay at the hospital for at least one month… Well, you are my son, after all!”

“Fuck you! I’m really ashamed to be your son!” Katuo yells.

Tezuka chuckles softly. “You’re still saying that? What happened to the sweet boy you used to be?”

“You fucking left me in the woods with wild predators that were hungering for me!” Katuo screeches at his father.

“Oh, that’s right!” Tezuka thumps his fist on his other palm lightly. “We forgot you back when we went camping, right?”

“No you didn’t! We came on the helicopter, and you dropped me off there!” Katuo has this very, very, strong urge to punch his father in the pretty face.

“Oh, I did?” Tezuka says cheerfully. “Then, you should be grateful to your father that you are still alive today.”

“Argh!” Katuo is pulling his own hair. “You can’t be serious!”

Tezuka takes another sip of coffee. “I have to be honest, though. The Kejinto family is not like your standard family. Your grandfather was also in the military and was quite famous. He could take any hit – from atomic bomb to bullets, and managed to survive every single time. And, your great-grandfather was rumored to be one of the Breakers. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

“Hn, Breaker, eh?” Katuo crosses his arms. “It’s just a myth. Wasn’t he a drunk who left his pregnant wife?”

Tezuka smiles cheerfully at his son. “It may be true… but I always believed that being Kejinto is unique.”

“Is it really time that we should be talking about the past?” Katuo crosses his arms. “What happened to your famous motto ‘Don’t look back and move on?’”

“That’s true…” Tezuka says quietly, frowning in his own deep thoughts.

Katuo notices such sorrow in Tezuka’s warm blue eyes, but it goes away quickly.

“Well, then! It’s time for lunch! I’m calling for the maid!” Tezuka exclaims.

“No, no, let me go downstairs and make myself –“ Just as Katuo gets up, he trips over his bratty sister’s doll.

“Katuo!” Tezuka shouts.

A loud crash attracts the maids and butlers to Katuo’s room. When they take a peek inside, they all drop their jaws to the ground at such sight.

Katuo has his face slammed on the ground. Tezuka cannot help but laugh so hard.

Mr. President is laughing?! Has the world ended? The butlers and maids all have the same thoughts.