"I know why you did it." Yuta falls on his knees, defeated. His voice becomes faint as he mumbles again. "You heartless woman, I know now."
Kiris.h.i.+ma Yuki is only six. Though he is smarter than the other children his age, he is not a mind reader. He can"t comprehend why the rabid dog is crying in front of him. All of a sudden, it"s not a four years old boy in front of him. It"s a man.
Widening his eyes, Yuki takes a step back away from the man. The man is sitting against the wall. Cladded in black clothes, the man"s head is tilted to the right. The blood hasn"t been gus.h.i.+ng out of the three holes from his chest at an alarming rate. He looks like he"s sleeping. Yuki"s body moves on its own. He takes a step closer to the man. He cups the man"s cheek with his palm.
In Yuki"s room, Yuta looks up when someone cups his face. The woman smiles at him. The same d.a.m.n smile. He asks her with a weak voice, "Was it worth it?"
The light in her eyes is hypnotizing. She doesn"t reply to him. Instead, she leans closer.
Yuki isn"t able to stop himself. He kisses that man"s cold lips. The scent of blood infiltrates his nose. What is he doing? He is confused beyond words. Then, someone pushes him away. His back hits the table. He looks at the boy in front of him. What just happened?
The boy wipes his lips in disgust. "Kiris.h.i.+ma Yuki, I only have hate and disgust for you. Remember that you owe me. Your body, soul, and heart belong to me. You aren"t allowed to die until I command you to die. You better not forget that. If you do something like this again, I will cut off those lips by myself."
He blinks his eyes. Is he going crazy? Who did he kiss? The rabid dog suddenly became a dead man. The dead man became the rabid dog. Something explodes in the back of his head. The pain is unbearable. He grasps the back of his head. His vision turns blurry.
Yuta frowns when he sees her gasping in pain. Did she get hurt when he pushed her? He walks towards her and pulls her hands away from her head. "Where are you hurt? Let me see."
"Why do you care?" Yuki snaps at him. "Get away from me."
"I told you that your body belongs to me." Yuta snaps back. He lowers his voice when he sees her tears. "You can"t get hurt without my permission."
"I am not your slave." Yuki glares at the rabid dog. The boy"s face becomes dead man"s face again. With a flick, the rabid dog becomes the rabid dog again. Why does he keep seeing two people? Is something wrong with his eyes?
While poor Yuki is confused whether he has gone mad, Yuta checks the back of her head. He digs his fingers in her soft honey-blonder hair and rubs on her scalp to see if there"s a b.u.mp. He is relieved to see that there"s nothing wrong. Then, he realizes it. He pushes her away again. "There"s nothing wrong with you. Were you acting again? You are the same."
"I am not acting. It was hurting a while ago." Yuki rubs the back of his head. Did he hit his head when his mother was punis.h.i.+ng him? He has to lie then. "Maybe I ate something wrong."
"If you eat something wrong, your stomach should be hurting." Yuta crosses his arms. Are all six years old this dumb? He can"t believe that this child grew up to kill him. "Do you even use your brain?"
"My IQ is more than 200. I have a certificate." Yuki seethes in rage. Why is this rabid dog always chastising him?
"Someone with an IQ of more than 200 would come up with a better excuse." Yuta clicks his tongue. If she had an IQ of 200, she wouldn"t be insane enough to do what she did. At least, he knows that she didn"t kill him because of Maddox. Still, he can"t rule out the possibility of Maddox being her father. "You, tell me who your father is."
"Why should I tell you?" Yuki, still rubbing his head as he stands up and places the violin back in the case. He locks the case and sighs. "Why did you come to my room?"
He can guess that the rabid dog came from the window. That"s how Yuki sneaks out of the room when his mother is busy with other stuff.
"I came to see you," Yuta observes her posture. Her back is straight. Even as a child, her actions are careful and elegant. "Who tried to choke you?"
Yuki touches his neck. It doesn"t hurt much now. "It"s none of your business."
"How is it not my business?" Yuta scoffs at her. "Get this into your head. Your body, soul, and heart belong to me. Only me. No one else is allowed to hurt you. If someone hurts you, you should fight back or tell me. I will take care of it."
If Yuki hasn"t been feeling tired and hurt, he would have kicked the rabid dog"s mouth. Since the day they met, he"s been talking nonsense to her. Sometimes, he calls him a girl. Other times, he calls him as if he was something that belongs to him. "Hey, Rabid Dog, are you really crazy? Slavery is illegal in J-Country. I don"t remember owing you anything. We met each other for the first time yesterday. Also, I haven"t taken any loan. Why would I owe you? Stop trying to scam me."
"Scam?" Yuta laughs. "We will discuss that when you grow up. Tell me now. Who did that to you?"
"I did it to myself." Yuki shrugs. He looks back at the door when he hears the sound of footsteps. Did she wake up? He pushes Yuta under the bed. "Hide or both of us will die."
"What?" Yuta looks at her.
Yuki pulls the blanket to cover him and warns him, "Stay quiet. If you let out a single sound, I will kill you."
Even at the age of six, she"s already threatening him with death. Yuta snorts. She had killed him once already. Nevertheless, he remains quiet. The door opens and Yuki"s grandfather steps into the room.