Shark

15

Isamu looked at the letter in Atsuo's hand, then at Atsuo, then back at the letter.

"...what's that?" He asked.

"It's a letter Boss wrote." Atsuo replied, "I haven't read it yet, but it's supposed to be proof that-"

Suddenly, Isamu snatched the letter out of his hand.

"Give me that." He snapped.

He unfolded the letter and started looking over it, skimming the faded handwriting.

"Read it out loud." Atsuo said.

Isamu rolled his eyes and started reading,

January 8th, 1992

I'm writing this letter in case anything happens to me. I've been in some trouble with the other gangs around here. I don't think they like me very much. But that's not the point. I'm writing this to get this off my chest so I can continue to live without the burden of it. My first son is eleven now, and my second is six, but I dropped him off at an orphanage. I didn't want to, but I did, because I didn't see the potential in him like I did in my oldest. He doesn't even know me, and neither does my oldest. He thinks I'm just a friendly stranger who's taking care of him. I don't know when he'll figure this out, or if he ever will.

I want my son, Isamu, to be strong. I have big plans for him in the future. I wish I could say the same for Atsuo, the scared little kid at the orphanage who thinks I'm dead. He could've been great, but it just wasn't meant to be. I just wish they could've grown up as brothers.

Signed,

Takeshi Himitsu

Isamu stared at the letter, distraught. Atsuo looked at him, waiting for him to react.

"...no." Isamu said, looking at Atsuo, "Y-you can't be my brother."

Atsuo took a deep breath.

"Well, I had my doubts too." He said, "But there it is, written on paper."

Isamu furrowed his eyebrows, gripping the paper tightly. Suddenly, he threw down the paper and grabbed Atsuo by the collar.

"Did you really think this would change anything?!" He yelled, "You think I'd surrender because of a piece of paper?!"

Without thinking, Atsuo punched Isamu across the face. Isamu let go of him and stumbled backwards, holding his nose. Isamu looked at his hand, blood running from his nose.

"I didn't say I was making you surrender." Atsuo said.

Suddenly, a sound came from the main area. Isamu looked up, his nose bleeding. He and Atsuo heard yelling from inside the office.

"Put your hands behind your back!!" A man shouted.

Isamu looked at Atsuo. 

"...you led them here..." He said, quietly but ragefully, "...YOU BACKSTABBING TRAITOR!!!"

He charged at Atsuo and swung his fist, hitting him on his face. Atsuo recovered quickly, swallowing the coppery taste in his mouth, and grabbed Isamu, pushing him into the wall. As Isamu's back hit the wall, he punched Atsuo several times.

"I'll kill you right here!!" He screamed.

When Atsuo finally dodged his fist, he kicked Isamu in the stomach, pushing himself away from him. But Isamu charged at him again, holding his neck in his hands, punching him over and over again. Then he slammed Atsuo to the floor. Atsuo spit out the blood pooling in his mouth onto the concrete floor. He weakly looked up at Isamu, who was unlocking the door. Isamu looked back at him. When their eyes met, Atsuo glared at him from the floor.

"...so this is how you repay me?" He said between heavy breaths, "...I'm ashamed to have you as a brother."

Isamu looked down at him for a moment, his eyes holding a certain indecisiveness, then he opened the door and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Atsuo let his head rest on the floor, staring straight ahead. He let out a defeated sigh. Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded from outside the office. Atsuo shot up, seeing the walls starting to crumble. Then, another explosion shook the walls again. Atsuo heard loud crumbling sounds, then the ceiling of the office started falling around him. He scrambled to stand up, but soon found himself cornered by debris.

"...n-no!!" He cried out, "NO!!"

Then, the rubble encircled him, trapping him in the office. He coughed from the dust kicked up in the air.

"...someone..." He said, weakly, "...someone...help...please..."

Then, the world around him went black and the crumbling sounds faded out as he fell unconscious.