God Complex - Vol. 1

XII. Duplicity-Part II.

Jun felt like he was going to cry and he held them in with all of his might as he ran through the grand halls.

He dashed through various halls before he opened the door to the embroidery room of their grand house.

He saw his mother stitching her embroidery in the candle light as the moonlight shone through the large window behind her.

She looked up at him as she stopped her embroidery. Jun closed the door behind him as he walked in front of her.

"It's a little early for you to be back from your training, what happened my sai waji[1]?"

"Don-"—Jun started as he tried to not cry but to no avail—"Don't call me that! I'm not your sai waji..." He sobbed as he wiped the tears away with the long sleeves of his robe.

His mother put her embroidery down on the side table as she stood up. "Sai waji...why do you say that?"

She cupped Jun's face with her hands as she looked at him with sadness in her eyes. Jun slapped his mother's hands away. Tears continued to stream down his face, even faster somehow.

"I said I'm not your sai waji!" Jun was practically shouting at his mother at this point. "I'm just a failure! I will never do anything right! I'll just disappoint you and father..." Jun sniffled as he looked down at his feet.

His mother brushed a piece of hair away from his face which caused him to look up at her. Jun felt as her thumb caressed his cheek to wipe the tears away.

"Sai waji...my forever precious tuzi[2]." Jun watched as her lips pressed together into a sad, thin line. "You'll never disappoint us or anybody. You're so talented with a good heart."

"But father told me how I wasn't his son th-"—Jun choked up—"that I'm someone else's son. That I'm you and-" Before Jun could finish his explanation his mother cut him off.

"You're father is under a lot of stress right now, sai waji...He loves you very much but..." his mother did a deep sigh, "he hears and sees things that me and you don't. It bothers him and he knows they aren't real. But at times they feel all too real."

"But-"

"Shhh," she said as she put her soft finger on Jun's lips, "don't fret. He would never want to hurt you. And it'll tear him up to see you like this."

Jun put a hand to his left cheek which screamed as he touched it.

"He does?" Jun's voice was filled with hope, but doubt still lingered in it. His mother gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Yes, tuzi, and you'll make all of us proud next year." She pulled Jun into a tight embrace. Jun clutched his mother's shoulders as he cried into her.

She gently rocked side to side which caused him to start to calm down. He loved both of his parents deeply.

But he still could see his father yelling at him and the flash of the back of his cold hands.

————

Jun felt as Misaki soon began to rock back and forth which caused him to start to calm down.

The memories of his mother started to flood his brain as he calmed down which caused him to squeeze Misaki tighter.

"Don't worry sai bān," Misaki said as she began to gently rub his back in soft, short circles, "I know how you feel. To lose a loved one is painful, especially at the hands of another. But the gods will never let evil prevail."

Jun sniffled, nodding his head while still in her shoulder.

But he still felt guilty as Misaki had never lied to him, she even told a story as personal as she did, while he still lied to her. And when they first met each other as well. He had lied on the real reason why he was going to Perenykisk.