[Chapter Header]
ARC: Back Attack Land
(Note: Flashback)
4 YEARS AGO
The room was cold, but the air was thick with tension.
Young Yurezo stood pressed against the corner of the wall, his small frame trembling. He tried to blend into the shadows, his eyes wide as he watched the familiar nightmare unfold.
His parents were fighting. Again.
"When will you stop this job?!" his mother screamed, her voice cracking with desperation. "It only brings us trouble! I can't take this anymore!"
"I'll stop soon," his father replied, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Just give me time."
"Time? That's what you say every day!" She was howling now, tears streaming down her face. "One day we'll wake up with Yakuza blades at our throats! If you don't stop right now... we are finished! I'm leaving you!"
BAM!
His father's fist slammed onto the wooden table, the sound echoing like a gunshot.
"How dare you raise your voice at me, you stupid woman?!"
The sound of the slap was even louder. He struck her so hard her head snapped to the side. "Get out of my sight! Take your cursed son and get out of my house!"
The mother slowly reached up, wiping the blood trickling from her lip. She stared at him, her eyes filled with a mix of horror and hatred.
"What are you looking at?!" the father roared.
He lunged at her. She tried to back away, stumbling over her own feet, but he was faster. Another slap sent her crashing to the floor.
"You think you can tell me what to do? You bitch!"
He didn't stop. He hovered over her, his fists raining down. From the corner, Yurezo watched in frozen shock. He saw the dark silhouette of his father's shadow against the wall, a monster growing larger with every strike.
"I have every right to do what I want! Do you hear me?!"
His mother's screams filled the house, but they were cut short by the sound of wet thuds. Blood splattered across the floorboards.
Finally, the father stood up, breathing heavily. He turned his head slowly, his predatory gaze landing on the boy in the corner.
"Come here, you little brat!" he barked. "I said come out!"
Yurezo's legs felt like lead. He moved toward him slowly, every cell in his body screaming to run.
"Give me the tissues. Fast!"
Yurezo handed them over with shaking hands. His father took them, casually wiping his mother's blood off his knuckles as if it were nothing but spilled water.
Suddenly, a heavy hand clamped around Yurezo's throat. The boy gasped, his feet barely touching the ground.
"Listen to me, you cursed mistake," the father hissed, his face inches away. "You don't even know how to work. You've ruined so many of my deals already."
He delivered a stinging slap across Yurezo's face.
"Open your mouth!"
Yurezo clamped his teeth shut, tears blurring his vision. But his father's grip was like iron; he forced the boy's jaw open. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of blue pills—addictive substances.
He shoved them into Yurezo's mouth.
"Swallow it!"
Choking and in shock, Yurezo was forced to gulp them down.
"Listen well," the father whispered, his voice cold as ice. "A man in a blue hat is waiting for you at the end of the alley. If you mess up this deal, I will tear you to pieces."
With a violent shove, he sent Yurezo stumbling toward the door.
Suddenly, as the father turned his back, the mother lunged.
With a desperate cry, she drove a kitchen knife deep into his back, right where his heart should be. The father froze. The shock on his face was bone-chilling.
"I won't let you use my son anymore!" she screamed, her voice jagged with pain. "He is not a tool for your filthy deals!"
Despite the knife in his back, the man turned. He backhanded her with monstrous strength, the blade still lodged in his flesh. She hit the floor hard.
This time, he didn't just hit her. He lunged on top of her, his hands wrapping around her throat.
On the wall, their shadows danced a macabre dance—one struggling for life, the other squeezing it out. Her screams were muffled into choked gurgles.
"Shut up, you parasite!" he hissed, his face contorted. "Die like the filthy insect you are!"
The scene shifted.
Yurezo was walking toward the end of a dark alley. The rain was falling aggressively now, mixing with the stench of blood and filth that rose from the gutters.
Shadowy figures lingered in the corners. Their eyes followed him, glowing with a predatory hunger.
This is Sinish, Yurezo thought, his heart cold. The side of the city that kills. G17.
As he walked, a muffled scream erupted from a nearby building. "Please! No! I'm sorry!"
CRACK!
A window shattered above him, and a spray of fresh blood painted the glass from the inside. Yurezo didn't even flinch. He just kept walking.
In G17, every day was a cycle of death, violence, and deals. Here, the strong ate the weak. There were no rules, no humanity. People were just tools, and if you weren't useful, you were discarded.
Suddenly, two figures stepped out of the darkness, brandishing rusted knives.
"Oh, look at this one," one of them sneered, licking his lips. "A little one. His organs must be worth a fortune."
"I hope they're fresh," the other added, closing in.
Yurezo stopped. He didn't move. He didn't run. He knew that in these alleys, running only made you a more entertaining prey.
"Oh? You're not going to run?" the first one laughed diabolically.
THUD!
A fist appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the man's face. He dropped to the ground instantly, unconscious. The second attacker froze in shock. Before he could even blink, a blur of movement hit him. He was down before he hit the pavement.
Yurezo watched, wide-eyed.
Here, the strong don't last long, he mused. The predator of today becomes the prey of someone even stronger.
A figure emerged from the shadows, licking blood off his knuckles. It was Yuma.
"You again?" Yuma asked, his voice casual.
"What do you want?" Yurezo snapped. "Get out of my way."
Yuma laughed, a cold, mocking sound. "You look like hell. Your parents at it again? Hahaha! I don't even know how people like you still have parents in this place."
"I don't have time for this! Move!"
Yuma suddenly grabbed him, pinning him against the damp wall. He leaned in close, their faces inches apart.
"You're an interesting kid, Yurezo. I saw you the other day... how your father forced you to fight that brute, and you actually took him down. I know your father only uses you as a bridge for his dealers."
Yuma grinned, a dark glint in his eyes.
"Go back home. Do what you really want. I know you hate him. I know you want to kill him... I saw your notes in your book, haha!"
"Shut up!" Yurezo shoved him away and began to bolt down the alley.
"Run, little blind boy!" Yuma shouted after him, laughing.
Yurezo ran until his lungs burned. No, no! Not this time! If I'm late, he'll kill her! Thoughts of his mother's bleeding face flashed in his mind. He stopped for a split second, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He turned back, looking at Yuma who was still watching him with that twisted grin.
Yurezo's mouth fell open. The realization hit him like a physical blow. He turned and sprinted back toward his house with everything he had.
Inside the house, the silence was more terrifying than the screams.
The father stood over the mother's body. Her face was a mask of blood, her eyes staring at nothing. She didn't move. She was gone.
The father turned his head slowly, his gaze landing on Yurezo. His eyes were cold, empty of any regret.
"What are you looking at?!" he snapped, his voice jagged with irritation.
"Where is my mother?" Yurezo's voice was a broken whisper.
The father looked down at the lifeless body at his feet. "You mean this filthy thing? She's dead. Just a piece of carrion now."
Yurezo froze. In this living hell, his mother was his only sanctuary. She was the one who cared for him, the one who cooked for him, the one who took every blow to shield him. She was his entire world.
"What did you do?!" Yurezo began to wail, a sound of pure agony. "What did you do?! You're a monster! A monster!"
"Shut up!" the father barked, his calm more terrifying than his rage. "Where is the money from the dealers? Hurry up! We need to get this thing out of the house and burn it."
Yurezo's breath hitched. In his mind, he heard his mother's voice, a soft echo from a better time: "In this life, there is good and evil, but death comes suddenly. Live every moment with those you love."
"You took away the only thing I loved," Yurezo choked out.
The father began to laugh, a dry, hollow sound. "Love? Bah! Shut up and do what I—"
BANG! BANG!
Two gunshots cut through the air. Two holes appeared in the father's head. He dropped like a stone, dead before he hit the floor.
Yurezo spun around, paralyzed. Standing there was a man in a blue hat—the dealer. He didn't look at the bodies. He only looked at Yurezo.
"Give me what belongs to me," the man said flatly.
The sight of his father's brains on the floor made Yurezo's stomach flip. He doubled over and vomited. Among the bile, the blue bags of addictive substances fell onto the floor.
The man in the blue hat put on black gloves, picked up the bags, and walked out without a single word.
Yurezo remained on his knees, surrounded by ghosts. His father was dead. His mother was dead. He was alone in the red silence.
Suddenly, Yuma stepped into the room.
"This is G17," Yuma said, his voice eerily steady. "No one cares who lives or dies here. Come on, Yurezo. Let's go. There's nothing left for you here."
"I want my mother!" Yurezo screamed, slamming his forehead against the floorboards. "I want my mother! I want my mother!"
He hit the wood so hard his skin tore. Blood began to trail down his face, mixing with his tears.
Yuma watched him with a clinical, cold expression. "Hurry up and finish your tantrum. The police will be here soon. As always, they show up when everything is already over."
"I want my mother..." Yurezo sobbed, trying to crawl toward her body to hug her one last time.
But Yuma grabbed him by the collar, dragging him back. "Take the only thing you have left of her and let's move!"
Yurezo's eyes blurred, but he saw it—a small necklace around his mother's neck. A silver dolphin.
With trembling hands, Yuma reached down, snapped the chain, and thrust it into Yurezo's palm. He then grabbed the boy's hand and hauled him out of the house, just as the distant wail of police sirens began to fill the night.
Yurezo opened his eyes. The harsh morning light hit his face like a physical blow.
He looked to his right and saw Yuma, who immediately stuck his tongue out at him. "Finally awake, Naku?" Yuma scratched his messy hair and yawned. "Bah, I smell like a corpse. I need a shower. I just hope there's some hot water left."
Yurezo didn't answer. He just stared at the ceiling, the horrific images of the previous night playing on a loop in his mind.
Yuma noticed his thousand-yard stare. "Don't think too much, kid. If you dive into sadness, you'll never swim back out. About your mother... they buried her. The morgue took care of it in a decent place. I made sure the cops handled it."
He let out a short, dry laugh. "Anyway, get up. We have things to do. I'm going to shower, and when I'm out, I want to see you ready. I left some bread and milk on the table."
As the bathroom door clicked shut, Yurezo remained motionless.
All of this... in just one night, he thought. A fresh tear escaped and rolled down his temple.
He looked at his bedside table and saw the necklace. He grabbed the silver dolphin, clutching it against his chest as if it were his mother's hand.
"Mom... where are you?" he whispered into the empty room. "Please... come back."