Work Text:
xx April 19xx
Genya's life has always been black and white ever since he was young,maybe a little grey,he just understood that some people were bad,some people were good,but everybody had a reason,if they didn’t-maybe then thats when he saw a truly bad person
For example-kyogo his dad,Genya saw him as a bad person for hitting mama and hurting the rest to the point they cried until their eyes and throats hurt,if he was a good person-then his siblings would’ve been laughing instead of crying everyday,maybe nemi would have been happy and acting his age-instead of working until his hands were rough
But Genya knew that nobody was born evil,maybe something happened to kyogo that made him like that-or maybe it was that damn alcohol addiction that ruined him
Genya knew addiction was bad ,he heard about it and technically grew up surrounded by it,grown men in the alleyway who always visited the brothels even though they’re in dirt condition,old ladies who drank their youth and sorrows away at the pub,and the young boys smoking with no care to stop(like they had a chance anyway)
young girls who ate too much medicine out of self hatred,he didn’t fully understand the word meaning but he knew how harmful it was "mama has addiction,papa has addiction-will I have addiction when I grow up"genya has always asked himself everyday
He knew that he isn’t a angel,he knew it ever since he saw the sanemi beat up the neighborhood boys as he watched quietly without interference
It was a average day for Genya except this time he was allowed to go with sanemi to the town center shops-the town they lived in were the slums-most people confused their town with a village and Genya honestly could understand it
Genya was happy and excited,it was a emotion sanemi always caused,Genya liked being useful-if he was useful,nemi would be relaxed and happy
*Sanemi had left him beside one of the stalls,he said he'll be back after a few minutes because he had to do "big boy work",Genya wasn’t as naive and stupid as people assumed him to be,he knew what the "big boy work" is,it’s just beating up people up for money and rent
Sanemi had always been good at fighting-Genya knew that,but it always made him wonder-was sanemi considered a kyogo to other adults and boys "what no!,nemi does things for a reason,if you whine about it then you need to man up!"Genya always defended when somebody dared to bitch or talk shit about nemi*
He never saw sanemi so angry until one of the neighborhood boys slapped Genya and pushed him on the ground-it was evening and most men were either in brothels or pubs,or the good ones(which was rare)would be at home playing with their children,loving their wife (unlike his dad kyogo,who’s only fucking purpose is to ruin people’s lives)
Women usually avoided going out in the evening unless they are alongside a man or a are old washed up hazbin that nobody really cared for,but poor Genya wasn’t any of these things,so of course he’d get targeted,it’s not like anybody tried to defend him other than nemi
He knew he looked good,nemi and mama would always call him cute but other boys didn’t,the way they looked at him made him feel sick and wrong-like he was a undressed prey for free,kyogo used to look at him like that-but mama always tried to take him away and gave him to nemi,but Genya didn’t complain,didn’t question on why kyogo disappeared or why nemi came home with blood that wasn’t his on his clothes
He liked being beside nemi,he never once mentioned how mama was too late,and after the family died nobody protected him from the monsters not even nemi
*"Oh look what we have here"one of the neighborhood boys-the one who pushed him down had taunted,the boy was one of the local fishermen's son,Kenji was the boy's name if Genya's memory was right
"What do you want"Genya huffed and tried to stand up only to he pushed down again-this time rougher
"Oh y'know what we want,hand it over pretty boy"Genya was no fool,he knew what most people if not everybody wanted in life-it was money,people believed that money would solve all their problems,their hunger would be gone,their exhaustion would be gone,everything they didn’t like-rich people were the luckiest,if only they were as nice as their luck
But it was technically useless,money is starting to stop coming in from the guards,apparently a new currency was in the making but the adults were still protesting since they couldn’t get paid anymore
"I don’t have money"Genya said softly-his legs hurt from the rocky ground,he'd always been weak-second weakest in the family behind his poor weak mother shizu,he and koto shared a rank but to be fair-koto was a infant,barely 2 years old
"Can’t trust you now can I"another boy approached-he seemed well born and older-probably nemi's age-the son of the local brothel owner,Genya never liked brothels
"it’s a place full of bad people"nemi had said when Genya first asked about the medium size building that smelled like fancy Saké,heavy perfume with a hint of cigarette,full of weirdly dressed people,drunk men and half dressed pretty ladies *
*"Your useless,but at least you have your looks-should’ve sold you to a brothel earlier"kyogo had said back when Genya was younger,he'd always talk about how pretty Genya looked
"you look like your mother before she became bitchy-unlike you,look at you-so defenseless and weak,if only you weren’t so close to that bastard "Nemi"of yours"*was a usual taunt kyogo says before or while hitting him with the saké bottle smashing it all over him
it was true,Genya was always quiet and submissive-it worried mama,it made sanemi smile and pat,it made kyogo fucking horny
*"Leave me alone what do you want"Genya was backing away a bit-or at least he attempted to but one of the boys-the damn "boss"of those pathetic thugs-isamu was his name-had sat over him,straddling his hips*
Genya has done this many times-he's used to these situations where men overpowered him and tried to touch him in ways they shouldn’t-most of the times nemi beat them up before they could do anything more-but it still scared Genya
*"Gee your pretty,like reallly pretty y'know that"isamu coed as he put a hair behind Genya’s ear,even the other boys were slowly getting uncomfortable too-slowly backing away
Isamu was getting too close for Genya's liking now-and Genya like a sensitive baby brother would do-started wailing as he tried and failed to push isamu off
It was mere seconds before a crack and splash was heard-Genya opened his eyes and saw sanemi's bloody fists rising up and down each punch breaking or shattering one of isamu's bones
Genya couldn’t help but feel..awed..he knew it was wrong because some boy was getting beaten half to death but at the same time isamu deserved it-he was being a pervert he didn’t care when Genya started crying so why would Genya care when isamu cried*
Genya believed sanemi was a good person,everything nemi did must be for a good reason-he killed mama to protect him,he killed kyogo,because kyogo was bad
he stabbed men because he believed that they were a bad and filthy,he tried to abandon you for being a annoying shitty brother,how useless do you have to be?,everything nemi did was for a good reason,Nemi never did no wrong
*"anytime you feel scared just yell for me,nemi will always protect you!"Nemi had promised him back when they were kids,but that promise was broken the second Genya called him a murderer
Genya had passed out shortly after the whole incident-only to find nemi was gone and a small blanket all over him,of course nemi still cared to cover him from the cold,Genya felt like a selfish brat,after all this time he blamed sanemi for trying to protect him even though sanemi was a kid himself-one that always babied him and never got babied
"I should’ve fucking died that night,maybe then sanemi would’ve lived happily"was a thought always ringing in Genya’s head
Of course after the incident Genya was blamed for the family’s murder,since sanemi was no where to be found and no one to defend him,he was sold to some big man-Genya didn’t know what will happen or why the man tied his waist to a rope,but soon he was dragged off into the slums of the village-worse than where he lived
the poor boy was about to be sentenced to death by fire but when the villagers were tying his legs to the wood as Genya pleaded and tried to convince them a person had appeared
A man wearing a silk haori over a stylish kimono-the man was clearly rich and well working,he seemed to be 25 years old but was still handsome man-Genya watched as women squealed and men moved out of the way
The man was approaching the town's chosen mayor-a bastard perfectionist with a smile on his face but Genya knew how to read people-it had been a talent of his,he could see through mama’s lies when she says she’s okay and not tired,he saw through sanemi's true side of violence when he tried to keep it hidden,Genya realized from a young age that people liked to lie
he wasn’t immune to it too,Genya believed he was the biggest liar,he lied to make people happy,he lied to avoid angering people,he lied to make things stop-he surely was the biggest liar of life
"My,my,what is happening here?"the man said with a fake smile on his face,causing the town mayor to back away in distaste though Genya could see the small hint of awe in the village head’s body
the awe that comes from seeing a clearly rich man,people have always been greedy-that’s why they didn’t bat an eye to help Genya,after all..he was a filthy orphan with a filthy father and no money,you could see it in his looks
"You look just like your father"were words Genya was used to-first he used to wail and run to sanemi when people compared him,but then he got used to it,he kept silent,never shown much weakness to useless comments-especially if sanemi wasn’t around to protect him
"We're just punishing a criminal sir"the town mayor answered causing the man to look at Genya with pity(clearly fake)
"Oh dear,aren’t you quite young to be a criminal"the man dared to say in fake sadness "rich people are assholes"nemi used to always say and now Genya knew exactly why-god,fake snobs pissed him off
Genya stayed silent,he knew he didn’t have the right to speak yet-he didn’t react when a whip slashed him in that moment "Oi!have some respect and respond when your spoken to,you useless ungrateful brat"one of the town officers scolded roughly-giving him a second whip for emphasis-earning a muffled whine that Genya tried to keep in
"There’s no need for that sir,whatever crimes this kid committed-I’ll pay for it"the man threw a pouch full of gold coins in front of the town mayor,watching the neighborhood people gasp and come closer-only to be shooed away by the town mayor who greedily picked up the money,practically drooling he said "take the bitch,do whatever you want for him"as he rushed back to his home in excitement
Now Genya didn’t know what to feel,he's relieved that he wasn’t burnt to death but he could feel the malicious intent inside the man,and Genya couldn’t help but fear for the worst
_______________________________________________________________
The first few days at the man now known as ()seemed nice,Genya was well fed,the man gave him pretty clothes,and even introduced him out to his boss ,a nice pretty man with blonde hair and colorful eyes Genya could only imagine in fairytales,Genya could even assume the man was a Yokai with how unusual and unique he looked
But soon Genya realized that the blonde man was named Douma,a kind man who took care of the sick and in need,Genya started to think this man was actually great
He wondered what would happen if he met Douma earlier-would the man be able to help his family back when they were alive..maybe?
The man had even taken him into a small guarded headquarters like-place since he was apparently the leader there which meant he owned everything ,which was understandable,the man looked rich-which Genya could tell due to the man’s nice and many belongings,his place looked like a mansion
What Genya couldn’t understand is why the everybody seemed a bit scared of the man-women grabbed their whiny kids and shut them up when they saw the man,young girls scooted away as far as they possibly could-but the men?they welcomed him with saké and compliments as fake as plastic,it was clear the man was known for his money and power -it was easy to see with his position and wealth,they treated the man like a god
It was a nice Wednesday night,Genya got used to his job around the mansion-although the man was a so called leader he didn’t have servants,which meant everybody had to do their own work and form into clubs
Some took care of the medical field,some cooked the food,some cleaned around while some babysit,but the most dangerous job was the hunting
the hunter groups were divided into two-20 members each,one hunted for food and one looked for new areas and protected the place
"Sanemi would’ve been a good hunter"Genya said to himself internally-oh how he missed sanemi,it’s been a few months since they separated but it already felt like a year,they were always together everyday,the maximum they were separated was a few hours when sanemi went to work
It must’ve been easy for sanemi-after all he survived five years without Genya,he could survive more-but Genya couldn’t,the first person he saw when he was born was sanemi,the person who saw him take his first steps was sanemi,the first word that came out of Genya's mouth was sanemi's nickname "Nemi"which Genya would mumble on his sleep sometimes,Genya knew one thing-that he can’t survive without sanemi forever.
There had been many disappearances,Genya assumed it was because of the mansion being located in the forest which causes the hunters to get lost and sometimes killed,but soon found out that its not only hunters disappearing
The hunters were used to scarier places and even mountains -when Genya asked about it the hunter club leader had simply told him that he needs to mind his own business and not ask a bunch of strangers personal questions
but luckily there was a lady willing to give him a answer-all what Genya needed to do is meet her in her personal quarters and not tell anybody
Genya was heading to the location mentioned in the note,it was dark but luckily Genya had the ability to walk quietly-something he picked up due to kyogo being angry so much
"Room group 3,room group 3,room group…3"Genya managed to find it finally-creeping in quietly as he approached the bedroom labeled with the name of the lady who was in the letter alongside her roommate
The mansion was a pretty big place but easy to get around when you know the numbers,thanks to Genya being taught by the adults around
thankfully nemi taught him basic stuff when they were younger so Genya only knew to count to 30 but with the education the older man taught him-he advanced and became smart but still a bit slow in math-which he soon disliked but was glad to not have to use much of it
There were 75 people living in the mansion-76 if you included lord Douma,there were 5 room groups which were divided into 3 mini houses,each room group contained 15 people,five children,five women and five men
Genya quietly opened the door that he was sure belonged to the lady and crept in,the room looked decent,with a bed,a dresser,a closet and a bathroom,the other side was the same-before he could dwell on the design more,he was interrupted by noticing the presence of the lady
She had oak brown colored hair and soft herb green eyes-she was definitely a mother,she had that aura around her,soft and warm yet strict at the same time-but it was mixed with sadness,the same sadness Genya saw in his mother when kyogo died
Genya never understood why his mother mourned their father,even after all the beating and tears he gave instead of money of love,but he knew that feeling of loving someone you used to know-he knew that his mom fell in love with the nice,loving kyogo-not the abusive asshole one
"Hello dear,thank you for coming"the lady said softly,she seemed to be in her late 30's,her face looked tired and it seemed she was crying earlier,she definitely lost someone beloved
"Hi there miss,I heard that you knew more about the disappearances"Genya said softly noticing the woman’s hint of surprise that faded into her normal expression quickly
"Yeah that’s me sweetheart,but I was told you were a young boy not a sweet little girl"the woman said in surprise which caused Genya to look dumbfounded,did he really look like a girl?..
Well to be fair his hair did get longer and he got skinnier and shorter,he was also wearing one of his mom’s old kimonos-only because it was thicker than his Yakuta and closest to his size,it also made Genya feel pretty….
"Did I say something wrong dear?"the lady's concerned voice snapped him out of his blabber of thoughts
He slowly shook his head no and responded"no it’s okay,it’s just that I’m actually a boy"Genya corrected in a raspy more manly tone but he also couldn’t help that his voice was naturally high pitched
The woman looked surprised again,blinking for a few moments and trying to process Genya's words-it was a few minutes when she replied "oh but your voice is high pitched and your wearing a female’s kimono-oh dear don’t tell me your young self is a former wakushu"the lady said in concern
Genya was flustered for a bit,he knew his voice was high pitched but it was still embarrassing for someone to point it out,but the last part was interesting "what is a waku-kushu?"Genya asked in confusion
Genya knew about oirans and geishas but wakushu was a new word for him,the most important figure Genya saw in his life was a guard for a brief moment,but Genya soon learned he didn’t like these guards due to how violent they were
The lady in response just hugged him and lead him to her bed,sitting him down then,she looked concerned but gave a small soft smile-it almost reminded Genya of shizu's smile,god he really missed mama-but god did need his angels back
"What do you want to know about the disappearances sweetheart?"the lady asked with a small sniffle,Genya thought for a while before asking
"Why are there people disappearing"Genya asked softly,the mood tensed a little before the lady sighed and started speaking
"Do you know about the cell"the lady responded causing Genya to raise a eyebrow and shake his head no
"It’s a gate located in the main room,under the inner balcony of lord Douma's master bedroom,whoever enters never comes back"the lady said in a serious tone,the strict aura coming off her in waves-she was definitely a mother
"Nobody knows where it leads to,the most you'll know is the screams of poor souls pushed in there for mere rumors of betrayal.."the lady continued,Genya couldn’t help but shiver a little,the air felt cold due to the dark mood that had started
"What’s exactly in there..?"Genya asked quietly fingers fidgeting as he bit on his lower lips-a bad habit sanemi scolded him to stop doing anymore,and for a while Genya didn’t but it was scary weird situations like these where he couldn’t control what he did
*"If you keep on biting your lip,it will bleed and you will have big fat lips like an ugly yokai,you'll look like the kappa!"sanemi teased back when they were younger causing young Genya to shriek and start wailing which lead to a scolding from shizu to sanemi-it was a fun day that day*
"Monsters..strong ugly monsters-they are outside in the world,a lot of them.."the lady said coldly-she clearly lost a loved one to those monsters because Genya could clearly see the silent hatred in her voice
However Genya’s biggest worry was sanemi,,he knew sanemi was strong and capable of protecting himself,he still didn’t want sanemi to get hurt or worse-killed…Genya would never manage to continue living if sanemi died
Genya soon learned more about the disappearances and monsters ,the hunters apparently hunted man eating zombies -which was already scaring genya,however he later made the realization that his beloved mother was a monster that sanemi had to kill-sanemi was only trying to protect you and you dared to call him a murderer?
Genya felt like shit after the realization,he surely was the worst and most useless person in the world,he couldn’t carry logs,he couldn’t fight back,he couldn’t act like a true man-maybe if he died instead of his siblings,they wouldn’t call nemi a murderer-they would probably cry and hug him out of fear and he'd coddle and love them,unlike him who didn’t deserve the bare minimum or a simple ounce of affection
Before he could continue his self loathing-the lady spoke again "I lost my youngest son to one of those monsters on the way here"she said somberly,she looked close to tears
Genya couldn’t blame her,he unfortunately lost most of his baby siblings to their monster turned -mother,but Genya couldn’t imagine losing somebody that dear to him..someone like sanemi
He knew he was selfish for picking one sibling over the other,but sanemi raised him,he was the one who took care of him,the one who comforted him and acted like the father figure of the house
His baby siblings always had each other at least,each of them had their own nemi,someone they’d trade over one another,Genya was sure of it
He saw his baby siblings as his children,to be fair he did take care of them like a mother,he was the one who cooked the dinner,lunch and breakfast Iike a mother should
He was the one who cleaned up after them,he was the one who bathed the young ones,he was the one who combed sumi and teiko's hair,he was the one who stepped up and took care of the young children of the family
Genya loved his mother truly,the poor woman had a lot on her plate,she was only 14 when she had sanemi,and it was only a while before kyogo forced her to have more children after he was born
But he sometimes couldn’t take the loads of work she put on them,sanemi was only 10 when he started working to make money and help their mom,Genya was 6 when he started cooking and cleaning to help shizu,he knew it wasn’t her fault but sometimes Genya wished for a better mother,and left with guilt for the rest of the day
Genya saw the favoritism and love towards his siblings,he was the outcast to shizu's love,maybe it was the life of the second oldest daughter boy,he knew he looked like kyogo,but it was during a argument he had with shizu when he was eight that he realized she didn’t like him
*"But that’s not fair!"Genya was yelling at this point,he was only 8 years old,today was his birthday yet still shizu wanted him to go to the market to get fucking saké for kyogo
"Darling,you know he'll get angry if he comes back and sees no alcohol"shizu was saying in a stern forced gentle tone,Genya never saw true happiness and love on her face when he was around
"Then he can go and buy some himself!and it’s my birthday!-you relaxed a whole day on your birthday why can I relax on mine!?"genya's throat started to hurt
"Don’t yell at me Genya,I’m exhausted and I worked for a long day"shizu warned,she only works 5 hours a day while sanemi worked for 9 and did a harder job,Genya knew that women weren’t able to get more jobs but in their village everybody was money hungry to the point they really didn’t care
"NO!ITS NOT FAIR-I COOKED BREAKFAST AND EVEN CLEANED AND YOU CANT TAKE A 10 MINUTE WALK-"…smack
"Don’t you dare raise your voice at me again Genya,that’s disrespectful-everything I do is for you"shizu sighed,at least she had the decency to look guilty-but Genya didn’t give two shits anymore
He slammed the door and walked out..*
It was later that night that sanemi tried to calm him down after work,sanemi was usually the peacemaker in Genya’s arguments,but even he looked surprised and disappointed to see a slap mark on Genya's face
*"gen,she's still a girl trying to live for the first time,go easy on her-"BUT IM A CHILD TOO!"Genya argued back,he was tired of being seen in the wrong just because adults are "always right"
"Look Genya,I know your tired-I’m tired too,but it was painful to bring us here and it hurts her more than us,just tolerate it for a few years-then I’ll take you to a nice city and we’ll live happily together"sanemi comforted him,laying his head on his lap,as he ran his rough fingers gently in Genya’s silky soft hair-Genya just nodded as a answer*
Genya knew since then that sanemi was the only person he truly cared for,that Genya would die for sanemi to be happy and relaxed
It was then that he noticed the lady was handing him a book-was that a diary?
"My eldest son used to have this book to take down notes,he recently escaped,said he'll go and try to escape the exit of the gates and into the outside world,I want you to have this book,if anything happens to you I’d never forgive myself knowing I let another woman’s child die"the lady said kindly
The diary was black with a few stickers and a bit chunky "there will sure be a lot of tips"Genya grumbled internally but nodded thankfully before noticing the initials on the diary "m.k…."Genya said quietly under his breath
"That was my eldest son’s name,I’m urei..urei kumeno,my eldest son was named masachika,if you ever make it out..please tell him I miss him and love him"the lady said softly,Genya couldn’t help but feel pity for her,he smiled softly and nodded at her
"your a amazing mother kumeno-Chan"Genya comforted before he left-unable to handle the woman bursting into tears wishing for her son to be safe,Genya wondered if this masachika was really as kind as his mother described him
He did leave a book full of notes for his mother and that said a lot,Genya couldn’t help but wonder how his mother would react if she was in urei-san's place,if he died and sanemi escaped,would sanemi even escape and try to avenge him or stay to care for her?..
"I’m not worth his kindness and pity anyway"Genya said internally as he hid the book under his kimono sleeve and walked back to his respective room
Shizu was the better option anyway.