Genius

Genius Chapter 19

Toshiko was shocked. Takao, Jun, Yasu, and Hotaka, who were watching, were also shocked.

"You-You killed your parents...?" Toshiko stood there, eyes pure white, completly frozen.

"I used to be like you, I used to believe parents were special, that they were people who would love you no matter who you are. Then my fifth birthday came along, and my own parents betrayed me," Osamu spoke calmly, but it was obvious the memory pained him to recall.

"W-what happened...," asked Toshiko.

"On my fifth birthday, I came home from school, hoping my parents had something special planned for me," began Osamu. "When I arrived at my house, my own father placed handcuffs on me, saying the village decided to lock me up as I was a threat to them.

"I was locked up deep underground for 7 years. My arms were held high up behind my back so I couldn't use my powers. I spent so much time in the darkness, the darkness became my home. The position I was left in for those 7 years was so painful, but over time, I forgot what that pain even felt like.

"The only light I ever saw was the light from the flashlight of who ever they sent to feed me. I hated that light. It signified that someone who hated me was near. I'd sometimes catch sight of their eyes, and I saw the same thing in those eyes each time. I saw hate, hate towards me, towards my powers, towards the young child who they viewed as a monster. I decided that I would break out.

"Everyday, I pulled at the chains until I was too exhausted to do anything else. Over time, I got stronger and the chains got weaker. When I was twelve, I broke free.

"I killed everyone, I killed my parents, I killed everyone I knew, I killed the young, the old, the men, the woman, even if they were too young to have known me, I killed them all."

Osamu held out his arms, showing the rusted cuffs on his wrists which had rusted chains hanging from them. "These are the same cuffs, the same chains that held me as a child, I wear them as a reminder of what I suffered, a reminder of why I do this now." He looked at Toshiko. "Toshiko-san, this is the difference between you and me. You have a childhood, you live. My childhood was stripped away from me, I didn't live, I merely survived. My parents-"

"Stop! Don't say that," cried Toshiko.

Osamu raised an eyebrow.

"Stop calling them your parents! Those people, who betrayed you, who locked you away, they are not your parents! They may be responsible for your birth, but they are not your parents!" Toshiko's eyes were bright red.

"What do you mean by that," demanded Osamu.

"I learned something when Takao 'Ji-san took me in. When I heard everyone's stories, about how they were betrayed, abused, abandoned, ignored, I realised there was a difference between those who are responsible for your birth and your parents," Toshiko said. "Your parents are the people who care for you, who watch over you as you grow, who love you more than anything, anyone. They are the ones who love you more than the world, who love you more than they do themselves."

Osamu stood there for a second, then smirked. "Those are the words of someone who still holds on to childish beliefs."

"Childish beliefs...," murmured Toshiko. "Those are the things that protected me when I was a child, protected me from hate, from anger, protected me from making mistakes, making terrible mistakes that could never be fixed. Those beliefs, once my parents 'died', I abandoned those beliefs, and all the hate of this world, all the anger I felt, it all came crashing down on me. I began to feel helpless, I craved nothing but revenge, I hated this world, and, I became a thousand times more insecure. I altered those beliefs or just forgot about them all together.