𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | Karma Akabane X Reader

[33: All In Your Head]

~To The Story~

You were already not enjoying being back at your father's place. The first night there already set the tone for the rest of your stay here. The piano your dad has sold has been around for as long as you remember. You heard your dad got it for your mom the same year they got married. Your mom would let you play on it and teach you the basics of that same instrument once she noticed your interest in it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't remain your teacher for long. She has always been physically weak and passed away one winter. There was a funeral held for her. The concept of death hadn't yet entirely wrapped around your head, though, you did understand that your mother was not coming back. You cried but after a while, you stopped.

Still, what cheered you up was practicing the piano. But with no teacher, you would never improve. According to Kiyoshi, you insisted on pursuing piano lessons and threw a tantrum when your dad declined your offer.

"But I wanna! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!" You would cry out, jumping up and down. "I'll hold my breath until you say yes!" Then you proceed to hold your breath, cheeks puffed out, eyes glaring right at him.

Your father would pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. It was his wife who was good at handling you. And now with her gone, he's stuck with dealing with you.

He ended up hiring you a teacher just to shut you up.

You learned quickly and the more you improved, the more you realized you kept gaining an audience. Some gangsters would simply be drinking and ask you to play a song for them. You loved the attention and would play for them often. Everyone liked it and you thought your dad would too. You asked him to see you play this new song your teacher gave you to do.

He said no. It hurt. You would ask him a few times after that but his answer was always the same.

It wasn't until you were ten years old that your dad asked you to perform in front of a gathering he was planning.

Back then, you remembered the swirl of joy you felt when he offered you to play. You believed that after all that asking, he finally decided to see the skills you've worked to develop. You practiced hard and performed your best.

Then he asked you again to perform when you got a lot of praise from the guest. After a few times, you slowly began to realize why he even asked this. It's not because he's proud of the talent you've gained. He acknowledges that you have a talent yes but only for his advantage.

Some old geezers your dad works with love music and it made him look good to have you perform in front of them. The older you got, the bigger of an audience you got. Other families heard about you and would come by to see you play, which built better relationships with other families. It was a win for your father.

Even when you found out about his intentions, you would still practice and perform in front of the other gangsters. You love playing the piano that much. And it's not like you're able to say no to your father.

Also... a small part of you wanted to believe that your father secretly enjoyed your playing. Because your mom used to play for your dad. But that assumption died when you found out he sold your mother's piano.

You can accept the fact that your father doesn't love you, but for years you were convinced that he at least loved your mom. You remembered seeing him in the living room listing to your mother play the piano. He looked happy.

Was he happy? Or did you convince yourself only because you wanted that to be true?

By the time you became a preteen, you developed quite an attitude towards your father. As expected, he didn't like it. You've never pushed your luck, however. To you, he's a Yakuza boss first and a dad second.