[Shatter Me] [Shu Kurenai]

Part 3

We all sat at the dining table, me and Mizusawa staring at mum, who was trying to avoid all our questions, and she was doing a bloody good job of it. So much so that it was starting to get frustrating. I just want the truth already.

"Mum," I said, sternly, and she gave me a wary glance. "What happened?"

"That is all in a past I am not at all proud of, but just can't seem to escape." She repeated the same line again, placing her hand on mine. I have never despised her touch so much.

"I don't care if you're not proud of it, I still want to know," I told her, pulling my hand away as I suppressed an annoyed glare. "You have to come to terms with your mistakes, whether you want to or not. Don't you think this is the least I deserve?"

"Now, now, Shu. That's no way to speak to your mother." Mizusawa said, and I just stared at him, surprised he would comment at all on my tone of voice.

"But-" I went to protest, but he put a finger up to silence me.

"No buts. She's still your mother, and she still needs to be treated with respect. Nothing's happened yet for her to lose it." Mizusawa told me, his eyes darting between the two of us, and a sense of uneasiness came over me. "Let me help her start, though. Your mother is part of the mafia."

My eyes widened in surprise. The mafia? Now, I would have thought this was an awesome reveal if this was a story. Mum being part of the mafia? The coolest thing ever. But it's not a story. This is real life, and I am now terrified. She could have killed me in my sleep and made it look like an accident.  "So... what does that have to do with this?"

"Are you going to continue the story or do I have to hold your hand the rest of the  way?" Mizusawa narrowed his eyes at my mum, who just glared at him, but nodded for him to continue. "Guess I walked straight into that one. The thing about your mum, Shu, is that despite being in the mafia she has never killed a single person, and yet she is their top assassin. How does that work out, do you think?"

I slowly started connecting the dots but was still slightly confused. "The glass balls?"

"Exactly." Mizusawa's eyes were trained on my mum. "Now the only question is how she made people into glass balls without taking their life. And then there's the curse when we get summoned - or whatever you wanna call it."

My eyes wandered over to my mum, who had stayed fairly silent throughout this, which I was surprised by. I always remembered her as quite a vocal person, especially on topics that would relate to her and her past. So why has she suddenly become so quiet? "Mum?"

"This is where your father comes in."