By the time Dante woke up Carl had already stopped the car and brought the windows down. Knowing’s Carl meticulousness, the drug wore off the moment he had arrived at the destination. “Hey, the grogginess isn’t even that bad this time,” Dante said, getting up without even a yawn. He usually woke up feeling more miserable than when he went to sleep, but this time he felt rested.
“It’s a special occasion, young boss.” Carl’s lips seemed to tilt up in a smile, but the tears in Dante’s eyes might have been playing tricks on him.
“I don’t remember living in this house,” Dante said, looking outside. It seemed like a normal suburban neighborhood. The sun was still out, meaning it might have been an hour or a full day. “You’re not coming?”
“I’m afraid not,” Carl replied with another slight bow. “I have tasks I must tend to,” he said, though he wasn’t particularly convincing. Carl rarely left Jarckal’s side.
Dante got off the car, taking extra care not to smash the door. He’d learned some new stuff, like controlling his strength and not tackling the idiots that picked fights with him. Carl was definitely proud of him right there.
He pushed open the gate and knocked on the door.
No one responded. Dante looked behind, but Carl had already fled.
It’s fine. Jarckal was probably messing with him. The lights were on and he could hear the faint sound of trumpets playing inside. Jazz. It was his favorite genre at this time of day. He was probably enjoying each second that passed as Dante stood in the sun.
No really, this is fine. The only way to thwart his sadistic plans was to behave contrary to what he wanted. A calm mind got Dante through many things, and it was going to get him through this as well. He knocked again.
Nothing. If he wants to be that way Dante can just walk away. He won’t expect it—well, he will, but at least Dante won’t have to deal with him.
Where a door closes a different one opens, Noah always said.
Dante walked back, took a deep breath, and then charged at the door. He kicked it a couple of times until the hinges flew out with it.
What Noah failed to realize was that some doors were very breakable. Dante walked over it, the wood moaning and snapping in half under his weight. The air-conditioned air cooled him down as he walked through the hall towards the source of the music.
Dante found Jarckal sitting in an overextravagant leather chair with his feet up on an empty table. Just like Dante, he was wide, tall, and with a natural look that scared the hell out of old ladies. Fortunately, the similarities ended there. His father made up the family’s absence of facial genes with a ponytail that somehow was not ridiculous. He wore glasses instead of Dante’s contacts, but their size compared to his made them seem like they were purely cosmetic. Where Dante was fit, Jarckal was just a few pounds away from being a professional bodybuilder.
Clutters of books and papers were thrown around the room. Some were stacked in the corners and others were laid on the sofa. The barbells had not escaped the chaos and were half-buried under some boxes. As always Jarckal had a family size refrigerator in close reach of his work area for snacks.
“49 seconds,” he said, showing Dante the stopwatch. “Impressive.”
“If that was the old me, I would have kicked you without as much as an explanation, Jarckal,” Dante said, planting his feet firmly.
“Good, because you’re not gett-”
Dante was already flying over the desk by the time his father got up. When he stepped back, Dante stomped his foot on the desk and pushed himself forward, chasing his prey.
But Jarkal’s retreat was a feint. He stepped forward and ducked, catching Dante by his shirt.
Dante flipped in the air as his back smacked against the bookcase. He landed on his head as the bookcase broke, vomiting a series of hardcover books on his head.
“Still too weak for a frontal approach. Try--”
Dante bolted through the books, ignoring their covers as they slashed at his scalp. He brought his fist up, stepped forward as he twisted his body, and threw a punch all his strength behind it, confident that Jarkal could not dodge with the desk behind him.
Jarckal brought his hands forward and bent his knees, ready to use his infiltrating Aikido techniques to toss him around. It would have worked if Dante had not missed on purpose, and instead had spun his entire body for a back kick.
It was a hit. Jarckal wasn’t ready for a kick. He blocked it on his forearms but he still flew a couple feet in the air. He landed on the desk, breaking it in half.
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Dante pounced after him only to land on Jarckal's soles. He tossed Dante above him with a laugh. “You’ve learned something new!”
Dante landed on his back and bounced up, charging straight into a history book that Jarckal tossed at him. Even though it covered his vision he knew Jarckal was following it. Dante ignored it and ducked to the left, bringing his hands up behind it. He caught Jarckal’s fist, turned, and tossed him over his shoulder.
Jarckal’s laugher did not stop. His iron clutches caught Dante’s belt, but it was too late. He was upside down in the air on his way to smashing through the floor. There was no way he was getting out of this one. Even when Jarckal’s other hand caught the back of Dante’s head, slowing himself just enough to somehow get his feet below, and tossed Dante over his shoulder across the room, Dante was sure he got Jarckal this time.
Dante crashed into the same spot he landed in when the fight first started. He dented the wall and fell on top of the bookcases with no air in his lungs. The only thing he could hear was Jarckal’s laughter shaking the floor.
“Did you just try to throw me?” he said, standing on top of Dante.
“Why the fuck not?” Dante said, coughing out dust.
Jarckal opened the fridge, taking a half-gallon milk for himself. “Might be because I have 50 pounds of muscle over you." He pushed the chair back and placed his feet on the few parts of the desk that were still standing. “Or maybe it’s because I have a couple decades of Aikido over you.”
Dante gave up on standing up and just leaned against the wall. “Wasn’t that non-sense supposed to work against heavier people anyway?”
“If you’ve been practicing for most of your life, sure. If not? Then only in video games, and even then just the most unrealistic of them. When did you learn to use some of your brain?”
“Some guy named Noah that taught me more in a year than you did in eighteen.” Dante whipped his mouth, placing aside the half-filled jug. “Where is—”
Jarckal tossed Dante’s old wallet to him. Inside them were an unfamiliar set of keys. “A thousand will be wired every month for your next task.”
“Fine, I failed your challenge. I won't go to college. Now, where is Sai?”
“From now on I disown you. I removed you from my will. No employee of my company will be allowed to get in contact with you."
Dante froze. Jarckal had spent every day of his life pushing on this responsibility on Dante, and for him to suddenly free him of it? That didn’t make sense. “Keep the card. Where is Sai?”
“You think I would give someone as valuable as Sai to you? You don't even know how to use half of his potential” Jarckal said, shaking his head with an infuriating smile. “I rented you an apartment not far from here. Carl will drive you to it. Think this as a bribe to keep out of trouble. Take it easy, go to school, have fun. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted. You don’t even need to work.”
“You don’t own him,” Dante said, standing up. Of course getting out of the responsibility of running the stupid company was what he wanted, but he wasn’t about to abandon his friend for it.
“Actually, I do. The Moon family have sworn their allegiance to us. Every daughter and son are bound to serve the Vichie family. Got it on contract. Pretty sure I sent the PDF to you."
“That doesn’t mean—”
“ You didn't just fail, Dante, got yourself in jail for battery. You have no control over your emotions, no concern for the consequences of your actions. You would crash our company straight into the ground,” Jarckal said, lighting a piece of wood on fire with his lighter. He watched it burn ravenously, devouring everything near it. When it became too fierce he squished it with the cup of his hand.
“Fuck your symbolism,” Dante said, warming up his muscles for another bout. Do onto others as they do onto you. That was how Dante lived. Anyone that messes with his friends will get the same treatment, no matter the stupid law or consequence. “Find someone else to lead whatever your company even does. There are a hundred people more suited for it.”
“This is my legacy!” Jarckal screamed, jumping to his feet. “I didn’t raise this empire from scratch to give it over to someone that I did not make! You wouldn't exist without me. You owe me your life, and you will fulfill the only reason I gave birth to something as foolish as you."
The sudden outburst caught Dante off-guard. Jarckal rarely got mad—he got even. Either this was an act to hide some other truth, or he really did believe in the craziness he was spitting.
Jarckal sat back down, all signs of anger vanishing. “Like it or not, Sai is part of the family inheritance. He will protect and serve the heir, and as you are no longer it, he is legally bound to fulfill his responsibility.” Jarckal tossed the burning timber into the midst of his desk. In a second the entire thing light up in flames. “Show me proof you have the character to lead our company, and you can get Sai back permanently. Or you can walk away and live in comfort for the rest of your life.”
Sai.... Dante couldn't let that happen. He knew the way Jarckal sapped every ounce of value from the people he trapped within his mind-games. Sai will work for the rest of his life if Jarckal got his way. No friends, no hobbies, just an endless amount of assignments that would fill Jarckal’s pockets. Happiness wasn’t a variable in Jarckal’s calculations. Money, power, reputation. Those were the only things he saw.
Dante swallowed every instinct to rebel. Jarckal might have been a despicable monster that was sapping mother earth of her decency, but he did not go back on his deals. This was the golden opportunity to take away the strongest card he had over Dante. “What is it?” What unrealistic task will he have for Dante? Jarckal knew how much Dante wanted this. He wouldn’t have offered such a tantalizing deal otherwise.
“Don’t give me that look,” Jarckal said, putting his hands in the air with another condescending smile. “I think you’ll enjoy this game. You can do it with…” he placed his thumb against his beard, acting as if he was thinking this on the fly. Knowing him he probably had this in mind before he threw Dante in jail. “Two individuals, of which one must be Sai.”
Kristina and Sai. Why didn’t he just straight it our-right? They were the only two he ever hung out with. “Does it involve violence?”
“God yes,” Jarckal said, smacking his thighs with abnormally high pitched-laughter. “The best kind! Your favorite, really.”
“Solo it is.” Dante has gotten Sai hurt enough already. The whole point of this was to free Sai from this non-sense, not to rope him into more of it. Getting him involved was the last case scenario. “Let’s hear it.”
“You can’t do shit without others, but have it your way. Get in contact with Carl when you inevitably realize it,” Jarckal said.
Dante didn't doubt Jarckal's words, but he still had to see what he was going to involve Sai and Kristina with. It was the least he could do after all the pain he had caused them.