7 Years Ago, Tsujo Household
Leonidas had two mothers.
They looked the same but Leonidas knew they were different people.
One would cry and scream and shout while the other would sit and look outside the one window inside their apartment without moving or saying a single word to him.
Leonidas preferred the screaming mother, she always told him how much she loved him while the other mother didn’t even acknowledge his existence. That scared him the most. No matter how much he pulled at her clothes, called out her name, or made a mess of the house she wouldn’t look in his direction. She just stared and stared. Sometimes for hours and sometimes for days at a time.
Even though their apartment had a window, the only thing that could be seen was the wall of the neighbouring apartment which was less than a metre away from their own apartment. That grey wall perplexed Leonidas. He didn’t know why his mother loved looking at that textureless, grey wall so at first he would join his mother when this began. However, no matter how hard or long he looked at the wall, nothing changed and the wall remained just that, a wall.
Over time, Leonidas grew to hate that wall. All of his begging, crying and screaming were useless once his mother began to look at that wall. Nothing could awaken her from her trance.
Leonidas was afraid.
Afraid that one day she would look at that wall and never stop. Never look at him again. Never call his name again. Never tell him how much she loves him.
Leonidas was scared to be alone and so he prayed and prayed to the universe that that wall would be destroyed. Reduced to rubble and so completely razed that it would never be able to reside in his mother’s mind again.
When his prayers weren’t answered, Leonidas would run outside and hit the wall with his tiny and bony fists until they would bleed but the wall remained and eventually the residents living in the apartment would chase him back home. Unable to give up, Leonidas returned to praying and one day,
The apartment was gone.
Hearing a big boom, Leonidas looked outside the window excitedly and saw a big black ball hitting the apartment over and over again until nothing remained just like he had prayed so fervently. Hurrying outside, Leonidas was met by the sight of a large mountain of garbage, waste and debris that cast a fog which blocked the sun and rendered the whole world grey.
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.
The wall was finally gone!
Running back inside, Leonidas waited for his mother to come home patiently.
Creak
Hearing the door begin to open, Leonidas wondered which mother would be the one coming home tonight and judging by how quietly she had entered the apartment he knew it was the silent mother. Watching her slowly walk over to her chair in the kitchen/living room where she could see out the window, Leonidas was filled with joy as he waited for her to realise the horrid wall was gone.
Look at me! Mom, I’m right here!
That’s what Leonidas wanted to shout out, but he was too afraid to be met by the terrible silence that had awaited him the many times he had shouted those exact words in the past. Seeing her slowly sit into the worn-out, mouldy brown chair that was placed directly in front of the window, each second felt excruciatingly long to Leonidas. Unable to hold it in any longer, Leonidas took the hands that were covering his mouth off and shouted with all his might.
“Mom!”
“.......”
But that thin back didn’t turn and the dreaded silence pervaded the house.
Leonidas felt his throat begin to tighten as his head began to throb.
Why? Why? Why?
Why couldn’t she hear his voice?
See him?
Acknowledge him?
Feeling the dark tendrils that had entered the house, wrap around his throat slowly, Leonidas slumped to the ground. What was the point of his voice if no one could hear him? Was he to blame for his mother refusing to listen to him?
Bawling in the middle of the living room, Leonidas cried until no more sound came out of his throat.
That was the last time Leonidas spoke to his mother.
1 Year Later
Wrapping himself tightly in his blanket, Leonidas rested on the hard floor peacefully. It was already dark and so his orange eyes blinked widely like an owl as he vision became adjusted for the night.
Thud
Ears pricking, Leonidas knew what that sound meant. That mother was the one to come home tonight.
Unmoving in the blanket he had wrapped around himself like a cocoon, Leonidas waited for his mother to find him.
BANG BANG BANG
“LEONIDAS, WHERE ARE YOU?!”
Rushing into the unlit and dark room, his mothers’ hands shook as they tenderly stroked his face.
“My baby, my wonderful baby…”
Leonidas rested like a dead fish in his mother’s arms as her fingers slowly moved across his face until they gently made circles around his vibrant, orange eyes.
“Cleo…”
SLAP
Eyes suddenly widening, Leonidas’s mother panted while she stared at him as if he were a monster.
This was the mother Leonidas preferred.
This mother loved him.
Closing his eyes, Leonidas let his mother continue to kick and throw whatever she could find at him : clothes, shoes, utensils, books. Nothing escaped her hands as she desperately continued to look for things to grab.
“If it weren’t for you….If it weren’t for you…Cleo wouldn’t have left me! You never should have been born! I never should have given birth to you! It’s all your fault! YOUR FAULT! My life wasn’t supposed to be like this!”
I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!
Sob Sob Sob
Collapsing on the floor, Leonidas’s mother screamed at the top of her lungs into her fraying dress and once she was too exhausted to scream any longer she could only moan helplessly towards the stain-ridden and decrepit ceiling that was above them as Leonidas watched expressionlessly while blood dripped from his forehead onto the floor. Leonidas didn’t bother to try and stop the blood. The floor was already ridden with stains anyway.
The woman and the child sat in the dark room silently as the grasshoppers began to chirp loudly outside. Crawling over, Leonidas approached the trembling woman and wrapped the grimy and dusty, single blanket they had around her. Patting her back steadily and rhythmically, the crying slowed down to a hiccup.
Hic Hic Hic
Finally able to breathe normally again, Leonidas’s mother took a look at the small child who calmed her down and tilted her head left and right as if wondering who or what this small being in front of her was. Seeing those familiar orange eyes stare at her unabashedly however, the haze disappeared from her eyes as she shook her head in confusion.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Leonidas?”
Nodding his head in confirmation, Leonidas stepped away calmly and sat back down beside the futon. No sooner had he sat down however, he felt his body being dragged into the embrace of his mother. Resting his head along her chest, she ran her cold fingers through his mane-like hair and whispered softly to him.
“I’m sorry Leonidas, you know how much mommy loves you right? This is all because of how much mommy loves you. If I didn’t love you, mommy wouldn’t have said all those things. You’ll forgive mommy won’t you?”
Snuggling closer to his mother, Leonidas wrapped his arms around the woman and embraced her back. Sitting together like this in the dark room, the two cast a picturesque image of a loving mother and son.
Staying like this for a few minutes, Leonidas closed his eyes and relaxed his body.
This was love.
His mother could see him.
His mother acknowledged him.
His mother loved him.
Tightening his arms around his mother, afraid that she would disappear once again in the morning, Leonidas had a happy smile on his face. He didn’t need anything else. This was enough.
4 Years Later
Leonidas was laying on his side underneath the same, tattered blanket that he and his mother shared for all these years. After another day of foraging for scraps in the landfill, all Leonidas wanted to do was close his eyes and let the sweet lull of sleep wash away his fatigue. Finally shutting his eyes, Leonidas could hear the steady beat of the clock he had managed to find among the trash.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
After two years together, Leonidas and the clock were now good friends that got along well. Clock-kun always watched over him while Leonidas made sure to diligently rub the surface of the clock squeaky clean, making it the only thing free of dirt, dust or stains in the apartment.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
The ever steady beat of the clock seemed to be in tune with his heart, and Leonidas could feel his body begin to relax as the ticking of the clock became the only sound he could hear in the room.
“CLEO! CLEO! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE! I’M COMING!!”
Leonidas was used to this by now and his body didn’t move an inch as his mother stumbled into the apartment dropping the bottles of liquor she had bought all over the apartment.
Creak
“CLEO!”
Grabbing his face violently with her hands, Leonidas’s mother stared at him with eyes crazily unfocused as they dashed around unsteadily on her face.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me Cleo!”
Pulling him close to her, Leonidas’s mother sobbed with all her might as her fingers began to dig into his skin. Leonidas didn’t flinch, as her fingers dug tighter and tighter as if afraid he would disappear.
Staying like this, Leonidas waited until his mother paused and looked at him unsteadily. Pupils dilating, she quickly threw him aside making his body land on the floor with a thud.
“YOU!”
“YOU TOOK CLEO AWAY FROM ME! GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!”
Shrieking, the woman began to punch, hit and scratch at Leonidas like a wild animal that had become feral. Blood and saliva mixed together as the woman began to launch a string of curses, demanding that Cleo be returned to her.
“CLEO! CLEO!”
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
Eyes lifeless, Leonidas closed his eyes and focused on the sound of his friend.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
It was time to play the game.
One, Two, Three…
One, Two, Three…
Tick One Tick Two Tick Three…
When Leonidas played this game he didn’t have to feel anything. The only things that were in the room were him and Clock-kun. Nothing else mattered and the hysterical cries of the woman became drowned out by the ticking of his friend.
Leonidas knew that this was his mother’s love, but these days, whenever his mother showed her love to him it felt like his chest would tighten and his head would begin to ring.
Love was…painful.
A Few Days Later, Landfill next to Leonidas’s Apartment
Scanning the ground with diligence, something quickly caught Leonidas’s trained eye. Resembling a mushroom, without hesitation, Leonidas popped the strange object into his mouth and felt a savoury, sweet taste flood his mouth.
Seeing a few more of the strange mushrooms, Leonidas began to pick them off the ground and pop them into his mouth while he followed the path of fallen mushrooms.
Leonidas was surprised to see another boy around his age helping an old man dump his old appliances upon arriving at the entrance to the landfill. Scanning the duo, Leonidas quickly spotted a bag hanging from the boy’s jacket with an image of the mushrooms he had just been eating. Seeing more fallen mushrooms near the boy, Leonidas hesitantly continued to follow the path of fallen mushrooms and eat his way closer and closer until he was within an arm’s distance from the boy.
Noticing Leonidas get closer and closer to them, the boy turned around and stared coldly at him. With messy black hair, deep eye bags and beady red eyes he gave off an intimidating aura that made Leonidas take a step back. However, enthralled by the delicious taste of the small mushrooms that he had eaten, Leonidas continued to hover around the boy and old man until finally the boy snapped at him.
“What the hell do you want?! Scram! Or am I going to have to teach you a lesson?”
Punching his right hand into his left hand, the boy moved as if to fight him and Leonidas pointed at the bag in the boy’s jacket with the mushroom snacks. Checking to see what he was pointing at, the black-haired boy looked down at his jacket where the open bag of kinoko no yama was hanging half out. Giving a look of disgust, he tossed it onto the ground in front of Leonidas.
Seeing the fallen bag, Leonidas raced forward and began to greedily devour the mushroom snacks until they had all completely disappeared into his belly. Watching Leonidas pick up the fallen snacks off the ground, the boy frowned seeing Leonidas’s face of pure joy as he ate the dirty chocolate mushrooms.
An old man came around the corner and saw the two boys hanging around beside his truck and he gave a smile at the black-haired boy before asking,
“Is this a new friend of yours Ryoga-kun? Why don’t you take a break then, we’re almost done anyway so I can finish the rest. Go have some fun and play, just be back in an hour okay?”
Ryoga shoved his hands into his jacket while rolling his eyes but despite his bad mood, he walked over to sit near Leonidas who was busy savouring the last remains of the kinoko no yama.
Looking at the green-haired boy up and down, Ryoga’s eyes narrowed seeing the dark bruises all over Leonidas’s body. Sighing, he began to kick some rocks with his feet before saying
“I’m not going to pity you. You’re not the only one who’s had a s***ty past. So stop looking so pathetic.”
Tilting his head like he didn’t understand him, Leonidas looked at Ryoga who had spoken up, with confusion. Seeing the stupid face the boy in front of him was giving, Ryoga sighed before rummaging in his jacket.
Plop
Leonidas’s eyes widened with surprise as he looked down at the new bag of kinoko no yama Ryoga threw at him lazily. Opening it, Leonidas happily began to eat the snacks, ignoring the rotten stench of garbage that permeated the surrounding air as the two boys sat in silence in the trash.
“CLEO! CLEO! CLEO!”
Ryoga looked up seeing a woman with long lime green hair run into the landfill with her eyes looking left and right crazily. Ignoring her, Ryoga was about to toss his last bag of kinako no yama to Leonidas when he was surprised to see the boy trembling in place while holding his arms tightly around his body in a self-embrace.
“CLEO!”
Seeing Leonidas sitting amongst a mountain of waste, Leonidas’s mother ran over to him.
Slap
Tossing his body like a rag doll, Leonidas’s mother began to scream wildly at the top of her lungs.
“I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT HOME! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME! YOU CAN’T LEAVE UNLESS I SAY SO!”
Moving in to begin hitting the fallen boy, Leonidas’s mother stepped closer and closer when…
OOF
“WHO–”
“Arghhhhh!”
“GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!”
Tumbling in the garbage, Ryoga and Leonidas’s mother continued to roll over each other as punches, kicks and bites were thrown between them while Leonidas watched with eyes wide open.
“YOU CRAZY KID!!”
Wiping blood from his mouth, Ryoga laughed at the woman who had landed in a pile of trash and was glaring at him with venom dripping from her eyes. Running his hand through his hair, Ryoga smiled triumphantly and raised his middle fingers at her confidently.
“That all you got b*tch?”
Walking to sit back down in his spot beside Leonidas, Ryoga began to eat some of the chocolate mushroom snacks himself and wiped his mouth messily before turning to face Leonidas who was simply watching him stunned and told the younger boy.
“See, they’re weak. I’m strong.”
Getting back unsteadily, Leonidas’s mother grabbed some of the fallen trash beside her and began launching them towards the two boys while Ryoga did the same and began throwing anything within his reach.
“STOP, STOP, WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”
Rushing to check that Ryoga was okay, the old man who had come with them looked at the woman and two children in confusion. Pointing his finger accusingly at the green-haired woman, Ryoga spoke simply
“She’s a piece of sh*t and tried to attack me first.”
“What?”
“GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY!”
The old man quickly took note of the situation as Leonidas’s mother continued to pelt the trio with random objects and gave a kind look at Leonidas before stretching out his hand.
“Why don’t you come with me young man? Hurry!”
Leonidas looked at the outstretched hand slowly and hesitated before taking another look at the black-haired boy who was picking his nose lazily. He had never seen someone shine so brightly before…but his mother was his entire world. Without her, how was he supposed to live? Leonidas didn’t want to be left alone. He didn’t know how to be alone. Without his mother, Leonidas was nothing…
“Hey, if you wanna eat more stuff like this then come on.”
Startled, Leonidas looked down at the half eaten bag of chocolate mushroom snacks and then at the black-haired boy who had thrown them. Accepting the old man’s hand, Leonidas followed the two back to the old man’s truck while the green-haired woman could be heard in the distance.
“CLEO, CLeo, cleo…”
One Week Later, Hakuren Orphanage
After some discussion with city officials, the old man who Leonidas later found out was the person in charge of the orphanage, Tanaka ojii-san, quickly had Leonidas registered as a member of the orphanage.
“You sure the kid doesn’t have any other relatives we can take him to? What about the father?”
Shaking his head, Tanaka-san replied to the government case worker.
“It seems the father was a foreigner who abandoned the kid and his mother after he was born. It’s unlikely we’ll be able to track him down. Judging from our initial investigation, the mother was a single child to an alcoholic while her mother died when she was young. It’ll be best for him to just stay here, and it looks like he’s gotten pretty attached to Ryoga-kun anyway.”
Turning off the tablet where he was taking notes, Leonidas’s case worker concluded the case there and with that Leonidas was taken into custody by the Hakuren City Orphanage while his mother was sent to a rehabilitation centre.
One Year Later
Ryoga grumbled while storming into the orphanage where he was warmly greeted by Tanaka-san and the other children.
“I told you it’s not a big deal, Ojii-san. We haven’t even won yet!”
“What are you talking about Ryoga-kun! Making it to the Holy Road Finals is a big deal and it’ll be your first year attending it as captain! Of course we have to celebrate, so stop grumbling already and eat some cake with the rest of the kids”
Stepping into the kitchen, Ryoga took a look around the room where numerous children were running amok, well except for one. Among the rowdy children, a lone boy with long-green hair could be seen preparing plates, napkins and utensils for the others while going around cleaning up any messes from spilled drinks or fallen cake.
“What the hell is he doing?”
Following Ryoga’s gaze, Tanaka-san stroked his beard thoughtfully and replied.
“It seems that he just can’t settle down unless he’s doing some sort of chore or task for us so we’ve been having him help around the orphanage. We’ve been trying to get him to relax around us but we found him weeding the garden at 03:00 once, so ever since then we just let him do any simple chores that make him happy.”
Raising an eyebrow at the disturbing recount, Ryoga let out a scoff of derision while Tanaka-san continued.
“I’ve been thinking about it Ryoga-kun, why don’t we have Tsujo-kun move into the dorms with you next year? You know you’re the only one he opens up around so what do you think? It’ll be good for him to have an older brother that can show him around school.”
“Why are you dumping him on me? I don’t want that dead weight dragging me down either.”
Yawning, Ryoga reached to grab a slice of cake for himself when his hand was slapped away by Tanaka’s before he could reach one.
“Getting cheeky with me aren’t you Ryo-kun? It seems like only yesterday there was someone telling me how they were going to live here forever and ever with—”
“ALL RIGHT! Fine, whatever. Don’t expect me to be all buddy buddy with him though, I’ll just show him around and that’s it, okay?”
“Thanks Ryo-kun. I knew you were a good kid.”
Fixing the hair, Tanaka-san messed up, Ryoga grumbled under his breath before finally beginning to eat some of the cake he had been secretly craving after dieting the entire pre-season.
One Month Later
“If you want something then ask. I don’t need any pathetic people around me so stop shuffling around like an idiot.”
Watching the older boy eat the cookies n’ cream kinoko no yama, Leonidas was fascinated by the rare flavour and attempted to open his mouth but no sound came out. Frustrated by himself, he clenched his eyes shut and balled his hands into fists so tightly sweat began to run down his cheeks.
“K-Kinoko no yama”
“WHAT? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?”
Deliberately feigning deafness, Ryoga began to crunch loudly on the quickly disappearing mushrooms forcing Leonidas to repeat himself in the loudest voice he could muster which was barely louder than a whisper.
“M-May I p-please have some K-Kinoko no yama, Katata-sama?”
Giving him a grunt of approval, Ryoga threw a bag of the kinoko no yama at Leonidas who caught it gratefully and then began to dig around in his bag.
“Take it”
“....?”
“It’d be annoying to see you flounder around at school like an idiot so practise with it before you start school next year.”
Leonidas took the sleek, white box from Ryoga’s hands and opened it carefully. Inside was a smooth, black screen that appeared to be some sort of box. Not appearing to be edible, he was slightly disappointed until Ryoga pushed a button on a side that made the black screen turn white suddenly.
Taken aback, Leonidas almost dropped the box leading to Ryoga scowling at him and catching it before it could fall. Tapping the screen, he then pulled up an app and commanded
“Write your name”
Following his orders obediently, Leonidas silently used the pen given to him to write his name and was surprised when a metallic voice rang out
[Leonidas Tsujo]
“I don’t want to see your pathetic face skirting around like a dirty rat, it pisses me off. If you’re gonna be following me around then you’re going to need to grow a spine or else I’ll be leaving you behind. Got it? This is your first and last warning.”
[Understood, Katata-sama]
Shaking his head, Ryoga exited the orphanage to head back to school while Leonidas happily continued to play around with the tablet for the rest of the day by himself.
He would need to work hard to make sure Katata-sama didn’t leave him behind…
He didn’t want to go back to that dark room anymore…
He liked it here…
It was much better than that place…