語る
kata•ru: speak

はい
hai: yes

今日は
kon•nichi•wa: hello

父親
chichi•oya: father

(Again, I am still learning myself. 🙏)
=============

     I woke up and checked the clock in my wrist. Ghh. Only two hours of sleep. No wonder I was still so tired... The early morning sunshine was starting to glimmer in through the lone window over my head. I groaned and rubbed my face, remembering as my left hand tried and failed to reach me that I was indeed still handcuffed to a pipe... Wonder if I could unscrew the bolts and break out of here... But then.. with what?

     I tried using my nails to unscrew the bolts, a rock, then my teeth as I was getting desperate! But nothing worked... If I was a Kaiju, then why couldn't I do all those cool body transformation things like Kafka?! Oh wait, did my recording and projecting abilities count? WAS THAT IT!?

     "Wehehheh..." I flopped onto my back. "If I have to be a Kaiju then why can't I have any cool powers or at least super strength??" I lazily stared up at the ceiling as I thought about it.

     ...This was all linked to that stupid demand I made, wasn't it?... I'd asked to ALWAYS have access to the internet no matter WHAT. And.. I suppose you can't be connected to the internet if you're dead. So...was I immortal, then?

     Ugh... I would have been a lot more careful with my words had I known they'd be taken so literally.

     But at the same time, I couldn't really blame myself... I wasn't in the mood for thinking anymore.

     I laid around half asleep for another hour or so, kept awake by the occasional message, since apparently I'd forgotten to turn my stream off last night and it was still going. Huh, guess that means I can Livestream even while unconscious. Good to know I guess.

     It was a comfort to read the occasional message from people checking in on me. Even if they believed this was all fake, there was still that part of them that cared, which was a delight to see. I was feeling...very vulnerable at the moment, and so gladly accepted all the comfort I could get.

     The sun was officially up and shining brightly in through the window when the two men from last night appeared again. I didn't care much to study them before, but now I had a much better look at them. The large, brawny guy was bald and had a missing tooth on the right side. His nose was a mess too. His partner was smaller but in no way could be mistaken for weak. He too had some impressive muscle, however, a well trimmed beard and hair gave him more of a professional appearance. Both men were in casual clothes. Upper-middle class casual for the bearded one. I received another kick to the side and got the message that these guys wanted me to sit up. After I had done so, the big beefy one scooted me around a little bit, adjusting my angle and posing to aim more toward the light that beamed down on me. The other guy set up his camera while this was happening, taking a few pictures of my messy mug. They checked that I wasn't making any progress escaping, then left with the pictures.

     The men didn't say much, so I had very few clues as to what was going on. Judging by their need to take pictures, I'd have to guess they were setting up some kind of online auction. Looking back, I'd been auctioned and sold already. It was likely my price would keep growing as I went from person to person until eventually I ended up some government experiment or a rich person's toy. Honestly, I didn't even want to think of all the ways I could be used in this world. Considering my abilities, though, I was doomed to end up somewhere terrible as long as I was alive...

     ...Dang did this go downhill fast.

     I checked my subscriber count. It had gone down by a few dozen. But at least I still had enough to get my channel monitized. Just enough views too. The stars really did align for this one.

     I'd already sent a request the previous day to have my account monitized. But, it would take up to a month before someone actually went over my account and approved the request. So, I still had around a month before I could start making any money.

     Hmm... Maybe if I make enough.. I can eventually buy myself out of here. Pay off whoever buys me and-- no... For what an immortal human'd be worth, I had a better chance buying a mansion on Pikes Peak than my freedom... Perhaps then, escaping was my best option. But, even then, I'd constantly be on the run. And I don't really want to live that kind of life.

     Heh... A lifestyle like that sure would make for great entertainment! If I played my cards right, I could turn my whole life into one long Jason Bourne movie! But then... When would it end? ... I'm immortal, after all.

     Pff! Better stop thinking before I start crying.

---------------

     My bum and back were sore from sitting against the wall in the same place for so long. The Hello Kitty blanket was essentially useless too, so my whole body was sore from spending most of the night and morning laying on concrete. By this time, my joints were more than just aching. It really hurt to move. Ironic, since apparently I'm immortal. Heh, so I guess pain is still a factor. How annoying. ...Not to mention I really had to go to the bathroom.

     A car drove in and stopped just outside the garage. Doors opened around the same time, both from the house nearby and the vehicle. Shoes scraped around on sidewalk as two forces met. Greetings were exchanged. I recognized a few words. Then the familiar voices of my captors opened the side door and invited the newcomers into the garage. Just as I expected, my buyers were steadily rising in class with each purchase. This was a pretty big jump, though. These guys wore suits and were clearly more professional than the thugs who'd been handling me so far.

     The men stood further back, merely observing me as the big and bearded ones approached me. I knew what they were doing when one grabbed a firm hold of my arm with one hand and readied a knife in the other. I squirmed instinctively but that did nothing in the long run. I was still cut, bled a little, then miraculously healed before their eyes. After watching this, one of the two men in suits left. He returned with another guy at his side. A bleach blond badboy type, ring in his lip and everything, who smiled shortly after entering. "'So the rumors are true, then~.'" His captions read. The guy crouched down right in front of me and pointed to his mouth. "'Tell me, kid, can you understand what I'm saying?'" It was then that I realized I could drag the captions around the "screen," so I was a little distracted playing with that feature. That, and, I didn't really want to confuse these people about what I could and couldn't understand. It'd be better to let them think I was completely incapable. Confusion would just lead to more mistreatment. "'Huh, I don't think this guy's a foreigner, I think he's just plain retarded.'" Bleachy chuckled, then picked at food between his teeth as he stood. "'Eh, oh well. He'll be useful to us anyway.'" He turned and started toward the door. "'Tie his hands and ankles just to be safe before puttin' him in the car... Oh and wrap a blanket or something around 'im too. Filthy, that one is.'" Wow. How genius of you to notice.

     As instructed, both my ankles and wrists were tied, then I was wrapped up in a navy blue blanket and carried into the back seat of the car. Heyheyhey~ at least it wasn't the trunk again~

     Bleachy sat next to me, resting one leg on the other knee, laying his elbow on the window sill to prop up his chin, probably thinking he looked super cool like that. I leaned the side of my head against my window, silent as I stared at all the passing forest and occasional house.

     Casual conversation started up between the guys and, while I didn't care to read what any of them were saying, I did quite like the settings feature I had stumbled upon for the captions. After messing around with it for a bit, I changed the settings enough so I could read what people were saying even when my head was turned away from them. Doubtless this would make things way easier for me.

     I again remembered I was still live streaming. Decided to end the now 12 hour stream: " 'got kidnapped lol' " and immediately after start up a new one: " 'bought by the Yakuza or some sh*t.' " For the next hour I just stared out the window, reading the comments of anyone curious about the title. Not very many people joined. Maybe a couple randos, but they left soon after, easily bored by the stale conversations between the suit dudes and Bleachy. All my usual viewers were gone. Even the ones who liked to chill when nothing interesting was going on. Think I might have scared them all off with the last stream. It was clear those guys preferred my more relaxed content... Hhh.. I can never win.

     After a boring hour of streaming nothing, I ended the Livestream and rested my eyes.

. . .

     My head jolted upright as the vehicle slowed down. I started, not streaming, but at least recording right away.

     We arrived at what appeared to be a simple little house. Definitely not the place I was expecting to be taken. It looked really nice though. A cute, suburban Japanese style.

     "'Hhhhh, alright, take him inside.'" The gentlemen in suits followed Bleachy into the house, carrying me like a sack of potatoes. After passing through the threshold the men dropped me on my feet, making me almost pee myself. I was then dragged over to sit down on a bench-shelf, where one of the guys tore off my shoes and tossed them into a trash bag. "'Strip him down and ensure he showers thoroughly.'" Bleachy waved his hand dismissively while leaving us.

     "'We don't get paid enough for this.'" One of them mumbled. As they both looked at me, I covered myself and shook my head profusely.

     "I know how to shower myself, thank you very much!" That somehow got the message across, probably because that's what the two hoped I was saying. Instead of assisting me like some small child, they just cut my binds and led me to the bathroom. I did everything from there. Had a lot of crusty blood to wash off, so I was in there for a while... There were no windows in here big enough for me to crawl out of. Bummer.

     In the shower, I noticed something. Though it was faint, those stab and slice wounds had left scars. Wasn't sure if this was just for vibes or if it was a silent guarantee to the impermanence of my immortality.

     After the shower was over and I rubbed my hair crazy with a towel, I used the corner of the towel to clear some of the fog off the mirror. I smiled at my reflection in a goofy, seductive way. "Sup, babygirl~ ....wait was I recording the whole time? -DO NOT TELL ME I JUST LIVE-STREAMED MYSELF TAKING A SHOWER -- OH GOD, THANK GOODNESS." I fell on my knees. Relief washed over me.

     I wasn't given anything to wear but some boxers and a robe. Sneaking out of the bathroom, I bumped into the two bodyguard-lookin' men. They manhandled me into a chair, cut my hair, shaved the stubble off my face, and made me rinse off after. Returning again from the shower, I attempted to sneak out of the house but ran into them again. They made me sit down at one of the sofas, sitting a living room across from Bleachy.

     "'Alright, now that you've been treated more like a human, mind communicating like one too~? Can you or can you not understand me?'" The man cupped a hand around his ear. "'Because if not we're going to have some problems.'"

     I inhaled, sighed, and nodded. "はい."

     "'Okay, good to hear. Because I have quite a few things to go over with you.'" Bleachy pulled out a clipboard seemingly from his a## and flipped through the pages. I leaned a little forwards as he did. "'Your name is Yoki Sakuragi, age 18 and the only child of Gochi Sakuragi.'" I tilted my head. "'Your father had an affair with a foreign woman 19 years ago. That woman moved back to her home country: let's just go with America, and you were born from that affair.'" Bleachy looked me dead in the eyes to check if I was following. I hesitated but nodded. What am I? Some sort of spy?? "'Your father has been in contact with and has occasionally met with you in the past, however, you have had a very astranged relationship with him all your life.'" Again, he looked at me. Again, I nodded. The man sighed as he flipped through more paperwork. "Yaddayaddayadda, your mom died so you were sent back to Japan to live with your old man, becoming the heir to his stuff and stuff. -You sure you're picking up on all'a this!?'" I nodded again. "'Just don't talk, huh? What are you, mute?!'"

     🤏 "はい."

     "'Good grief...'" He handed over a stack of paperwork. Surprisingly, most of it was in English! "'Now sign all of that so we 'have proof' you existed before now.'" Ahhh. All of this was the usual documentation I would expect to sign while living the average American life. Drivers' licenses, passports, job applications, highschool diplomas, and much, much more. I spent an hour doing nothing but sitting there signing papers, taking the extra time to practice writing my new name on a blank sheet of paper and think through the evolution of my signature over the hypothetical years. When I was done, I slid my paperwork across the table. Bleachy sat down and thoroughly inspected my work. "'Huh, not bad.'" Then glanced up at me with a slight glare. "'I will have to go back and correct a few things, of course.'" Ah yes. Couldn't let me feel good about myself for even a moment!

     Well, at least this situation isn't as bad as it easily could have been! Sounds really nice, actually! Getting to live in what I can only imagine to be a upper-middle class to even high class home completely free of charge, not having to do anything but pretend to be some guy's son! I mean, I'd happily sign up for something like that!

     Which is why I knew there was a catch coming. Something that would make me want to rip out my hair and scream.

    "'Well, that's the end of that. Follow Kara, please. She's going to try to make you not look quite so neglected and sad.'"

     As instructed, I followed Kara into the only bedroom in that house, where the woman did some finishing touches to my hair to give it a more appealing style as well as put some makeup on me so I'd appear even younger than I already did. My favorite was probably when she magically removed the bags under my eyes that made me look all depressed and s###. It was weird. Looking in the mirror, I looked like a completely different person.

     ...Wait, do I have to apply this makeup every day now? ANOTHER thing I need to learn to do!? 💀 Oh brother.

     It was an official ceremony of sorts: my arrival. Now with fresh new clothes on and a softer appearance to boot, I was driven down this U-shaped driveway. Bleachy acted completely differently. He told me to wait a second while he exited the car. The man sitting in front of me got out as well to open my door like I was some kind of royalty. I looked around curiously. This beautiful walled-off garden that separated a completely normal town from a fantastical Japanese palace! Dang! How much did I cost!?

    Once I stepped out of the car, I followed the much more mannerly Bleachy up toward the house where a middle aged man stood. His hair was a dark brown, greying on the sides. He wore a simple but fancy light brown and gray kimono. Most striking were his facial features, specifically the expression he held. Oh poop... I sure hope this getup fools him. Idk where his original son went but if THIS man found out I replaced him I SURE wouldn't want to be in his line of sight! He had this scary, intimidating aura, even with a perfectly neutral face.

     I stopped before the stairs and bowed to the elder. "今日は 父親 (kon'nichiwa chichioya/hello father)." I tried to sound like a respectable young man. I really did. But the imposter syndrome was so great, wasn't sure if I could even pass as commoner! Could I even come across as someone who didn't just live on the streets for a month!?

     "'It has been a long time, Son.'" The man stepped back from the stairs and turned around, walking into the house. I watched for a moment, wondering what to do next. After nervously glancing left and right, I sprinted up the stairs and looked back at all the people watching. People who likely worked at or at least around here. ...What kind of a place is this? Is the old man a politician??

     After the door closed behind me, the man spoke firmly. "'I heard you don't talk much, bordering mute.'" I froze up while taking my shoes off, then shyly nodded. "'I'll have to hire a tutor then.'"

     "ありがとう ございます. (arigato gozaimas/formal thanks)" I don't know what all this man knows. Nor do I entirely understand what my task is here. So, to play it safe, I refrain from bringing any new topics up... Not like I can.

     "'Is there anything you would like now that you are here?'" Instantly, my stomach growled. I tried to cover it up and chuckled nervously. The older man cracked the faintest smile. "'Hungry, I see.'"

     "はい..."

     The food was too good, I couldn't slow down if I tried! What is this anyway?? Squid?? Eh, oh well. NOM.

     I sat criss-cross on the seat cushion since my poor knees couldn't handle being sat on for so long. This had to be the most Japanese place I'd ever been in. It was so simplistic, quaint, and fancy. I was surprised when Bleachy joined the old man and I at the dinner table. He and a couple other dudes all sat around and talked too fast for me to keep up.

     "'When was the last time you ate, Yoki?'" The old man asked, then waited for an answer. Oh right that's my name now! Uhh!

     "二十小时! Wait, uhhh." Crap, I don't even know how to say twenty in Japanese!

     "Hmhm, you know Chinese as well. That is quite impressive.." The man sipped some soup. He switched to speaking fluent English impressively quick!

     I cracked an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of my head. "Oh you caught that! Eheheh..." My eyes shot wide open. "Wait, you speak English!?"

     "It was part of my schooling, yes." He said while gently stirring his tea. "Why are you surprised? Did you not expect your father to know your mother's native language?" Now the other men at the table were the ones left out of the loop language-wise. It was funny to watch Bleachy's face especially as he realized I actually was competent.

     "Er- um- well, yeah, mother- um."

     The elder chuckled into his cup. After setting it down, "I know you are not my son. Did Kurrata forget to tell you it was I who bought you?"

     Quickly, I turned to my left to question Bleachy. "Por que!?!"

     Bleachy leaned back, shrugging nervously since he didn't know what we were talking about. Only that he was at fault for something.

     "So... How many languages do you know, Yoki?" My head snapped back the old man's way. I was still out of the loop in so many areas but it was SOOO good to finally find someone who can both speak a language I understand and comprehend my babbling! I'd underestimated such a thing in my past life. 10/10 please keep talking to me!

     I cackled, realizing how unused to being uderstood I had become. "Um- uh-um. I..." I started counting on my fingers, however I soon ran out of fingers and lost track. "A lot I guess. I-it's a hobby of mine!"

     "Oh.. and why not Japanese?"

     My face darkened in color as I realized how offensive I would sound, no matter what I said. "D-don't get me wrong! Ahah! It's just that where I come from.. you usually get teased a LOT for even knowing Japanese! I've always wanted to learn it; it's a beautiful language, but... I... didn't want to be seen as a weird shutin weeb or anything either..." The elder chuckled. "I know it's stupid! I'm sorry!"

     "No, no, it's fine. Please do quiet down, though."

     "Right right! Sorry!" I shrunk some and continued to stuff my mouth with food. It was nice getting to talk to someone again, fluently, without being limited by the few responses I know.

     "I'll get you a Japanese tutor in that case."

     "Thank you, sir. You are too kind." We ate in silence for a while. "...If you don't mind me asking...why did you buy me?" The man looked up from his meal and simply scowled at me, my innocent question having soured his mood. My body tightened up and I turned to strictly staring at my food.

     "...I would prefer you see it more as an adoption... I've never been able to have children of my own and needed an heir to everything I have put my life toward. Simple as that."

     "Wh-why would you go out of your way to buy someone who's immor-"

     "-It is disrespectful to question my motives."

     "Yessir.. sorry." I returned to eating, giving up on the conversation entirely. There was definitely something about this whole arrangement he wasn't telling me. Something I wouldn't like.

     But... I had no way of knowing for sure. And now that my tummy was full, sleep was calling out to me.

     "Um, Misterrr-"

     "-Sakuragi."

     "Right!.. Do I have a place to sleep, orr?"

     The man pointed down the hall behind me. "Go straight then take a left. Your name should be on the door."

     I stood and bowed quickly. "Thank you, sir!" I then hurriedly shuffled to my bedroom, leaving behind a table full of people who kept giving each other looks.

     But before I went to sleep, I had one HECK of a video to edit and upload!