Chapter Two: Abyss:

The Kimoto home life was rather less than ideal for a child to live in. The house had only a living room, kitchen, play room, and four bedrooms. There wasn’t much room for all three of the older boys to play in. They didn’t really get many toys to place with either. The two older boys slept in a room together while Nobu shared his room with the new baby. To make matters much worse, they practically lived in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Kobe.

Akio was the one who took care of all four boys. Haruka went out and made her kills to keep herself alive. Due to the age gap between his brothers, Daisuke couldn’t really form attachments early on. Despite Nobu being so kind and gentle to him, the little boy couldn’t really shake the empty feeling forming in his stomach. His mother never bonded with him like she did with her other three children. Aiko pretty much held him and took care of him.

Yasuo never really liked his baby brother. He looked down in the baby’s crib and sneered.

“Why are you even here?” he asked the child. Daisuke’s innocent little look made him want to smack the child around for the hell of it. At the time, the oldest son couldn’t understand why he despised the baby so much. The boy always had a strong attachment to their mother though Haruka didn’t feel the same about any of her children. In Yasuo’s unconscious mind, he viewed his younger brothers as a threat in being number one in Haruka’s favors. The boy even sometimes wished his father and brothers would disappear so it would just be him and Haruka.

Shichiro was the weakest of all the children. At times, he seemed to need someone to guide him in the right direction to keep himself stable. The little boy appeared to need something or someone to make him complete. Probably that was the reason why he stuck by Yasuo most of the time. Unlike most of the males in the family, Yasuo didn’t really mind Shichiro following him around in a sense. Mind you, he found the boy annoying at times, but he saw some uses in his younger brother. It was rather safe to say that Shichiro became Yasuo’s second-in-command.

Nobu was the quiet child of the family. He pretty much existed to keep the peace between brothers. He would end up taking care of the younger siblings as well. Nobu spent most of his time reading and just looking around at nature outside of their tiny house. Out of all three brothers, Nobu was vaguely the closest to the new baby. The boy was rather protective of his little brother. Today, he sat with Daisuke as he slept in his bassinet in the play room. Yasuo and Shichiro were goofing around and being noisy.

“Can’t catch me!” the oldest brother yelled as he ran away from the second son. Nobu put his finger to his lips and tried to hush the boys.

“Could you please keep it down? Baby Dai is sleeping,” he whispered. The boys stopped running around and went quiet. Shichiro bowed his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a soft voice. Yasuo, on the other hand, snorted and walked off. Shichiro watched him head outside with a puzzled look on his face. He looked over at Nobu sitting on the couch.

“Why does he do that would you mention Dai-kun?” he asked. His younger brother shrugged at him.

“Did you try talking to him?” Nobu asked. The older brother shook his head.

“He wouldn’t say,” Shichiro replied.

Outside, Yasuo frowned and paced around. Baby Dai, this! Baby Dai, that! Why is it all about him?!? He kicked away an empty glass bottle out of the pathway. Pretty soon, he would have another person that would come to despise in the family.

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Aki and the Mother weren’t satisfied yet with the offspring that Haruka and Akio were producing. Only two of the boys had potential in their blood. It would be safer to at least have one more potential sire. Aki waited in her human form on the front porch for the husband to return home from shopping. Akio froze when he saw the temptress smiling at him.

“Good evening,” she greeted him. The man dropped the bag of vegetables and meats on the ground.

“Aki-sama…” he gasped. The kitsune put up her hand to silence him.

“I need another favor of you,” she told him. Akio slowly shook his head.

“Oh no,” he said rushed, “Haruka doesn’t want to have another child. She’ll kill me if she gets pregnant again!” Aki gave him a wicked smile as she rose to her feet and walked over to her puppet. His heart raced as her right hand cupped his cheek. Her eyes locked straight on his.

“It’s okay,” she said in her seductive whisper. “She won’t harm you because she is attracted to you. You know this, right?” Akio gulped at her words. The kitsune worked her charm around her favorite puppet.

“I’m attracted to you too,” she told him. His eyes widened with this bombshell.

“Y-Y-You do?” he asked.

“Uh-hm,” Aki said in low voice. She leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. Heat trembled down his spine. His hands ached to reach up and hold her. The kitsune slowly pulled away. The husband opened his eyes and took in a breath. He gave her a long, slow nod.

“I’ll do it,” he said in softly. Aki smiled and tapped him on his cheek.

“Good boy,” she cooed.

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By 1966, Haruka found herself pregnant again. The day she learned that, she wanted to so loud in rage it would wake up the demons sleeping underground. Akio, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

“That’s great, honey!” he exclaimed, embracing her in his arms. “I hope this one is a girl!” Haruka shoved her husband away with a shout.

“No, it’s not!” she yelled. “This is not good! I don’t want any more children!!!” Akio looked at her like a sweet little child.

“Please?” he asked. “I just want at least one daughter and then we can stop.” His wife looked at him with the devil in her eyes.

“You said that last time before Daisuke was born!” she snapped. Akio put up his hands at her.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “I mean it this time! I really do!” His wife leaned in close to his feet with an icy look in her eyes.

“This one better be the last one we’re having!” she barked. “I will have your head if I end up pregnant again after this one!” Haruka smacked him on the arm.

“Ow,” her husband said in a soft voice, “Okay, okay. I promise! This will be the last one!” The wife sneered and walked back into the house. Yasuo didn’t take too kindly to the news.

“Why do we need more children here?” he asked. “Daisuke is annoying enough. I don’t want another sibling!” Akio patted him on the head.

“Aw, don’t be like that Yasuo-kun,” he said. “You might come to love this baby.” The twelve-year-old boy shoved him away. Nobu put his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Calm down,” he whispered. Yasuo snorted and walked back to the room that he shared with Shichiro. The other two boys welcomed the soon-to-be new addition with open arms. Nobu looked down at Daisuke in his arms.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered to the one-year-old boy. “You’re getting a little brother or sister.” He bounced the baby in his lap for a bit. Haruka felt like throwing up when she heard those words again. She shot another death glare at her husband. Akio gave her a rather sheepish look. The pregnant wife lowered her head on the dining table. She just wanted this little brat to be born so that she could get on with her life.

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On February second, 1967, Haruka gave both to the couple’s first daughter. Akio felt the pride of fatherhood rush through him again when he first laid eyes on her.

“She’s so beautiful!” he gasped. His wife again felt no attachment to them just like her other four children. The nurses in the hall watched with great concern in their eyes. In fact, one of them knocked on the door. The couple glanced over to see the young nurse poking her head in the open doorway.

“Excuse me,” she said in tiny voice. Haruka raised an eyebrow at her.

“What?” she snapped. Akio rested his hand on her shoulder.

“There, there, dear,” he said in her ear. He turned his attention to the nurse staring at them.

“Can we help you?” he asked in a calm tone. The nurse shuffled her feet before speaking.

“Kimoto-san, can we speak with you for a moment?” she asked made herself ask.

“Sure,” Akio replied. He kissed his wife on the head and followed the nurse into the hallway. “You wanted to see me?” he asked once he was out of earshot of Haruka. The nurses didn’t know exactly how to come out and address this to the father. The leader of the group stepped forward.

“It’s just,” she began. “Your wife doesn’t seem too interested in your daughter.” Aiko gave him a little smile.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he brushed off. The nurses looked rather uncertain.

“But…” the leader tried to reason with him.

“It’s just how she was raised,” the father told them. “I’m sure she means well.”

“But that isn’t good for a child’s growth,” another nurse spoke up. Akio waved them all off.

“It’s okay,” he said. “The kids all have me. I can handle them.” The nurses still weren’t certain, but said nothing. Despite his words, five children became too much the couple to handle in that small house in the backwoods. Akio wasn’t really sleeping much anymore. Due to lack of proper eating, he had started to look frail again. Seeing him like this became a moment of disillusionment. So much so, that it became Haruka’s idea that they needed an escape.