Chapter Twenty-Four: Tragedy in the Rain:

Suddenly, a flashlight flashed on all of us. The couple looked up and shielded their eyes.

�Who�s there?� a loud voice boomed. I took a step forward.

�Who are you?� I asked.

�I�ll ask the questions here!� the voice snapped. �Who the hell are you?!?� Toshio squinted for a better look.

�Dad?� he asked. I looked around for a long moment.

�Dad?� I asked. Footsteps came over to us in the dark. A man in his mid-forties looked around at all of us. I tried to get a better look at the man dressed like he was going out hunting in the middle of the night. Toshio took a step forward.

�Dad?� he asked again. �What are you doing here?�

�I could ask you the same thing,� his father said. He looked over at Hiroko. �And who is this young lady here?� Sappoto-san was about to speak up when I pinched her in the back. Toshio squeezed Hiroko�s hand.

�My girlfriend,� he said, boldly. I resisted commenting for I could already see how this would go down. My mind screamed, �Countdown to bloodshed!� I felt a small nudge on my arm. I shifted my eyes to my left to see Sappoto-san�s pale face staring at me.

�We have to tell him,� she whispered.

�No!� I hissed under my breath.

�But��

�Zip it!�

The man stared at Hiroko for a long time. He narrowed his eyes at her. �Hey, I know you!� he said. �You�re that Shimamoto girl!� Sappoto-san wanted to speak again, but I grabbed her arm.

�Shhh!� I hissed again. �Let them handle it!�

�So?� his son asked. �It doesn�t matter; I love her!� The man�s face burned an angry red.

�No!� he barked. �I will not allow this!�

�And why not?!?� his son barked.

�She�s a Shimamoto!� the man yelled.

�And why does that matter?� Toshio yelled. �Why do you hate the Shimamoto so much?!? Tell me why?�

�I don�t know anymore!� he snapped.

�Well, that�s just stupid!� his son shouted.

�Get away from that dirty whore!� the man yelled. �She�s not good enough for you!�

�I won�t!� Toshio shot back. �None of that matters to me!� I remember thinking the whole time, this won�t end well. Suddenly, I felt another light hit my back. I paused and glanced behind me.

�Hiroko-chan!� I heard Captain Shimamoto yell. I bit my lower lip.

�This isn�t good,� I mumbled. My ears listened as the heavy, slick boots walked towards us in the thick brush. I frowned as I saw that the man wasn�t alone at this time. Why did you bring your family out here, man?, I thought. Captain Shimamoto looked at all of us with his light.

�What�s going on here?� he asked. The man took a closer step forward.

�I could ask you the same thing,� he said. The captain saw fire with him.

�You!� he barked.

�Stop it!� Hiroko cried. Her father turned his eyes on her.

�Honey,� he said, trying to stay calm. �What are you doing out here and why are you with a Fujisawa?�

�I love him!� she wailed.

�No, you don�t,� her father tried to tell her.

�Yes, I do,� she fought back.

�No, you don�t,� he insisted.

�Yes, I do!� she yelled. �And I�m tired of you trying to control me all of the time!�

�Honey�� he began.

�Stop it, dad!� Hiroko cried. �You always do this to me! I�m not a little girl anymore!�

�You�ll always be my little girl,� the captain insisted.

�No!� she yelled. �Stop, just stop!� She pulled Toshio by her side. �I love him and I�m going to marry him!�

�I won�t allow it!� both men shouted.

�Then, we�ll run away together!� Hiroko declared. Oh man, this is getting too much. I leaned down to Sappoto-san�s ear.

�We�ll run when they get distracted, okay?� I whispered. Sappoto-san quickly turned to face me.

�What?!?� she whispered back. Before I could even speak, I paused and darted my head around.

�Get down!� I screamed.

�What?� everyone asked. Four shots filled the deep night sky. Screaming followed behind. I grabbed Sappoto-san and pushed her to the ground. I looked up when the chaos paused.

�You okay?� I asked my buddy. Sappoto-san made a face at me.

�Yes, but�� she said. I looked at her in desperation.

�What is it?� I asked.

�You�re squishing me!� she complained. I paused with a blank stare.

�Huh?� I asked as I looked down. �Oh, I�m sorry. I�m sorry.� I climbed off of her as quickly as I could. Sappoto-san took in a breath.

�Nee-chan!� I heard one of the Shimamoto kids scream. I looked up and saw the little brother running towards the injured girl as she held her seriously bleeding boyfriend in her arms. I paused and whipped around behind me again. This time, I got a better look at Captain Shimamoto�s wife with the gun in her hand.

�Look out!� I screamed. The little boy looked up too late. I heard silence all around me. Hiroko�s eyes widened in shock. Her brother collapsed to the ground with a shot to the back of his head.

�Kaoru-kun!� Captain Shimamoto cried. His wife dropped to her knees in a daze. Despair clouded his face.

�Shiroko,� he murmured. �But why?�

�I just wanted it all to end�� she mumbled. �I can�t stand it anymore�� She lifted the gun to her own head.

�Shiroko-chan!� Toshio�s father yelled. Her blood splattered the dark grass. She fell face downwards. Both men raced over to her as I guessed what the real feud was about. That didn�t really matter anymore. I turned to Sappoto-san.

�Ready to run now?� I whispered. She only nodded at my question with pale horror. I grabbed her by the hand and ran away while everyone was consumed with fear and sorrow. Sappoto-san and I packed up and fled to our boat after that!