#katsumi

{ Standing in a lavish living room was Baki, a serious look on his face as he stared his father down. Yujirou stared Baki back down but with a more amused stare... but there was something else in the expression... Something Baki couldn't put his finger on, but it didn't really matter. He wasn't here for idle chit-chat, nor was he here to share a laugh and bond. He was here to lay down some boundaries, and if it resulted in a fight, then so be it.

Baki spoke first. "I already know that you know about (Y/n), so I'm just going to get to the point. Stay away from her and forget you ever knew she existed... She has nothing to do with you or our lifestyle. She's mine, and you're not allowed anywhere near her. She doesn't even know you exist, and I intend on keeping it that way. Go ahead, get upset that I'm putting my foot down, beat me down, beat me till I'm bloodied, bruised, and can barely move, I'll just use my teeth to keep you back. Even if you take those too, my gums are just as good." He said, his tone was final, no room for argument was in his tone, even his posture spoke volumes, his hands balled into fists, his feet shoulder width apart, his eyes locked on his father, unblinking.

Yujioru stared at him with the same expression the entire time, but baki could see something else. Aside from the unknown expression, he could now see something else... Something he's never realized that he's always craved to see on his father's face, directed towards him, he saw pride on his father's face. It was subtle, but Baki was trembling with happiness. For the first time in his life, his father was expressing open pride for his son.

It was now Yujirou's turn to speak. "Bravo, Baki... You came here with your own thoughts, squeared shoulders, and a strong spirit. You know you can't beat my ass and yet you came to me faced to faced and laid the laws down for your own household, your sense of pride and joy... No man has ever done such a thing, and for that, you have my praise." He spoke open and honest. Baki's strong stare loosened into a flabbergasted one as he stared up at his father. "Oh.... Um.... Thanks, dad." He said in bewilderedment. 'Wow... If I had known, he would've reacted like this... I should've been done this years ago!' Baki thought.

Yujirou's pride suddenly switches to violence, and Baki's hair stands on end. He quickly jumps back and strikes his fighting pose. His eyes were wide and wild, waiting on baited breaths for the first devastating blow. Yujirou spoke once more. "However, your little 'boundary' is going to have to be violated because you see Baki... This stray that you've found and adopted as your wayward mother has caught my attention... It's because of her that you so easily disposed of Kozue, the girl you liked so much. To do such a thing, as a man of our caliber, says a lot." Yujioru explains.

Baki's shock gently eased into a defensive one. "Not sure what you're yapping about, Dad, but I didn't do anything to Kouze." He defended. Yujirou scoffed. "Suicide, right? Out of the blue is a little ridiculous, don't you think? And right when a new, better, more promising woman enters your life too? If I were her, I'd been throwing a fit over this new woman... All your attention, time, and love going into this woman?... If I were you... I would've gotten rid of her, too. Kozue gave you strength, but in a different way, and now (Y/n) has given you an even better type of strength, something more potent than Kozue was ever able to give you. It's like discovering a new kink, why would you go back to being a vanilla bitch when this new kink gives you so much more sexual satisfaction?" Yujirou challenged.

However, Baki didn't back down, and he held onto his defense, but there was a slight waver in his stare. 'He's right... Whatever extra pump Kozue gave me had run out the moment we became an official family... It's just like he said, why go back when she gave me so much more,' Baki thought. Yujirou chuckled. "The love of a mother is so much more fulfilling than the love of a spouse. Spouses come and go, but mothers are forever. She's your very first love. You love her while you're in her womb, hearing her voice, her laughter, hearing all her worries, fears, accomplishments, and frustrations. Hearing her snore, sharing her food and her very life essences and body. You learn to have love and devotion to her before you're ever even conscious of your own damn existence." Yujioru explains.

Baki agrees silently. He's never thought about it like that, but his father was right. Yujioru spoke again. "Killing the very thing that's trying to get between a deep connection like that, whether its blood or not, is almost always immediately terminated." Baki once more defends himself. "That's all true, but Kozue died due to suicide... The police did their best, and all evidence points to suicide." He said, Yujioru chuckled again before he gave Baki a knowing stare. "Think about it, Baki. The Japanese police force is one of the best task forces in the world. They're disciplined, moral driven, and believe in good karma. So riddle me this, and I mean it when I say this... In what world would they suddenly just drop such a case on such a well-known girl? And it doesn't make it any better that she was currently dating the Oger's son at the time, too, another extremely well-known figure in their world, at least." Yujioru said.

Baki's eyes widen, and his defensive posture slacken. 'Holy shit... Dad's right... Why would they just suddenly give up on Kozue's death? When it first happened, I didn't think much of it at the time.' Yujirou's smirk widen. "You're young, Baki, and you're still learning how the world works, but don't you worry, Mommy and Daddy will be sure to guide you." He said, almost in a teasing tone, but it held too much seriousness in it for Baki to brush it off as such. "The heck are you on about, dad?" He asked. Yujirou's gaze seemed to soften, just a bit. It's damn near unnoticeable. "Let's make a deal, Baki... I'll keep Kozue's real cause of death a secret, and in return, you share (Y/n) with me and I promise, her safety will be absolute forever so long as she continues to fule your strength. But the day you stop progressing, is that day she dies." He said.

Baki stared at him with a dazed expression, his brain processing his words carefully. "Huh?" Was all he could say.}

The sound of the TV brought Baki back from the memory, he tuned in, truly looking at the TV, seeing that whatever it was you were watching was reaching a climax, he looked down at you at the other end of the couch, you were curled up now comfortably, leaning against the arm rest more, your eyes locked on the screen ahead of you intensely. It was cute. He enjoyed being in your world with you, the more 'normal' world. Wake up, relax for a bit, take a shower or whatever, eat breakfast then... do whatever for the remainder of the day... It was admittedly a little boring, but he loved it because it was a part of you, and Baki loved you more than anything on this planet.

His thoughts went back to what his father said. 'Dad's right... That's the main reason as to why I got rid of it, Kozue was trying to separate me from her. What me and Kozue had was special. It truly was, I really did love Kozue, with all my heart. It gave me my first kiss, my first time, my first romantic love... But then (Y/n) became a more important constant in my life, she became my new reason to fight, to get stronger, she truly made me want to do better. She never questioned me on why I fought. She never tried to convince me to stop being me. She accepted and loved me instantly, the complete opposite of what Kozue did... And now... Dad wants me to share her with him?... He never gave me a reason why... But something is telling me it's because of power.' Baki thought.

'I'm not sure what it is that she has, but (Y/n) brings more out of people. She seems to even bring more out of Katsumi. She seems to make him more confident, more stable, and aware... Speaking of him, with my dad on the prowl now... It'll keep Katsumi back, I don't really have anything against him, just the fact that he's been too deep into my business lately, and he's trying to be my father when I already got one... (Y/n) is more closer to my father's age while Katsumi is literally 3 years older than me... There's no way I'll even consider calling him my step dad. Hell, I'd accept Doppo as a stepfather faster than Katsumi of all people.' Baki thought, a slightly annoyed look on his otherwise relaxed expression.

He softly sighed as he threw his arm across his eyes. 'This is ridiculous... Now I have to step back and let my dad openly flirt and try and date my mom. It's absolutely ridiculous, unfathomable, and yet here I am, openly letting my mom get hunted by my beast of a father, all because dad wants strength, sure it'll keep Katsumi back and get him off my tail, but there's also a serious worry here that my dad could kill you. Wouldn't be the first time he killed my mom. He already killed the first one, so why wouldn't he kill this one, too!? ... But he did promise that he wouldn't kill her, so long as she kept giving me strength, then again, I'm kind of just assuming things here... He never did say he was going to pursue her romantically... He just said said to share her... whatever that means...'

His thoughts continued, trying to wrap his brain around it all. It's almoat like his father gave him an answer as to why he killed his birth mother, only he explained it in a riddle of sorts, but it was up to Baki to make sense of it all... He was never good at riddles. If only Kozue was still alive, it would most definitely help him solve this. His arm moved up to his forehead, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the ceiling of the living room. 'It's crazy to think that around the time he killed my birth mother, it was around the same time when I had just disowned it as my mother, and I mentally crowned you as my mother... Kind of like, when I disowned Kozue as the only true love of my life, and I crowned you as my true love... If only Kozue didn't get in the way, maybe then she'd still be alive...!!!!' Baki thought, and his eyes suddenly widened, and he abruptly sat up, effectively making you jump.

"OH!!" You yelped in shock. You sighed a breath of relief as you placed a hand over your heart before you looked over at Baki. "Baki, you scared me.. what's wrong?" You asked him in concern. He didn't look shocked or surprised, but he looked like he had just discovered something almost like he's having a eureka moment. You blinked at him. "Baki?" You gently asked. Baki, however, his mind was running a thousand miles per hour, but he did mumble a small "Sorry, just thinking." in response as he curled up, it made you slightly relaxed, allowing you to get back into your show, but you kept your mind slightly on him still. 'THAT'S IT!!!!! When Dad killed her... It was when she stepped in between us, trying to save me, she got in the way of my progress and he killed her!! Just like when Kozue got in the way between mine and my mom's bond!'

Baki thought, everything was making sense now!!! 'It was stopping progress, so I killed her... And now that I'm thinking about it, Kozue used to be one of the main reasons as to why I trained, one was to beat my father, two was to defeat anyone who challenged me, and three was to keep you safe... But somewhere alone the way, Kozue went from being one of my first priorities to my last, and you became my new main reason!!... This is absolutely insane!!' Baki thought, his back against the arm of the couch, his legs bent up against his chest, and his ankles crossed as he hugged his legs.

'I wonder... Did my dad also kill my birth mother because of the same reason for himself, too?... Before, he killed her... I saw him way more often, and I always knew he was only around because he was visiting her and by default me as well... Did my dad also love my mom? Did he love her to the point where she made him want to keep getting stronger and stronger, too? Honestly, she was one of the reasons as to why I wanted to get stronger as well. I did it because I loved her deeply, and I wanted her love in return... The question is, though, how did my dad know that I stopped loving her?' He thought, for the first time he was seeing his father in a new light, and honestly it scared him, yet it excited him.

The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door

Both you and Baki sat at the dining table, it was evening now, the sun was setting and the home was filled with an orange glow, aside from the kitchen as the overhead light was on, illuminating the kitchen in a white glow, you just got done cooking dinner about 20 minutes ago and now you were both happily eating together. Small talk was made here and there, laugher, jokes, and just nothing but peace radiated between you two. Baki craved this for years with his own parents... And soon, maybe... Just maybe, it could be a reality... He couldn't actually see a relationship blossoming between you and his father, but he could see some form of co-parenting between the two... It's most definitely going to be an interesting sight to see both his parents trying to come to a common ground regarding him.

Baki held a gentle smile on his face as he listened to you laugh, telling him a silly tale from your childhood to him... Your very normal childhood, something he didn't have, the peace was unfortunately interrupted by the doorbell ringing. You gave a few more chuckles as you whipped the happy tears from your eyes as you stood up and went to answer the door. Baki's gentle smile was slightly damped as the peace was interrupted, but it wasn't entirely lost... Until you happily greeted the soul at the door. "Oh!! Hi, Katsumi!!" Baki's smile completely fell.

At the door, Katsumi smiled down at you kindly, happy to see you smiling, healthy, and alive. "Hi, (Y/n), sorry to drop by on such short notice, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He kindly said you smiled up at him and gently fan off his concerns. "Oh no, don't worry, you're not -" You started off with no issues with his sudden appearance, but it was cut off when Baki suddenly spoke up right behind you. "Are... interrupting us, Katsumi." Baki said.

Katsumi looked up at Baki while you looked back in surprise at his sudden appearance. "Baki!! Don't be rude!" You scolded. But Baki didn't seem to pay you any mind. His harden gaze locked on Katsumi. You stared up at Baki with a worried yet cautious stare before you looked back at Katsumi. He, too, was staring at Baki, a challenging gleam in his eyes. Baki spoke up first. "You do realize that phones exist, yes?" He challenged, Katsumi responded. "Oh I do, but I didn't think to call, you know, seeing how (Y/n) told me I was welcomed to come by at any time, and that it was no trouble at all." He bucked back.

You stared at the two, anxiety flowing through you as you nervously looked between the two. "Hey... Calm down, you two... It's not that deep, I promise you." You said, trying to defuse the tension, but the tension was far too thick. Both Baki and Katsumi were locked and seemed intent on throwing fists if it came down to it. "My mom, may have said that you're welcomed here and what not, but I'm the man of the house, and It's up to me to keep her safe, and if I deem you as an issue, I'm not letting you in, no matter what she said and no matter who you are." Baki said, countering Katsumi's words. You looked back at Baki with a defensive stare. You opened your mouth to fuss at him, but Katsumi beat you to it.

"Even if that issue is a good friend?" Katsumi asked. At first glance, it almost seems like he's teasing Baki, with that small smirk, but Baki knew exactly what it was... an invitation... Baki's gaze darken, in that moment, he made up his mind. "Especially... If that issue is a good friend." Baki confirmed. In Baki's mind, depending on how Katsumi responded to his words was how he was going to respond. If Katsumi reacted negatively in any way possible, he was going to attack and he was aiming to kill, but if Katsumi reacted with indifference or in a positive way then Baki would let him off with a warning.

You decided to put your foot down. You were done with this foolishness. "Both of you just stop it!! I don't know what's going on, but this needs to stop!" You said loudly, glaring between the two. Their stare down didn't waver one bit, Baki's hand tightened into a fist, and Katsumi's feet shifted some, but you didn't back down, instead you did the next best thing, and you reacted on instinct instead of obligation, you turned to Katsumi and you smack him on his cheek.

The sudden smack shocked Katsumi, his eyes wide with shock. It didn't hurt, but it did sting. He slowly reached up, and he rubbed his cheek. He then looked down at you, and you were just as shocked as he was. You honestly weren't sure as to why you chose to smack Katsumi instead of Baki, your initial action was to repremend Baki and tell him to apologize to Katsumi, but your instincts for survival overcame you and you chose to smack Katsumi instead.

Everyone was quiet, and both you and Katsumi were shocked. You looked back at Baki, almost like you were looking for something from him, but his harden glare was still on Katsumi. "You honestly deserved that, good hit, ma." Baki said as a small smirk slowly blossomed on his face. All the tension from your body left you, and you felt relieved in a way, proud even. You weren't sure what you were feeling, but you didn't regret it... Honestly, you just felt like you saved both yours and Katsumi's lives. The air suddenly shifted, and everyone tensed up, Baki's hair began to stand on end. 'He's here.' He thought.

You looked towards Katsumi, only for your eyes to widen when they landed on the large figure behind Katsumi. Katsumi's own eyes were wide. He knew danger was behind him. "So, you decided to drag your sorry, worthless ass here, Katsumi. Just what were you trying to achieve, imposing upon another man's territory, huh?" The tall man questined. Katsumi looked back behind him. He already knew who it was, but his instincts to live out weighed his pride. Turning around towards the man, Katsumi's eyes locked on Yujirou. "Yujirou... I don't want any trouble... I didn't know you were associated with (Y/n) like that was all... I mean, no disrespect, honestly... I was just coming to check up on her was all." He answers honestly.

Squaring up with Baki was one thing. Defeat was guaranteed, but with Yujirou Hanma, the Oger himself... Death was on the horizon. Katsumi was being honest, he really did just come to check in on you. He's been digging into Kozue's death recently, and nothing was adding up. He was able to obtain the footage from that day from the school camera, and he saw both Baki and Kozue chatting in the hall one minute, and then the next, it was just Baki talking to some stray student.

Looking over the footage, he saw that Baki was talking to Kozue at 2:40 p.m., but when he was speaking to the stray student, it was 3:15 pm. A total of 35 minutes worth of footage was edited out of the footage. It's almost like someone was covering up Kozue's death, and it all revolves around Baki, because both times.he saw Baki in the same hall, the English hall, the only hall within the whole school that lead to the stairs that access the roof. Once he discovered that, he immediately rushed over to see you, only to see you're alive and well, but now... Facing the Oger, his initial reasoning for coming meant nothing. Dead men can't save anyone from anything.

"Well, you've checked, and you received a smack in response for your pointless efforts. You're over here, putting more attention into other man's woman, another man's life, than your own damn training. Hence why you're such a fucking failure, even Jack has accomplished more than your sorry ass, and the boy's practically never won in any major fights aside from the ones that doesn't mean jack-shit. The only fight that he's ever been in that was against another major fighter and actually won was against Goki, something your worthless ass haven't accomplished at all." Yujioru spat, Katsumi could do nothing but stare on in embarrassment, anger, resentment, and shame. Because he knew that Yujioru was right.

"You're lucky to still be alive because I can promise you, had she decided to ignore every cell in her body and smacked Baki instead, you'd be dead by now." He said, a vicious yet proud smirk spreading across Yujirou's face. Katsumi's breath staggered some. He himself knew it too, but he ignored it in favor of not wanting to believe it too... But he knew the truth... If you had decided to smack Baki instead, Baki would've deemed you traitorous and useless. He would've slaughtered you and then him immediately afterward... It was terrifying, honestly... To think that Baki could make such a split second decision like that, and towards the woman he loved most and called his 'mother' no less.

"Now, get lost before I forget my respect to your father and handle your ass any kind of way." Yujioru threatened and promised. Katsumi's eyes widened before he nodded, without even so much as looking back at you for farwell he stalked off, his pride wounded, he can easily lose a fight and get back up, but this, was unrecoverable.

You swallowed nervously, your thoughts running a thousand miles per hour. You've never met this man before, but even you knew, he was powerful , extreamly so, however you didn't back down, you were nervous but you didn't look away, not once. This man was dangerous, and yet he was also beautiful and otherworldly. You feared that if you looked away, he'd be gone and never to be seen again. Yujirou stared down at you, taking in your posture, your eyes, the way you carried yourself. He could tell you had a lot of pride in yourself, and in his son, you were strong in your own way, always ready for the next stress that life will throw your way. He gave an approving hum. You straighted up just the slightest bit, not wanting to appear weak. You knew you couldn't do against against this creature, but you'd rather fight him off than allow him access to your son Baki. He gave you a more proud smirk than the degrading one he gave to Katsumi earlier.

"You've got quite the exquisite taste in women Baki, this is the second female you've found that was able to look me in the eye and not back down. Where do you keep finding them, I'll never know." Yujioru said, an amused tone in his voice. Baki shrugged as he gave his dad a more bored stare than anything. "I don't know really, they kind of just find me." Was his simple answer. Yujioru chuckled. You stated between the two for a moment before you looked back at Baki. He was far more relaxed now than he was earlier, and you must admit, you weren't a fan of whatever Baki had going on earlier and hope to never be on the receiving end of it. "Baki... Who is this man? Another friend of yours?" You asked him gently.

He looked down at you, the usual happy and relaxed gleam in his eyes whenever he stared at you was there and it completely eased your nerves. "I guess you would assume that, which is fair... But no... He's not my friend at all... This is Yujioru Hanma." He explained, your eyes widen a fraction at the last name. "My dad." Baki finished, a small yet proud smile on his face. You looked back at yujioru, a new light of understanding in your eyes as you stared at him. You turned back to Yujiro, your eyes locked with his once more. 'So this... Is the man that killed Baki's mother and the man that Baki loves most.' You thought, you then reached your hand out in greeting.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Hanma... Baki speaks very highly of you, a few negative things here and there, but overall nothing but absolute praise and admiration." You said, confidence in your voice. Yujirou didn't reveal any emotions on his face, Baki, however, voiced his embarrassment. "MOM!!! She didn't mean that. She totally doesn't know what she's yapping about!!" He fussed as he looked at his father in desperation to believe him, but it was all silenced by the unfamiliar look on his father's face, the same expression he seen yesterday night, the one he held no name for.

Yujiro spoke up. "Is that so, Baki?... I've heard quite a bit about you too, (Y/n), you're quite the little lady I hear. Taking in my wayward, brat of a son, and you're turning him into a respectable young man with a promising future... I must admit, you're tougher than I gave you credit for. Out of all of the nasty strays my son adopted as piss poor excuses of parental figures in his miserable life, you're by far the best thing he's come across so far... Color me impressed." Yujiro said, expressing his pride in Baki's newest choice and addition to his life. With a slow yet calculated movement, Yujiro raised his own hand, and he gently gripped yours, sealing the meeting. You smiled in response. "Is that so!! Well, I'm happy to hear that, Mr. Hanma!! To know you think that highly of me is truly an honorable feeling!! I sure hope I'm doing this mother thing correctly though, as you can tell, I'm not a mother by the laws of nature, but I am through the laws of love." You explained, a small but proud smile on your face.

Yujiro observed it, and he instantly understood that smile. It wasn't the proud smile of a fighter winning a match. It wasn't the proud smile of a soldier being awarded. It wasn't the proud smile of an inmate getting out of jail. No, it was a proud smile that he was very familiar with and has been seeing on his own face as of late. It was the proud smile of a parent. The pride you held in Baki was reflected on your face, Yujiro was used to seeing it on other men's faces, and he's only once seen it on Kozue's face... But this wasn't a warrior. This wasn't a lover, no... This was a mother, a mother who held nothing but absolute love, pride, and admiration for her son, their son, Baki.

Yujiro gave a chuckled. "Well, aren't you just something (Y/n), and call me Yujiro, doesn't make sense in calling me 'Mr. Hanma' when we're both parents to the same damn kid now, does it? The day I hear that is the day one of us disowns the brat, which I don't see happening." Yujiro said, you smiled silently agreeing. Baki was left speechless. He's never seen his father be and act so.... Normal, so human... It was an odd sight indeed. "Yujioru, would you like to join us for dinner, I did just make it not even an hour ago. Baki and I just started eating, actually!" You said, inviting Yujioru into your home. It was your way of saying you accept Yujiro as the father and that you were willing to be a family and even co-parent. In all honesty, you held much thanks to Yujiro because thanks to him, Baki was able to obtain a true mother, and he got rid of that harlot of a woman he procreated Baki with.

Yujiro grinned, showing his pearly whites as he gave an amused chuckle. "Inviting me in so that we can play 'house' is a bold move... But yeah, let me on in, I wanna see what ya'll got going on in here." He said, agreeing in his own way. In honesty, he was touched to see you so quickly trying to make a relationship with him in some kind of way for the benefit of his son. He was truly touched in a way... But showing affection wasn't Yujirou's style. Baki stared wide eyed, he was at a loss for words at the whole interaction between his two parents. It was very civil, easygoing, and straight to the point. There was no arguing, no heated glares, no shouting... There was absolutely nothing negative about this whole meeting. Through all of Baki's life, whenever he saw his father, there was usually an altercation, it's very rarely civil, and between his two parents, he was never known civil.

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