"The day you were born," muttered Kashi as he looked at Little Su with a heavy expression. "If the first memory was the day you were born, then the second..."

Suzuki... no, Little Su's gaze narrowed as he raised his right hand and snapped his finger.

Kashi involuntarily blinked for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he and Little Su had returned to their old living room. It was early morning, judging by the rays of sunlight streaming in from the windows. The child, Suzuki sat on the couch with a pensive expression. By his side, his mother also sat with a nervous expression, like she was scared of something.

Clack!

Kashi turned to the entrance at the same time as Suzuki and his mother. Suzuki's expression instantly brightened, an elated smile as his father walked into the home, disheveled, but with a happy grin.

Ryumaki knelt down and hugged Suzuki who ran into his open arms. Patting his son's head, he proudly announced, "The project is complete, Su! From now on, it's just going to be the three of us, doing whatever you want. But first, we'll start with the National Competition." Dangling his car keys, he grinned and said, "Who's ready to go conquer Japan?"

"Me!" Suzuki proudly shouted, and then snorted with laughter as Ryumaki lifted, and then carried him with one arm.

Ryumaki hugged Ruri with his other arm. Smiling softly, he caressed her head and apologized, "I have made you suffer these past years. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

"Mm-mm." Ruri shook, and then buried her head in his chest. "I'm just glad you're finally back."

Little Su's eyes narrowed, rage burning in his eyes as he observed his father. As a child, Suzuki did not notice it, but his father's eyes were droopy, and his overall demeanor was tired and fatigued. Clearly, the man had spent an all-nighter to complete the project before rushing over for his son's big day.

"It all comes back to that project," spat Little Su. "Everything. If he had not pulled that all-nighter, things would have been different."

Kashi, however, shook his head. "You don't know that. It was a freak accident. It could have happened whether he was tired or in tip-top condition."

Little Su chose to not reply. Instead, he once again snapped his fingers. This time, when Kashi opened his eyes, he and Little Su sat on either side of Suzuki at the back seat of a sedan while Ryumaki and Ruri sat in the front seats.

The family joked and laughed as they listened to a comedian on the radio. Occasionally, Ryumaki let out a short yawn or two, but he seemed to be in control so Ruri did not push to take the wheel.

Little Su's eyes narrowed as they approached a bend on the mountainous road. "It's here."

Suddenly, a deer jumped out from the bend startling the family. Ryumaki quickly swerved in attempt to dodge the deer. Unfortunately, this took him into the opposite lane, where a white truck was barreling towards them.

Ryumaki's heart froze, and he immediately tried to swerve back into his lane. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before. The wet, slick road, offered no friction, which made accelerating back onto the right path far too difficult.

The truck driver, noticing the sliding car, immediately cut to the right to dodge Ryumaki's car. Unfortunately, Ryumaki's car chose that moment to finally gain some traction, and instantly dashed into the truck's path.

BAM!

Kashi's heart jumped into his throat as the truck struck their bonnet like a demolition ball, sending their car careening over the guardrail. Ryumaki, Ruri and Suzuki panicked, shouting for help as the car tumbled down the mountain, until it finally crashed into the forest below.

The crash knocked Suzuki out cold for a good while.

"Su! Suzu! Wake up, Su!"

"Mother?" Suzuki groaned in pain as he weakly opened his eyes. He winced as it felt like his body was on fire. There wasn't a single spot did not hurt like hell. The young boy groggily looked around as he tried to recall why he was in so much pain. Did he get into a fight?

However, the sight that greet his eyes, caused Suzuki to scream in horror. The car had suffered a nasty tumble and was crumpled all over. His father's head rested weakly against the steering wheel as massive clumps of blood poured from a massive hole in his chest and throat.

Suzuki's mother bled from her forehead, and leg, but, as if she could not feel it, Ruri was bent backwards, battling with Suzuki's seatbelt. She coughed up blood, revealing severe internal damage, but she refused to show any weakness to her son. "Suzu!" Her eyes went wide with joy when she saw Suzuki's eyes flutter open. "Come on Su. Help mom with your seatbelt."

Suzuki, however, could not move, frozen in place as he stared at his father's corpse. "D-dad?"

"Your dad's fine, Suzu," Ruri assured with a false smile. "He's just taking a short rest. Come on Suzu... focus on mommy, please." Tears began to stream down her face as she fought with the seatbelt's latch. "Damn it! This. Damned. Belt! Come off already!" She paused, and then gave Suzuki a pleading look, "Please, honey, help mom okay? Let's get this off you?"

Suzuki, however, could not bring himself to move. "It's all my fault..." he muttered as he stared at his father's corpse. "I asked him to take me, and now, he's dead... I killed him, mom." Looking to his mother with tears in his eyes, he lamented, "I killed dad."

"No Suzu... it's not your fault," Ruri comforted. "Your dad's fine. Nothing can happen to Ryu-kun, okay? Your father is invincible." She muttered a string of unintelligible words under her breath, and then continued her war against Suzuki's belt. "Come on, Suzu... just help me with this."

"But mom," Suzuki cried, unable to control his rising guilt and pain. Perhaps, because of the massive blow to his head, he was delirious, and could not focus on the truly important task. "Dad... Dad's dead."

"YOUR FATHER IS NOT DEAD!" Ruri screamed, and for a brief moment, Suzuki caught sight of murder within her eyes.

The sheer hatred and threat in her eyes shook Suzuki to the core. Suddenly, his eyes lost focus. Moments later, they regained focus, but this time, Suzuki's gaze was cold and lifeless.

Little Su had forcefully seized control.

"You cannot die here," said Little Su as he reached out and picked up a shard of broken glass. The glass cut into his palm, drawing blood, but Little Su's face remained static. He took the glass to the belt, and slowly, but surely, began to cut through it.

"That's it, that's it, Suzu," Ruri murmured as she watched Little Su cut through the belt. Her expression brightened as, within a few dozen seconds, he cut himself free of the shackles.

Little Su turned his attention to the car window. It was crumpled, and compressed, with sharp glass sticking out from its edges. If he tried to break through, he definitely would not come out unscathed. Unfortunately, judging from the state of the door, trying to open it was a complete lost cause.

If he had time, Little Su would have preferred to clear the window of the glass with a cloth, but unfortunately, Suzuki's life was on the line. Every second wasted was one closer to death. To make matters worse, he spotted the beginnings of a fire near the bumper. How long until that hit fuel?

The young man grit his teeth and began to crawl towards the window, but a hand suddenly grabbed his leg. Little Su turned back, gaze narrowing as he stared at Suzuki's mother.

"Help your father cut his straps, then help me out," Ruri called, gaze hysteric and excited. "You can save us both, Suzu."

Little Su's cold gaze travelled to Suzuki's father. With a deadpan tone, he stated, "Father is dead." He then examined Suzuki's mother. Suzuki had failed to notice, but there was a rod sticking out of her back. Who knew how long it would take to attempt dislodging that? "You are not long for this world, either mother. I cannot risk Suzuki to save you. Suzuki must live."

With those words, Suzuki turned to leave, but Ruri suddenly grabbed his legs again. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded, "Please save Ryu-kun. Please save him. You can leave me. But please save your father!"

"Crazy bitch!" Little Su cursed as he kicked her hand off. Years of pent-up frustration exploded as he roared and pointed at Suzuki's father. "HE'S DEAD! TAKE A GOOD LOOK!"

Ruri panicked and then turned to look at her husband. "No... No..." She slowly shook her head, desperation rejection in her eyes as she stared at the lifeless corpse. "No! Ryu-Kun!" A gut-wrenching scream escaped the pits of her stomach as she refused the unforgiving reality before her.

No, he could not be dead. They had finally gotten what they wanted. What about the future they'd planned for? Everything. The past decade. She had endured the pain only in anticipation of their future. Now, it was all over? Just like that.

Little Su ignored her stunned expression and began making his way to the window once again.

Grab!

Ruri suddenly grabbed his leg, her gaze crazed with hatred and anger as she shouted, "You can't leave. You can't leave your father like this! He can still be saved!"

"You crazy—" cursed Little Su as he kicked against her hands and face in an effort to free himself. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he could not free himself. Suddenly, he spotted the flames on the bonnet instantaneously double in size. He knew he only had seconds left.

In his desperation, Little Su broke one of the rules Suzuki had set. He grabbed a glass shard, bent over and stabbed Ruri's hands. The shock of seeing Suzuki's mother bleeding, forced Little Su back in, and brought out a delirious Suzuki.

Unfortunately, the first thing Suzuki saw upon his return was his mother glaring at him with unabashed hatred. Ruri's eyes grew cold and distant, a snarl on her face as she angrily spat, "This is all your fault. I wish you were never born."

"I-I-I..." Suzuki's eyes lost focus as his mind scrambled into chaos. His mother's face and words constantly replayed in his head a million times within the span of a second. Once again, Suzuki froze in place, unable to move, even as the smoke and flames began to consume the car's interior.

Realizing the danger, Little Su forcefully seized control. In his panic, he forgot to check on Suzuki's mental state as he pushed his way out of the wreckage. The glass cut deep into his skin, but Little Su did not bat an eye, eager to get out of the car as soon as possible.

Eventually, amid all the smoke, Little Su managed to crawl though the window. Against, his better judgment, Little Su paused and turned to look at the car. To his surprise, tears streamed down Ruri's eyes, relief and joy in her eyes as she looked at her son. "Go Suzu," she mouthed, a weak smile on her face as the flames consumed her. "Mother will be alright."

Little Su's went wide with shock. Before he could think, a desperate shout escaped his throat, "Wait!" He cried as he rose up, and ran towards the car.

BOOM!!!

The car exploded, sending Little Su flying headfirst into a tree. The blow instantly knocked him out.

Kashi's eyes narrowed as he stared at the burning wreckage. "...That's not how I remember it. In my memories, the last thing Suzuki saw was his mother wishing he was dead."

"That was the last thing Suzuki saw," confirmed Little Su with a dark gaze. He snapped his fingers one last time, and they appeared in a hospital room. Suzuki lay in a bed, wrapped from head to toe in gauze. "When I woke up, Suzuki was gone." Glancing at Kashi, he explained, "This is why I made the rule that we must not interfere in each other's worlds."

"What do you mean?"

Little Su stared at the unconscious Suzuki as he explained. "We may exist within the same body, but we cannot coexist at the same time. The moment our wills clash while we're fighting for control, the mind will seek balance." He turned to look at Kashi and explained, "In the end, the weaker will is destroyed, and balance restored."

Little Su revealed a wry smile as he said, "Parallel, huh. Father named it so well. We can run in similar paths, but we can never clash. That is the sort of relationship we have. I didn't understand this as a child, and naively seized control to save Suzuki." Clenching his fists, he angrily spat, "I had one job. One. To protect Suzuki from the world. Make sure he never has to experience pain again. He trusted me. And, what did I do? I killed him."

Little Su bit his lips, drawing blood as he stared at the sleeping child. "It's all that program's fault. If she didn't exist—"

"Wait! She?" interrupted Kashi, gaze blazing hot as he glared at Little Su. "Lunette?" He grabbed Little Su by the collar and roared, "What did you do!?"

"I'm punishing her," explained Little Su as a screen appeared next to him. Through the screen, they could see Suzuki's perspective, which currently focused on the rapidly fading Lunette.

BAM!

"You asshole!" Kashi suddenly decked Little Su so hard he fell to the floor. "Don't you fucking dare hurt her!" He straddled Little Su and grabbed his collar. "Let her go!"

Little Su's cold eyes remained unnerved. "I don't want to. She must pay."

"Are you insane!?" Kashi shouted. "She had nothing to do with Suzuki's death!"

"If she did not exist—"

"Nothing would change if she did not exist!" roared the daeben angrily. "Father would have found something else to work on! He was obsessed with getting rich quickly! With or without Lunette, he would have worked himself to the bone!"

"Maybe so," agreed Little Su, "but it does not change the fact she was involved. So she must pay."

"She doesn't have to pay for anything!" shouted Kashi. "She didn't kill Suzuki. You Did! It's Your Fault!"

"This is all your fault! I wish you were never born!"

Only after venting did Kashi realize what he'd just said. "No, wait. I didn't mean it like that."

"No," refuted Little Su. "You did. And I will get what's coming to me just like she is." His eyes narrowed as he then challenged, "What about it? Will you try to end me to save her? Are you prepared to risk your life? Who knows, your will might be stronger than mine."

Kashi suddenly froze, gaze narrowing as he searched Little Su's empty eyes. "Is that what this has always been about? Making new personalities to 'learn' emotions. Did you just want to commit suicide the entire time? But you can't shake your programming to hurt Suzuki's body, so you raise us? Let us grow? So we can destroy you one day? Is that it?"

Little Su did not say anything, but his empty gaze spoke volumes.

"No," Kashi refused as he rose to his feet. "I'm not doing this with you." Gaze narrowing, he challenged, "Just let her go. You know she did nothing wrong. Don't transfer your rage to an innocent person."

Little Su's gaze narrowed. "Sorry..."

Redmont Manor...

Kashi's eyes shone with a sinister light as he glared at Lunette. "Sorry, but you must pay..."

Crack!

Special welcome and thanks to three new Patreon Stars: Jakob Dillsworth, Vignesh Sendhil, and Captain Redbeard. Thank you for joining the family... 

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