Katsumi’s hand gripped the door handle as she listened to the police’s goodbyes in disbelief. Just now, just on the other side of this wall, her mother refused to defend her. But why?

Slowly opening the door, her entire core trembled from the sudden shock. What happened? Why did she send them away so quickly?

Whistling and humming came out the kitchen, Katsumi approached it with unsteady steps, quietly gazing at her mother twirl a wooden spoon in the boiling tomato soup.

A small clock ticked close to Katsumi. She listened to the seconds passing all the while a joyful melody filled the kitchen.

– Mom?

Her voice was that of a curious child’s, bearing hints of denial. The humming quieted down as her mother answered, her back still turned on Kats.

– Yes, my dear?

– What was that?

It took her a few seconds to answer.

– Ah, you mean the smell? It’s tomato sauce, my dear. I’m making…

– Somebody was here.

– What do you mean by that, Momo?

– Mom…

She took a step towards her, but immediately stopped. Her mother swiftly turned away from the soup and faced Katsumi, leaning close to the stove.

– Momo, I said it already. You don’t have anything to worry about. Mommy will take care of your problems.

Katsumi opened her mouth to talk, but paused and gazed at the kitchen floor. Her mind wavered between unsure thoughts, turning her entire being into one great question.

– B-But… – she forced herself to speak.

– Sweety, you should go and take a nap.

– The police have more power than you! – trembling, but she continued. – They could help us. W-We should probably go after them and…

– Don’t you trust me, Momo?

– I do, but…

– Then why can’t you believe in me? The people that came had no idea you stabbed the principal with a pen! If they’d known, you would be in jail by now! And what do you think, what would it feel like for me, your mother, to see you rot away in jail? Just go to your room and let me…

– B-But they won’t hurt us! I didn’t do anything wrong, you said it yourself!

– I don’t want to talk about this. Go to your room, now!

– But I didn’t do anything wrong!

– Are you deaf? Go to your room!

– They said we could sue the…

– Shut up! – she screamed, startling Katsumi.

Her eyes weren’t comforting or motherly at all. They were fiery, blazing with a blind anger. Katsumi couldn’t answer her. She couldn’t move a single inch of her being.

– We won’t go to the police! Not me, not you, not anyone! I’ll call your school and apologize to everyone in your name. We’ll send them a nice little gift basket and a handful of cash. That’s it. You’ll change schools. We’ll forget this ever happened and go on with our lives. This conversation is over. Go to your room. – she turned away from Katsumi and continued making the soup.

Kats had no idea how to react. She just stood there and listened as her mother started humming again. It was the same melody as before, a carefree Japanese song.

Being an obedient daughter, she would’ve went straight to her room, locking the door and bawling her eyes out for weeks to come. But… not this time.

Katsumi clenched her fists and stood her ground.

– I’ll… go… to the police station… and tell them everything.

Her mother gave no answer, just hummed the same song.

– Y-Yes. I’ll… grab my ID card and…

As she stepped away, her mother grabbed the tomato soup and threw it after her, screaming like a banshee. Katsumi was fast to react and quickly jumped out of the way. Her mother followed it up with a strong slap, sending Kats back to the ground, straight into the boiling soup.

– Insolent little whore! I won’t allow you to dirty our family name!

She went for another slap, but Katsumi kicked her in the chest and quickly got up. Her hand got slightly burned and her uniform became dirty with the smelly tomato. Yet that was nothing compared to the emotional pain and shock she felt.

– M-Mom? W-Why… did you hit me?

– Don’t you dare call me your mom! You’re a fucking disgrace to this family! How come you cannot find yourself a friend for all your life and then suddenly sell your body like a bitch in heat?

– B-But… I…

– This family built a castle out of mud through thousands of years! I won’t allow your mistakes to bring it back down again! You… you’re not a part of this family anymore! Get out of this house! Now! I regret the day I accepted you as my child.

– W-What do you mean by that?

– Get out! – she grabbed the nearest broom and chased Katsumi outside.

Her mother watched from the door frame as she ran away. She didn’t feel even the slightest hint of guilt, only an immense amount of anger towards her child.

She stood there for a while, listening as Katsumi’s crying became quieter with each second, before it finally disappeared as she left the apartment.

On her way back to the kitchen, she shut the door with a loud bang and locked it with a key.

– – –

That day went by without any meaningful events. Katsumi wandered around the city, stopping by lonely benches to sit down and cry. To her, it felt like the world was ending.

Humiliated in front of everyone. Disowned by her mother. Reduced to human waste. What should she do now? She can’t run home, because she doesn’t have a home anymore. There’s nowhere in this world where she could feel safe.

Maybe the police might help? But she was too scared to go and ask them. Her mother’s words had an impact on her mind and she feared going to jail. What if they won’t accept her stabbings as self-defense? Is there any way to justify her actions?

These and many more thoughts stormed through her brain as she wandered the town for an entire day. As the sun went down, she thought about going home, but quickly gave up on the idea.

Wandering through unfamiliar alleys of the city, Katsumi was met by a pleasant sight. It was a small, colorful playground, surrounded by walls from all sides. A happy little slide, surrounded by plastic horses and monkey bars. There was a small trashcan beside a pair of swings. Katsumi sat down there and swung herself with a light tap.

Facing the playground was a cheap bar. Much like boutiques, it had huge dirty windows on the front. Through them, Katsumi could see the empty seats, the tired bartender and a small television device hanging from one side of the wall.

– Huh. – she admired the black box of entertainment. – What channel is that?

A tan skinned blonde man appeared on the television. The volume was turned up enough that Katsumi could hear him from the other side of the road.

– Welcome everybody to this weeks ‘Thursday Cookshow’! I’m very excited about today’s episode! My co-host today is a talent nobody could rival! Ladies and gentleman, I’m honored to introduce you the youngest of her very skilled bloodline, the new age samurai of the kitchen…

Katsumi’s eyes widened. She got up and approached the window.

– Mom?

It was indeed her, right there on national television. An otherwise exciting event, that would leave her relatives proud, Katsumi felt an extreme disgust as she saw her mother waltz onto stage with the knitted sweater her grandmother made.

– Whoa! I’m so excited to be here! Thank you for inviting me!

– It’s a pleasure to have you on our show. What are we going to cook today?

– Ah, silly! – she laughed. – You’re the producer, I’m sure you know! Come on, Platzhalter, tell us!

His name was surprisingly familiar to Katsumi.

– Platzhalter? Where have I heard that name before…

It struck her like lightning. Her mother didn’t want her to go to the police not because of dirtying the family name. Platzhalter… it’s the same family name Judea has!

It finally dawned upon her. That man on television, the producer of the show, it was Judea’s father! That’s why her mother was so against going to the police. She feared losing her chance to be appear on the show!

– You… fucking bitch... is fame really more important than your own child?

– Oy-oy-oy, what do we have here? – the question came from behind her.

– Huh?

A few feet away from stood two menacing man, ganged up on a nerdy looking boy. He was much smaller than them, the same height as Kats.

It seemed like they haven’t noticed her, yet.

– You’re that nerdy kid from school, eh?

– You got some cash on ya’?

– Oy-oy, come on now, don’t be afraid, speak up!

The boy was backed up into a corner on an already dark alleyway. Running away was not option, the older boys could easily catch up to him.

Katsumi didn’t see his face, only his hands. They were trembling.

– We don’t want trouble, little guy!

– Yeah-yeah, just give us some money and we’ll leave ya’ alone!

– I’m gonna’ punch you in the face. – Katsumi calmly said.

They nodded, before realizing it wasn’t said by one of theirs. Seeing the messy girl threatening them, they wheezed like a donkey would.

– You’re his girlfriend?

– Ay-ay, ugly finds ugly, am I right?

– I don’t know that boy, but if you won’t leave him alone, I’ll have to punch you. – she said, clenching her fist and sliding a hand into her uniform.

– We don’t beat women ‘round here. Though if you have a thing for that, I’ll gladly make an exception!

– Hey sweety, can I grope those tits? – he approached Katsumi, who quickly pulled her hand out of the uniform and shouted…

– ‘Pocket Sand’!

She threw a handful of dust in the man’s face.

– What the…

But before he could’ve reacted, she lunged forward and punched him in the face, sending him to the ground.

– Motherfucker! – the other man yelled and pulled out a knife.

The sight of the blade scared Katsumi, but she knew very well how to counter that. She slowly circled around the man, right back into the playground. She stopped by the trashcan.

– Oy-oy, you just lost this fight, bitch! You’re surrounded by walls on each side and the only escape is through me! You better start dressing down before I…

Quickly reaching into the trashcan, she pulled out an empty wine bottle.

Crash!

The sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the street as Katsumi broke it on the swings. Now it wasn’t a simple wine bottle anymore, but a pointy weapon that could easily cut one’s throat.

– Come on! – Katsumi shouted. – Bring it on, fuckhead!

But the man wasn’t so confident anymore. Seeing he could easily get hurt, he backed off and quickly changed his attitude.

– Oy-oy, don’t be stupid! That could kill someone! You don’t wanna’ to go jail, do you?

Katsumi just laughed.

– Like I’d care! I’ve got nothing to lose! Now step up and die or run away, pussy!

The man had no second thoughts. He helped his friend off the ground and the two of them ran away as fast as they could.

Katsumi held onto the broken glass. When danger was finally out of sight, she took a deep breath, bit down on her forearm and screamed.

– Fuck! Fuckity fuck-fuck! I almost died, holy shit! And what the hell did I just say? Fuckhead? Step up and die? What am I, some kind of anime protagonist? Just what the hell is wrong with me?!

She was just about to scream again, when the little boy approached him. Katsumi was surprised to learn it was non-other than the same student who called her a whore this morning.

– T-Thanks! – he said while awkwardly looking at the ground.

– Oh. Well, uh…

She still had the weapon by her. This person in front of him, the boy that he just helped, was one of the first people to act evil towards her. This was the same person that called her names because of something she didn’t do.

He was a piece of shit. A stain on humanity. Trash.

And Katsumi had just the right item in her hands to clean this pesky dirt off the face of earth.

She tightly grasped her weapon. It was sharp and pointy. With just one lazy gesture, she could easily stab him in the throat, basically killing him on spot.

– Y-Yeah? – the boy asked, waiting for Katsumi to finish her sentence.

Thoughts of all kind rushed through her head, screaming with bloodthirst. She tried to choose from all the brutal ways of handling this situation and chose the one best fitting for her taste.

– You shouldn’t call others names.

She just stood there, watching as the boy awkwardly stared at her.

– W-What do you mean by that?

– You called me a whore.

– O-Oh… yeah… I didn’t mean that.

– Then say it.

– Say what?

– Don’t act dumb.

– Oh… sorry…

– About what?

– About… calling you a whore…

– Now say it in a full sentence.

– I’m sorry for calling you a whore!

– Good. – she waved. – Now go.

– Hey uh… do you have a boyfr-…

– You’re a bad person. Leave me alone.

As cold as it was, she said it calmly, almost factually. She meant no ill-will by her words, simply it was just an exhausting day and she wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

She went back to dirty bar window and gazed at the small television box. Her mother was in there smiling, cutting carrots and fishes into pieces. Even the blind could see she was enjoying herself. It was, after all, cooking that gave her life a meaning.

On other days, Katsumi would’ve smiled at the sweet sight and it almost just happened when a bitter taste got through her lips. After tonight, she won’t have a mother anymore. She won’t have a place to run home to and she won’t have anyone to trust. Tomorrow begins a life she wasn’t looking forward to.

– You know what, Mom? It’s alright. I don’t need an honorable bloodline or anyone’s respect. I’ll find happiness without the help of any goddamn ancestors or natural talents. It might take long to get back where I once was, but you know what? I’d rather climb this mountain the hard way than sell my soul for the short road. In the end, I’ll see the same stars as you, but mine will be different! Mine will shine brighter than yours! And I’ll be the happiest woman that ever lived!

– Uh, excuse me! Who are you talking to?

Katsumi awkwardly jumped away. It was the bartender. He came out to check up on her.

– Oh, sorry, I was just… well, I cannot really explain.

– It’s getting cold out there. Why don’t you go home?

– Oh well… I can’t.

The bartender scratched his head.

– Don’t you have any grandparents?

– Well… I could call my Grandma to come and pick me up. Though I don’t have a phone.

– You could use mine.

– Really?

– Yeah, sure. – he invited her in. – It’s somewhere in the backrooms, go and fetch it. No password needed, just type in her number. Wanna’ drink a cup of tea?

– I don’t have any cash.

– It’s on the house!

– Oh… then yeah. Thank you.

– No problem!

Katsumi went to the backrooms through an old looking door. For her, this memory stops right here. She goes there, finds the phone, her Grandma comes and Katsumi falls asleep in the back of her old car.

Though, that wasn’t the true end for that night.

– – –

– So, now that it’s all packed up, we put the fish into the oven!

The studio had a live audience watching them cook. The show host cracked a few jokes as he amateurishly cut up the rest of the vegetables.

– Now, what we’re making is a special food my family has come up with throughout a thousand years.

– That’s a really long time!

– Yup! It’s made out of a special type of blowfish, it’s extremely dangerous! Don’t try this at home kids or momma’ will get pretty angry… and poisoned!

The audience laughed. She was truly in her prime.

– Nice advice, ‘Master Cook’! How about I take over the show while you clean up the desk?

– Of course! My family has mastered cleaning throughout the millennia!

– Alright-alright! Now, my fellow audience, I would like to introduce you to today’s sponsors…

While he kept the audience occupied, she put the dirty forks and spoons into the dishwasher. She felt overwhelmed by excitement. Finally, it was time she proves to be worthy of their sacred bloodline! Fame, money, respect… all these emotions made her drunk of joy, turning her into a clunky smiling mess.

She took what remained of the blowfish and put it into the bin. The rest of the unused food went into the fridge and the knife she used to cut up the fish went straight into her stomach.

– Heh?

Coming back to reality, she found herself lying on the floor with the large knife buried in her stomach.

She fell. Right into the blade. The same blade she used to cut open the poisonous fish.

– W-What? – she laughed in disbelief as medics rushed to her amidst screams of panic.