IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO PRODUCE, POSSESS OR FAIL TO REPORT ANY DECADENT, DEBAUCHED OR LICENTIOUS MATERIAL, PERSONALITIES OR DEGENERATE ARTICLES, BE IT WRITTEN, VERBAL OR OTHERWISE.

ANY PERSON FOUND TO BE IN BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE PUNISHED. PUNISHMENT AND CONVICTION IS AN UNLIMITED REDUCTION OF UNAUTHORIZED PROCREATION

WE ASK THE PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ANY SUCH ACTIVITIES AND BE A BETTER CITIZEN BY REPORTING SUCH MATTERS AND HELPING THOSE INDIVIDUALS BECOME BETTER CITIZENS. WE MUST PROTECT OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER IF WE ARE TO BUILD A HEALTHIER WORLD.

REMEMBER, SEXUAL INTERCOURSE MUST ALWAYS BE FOR PROCREATION, NEVER RECREATION. HAPPINESS THROUGH EFFICIENCY. EFFICIENCY THROUGH PROCREATION. DECADENCE IS PROHIBITED. DECADENCE LEADS TO INDEPENDENCE.  INDEPENDENCE LEADS TO DISORDER. DISORDER LEADS TO DISPLEASURE. DISPLEASURE LEADS TO DESPONDENCY.

 

Part 1

The sudden screeching in his left ear instantly alerted Izayoi to the start of a brand new day. He turned and twisted in bed, trying frantically to find a spot where the noise couldn’t disrupt his slumber.

"Noooooo! Go away!"

He pulled the pillow from under his head position into an over-the-head one.

"Izayoi, are you awake yet?" A female voice cooed from outside his closed door.

"Yes! I’m up." He lied, at least temporarily. He ultimately managed to sit up in bed. After shoveling the last vestiges of sleep from of his eyes, he replied with… "I've been up for hours."

…like we said, ‘temporarily’.

"Are you decent?"

A quick look down revealed…

"Yes!" Izayoi quickly hopped out of bed just as the door to his room flung open to reveal his mother, Yukie, walking in. He recognized that disheveled look she gave him immediately.

But seeing her always caught him unprepared. Even though they were family, Izayoi couldn't help but think 'how is she a mom?' or 'how is she my mom?'

Even standing there looking all scowly, he didn't feel like he was speaking to a mature woman who has birthed a child of her own. She simply looked too young. Yukie’s appearance was unambiguously, eerily too youthful. More like a really older sister. If he had to describe her, Izayoi's exact phrasing would be 'supernatural’. It was a trope in anime and manga, but there really was no way someone could be that physically old and yet look this young.

It was equal parts fabulous…and spine-chilling.

"Good morning."

"Good afternoon."

The alarm resting next to the bed stand confirmed as much: 12:17PM.

"So it is."

"Honestly…" Yukie breathed a heavy sigh, like she couldn’t drive home the point with her expression alone. Her face didn't have a single wrinkle around her eyes. In fact, it looked radiant, almost like it was being kept that way by some kind of magic formula…or potion. Her wavy hair never looked out of place, always putting Izayoi in the mind of an angel.

Dad has good taste.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know this time.

"Look at you.” Izayoi could practically hear the disappointment in her voice. “Did you even shower last night?"

"I didn’t."

There was a really good reason for this.

"Another late night working?"

"Last minute commission. Needed to hustle." Izayoi expended more time on Yukie’s question than he wanted to, eventually realizing that he couldn’t even remember falling asleep or at what time.

“Are you okay?” Her voice soaked in genuine concern. And something else.

“I’m alright,” he said back, trying hard to sound confident. The truth was far from it. Two, maybe three hours of sleep. Despite just awakening, Izayoi’s body exhausted. If he wasn’t being watched, he’d just fall back into bed.

But it was worth it.

It needed to be done, and that was all that mattered.

"When was the last time you ate something?" He couldn’t remember that either.

"I’ll make myself something later.” Izayoi maneuvered over to his closet. These late nights were starting to catch up with him. This made four this week. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging on the wall.

Dark circles lined his eyes.

"You better hurry if you wanna be on time."

"It’s fine. Matsuda is always late. I have plenty of time." One quick glance back at the clock on the wall… “--Ish.”

Thankfully, one of the numerous benefits of having Matsuda as a friend was that Izayoi could always count on him being late.

"I mean Akiza."

The correct metaphorical penny finally dropped, causing Izayoi to turn back and see more disappointment. "…right." Yukie was practically oozing with it now. And for good reason too.

Akiza was Izayoi’s sister.

…Well, step-sister technically.

…Also technically, his older step-sister, give or take a couple of months.

Izayoi had, on numerous occasions in the company of Matsuda but never in the company of Akiza (give or take a few accidental slips), described her as a huge pain in the ass.

Specifically, his ass.

A bitchy pain in the ass.

Remembering that he had a sister just called more things into question about Yukie and made Izayoi feel even more unnerved looking at her. How could someone who has had a twenty-two year old practically pass for one herself?

It wasn’t so much sexy as it was…uncanny.

"…"

"Please tell me you didn’t forget."

"I didn’t forget."

The anger crept in. “Are you lying?”

"Yes. Yes, I am." Yukie let out another disappointed sigh. Izayoi and Akiza were on what you’d call ‘situational’ speaking terms: When the situation called for it, they spoke. "Refresh my memory please?"

"Akiza and the girls are about to finish practice.”

"Whoops.” Izayoi tried his best to play it off as an innocent mistake.

It wasn't.

He didn't care what Akiza did or where she did it.

She was a pain.

A pain in his ass.

A bitchy pain in his ass who didn’t have a car or a license.

Yukie took a moment to compose herself. "Please hurry up and get ready. I don’t think either of you two want to be late."

"I don’t want to be at all. Why can’t you pick her up?" Izayoi thought about how a lot of what was happening was actually his fault for passing his driving test.

I just had to be self-sufficient

"I told you I can’t. I have plans."

"And I don’t?" He recalled how big of a history buff Yukie was. She often arranged trips to museums and local flea markets in search of books and trinkets to add to an already expansive collection of junk.

"There’s a new exhibit opening at the museum today."

A bit late to want to go now.

Then again, most of the eager visitors will have left by now.

Izayoi’s mind flashed back to a vague conversation he remembered having with Yukie about this visit. A conversation he also remembered not paying any attention to at the time. If this had been a criminal case, the burden of proof would be on Yukie to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had agreed (albeit reluctantly) to pick up Akiza from practice.

But this was more of a civil case, which meant she only had to prove that the possibility of him agreeing existed, which it did.

…Unfortunately.

"Don’t you have summer school today?"

The other penny finally dropped, prompting Izayoi to briefly consider carrying a wallet to save up all the spare mental change.

"…No…” He said back sheepishly. Yukie simply put her hands on her hips before giving him that disheveled look she often gave him.

"Skipping is not gonna make it go away, dear." It was strange how Yukie could be upset one moment and then casually throw 'dear' into the conversation and look all cheerful and happy in the next.

"I am willing to give it a shot."

"Izayoi…" Alright, maybe not that cheerful and happy. “I’m sorry,” she suddenly said, looking despondent. “I know it’s my fault you have to go.”

“It’s not your fault,” Izayoi correctly matter of factly. “Or dad’s. It’s simply the hand we’ve been dealt.”

“I know but…” Izayoi waited patiently for Yukie to collect herself. “If you hadn’t been working so hard…”

"Well it’s too late now. I’ll just have to suck it up.” That was what he was good at. “I'm like three hours late. I'm meeting Matsuda and picking up Akiza."

“Maybe I should cancel,” Yukie said again, sounding uncertain of herself. “I can go to the museum some other—“

“No. Go.” Hers wasn’t an unreasonable request. As a housewife, Yukie rarely left the house except for shopping or exploring her passion for history.

And those latter opportunities don’t come around often.

They both worked hard.

And they both deserved to rest.

"Go and have fun. I'll take the hit this time," Izayoi forced a smile and kept it until Yukie recovered. As a mother of one and then two, she had more in her arsenal than just a disheveled look. She also had a penetrating stare that she fell back on when someone, like Izayoi in this particular case, proved to her that they preferred the stick and not the carrot.

But sometimes…

The gate was left unlocked. And Yukie had no choice but to surrender to the overwhelming enemy emotions invading.

"Alright,” she finally said, fully charged up.

“Great, but do you mind…you know?” Izayoi felt his cheeks turn red.

"I’ll have breakfast ready before you come down,” she swiftly replied with a cup of happiness and a teaspoon of chipper in her tone.

"Thanks Yukie." Izayoi could hear her footsteps fading away down the staircase. He thought of her as being an extremely kind soul, trapped in a really good-looking shell. He knew she wanted him to call her ‘mom’. It had been long enough since the two families became one, but Izayoi couldn’t bring himself to it.

...Not yet.