A sudden and harsh splash of cold liquid shook him out of his drunken stupor, taking a few spluttering moments to gulping down equal parts putrid air and foul tasting water. The man could taste little bits of alcohol diluted greatly and couldn't help but greedily slurp up the remnants quickly running off him. Who was he to turn his nose up at free beer?
"Get out of here, you bum!" An irate portly man wearing a heavily stained apron scowled down at the drunk with a now empty bucket in hand. Normally, such an expression should've sparked some sort of reaction. Some indignation to be looked down in such a way. But there was nothing in those reddened and glassed over eyes. Not even a mere flicker of recognition despite loitering in this very same man's bar the night prior.
"If I come back here and see you still here," The cook spat out a thick glob of phlegm on the drunk's shirt, mixing with the soaking alcohol into an incredibly disgusting mess. "I'll let the Aoki's know where you've been hiding!"
Just like that, at the mere mention of that name, a light flickered in the bum's cloudy eyes. A mixture of dread, sorrow and embarrassment all coming together in a strange concoction to force a brief moment of clarity to his addled mind.
"I-I'll, llleave...don't call her...please.."
Forcing himself to his feet, the man leaned heavily on the bricking with unsteady footing. Even with the world spinning around him, with the earth beneath his feet shifting to different planes, he stumbled down the alleyway. Knowing full well that he would receive no aid if he were to fall. Not that he could honestly blame the people of this town. His reputation was awful and well deserved, in fact, times like these where he was still under the effects of his sad drunk self, it sometimes felt like it wasn't enough. Like he was getting off easy.
Maybe that was just the alcohol singing the blues, or maybe the memories welling up from deep within his subconscious.
Making his way to the quiet street, he ignored the few residents sending him either revolted or disappointed looks his way. He had to admit seeing that same granny, that use to make mochi for all the neighborhood kids, give him such a disgusted glare was almost too much for him to handle...that would of course be if he was sober. As for slightly drunk him? That guy couldn't give a damn even if he wanted to.
On he went, passing down familiar storefronts, turning down well traveled sideways and crossed long forgotten dirt paths. Slowly, the small bits of civilization fell away and the remnants of an old community crept back to the forefront. Along abandoned buildings covered in moss and almost completely reclaimed by nearby trees, that wore them like clothes. Branches growing through broken windows and leaves littering the ground.
Even through his fog, it felt like ghosts of the past were judging him in kind. He'd never really fit in in this small town, growing up in a crappy home with a workaholic father and a mother who'd became a slave to her vices didn't really prepare him for the intricacies of human to human interactions. And combine that with how the older residents looked at him and his parents, it was no wonder no one his own age wanted anything to do with him.
What was a child to do when he received little to no attention at home and shunned by the very community he grew up in? The child fought, lost and won. But still swung the first blow every single time. And with that new found 'power', he became a miniature lord among his peers. Anything he wanted, he got with nothing more than a little threat.
But if his reputation was spotty with the elders, it had become downright frosty after his little delinquent phase. Adults went from ignoring his presence to keeping a close eye on their valuables while he was around and because of a few too cowardly to face him again, rather vulgar rumors had started to spread about him. Like how he enjoyed stealing sisters, girlfriends and wives, how he would corner some innocent classmate and coerce them into corruption inducing sexual acts. It was pretty clear that it had been someone who'd been a very avid enjoyed of certain doujins involving villains that looked exactly as he did. Tall and somewhat muscular with tanned skin….well, he had dyed his hair at the time but that wasn't important.
And in community as small as it was back then, everyone eagerly ate it up. Getting so bad that he couldn't even walk down the street at night without some noisy officer interrogating and checking him for anything even remotely sexual on him. There had been quite a few disappointed female officers during that time of his life.
Having such a reputation had it's benefits but all those dried up a spring in the desert the moment he graduated from high-school. Passing had been a complete miracle that had probably more to do with the school wanting to get him the hell out of their hell than any academic prowess he severely lacked. It was a like a switch was flipped and all his 'friends' were all too busy doing that oh-so important thing of 'getting their life in order'. And one by one, each of them left to higher education elsewhere leaving him alone to rot in this shit hole.
That had been over a decade ago and bitterness had been ground down to nothingness under the endless weight of maturity and hard-work. No one had told him how hard life would be when everyone in town thought you were someone that couldn't be left alone with a women even remotely attractive. So in order to make ends-meet, he leaned heavily on his physical talent and worked himself to the bones with nothing but alcohol to sooth his aching spirit.
"Damn it.."
Spitting out a pungent bit of bile, he cursed at his own pitiful thoughts. He'd chosen this life, decided to not put those rumors to rest and enjoyed the benefits of his less than stellar reputation. It was only right to live like this. Fire roiled up from the pits of his stomach, tickling at his throat and it took all his self control to dart into a near bush before hurling the day prior's meal. Even from just the smell alone, he was glad there was no one else around. It could honestly be considered a bio-hazard.
Rubbing himself clean on his sleeve, the man stumbled off to a small fenced in home that looked as though it had seen better days. It's walls were visibly lean and the paint long faded. The grass was tall, leaving not even the stone pathways he used to play Ken Ken Pa down as a kid. The amount of bites he'd gotten from little critters claiming it as their home was more than he could ever count.
Garden snakes, centipedes, ant, spiders and even the occasional battle scarred cat.
As he grew closer, something twinged at the back of his mind. It took awhile for his spinning mind to point at exactly what was wrong. The bugs should be chirping up a storm, most in warning of his arrival and other's just before waking up fully to do whatever insects did with their day. Instead, only the slight rustling of the wind kept him company.
Oh, that and the gate swung wide open. A gate he swore he'd locked up tight.
Cursing softly under his breath, the man looked every which way at the completely isolated building. He knew that by the time any help arrived, his corpse would be long sense cooling. And with the country's stringent rules pertaining to firearms, it meant he had to get a bit creative when it came to home defense.
His gaze locked on the rusted hoe that hadn't seen use or care in well over a year and shrugged. All that was needed was either something sharp or metal. Snatching it up, he began to creep around the slanting building. Taking note of the still locked front door and unbroken windows with not even a slight bit of movement behind those blackened curtains.
With no signs of forced entry anywhere, it was more likely that whoever broke in had gone around back which only really had one thing of note...
Heart beating a mile a minute, slight bits of anger began to bubble up to the surface. He didn't know which kid thought it would be fun to break in, but they better hoped they hadn't rummaged around too much. Else, he would simply take the years that'll follow the viscous beating he'll give them.
Turning the corner, all he saw was a back wearing some sort of pure white kimono. Broad in a way that gave him a pretty good idea on the gender but also small enough to know that he would simply dwarf over this intruder without much difficulty.
"Who the do you think you are?!" Taking a single step forward, he held the gardening tool up aloft with every intention to swing down with all the might his body could muster. "Are you one of those bastard grave robbers?! I told you already! If there's treasure here, I would've used it all up already!"
"Grave robber?" The intruder didn't turn to him, his voice some mixture of amused and a bit incredulous. It sounded..raspy. Like his lungs were wheezing out dust with every breathe. Their posture was stooped, and up close his ribs were visible right through the clothing. "Did you hear that Fuji? You must be laughing wherever you are, he really is your blood."