Flip The Script

Toshi wound up at the hospital.

 

The problem was that upon having his flashback he collapsed to the food court floor and had a twenty second seizure.  It took him a few minutes to regain awareness of his surroundings and by then Kenko had already called for an ambulance. Toshi's two ex-girlfriends wound up arguing over his prone form for who would have the right to go with him to the hospital, but Kenko was having none of that. A quick call to Toshi's parents confirmed he was going to the emergency room because they were willing to blow off the first collapse, but the second needed a visit to the doctor.

 

While in the hospital, the police officer who was handling Toshi's case arrived with his mother. The two knew each other from work and upon learning that Toshi's memory was coming back, the lead officer wanted to meet with Toshi to talk with him directly. He hadn't interviewed him before because Asuka was way past over protective and felt talking to the cops would have been bad. Now that Toshi seemed to be recovering, maybe it was safe.

 

Officer Shido Montaro spent a good half hour talking with Toshi, going over what facts they knew in hopes of triggering something. Unfortunately, it didn't do any good. Toshi brought up the on-line user WFFW, but apparently the police had already figured that one out. The stalker in question had already been found, interviewed, and had an airtight alibi. Officer Shido stressed to Toshi that he shouldn't do any investigation on his own, because it's unlikely he'd find anything the police had not already found. At worst he might make it harder to obtain a conviction by muddling the investigation.

 

Leave this to the professionals.

 

Toshi agreed and after getting a clean bill of health from the doctors, he and his mother were told that the brain is a mysterious thing, even in this day and age. Be careful. Try not to operate any heavy machinery. This might never happen again, or it might become a regular occurrence. They weren't sure what was causing the extreme pain or seizures, but on the other hand, they didn't even know how he was alive right now. The doctor just smiled and shrugged, "Enjoy your miracle."

 

And that's how Toshi wound up riding home with his mother from the hospital.

 

"Mom..." Toshi kept staring out the window, "I don't know where to even begin. I suppose I'll start with..." He paused as he tried to figure out how to phrase it, "Who is the 'Oh' family?" His mother winced and had a few seconds of internal struggle before she spoke, "That's your father's family name. A rather famous family, actually. Well known in certain circles. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that they were the beautiful people."

 

Toshi gritted his teeth as if he already knew the answer, "So if I used dad's family name when I signed up at a school, that name would get a lot more clout than our family name?" Asuka eyed her son out of the corner of her eye for a moment then nodded as she refocused on the road ahead, "You could say that." Nodded to himself and thought a bit before asking his next question.

 

Toshi blurted out, "Was there a girl in our old neighborhood that I liked?" Asuka shook her head, "Not that I know of. You are talking about the apartment we were living in where your-" She cut herself off. It took a few moments for her to continue, "Where we were living when your sister Kimi got killed."

 

"Thanks."

 

Asuka looked puzzled, "For what?" Toshi looked over at her, "For treating me like an adult." He turned back to the window, "I saw someone at the mall. I can't quite remember her face now, but she knew me. She dropped her tray and... then I remembered her. I think I snuck out of the apartment the night before Kimi got shot to see her." Asuka's knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel tighter, "And what did my twelve year old son do with a girl alone at night?" Her voice was very strained as she spoke through gritted teeth.

 

Toshi watched the stores as they drove past. It was so striking how much of the layout of the city was the same as the Tokyo he knew, even the shapes and dimensions of the buildings, yet so many of the fine details were shifted around. Toshi touched the window, "I remember kissing a lot. I think it was my first kiss. I think she said she loved me. I know I loved her. But... it was that love you have when you are twelve and you know absolutely everything." He dragged his finger down the window, "We were going to be together forever and never die."

 

Asuka ground her teeth, "You kissed? How Much?"

 

Toshi looked at her, "Mom. I get that you care about me, but I need you to relax. I need to talk with you as an ADULT, not as my cartoonishly overprotective mother." Asuka glanced at Toshi and her lips formed a thin line as she pressed them together, "Fine. Sorry. It's what a mother does. I know what an absolute cunt I was as a teenager and I would not let anyone like me anywhere near you." Toshi snorted and tried to hide a grin, "I can't imagine that."

 

Asuka laughed ruefully as she shook her head, "I don't want to get into the details, but your father was hot. He also knew it. I was in the best criminal law school in the city and so full of myself. We met at a bar when his friends got introduced to my friends and he shot me down so hard. So I said screw it and went after his friend who was absolutely into women in uniform." Toshi blinked, "Wait. Dad shot you down?" Asuka nodded, "Yup. I mean, brutally. He has quite the tongue on him when he gets angry. Just tore me apart in front of everyone and all I did was walk up to him and say, 'Hi'."

 

Toshi nodded, "So what happened?" Asuka chuckled, "What do you think happened? I started dating his college roommate. A bunch of us were friends at the time. You got to understand, there's at least three more years of training before you get to become a cop, so we were all students of a sort. Your dad wanted to be an actor? I think?" They came to a stop at a red light. The sun was creating a great deal of glare, so she had to lean forward and shield her eyes to watch for the light to change, "We were all friends for several years. Most of us were getting close to graduation when... it turns out... his roommate was a slut." Toshi blinked and looked surprised.

 

Asuka continued, "He was banging your Dad's rich fiancée of two years. Your Dad might have looked hot as hell, but he was always a gentleman. He was going to wait for marriage and was a very traditional guy. Turns out your Dad found out, had a blow out, came over to visit and tell me everything that was going on, and then-" She paused and looked at Toshi, "Do you want all the details?"

 

Toshi thought about it long enough for the light to change, "Yeah. Actually. It might trigger something."

 

Asuka nodded as she resumed driving, "Your dad seduced me to get revenge on his roommate." Toshi let out a bark of laughter, "What???" She nodded, "Yup. He came over, told me everything. At the time my roommate was out of town for the weekend. Hiro started crying, asked if I had any alcohol, and half a bottle of Smernof later, we both woke up with one hell of a hangover and your sister Kimi on the way." She hit the turn signal as they changed lanes, "Your father... It was a rocky start. Initially I was fine not getting married or anything. My family has a long and proud tradition of... well... You know, I'm going to have to take you to a family reunion. You'll get it when you meet them."

 

Asuka returned to the first lane, "He insisted on getting married and I always felt a little guilty. I was WAY out of his league. He could have married anyone. He could have married a billionaire, but instead he picked me. You take after him so much. It's sort of why I'm so over protective. You have your father's looks and charisma, but..." She glanced at Toshi then let out a long breath, "Actually, you used to be just as manipulative as your father. He knew how to work a room. He still does but..." She let her voice trail off. Eventually she cleared her throat, "Sorry. Anyways. Eventually we got married, his parents did NOT approve, but he-"

 

She drove in silence for a while. Toshi eventually spoke up, "It's okay not to talk about this." Asuka glanced at Toshi, "What? No. I'm just... I don't think about all this that much. I'm a problem solver. I find problems, I solve them. This emotional crap... I'm not good at it. Talking to you about it is making me think about how I never really understood why your father married me. I was the wrong choice in every way and yet he picked me anyways. I used to think it was just because he knocked me up and felt guilty, but I know now he actually just... loved me. It's hard to accept that." Toshi tilted his head to the side, "Why?"

 

Asuka turned down the road to their house, "Two types of men, the ones who marry for love, and the ones who marry for practicality. However, love only goes so far, then you start wanting, oh, I dunno, to live in a home that isn't in your parent's basement. The guys who marry for love usually wind up getting divorced when they figure out that they could do better elsewhere." She eyes Toshi, "Don't be that guy, by the way. Nothing worse than some guy dating two or three gals at once so he can cover his bases." Toshi looked serious as he nodded slowly. Inside he was filled with cringe, ~Not a good time to bring up how I used to be a gold digging slut.~

 

Asuka pulled into the parking area behind their home, "Your dad didn't seem to care. He put up with me when I was just a cop barely able to put food on the table. I always felt like I wasn't good enough for him and so I worked extra hard to get ahead and be successful." She pulled into their parking spot and put the car in park, "I get it now. The problem wasn't him, it was me. I let my own doubts get in the way and-" She looked at Toshi, "Funny. This is the conversation we should have had after your dad found out I cheated on him."

 

Toshi nodded with furrowed eyebrows, "Why did you?"

 

Asuka shrugged, "I dunno. I really don't. I was stressed. I was exhausted. I felt like a failure. I was still screwed up over Kimi and I kept pushing your father away because a family is work and I needed a break. That guy was a cop fucker. There's always a bunch of those you can find at any cop hang out. They just like fucking the uniform. Your father was a source of stress, and that guy wasn't. I was weak and... I could have covered it up but I was so wracked with guilt I told your father about it two months afterwords. We might have worked through it except-" She stopped.

 

Toshi continued the sentence, "Except I found out and I already was angry over Kimi and..." He blinked, "and for... you forcing me to break up with that girl." Asuka looked at Toshi, "What?" Toshi rubbed his temples, "I think, we moved right after Kimi got shot, right?" Asuka nodded, "Yes... and now that you mention it, you really hated it. You constantly wanted to go back to our old home and I explained we couldn't." She rubbed her mouth for a bit, "Oh god, now it's making a lot more sense. And if you had told me why, I NEVER would have let you go back there if you were sneaking out to be with her." She turned to face Toshi, "Okay. Look. I-" She hit herself in the forehead a few times, "Listen. I don't want to repeat the past so, I will try not to over react, please talk to me, or at least your father about this sort of thing going forward. I don't want to control your life, but I'm wondering how much trouble we could have cleared up if we had just talked."

 

Toshi nodded and took his mother's hand and squeezed it, "Okay. If I start sneaking out to snog someone, I'll let you know." Asuka winced, but nodded, "Thanks. I never knew. I think I get why we weren't getting along better. I didn't really understand why we were having problems and-" She squeezed back, "You know, you are becoming quite the mature young lord." She let go and reached over to push a stray hair over Toshi's face behind his ear, "I need to start paying attention to the Toshi in front of me, and not the Toshi I remember." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Forgive me?"

 

Toshi let out a soft chuckle, "Nothing to forgive. We're both figuring this out as we go along." Asuka nodded and then took the car keys out of the ignition, "We'd better get inside. Your father is most likely a mess and he's not going to feel better until he has a right proper freak out." Toshi nodded, "Yeah. I noticed that about him. Has he always made that short 'heh' sound over and over when he can't let something go?" Asuka smiled and nodded, "YES. Bit of advice, don't tell him you know. Nothing pisses him off more than telling him you know that he's got something on his mind." She held up a finger, "When he makes that sound, wait about four hehs, then ask, 'I feel like I forgot something. Did I forget something?' THAT is when he will explode. I've tried it other ways. Too soon, he gets pissed off and starts a rant about, 'You Don't Know Me!' and wait too long, he'll get annoyed you can't tell he's angry."

 

Toshi covered his mouth in an attempt to avoid laughing, "Seriously?" Asuka nodded, "Yeah. Do. NOT. Ask him if he's upset, because he'll say, 'I'm fine'." She started looking mischievous, "However, sometimes I ask him that, he says he's fine, and then I go, 'OKAY!' and cheerfully go off to do something else to ignore him." Her expression turned a bit sheepish, "I'll admit, it was an attempt to stop him from being so passive-aggressive, but he never learns." She rolled her eyes, "And the fight is so much worse, but damn does it feel good." She frowned, "Does that make me a bad person?"

 

Toshi shook his head, "Nah. I get it. In that case, dad is technically lying to you and you are taking him at face value." Toshi paused, "I can't see myself acting like that." He frowned, "Is that why I don't get along well with the other boys?" He squinted, "I mean, they seem to like me, but at times they seem so shocked that I would just straight up tell the truth." He started to talk with his hands, "Like this one time Kenko's friend asked me if his new outfit made him look fat, and I told him, 'No. The outfit is fine. It's the fat that makes you look fat.' and... that didn't go over well."

 

Asuka burst out laughing and covered her mouth to suppress laughing too long. She eyed Toshi and cleared her throat, "Ahem. Toshi? Don't ever say that to a boy. Even I know he's just fishing for a compliment." She sighed, "I dunno. Truthfully? I like the new you. Not just because we get along better, but... honestly it's easier to talk to you. When you say you are fine... I actually believe it." Toshi looked out the window, "Love to keep talking but..." Asuka nodded, "But."

 

The two got out and walked inside together.