-Two Months BCC-

Wakefulness slowly, and tactfully probed at the edges of Kenji's consciousness causing him to stir with sluggish heavy limbed movements until with defeated reluctance he opened his eyes. It was too early. With a groan the teen flipped over in bed trying in vain to burrow beneath the pillows and block out the mid-morning light. His struggles to re-enter the realm of sleep quickly became more and more violent, blankets spilling to the floor, and sheets entangling his legs, while goose down absorbed rampant blows as Kenji pummeled his bed in frustration.

Admist the melee a crisp knock rapped on the bedroom door. "Master Kenji, are you awake?"

"Ugh! Why?" he called plaintively.

"Shall I send for your breakfast?"

"Sure! Why not?" the Kon family heir snapped back.

"Very good sir."

Well, Kenji thought grudgingly, that was it he was up now whether he liked it or not.

Laying in bed for a few minutes more the teenager eventually got up and shuffled to the bathroom, on autopilot. Swaying with sleep as he relieved himself Kenji's thoughts were loosely strung together and incoherent. He flushed, and washed his hands taking a hasty minute to splash water on his face and fix his hair on the way back out. "Looking good!" he smirked groggily at himself firing finger guns for added affect.

From there he found his way to the Osaki, falling back into the recliner and turning on the massage setting. "Oh-h-h yeah-ah-ah-ah." he smiled flipping on the TV as he felt more awake than he had moments ago.

Predictably there wasn't much on, there never was. Just the same old talk shows peddling made up health and beauty tips to a poor and desperate public. The same old reality shows with manufactured drama glorifying actions typically deemed socially unacceptable. The same old news channels flooded with doom and gloom. Same old, same old, same old. Jesus you'd think with as many options that were available he'd be able to find something to watch! Still navigating through the channels Kenji quickly grew bored and irritable.

"Maybe I should stream something?" he yawned to himself messing with the recliner's settings as he did.

After a while there was another rapid knock on the door. It swung open almost immediately afterwards. A maid entered with a tray balanced on one hand, the accompanying tray table folded in the crease of her elbow. Kenji spared her a brief glance, it was the red head. Ruth, or something Bibley like that, the one with twins around his age, or so she'd mentioned.

Working quickly and attentively the woman presented the meal with a light flourish. "Philly cheese steak omelette, oven roasted potatoes, sourdough toast, grapefruit, mocha latte, and a Mountain Dew on ice." she announced when finished. "Will that be all?"

Kenji looked up to thank the woman and send her away when he saw how she was smiling at him. He'd seen her smile before, laughing with the other staff tucked away in a corner gossiping before they spotted him and scurried away like frightened mice. She had a beautiful smile, the heavy spattering of freckles that seemed almost off putting at times somehow adding to the warmth of the expression. This smile, however, didn't even reach her eyes. It was fake. It was a lie.

Kenji felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. She wasn't happy to see him, not really. The boy glanced at the pair of women who'd come in behind Ruth to make his bed, they hadn't even acknowledged him and instead got right to work. No one was ever happy to see him, Kenji thought to himself, he was just a burden, a chore. Even his dad forced a smile when he walked into the room. They all hated him. Normally this fact wouldn't bother him, just slip past him as a fact of life. This morning however, a fiery anger ignited in the teenager's gut, making him vindictive and callous.

"What is this?" he snapped motioning to the plate.

"Your breakfast, sir." the maid said after a nervous pause.

"Take it back."

"But," the woman started apprehensively. "You put your request in last night."

"Yeah," Kenji scoffed without looking at her. "But that was yesterday's Kenji, today's Kenji just isn't feeling it. Take it back. Bring me something else, I don't know spaghetti or something!"

"Bu-" she went on.

"You know what?" Kenji yelled getting to his feet. "Forget it, I'm not hungry anymore. Get out." he shouted advancing on the woman as she hurriedly gathered the tray. "Get out all of you!"

The staff bundled away the used bedding and rushed out of the room, chased away by an irate teenager who slammed the door loudly at their departure. Leaning against the heavy wood frame Kenji listened to the hushed whispers the women exchanged his brows knit tightly together. Good, he thought dismally, if they were going to hate me anyway at least now they have a reason.

Listening to them leave Kenji looked around the big empty room, taking in all his nice expensive things, television, various consoles, autographed memorabilia, his view of the expansive yard complete with tennis court, and pool just visible through the window. Everything a guy could want. Or almost everything.

Letting out a sigh as he found himself, as he often did, alone.

Making his way back to the bed Kenji neatened out the sheets and spread the new comforter over them before arranging the pillows. Hopping into it he pulled out his phone and snapped a quick selfie being sure to capture the window behind him.

"Just another day in paradise!" he captioned it before posting.

Already it was generating reactions from his friends and followers, some of whom were swift to try and one up him. Kenji stared at the picture for a minute a hollow space forming in his chest the longer he looked. Of all the fake smiles he was constantly surrounded by Kenji himself was probably the worst offender.

Pocketing the device the teen got up and went back to his chair, grabbing a pair of headphones, and starting up a game. "Alright Nazi zombies, let's see what you got!" he said energetically.

A few hours and several different games later and Kenji was sprawled on the floor mindlessly destroying the castle he had been working on for the past month or so.

"You get lava, and you get lava, and guess what? Surprise, you get lava! Everybody gets lava!" he said sarcastically as the virtual farm animals fled the fiery doom loosed upon them.

Kenji was bored, and lonely. But mostly bored he lied to himself. It was to the point where he, almost, wished he was at school. Sure it was just a bunch of asshats in academy blazers training to become asshats in Armani always in perpetual competition with one another, but at least he'd have something to do!

Bowling? he thought dismally. Swimming? Bullshit. He didn't feel like doing anything. Maybe he'd just take another nap, he reasoned. Disrupting his train of thought Kenji's stomach rumbled mightily, the teen let his head fall to the floor in defeat.

"Damn it." he muttered into the rug.

Rolling over Kenji pulled out his phone and began assembling an order for pizza and wings being sure to lavish the dish with extra helpings of meat and cheese. He polished off the deal with a liter of cola and pushed send. The 45 minute wait displayed on the screen disheartening. Well, he thought as he got up, he couldn't just lay around all day. Getting dressed Kenji walked out of his room and into a long empty hallway, not a person in sight. The smack of his bare feet walking across the cold marble floors echoed off the walls as he roamed amid artwork his father had bought only to quickly grow bored of.

There was no real destination in mind he was just wandering. The problem with living in such a big house, he thought as marble shifted to sleek purple heart wood, there were too many rooms to ever use them all. Truthfully if he wasn't in one of the rec rooms Kenji never strayed further than his bedroom, the private dining room, and occasionally the main drawing room which had the most comfortable furniture. The rest of the house belonged to his father and Candy, neither of whom he saw unless they sought him out.

Eventually the teen found himself wandering down familiar, but long abandoned passageways, a heaviness coming over him as he ventured on. Soon he found himself bathed with light streaming in from floor to ceiling windows, his pace gradually slowing. His mom had always loved nature, he thought pausing to look out at the thick green grass that stretched out before him. After a while Kenji continued further into the part of the mansion that his mother had made her own. As he did Kenji found himself teleported into a different era, an entirely different world even. All of the cold contemporary art, furniture, and stylized architecture that made up most of the house fell away to a more simple, warm, and almost entirely foreign Japanese aesthetic.

Coming to the door of his mother's private sitting room Kenji paused eyes closed, taking a calming breath before sliding the door open. Warm light spilled out of the room illuminating all of his mother's most treasured possessions. Dusting his feet off the teenager stepped onto the tatami flooring relishing the unique feel, and curling his toes against the mat. The room was sparsely decorated, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, a few neglected bonsai here and there, and a long kotatsu table at the heart of the room. Tears stung Kenji's eyes as he took it all in.

Somehow he always forgot how proud of their heritage and in touch with their roots his mother had been. Then, like now, it would all come flooding back. Looking around fondly memories of sunlit afternoons spent in here drinking tea, napping under the warm table, and struggling to learn the brush strokes of kanji, his meager attempts still framed proudly upon the walls came back to him. He remembered late night tales of yokai, or stories of what it was like growing up in Japan with grandma and grandpa Sato.

As Kenji walked around his nostalgia suddenly took a bitter turn. All of that was when he was little though, before school, before peer pressure. Before becoming just another asshat. Ruefully Kenji remembered when he first realized that his mother was the only one with a foriegn accent, and cringing whenever she spoke. He recalled how embarrassed he was each day at school to unpack the bento box she had carefully assembled with smiling faces while his friends who were enjoying what the school had catered mocked him for it because only the help was supposed to cook. He remembered how none of the other parents were involved with school or active in the PTA, but his mother was, she rocked the boat and advocated for things that shouldn't have mattered to her like cultural study, black history month, and ending standardized testing. He remembered asking his mom to stay home, not to talk to his friends, to stop making a fuss, to stop embarrassing him, to just 'be normal.'

Exhaling a shaky breath Kenji half blinded by tears made his way to one of the tiny trees sitting beside the window. Running his hand over the unattended branches which were jagged, and over grown, he picked up the clippers.

"Hey mom," he started. "It's been a while. I'm uh, I'm doing good. I know I haven't talked to you in a while, but-" Kenji frowned, there weren't any good excuses. "I'm sorry."

"Anyway, I've really been into model building lately, cars mostly. I'm not really that good at it, I'm not actually really good at anything, but it's kinda fun. At least, I like it anyways. Even if the cars look weird." he trailed off, looking distractedly for thread to tie with when he came across a section of the bonsai that could use some reshaping.

"I beat my all time record on the KISS pinball machine, yeah, that was cool. No, more braces either, so that's nice. Oh! Oh my God, get this!" he laughed. "So some of the guys at school were messing around and I don't know why but Teddy ate so many chocolate laxatives that when he stood up in class you could hear this rumble and before anyone could react he shits himself right there in front of everyone! Oh my God it was great!" the teen crackled. "He hasn't been back since oh man it was so embarrassing I would have literally die-" Kenji's words caught tight leaving him unable to finish his sentence.

Tending to the rest of the plant up in silence Kenji guiltily set the healthier, happier looking tree aside and retrieved another. "Speaking of school I promise to do better. I mean it this time, and I'll stop hanging out with those losers... I was doing good, really good for a while, all As just like I told you I would. But Dad, he didn't... Dad doesn't care about that kind of stuff, not like you did- do! Not like you do, Mom. It just hurt, it just really fucki- freaking sucked you know? I was trying so hard and he didn't even see it, didn't even see me! So I stopped. I stopped working in class, I stopped doing my homework, I just stopped. But guess what? He hasn't noticed that either! Big surprise! I guess it's because he doesn't care about me."

"I miss you mom," Kenji said, voice wavering as he swallowed past a lump in his throat. "It's been so hard without you. You were my best friend, and the only person who really cared about me, and I pushed you away because you were different, because being friends with your mom was lame, because I wanted to be cool, to be just like everyone else, but everyone else sucks!" he shouted vision obscured by falling tears. "I miss you so much!" he sobbed. "And I miss dad too, but he doesn't give a shit! I just- I just miss you. I miss you mom!"

The teenager leaned heavily onto the table consumed by a grief and remorse that still felt so strong and new, even after four years. She had been taken from him so suddenly all of the warning signs missed and overlooked until the heart attack became sudden cardiac arrest. By then it was too late, she had been tired and laid down for a nap, and never woke up. That was the hard part, Kenji thought, he didn't know, didn't have a chance to say goodbye, to say he loved her, to say sorry for all the things he'd said and done only to later regret.

Wiping his face after a few minutes Kenji willed himself to stop, clearing his throat hard a few times the teen forced a smile. "Sorry mom." he said. "I'll come talk to you again later, and I promise not to be such a baby."

Clearing this throat again the young man set the room back in order before heading towards the door, still trembling with bitter emotions. He paused at the threshold the small bottle of perfume resting on the end table capturing his attention. Why not? he mused to himself picking up the delicate, nearly empty glass vessel. Spraying it on his inner wrist rubbed them both together. Closing his eyes and inhaling the light fruity scent of fig tea, a comforting warmth washed over Kenji, and he could recall his mother's laughter.

"I love you mom."

Ambling back down the hall towards his room Kenji couldn't help but give the perfume a smell from time to time, wondering absentmindedly if his pizza had arrived yet or not. Rounding a corner pivoting haphazardly on his heel the teen jumped back in surprise after nearly colliding with his father.

"Dad!" he gasped, startled. Watching as the tall, stately man smoothed out the crisp lines of his suit with irritation. "I mean hi, um what's up?" Kenji asked offering a half smile.

"Kenji." his father said nodding briefly, looking preoccupied as ever.

"I ordered pizza, wanna grab a slice, and watch a movie if you have a minute?" the teen asked hopefully, though he already knew the answer, his father never had a minute, at least not for him.

"We have a dinner tonight." the man said turning to Candy who had been walking behind him. "Speaking of, I see you best in something elegant and formal, without restricting yourself to formality. Something reminiscent of a peacock, a rhinestone bodice, with a slight train I think."

Candy smiled and nodded looking between father and son. "If you think so. I was thinking, maybe something in pink, or lavender since I've been wearing a lot of blue?"

"I do, and blue is your color." the man stated, the leading authority on the happenings beneath his roof. "I'll get someone to arrange your wardrobe." he added pulling out his cell and sending out some sort of memo.

"What, uh, what should I wear?" Kenji asked rocking from heel to toe and back again.

Xi, who went by Josiah in public, but especially with his business partners waved at his son dismissively. "You won't be coming, there are no children at this event." Kenji's heart sank, but it figured. Stepping aside, head down the teenager continued towards his room.

Moving past him still tapping away at his phone Xi stopped, pocketing it suddenly, and turned on the boy with narrowed eyes. "I thought I told you that you aren't to disturb your mother's things!" he shouted taking both Kenji and Candy by surprise.

The teen's eyebrows knit tightly together for a moment before he let a practiced look of disinterest come over his features as he internally questioned how his dad knew. "The bonsai needed to be trimmed." Kenji shrugged as though he were above the conversation.

"Am I to assume that wearing her perfume was a necessity as well?" he asked gritting his teeth, causing Kenji's heart to squeeze anxiously, he'd never seen his father so angry. "That was an anniversary present I gave to Meiko before you were born. How dare you!"

"Josiah, sweetheart, its alright." Candy cut in, putting a hand on man's arm trying to turn him away. "He just missed his mom was all, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded, would she?"

Kenji listened as his father's girlfriend talked about his mom, angry flames of resentment reigniting in his gut until he snapped. "Stay out of this Candy! You have no right to talk about my mom! Who do you think you are huh? You're just some gold digging slut who graduated the same year I started highschool!" he bellowed.

The stinging pain in the side of Kenji's face shocked him, he looked mouth hanging open at his father who had slapped him. "Josiah!" Candy shrieked, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

"You are irresponsible, disrespectful, and ungrateful." Xi said his tone calm and reserved. "You show no initiative, no desire for self-improvement, no personal accountability, and no ambition. I am supposed to leave my company to you? Perhaps the summer program at Fishbourne Military Academy would be a better use of your upcoming free time."

"Yeah," Kenji said in a tear strained voice. "Maybe it would."

Rushing away Kenji slammed his bedroom door, grabbing things at random hurling them at the walls before falling to the bed utterly spent. His dad hit him, the teen thought with disbelief. His dad had never hit him before he had hardly ever raised his voice before. Hugging his pillow the young man stewed for several minutes before noticing the pie sitting on a tray table nearby. Eating miserably in bed he flipped on the television and started surfing.

Kenji wasn't sure exactly when he dozed off, but the knocking on the door that woke him to a darkened sky told the teenager it had been several hours since. "Yeah?" he grumbled sitting up.

"Hey," Candy smiled inching the door open. Kenji didn't say anything, instead he rummaged around the cardboard boxes on his bed and grabbed a cold hot wing. "I don't want to fight. I just wanted to apologise." she said. "I'm sorry for what I said, you're right it wasn't my place. I never knew your mother, and I can't speak for her. All I know is what I've heard about her from you and your dad, she sounds wonderful... I just know what it's like to lose a parent and to want to have a little piece of them with you."

Kenji looked at Candy with a brow arched questioningly, he didn't know that about her. The teen noticed that she wasn't wearing any makeup, her eyes dark and swollen like she'd been crying, hair down and messy, and she was wearing sweatpants.

"I just wanted you to know that I've never wanted to replace her, and I'm not trying to... Honestly, some days I'm not even sure what I'm doing here." the woman laughed. "I've never been in love before now, not really. I've had boyfriends. All I know is it feels different, feels more real somehow with your dad then with anyone else... It's ok though, I can't ask you not to hate me, but maybe you can tolerate me?"

"Sure, whatever." Kenji muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your important dinner?"

"No." Candy said shaking her head. "I'm not going."

"Why not?" Kenji scoffed.

"Because," Candy said firmly. "He shouldn't have hit you. If he's going to act like an ass he can look like an ass and go to his fancy little party by himself."

The teen blinked taken aback.

"Oh," Candy said as she turned to leave. "I also talked your dad. You're not going to military camp. I tried suggesting the penthouses at Jurassic World, you know so you can get away, and give yourself a break? He wouldn't go for it, he wants you to have some type of supervion, rules. He remembered that Masrani is trial running something called 'Camp Cretaceous.' It was the best I could do, sorry. Well, I guess I'll leave you alone now. Goodnight Kenji."

"Candy," the boy called, he knew he should apologize, felt guilty for what he had said to her and yet couldn't bring himself to say the words. "Thanks."

Kenji knew that Candy wasn't that bad, not really. She was boarder line nice even, tonight being a prime example. Still, some part of the teen couldn't let go of his hostility, his hatred towards her. Gnawing on the chicken bone Kenji's thoughts turned to his father. Maybe, he thought, he'd crash the Benz during his next driving lesson that would teach his dad! he brooded.