The Shiramitsu Family’s Curse
I wonder when I started to hate going home.
—
“Toi, Toi…!”
“Ani… sama…”
Was it when I first saw Toi’s weakened figure extend a trembling hand towards me?
—
“The head is truly a blessing to us... but that twin of his is utterly useless. At best, we can have that good-for-nothing act as a guard dog.”
“Shh… Someone might be listening.”
“Let them listen. I speak only the truth.”
Was it after Toi became possessed by an angel, after he was sacrificed—after I became the black sheep of the family?
“A rather shabby host, if I do say so myself, but nevertheless, it will do. …Serve me well, my loyal dogs.”
“OSHISHA-SAMAAAAAAAA! Please continue to grant the Shiramitsu family your blessings!”
Or was it after my first encounter with that bastard, the other entity that lives within Toi—after watching the hag who dares call herself our mother cling to it, screaming with tears of mad joy?
…It was all of it, dammit.
—
That family is batshit crazy. The moment anyone opens their mouth, it’s always Oshisha-sama this, Oshisha-sama that. In their eyes, everything else is straight up trash. It’s a group full of brain-dead dumbasses who can’t do shit without their stupid deity. I can’t count how many times I’ve thought about ditching that house full of corrupt, cock-sucking sycophants, to leave and be free once and for all. There hadn’t been a single day where I didn’t think about it… but I couldn’t do it. Toi was there. I had to protect Toi from those nutjobs.
“...”
If someone told me I could take Toi with me and leave, I’d do it immediately with no hesitation. But I was just a teenager when I first started seriously thinking about it—just a shitty 16 year old brat who knew nothing of the world.
Toi couldn’t leave the house. He was always being watched, whether it was by the geezer, that hag, or those shitty-ass devotees. Every day felt like I was bound by an inescapable bloodline curse, stuck in limbo and left staring at a dead end. I felt frustrated. I felt helpless. I felt like puking. The stress overwhelmed me, and all I could do was spend my days aimlessly wandering around the city of Tokyo. Even if I couldn't turn my back on my godforsaken family completely, I wanted to, at the very least, leave HAMA.
—
“The fuck’s wrong with this pipsqueak!? Picking a fight outta nowhere like that!”
“Shut the fuck up, die. Don’t fucking yell, you prick, kill yourself. Maybe if you didn’t look this way, motherfucker. Eat shit.”
I’d catch a glance from some delinquent and if I didn’t vibe with them, I’d jump their ass. It didn’t matter who it was, it was fine as long as I could knock their brains out. I was just taking out my anger on others, but I didn’t know how else to take my mind off of everything.
“... Huh?”
“The fuck you looking at?”
“Yo, short-stuff… the fuck is that behind you? There’s like this weird shadow…”
“Oh… So you can see them.”
I was a real ignorant brat who didn’t know how to fight against society.
“Spirits, demons, ghosts, yokai… these things've got a shitload of names. Not like I’d expect you to get it.”
“Huh? What? The fuck you talking about?”
“I don’t know why, but these guys really like following me around… Not that I can see them.”
“Wait… why’s that thing coming over here!?”
“Prolly ‘cause it thinks of my enemies as its own, who knows.”
The Tokyoites would let out a small cry before scrambling through their pockets, pulling out their wallets, and throwing them at my feet.
“H-Here, take it. Just let me go, please! There should be at least twenty bucks in there!”
“...”
“I-I’m sorry I bothered you!”
After that, they’d run away as fast as they could, leaving me behind all bloody and bruised.
“UGH… Motherfucker… I was gonna beat the shit outta him… and leave him dead in a ditch, but you just had to get in the way…”
I just wanted to beat someone up, not extort them. But I’d always feel bad leaving the wallet there like that, so I’d pick it up nonetheless. It’d be worth a beef bowl and a few rounds at the arcade at least, so whatever. Maybe it'd make me feel a little less shitty. And so, I’d leave the alleyway with a bitter taste in my mouth, gritting my teeth at the fact that nothing about my situation had changed. This was my everyday life.
…But I knew I couldn’t keep going like this. If I’d kept this up, I would’ve eventually lost myself.
—
However, humans don’t change that easily. They can’t change that easily. …That’s how it came back to bite me in the ass.
“The fuck you want?”
One day, in the alley I often came to…
“Hwllo Mr. Studenf.”1
“What…!?”
There it was, something even I was able to see. A powerful—
“I likee you, DJE FOR MEEEEWEEEEEREE!!!!!”2
A nasty spirit that I had a one in a million chance of taking on—that was my karma.