Child
Chapter 8

Kumiko had made the choice to stay with her mother for a couple of days to help her cope with the loss of her husband. This meant that Hideki would be on his own with little Rumi.

Hideki and Rumi didn't interact much over the few days Kumiko was gone. But even before this sudden situation arose, Hideki and Rumi spent very little time together. Rumi liked to spend most of her time with her mother. And whenever Hideki brought that up, Kumiko would tell him it was normal at that age for children to be more attached to their mother and Rumi would eventually grow closer to him.

The only real time Hideki and Rumi spent together while Kumiko was away was during dinner. Hideki would try his best to have a conversation with his daughter, but she always seemed so distant and unwilling to interact with him.

"How's the food?" asked Hideki. He had made a simple meal of rice and vegetables, the only meal he had any experience making.

"It's the same thing we ate yesterday," replied Rumi, whose focus was on her food rather than her father.

"I'm not as creative in the kitchen as your mother is," Hideki said sheepishly. "How about tomorrow we go out to eat?"

"When is mommy coming home?" asked Rumi.

"In a few days," said Hideki. "Since grandpa died, she has to help grandma for a while."

"I don't like when she's not here," said Rumi.

"You've still got me," said Hideki.

Rumi gave her father no reply and continued eating.

Sitting beside Rumi was her Mr. Clown doll. "You really like that toy, don't you?" asked Hideki. "I bet you didn't know that it was the first gift your mother ever bought for you."

"Mommy didn't buy Mr. Clown for me," said Rumi before filling her mouth with a large portion of rice.

"Of course she did," insisted Hideki. "Who else would she have bought it for?"

Rumi didn't respond.

"Rumi-chan," said Hideki, again receiving no response. "You've got to stop ignoring people when they're talking to you."

Rumi continued to ignore her father and began playing with Mr. Clown.

The usually docile Hideki had finally had enough. He caught his daughter completely by surprise and snatched Mr. Clown away from her.

"Your mother might let you get away with this kind of behavior, but I'm not going to let you," exclaimed Hideki.

"Give Mr. Clown back," demanded Rumi.

"I'll give you your toy back when you start listening to me," said Hideki.

"No," exclaimed Rumi.

"I'm warning you, Rumi-chan," said Hideki. "If you don't put a stop to this behavior . . ."

"Haven't you hurt me enough?" asked Rumi.

"What do you mean?" asked Hideki, his anger suddenly calmed. "What are you talking about?"

"You're not nice," said Rumi, her demeanor now very dark and very unsettling. She then ran off to her room.

After dinner Hideki took to the living room to unwind and watch television. He had a can of beer in his hand and a few empties on a nearby table. The alcohol had quickly made him drowsy and far too oblivious to the world around him.

Rumi was watching Hideki intently from the stairs. There was no expression on her face. She merely stood there and stared at him. In her hand was a large kitchen knife.

Kumiko was washing the dishes at her parents' house when her mother entered the kitchen. "Kumiko," said her mother. "I've got to call the lawyer but I can't seem to replace his number anywhere. Do you have it?"

"Yes, I have it saved in my phone," said Kumiko. She checked her pockets but came up empty. It quickly dawned on Kumiko where she had left her phone. "I left my phone at home. I've been using your landline while I've been here, so I hadn't even noticed that I didn't have it."

"It's alright, dear," said Kumiko's mother. "With everything that's been happening, it's understandable."

"I'll call Hideki," said Kumiko. "I'm sure he'll be able to replace it for me. Then he and Rumi-chan can come drop it off."

"It will be nice to see them," said Kumiko's mother.

Kumiko used the house phone to call Hideki. His cell phone rang several times but he never answered. "He must not have his cell phone with him," said Kumiko. "I'm going to try calling the house phone." Again, nobody answered.

"I suppose it can wait until morning," said Kumiko's mother.

"No, I can go get my phone," said Kumiko. "If I go now, I can be back before bedtime."

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the drive home. But what was out of the ordinary was that someone had left the front door unlocked. Nothing could have prepared Kumiko for what she was about to replace. Upon entering, she found Hideki's lifeless body lying on the living room floor covered in blood. Kumiko let out a scream so loud that her neighbors heard it and called the police.

The police arrived and immediately began scouring the house for evidence. Kumiko was asked a plethora of questions for which she had no answers. And Rumi was questioned, but all she had to tell detectives was that she had been asleep for hours.

Hideki had been killed by a single slash to the throat. Detectives determined that with so many empty beer cans in the room that Hideki must have been so inebriated that he had made himself the easiest of targets for the unknown attacker.

Once the interviews were over, Kumiko took Rumi to her parents' house. Rumi fell asleep quickly in one of the spare bedrooms as her mother sat nearby and watched her with teary eyes. The girl looked almost angelic as she slumbered peacefully.

"What happened?" whispered Kumiko, as she ever so gently ran her fingers through Rumi's hair.

Kumiko's mother entered. "Kumiko, you should get some sleep," she said. "I've prepared your bed."

"I'll be there soon," said Kumiko. After her mother left, Kumiko leaned in and kissed Rumi's forehead. "Mommy loves you very much," she whispered. "I won't ever let anyone hurt you."

After Kumiko left Rumi opened her eyes. Her expression was one of pure anger.