Jake was a bright five-year-old boy whom everyone around him adored. Could you blame them? Jake was responsible, always greeting and helping the elders with those unique sparkling red orbs. He was like a ray of sunshine and to boot he was smart, he skipped two grades and was already a first grader! Those would be plenty of reasons to love him right? People around the neighborhood adore the little kid, well everyone except his mother.
From the moment he could remember there were only the two of them in the family, there were passings of babysitters and nannies changing but in the end, it was just him and his mom. Jake never really knew who his father was and he never really asked.
“Those red orbs and black hair… It would be better if you like me instead of him” His mom said one time, the only time she looked him straight in the eyes and held his face. Then she let him go, it was clear to Jake the way his mom looked at him with such a scowl that appeared on her face every time.
No, he wouldn’t risk asking because all he knew was his dad was the one who made Mommy sad. Jake resented him, if it wasn’t for him maybe his mom wouldn’t hate looking at his face.
Jake wanted his mom to be happy. He always saw her sitting alone in the middle of their big house with a glass of scotch in her hands on an afternoon, his nanny said it was a grown-up drink. His mom always looked so disinterested in life, she never smiled much at him.
So Jake always tried his hardest, seeking approval from his mother maybe she would beam a smile at him like the other mom in school would like his friend, Juan scored the goal his mom was so proud and hugged him. Juan said it was embarrassing and he rather have Jake's mom who was still pretty and never could embarrass him like this. But Jake couldn’t understand why would he get embarrassed by it, he wanted that from his mom.
“Look Mommy I got a hundred on this math test!”
Jake excitedly told her, his eyes were sparkling. When he told his nanny earlier, she was so proud of him and even patted his head a few times saying “He done a great job!” and she was sure his mommy would be proud too like she did. But his mom's reaction was quite the opposite and disappointing.
“Oh, your sisters would have gotten straight A's all year long if she was here and maybe your brother would’ve too”
The if he was born part wasn’t spoken of course. Jake had heard his mom talk constantly about his sisters and brother, their names were Summer and Robin, she never talked about his brother's name though.
So then why there were only the two of them here? Jake asked his mother about it and she said “They are with their father right now, they live happily up there and probably get a stepmom, oh I wish they hate her” That was the first time his mom brought up the word father in a conversation.
His curiosity perked up, and he understood for a minute that was probably why his mom hated him because his dad took all her other kids and left her with him, to whom he looked the most similar. It was kind of the same scenario his friend in kindergarten, Laura had when her parents got divorced.
Jake asked her “So dad leave mommy and be with a new stepmom?” But his mom shook her head. “No honey, your dad is different and he will rot in hell” His mom then left with a faint smile on her lips that didn’t reach her eyes quite yet that time. He asked his nanny “What does rot in hell mean?” His nanny was horrified and told him to never say it again, it was a very very bad word. Then why did mommy use it to describe his dad?
“Yes I will try to keep it up, Mom”
And, back to reality, all Jake could say was that with a cheerful smile even if he didn’t feel like it. Maybe because it wasn’t a goal in a big match, maybe if he scored a goal his mom would be proud! The next day he asked her if he was allowed to join the Little League, she just shrugged her head before signing the paper.
Then came the practices, he trained very hard all the time so he could make it to the first string and he did! Jake told his mom about it all excitedly, you could see a tail wagging from his butt as a puppy did. His mom just said she would think about it.
But he did all of this only for her, what’s the point if she didn’t come? And it wasn’t like his mom was busy, Jake had never seen her do anything besides leaving him with the nanny for hours to go shopping or maybe drinking some of those grown-up drinks on their balcony overviewing the sea with a cigarette resting on her other hand.
The ones who took care of him all the time were his nannies growing up, his mother never did anything, and she didn’t even drive him to school or pick him up even when he asked. Sometimes she cooked dinners, but even then it was for herself. No matter how much he asked, she always told him to eat what the nanny cooked for him.
They never eat breakfast together because of her ‘sleeping schedule’ and even during dinner he had to force himself to join his mom who let him in but she never said anything, just eating there silently maybe with a phone in her hand. Ignoring everything he told her about his day, an occasional nod here and there was apparent though.
Still, it wasn’t enough, Jake wanted just once for his mom to smile and hug him while saying she was proud of him and she loved him always. That was his dream, but how could he do that when his mom never even tucked him on the bed or cuddled him when he had a nightmare, not a shred of affection was shown for him. So what’s the point of begging now? She wouldn’t cave.
But for the first time, his mother sighed and gave in. “Alright, I will try” Jake almost immediately beamed “Really?” His mom just gave him a nod. A big grin appeared on his face, that night Jake went to sleep giddy, he was so excited that could tomorrow come even faster. Unbeknownst to him, his mom was wincing when he saw his smile the same one his father had, shivers running down her spine. How was she supposed to go to sleep now?
The time of the match came and Jake was so excited, for the first time his mom would go to school and watch him. He looked around but there was no sign of his mother. He was a bit disappointed but he figured out maybe, she was just running a little late. The game ended and Jake was so hyped up when he ran to the stands, he scored a goal in his first match! That was impressive, right?
His coach told him so. Instead of her mom, he found the elders in his neighborhood and came to his school in the city to watch him. They were praising him, showering him with affection but all he could think was where was his mom? As he smiled thanking them politely. Jake shouldn’t be surprised, of course, his mom wouldn’t come, she didn’t even give him a full promise.
Though he was wrong tonight, for the first time his mom came. He was shocked when he saw her approaching the elder in the stand, passing them drinks before placing a carton of milk on top of his head.
“Mommy, you came?” Jake asked, he couldn’t believe she had come! “Yeah I did, your sitter was unavailable to pick you up so I came instead. Now drink this milk. You like chocolate right?” She even remembered his favorite milk, what was up with the universe today?
“Did you see me scoring a goal before?” Jake asked, excitedly. “I saw it. Good for you, I guess” Then she ruffled his hair, giving him the awaiting affection that he had always craved. It might not look that much, but Jake’s heart was soaring through the moon.
The next day's reception wasn’t well though, especially from the seniors he took his spot from. They kicked and punched him, Jake wanted to fight back but he got greedy. Maybe, just a maybe, his mom would be concerned and be more affectionate towards him. After all, you don’t ignore a beaten-up child, right?
When the teachers saw it, they broke up the fights and called the parents. Then again the reaction he got was not the one he hoped for.
His mom was furious and mad “You got beaten up and you didn’t fight back? Your father is so good at beating people, that was the only thing he was good at! You embarrassed me”
Jake was stunned, this was the first time his mother showed any emotion towards him but he never dreamed mad being the first one to appear. However, he couldn’t think about it too much as the parents of the other kid pleaded for forgiveness from his mom. But his mother was having none of it.
“I will forgive your kid if you let Jake punch him back”
The other kid's parents’ eyes went bewildered and of course, protests were immediately heard. The principal was taken aback too by his mother's statement, he tried to interject it.
“We don’t allow that-“
“Then I guess I will take back this 10,000 euro check that I was going to give to the school for the laboratory”
“Jake’s mother with all due respect please don’t and it’s unethical for school-“
“You are seriously siding with these poor middle-class parents who only got in here from a scholarship for the poor? Over this 10000 euro check that could help the building?”
A lump was stuck in the principal’s throat and protest was heard from the parents, but his mother didn’t care. Instead, she whispered to Jake to attack the other kid. He was horrified but he was even more scared of his mother so he obliged.
Suddenly the kid got punched, and he fell, screaming in pain but his mother's response was, “You didn’t even break his tooth!”
Nevertheless, she gave the principal a check worth 10.000 euros and gave the other kid’s parent a check for the same amount if they didn’t sue her, or if they tried she would sue them back with a threat that she would and could destroy their pathetic little lives before she went out the door with Jake’s following closely behind her.
They were in the car and the silence was deafening, his mother had never once taken off her sunglasses and her big hat covering her hair after they walked out of the principal’s office.
“Mommy I’m sorry-“
Jake tried to apologize but his mom cut him down immediately.
“You are a wimp, at least if you are going to be his kid, you have to be good at fighting not getting beaten up”
Her tone was chilling and she wasn’t even screaming. At that moment Jake knew he just burned down the bridge he had been trying to build for years and there was no coming back after this.
From a young age, Kudou Tata knew she didn’t want a family, she didn’t want to have kids or responsibilities that could tie her down forever. That all hit a trainwreck when she met Ryuuguji Ken. They had a lot of ups and downs over the years, and during those downs moment, she met Kakucho. He managed to steal her world for a moment there but in the end, she came back to Draken anyway, shattering the other man's heart when she said her vows.
Oh, how Tata wished she hadn’t met Kakucho. She used to adore him, even a part of her heart was occupied by him but that was before he destroyed her perfect ending, her perfect happiness. Tata and Draken were finally stable, no more on and off, just them blindly fighting for one another, a thing they should have done a long time ago.
Then they had kids, Tata might have said she didn’t want one but she made a deal with Draken, she was going to be the average mom and he was going to be the super-involved dad. The twins were something she did not regret, they were so easy and made her realize, she didn’t hate being a mom so much.
But that was because she had them, her beautiful little girls. Three years passed and she found out she was pregnant with a boy at Pah’s wedding and they were ecstatic.
Then, of course, the tragedy happened. Tata came home to her house with his dead husband, lying on the floor, helpless and her kids, a trickle of blood from their mouths, and those dead empty eyes would surely haunt her forever. She felt a smash on the back of her head and the world went black.
She woke up to find herself tied up someplace else.
Tata was familiar with this setting, where would this be, besides Kakucho’s penthouse? She woke up screaming, crying, and blaming him only to find out she lost her baby too, Kakucho tried to cheer her up with words like he already had them tortured and murdered. He was saying sorry that he didn’t know the guy he sent for the hit also killed her kids, he specifically told them to do only Draken and Kakucho had the fucking audacity to label it as their kids.
Oddly enough, Tata was kinda glad they died because now they got to be up there with their father and her alone who would go through this nightmare.
Tata didn’t understand why Kakucho would target her, she gave him the perfect goodbye, and she even said it was the last time.
Many other second guys didn’t even have the chance to know it, it was the last time while they were still holding out hope for the girl to be back with him. But Tata did give Kakucho one? Never mind about it, she had no time to wonder about it as she needed a plan to free her from his crutches.
Everyone always said how Kakucho was the sanest one in Bonten, he would be the most lenient one when it came to punishment, and he would give them an easy death, just a single shot on their head. But he wasn’t the same man when it came to Tata, she tried to manipulate him like back in the old days, but it didn’t work out.
Back then he allowed it because he was such a drunken fool and Tata always knew how to make an offer he couldn’t resist. Right now though? He needed all hands on deck to make sure she didn’t run away, God knows how sly and tactful she was. But to Kakucho, Tata needed to stay where she belonged, by his side.
Yeah, Kakucho could read through all of her moves now after years of observing and studying, he still accepted those fake I love you(s), the only difference was he let her know those were fake. It was getting incredibly hard to manipulate and trick him but it wasn’t Tata if she didn’t know how to press and twist those weak spots subtly into her favor.
She was surprised indeed when she managed to escape successfully after two years in his imprisonment, he was so possessive and unlike before careful with her, no one even expected she could get out of the penthouse, let alone escape it. When Kakucho found out about it he went ballistic, his henchmen were tortured until they were dead. He was merciless with his research, he scoured everywhere, anywhere, actively searching anytime any day but Tata disappeared without a trace.
Tata was thanking god she was born rich, she still hated him and let her suffer first though. Do you know what any rich families had? A secret bank account with a false name no one knew except them. She retrieved it including the gazillion tons of money from his dad and some fake passports and IDs her mom made since her day as an actress.
She bought some make-up and wigs, a few of which she brought and switched with them in the airport to confuse CCTV, who knows how many eyes Bonten got when they were already this corrupt? Tata didn’t contract any of her friends, she didn’t want them to be dead after all, and her family? She figured out they were dead. It didn’t stop her tears prickling from in her eyes when she saw the news of her family's deaths on her burner phone during the first flight she could find to take her out of Japan.
Then just to be safe after she landed, she flew again on an international flight, she thought a lot about where to settle down before picking Garachico, a small beautiful seaside village in Spain for her first hideout. Her burner phone was trashed before she hopped on another flight, landing at her final destination for the day she bought a real phone this time and changed her disguise to just sunglasses and a large hat to contain her hair.
Tata knew she had been pregnant for a few months now, but it wasn’t showing yet on her belly, something she was thankful for if Kakucho had found out about it there was no way he would leave her side even for work. Tata hated how Kakucho had succeeded in his mission, it was his dream, and it was what he wanted to build a family with her, like the one he wiped out, her family with Draken.
She went to the doctor to abort it, like hell she would want to raise a kid her captor forced to impregnate her with. Only for her face to fall when they told her it was too risky to abort, she could lose her life, the life she just regained.
Tata did think about giving him up for adoption but any legal document could be used and Kakucho would find it to trace back to her. She has no other choice but to raise this kid. She hated it, she despised the kid who wasn’t even born.
Tata in the first place never wanted any kids and now she had to raise them all alone? And it wasn’t even a kid she wanted, it was a kid from her captor, the man she seethed the most hatred in the world. A kid needed stability growing up, and her plan to move around after a few months shattered. That was how she ended up buying a villa in Garachico.
Tata was depressed, her mind certainly wasn’t in the right place, especially during the last stage of her pregnancy, then came the giving birth part, she wasn’t overjoyed and reality slapped her harder when he opened his eyes, red orbs, nothing about him was similar to her.
It would be easier to pretend to love him if she got his brown orbs. She already had to raise a child she didn’t want, now she had to raise one who year after year grew up to be his father's exact copy? Reminding her of the cruelty that man did to her beloved. Jake was a name she picked out randomly and he was nothing like her except for his nose and face shape.
Tata knew how Jake sought her approval, for her to give him affection, things a mom owed to their children but every time she saw those red orbs she couldn’t help it. She once loved gazing into those red orbs, but now it turned into a bitter resentment whenever he saw her kid. Tata knew it was petty to reject Jake of her love and approval, he had done nothing wrong.
But you had to consider here, she was forced to give birth to him, wasn’t she kind enough to birth to him, risking her own life? She also gave him a big roof over his head, a private school, everything top notch, he even could speak three languages, she had done a decent job, right?
Tata knew she wouldn’t be able to love him, how would she take care of him? That’s where the nannies came in, at least someone was giving him proper care. Tata was kind enough to not fire the one nanny who hinted she should have paid more attention to Jake instead of doing nothing seeing how Jake got attached to her.
Tata planned to leave him when he turned eighteen with this big house and a college fund, some extra money was in there too. She figured it was time for her to live her life after eighteen years of taking care of him, Jake should be glad she didn’t leave him on the road to be starved, he even could be considered lucky.
Tata wasn’t surprised he was smart, hey he was still her kid? It’s in the genes. She did feel kinda bad when she saw how desperate Jake was for her approval. She thought it was pathetic every time he begged for her praise and how happy he got over a mere pat on his head. But maybe it was okay to occasionally give him something like this.
Tata was furious though the next day when she heard he was getting beaten up. She could see through what this kid wanted. His desperateness was almost similar to his father, one more thing he had in common with Kakucho.
At least if he wanted to be his father's exact copy then also be strong right? The only good thing Kakucho had was fighting, he was Bonten’s number three for a reason.
Imagine her disappointment when she figured out Jake inherited nothing but his father’s bad traits. Tata was disgusted and what was the use she raising this kid if he already served as traumatic proof of a past she wished to delete and then only to know he was nothing good?