Ai saw Ken cradling his shoulder and instantly felt her blood boil.
“DAD WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE!?”
The fury was evident in her voice, something that neither of the 3 present had ever heard before. However, the most shocked was Tetsu himself who had been defending his daughters honor, only to be yelled at by her.
“Ai… He did all those things to you, how come yer mad at me?”
Tetsu was confused, yet seeing how his daughter was sticking up for the perpetrator only served to eat away at his heart.
“What things!? Ken has done nothing to me!” She screamed loudly, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.
“B-But the photos.” He stammered.
Ai suddenly froze, feeling a pit in her stomach. She looked at her father with the face of someone who had been betrayed.
However, Tetsu interpreted the expression incorrectly.
“See, I knew he—”
SLAP
A resounding slap sounded out, shocking everyone.
Tetsu slowly lifted his hand up to his face in disbelief, looking at his daughter with a confounded expression.
“Ai!” Naomi called out in shock.
“Inside…”
“Let’s talk inside.”
Without answering for her lashing out, she walked back over to Ken and a look of remorse appeared on her face. She saw him still cradling his shoulder and felt horrible.
‘If only I spoke up sooner then…’
After his adrenaline wore off, Ken felt his body ache in response. His shoulder didn’t feel as bad as before, allowing him to breathe out a sigh of relief, however it still ached.
Now that things had come to this, he wanted to see it through. He still wasn’t sure what Ai’s father was mad about, but it seemed as if he had misunderstood something, leading to the whole situation unfolding as it did.
“Please follow me.” Ai said, grabbing him by the hand and leading him inside the house.
Both her parents watched them walk inside, after which Naomi turned to Tetsu with a stern look. Since they were about to discuss what had just happened, she decided to not say anything, only shaking her head before heading inside.
A few moments later, everyone was sitting at the table where they had had a lovely dinner just the week before. Yet things were much different now with Ken battered and bruised, while Tetsu seemed empty and confused.
“Firstly, Ken please tell me what happened.” Naomi said, feeling an immense guilt looking at the boy who was cradling his shoulder.
Ken looked at Tetsu for a moment, noticing how dull his eyes looked, then turning to Ai and seeing her morose expression. He thought for a moment before making a decision.
“Nothing happened, we were just having a discussion.” He said, donning his poker face.
He had contemplated telling the truth, however he eventually decided against it. Seeing how ostracized Tetsu was already, adding this on would only deepen the rift within the family.
While he was still angry at being attacked out of nowhere, he believed that Ai’s father was not usually so rash. There had to be a reason.
Tetsu’s eyes widened at his response, almost not believing the words of the youngster.
Naomi reacted a little differently, frowning in response.
“A discussion? With your fists?” She said incredulously.
Ken nodded.
“Women discuss with words, men discuss with their fists.” He replied matter-of-factly.
Tetsu couldn’t help but have his opinion of Ken raise considerably at these words, however he had still yet to be convinced. He had seen the photos and still felt the boy was guilty.
Yet there was a part of him that had its doubts. This was further increased thanks to his daughter’s actions after seeing them fighting.
Ai sat next to Ken, her mind in turmoil. She had told everyone to come inside and discuss the issue, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk.
Ken happened to see the lost expression on Ai’s face and felt a pang in his heart. He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, causing her to raise her gaze.
“You can do it Ai, we’re all here to support you.” He said, reassuring her.
Ai felt even worse, seeing how understanding and supportive Ken was. He eyes drifted to his right shoulder, feeling even more guilt threaten to overcome her.
However, she eventually nodded and pulled out an envelope from underneath the table, placing it on the table.
Tetsu’s eyes lit up, that was the envelope where he found those photos.
Naomi reached out to grab the envelope, however Ai placed her hand on top.
“Before you open this… Just know that the photos are fake, they’ve been fabricated by someone.” She said with a serious expression.
At these words, her father stiffened.
Naomi nodded, trusting her daughter.
As she opened the envelope, she gasped before placing a hand on her mouth from shock. The explicit photos were confronting, yet they were a little blurry, but not enough to hide the faces of the two in them.
From where Ken was sitting, he could not see the photos, yet he was intrigued by the reaction of Naomi.
Ken held out his hand, wanting to get them from Naomi. However, she looked at Ai as if asking for permission first.
Ai nodded slowly, feeling her face heat up in response.
A moment later, Ken looked at the photos and instantly felt rage.
He quickly placed them onto the table before he accidentally crumpled them in his hand.
“Who would do such a thing? And for what reason?” Naomi asked, still not understanding the full picture.
Ai then pulled out a note from her pocket and placed it on the table. This time it was Tetsu who picked up the note first, quickly reading through the contents.
“UGH”
His face suddenly turned darker by 3 shades, making him look as if his head was about to explode. The rage he felt was even more than what he faced Ken with, causing his teeth to grind because of it.