FILTH in the BEAUTY, Ken's Story

[Kenji Isamu]

((Okay so I'm not that great of a writer...so don't be too mean when you read this. And this isn't all of it, I just started it so I'd have the inititive to finish it! Italics mean they're speaking Japanese.))



Kenji Isamu, second son of Hiro and Keiko Isamu, prided himself in really one thing in his life, his inability to give into any angry or vicious urges. In fact he thought clearly in every situation and was always able to find a decent respectable way out. There was never a moment he couldn’t do that, or at least that’s what his life had led him to believe. Growing up he had to keep a clear head just to get away from his tormenting older brother Ikaru and eventually used it to protect his three younger brothers. Over time, they all came to depend on him for that, to keep his cool so that everyone else could keep their own cool. But there are some things that are so unexpected, so life altering that you’ll think things, do things you never thought you’d do. This could be said for Kenji Isamu, a cool mild mannered man until one day…


New York, 2003


“Chikusho! Kozkua! We’ve had chicken damn near every night this week, take this back and get some beef!” Ikaru shoved the chicken back into his younger brother’s disgruntled hands. Kozuka just grunted and sulked off looking back only to glare at Ikaru. “Oi don’t give me that look! I’ll rip that damned nose band off!” He tugged on his red bangs as he glared at anyone who glanced over at them, he caused a scene but since he had spoken only Japanese they didn’t know what it was about. He cursed at an employee who was going to try and ask them if they needed help but scared him off, Ikaru chuckled watching the young man practically run the other way. Ikaru loved causing trouble even after three hundred years it never got old for the man. He wasn’t even bothered by the glare given to him by his brother.

Ken sighed knowing that getting Ikaru to stop was just a damn near impossible task but he could still try, “Ikaru, must you be a pain to everyone around you? And who cares if Kozuka gets chicken we can get both you know…” It was just Ken, Ikaru, and Kozuka doing the grocery shopping today, so it was a bit more tedious. Some would think with two at school it would be nicer, but being alone with the rougher two of his brothers and no way to balance it out, just angry grocery shopping. He turned to look at the various udon and yaki soba noodles, he liked this grocery store, it had a wide variety of the food from his homeland. “Maru wouldn’t mind making a different dish for you, he’s always offering it to you, I don’t know why you haven’t taken him up on that.”

“You just don’t get it…” Ikaru folded his arms over his chest and pouted.

“No I guess I don’t, sorry,” Ken chuckled a bit before letting a mildly awkward silence fell between the two. It wasn’t there for too long, seconds later BoA Kwon’s “Valenti” started blaring from Ken’s cell phone. Both brothers sang along as Ken pulled it from his pocket looking at the caller id, his eyebrows knitted together, “Shin?” His brother was supposed to be in class for another 45 minutes, why would he be calling? A sudden panic took over Ken and he answered the phone flipping the lid with a sudden urgency, “Hello? Shin-”

“Ken! Ken you have to come to the hospital quick! Right now!” Ken froze, was Shin crying? And why the hospital? Ken didn’t need to actually ask, Shin answered his question almost instantly, “Maru…he’s in critical condition!”

“C-critical condition?” Those two words had Ikaru turning on his heel to face Ken with furrowed eyebrows, nothing ever came out good when those words were spoken with the concerned and worried face that Ken presented. He took a few steps closer to try and listen in on the conversation, but Ken hung up the phone looking to him and with an authoritative voice said, “Get Kozuka, meet me outside we have to go now!” He turned and ran to the entrance while Ikaru ran to where Kozuka would be. The ride to the hospital was brutal, it never seemed so far and with his brothers it was full of questions that Ken couldn’t answer, all he knew was Maru was hurt, and hurt bad.

The tires of the SUV squealed as he peeled into the parking lot and found the closest spot he could nearly ramming a smaller car who wanted the same spot. The three of them took off running to the receptionist at the front in the lobby, Ikaru was the first to get there, “Maru Isamu…we were told he was just admitted.” The nurse nodded and turned to her computer and didn’t really seem to notice the urgency to their needs, Ikaru glared and leaned over, “Excuse me miss but will you HURRY THE FUCK UP!” She squeaked and picked up her pace quite a bit.

“H-he’s on the third floor you’ll need to speak with the nurse at the nurses station before you go to see him,” she backed up a bit wanting to get away from the frightening man in front of her.

The brothers took off to the elevator, Kozuka pressed the button with “3” on it constantly, nothing seemed to move as fast as they needed it. Once the elevator started moving Ikaru and Kozuka willed it to move faster while Ken rubbed his temples. When the doors opened they first spotted Shin pacing rather furiously only stopping when he noticed his brothers. He ran over to Ken throwing himself against his older brother and sobbing, “Ken he looks horrible! Who would do this to him?! He’d never hurt a fly!”

As Shin continued his crying Ikaru went to the nurses station, “We want to go see Maru Isamu.”

“I’m sorry sir but he’s-”

“No no, I don’t want to hear an excuse, or anything, what I want you to do little missy is take me to see my brother! NOW!” Ikaru really wanted to fuck someone up, and he’d have no problem jumping over the counter and unleashing his pent up anger on the nurse in front of him. He was one of the few people in the world who could beat up a girl and walk away with a clean conscious.

The nurse looked absolutely terrified when Ikaru leaned forward and practically snarled at her, she sighed though when Kozuka walked up and dragged Ikaru away, “Stop it, we’ll never get in to see him if you do that! Go call Minako, she’ll want to know what’s going on, I’m calling Kaa-san and Tou-san.”

Ikaru sighed and walked off pulling out his own phone, he stopped and stared at it. He didn’t want to tell his daughter about her Uncle Maru, for pete’s sake the girl was only ten. He flipped the lid open, and browsed through his phonebook, maybe it was best if he prepared her for….if Maru didn’t make it. The thought made him shiver, he didn’t want to think of it. Though he knew that now it would always be there in his mind, always popping up. He stopped at Minako’s name hitting the dial button as he heard Kozuka trying to calm what he could only assume was his mother in hysterics. He turned back to face the wall as he was greeted with a sweet and cheery, “Hi Daddy!”

Ken sat in the chairs for them in the waiting room, an arm around Shin’s shoulder calming his younger brother though he stood when the doctor came up to them, he looked at the brothers with a sad look. “You are here for Mr. Maru Isamu?” Ken nodded, wanting the doctor to give them good news, and boy did the doctor want to give them good news, but he didn’t want to give them false hope, “Well it’s not looking good. He’s suffering from sever head trauma, we’re having trouble stopping some internal bleeding. He was stabbed eight times in his lower abdomen, his right shoulder shattered, and both legs broken.”

Ken and Shin sat there looking wide eyed at the doctor, Shin buried his face in his hands and started crying all over again. Ken took a step forward, “I-is there a chance he’ll come back from this? At all?”

The doctor’s frown only deepened, “We’ll do what we can, but…chances of him making it through the week are slim…”

[Kenji Isamu]

They looked at each other, all of them looking horrified, Shin only sobbed louder and Ikaru cursed loudly and slammed his fist into the arm of a chair with such force he cracked the woor. Kozuka merely sat in silence staring straight ahead. Who would do this? And to Maru of all people, their little brother wouldn't hurt a fly, and now he was laying there dying, and for what?

It was now the first truly evil though passed through Ken's mind. Whoever did this was going to pay. He'd see to it personally.

They weren't able to see Maru that night but had been told that he would be put into surgery tomorrow in an attempt to fix some of the damage. They would just wait to see if he stopped bleeding first. The drive home was the quietest most uncomfortable drive ever, no one said a word, that night no one ate and none of them slept. They tried, god knows they tried, but they couldn't get the days events out of their heads. Kozuka sat up playing a game of Go against himself, Shin just laid there hugging a pillow tightly, Ikaru sat there staring eventually getting up and walking to Ken's room. He didn't bother knocking, he never did, like it would have mattered anyway. Ken stood by his window smoking, he didn't flinch when his bedroom door flew open, instead he simply put the cigarette out in the ashtray and looked to his brother. Ikaru had a dangerous look on his face he stepped up to Ken, "We have to do something, we can't sit by and...and....twiddle our thumbs while Maru is lying there!"

"I was thinking the same thing," Ken said in a low monotone voice.

The look though, that he gave Ikaru was one the eldest brother had never seen before. It was hard to describe it but all Ikaru knew is that is scared him and excited him, "No one messes with the Isamu clan and gets away with it."

Ken nodded, "Finding out who did it though is our only obstacle, it happened at the school right? They should have some sort of security tape...but that still wouldn't tell us who they are..." The blonde started pacing racking his brain for an answer, something that would help him, but nothing came to mind. He sighed and stopped burying his face in his hands. His previous look was gone, he now looked completly downtrodden. "I don't know if we can do anything Ikaru, we aren't anything really special...our powers will only get us so far you know."

Ikaru's eyes widened, "What? No! Don't think that!" he walked around to stand in front of Ken taking his arms, "We can do something, I know there's something we can do..." He didn't want to see Ken like this, Ken was emotional support for the family, if he started to lose it it was only a matter of time before the rest of them started falling apart.