Ark 22 Episode 15: Sleepless Nights

A Late Night
((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUsh3LKLAcY )) “Fuck sleep…” Mumbled an exhausted Ginji Shibata as he stood up from the sitting position he had been in on his bed. He glanced down at his bed through his low hanging bangs, seeing his pistol lying on top of the messy sheets, kicked around from his attempt at sleeping. Another restless night… Those had been frequent lately. Ginji pulled on a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt, his black boots, and a black jacket which was his usual attire. Pulling the majority of his bangs back he slid a black hairband into is hair, letting the right side of his bangs hang down over his face in a messy fashion, tonight being a night he could care less about his hair. He grabbed the Black Star pistol, sliding it into the back of his pants so that it rested in the waistband. Leaving his phone sitting on his bed he left his room, leaping over the railing of the second floor, landing on the first in a slight crouch to ease the landing. Ginji made his way out of the hideout, pulling a cigarette from his pack that rested in his left pocket along with a dark red lighter. He placed the cigarette between his lips, sparking the lighter, causing a flame to sprout up, burning the end of the cigarette as he inhaled, causing it to light. The cherry of the cigarette glowed a bright orange as he took a drag from it; the darkness from the back path caused the orange glow to be like some sort of light. Shoving his lighter into his left pocket along with his hands Ginji made his way out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk, glancing around casually, deciding to take a right. He decided that he’d head towards the more populated and calmer part of the District, sort of like the uptown section. He often walked at night to clear his mind, especially when he felt the weight of his responsibilities and his past weighing down on him. Things got heavy from time to time and the only way to relieve that stress was to either hit something or to go on a walk at night when he could calmly smoke and look up at the stars, the ones that could be seen through the lights. Ginji pulled his right hand from his pocket, pulling the cigarette from his lips to release a long stream of smoke from between his lips, the almost neon lights that shone during the night lightning up the sidewalk in front of him as his almost golden eyes stared ahead as if he were walking without realizing it. The bums lying on the sidewalk or in a closed shops doorway asked for money or drugs, trying to find a way to get by or pass the time easier in their shit life. Ginji felt his right pants leg latched onto and when he glanced down, he saw a disheveled and disgusting man holding onto him, the dirt on his hands getting all over Ginji’s pants. “Give me some fucking meth… Or… Or I’ll kill you.” A flicking noise was heard and without even seeing it, Ginji knew the old man had a switch blade that he had just opened as if he were ready to use it. “Tch…” Ginji tossed his cigarette so that it was headed in the direction of the man’s face, now being in a kneeling position. Ginji raised his left foot, shoving his boot at the man’s face, causing the cherry of the cigarette to smash against the man’s cheek as Ginji’s boot slammed against his face, sending his head back into the brick of the closed general store he was in front of. “Oi…” Ginji leaned down some, keeping the man’s face pinned against the brick with his boot, the cries of the guy quietly reaching Ginji’s ears, most likely from the burn of the cigarette and the impact of his head against brick. “Don’t pull a fucking knife… Unless you’re going to use it right then and there… Piece of shit.” Ginji lowered his foot, letting the man fall to the sidewalk. Ginji stared at the old man for a second before turning back to the direction he had been heading, leaving the homeless man to lay there. “KILL ME! PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY PLEASE!!” The cries of the man rang out as Ginji continued to walk away, shaking his head. It might have been merciful if Ginji had shot the man but it was such a weak way to go out and he wasn’t going for it.

Strangers and Anger


 “Hey kid, do I know you from somewhere?” A deep, gruff voice reached Ginji’s ears, causing him to stop in his tracks. He had to look up at whoever was standing in front of him, meaning he was large. A wide, muscular man stood in front of Ginji, looking to be about 6’9” and maybe about 300 Ibs.



  “Yea yea, you look like this woman I used to know. Girl named Maiyumi, whew that girl used to give the best head. You her kid or something brat?” The guy stared at Ginji whose Jaw clenched, his hands doing the same in his pockets. Maiyumi was his mother’s name and this guy was apparently talking about her. “I can definitely see it now, you got her eyes.” The man laughed, shaking his head some. “Musta got knocked up after I was done with her.” “Shut your fucking mouth…” Ginji suddenly spoke up, his hands sliding out of his pockets, clenching to the point his knuckles were a shade lighter than his natural skin tone. “Eh, what kid? You mad that I’m telling the truth about the slut’s head game? Or that I fucked the shit out of her a few times. You’re lucky you’re not my damn kid. Snot nosed ass punk.” Something instantly snapped in Ginji as the face of his mother popped into his head, similar to when Kin had talked shit about her during their training. “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” Ginji reared back, swinging his right fist at the man’s gut, only to watch it get caught as if it were nothing. ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1_76d7OW9Y)) “Hey now, what do you think you’re doing kid?” Ginji looked up at him, noticing the tattoos that were peeking out from his shirt collar and short sleeves. “Gonna try to hit me?” The man snorted as his hold on Ginji’s fist tightened, only for him to whip his arm to the left, slinging Ginji down an alleyway as if he were a ragdoll. Ginji hit the asphalt, rolling a few times before his back smacked the brick wall at the end of the alleyway. “That was stupid, trying to hit a Yakuza man of thirty five years. In my day, they called me the Rampant Bull… I was never beaten, even once.” Ginji stared at the man who grabbed Ginji’s throat, raising him up against the brick wall, slamming his left fist against Ginji’s gut before he could even react. “GUH!” Ginji coughed, the lack of air causing him to choke for a moment before he was dropped back to the sitting position against the wall, his head hung low as his body slumped. “Weak ass punk.” The man slowly turned around, beginning to walk away from Ginji. Something was wrong… As if Ginji’s mind were simply blank, as if he couldn’t move.

Oka-San
 ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zYJYrkRevY)) An image of Ginji’s mother flashed into his mind, sending him back to what he could remember of her. Her kind face, the way she smiled at him, the way she sang to him when he couldn’t sleep. He remembered her light blue hair that was a few shades lighter than his own and her almost golden eyes that he had inherited from her. From what little he could remember, she always kept him close when his father had visitors. She taught him English while his father taught him Japanese, both of them being Japanese. One day she suddenly disappeared and never came back. Ginji didn’t understand it and his father had just waved it off as if he were nothing, only telling him that she had moved and wasn’t coming back. It haunted Ginji… Where had his mother gone? Leaving him alone with his father. “Tch… Fucking idiot…” Ginji mumbled, watching his four year old self search around the house and the neighborhood for his mother. It had only been a week after when Ginji had begun to act out, throwing rocks at kids his age, beating them up and kicking them while they lay on the ground, crying. “Fucking idiot…” He mumbled again, watching as his now five year old self picked up a small metal bar, only to smack it against a small boys head, sending the boy to the ground. “Piece of shit…” Ginji said, watching as his father finally had decided to attempt to explain death to a six year old Ginji. “Why isn’t she coming back?” He’d ask his father multiple times during the explanation, causing his father to grimace and try a different approach. “You can’t bring her back?...” Ginji mumbled just as kid Ginji asked the question. “Why not?” Ginji slowly shook his head at the next part that played, speaking the words that were yelled at his father. “Well then FUCK YOU!” Kid Ginji ran out of the house, running down the street to the grocery store where an old woman worked. She tried to comfort him and once he calmed down, she sent him back home. He didn’t understand it… But he eventually accepted it. His mother was no longer in this world, taken by something called “death”. There was no closure, no ending, and no final goodbye. She had been there… And then she was gone. There was emptiness there and for the first time since he was a small child, it throbbed in his chest. “Being held down by something like this…” Ginji thought as he watched his father take his kid self around the District, showing him how rough it could be. His mind flashed through all of the points of his life, especially when he was thrown in jail. “All because you died…” Ginji thought to himself, slowly shaking his head. “Nah… It was because I was fucking stupid… Couldn’t man the fuck up and understand it. Sorry… For blaming you… Oka-san (Mom)…”

A New Stepping Stone
((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2-XwjXo6mQ)) “Damare (Shut up)” Ginji mumbled as he rose to his feet, slightly shaking his head. “Eh?” The big guy turned around to look at Ginji, only to see a pair of golden eyes glaring at him. Something sparked around Ginji’s hands a few times, a deep blood red aura that for some reason was clearly seen by Ginji and the man. “Fucking fat ass… Looks like you helped me… That’s lame… Heh…” The red aura stabilized, now slowly flowing around Ginji’s hands as if it were a fire placed under slow motion. “This must be my chi…” Ginji mumbled as the guy’s eyes widened slightly. “But I don’t need it to beat an ugly bitch like you.” The red aura around Ginji’s hands faded away as he suddenly rushed forward, swinging his right fist towards the man’s gut again and as expected, he tried to grab Ginji’s hand again. With a smirk, Ginji used his right hand as a feint, swinging a left hook towards the man’s ribs, causing a pained expression on the man’s face when the blow connected. Ginji’s hands began moving as fast as they possibly could, jab after jab, and hook after hook slammed into the man’s gut and his ribs. The intensity of the blows caused the man to stumble backwards with each hit. The man tripped, falling onto his ass, his head being met with a swift right roundhouse kick, right as he landed, which collided with his left ear and cheekbone, sending his head on a collision course for the brick wall on his right. “Ugh…” The guy attempted to get up one time, apparently stunned from the savage barrage of attacks as well as the kick to the head. He managed to sit up, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily from having his stomach and ribs battered and bruised, a few of his ribs were cracked and fractured. A clicking noise was heard and when the man opened his eyes and looked in Ginji’s direction, he’d be met by the barrel of a gun.

Fucked Up Life
((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUsh3LKLAcY )) “To think… I’d go out like thi-“ “Shine (She-nay ‘die’)” Ginji pulled the trigger of his pistol, sending a bullet launching into the man’s forehead before he could even finish his sentence.



Ginji knew the gunshot would be heard and police would soon be on the scene to investigate. He shook his head slowly, staring at the slumped body of the fat ass who spoke ill of his mother and thought he was all big shit. “You’re not shit now huh? Yakuza my ass…” Ginji slid the gun back into the back of his pants, letting his shirt and jacket fall over it as he pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket with his red lighter. He lit his cigarette, taking a long drag from it, blowing the stream of smoke out of his nostrils. He turned, making his way out of the alleyway, taking a left, back in the direction of the hideout. ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjqZL_tXy7c  add to music)) A smirk slid across Ginji’s lips as he heard the sirens, knowing they were rushing to the scene of the crime. He took another long drag of his cigarette, his pace quickening as he glanced behind him, his golden eyes scanning for the well-known red and blue flashing lights. “Fuck these people man…” Ginji mumbled, tossing his cigarette to a bum who asked for one before he cut a quick left turn around a corner, taking a shortcut back to the hideout right before two squad cars passed by, missing him completely. He was as good as gone, left to keep living this fucked up life.





