The Katsuki family shared a good moment of healthy togetherness.
Ken got to know his cousins better and, contrary to his own expectations, he got along very well with them.
Japanese culture was very traditional, and although he considered himself an introverted person, talking with his cousins made him realize that it was very easy to strike up a pleasant conversation.
Ken felt so comfortable that he allowed himself to drink a little wine and eat without restrictions during dinner.
His uncle Takashi did not stop glaring at him throughout the entire meal, but Ken didn't care.
As the alcohol entered his system, he began to engage in more conversations, laugh, and share anecdotes with his cousins and uncles.
Everyone seemed very happy until Uncle Takashi slammed his closed fist onto the dining table.
"Bam!!"
The atmosphere froze instantly, and everyone turned to look at Takashi in stunned silence.
"Are you very happy or not, boy?" Takashi pierced him with a resentful glare.
Ken was very surprised and raised an eyebrow, not understanding what was happening.
"You look very happy telling your stories, don't you?" Takashi stepped away from the table. "So why don't you tell them how you're still living with your mother?"
Ken was left speechless.
"Takashi, what do you think you're doing?" Uncle Ito intervened immediately. "This is NOT the time or the place for these reproaches!!"
"You say it's not right?" Takashi looked at Ito with one eyebrow raised. "What's not right is that this idiot keeps taking all his mother's money, and the money of every idiot who dares to believe in his stupid dream."
"Takashi!!!" Miyu stood up from the table and shouted at her brother like she never had before.
"What?!!" Takashi raised his arms and opened his eyes wide. "Why don't you tell everyone how many times you've come to ask me for money, all to keep that damn useless bastard going!!!"
"Sweetheart!!" Aunt Yoko tried to calm the situation and grabbed one of Takashi's arms.
"What the fuck is wrong with all of you?" Takashi began shouting at everyone. "Ken hasn't wanted to work a single day in his entire life, and all he does is drag his mother into ruin."
"And if we don't do something now that he's finally come out of his pigsty of a room, then we'll never be able to make this useless piece of trash come to his senses!!!"
The entire family fell silent at his words. No one defended him. No one said a single word on his behalf.
Uncle Takashi was the backbone of the family, and for that reason, he deserved respect.
"Is that all?!" Ken, who until now hadn't said a word, suddenly spoke, trying to keep calm in the situation.
He had never been treated this way before, and it felt absolutely terrible to endure those looks and those words.
Now he could understand why Ken had been so reluctant to attend these gatherings. Unconsciously, he also glanced at the cut marks on his arms and looked Takashi straight in the eyes.
"Do you think you're superior to me and everyone else just because you have money?" He was no longer the former Ken who feared and respected Takashi. "Is money what you think gives you the right to treat us the way you do?"
The family remained silent at his words.
"It's what everyone thinks of you," Ken didn't stay quiet. "No one in this family respects you because you're worthy of respect—what they respect is your money and what it can do for them in their moments of greatest need!!"
"Oh, really?" Uncle Takashi looked around at the family and then turned back to Ken. "And what are you?"
The dining room fell silent once again.
"I'll answer that for you: you are nothing!!" Uncle Takashi began pointing at him with a twisted expression full of disdain and contempt. "You're nothing! NOTHING!!!! A fucking piece of trash with no education or job, a waste of air."
"YOU ARE NOTHING!!!!!"
Ken was trembling with rage, and when Uncle Takashi shouted at him like that, he lost control and threw a bottle of wine in his direction.
The bottle didn't hit Uncle Takashi—it hit the wall behind him and shattered into pieces.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Takashi went insane and leapt up from his chair so violently that he flipped the table with all the food on it.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY MOTHER?!!!" Ken also jumped up in fury and shoved the table aside as he moved to smash his uncle's face in.
Everyone panicked and rushed to separate them. Screams and crying immediately filled the room.
"COME HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"
"I'LL KILL YOU!!"
"CALM DOWN!!!!"
"SEPARATE THEM, PLEASE!!!!"
"Ahhhhh!! You fucking son of a whore!!"
Miyu stood off to the side, staring at the scene as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Ken was being restrained by Uncle Ito and two of his younger cousins, while two other uncles held Takashi back.
After a lot of struggling, they finally managed to separate them both, but the celebration was already ruined.
Uncle Ito took Ken out to the patio so he could calm down.
Ken sat on the ground with his arms wrapped around his head, trying to fight back the urge to cry.
No one needed to tell him—it was more than obvious that he was no longer welcome there.
Without turning to look at his uncles or cousins, he walked toward the exit.
He had only walked for a few seconds when he was forced to lift his head, finding someone blocking his path.
When he looked up, he realized it was Miyu, his mother.
Ken was surprised.
"You don't really think I would stay in that place after everything they said about you, do you?" Miyu wiped the tears from her face. "I will never allow anyone to talk like that about my son!!"
Miyu grabbed him by the arm and urged him to walk with her.
Ken's lips trembled, and he nearly cried.
"Let's go."