Demon Rising

Chapter 3: Son of a hero

Chapter 3: Son of a hero



With everyone in the van, Uni sitting in back, Vaugn and Asuke in the middle row, and Mr. Miasoto and Coonai in the front, they started off home.

"Hey Mr. Miasoto?", asked Vaugn as they merged onto the road leading down the mountain.

"Yes Vaugn", He replied

"If you don’t mind me asking, I was wondering how you and my dad met and became friends in the first place.", Vaugn asked, looking at Mr. Miasoto in the rear-view mirror.

Mr. Miasoto looked back at Vaugn through the rear-view mirror and was silent for a moment. But when the van tilted downwards, meaning that they had started their discent, he spoke again, but in a slow voice.

"Well Vaugn, it was about 25 years ago. I was in Canada on buisness, giving presentations for my companies software that we were selling at the time. I was travelling through Manitoba, and it was rather icy out. It had snowed a little but the snow on the highway had melted then refroze. As I was driving, another motorist slammed into the side of my vehicle,he had probably lost control on the ice, and sent me spinning into the ditch. There, I remember hitting my head on the steering wheel and that was it.I don’t know how long I was there, but the next thing I remembered someone was slapping me awake. It was your dad, Vaugn. He had put me in the passenger seat of his car and was racing towards Winnipeg. He was on a cell phone at the time, and even though I was pretty out of it, I heard what he was saying. ‘Yes, I have an injured man in my car. I found him in a ditch. He was there for probably 4 hours. I’ll be at the hospital in 20 minutes.’ And that’s where I passed out again. At the hospital is when I came to again. I was laying on a bed, an I.V. in me, and I heard the doctor talking to your father. He was saying that my lungs and kidneys were to badly damaged to be fixed, and that I would need an organ donour if I was to survive. As Hugo was the only one there, he was making the decisions. The doctor said that he needed someone with type AB+ blood. Luck must have been on my side that day, because your dad had the very blood type. So with that being the case, I was in the operating room within a day."

Mr. Miasoto paused from his story for a moment. He then took a slow breath and continued.

"When I woke up, I was laying in the same bed as before. But this time, your father was next to me, laying in the bed beside me. He was sitting up watching TV and laying back on his pillows. Noticing that I was up, he introduced himself and I sat up and introduced myself. Then we got to talking about what had happened. To my disbeliefe, Hugo had given me a lung and a kidney, to save my life. Your father gave a complete stranger two of his organs to save their life."

"Wow, my dad did that? That’s pretty amazing.", Vaugn said, in a voice full of awe.

"Yes indeed Vaugn. Your father was in the hospital for 4 days recovering from surgery, and in that time, we really hit it off. I myself was in the hospital for another 2 weeks. Your father, knowing that I didn’t have anyone in the country, came and visited every day or so. He even brought your mother with him. As a sign of my gratitude, I told Hugo that should he ever need me to return the debt I owed him, I would happily do that.", Mr. Miasoto finished

"So my dad is a hero huh? He never mentioned it before." Vaugn said in a voice full of pride for his dad’s actions.

"Yes he is. Your dad was always a modest person. I offered him everything I could think of at the time. I offered him money. I offered to send him and your mother on a 3 week trip to Japan at my expense, I offered everything. But all he said was that my friendship was enough for him. That was good enough for me, but I still told him that should he ever need me to help him out, I would do it no questons asked.", Mr. Miasoto continued

"Then, about 1 year ago, your father called me, saying that he’d probably need my help. He wasn’t sure if it was a positive thing, but he wanted to inform me about it. Then, 3 months ago, he called again, saying that he needed me to take you for awhile, while the government sorted out the trouble. Just like I promised, I helped him out by giving you room and board and making sure you finish your education. No questions asked.", Mr. Miasoto finished. Looking into the mirror, he saw that Vaugn was smiling a broad, proud smile for his father.

"That’s a very nice story father.", said Coonai happily, "It was very nice of Mr. Ashton to help you out like that father."

"Nice is an understatement sis.", came Uni’s voice from the back seat.

During the story, the van had gone about half down the mountain, and Vaugn was now admiring the better look of Tokyo that it afforded. In the center, he was staring at the large, 150 story tall skyscraper. It was truly amazing to look at. At the base, he could tell even from where he was, half up a mountain, the building was square at the base, but then about one-third up, somehow melded into a triangular building, and then a further one-third up melded into a circular building at the top.

"That building in the center of Tokyo is amazing. And coming from a guy who’s afraid of heights, that’s quite something.", said Vaugn.

Looking out his window, Mr. Miasoto smiled and replied, "Oh yes, that’s the Kojuni office building. That’s where I work."

"It’s quite impressive.", responded Vaugn, still looking at the building

"You know Vaugn, I was wondering about something and was curious if you could answer it for me.", Asuke said beside him.

Turning in his seat to look at her, he smiled and said, "Yes Asuke, I am single.", and he winked at her.

Asuke blushed furiously, while in the front seat, Mr. Miasoto laughed heartily, Uni joining her father from the back the seat.

"No, no, Asuke, don’t worry, just teasing. Ask away.", said Vaugn

"Well, I was wondering why you had to come to Japan in the first place. Dad never told us.", Asuke said, still blushing furiously.

"That’s a good question Vaugn. Why did you have to come here?", Uni asked curiously.

"I was wondering the same thing Vaugn.", said Coonai, and she turned in her seat to look at Vaugn.

Looking from face to curious face, Vaugn took a long slow breath, and then smiled.

"Well, you ladies asked for it. So I’ll tell you.", Vaugn said bluntly.

He hung is right arm around the back of his seat, and pulled his left leg under his right, and thought for a moment. Then he took another slow breath and started.

"The reason as to why I’m here probably started when I was 10. Back then, I was a normal kid. Playing baseball, playing with my friends, going to school. And as most kids of my age, I had no knowledge of politics, and was pretty dumb to things back then that weren’t cartoons and video games. But during this time is when the trouble started. Orginally, there were these 3 gangs in Canada. People knew of them, but they didn’t want to drag innocent people into their disputes with their rivals. But then something happened that caught everyones attention. I remember watching the news with my parents and sister one day, and the report said that at the border of Canada and the U.S., about 6 trucks were stopped, packed full of weapons. The trucks being stopped like that is not unusual, as this is where most of the gangs get their weapons, but the number of trucks, was unusual. And this is sort of where it all started. Atleast once a week, 3 or 4 trucks would be stopped. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but as I got older, and the years past, it started to all make sence."

Vaugn swallowed and then continued, "This went on for about a year and half or so, and went from being front page news, to being one of those ‘and in other news’ columns. Then about 4 years ago, we noticed that the gangs seemed to be going from low key organisations, to being groups that were out there for the public to see. The city I lived in seemed to be divided into 3 pieces. In one area, you’d have gang members from The Prowlers. In another area you’d have memebrs of The Uptown Rogues.In the third part, you’d have members of The Bonez. Now people were starting to get scared. You’d have gang memebrs walking around the neighbourhood, patroling the area all the while kids would be playing outside infront of their houses, and the school playground and in the parks.

"Then, about 2 years ago, after the gangs doing no more then getting out into the public eye and gainging numbers, is when the war sort of began. At first, it was what you’d expect of a gang war. A gang member killed here, a gang meber killed there. A gang party broken up and all the people in it killed. I was starting to get a grasp of what was happening then. Like everyone else, I thought it was scary, but like everyone else, I thought that eventually they would just kill eachother off, and that would be the end of it.

"But sadly, that wasn’t the case. About a year ago, which is when my dad would have told Mr. Miasoto about what was happening, non-gang members started to die. At first, it was just people who had affilation with the gangs. People who gave them money, or provided them weapons, that kind of stuff you know?"

At this point, they were driving on the freeway that skirted the permieter of the city, and again, he could see the brilliant Tokyo skyline, aswell as the ocean , but this time, the sun was lower, giving off a ruby red glow, and the affect it had on the water and the skyline was every bit as impressive as when the sun had been glowing orange.

"This went on only for 4 or 5 months or so, and about 50 people had died. These people were considered criminals, but still, they were people after all, not gang members.

"We thought we had seen the last of it, but then, for lack of a better term, all hell broke loose. This is when my dad called your dad and asked him to take me most likely. Nobody was sure what had sparked it, but about 4 months ago, the streets of all the major cities of Canada had turned into nothing less then a warzone. Automatic gun fire could be heard every where, explosions, and fires being set in large urban sectors, destroying 7 or 8 buildings at a time.

"Needless to say, life had changed for the worst. The Candian military had been deployed to the cities, aswell as re-enforcements from Britian and Australia. The streets looked something like you'd expect a warzone to look like: burned out buildings, crators from explosions, and streets stained with blood.

"Many of the parents of the city kept their kids home, where it was safe. Some schools had been targeted by the gangs, but few were ever attacked. I was lucky, as the arear where I lived in had somehow been cleared of all gangs period and was one of only three ‘safe zones’. I lucked out as I manged to finish all my exams on June 10th, so my classes were done. On the 15th, 3 months to the day, my school was destroyed by the gang members of the Prowlers. This was the last thing most of the families could take. Many of the families I grew up with moved away. Some stayed, but life was difficult as you could imagine. For those who moved away, they lived in nothing less then refugee camps outside thweir own cities.

"Then, into my summer holidays, my parents told me the news that I’d be coming here to finish my education and to live until the war going on at home was finished.

"And it was a good thing too. 3 days ago, Peacekeeping forces found 5 families in my area murdered. Appearntly, they all had sons or uncles or brothers in rival gangs."

"So, with that, I knew there’d be no way to stay, and I accepted the idea of coming here. I was upset that I had to leave but knew it was the best. I may have been sad to leave my country, family and friends behind, but hey, I’m here now, I’ve always wanted to see Japan, and so far, it’s looking like it will be fun.", Vaugn finished with a slight smile.

There was silence in the van, all except the gentle hum of the tires on the pavement and the gentle rumble of the engine. All the girls looked at Vaugn, saying nothing. He could tell they were trying to comprehend seeing their home country in civil war. Not through black and white video, as they probably did in history class, but in full colour, and in person. Mr. Miasoto was the first to speak.

"Yes, your father knew it was coming Vaugn."

"What?", Vaugn, Coonai, Asuke and Uni all asked, completely surprised.

"You father works for the government after all Vaugn. We kept regular contact with eachother, and he knew pretty much from the time when the first truck was stopped, up until 3 months ago when we arranged for you to come here, he knew what was happening, and what would happen. Though he was part of the Ministry of Public Affairs, he and all the other government ministries knew what was unfolding.", said Mr. Miasoto wisely.

"I see. But he never let on. He never even mentioned it.", said Vaugn, with a note of dis-beliefe in his voice.

"Yes, he wasn’t allowd to tell anyone. Not even his own family.", replied Mr. Miasoto

"Makes sence. I guess he didn’t want to scare us.", said Vaugn fairly

And with that, Vaugn went silent, like everyone else in the van. He was looking at the houses along the beach and ocean, to the the Tokyo skyline, though it was getting smaller and smaller as they started to enter the residential section of Tokyo.

"So dad was reading the signs, and planned this in advance, to keep me safe.",thought Vaugn, "Well, I’ll have to make sure to thank him the first chance I get."

"Oh Vaugn, that reminds me.", said Mr. Miasoto suddenly

"Yes sir?", asked Vaugn

"Your father pulled some strings with the Ministry of Immigration and the Japanese Ministry of Immigration, and he got you your Japanese Citizenship.", Mr. Miasoto said, "Coonai, if you’d like to give him his papers?", he added, looking to Coonai.

"Ofcourse father.", she said happily.

She reached into a large blue bag, and pulled out a wallet like book with the Japanese flag on it, and handed it to Vaugn, who opened it immediately and looked inside.

There inside was a place to put his picture, a home address where he’d be living (the Miasotos ofcourse), things like his height, age, eye colour, and name. And right at the bottom, it said in raised letters, "Official Citizen of Japan."

"Wow, thank you.", said Vaugn folding it back up, and putting it into his pocket.

"You’re welcome. We’re almost home Vaugn. When we get inside I’ll help you with your bags and I’ll show you where your room is. You can unpack later as Coonai will be making a welcoming fiest for you.", Mr. Miasoto told Vaugn.

Vaugn noticed that all the tall buildings were now behind them, and they were now on a 4 lane residential street. Just as Vaugn was looking at the stores, playgrounds and schools in the area, the van turned right and they started down a 2 lane street.


The houses here were quite nice. Either light brown, a sand colour, white, or a cream colour, with dark brown, curved tile shingle rooves and each, as far as Vaugn could tell, had a porch that had sliding doors on it, so that it could be closed or opened during the summer. Each house seemed to be to 2 stories, and quite large.

Just as Vaugn was admiring the houses, he felt the van turn right and slow down and then stopped. He looked forward and saw that the van was parked and sitting on the driveway infront of a house just like that others, but this one was a very light blue.

"Here we are Vaugn, you’re new home.", said Mr. Miasoto,turning his head and smiling at Vaugn.

"Thanks.", replied Vaugn, and the he and the Miasoto opened their doors and got out.

Mr. Miasoto and Vaugn went around the back of the vehicle, retrieved his bags, and joined the girls walking up the driveway to the house.

Uni opened the door for all of them, and Vaugn and the others stepped inside.