Chapter 1

Translated by KaiesV Edited by KaiesV

I, Natsukawa Yūji, had a normal life.

I went through hell once when I was in the fourth grade, but lived happily ever after in the fifth grade.

My father and mother were also very close, and I never saw them fighting.

I thought that their current life would continue as it was.

That’s what I thought, but things change.

People’s values and what they want change over time.

It was in the fifth grade of elementary school that I realized this.

I came home from elementary school and headed for the living room——

「S–Since when…?」

「……」

「S–Since when did this happen!!?」

My father’s yells rang in my ears.

It was rare for my father to be this angry.

He is usually kind and only gets angry when someone has done something really bad.

Such a father directed his anger at someone.

I felt that the person he was upset with was all wrong.

I was curious, I was curious who he was getting mad in the living room.

I looked into the living room to know who it was and——

「…Eh…」

It was my mother that my father was directing his anger at.

She was lying on the ground with a look of guilt on her face.

It was too pathetic.

Just by looking at her like that, I could tell that it was all my mother’s fault.

But I didn’t understand, why my father was angry.

I didn’t understand at all.

「…H–Hey!? Why don’t you answer the question quickly!?」

Even I feel fear in my father’s yelling.

I even got a chill.

（I–It’s scary, scary, scary.）

My instincts kicked in that I needed to get away from my father.

But curiosity overcame fear.

To know why mother and father are fighting, I observe them without leaving the place.

「F–Four years ago…」

My mother said in a voice that sounded like it was about to disappear.

「Wha–!? Y–You, you’re lying…」

My father stares hard at my mother with wide eyes.

「You’ve been screwing with me for four years now…?」

「S–Sorry, I’m so sorry…」

「Why, why did you cheat on me!?」

“Cheating.”

Even I, a fifth grader, knew at least the meaning of『cheating.』

I also thought that cheating did not happen around me.

But it was different.

The affair was taking place right before my eyes.

Thinking about it now, my mother was crazy at this time.

There were times when she dressed up strangely and even didn’t come home.

That’s not all.

While my father and I were eating dinner, my mother was happily playing with her cell phone on the sofa.

My mother at that time was weird.

Her eyes were especially weird.

They were not the eyes of a mother, they were the eyes of a woman.

My father must have thought that my mother was acting strangely.

So he had a detective investigate to see if my mother was having an affair.

The result of the investigation is black.

That’s why my father is probably angry with my mother.

「Yuji, buy some food with this today. Dad’s going out for a bit…」

「Okay.」

「Sorry…」

My father then left the house.

Meanwhile, my mother was on the phone with someone.

All along, she kept saying to the caller,『Help me,』as if to insist that there was nothing wrong with what she had done…

All the while asking the caller for help.

「Mom…」

「…Sorry, Yūji, I’m talking to someone.」

My mother says just that and continues talking to the caller.

I think about it now, it was like this all the time.

My mother was always on the phone with someone, and when I tried to talk to her, she would interrupt the conversation by saying,「Sorry, I’m talking to a friend.」

Perhaps she is still discussing the events of the day with her unfaithful partner.

It was really sickening…

◇◇◇

One day.

My father and I decided to have dinner at a local restaurant.

My father had been worried about something for a long time.

I have been struggling with this ever since I found out my mother was having an affair.

But today, she looked a little brighter, as if she had been freed from her worries.

I have no idea what happened to the relationship between my father and mother after that fight.

I just knew that it was impossible to live life as before.

「Yūji.」

「Nhn? What is it, Dad?」

「Your mom and I are getting a divorce.」

「Eh?」

As soon as I hear that they are divorcing, I get the feeling that time has stopped.

I knew that their relationship was deteriorating.

But I didn’t think it was that serious.

I imagined on my own that even if we had a fight, time would resolve it.

But it seems I was wrong.

「D–Divorce, you mean…」

「…Sorry…」

「……」

I can’t say anything.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask. But I was too surprised to say anything.

「Yūji, I must say my goodbye.」

「Eh?」

Again, my father began to say things I didn’t understand.

（Why are you saying your goodbye?）

I don’t understand, I don’t understand what my father is saying at all.

「You will go to your mother. I’m leaving you.」

「Eh…? And, Dad’s going to leave me?」

I knew immediately from my father’s tone and mood that he wasn’t kidding.

My father comes home from work very late.

It would be difficult to raise me in that environment.

And since my grandparents are no longer with us, there is no one to watch me when he was busy.

I guess that’s why he left it to my mother.

I don’t want him to leave.

But no matter what I say, they’re still getting a divorce.

「Even though we’re breaking up, we still see each other every once in a while…」

I cried all the time and didn’t really listen to my father’s attempts to persuade me.

I was in no state of mind to listen.

I had to leave my father and live with just me and my mother.

Life as if nothing had changed.

Days spent playing with good friends.

But it has changed……

Life at home has changed to the point of stress.

School ended early today, so I thought I’d go home and read a book——

I heard a noise in the bedroom where my mother and I were sleeping together.

The sound of the bed shaking and a woman’s sweet voice.

What in the world is that sound?

Curious, I went to the bedroom and tried to find out what the noise was.

「……………」

My mother was having sexual intercourse with a strange man.

At this time I didn’t understand what it meant.

I have no idea why my mother and the mystery man are physically together.

I just thought the scene was disgusting.

———I felt disgusted, so disgusted———

I entered the room and opened my mouth.

「Who are youu!!」

I would never have done this now.

But at this time I had a fight with a man.

「———!?! Yu–Yūji?」

「I–Is this your child!?」

When they learned of my presence, they turned their astonished eyes toward me.

I guessed from that sight that the mystery man and my mother were close friends.

「Y–You know my mom…? Who are you!? Who is he!?」

「Yu–Yūji!? Please go away first!?」

「Hah?! Someone answer my question first!?」

「Just get out!!」

「………」

I should stop pursuing it now.

With that in mind, I put down my luggage and go outside.

My mother is furious with me for seeing such an incomprehensible scene.

This became a kind of trauma and I became afraid to go home.

I was too scared, too afraid, I didn’t want to go home.

So I decided to stay outside all the time.

I’ve been on a park bench in the dark for a long time and——

The police even showed up at my place.

「What are you doing here, boy?」

「Eh?」

（Why the police are here…? Did I do something wrong?）

At any rate, I was moved to a different location and asked why I was sleeping in the park.

At first I was scared.

But the police were very kind, so I was able to relax.

So I answered honestly with my address and home phone number, as well as the name of my school.

After some time had passed, my mother came to me.

The police gave her a stern warning.

The sight made my mother seem pathetic again.

After I returned home, I heard a strong slapping sound echoing throughout the room.

My mother slapped my cheek as hard as she could.

I didn’t know why she was so violent.

「Yūji!? What have you been doing all this time!? You caused all kinds of trouble for that man, and he even warned me about it with the police!!」

My mother tried to slap me again.

But I managed to avoid it by pulling my body back.

「Why are you hitting me!?」

「It’s because you haven’t been back for a long time, you know!?」

「What are you talking about?!! You told me to get out of here!」

「!!? T–That’s…」

My mother couldn’t say anything back to my statement.

「I just went along with it! Don’t take it out on me when it’s all your fault!」

With that, I left my mother.

From that moment on, I hated my mother.

I couldn’t help but see my mother as an enemy.

I saw her as a foreign object that took my father away from me and interfered with my life.

I can no longer call her my parent, I can no longer recognize her as my parent.

I even began to have a complex about being related to her by blood.

I was nauseous all the time, I felt sick.

And from then on, I could no longer call my mother『Mom.』

This fight caused my mother to come home late.

Perhaps she is meeting with that man again.

It was at this point that I started cooking for myself.

Of course, in the beginning I was a terrible cook and could never cook a decent meal…

Well, with time my housekeeping skills improved.

So I don’t rely on others too much.

Well, sometimes I have to depend on my mother…

Such a life continued, and finally I was a junior high school student.

I didn’t want to see my mother, so I stayed over at a friend’s house.

But I couldn’t stay at my friend’s house all the time.

When I came back home after a long time——

「Yūji, I’m getting remarried.」

I wasn’t surprised when she told me she was remarried, and I didn’t care.

「Oh, I see. Well, I’ll go now.」

I was going to go to my room but——

「We’re going to that man’s house tomorrow.」

「I refuse. I’m planning to play with my friends tomorrow.」

「You’re not going to do that.」

「That’s impossible.」

「You’re going to come. And I’m moving to that house over there, so you’ll have to say goodbye to your school friends.」

「……Hah?」

Everything I had been thinking about earlier, and such, went blank.

My friends were really important to me.

It was more important to me than my family, and the moment she said,『You’re going to change schools,』the blood went to my head.

She betrayed my father and now she tries to take away my friends for some stupid love affair.

I thought about stabbing my mother to death like that.

But that would make no sense at all.

「Come with me tomorrow, understood?」

「Okay…」

The next day I even came to her remarried partner’s house.

I enter the house and see my mother’s remarriage partner in my vision.

He was someone who often came to my house.

His name seems to be Sakata Umi.

This man is my mother’s cheating partner.

And there was another beautiful girl standing alone next to her remarried partner.

Her hair was long around her waist, and her face was well-defined.

She is probably about the same height and age as me.

The figure looked at my mother in a bored way.

I heard that he was having an affair with my mother even though the other person had a child, too.

Then why didn’t the girl in front of me go to her mother instead of her father?

「My name is Yui Sakata, and I hope to get along with you from now on.」

My stepsister was talking to me.

I was frustrated because I had even lost a friend and knew the person in front of me was not going to change schools.

The other party was jealous of losing nothing.

So I also rejected my mother’s second marriage and her stepdaughter.

「Don’t talk to me so familiarly.」

「………」

That’s all I said, and I’ll be waiting at the door the whole time.

I was alone all the time without talking to anyone.

This is the worst way for me to have a fake family.

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