I’m Moriyama Jun. The meaning of my surname was nothing special, Otou-san was just a fan of the forest. He would always take me to the forest to catch fish or get some firewood. Otou-san seemed like a hard worker, but he was the worst husband I’d seen. Maybe that’s why he named me Jun, which meant to be an obedient son. However, I didn’t like the village we lived in near the forest. Since it signified how poor we were…

I didn’t like the fact that my Otou-san didn’t have any ambition and wanted to live peacefully in the village. Okaa-san didn’t have any choice and would follow my Otou-san’s wishes obediently. It wasn’t like my Otou-san was abusive, but my parents’ relationship was toxic since they’d gotten married because of their family situations.

Maybe this was the reason I’d turned out to be extremely obedient to my family. My relationship with Otou-san was nothing special as I grew up. I went to school and did a part-time job in the village, but the part that bugs me now that I think about it is how I gave him all the hard-earned money while he stopped working. I was only ten at the time, and at that age, I realized how important money was.

Then, the next day, I found out that Okaa-san was pregnant. I wasn’t happy or celebrating how my parents did since they’d done a great job raising their one son by neglecting him. I had no feeling since I thought it was just another mouth to feed in the house. However, with the pregnancy, Otou-san started caring for Okaa-san a bit.

And Okaa-san managed to convince Otou-san to move to Tokyo, and we did. This was the only news I was elated about since that meant I would get to earn more money. Whenever I overlooked my parents having fun with the unborn baby, I thought about how my life would change when she was born. Yes…the baby was a girl. My sister named, Moriyama Reina.

I even remember how much thought my parents put into the name for their baby girl…I wonder if they did it for me, too. Reina is meant to be beautiful, like a jewel. Then the day arrived when Reina was born, but my parent’s reaction wasn’t how I’d expected.

Reina was born blind…an ugly baby who made loud cries at night and was never attended to. I didn’t know what happened to my parents when they found out Reina was blind; it’s like they just let her be. Like they didn’t care if she died or not. The day they brought her back home, I remember Okaa-san sobbing loudly while cradling Reina in her arms…

…Growing tired of the continuous cries in the night that caused me to be sleep-deprived, I approached the root of the problem, Reina. She was in her crib, placed next to my parents, who were in a deep sleep. I glanced at her for a good minute with a blank mind; I didn’t know what to do for her or myself. I poked her cheeks, and she quieted down instantly…as if the only thing the baby wanted was attention.

However, I realized that this wasn’t my baby sister but just a nuisance that had made the household even more toxic by being born blind. It was my parent’s responsibility since they’d created it. I shrugged and walked back to my room.

Days passed by, and my parents avoided the baby like the plague, not wanting to even raise a blind child. Especially Otou-san since he had high expectations for the newborn baby. Okaa-san rarely fed the baby so it could stay alive…I didn’t bother to since it would be a nuisance to care for something.

I started approaching the baby every night, making sure it was sleeping and not crying out loud…I didn’t know why. Was it the fact that it was my sister affecting me? I didn’t know…

I just pretended not to know, if I didn’t pretend, would it fix anything? I had no power over my parents, and I am an obedient son. I will be an obedient son…

Years went by, and I went to high school when Reina went to kindergarten. Our house had been silent for years when Reina was born; my parents slept in different rooms, and I was the one who earned money for the house.

In high school, I wasn’t allowed to have a job legally, which is why I got paid money under the table at the warehouse I worked at. Every day, I hoped no one from school would find out since I was the only one earning…then I realized how much power money had and the things you could do by putting it as a wager.

Even if you didn’t have anything else but you only had money, you’d survive happily in this cruel world. I had to admit I started caring for Reina a bit, but she wasn’t the sole reason I lived for her, she was more like a debt handed over to me by my parents.

Reina stayed at the kindergarten almost the whole day, which I was grateful for, and I worked while bunking school. I was a loner at school, and it was evident people could tell just the way I dressed and looked. I wore my uniform mostly everywhere I went, to the point that it had turned tattered in certain places, and I had deep eye bags.

Living in Tokyo took a lot of money, and for a single person to be responsible for it was unrealistic. The reason why I didn’t care what I wore or how I looked. I spent most of my night playing video games after I put Reina to sleep.

The present was the same day as usual, the same routine. After I had finished my shift and as the sun was setting down, I knew it was time to pick her up. Then, I walked to the kindergarten to pick Reina up for the day. With my hand in the pocket, I pushed open the door, and the bell rang, announcing my arrival.

A lady wearing a brown apron and glasses that covered almost half her face handed Reina over to me. “Reina, your Oni-chan is here,” said the teacher, glancing at Reina in the corner, who was playing with Legos scattered on the ground.

Reina had boring black hair, the same as me, but she had pure dark black eyes, which were similar to Otou-san. The reason I avoided looking straight into her eyes was that it reminded me of the bastard.

Reina’s face brightened, hearing that I was here. The teacher approached Reina and picked her up, handing her over to me. I carefully took Reina from the teacher in my arms. I bowed slightly at the teacher and walked out of the kindergarten with an amused look.

There it was…the familiar expression of sympathy on the teacher’s face. Not that I minded it since that would make her take extra care of Reina. It was for the best.

“Oni-chan, can we get the same ice cream from the cart? I like the way the ice cream feels on my tongue; it’s so cold”, Reina said joyfully in my arms. She held me tightly, not wanting to fall.

I nodded. “Sure, we’ll get your favorite.”

I walked with Reina to the cart only a minute from our house. “One Strawberry ice cream,” I said to the Ojisan.

“Hai!” the Ojisan said as he handed one to me. I opened the package and placed it in Reina’s hands. As she enjoyed the ice cream, I walked to our apartment.

Arriving at the door, I took the key from my pocket and unlocked the door. I hesitated to go inside the door for some reason, feeling as if today was ominous. “Oni-chan, aren’t we there yet?” she called out, confused.

Reina had calculated in her little mind how long it took her to get from destination to destination. I also found several ways she could play and helped her ways she could survive, doing things like normal people do.

“We’re here”, I said. I let out a sigh and entered the apartment, thinking it was fine and that it wouldn’t be different from normal. Our parents would be sleeping, and we would play games together in the living room.

However, I was wrong, and at that moment, I wished I was blind instead. My eyes widened, and I staggered, hitting the ground. I held my breath, seeing the scene unfold in front of me. Otou-san, with a knife in his hands, lunged it towards Okaa-san’s stomach.

“Ahhhh!!” yelled Okaa-san in deep pain. But Otou-san didn’t stop and churned the knife, causing her more pain. “Ahhhh!” yelled Okaa-san even louder.

Blood splattered everywhere near, even turning the strawberry ice cream red. “Oni-chan, why is Okaa-san screaming? Did you do something wrong again?” Reina said aloud amidst the tense silence.

I hurried, panicking, hearing the loud pounding in my chest, not wanting the monster to come near us, and with my trembling hands, I grabbed Reina, putting her in a cabinet. I had to make sure she was hidden so she didn’t become a victim as well. I gulped as I locked the cabinet, Otou-san was finally showing his true colors. I had always believed something ominous was behind those cold black eyes. The day I had been waiting for had finally arrived. The thought echoed in my mind, and I couldn’t stop the wide grin spread across my face, feeling the excitement course through me for something I didn’t even realize I felt.