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Chapter 18
The Hidden Truth is a Little Dark
Translated by HamletJr
Edited by HamletJr
A father and a mother—parents, so to speak—are very important to children. It is no exaggeration to say that they are indispensable for children to maintain peace of mind, so much so that the way they are treated by their parents determines how they will grow up.
For Ryuichi, however, the existence of his parents only had a negative effect on him.
“Why did I have to get married to somebody like you…”
“Shut up. How the fuck am I supposed to know? Also, you’re the one who made me pregnant and give birth to this brat, aren’t you? You do something about him.”
His father was an ordinary businessman and his mother was an ordinary office worker, but… although Ryuichi’s father was still a good man, his mother was an unbelievable lunatic. She had affairs with many men and had sexual relations with them, claiming it was ‘normal.’
When Ryuichi’s father discovered this, the mother turned upon her family and spoke the nastiest of words to both her husband and Ryuichi. Ryuichi’s mother talked about Ryuichi’s birth as if it were a stain in her past she wanted to forget, and his father kept him at a distance because he had his mother’s blood running through his veins, even though he was supposed to be his own son… Ryuichi’s family environment was truly abysmal.
“I don’t want to think of you as my son.”
“A brat like you ain’t no son of mine.”
Anybody’s mind would be warped by such a childhood.
Ryuichi hated his father, who never spared any love or care for him, and he hated his mother even more, who looked down on weak men and treated her own son like trash. Seeing his mother like that made Ryuichi think that all women were scum like her.
In the end, both of Ryuichi’s parents passed away early due to illness, so Ryuichi was taken in by his father’s family, who didn’t treat him well either. In the eyes of Ryuichi’s grandparents, their son’s wife was a woman who’d hidden the fact that she’d been constantly cheating on her husband, and the moment she got exposed, she did a complete one-eighty and abused their son. Therefore, it stood to reason that they wouldn’t want to see the face of that woman’s son—somebody who’d inherited her blood.
“Ryuichi, could you please live by yourself? We’ll make sure to send you money.”
“To be honest, we really wanted you to live with us, but…I’m sorry.”
Ryuichi could still remember how he’d laughed at his grandparents—at the balls they’d had to spout such blatant lies to his face. In Ryuichi’s former world, he would never have been left in such a poor environment. However, this was Ryuichi’s hidden past, a fact that one would’ve never found out by reading the manga alone.
“…Hrmm?”
Ryuichi awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside. With his mind still fuzzy, he looked around and finally remembered the events of yesterday. He had visited Shizuna’s house, was served food, and then slept with her in her room.
“……”
If Ryuichi had to be honest, he felt like he’d royally screwed up. Things had gone so far off-track from the original course of events in this world that it had become completely unfixable. Sure, it could be said that in a sense, Ryuichi sleeping with Shizuna was an inevitability—a done deal—but their current relationship was just too abnormal.
“…Heh, I’d never have thought things would turn out like this.”
Even now, he could still remember it if he closed his eyes. The image of Shizuna beautifully disheveled in his arms, her body gradually being beaten into pleasure by his hands; they kept resurfacing in his mind again and again. It was the same as always; there wasn’t anything different than when he’d slept with any other woman… But he couldn’t deny the fact that he felt an inexplicable sense of ease at the sight of her.
“If the time comes when you decide to tell me everything, I’d be more than happy to lend an ear. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That I am an untainted white. So please don’t worry. No matter what happens, there will always be a color beside you that will never change. I will always be there for you, as a strong color that will paint away your anxieties.”
The words she’d uttered with an earnest look in her eyes; that, too, kept echoing in his mind. It was as if she was affirming everything about Ryuichi, accepting everything about him, and telling him that she would walk together with him.
“Man… Shizuna… You’re one hell of a heroine.”
He questioned why they’d made such a good girl into the heroine of an erotic manga. In Ryuichi’s opinion, she’d have been massively popular if she were the heroine of a regular shounen manga.
He did some stretches to ease his body before he stood up. Then, wondering what the hell he was thinking about, Ryuichi said, “Guess I’ll go make breakfast.”
Pigs were probably taking flight somewhere…or not. But Ryuichi making breakfast was, frankly speaking, just that unusual of an event. He essentially never cooked for breakfast; he would just buy some bread at a convenience store and leave it at that. That’s why it was massive to hear that Ryuichi would be making breakfast.
First, he cooked some rice in a microwave, then he transferred it to a bowl. After topping it with a raw egg, he poured soy sauce on top and stirred everything together. Finally, his bowl of tamago kake gohan was ready to eat.
“…Damn, that’s good.”
Sure, it was a simple dish, but it was still plenty delicious. He promptly finished up the meal, got ready for school, and left the apartment.
“…But I have to say, it’s been a while since I’ve had that nostalgic dream.”
That was what Ryuichi had to say about the dream he had today. It was a memory of the parents that’d been with him when he was a child… It was far from your normal memory, however, as it was one of the worst memories he had.
“Ain’t no way in hell this sort of family is normal. That’s gotta be manga logic at play.”
It was the picture-perfect example of a broken family. It was understandable that it’d caused Ryuichi to become distorted, but that didn’t mean he thought the things he’d done so far were right. He hadn’t committed anything close to a crime throughout his life, but even so, he wasn’t living his life in a way that anyone could sympathize with.
“…Yaaaawn.”
A big yawn leaked out of his mouth. He was on his way to school, but he wasn’t particularly concerned about how he should face Shizuna. He certainly held her in a somewhat special light compared to others, but that didn’t mean he was going to change the way he treated her. He was just going to treat her as a classmate, as a friend, and as a man and a woman in a physical relationship.
“……?”
As he was walking down the road to school, he spotted a familiar face.
“…Ah.”
With their lustrous black hair fluttering in the wind, they looked back at Ryuichi―it was Shizuna. She was standing there as if she’d been waiting for him, even though they’d made no plans to meet. The instant their eyes met, she ran up to Ryuichi with a big smile on her face.
“Good morning, Ryuichi-kun!”
“Oof…”
Shizuna embraced Ryuichi as if jumping into the arms of her long-lost love. She looked up at Ryuichi as he caught her and smiled, her cheeks slightly reddening. Her smile, which truly charmed everyone, made Ryuichi smile unknowingly as well.
“Geez, don’t just jump into people’s arms without warning.”
“You’ll have to forgive me this time. After all, I’ve been wanting to do this ever since we parted yesterday. ♪”
Apparently, yesterday’s events had greatly unshackled Shizuna. She’d said she didn’t have experience with love, so skipping a ton of steps and jumping straight into a physical relationship must’ve caused many changes in her. It was by no means a bad change at all, but instead a sign that she had completely removed her walls against Ryuichi.
“What if somebody sees us?”
“Personally, I don’t really mind. Oh, but, I know you wouldn’t want that, Ryuichi-kun, so unwilling as I am, I’ll let go of you.”
Although she said she’d let go of him, she didn’t mention leaving his side. And leave his side she didn’t, because all she did was let go of him before they stared at each other from point-blank range. They’d become so close because of their secret relationship which had changed drastically through yesterday’s events.
“Ryuichi-kun, staring at each other like this is nice and all, but I think we should get going now.”
“Oh, right.”
Thus, the two of them started walking together. Ryuichi glanced at Shizuna walking next to him, but he could not see much change. Perhaps he’d just peeled off her outer layer, but he could feel that she’d matured slightly as a woman.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
“Nah, I was just remembering our night yesterday.”
When Ryuichi said this with a grin, Shizuna’s face quickly turned red, as if she too had just remembered. He thought she’d avert her gaze, but instead she remained staring at him. Her eyes slightly moistened, she put a finger to her mouth and said the following words.
“I kept thinking about it, too…all the way until I went to bed yesterday. It was something so naughty and lecherous, but I couldn’t help it, I was so happy. It feels as if something inside me has changed, but I don’t hate it…because you’re the one I did it with, Ryuichi-kun.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.”
After making sure no one was around, Ryuichi took Shizuna in his arms. When he took the opportunity to place his hand on her ample breasts, she gasped in surprise, but nevertheless, she didn’t shake him off and let him do as he pleased.
“Geez…we’re outside right now, you know?”
“The way you phrased it; does that mean if we’re at home or something, I can do whatever I want?”
“Yes. I’d love for you to touch me as much as you’d like, and maybe even more.”
It seemed that Ryuichi had changed her more than he’d thought. As has been said many times before, her outward appearance hadn’t changed and no one would notice. Still, something about her had certainly changed, and whether or not it would surface and become known to many people…was something that even Ryuichi did not know the answer to as of now.
“You should’ve never been born.”
“…Tch.”
The voice of Ryuichi’s mother resurfaced in his mind like a curse, and he quietly clicked his tongue in annoyance. Little did he know, though, that Shizuna had been watching him with a worried look on her face.
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