Nonou Yakushi was a busy woman. She worked for CPS, and as a result was usually away from home, leaving her two adopted sons alone or with a babysitter. When Urushi and Kabuto were younger, they had waited up for her, but for some reason they stopped when they were six and four, respectively. Nonou was never really sure why, but she didn't let it bother her too much. Looking back, she wished more than anything that she had asked why, but she never did. When Kabuto went from a talkative, cheerful little boy to a withdrawn, shy child, she assumed he was nervous about starting school. When he continued to wet the bed well into his teenage years, she assumed he had a weak bladder and made him wear pull-ups to sleep. She didn't notice the way Urushi looked at his little brother, or the way Kabuto flinched at his touch. She never thought it strange that Kabuto wore sweaters all year round, or that he cried so easily.
When Kabuto was nineteen years old, Nonou finally realized what was going on. She got off work early, but instead of going to the library like she usually did, she drove home to spend some time with her sons. When she opened the door, she was greeted not by the usual silence, but by high-pitched screaming from the room her boys shared. Nonou ran down the hall and into their room, where she froze in her tracks. Urushi was holding a pocket knife, smiling as he cut his little brother's genitals. Both boys were naked, showing the scars all across Kabuto's torso and arms. Nonou stayed completely still until Kabuto looked over and saw her there. "Mother!"
Everything happened so quickly after that. Nonou grabbed Kabuto, holding him close to her as she called the police. Urushi stammered out an apology and desperately tried to come up with an excuse, but later pleaded guilty to charges of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. After the trial, Nonou found herself sitting in her room with her younger son, stroking his hair and trying not to cry. Kabuto had already told the judge exactly what his brother did to him, and Nonou wondered how she could have missed it for so many years. She worked with abused children for a living, and she had somehow failed to notice what was happening under her own roof.
Kabuto, meanwhile, was still shocked that the judge had believed him. Urushi was in prison. He couldn't hurt him anymore. The constant abuse from his older brother had become such a huge part of Kabuto's life that he wasn't sure how to act now. The sudden freedom was overwhelming-he could go to sleep without worrying that Urushi would touch him or worse, he could come home to a safe haven instead of a harsh prison. Most of all, he could eat. Starting when they were twelve and ten, Urushi had denied Kabuto food and forced him to throw up what little he did eat at home. Kabuto only ate at school, and no one noticed his weight loss under the baggy clothes he wore every day.
It had been years since Urushi went to jail. Kabuto lived on his own in a tiny apartment, had a low paying job at the library, and went to a therapy group for people with PTSD. He didn't talk to his neighbors or anyone else if he could help it, he still wet the bed, he jumped at loud noises and cried way too easily. Nonou was incredibly perky when she saw him, as if trying to make up for overlooking Kabuto's abuse at the hands of his own brother.