Monogaku was finally back home. He walked up the frail stairs up to his rusty door and opened it. He turned on the light, which was hanging by a wire in the middle of the room. He made sure there weren't any insects before he placed his bag down. Normally, this would be a place one would never want to go back to, but he had a reason to come, his entire reason to continue moving forward.

"Welcome back, big bro!"

Monogaku:"I'm back, Kei."

His little sister, known as Kei, went to the living room and hugged her brother. She had pure black hair and eyes, but she was the light in his life. Monogaku's parents had her when they were already quite old. Once they passed away, Monogaku swore to protect her. However…

Kei:"*cough* *cough*"

Monogaku:"Kei!"

Monogaku scrambled to get his sister what little medicine he had left. After a while, she seemed to be fine.

Kei:"Thank you, big bro."

Monogaku:"No problem. Come on, let's get you some water."

Kei:"Is that a new tie?"

Monogaku:"Yeah. I got it as a gift."

Kei:"Oh, I love daisies!"

Monogaku:"I'll go see if I can find some in the wild."

Kei:"Can I come?"

Monogaku:"Sorry, but you need to rest. It would be bad if you got sick outside."

Kei:"Okay…"

…

Monogaku:"Hey, you wanna see a new magic trick I learned?"

Kei:"Yes, yes!"

Kei was ecstatic, she always loved seeing his brother perform magic tricks. Due to Kei's condition, Monogaku constantly worked as a teacher and as a magician in order to pay for her medication and medical bills. Due to this constant battle with a seemingly incurable disease, both of them would eventually come to live in a rather run down apartment. However, Monogaku did not truly care for his own safety, all that mattered to him was his sister.

Kei:"That's so cool!"

Monogaku had just shown her a trick where he would suspend a card in midair. Kei began to jump up and down.

Monogaku:"Hey, come on, don't do that. You know you shouldn't move around too much."

Kei:"O-Oh, sorry!"

Monogaku:[...I'm sorry, I wish I could give you a normal life. But I just have to continue giving it my all. Soon, I'll be promoted to head of the school!]

Kei:"By the way, why were you late today? Another meeting?"

Monogaku:"Ah, no. You see…"

{Rena:"I want to go out with you!"}

Monogaku:"One of my students seemed to have fallen for me."

Kei:"Eh!? Was she cute?"

Kei's eyes were gleaming.

Monogaku:"I really shouldn't be talking about my student like that."

Kei:"Come on, just tell me!"

Monogaku:"Fine! Fine! She was very pretty for a high schooler!"

Kei:"What did she look like?"

Monogaku:"Well...she has chest-length red-colored hair that is swept a little to the right, some dark-colored eyes, a well-endowed figure and well sized-...I'll stop there."

Kei:"Ho? What were you about to say?"

Monogaku:"I was just explaining how she looked, nothing more."

Kei:"Well, did you say yes?"

Monogaku:"Of course not!"

Kei:"Eh!?"

Monogaku:"I simply rejected her and told her about our relationship between teacher and student...But she didn't give up, she asked me what she could do…"

…

…

{Monogaku:"Well, first you would need to grow up."}

{Rena:"Yes, I got that."}

{Monogaku:"Next, uh...Right! I like serious, unsociable, strict and stern women!" [This should deter her, she is rather social when it comes to friends.]}

{Rena:"Ah of course! Mature! I'll work on it right away!"}

{Monogaku:"Yes, you do tha-Wait, I'm sorry?"}

{Rena:"See you soon, then! I'll turn into a super mature woman! Maybe I'll even be as good of a teacher as you!"}

…

…

Monogaku:"I really should have just said no, you know?"

Kei:"You underestimate the power of love, big bro! She'll do everything in her power to make you fall for her!"

Monogaku:"That's dumb. Why would someone like that go so far? Besides, even if I was interested, I'm not in the position to look after someone else."

Kei:"Oh, I'm sorry…"

Monogaku:"Eh? N-No, that's not it!"

Monogaku spent the next few minutes trying to cheer his sister up.

…

Kei:"Hey, big bro. Can we play Chess again?"

Monogaku:"Of course."

They got together the scrap they normally used for pieces and played until the sun set.

Kei:"That was fun!"

Monogaku:"Are you sure you're fine with this? I can buy you a real set if you-"

Kei:"Nope! You have to save money! I don't want you to spend everything on me!"

Monogaku:"Kei...I would do anything for you, no matter how expensive."

Monogaku put his hand on her head.

Kei:"Oh, that's embarrassing."

Monogaku:"There, there."

...

Another day at school.

Monogaku:"Hm? Nakano-san isn't here today?"

"Yes, it seems like she was feeling really sick."

Monogaku:"Is that so? Hopefully she gets better." [Wonder how she's doing right now…]

…

Monogaku was showing his sister yet another trick he learned.

Kei:"That's so cool!"

Monogaku:"Right?"

Kei:"So many people will be impressed! How did you learn magic anyway?"

Monogaku:"Oh, well...I practiced with my brother a bunch way back in high school."

Kei:"Oh, right. I wonder what he's doing right now..."

Monogaku:"..."

He then began to remember his brother, his twin. They were together for all of their life up to college, however, they began to drift apart with time. Eventually…

{"Screw you guys! I don't need to be part of this family! I'll live on my own and travel the world!"}

He constantly fought with their parents over what he wanted to do. He felt as if his family was holding him back, and with time, he would leave them. Monogaku did eventually hear that his twin was going around with no intention of going back. The thought of this saddened Monogaku. Upon seeing this, Kei came closer and began to pat his head.

Kei:"Now, now, don't feel down."

Monogaku immediately felt better.

Monogaku:"Thanks, Kei. Let's eat, I got some lunch at a discount today."

Kei:"Alright!"

…

The exhausted teacher was coming back from a rather tiring day. It was raining very hard, causing the floor to be slippery, so he had to be extra careful. He opened the usually rusty door and turned on the light, like any other day. However, his sister did not welcome him today. When he went to go check, he found something he always hoped he'd never see…

Monogaku:"Kei? Are you here-"

His heart stopped once he saw her passed out on the floor.

Monogaku:"Kei!"

He went over to his side and checked her pulse. Upon seeing that she was alive, he hurried to the local hospital as quickly as possible. He almost fell down a few times due to the bad weather, but his body didn't matter, he just wanted to get Kei to safety. Once he got there, he looked back to see there was extreme flooding, but he had made it in time.

…

Monogaku:"Please help her!"

The doctor made an emergency appointment for her. At this point, her situation had worsened and she needed surgery.

Monogaku:"I'll pay whatever I need to!"

Monogaku was ready to sell his body parts if needed to pay for her surgery.

"Very well. We only have one doctor capable of surgery due to the weather on standby, but he should be coming soon.

Both the doctor and Monogaku came to see the surgeon, but they saw that he was already getting ready for another procedure.

"He's currently getting ready for another emergency surgery, I promise we'll get you someone once we're open."

Monogaku:"Who could possibly be more important!?"

In the corner of his eye, he saw someone else being wheeled in, it was a very familiar face. It was Rena.

"Her family paid a lot for her to be further in line that she would normally be."

Monogaku:"What...the hell? Why would they…?"

Monogaku looked outside to see how much had been flooded.

Monogaku:"Damn it! Where's the next hospital!?"

"Sir! You can't go out in this weather! It's too dangerous!"

Monogaku:"Do i look like I care!? My sister's life matters more than mine! I'll save her even if I die!"

Then, a nurse went to where Monogaku was.

"Sir? Please come, your sister has woken up."

Monogaku:"Really!?"

…

Monogaku was sitting next to his sister in her room.

Kei:"Hey, big brother, sorry for the scare…"

Monogaku:"Don't talk! I promise I'll force them to get someone!"

Kei:"I...heard what happened. It's okay, let's just...wait patiently."

Monogaku:"But…!"

Kei:"Now, now, don't feel sad. It doesn't matter what our positions are, all of our lives are equally important. So, let's wait."

Monogaku:"...Okay, I'll believe in you."

…

Monogaku would stay by her side as the nurses set up her room for the surgery, constantly holding her hand. As the hours passed, he would get more and more impatient. Eventually…

…

"Sir, the surgeon is ready!"

Suddenly, Monogaku shot up and tried waking up Kei.

Monogaku:"He's ready! Come on, Kei! The doctor will…"

Monogaku felt as Kei's hand was far colder than before.

Monogaku:"Kei? Kei!?"

"Her vitals are gone! We have an emergency!"

Monogaku couldn't hear anything, he was fully concentrating on his sister's body, devoid of any life. On that day, his reason for living had left him. On that day, Monogaku Noboru died and from its corpse, rose a new man filled with hatred. On that day, he swore for nothing more than revenge.

Chapter 99