Hatred
Ryuichi: This whole chapter is a flashback na no. (waves Kumagorou in the air) Pika pika na no da!
Shuichi: (whispers) Your forgetting something, Sakuma-san.
Ryuichi: (blinks) Sou na no yo. Shu-chan is the narrator in this chapter na no. Pika pika Shuichi! Shuichi mou pika pika!
Our mom picked us up from school after our Cultural Festival that afternoon. "How's your day?" she cheerfully asked. "We had fun. Right, Maiko? Sakura?" Maiko nodded but turned and glared at Sakura. I noticed that mom is also glaring at her through the mirror. Sakura looked down, covering her kawaii, round eyes with her hair.
I was awakened by a loud thud and sobbing. I got up and scratched my head, "Who would be awake at this time, in the middle of the night?" But then, it flashed in my mind. The things that mom does whenever she gets upset. I moved lazily off the bed and slowly opened the door. It caused a creaking sound and all that I saw was darkness. A shiver went down my spine, This looks like one of the horror movies that I once watched. I gathered up my courage and followed the source of these sounds.
I was shocked. My feet froze from where I was standing. Teary lavender eyes looked back to mine. I wanted to stop everything and escape my little sister Sakura from my mom's tortures. Mom was still beating her up yelling, 'Why do I have to raise you up?' over and over again. She took out a kitchen knife and attempts to stab her. Sakura closed her eyes, If my death will make Oka-san happy then... "Stop it, Kaa-san!" I tried to run in front of her but it was too late. I watched in horror as mom roughly pulled the knife and laughed maniacally. Words slipped through my mouth without realizing it, "Kaa-san? What... What did you do?" She looked at me sharply and went straight out the kitchen. I slowly walked to Sakura and fell to my knees. I hugged her and cried silently, "Sakura." "Onii-san," she said weakly which almost seemed like a whisper. I looked at her. Determined to save her life, I quickly looked for the number of the nearest hospital and dialed it.
I rested my head on Sakura's bed and sighed heavily. I can't bear the bloody sight a while ago: Sakura full of cuts and bruises and blood flowing out from her wounds. I shivered at the thought of it. But how could I pay for the expenses? I thought, I'm sure Kaa-san and Maiko aren't too willing to pay. Tears flowed as I closed my eyes, "Sakura."
The sunshine shone through the window. I slowly opened my eyes, "It's morning already?" The event last night flashed to my mind. I felt fear and quickly looked at Sakura. She's still asleep, I sighed heavily. A blanket fell from my shoulder as I sat up, That's weird. Who would put this blanket on me? "You're already awake, Shuichi?" I turned around and saw my uncle from my mother's side, "Oji-san, what're you doing here?" He slightly laughed, "I happen to be working here, you know." "Oh yeah, you're a doctor." He approached me and looked at Sakura, "Good thing you called an ambulance right away or she'll be on a pool of blood." "Aa." "Nee-chan beat her up again, huh?" he asked. I nodded. "Since you father died, she started to beat up Sakura every night." "It can't be helped since she's born from another woman," I said. "If that woman never met your father then he wouldn't end up cheating on Nee-chan," he mumbled, "And knowing that you still acknowledge her as your sister?" I turned to him and smiled, "Of course! It doesn't matter if we are born from different mothers or we don't share the same blood. I just wanted to let her feel that there is someone beside her." He sighed, "I envy Sakura-chan. She has you as her aniki." I blushed. Suddenly, a nurse rushed inside, "Sensei, we need you at the emergency room! It seems like your sister had an accident!" "Nani?!" "Kaa-san ga--?!" My uncle quickly stood, "Shuichi, stay here with Sakura-chan." "But—" "Sakura will need someone when she's awake," was my uncle's last words before he went out.
"Onii-san?" I quickly looked at Sakura, "Sakura, daijoubu?" "Where am I?" she asked, intentionally avoiding my question. "At the hospital," I replied. She frowned, "I see... Is Oka-san going to pay?" I turned away, "Our uncle is. Kaa-san got into an accident." Her eyes widened, "What happened?" "I don't know but I heard that she had a car accident," being aware that she will blame herself, I continued, "Cheer up, Sakura. Kaa-san will be all right." "If I hadn't existed," she mumbled, "will Okaa-san be okay?" "Sakura, don't say that." "But—" "I won't have any kawaii sister if you weren't a Shindou," I explained. "What about Onee-san?" she asked, slowly beginning to cry. "Well, yeah she's cute too. But there's only one Shindou Sakura right?" I winked, holding her hand. She forced herself to smile, "Arigatou, Onii-san."
The police confirmed that it was a car accident and mom could be drunk before it happened. After the funeral of our mom, we started to live at our uncle's house. But then, Sakura still blamed herself for what happened. She didn't eat anything at all and spent most of the time inside her room. I always accompanied her but kept silent. It was that emotionless expression and deep, lonely eyes that kept me from saying anything. Maiko kept form ignoring her as if she wasn't there. Good thing, our uncle played the role of both as a father and a mother for us.
A transferee student came in with the teacher. "Class, settle down," the teacher, Takahashi-sensei, said, "Everyone, meet Fujisaki Suguru-kun." He bowed, "Fujisaki Suguru desu. Dozo yoroshiku." Takahashi-sensei searched for an empty seat, "Fujisaki-kun, there's an empty seat beside Shindou-san." Sakura blinked and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Shindou-san could help you with your studies," she continued. Suguru arrived to his seat and sat silently. He smiled at his seatmate and greeted, "Nice to meet you, Shindou-san." She glanced at him, "Nice to meet you too." Takahashi-sensei started to write on the blackboard, "The whole class will have a theater performance next month. Shindou Sakura-san, would you please be the director and scriptwriter for the show?" Sakura nodded, "Hai, sensei." "Good. Then the producer would be..."
The bell rang as a sign of the end of the boring and tiring school day. "Sakura-san, are you going home already?" Suguru asked as he caught up with her. "Ee," Sakura answered, keeping her pace. "We don't have to be so cold to each other," he raised his finger, "Since I'm put in charge for the background music and you're the scriptwriter, we need get along, ne?" Sakura kept silent and walked faster to lose this annoying new classmate. "Ne? Ne? Ne? Ne? Ne?" he asked repeatedly. "Just leave me alone," Sakura said. "Eh? Doushite desu ka?" Suguru asked, stopping dead to his tracks. "Gomen, if she acted cold to you. She became like that since our Kaa-san died. Dakara, gomen," I said as I saw him. He shook his head, "No, it's nothing. I understand." I smiled, "Thanks," I turned to my side, "Let's go Hiro." Hiro nodded and followed me. Suguru still stood there and smiled, "That means she was a kind person before she became like that? Seguchi-san, it seems like I found someone who I wanted to change back to normal. Just like you do to Yuki-san."
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Translations:
Aa/Ee
Informal saying of 'yes.'
Aniki
Elder brother
Arigatou
Thank you
-chan
Honorific. Can be used either as a diminutive (e.g., with a small child—"Little Sasuke"), or with those who are grown, to indicate affection ("My dear").
Dakara
So
Daijoubu?
Are you all right?
Dozo yoroshiku
Nice to meet you
Doushite desu ka?
Why?
Gomen
Sorry
Hai
Yes
Hontou ni gomen
I'm really sorry
Kaa-san ga--?!
Mother (subject marker)--?!
Kawaii
Cute
-kun
Indicates familiarity or affection.
Nani?
What?
Ne?
Right?/Okay?
Nee-chan/Onee-chan
Elder sister
Oka-san/Kaa-san
Mother
Oji-san
Uncle
Onii-san
Elder brother
Pika pika na no da!
Shiny!
Pika pika Shuichi! Shuichi mou pika pika!
Shiny Shuichi! Shuichi is shining too!
-san
Honorific. Carries the meaning of "Mr.," "Ms.," "Miss," etc., but used extensively in Japanese than its English equivalent.
Sensei
Sensei, Sensei is used to refer to or address teachers, practitioners of a profession such as doctors and lawyers, politicians, and other authority figures.
Sou na no yo
That's right