Sins of the Father

You don't remember any white stripes in your life; it was flooded with one continuous black paint.

You were not a wanted child. You were an accident. Your mother, Natsuki, was the daughter of the prominent Nakamura family, prophesied to have a future as a famous singer, but she fell in love with your father, the nobody Tetsuo Katayama, and you were their accidental result.

It was a scandalous event. To preserve their reputation, Natsuki's family hid all the facts of the connection between your mother and father; they hid the fact of your existence, and Natsuki had to leave the stage.

Natsuki loved you, despite everything; she was a good mother, but unfortunately, not for long. Life in a small apartment, lack of money, an ordinary life with an ordinary job, the very fact that they had to live in hiding created constant arguments. The relationship between Natsuki and Tetsuo grew worse and worse with each passing day, but Natsuki still continued to smile for you.

But one day, when you were just 2 years old, Tetsuo got drunk again, and they had another one of their fights. It all happened quickly, but your still-young brain captured everything. You remember him hitting her, her falling, hitting the corner of the kitchen cabinet, how she stopped moving, how the light in her eyes went out... forever.

But he was not punished; thanks to Natsuki's family, the case was swept under the rug. Everything was presented as an accident, to hide her "shameful relationship" and her "shameful child." Your father disappeared, and the family took you in.

They hated you. They saw you as the cause of all their troubles, the reason Natsuki had to leave the stage, the reason they lost so much money, the reason for her death. You were the little bastard who ruined everything. YOU ruined her life. YOU killed her. YOU are loved by no one. YOU are needed by no one. If YOU croaked, no one would notice, no one would cry. YOU ARE A BASTARD...

They gave you the bare minimum. You were fed only out of necessity, you were clothed only so you wouldn't be naked. At school, people avoided you - the strange, penniless ragamuffin. No one wanted to be friends with you, no one wanted to have anything to do with