Chapter 1

Have you ever lived such a colorful life that others envied you?

To others, Umejima Shinzo lived a very colorful life. He was tall, handsome, excelled in both academics and athleticism. Even though he was only a first-year high school student at the prestigious Shinkaika Private Academy in Meguro, Tokyo, Shinzo was already the Student Council Secretary. His parents have a lot of money; Shinzo was highly respected by his seniors and popular with the girls in his grade; and he was also the top student.

All the boys in his grade were very envious. Several boys, especially bullies, tried to put Shinzo in his place. However, Shinzo remained unscathed while those boys either ended up in the hospital or never bothering Shinzo ever again.

As a result, many wild rumors spread. One wild rumor speculated that Shinzo was actually the son of an underworld crime lord. While these rumors were entirely false, Shinzo never made any attempts to clarify or rectify them. He simply let them run loose.

Currently, Shinzo was in the Student Council Room in Shinkaika Private Academy. He just finished writing the Student Council President’s opening address for the upcoming cultural festival in November. In addition, Shinzo also verified the Treasurer’s financial reports on the various student clubs’ budgets, their requests for budget approval and list of cost usages. The Treasurer did a very sloppy job, so Shinzo needed to take evidence of their incompetence and fix the errors himself.

From the Student Council Room entrance, a second-year male student appeared. Walking into the room, he looked at Shinzo and the piles of paper on the side with his cool eyes.

“Shinzo-kun, are you not done yet?” the second-year male student asked. He walked over behind Shinzo and took a look at the laptop screen. One look, and he made a somewhat exasperated face. “Just save the original file and email it to the President. She’s smart, so she will take matters into her own hands. You don’t need to fix that idiot’s mess.”

“Then, Vice-President, will we finally get rid of that idiot Treasurer?” Shinzo asked, looking up at the second-year male student’s face. “The Treasurer has already been given three warnings by the President, and yet the President didn’t do anything to him after giving him a fourth warning.”

The second-year male student, the Student Council Vice-President, sighed, recalling a previous conservation he overheard. “Well, the President was planning to remove the Treasurer, but Hibayama-sensei persuaded her elsewise. Said some nonsense about how it will affect the President’s public image.”

Shinzo thought for a moment. “Maybe we need to find some dirt on Hibayama-sensei before proceeding to fire the Treasurer? I heard Hibayama-sensei was compensated-dating some high school girls from the next school over?”

“For real? I don’t think I’ve heard anything like that.” The Vice-President’s face twitched in irritation and sighed deeply, shaking his head to clear away the frustrations. “Man, adults and kids these days. Anyways, just drop that stuff for tonight and head on home. If you continue working, you won’t leave until 10 PM. I recalled you have a curfew at 9 PM? It’s 8 right now.”

Shinzo nodded his head and closed the laptop. After putting the Student Council laptop away, Shinzo picked up his bag and walked out of the Student Council Room with the Vice-President.

They both left academy grounds and bid farewell to each other at the school gate. The Vice-President took a different train line and lived in a separate neighborhood than Shinzo, who took the bus and lived elsewhere in Meguro.

Shinzo walked about three blocks to the nearest bus stop and waited there. He was alone at the bus stop with only a few cars driving on the road. With the sun already down, the lukewarm atmosphere was somewhat comforting.

As Shinzo waited, basking in the lukewarmness, Shinzo noticed a group of three middle school girls walking about, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. The three middle school girls came to stand behind Shinzo, also waiting for the bus.

A couple minutes later, the bus finally appeared. Shinzo stepped in and swiped his IC card, paying for the fares. Since the bus was tightly packed with both students and adults, Shinzo stood next to a pole and held onto a handlebar for support.

At the driver’s area, the three middle school girls were trying to pay for the bus fares, but it seemed like they forgot to charge up their IC cards. They looked quite troubled, and the other passengers snuck brief glances in their direction before resuming their own activities, indifferent to the girls’ plights. The bus driver looked slightly troubled since he needed to move onto the next stop, but the three middle school girls still tried to get on board, looking for their wallets or other smart cards to pay for the fares.

After seeing that the three middle school girls wouldn’t be able to pay for the fares and were about to give up, Shinzo sighed deeply and stepped forward. He offered to pay for the three girls’ bus fares with his IC card. The girls thanked him gratefully and got onboard, and the bus finally continued on its due course.

Shinzo and the three middle school girls stood next to each other on the bus, holding onto the poles and handlebars for support. Shinzo pulled out his phone and looked at the meeting notes he took today at Shinkaika Private Academy in regards to the upcoming cultural festival.

Shinzo had everything already memorized, but Shinzo simply did the gesture to keep his hands above his waist. With one hand holding the handlebar and one hand on his phone, this should prevent a situation where he could be labeled as a groper. He was standing next to three middle school girls with some older women standing behind him after all. In middle school, Shinzo was falsely accused as a groper by an entitled high school girl while taking the train, but luckily, a grandma stepped forward and cleared away the suspicions, saving Shinzo’s social life.

“Really, thanks! You have no idea how much we were freaking out back there!” one of the middle school girls said, chatting with Shinzo with an apologetic but energetic face. “You really saved our butts!.”

“Thanks a lot for the help!” the second middle school girl said with a bright laugh.

The third middle school girl simply bowed her head. “Thank you for the assistance.”

“Don’t worry about it. It happens from time to time,” Shinzo answered coolly. He ended the conversation there by going silent afterwards.

“I’m Tomono Chizuko, by the way. Is there anything we can do to repay you?” The first middle school girl continued the conversation, maybe didn’t catch Shinzo’s tone. “It’s entirely our fault that we forgot to charge our IC cards. We were in a very big hurry this morning.”

“Yeah, we were! Onii-san, did you hear about the gas explosion this morning? We just had to go see it for ourselves first thing in the morning!” The second middle school girl joined in. “Oh, forgot to introduce myself. I’m Yasuda Emina! Super great to meet you!”

“Girls, can’t you see that Onii-san already cut your conversation short?” the third middle school girl interjected somewhat harshly. Apparently, she could read the room. The third middle school girl bowed her head apologetically. “I’m Nogata Kazumi. I’m terribly sorry about these two. They’re always so hyper.”

Shinzo wasn’t looking at the middle school girls closely before since it could be used against him as sexual harassment. But looking at the girls more closely now, Shinzo could tell that they were a mismatched bunch. Tomono Chizuko seemed like an easygoing tomboy sports girl; Yasuda Emina looked like the typical gyaru; and Nogata Kazumi seemed like the typical honor student who reprimanded others for getting out of line.

Since the girls wanted to continue the conversation, Shinzo tried to end it quickly. “Nice to meet you, girls. I’m Umejima Shinzo. In regards to paying me back, no need. I just helped out so the bus could get going. I have a tight curfew, so I need to get home quickly.”

Shinzo had a tight curfew at 9 PM. If he missed it, his strict parents were going to punish him.

“Hmm, it feels kind of wrong.” Chizuko thought for a moment before pulling out her phone. “Well, let’s just say that we owe you one. How about I add you on LINE? That way, if you think of something, you can let me know.”

Shinzo looked at Chizuko’s phone, adorned with a cute phone case and mascot keychain. Shinzo shook his head. “Sorry, but my parents are pretty strict. They monitor my LINE account, so if I add yours, they will start questioning me really hard. So, I’ll have to decline.”

Shinzo’s parents were incredibly strict. His account was closely monitored 24/7. So, he only used it to contact his parents and no one else.

Chizuko smiled apologetically, putting her phone away. “Sorry. I didn’t know I was putting you in a tough spot. Then, how are we going to pay you back if we can’t contact you?”

“Hmm, maybe we can use a different messaging app?” Emina chimed in. “Or build one ourselves?”

“Chizuko, Emina, can’t you see that you’re troubling Onii-san even more?” Kazumi added with a small scowl on her face.

“Like I said before, don’t worry about it.” Shinzo looked at the terminal display above the middle school girls’ heads, which displayed the next bus stop. “The next stop is mine, so we’ll have to cut our conversation short.”

The bus pulled up at the next bus stop. The bus doors opened, and Shinzo bid farewell to the three middle school girls before stepping out. As he did, Shinzo finally felt some minor relief. Those two middle school girls–Chizuko and Emina–didn’t know when to end the conversation. Shinzo breathed a sigh of relief before heading home.

Shinzo lived in a medium-sized two-story standalone artistic house with a small front yard. Shinzo could see his parents’ silhouettes through the house’s covered windows. Shinzo entered the house. Immediately, he could feel his parents’ oppressive aura suffocating him.

“I’m home,” Shinzo announced in a forced, normal tone.

“Welcome home, Shin-chan!” Shinzo’s mother called out from the kitchen. She poked her head out to look at Shinzo in the doorway. “How was school?” Her voice sounded light and joyful.

Shinzo looked at his mother’s face. Instead of a smiling human face, all Shinzo could see was a black swirling mass. A black aura surrounded his mother’s body. Shinzo couldn’t recall when he had started seeing his mother’s face transformed. Apparently, only he could see it. No one else could.

Just looking at it gave Shinzo a headache and his chest tightening from fear. Shinzo pushed those emotions back.

“It was fine, Mother,” Shinzo said, managing a normal tone. He put his shoes away, swapped to slippers, and walked through the doorway. “Where’s Father?”

“Oh, he’s in the living room, watching the news. Something about a gas explosion is making headline news for some unknown reasons.” Shinzo’s mother sounded uninterested and went back to the kitchen.

Shinzo recalled Chizuko and Emina talking about the gas explosion on the bus. Curious, Shinzo stuck his head into the living room, where his father was watching the news.

Instead of a human head, his father’s head was also a swirling black mass; his body surrounded by a black aura. This made it somewhat hard to see the news on the TV. Shinzo went deeper into the living room, but his father stopped him.

“What are you doing?” his father asked in a nonthreatening tone, but the oppressive aura increased. “Instead of wasting time on frivolous news, go and study. I’ve said it time and time again: only the best survive in this world. If you get sidetracked by minor distractions like this, you won’t get very far in the future.”

Shinzo couldn’t speak against his father, so he could only nod his head. Shinzo left the living room and went upstairs to his bedroom, where he set his bag down and began to study.

In Shinzo’s room, there were numerous awards, decorations, and trophies that he earned in primary, middle, and most recently high school. There were also pictures, showcasing him holding the awards, but in each picture, Shinzo lacked a smile or barely showed any emotion. His eyes looked dead.

To others, this room, full of awards and trophies, was a sign of excellence and an outstanding person. Shinzo’s parents boasted Shinzo’s accomplishments to their neighbors whenever they could.

To Shinzo, this room was nothing more than a cage. Ever since Shinzo’s parents’ faces transformed into swirling black masses, Shinzo’s life was no longer his own but his parents’. He was nothing more than a toy for them to boast about.

Shinzo studied his school notes over and over, from one subject to the next. He completed all textbook questions and his homework. He consulted extra learning materials that his parents got for him, which were college-level. Then, he would repeat this process over and over throughout the night until his mother finally came with dinner at midnight.

“How’s your study coming along?” Shinzo’s mother entered his room without knocking. She brought a light snack as his “dinner.” “I made your favorite dinner.”

“It’s going good, Mother.” Shinzo accepted his “dinner.” “I should be able to score another 100 in the next tests.”

“Good. You know what will happen if you slack off on studying, right?” Although his mother’s voice was light and joyful, the intentions behind her words were anything but that.

“I understand, Mother.” Shinzo nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“By the way, I noticed something on your IC card.” Shinzo’s mother’s voice suddenly lost that light and joyful tone. Instead, it turned icy. “It looked like you used it multiple times when coming home today. Did you go anywhere you shouldn’t have gone to?”

A cold shiver ran down Shinzo’s back. Without looking at his mother, Shinzo only answered, “I didn’t go anywhere, Mother. On the bus home, there were some people who couldn’t get onboard, so I helped–”

Suddenly, Shinzo’s mother’s anger snapped. She cut off Shinzo’s answer short by grabbing him by the ear, pulling him up to his feet. The sharp pain caused Shinzo to grimace, but he didn’t let out any sound, only gritting his teeth in pain. Then, his mother threw Shinzo onto his bed with great force. Next, she pulled out a leather belt from behind her and began whipping his body and legs.

Shinzo curled into a ball while his mother whipped him with the leather belt. Great pain shot throughout his body, but Shinzo gritted his teeth and held back his voice. If he screamed, his mother would hit him even harder.

“You ungrateful child! You dare lie to me, your own mother!? You must have gone somewhere like the arcade or karaoke or somewhere you shouldn’t be at! I knew it! That school is corrupting you!” Shinzo’s mother shouted at the top of her lungs as she whipped Shinzo with the leather belt.

After whipping Shinzo for 20 minutes straight, Shinzo’s mother finally stopped to recollect herself. Throughout it all, Shinzo simply held back his voice, no matter how much pain was delivered to him.

Then, in a much calmer tone, Shinzo’s mother gently embraced Shinzo’s bruised and battered body. “If your dad had been awake, he would’ve hit you harder than me and for much longer, too. Endure this pain. I did it for your sake because your disobedience needs to be taught a lesson. Your dad and I intend for you to be the Prime Minister. If you disobey us and go off on your own like this, you’re going to get yourself into a lot of trouble, possibly killed. We’re only doing this for your sake, so please understand.”

With that said, Shinzo’s mother separated herself from him. She picked up the plate of light snacks that she made for Shinzo as his “dinner.” In a reprimanding tone, she said, “You won’t be having any dinner tonight. Continue studying and reflect on what you did wrong till 3 in the morning. When your dad wakes up, I’ll talk to him about transferring you to a better school.” Then, she left.

Bruised and battered, Shinzo finally sat up in his bed, flinching from the pain in his body and legs. His mother made sure to hit only his body and legs, places that were easy to conceal abuse. Shinzo got out of bed and grabbed a small ointment bottle from under his bed, applying the ointment on his body.

Shinzo put the ointment bottle back in its carefully concealed space under his bed and went back to studying. His body hurt and ached, but he didn’t cry. His tears dried up many years ago when his parents started treating him like this.

Have you ever lived such a colorful life that others envied you?

To others, Umejima Shinzo lived a colorful life. He was successful in school, had wealthy parents, treasured by his seniors and adored by girls in his grade. He was also the top student.

However, to Shinzo, his life was colorless. His life was completely black and oppressed, just like the swirling black masses that his parents’ faces turned into. He was their puppet. His life was never his own.

Shinzo tried to run away once, but that didn’t turn out so well. He tried to tell someone of his domestic abuse, but that didn’t turn out well either. No one listened or cared to listen. Because his parents have money, they could silence just about anyone. His only fate was to endure and live this oppressed life forever.