April 7, 1986

He had been wearing the anklets for 4 years. 2 silver anklets, given by his beloved mother, decorated Touma's left ankle.

Yoshio the cat, another gift, had also been kept by Yui, Touma's younger sister.

They were sometimes the only ties the Kaguya children to their constantly working mother, since their more than horrible father refused to talk about anything but his parenting or alcohol.

Touma was determined to get away from his father as soon as possible. Yui and him had been planning their escape for the past 16 months. It was foolproof. All they needed to do was get their mom to come home. Touma knew today was the day. He was sure of it. Nothing could go wrong. His mother, Yui, and him could all run away from their horrible father. Nervously, Touma picked up the payphone as he inserted 25 yen.

"Hello?"

"Hi mom. Can you please come home? There's something Yui and I really need to show you tonight. It's really important."

"Sure honey. I'll ask my boss. If he says yes, I'll be home by 21:00."

*click*

The call had been made. Step 1: Complete.

Now for the rest.

Today was the first day Touma would purposely make his dad abuse him. Once their mother saw, she'd call the child protection services. They had already gotten calls from Yui and Touma, so an adult calling would secure the truth. Their father would be sent to jail and their family could live together happily.

That had been the plan anyways.

But in the end, their mom didn't call the child protection services. The abuse terrified her, but she couldn't just leave for one reason. She packed clothes and belongings for herself and the children.

She planned on leaving her old life and starting anew in the countryside under the idea they were visiting her father's home. It could've been wonderful.

But that had been when she was alive.

Their father found out about her true plan, and in his rage, he smashed the empty sake bottle over her head. Their mom had collapsed, killed instantly. Their father didn't even blink.

He went into Yui's room, where she was packing.

She turned with the biggest smile on her face, her short blonde hair fanning out as she turned.

"Big brother, I'm almost done with packi-"

She never finished her sentence. Because, in that moment, their father committed murder for a second time. He grabbed Yui by the neck and threw her against the wall before punching her several times in the head, neck, and chest.

Touma heard cracking noises. Most likely her fragile, bruised bones breaking.

Touma wanted to save her, but the threat of being killed as well was just too strong. He knew that even if he gave it all he had, she would still end up dead.

After those horrible 4 minutes of Yui screaming in absolute agony, she died. Not in peace, and not willingly. The only other person who meant anything to Touma had been destroyed by the same monster. The same cruel beast he'd lived with for 9 years. If possession was real, then Satan himself possessed his father when he was 5.

Instead of fighting his father, however, Touma hid in a nearby closet. It was cramped, but his father wouldn't find him. As long as Touma survived, he could get revenge on his father. He would.

That's what he told himself. He thought people were logical. Turned out he was dead wrong. Even after Touma survived that night, nobody would listen.

His mother and sister had supposedly gone on an unknown trip. And nobody knew when they planned to come back. They probably abandoned them. That was the story his father told everyone.

Nobody believed the problem child Touma. The one who apparently prank called the police Touma. The one who has a superiority complex that made him think his father was trash Touma. The boy who never was skilled in anything but English, biology, and math Touma.

And so, Touma was forced to live under his father's tight leash for 1 more year.

——|================>

September 28, 1957

Touma had just turned 13 2 days ago.

The only birthday present he received was from Aoi and Tadashi, his 2 best friends. Well, best friend and girlfriend. They had celebrated his birthday at a local cafe.

Touma had a simple chocolate strawberry cake, made by his friends, and it was the best thing that Touma had gotten in a long time.

"Maybe," he thought while eating cake, "life isn't so terrible. There are jerks like my dad in it, but they're the minority. As long as I have my friends that I can trust, I'll be fine."

The birthday party was rather uneventful, and once it was done, Touma waved goodbye to his friends. He returned to the house to find he wasn't home. Thank the gods of fortune.

On his way back home, Touma dropped off a letter at the post box. A letter to the location where his mom and sister were going to move. He knew that the letters would just collect in an empty mailbox, but just the idea of sending some sort of message to the dead was comforting.

He walked up to his room and opened the door. He planned to listen to the radio before going to sleep. Just hearing stories about other's wonderful lives made him happy. But when he entered his room, the happiness and excitement evaporated like dry ice.

His father had been waiting for him, and by the looks of it, he was sober for the first time in months. His father's rugged beard and cold brown eyes only made him look more sinister when he stood up with a grin on his face.

"Hello son. How was your little outing? Have some fun?"

Touma knew not to answer.

"Well, now it's my turn to have some fun with you. Get you're coat on. We're going to Ichiro's."

Touma couldn't help but follow his directions. If he didn't, going to Ichiro's was going to be the least of his problems. He and his father got in the car and drove to Ichiro's, late at night.

Touma held his piggy bank tight in his hand. His meager savings were mostly used up, but that wouldn't stop his father from using up the last of it. Touma had to keep the promise he'd made the day his sister had died.

"Never give up on living, because, somewhere, someone is wishing to keep on living. So don't throw away a life so carelessly."

Once they arrived at Ichiro's, Touma's father pulled Touma out of the car by the hair. Touma yelped as his dad pulled him inside. Ichiro was his father's drinking and gambling buddy, and they used Touma as free waitering. If he didn't comply to their demands, pain was inevitable.

He walked in after his father, for the stench of smoke and alcohol was unbearable. A game of poker was started, and after a while of the 2 men not asking for anything due to extreme concentration, Touma fell asleep.

He awoke via being slapped. Hard. His eyes flew open, only to see the men angrily staring down at him.

"The little brat fell asleep on the job." Ichiro said menacingly.
"If he wants to sleep so badly, let's give him a place to sleep."

Touma yelped as the men picked him up. The walked out in to Ichiro's backyard, right by the old railroad. They threw him into an old refrigerator that had no shelves before closing the door.

Touma pounded on the door, screaming for help. He scratched, and his fingertips bloodied from the rusty and rough inside. There was no way to open the fridge door from the inside. He knew what could happen. He had read and heard the stories of children accidentally getting locked in old fridges and what happened to them. It already was. The oxygen levels were dramatically decreasing, and after awhile, he would die of asphyxiation. 

It was too late. His vision clouded and his breathing became shallow and labored. He felt dizzy as he slumped against the wall, too tired to move. His eyelids felt heavy. 

He felt himself slip into unconsciousness just as he thought, "I wish I could've lived longer. I just hope my mom and sister are in heaven so we can finally escape my father." 

He then died 20 minutes later, unconsciously.

The body was found an hour and a half later, but what did Ichiro and Touma's father do? They threw Touma into a ditch, grumbling how the brat caused the world more trouble than good. 

And if you look hard enough, you may be able to find 2 silver anklets in the ditch, tarnished, with the words, "君が家族を選んだのではない。君が家族に対してそうであるように、家族は神様が君に与えた贈り物なんだ."(You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.) and "家族は大切なものなんかじゃない。家族こそすべてだ." (Family is not an important thing. It's everything.) on them. 

As for the letters Touma sent? The father found every single one of them in the mailbox and burned them all. As the paper curled and turned black, the seal on the never opened envelope cracked open and Touma's message was released into the world.