Chapter 5: The Negative Legacy is Thus Passed On

My sister started looking for me. Even when faced with that reality, I still chose not to return to her side.

I didn’t want to leave Senpai’s side. What I chose was a life where I could satisfy my own dependency.

I don’t know what the future holds as a result of this choice. All I know is what kind of punishment society will impose on us—on Senpai—when exposed to the light of day. And what I’ll do when this happiness is taken away from me.

At least for now, that future doesn’t seem to be coming.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah, I’m home.”

Today, too, Senpai came home without any problems, his face free of worry.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Then, he looked over my shoulder and said,

His expression wasn’t one of surprise or curiosity at an unexpected guest.

“You’ve been coming over a lot lately.”

It was as if he was greeting a familiar face, not someone rare or unusual.

It wasn’t Senpai’s old friend, nor a good neighbor. It wasn’t a malevolent spirit or monster haunting this horror house, nor a madman or burglar invited in.

That black ball of fur was the altar fiercely asserting itself in the madman’s living room. Mimicking the blasphemous offerings, it sat quietly at the top of the shelf.

Noticing Senpai, the ball of fur,

“Meow.”

Responded with a big yawn.

In one word, that ball of fur was a cat. To be more specific, a black cat. A symbol of misfortune, fitting for this house.

“It’s rare for you to stay this late, Kurosuke.”

His name was Kurosuke. A former stray turned house cat.

Neither the name nor the ownership of Kurosuke belonged to Senpai.

Originally a stray born in this neighborhood, he was a mascot-like figure who would walk alongside familiar faces. Named Kurosuke because he was a black cat—a simple name, but typical for a stray.

It seemed Kurosuke’s territory included this house.

One night, Kurosuke was caught by the neighborhood animal-abusing old man. The next day, the old man encountered a burglar who had broken in and was stabbed—a strange twist of fate.

Since then, Kurosuke was welcomed as a house cat. After Senpai moved in, he often meowed to be let inside and would perch on the altar.

The horror house that the neighbors feared. Perhaps Kurosuke, with his ability to see what humans cannot, understood who to be grateful to.

Kurosuke was Senpai’s senior. In the sense that he was acknowledged by this house, Senpai said it might be true.

“As always, your guard is up.”

When Senpai tried to pet him, Kurosuke swatted his hand away with his tail.

Even as a stray, he wasn’t the type to let people touch him easily, though he would walk alongside them.

“Damn colorblind cat.”

However, he allowed me to pet his head easily. Senpai frowned as if lamenting gender discrimination, then gave up and went to wash off the day’s sweat.

◆

After dinner and cleaning up, all that was left was to relax in Senpai’s room until bedtime.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Just as I was settling down, Senpai let out a curious voice.

Looking up, I saw Senpai’s back as he sat in his chair. On the desk was Kurosuke, holding a thin piece of paper in his mouth, as if handing it to Senpai.

“A drawing…?”

I didn’t even have time to say anything.

The paper in Senpai’s hand—I knew what was drawn on it even without seeing it from here.

Kurosuke napping on the altar. Not stylized, but faithfully rendered. It was drawn with a single pencil, in a style reminiscent of monochrome photography.

“Did you draw this?”

“Meow.”

Kurosuke responded. Of course, it wasn’t drawn by a cat’s paw.

‘Well, sort of.’

“Huh.”

I had drawn that picture. Admitting it, I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

Senpai examined the drawing with curiosity.

‘I’d rather you not stare at it so intently.’

“It’s not like your drawing skills are something to be embarrassed about.”

‘No, no. Having someone look at a drawing with the skill level of a single-digit age is embarrassing no matter what.’

“Huh? You’ve been drawing at this level since elementary school?”

Senpai was amazed, his wide eyes returning to the drawing.

“If you can draw this well, that’s impressive. No wonder the model himself brought it over to show me.”

Without a hint of teasing, Senpai praised me sincerely. He reached out to Kurosuke, who had brought the drawing, but was swatted away by the tail again.

With a soft thud, Kurosuke jumped down and curled up beside me. Watching me pet him gently, Senpai frowned at the blatant gender discrimination.

It had been a long time since I last drew. Not since fourth grade, before my mother passed away. It was something I had left behind, along with happy memories.

The reason I picked it up again was because seeing Kurosuke sleeping so peacefully reminded me of the past. I remembered once drawing such a defenseless cat with someone. It made me nostalgic.

Senpai fluttered the loose-leaf paper.

“You’re this good. Did you want to be an artist when you were little or something?”

‘Wow, Senpai, you’re sharp. That’s correct.’

“Wait, seriously?”

Senpai looked the most surprised, having guessed it randomly.

‘Well, it was my sister, though.’

“Your sister?”

Not quite understanding, Senpai tilted his head.

‘Ever since I can remember, I was glued to my sister. From clothes to accessories, even hobbies, I wanted everything to be the same as hers. I was that kind of kid.’

“So, this drawing is…?”

‘My sister’s hobby was pencil drawing. This is just me imitating her, a skill from the past.’

It wasn’t that I liked drawing.

I just liked imitating my beloved sister and doing things together with her.

That’s why, after running away from her, I never drew again.

The drawing I made today was driven by nostalgia, not enjoyment. All I found in it were memories of a happiness I could never return to.

Back then, I could draw the same things as my sister. But now, compared to her, who still draws, the difference is like heaven and earth. She must still be drawing because she loves it.

‘By the way, my sister was so good that she even received awards for her portraits.’

“From art competitions?”

‘From the police.’

“The police?”

‘She drew a portrait of a hit-and-run driver. Thanks to that, the culprit was caught immediately.’

“Was your sister the one who got hit?”

‘She was the witness. Though, apparently, she didn’t witness the actual hit-and-run moment.’

“What do you mean?”

With a puzzled expression, Senpai propped his cheek on his hand, resting his elbow on the armrest.

‘It was like a runaway train—a bicycle came speeding by, and they just barely passed each other. She thought, “That’s dangerous,” and when she turned the corner, she found someone lying on the ground and immediately called the police.’

“So, that person was the victim of the hit-and-run?”

‘Exactly. She drew a portrait of that bicycle rider, and thanks to that, she got an award.’

“Wait, wait, wait… What kind of memory does she have?”

Senpai frowned, not so much out of confusion but more like he was struggling to comprehend.

“If she had witnessed the scene right after, I’d get it. But she only passed by the guy moments before, right? How can someone remember and draw that so accurately? Is that even normal?”

‘If you’re not aiming for photo-like precision, it’s not that hard. Just capturing the key features is enough.’

“Maybe it’s easy for you prodigy sisters, but normal people can’t even remember faces that well.”

‘You can’t even remember something that just happened? Is the average person’s brain really that inconvenient? I’m surprised you can live without feeling embarrassed.’

“With that prodigy brain of yours, today I’ll finally figure out the exact number of stains on the ceiling.”

‘Eek, I’m being attacked!’

Senpai glared at me, looking like he was about to stand up, but I wasn’t scared at all. I knew he didn’t have it in him to do anything. This kind of teasing banter felt nostalgic, and I even had the luxury of enjoying it.

As if he’d seen enough, Senpai handed the loose-leaf paper back to me. I looked down at it.

‘Well, that’s how I started, imitating my sister. Even after all this time, it seems I still have some of that skill left.’

“You started by just copying her, and you’re still this good? You really are a prodigy.”

Kurosuke, who had jumped onto the folding table, meowed in agreement. His adorable appearance made me happy, but… I still wasn’t satisfied with the result.

Back when I used to draw with my sister, I was much better. My mother used to praise both of us, saying we were skilled. Those drawings were more refined. That was my motivation—to draw things just as well as my sister, without any childish cuteness.

‘Now that I think about it, I don’t really understand why my sister was so kind to me.’

Before I knew it, my hands were naturally spilling these thoughts. Not as Renafalt, but as Fumino Kaede.

It was a side of me I didn’t want Senpai to see. Normally, I’d quickly cover it up, but this time, my hands didn’t move.

Maybe Senpai noticed the hollow change in my mood.

“Maybe she just loved you that much.”

His tone was matter-of-fact, as if stating the obvious.

“You wanted to do everything together. You adored your sister that much. She must have been happy with your pure feelings and wanted to be kind to you.”

It was a wise, adult opinion from a third party. It didn’t suit Senpai at all, and I couldn’t help but cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.

“Though, back then, you were apparently a pure and innocent child.”

Maybe realizing how out of character he sounded, Senpai added a punchline. It was as if he was saying, “I only said that cheesy line to set up the joke.”

Still, I could tell Senpai was trying to be considerate of my feelings, and that made me genuinely happy. But…

‘If I were a pure and innocent child, anything I did would be forgiven. But I think I strayed from that.’

“Strayed?”

My sister’s feelings, which I couldn’t understand, weren’t like that.

Tearing the wings off insects, pulling off their legs.

Stuffing firecrackers into frogs’ anuses and watching them explode.

Crushing lines of ants and flooding their nests.

The cruelty of a child driven by curiosity, not yet understanding the difference between right and wrong. Thinking that anything is forgivable as long as you’re not hurting people.

What I did might not have been any different from those acts.

‘I wanted to imitate her, to do the same things. That included studying.’

I didn’t have memories of playing with friends after school, let alone visiting their houses. I didn’t lose myself in books, games, or TV either.

My days were filled with nothing but studying.

But no one asked me to do that. For me, it was like a hobby. A form of entertainment to get closer to my sister.

I never lacked study materials. No matter how neglectful my father was, he didn’t skimp on investing in education.

But I didn’t go to cram school. I just studied silently on my own.

At first, if I didn’t understand something, I’d ask my mother or sister. But my mother had housework, and my sister had her own studies, hobbies, and friends to play with. They couldn’t always be by my side, and I wasn’t the kind of child to throw a tantrum about it.

I developed a habit of looking things up on my own before asking others. I learned to solve problems by myself and stopped relying on my sister and mother.

Silently, I spent all my time outside of family moments studying.

Studying was like climbing a mountain. I could see where I was and where my sister was. That sense of getting closer was enough to make me happy.

I left my classmates far behind and raced ahead on my own.

And then,

‘By second grade, I was already studying the same material as my sister.’

“…Huh?”

‘I reached the same academic level as my sister, who was aiming for a private middle school.’

I had caught up to my sister.

I was thrilled that I could now study the same things as her.

Once I reached that point, I was satisfied with my studies. I didn’t feel any desire to go further on my own.

So, I turned my attention to my next goal.

‘Once I caught up academically, I had free time. So, I started imitating my sister’s hobbies.’

That’s how I picked up pencil drawing, a skill from the past.

Though I might be biased because I adored my sister, her drawings were always precise and beautiful. I was always happy to be the model for her art.

I had always wanted to draw the same things as her, right by her side. I dreamed of one day being able to draw her beautifully.

And so, I picked up the same tools as her.

My sister was someone who took everything seriously and never slacked off.

‘Two years later, I caught up. To the skill my sister had been building since kindergarten.’

I had easily caught up to what my sister had spent years accumulating.

Senpai was speechless, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Searching for words, Senpai finally said,

“You… are a monster.”

He said it with a completely serious expression.

Of all the words he could have chosen, he went with that. It was so funny that I burst out laughing.

His blunt honesty was refreshing. It felt better than any awkward consolation.

‘Yeah, maybe I was a monster to my sister.’

My sister was a genius. I don’t know how much pride she took in that, but she was someone who understood how others viewed her.

She might not have been arrogant or boastful about being a genius, but she had pride and self-respect for what she had built.

And I had easily caught up to her and stood beside her.

If I were a stranger, people might have just said, “Wow, what a talented kid,” and left it at that. But I was her sister—her younger sister, three years apart.

How did it feel to always be caught up to by your much younger sister? Maybe it would have been easier if I had just surpassed her outright.

But I never tried to surpass my sister. The moment I caught up to her, I stopped running. While she continued to run straight ahead, I walked slowly beside her, smiling because I was with her.

Only now do I understand.

‘I might have been hurting my sister’s pride all along.’

I’ve been a cruel creature since I was little.

I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I just wanted to be like my beloved sister, with pure intentions. I innocently chased after her and stood beside her.

My sister always praised me when I caught up to her.

“Kaede, you’re amazing.”

“As expected of my proud little sister.”

“I should learn from you too.”

She never showed a hint of displeasure and always complimented me.

As a naive child, I took her words at face value.

I never stopped to think about what I was doing from an objective perspective.

Now, I can’t understand how my sister truly felt.

No matter how kind and straightforward my sister was, she must have had her own thoughts.

Suddenly, I remembered my mother.

She always watched us sisters, who got along so well, with a happy smile. But sometimes, her gentle gaze would darken.

It happened when I took another step closer to my sister, and she praised me endlessly, saying how amazing I was.

My mother understood. She knew the cruelty of what I was doing.

She was worried. Worried that my sister might be hurting behind her smile.

If I had been a mean-spirited child who looked down on my sister, she might have scolded me. She might have corrected me.

But all I was doing was trying my best to be by my sister’s side because I loved her so much. Since I wasn’t doing anything wrong, she couldn’t get angry, and it might have troubled her.

“Yeah, that’s pretty harsh.”

As if to clear the heavy air, Senpai let out a sigh.

“In a mystery or suspense story, that’s more than enough to lead to murder.”

‘I’m sure the motive would be revealed at the edge of a cliff.’

By the time my sister’s true feelings were revealed, I probably wouldn’t be in this world anymore. The more I look back and think about it, the more I feel it’s inevitable.

And then I remembered.

‘But if my sister killed me, I’d accept it. I even set a trap like that before I left home.’

“A trap?”

‘I left my old laptop in my room. If someone gets past the simple password, they’ll trigger the “Don’t Look for Waldo” trap.’

“That thing…”

Senpai made a bitter face.

That day, I was driven by a self-destructive impulse. I even felt resentment toward my sister, who I couldn’t rely on.

I don’t resent her anymore.

My sister couldn’t do anything about me. Senpai taught me that.

It’s too late to retrieve the trap now. It might already be too late.

‘If it works, my sister’s best friend in Tokyo will be the one to see it.’

“You… do you have a grudge against Kurumi-chan or something?”

Senpai’s gaze grew distant, as if pitying someone who wasn’t here.

Kurumi-chan. The cheerful, beautiful high school girl I often talked to at Gami’s shop. I’d heard about her before, but I never imagined she was my sister’s best friend, Kinomiya Madoka.

I knew her well because my sister had talked about her since we were little. She’d been to our house many times. We never really talked, but I’d seen her from a distance. Even standing next to my sister, she didn’t pale in comparison—a cheerful, beautiful girl.

Human connections are strange. I never thought she’d end up sharing drinks with Senpai. If someone as troubled as Senpai could talk to a cheerful beauty like her, it must be fun.

I feel bad for my sister, but…

‘If you want to deal damage efficiently, you target the people around them. That’s the basics. And it’s the most effective way to hurt my sister.’

I found myself hoping the trap would work after all.

“Still, showing that to someone innocent is just awful. It’s the kind of thing that could lead to a murder case.”

‘Yeah. The first time I saw it, I wanted to kill someone too.’

The first time I saw it was in the summer of my first year of middle school.

The time when good children were supposed to be asleep had long passed. Even after midnight, I had no intention of sleeping. In fact, this was when my time began.

The lights in my room were off. Even though I was a shut-in who didn’t go to school, staying up this late wasn’t good. I didn’t want to get scolded by my sister. The only light in the room came from the monitor.

That’s when I received a URL from someone, saying, “This is funny, you should check it out.”

The result was my scream echoing through the Fumino residence late at night. It was the loudest I’d ever screamed, and the record still stands.

“You didn’t just feel like killing someone—you actually sent me a message saying, ‘I’m gonna kill you, bastard!’”

The culprit who sent it laughed nostalgically.

‘I’ll never forget the taunts and resentment you sent back, just spamming “lol” over and over.’

“Thinking about you on the other side of the screen, your face bright red, had me laughing so hard I got a hangover the next day.”

‘I’m gonna kill you, bastard!’

“Seriously, that’s hilarious—ow!”

Senpai’s relaxed face suddenly twisted in pain. He jumped out of his chair.

“You damn cat…”

Senpai glared down at his feet with annoyance.

There was a black object at his feet. Kurosuke had moved without us noticing. He must have bitten or scratched Senpai’s foot.

Satisfied, Kurosuke turned around and hopped onto my lap.

‘Kurosuke’s on my side.’

“Meow.”

As I stroked his arched back, Kurosuke responded.

Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a small animal. Recognized by this horror house, Kurosuke seems to understand human words and emotions.

Even though I’ve never fed him, he silently takes my side. He’s kind to me.

Thanks to Kurosuke’s divine punishment, the lingering resentment from the past had completely dissipated.

‘Well, that’s how it is. I couldn’t just let it go, so I poured all those feelings into that laptop.’

“The grudges of the past remain unresolved, and the negative legacy is thus passed on. Humans really are foolish creatures.”

‘Absolutely.’

At first, I left it as a prank, driven by resentment.

But the feelings I poured into it weren’t just that. Whether I give up or not, I wanted at least that much to get through.

The negative feelings toward my sister. Now that the thorns have been removed… my wish remains unchanged. In fact, it’s stronger than ever.

It’s painful and hard to start hating my sister again.

I want to keep loving her, so I never want to see her again.

A new feeling has been added to that.

Because I’ve realized how cruel I’ve been to my sister all along. I’m scared to know what she truly feels.

The kindness my sister showed me, treating me as her beloved little sister despite the cruel things I’ve done… maybe it wasn’t because she was just a good person.

Because I didn’t mean any harm,

She couldn’t resent me.

She couldn’t envy me.

She couldn’t even feel jealous.

She couldn’t allow herself to be hurt.

Maybe my sister just disciplined herself to be righteous like that. Even if she never put it into words, negative emotions might have been building up inside her…

Thinking about that made me even more afraid to see her.

I’m scared to know how she truly feels.

So… please, sister.

Don’t look for me.

 

Next Chapter on February 20th!