That afternoon, the sun hung heavy in the countryside sky, burning against the green rice fields as Yuna's small car rattled along the narrow road. Cicadas screamed from the trees, their voices echoing against the cracked asphalt. Yuko wasn't with them—she had vanished back to Mihara, leaving Yuna and Takumi in the silence of her absence.
Inside the car, Takumi leaned his head against the window, watching the endless lines of telephone poles flicker past. His reflection in the glass looked older somehow, weighed down.
"Takumi," Yuna said softly, her voice careful as she kept her eyes on the road, "I know today must have been… hard for you."
He shrugged, still staring outside. "It's always like this, right? Whenever Mom and Grandpa talk…" His tone was flat, as if he had grown used to the explosions between them.
Yuna pressed her lips together, her hands tightening on the wheel. "Your mother and your grandfather… they're both stubborn. They've been clashing since she was your age."
There was a pause. Takumi shifted, finally turning his head to look at her. His eyes were sharp, searching.
"Aunt Yuna… Can I ask something?"
Her heartbeat ticked up. She already knew. "It's about… what Dad said, isn't it? About your parents?"
Takumi's voice was quiet but heavy. "…Yeah."
Yuna let out a long sigh, the kind that seemed to carry years of exhaustion. She kept her eyes on the narrow road, the rice paddies glinting in her periphery.
"Listen, Takumi… Don't tell your mother that I told you this. She would never forgive me."
Takumi straightened, listening.
"Your mother… she was always like this," Yuna began, her voice tinged with memory. "Rebellious. Restless. Never satisfied with what she had. When we were in middle school, she was already changing boyfriends like changing clothes. Bold—too bold. And then, when she entered high school, everything spiraled."
Takumi's throat felt dry, but he didn't interrupt.
"She befriended a girl," Yuna continued, her jaw tightening. "That girl was a pure delinquent—smoked, drank, and skipped class. And your mother… she became inseparable from her. They did everything together. Even the worst things."
Takumi's fingers curled against his knees. "…What do you mean?"
Yuna hesitated. "I don't know if I should tell you… but you're old enough now. They used to hang around older guys—college kids, even men from construction sites. It was reckless and dangerous. And then…" She glanced at him, then looked back at the road. "That girl had an older brother. Your mom fell in love with him. Fell so hard she lost herself completely."
Takumi's eyes widened.
"As soon as your mother became an adult, she ran away with him. Married him in secret. Mom and Dad tried everything to stop it, but… she was already pregnant with you. They had no choice but to accept it."
The sound of cicadas filled the silence inside the car. Takumi sat frozen, his chest tight.
"Your mom… she changed after you were born," Yuna said softly now. "She gave up her craziness, at least on the surface. She tried to be a mother. But your father…" She shook her head bitterly. "Takumi, your father is a horrible man. He never cared about anyone but himself. Never kept a proper job. Always chasing money in the worst ways."
Takumi swallowed hard. "…What did he do?"
Yuna's grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles went white. "He got himself involved in a robbery. When you were three, he was arrested. Fifteen years behind bars. That's the kind of man he is."
Takumi turned back to the window, his chest hollow. His breath fogged the glass slightly. "…Mom never told me. Not once."
"That's the way your mother is," Yuna murmured. "I don't know if she loves him anymore… but she's obsessed with him. She never speaks badly about him. Not to me. Not to anyone."
"…So he'll be out in two years," Takumi whispered.
"Yeah," Yuna replied quietly, the car bumping over a patch of uneven road.
The silence that followed was heavier than before, pressing against both of them like a weight.
Takumi was quiet for a long time, his eyes fixed on the blur of the fields outside. Then, almost hesitantly, he asked:
"…Aunt Yuna, what about Dad's family? His sister?"
Yuna blinked, surprised by the question. "His sister…? Hm." She exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. "I don't know all the details. But her craziness never went down either. She was just like him—maybe worse."
Takumi glanced at her, waiting.
"She borrowed money, scammed people, and even did prostitution for a while. And then…" Yuna's voice dropped, heavy with memory. "One night, when you were just a year old, she showed up out of nowhere. Met your mother, said a quick goodbye. Told her she was leaving for Tokyo—to become a JAV actress."
Takumi's breath caught.
"Your mom tried to stop her," Yuna continued, her eyes narrowing at the memory, "but she wouldn't listen. That was the last time anyone ever saw her. Since then… nobody has heard a single thing. Not me, not your Mom and Dad, But honestly…" Her voice turned bitter. "Your dad never cared enough to look for her anyway."
The words hung in the cramped air of the car. Takumi shifted uncomfortably, his mind reeling with images of a faceless woman, reckless and laughing as she vanished into the neon sprawl of Tokyo.
"So yeah," Yuna finished quietly, her voice rough. "That's the family you come from, Takumi."
The car rattled over a pothole, and the sound of cicadas seemed louder than ever, shrieking into the heavy silence that followed.
Yuna's grip on the wheel tightened. "And… there's one more thing you should know. Your dad's mother—your grandmother on his side—abandoned them when your dad was in high school. His sister was still in middle school back then."
Takumi's eyes widened. "She… left them?"
"Yeah," Yuna said flatly. "She ran off with some rich man she'd been having an affair with. Never looked back. As for your dad's real father…" She gave a small shrug. "I don't know. No one does. Your father never talked about him, and I don't think he even knew the truth himself."
Takumi felt his chest tighten. Each piece of the story made his family feel more like strangers.
Yuna's voice softened as she flicked her eyes toward him. "We're near."
Takumi turned his gaze forward. Beyond the green fields and the buzzing cicadas, the prison came into view—a cluster of gray concrete buildings, tall fences topped with coiled barbed wire glinting in the sun. Watchtowers loomed at the corners, stark against the wide countryside sky.
The car slowed as they approached the compound, the weight of silence pressing heavier than before.