Days passed after that horrific incident. Takashi, the father, filed a lawsuit against Haruto and his family, but the court coldly acquitted them, claiming that what had happened was a “tragic accident.” The truth, however, was that Haruto’s family had used their political and financial influence to bribe the judges.

  After that, Haruto rode in the car with his family, trying to justify what had happened, saying, “Father, it’s not what it looks like! It wasn’t my fault!”

  His father replied, “Yes, it wasn’t your fault, but it was the fault of that cursed family that imposed sanctions on us. All of this happened because—”

  But the father cut him off coldly, saying, “Shut up! You’ve caused trouble for all of us! Because of you, my dealings have been exposed, and I’ve been accused of theft, fraud, money laundering, and much more. Now my reputation, which I built over so many years, has collapsed! Now people look at us with contempt, even in the farthest corners of Japan. The only place I can escape the scandals for now is America! Sit in the car like a dog until we reach our destination. From today on, I’ll start rehabilitating you, you useless son!”

  Meanwhile, in Haru’s home, things were even worse. His mother began to isolate herself from everyone, even her husband. The grief over Rin’s death shattered her heart. Takashi tried to comfort her, but soon noticed something strange—her health was deteriorating more and more. Takashi took his wife repeatedly to a hospital known as Asahina Byōin, but the doctors told him that her illness was a rare condition. The symptoms were completely different from any known disease, but they would do their best to treat her.

  Unfortunately, no cure was ever found. In the end, the doctor came to Takashi and quietly told him that his wife was on the verge of death.

  The father was left in the depths of psychological torment: he had lost his wife, his biological son, and his right to justice in court. All that remained to him was Haru, his adopted son.

  He began to blame himself. Although he sometimes blamed and mistreated Haru, there were moments when he stopped and turned his anger inward, telling himself that he had failed to be a good father, failed to protect his children and his wife, and had never truly received the justice he deserved.

  Days passed, and while Takashi was drowning in his sorrow in the middle of the neighborhood, a police officer appeared, saying, “You can’t sleep here. It’s not safe.”

  Takashi slowly lifted his head, and the officer’s expression froze for a moment before he exclaimed, “Takashi?! Is that really you?!”

  He approached him with hesitant steps, trying to remind him who he was, but Takashi remained silent, as if he couldn’t hear. The officer sighed, gently took him by the arm, and said,“ Come on, let’s get you inside the restaurant. You need food and warmth.”

  Inside, the restaurant owner greeted them calmly and asked ,“Who is this man? Is he all right? ”The officer replied,“ Everything’s fine. He just needs some rest. The meal is on me.”

  Takashi sat on the chair, staring silently at the table. The officer smiled faintly and said, “Hey, my friend, don’t you remember me? We used to play together in the neighborhood and get into fights with the other kids. You were always there for me when things got tough. It’s me… Sota.”

  Takashi stayed silent, not lifting his head .Sota reached out, gently touched his shoulder, and said, “How have you been? I heard you started a family, that your life became stable… congratulations.”

  But Takashi kept eating quietly, giving no reply. Sota sighed, turned his gaze away, and said in a tense tone, “What’s wrong with you, man? You used to talk and laugh all the time, and now you don’t say a single word! Did something happen to you?”

  Takashi stayed silent, slowly placing his spoon on the table. Sota kept talking, his voice rising little by little, “How’s your family? Why were you sitting out in the rain? Do you need help?”

  Suddenly, Takashi slammed his hand on the table and shouted,“ Enough! Stop… please, just stop!”

  Sota froze in place, then said softly,“ I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to check on you. I’ve been away for so long, I don’t know what happened to you.”

  Tears began to fall from Takashi’s eyes, his hands trembling from the cold. He spoke in a trembling voice, “I’ve lost everything… my money, my son, my wife. All that’s left is an adopted child who hates me and blames me for everything. I failed as a father… I don’t deserve to live.”

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  Silence filled the place; only the sound of rain against the glass could be heard. Sota looked at him with tearful eyes and said quietly, “I’m sorry, my friend… I wasn’t there when you needed me. If you ever need anything, this is my address.”

  He placed a small piece of paper in front of him, then bowed respectfully and said, “Forgive me for disturbing you. I’ll leave you now.”

  He turned to the restaurant owner and said, “Please, take care of him for a while.” The owner replied, “Don’t worry, I will.”

  Sota looked at Takashi one last time, then left the restaurant in silence

  Days passed, and Takashi began to improve little by little. He tried to stop drinking and found a new job. He started talking to his family again after being fired from his previous job because of what he had done to his former boss. He began forming new friendships and worked hard to rebuild his reputation as much as he could.

  He returned home and tried to get closer to Haru, but the boy hesitated — his body still flinched in fear of being hit. The father felt sorrow, but he told himself it was fine; perhaps things would get better with time.

  Yet despite all this, he still couldn’t forget the past. He still caused trouble, still carried resentment toward his adopted son, even though he kept telling himself that everything was fine.

  One day, while walking through the streets, he ran into some of his old coworkers. They invited him to have a drink with them. At first, Takashi refused, but in the end, he gave in and drank with them happily.

  Night fell completely, and Takashi began to stagger under the influence of alcohol. By mistake, he bumped into a tall man wearing a black suit, accompanied by two others.

  Annoyed, Takashi shouted, “Get out of my way, you idiot!”

  He didn’t stop there — he spat on the mysterious man’s face and stumbled away.

  Silence filled the air as the man calmly wiped his face and said, “Where do you think you’re going?”

  A whole day passed, and Haru noticed that his father had not returned. He tried to stay calm and reassure himself, but it became clear that his father was truly gone.

  At that moment, a knock was heard at the door. Haru opened it quietly to find a policeman tapping gently and saying, “Hello, is anyone home?”

  Haru replied in a broken voice, “Who is it?”

  The policeman said his name was Sota and that he meant no harm, but Haru didn’t believe him until Sota told him he knew what had happened to his father.

  Haru opened the door and let them in. Sota sat on the couch, introduced himself calmly, and said, “Hello, boy. You’re the adopted son of my dear friend Takashi, right? Anyway, Takashi is an old friend of mine, and the man beside me has been through something similar to your father. How should I put this… your father was in an accident while walking down a street. He fell and was taken to the hospital quickly.”

  Haru froze in fear and asked, “So… did my father die?”

  Sota and the disfigured man were both shocked by the child’s words. Sota quickly said, “No, no, no! Don’t worry, he’s not dead or anything like that! He just suffered minor injuries and will recover soon. It’s just that his treatment might take longer than usual, but he’ll be fine. I came here to talk to you a bit and keep you company. I’ll visit your father to check on him. If you need anything, my friend here will take care of you.”

  The disfigured man protested, “I didn’t agree to that!”

  Sota replied firmly, “Come on, he’s just a kid. Try to keep him company for a while.”

  Then Sota quietly left.

  The disfigured man sat in front of Haru and asked if he wanted to talk, but Haru didn’t answer—he just stared down at the floor.

  The man changed the subject and said, “Would you like to hear my story?”

  Haru looked surprised but didn’t object. The man began telling him that he was born in the poor districts of Japan, and his parents were killed after being accused of theft. His grandmother raised him. Years passed until he was drafted into the army at the age of sixteen, taken away from his grandmother.

  He told how he was captured by the West and tortured. After Japan surrendered and accepted America’s terms, he was released at twenty-eight. But when he returned to his old neighborhood, the residents told him his grandmother had nearly died from the daily American bombings and was eventually killed by one of the bombs. He felt helpless and ashamed for not being there for her, as if he had abandoned her completely.

  Before he could continue, Haru began to cry. But the man went on, saying, “After that, I left the army and tried to find work, but no one would hire me because of my condition and lack of education. One day, while I was sitting in an alley with no food or anything, a tall man in a black coat came to me. He handed me an apple and offered me a place with him. In return, he promised me everything—food, drink, even clothes I never imagined existed. Out of desperation, I agreed. I was forty-two then. I kept wondering—who was that man?”

  “Since you’re just a child, maybe it won’t matter to you. My master is a sadistic man who shows no mercy. He’s willing to commit any crime for his own gain. He works with gangs like the Italian and British mafias, and even the recently active Yakuza. If you agree to join him on his terms, he’ll give you whatever you want. But if you stand in his way or insult him, your fate will be worse than death. No law can touch him. He’s known as the ‘Sadistic Butcher,’ and his name strikes fear in everyone—my master, Tatsuya Kurogane, the most dangerous man in Japan!”

  At that moment, Sota arrived at the hospital where his friend Takashi was staying. He rushed to the room despite the doctor’s attempts to stop him. When he burst through the door, he froze in horror—Takashi’s body was completely mutilated, his eyes torn out, his hands and legs missing, barely breathing through a life-support machine.