This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Prologue, Early Morning

CONTENT WARNING FOR THE STORY, NOT PROLOGUE EXCLUSIVE: Abuse, Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts, Murder (Can either be stated or be implied.)

PROLOGUE, Early Morning

January 20th, 1988

"Goooood Morning Hokkaido! It is I, your friendly host, Matsuzaki Takao. The weather report for the later hours of the morning, from 6 AM to 12 PM, is forecasted to be lightly snowy, with the temperature going down to -4 degrees Celsius, the lowest it's been this week!"

The radio blasts out from the kitchen, waking up a house of 3 on Shibayama Street. The kitchen smells like fresh Miso soup being carefully warmed up on the stove, and it quickly travels into the houses' corners. The lady standing by the kitchen is dressed in her sleeping gown, yawning as the windows barely bring in any light, relying on the warm light from the fire and lamp above. Breakfast should be ready soon. Loud steps shortly follow as the stove is turned to its weakest setting, and a chair gets pulled from out of the dinner table. A man in his late 40s sits down, and begins talking to the woman in the kitchen - their words faint and inaudible.

"...Ugh.. I can't sneak past them." A sigh escapes a kid's mouth, as they walk down the stairs, carrying their bag on their shoulder. They try to open the front door without alerting the adults eating, however, they.. don't seem to mind, or even... care. The kid looks back, now confused. Why the hell were they not saying anything!? Were they really going to let them just... walk out of the house without eating? "...It's not like they ever cared. Only when the school gets involved." The kid thinks to themselves, before walking out and shutting the door, loud enough for their parents to hear.

"Whatever," they mutter, and begin walking towards the street. It was 6:30 AM. Dark, and gloomy, to say the least. The sign on the wall said 'かるがね/Hearsewell'(Karugane, Hearsewell). The family's name. "...I never actually questioned my parents about this... double name thing. Guess I never found it odd before... but, I guess my dad's not Japanese, and... for some reason, I took on my mother's name instead."

Mikoto Elementary was just about a 10-minute walk from Shibayama. It was a massive school, holding a gym, a small ice rink during the winter, a football pitch, 4 floors, and a whole bunch of classrooms. Hokkaido was a massive area, and there were almost 300 students attending Mikoto Elementary, The child of the Karugane family being one of them. About 3 students are walking from the other direction. "...Ugh, I was hoping I'd be early enough to get some rest in the classroom..." Karugane mutters and walks into the school building, leaving their shoes in the locker, before walking up the stairs to their homeroom classroom. They hang up their coat on the hangers outside and sit down at their designated desk. School would start in about an hour, and they decide to put their head in their arms until someone would wake them up. It wouldn't take too long for someone to do that.

Minutes pass, slowly. Karugane can't seem to take a nap, even with their eyes drooping any time they try to open them. "...God damn it." They mutter as they hear the door slide open. It's their homeroom teacher, Gaku Yashiro, bringing in textbooks from the previous week. The class took a short exam within the book, so he was probably done grading them. "Good Morning, Samansa." He smiles and puts the books down at the front, where he takes out a red pen and continues marking the tests.

"...Morning." 'Samansa' mutters back. She was never friendly to anyone, not even the teachers. Something everyone complained about to the Karugane family. Sure, there were other students like Kazu, who never showed respect unless forced to, but Samansa? Almost like it didn't exist in her book. Being known as the School Devil never improved her reputation either. Continuously getting into fights for the smallest reasons, and even talking back whenever sent to the principal by the staff. She always rolled her eyes whenever she was dragged into the office - being there constantly almost every other day. The only reason she wasn't suspended was because her father had money. He was a Swiss Detective, and only moved to Japan 12 years ago, where he met Samansa's mother, Yukiko Karugane.