Chapter 436 - Kasuga
I had an "older brother," five years my senior.
Half the time, people would say, "You two look so much alike."
The other half, they'd say, "You don't look much alike at all."
I myself had always thought we weren't alike at all. Our faces, personalities, abilities, everything... He was someone so far beyond my reach.
It wasn't just the age gap. It wasn't just me that he surpassed; he was exceptionally gifted compared to his peers, and even to adults.
"A hawk born from a kite"—was something I heard my parents say once. My brother, who demonstrated extraordinary talent in academics, sports, and various other fields, was a local celebrity whom everyone knew.
In contrast, his younger brother was as mediocre as they come. The only point of 'similarity' you could argue for was our vaguely similar facial features.
When people mentioned "the Kasuga boy," they meant my brother—Kanae Kasuga. And when they mentioned Haru Kasuga, it was just another way of saying "Kanae's younger brother."
People naturally treated us differently... but my brother made up for it by paying that much more attention to me.
He was a brother I was proud of, a brother I loved.
Even when we were compared, even when his superiority was thrown in my face, he was someone who made me feel I could hold my head high and say, "So what?" I think I was even proud of being "Kanae Kasuga's little brother."
As I moved from elementary to middle to high school, he never found it boring or troublesome to spend time with his little brother five years his junior. Whenever I got home, he was always there to play with me.
He helped me with my studies, he cooked meals and snacks for me, and on days off, he took me all sorts of places.
He was my brother, my best friend, my idol, and my hero—until six years ago.
The year I started middle school, my brother, then a third-year in high school, got a girlfriend.
I only met his 'girlfriend' once. I remember being flustered when this beautiful woman with long, chestnut-brown hair—a perfect match for my brother—greeted me.
It was a well-known fact that my brother, who was naturally popular with the opposite sex, never gave any of them the time of day because he was too busy with his little brother...
I was aware that this earned me a bit of resentment from his admirers, but I remained indifferent, sticking to my 'so what?' attitude.
So for him to suddenly bring home a girlfriend was a huge shock. If our parents had been home, it would have been a massive celebration for the whole Kasuga family.
...It would have been nice if such a peaceful event had followed.
To be honest, my parents never told me the full details of what happened to my brother. But, well, the result was that everything went to hell.
At first, he just started coming home later each day. Then, he began to occasionally not come home at all. When he did return, I would see him arguing with our parents.
My brother had always had an excellent relationship not just with me, but with Mom and Dad as well. Seeing him shouting with a fury I'd never witnessed before, I remember just staring in a daze, wondering who that person was.
And then, finally, upon graduating high school, Kanae Kasuga left home.
Not in the sense of moving out to be independent—it was, for all intents and purposes, a 'disappearance.' Around the same time, another student from a different school also vanished... so, well, you can guess what happened.
From there, it was a predictable mess. A police report was filed, and things got chaotic. The story of a local celebrity disappearing naturally spiraled out of control—
It was decided we'd move to escape the constant prying eyes.
I was forced to transfer schools for the first time in my life.
My father, after a series of twists and turns, had to quit his job and struggle to find a new one.
And my mother's health collapsed, landing her in the hospital.
In spectacular fashion, the Kasuga family had collapsed, all starting with Kanae's "romance." Again, I was never told what happened, but it must have been 'something' on a level that could cause all of this.
Did he fall into some kind of star-crossed love affair in this day and age? He truly was an exceptional guy, right to the end.
And then, the true, absolute e-n-d.
About four and a half years ago, two years after my brother disappeared.
Word arrived that someone thought to be Kanae Kasuga had passed away in a hospital somewhere.
And with that, it was all over.