I Was Blackmailed Into Accepting Bullying Using My Childhood Friend as Leverage, But When I Found Out My Friend and Bully Were Together, I Abandoned All Compassion and Swore to Take Revenge with Everything I Had - Chapter 40: Kenichi Fudo - Final Act: Meeting My False Family

Chapter 40: Kenichi Fudo – Final Act: Meeting My False Family

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My father claimed he couldn’t take time off work, so the funeral was a small, private family affair, attended by only a few people—just me, my father, and Junka-san.

There were no flowers, no condolence messages. Although Junka-san’s family and Shizuku’s family wanted to come and say their goodbyes, my father, who was the head of the family, insisted on keeping the ceremony small and quiet, so he turned down their offers.

Because the ceremony was so simple, we held the farewell service, funeral, and the first memorial service all in one day, and by the next day, the cremation was complete.

I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about my father’s rushed schedule, but at that moment, saying goodbye to my mother was all that mattered.

After the service, we arrived at the crematorium in a car provided by the funeral service. A woman from the staff made a final check to ensure nothing that couldn’t be cremated was left in the coffin. She returned a few items to me: my mother’s wedding ring, a hand mirror, a hair clip, and her makeup pouch.

Following the staff’s instructions, my father pressed the button to start the cremation without much care. A dry clunk sounded, and a red light turned on.

“Sob… Mom…”

Junka-san, who had her arm around my shoulder, was also crying, tears streaming down her face.

While waiting for the cremation to finish, my father said he had something to take care of and would be back before it was done. He left, and Junka-san, exhausted, dozed off on the sofa in the waiting room.

Neither Junka-san nor I had slept much for the past two days. Despite my exhaustion, I didn’t feel sleepy. As I was going through my mother’s makeup pouch, I found a small key hidden among her makeup tools.

(It looks like a locker key…)

Even after the cremation was finished, my father still hadn’t returned. Junka-san called him, and I overheard her angrily shouting,

“How could you! Not even coming to collect your own wife’s ashes? This is outrageous! I’m done with you and your heartless behavior, for God’s sake!”

After hanging up, she sighed and gave me a weary smile before the two of us gathered my mother’s fragile bones, which had been reduced to ashes.

Junka-san carefully selected some of the smaller bones and placed them in a smaller urn than the one I was holding. She wrapped the urn gently and held it close to her chest, then said her goodbyes and returned to the car where her husband and daughter were waiting.

I sat in the lobby, holding the still-warm urn containing my mother’s ashes, waiting for my father to return. When he finally arrived at the crematorium, I showed him the urn, saying, “This is Mom’s ashes.” He glanced at it and simply said, “I see. Get in the car,” without ever touching the urn. We then drove home.

The next day, my father left again for his business trip, just like before. Shizuku and her mother, who were concerned about me, occasionally brought over dinner.

“Hey, Ken-chan, why don’t you come eat at our house?”

“That’s right, Ken-chan. Don’t be shy, just come over to our place.”

Shizuku and her mother’s offer was kind, and I appreciated it, but I had things to take care of at home. So, I politely accepted the food they brought in a container, bowed my head in thanks, and said goodbye.

I started searching through my late mother’s room, hoping to find some clues or answers.

When I opened the drawer of her vanity, I found a diary identical to the one she had once given me as a gift.

I picked up the diary and flipped through it. It hadn’t been used much—only the first few pages were filled in.

The entries were mostly about me: how I had ranked first in a school test, won a race at the sports day, or how she felt sad when I came home after getting into a fight.

However, in the section for a Wednesday, there was a circle drawn with the note, “Shinmei Hotel – Lobby Lounge, 1 PM.” The next day, Thursday, had the number “1244” written on it. After that, the pages were blank.

I put my own notebook back in my mother’s vanity and swapped it with hers.

Some time after my mother’s ashes were interred in the Komada family grave, I came home from school to find my father back from his business trip. He said he had something to discuss with me—he was planning to remarry a woman he had met at a matchmaking party.

It hadn’t even been six months since my mother passed away, and he was already moving on… It felt incredibly heartless. I knew my father’s love for my mother had faded even while she was still alive, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

My feelings were complicated, but as a child, I had no say in my parent’s decision to remarry. So, I went along with my father to meet the woman who would become my new family at a nearby family restaurant.

The woman who would become my new mother seemed gentle and kind, with a soft and calm demeanor. Hiding behind her was a girl, about a year younger than me, in the fourth grade.

Having lost my own mother so recently, I wasn’t ready to welcome a new family member into my life.

Understanding this, the woman who would be my stepmother gently hugged me.

Kenichi’s mother must have loved him very much, but I love him as much as he loves me.

“Kenichi, I’m sure your mother loved you very much. But I want you to know that I will love you just as much.”

“Your mother was a wonderful person, so she will always have a special place in your heart. You don’t need to forget her. Just be yourself, Kenichi.”

Her words reminded me of what my own mother used to say: “Kenichi! Use your strength to protect others!” and “Always show compassion!”

Gently, I stepped back from my new stepmother and reached out to the little girl who was nervously trembling.

“What’s your name? I’m Komada Kenichi.”

“Kotone Momose…” she said, still hiding behind her mother, but clearly stating her name.

“I see! Kotone-chan, nice to meet you from today onwards.”

After that, I started inviting Kotone to play with Shizuku and me. As we spent more time together, other neighborhood kids began joining us, and Kotone gradually became more comfortable and settled into the community. Kotone originally had a social personality, so she quickly made friends her age and often played with them.

“Ken-chan, you’re feeling lonely because Kotone-chan hasn’t been playing with you as much lately, right?”

“Well, maybe a little, but I’ve got Shizuku, so I’m fine!”

“Oh, stop saying embarrassing things like that!”

I was happy that Kotone was making new friends, and I enjoyed the playful teasing from Shizuku.

One day, while passing by the park where Kotone often played, I saw her and her friend surrounded by a group of older boys, who were making them cry. Instinctively, I jumped in, scattered the boys, and rescued Kotone and her friend. They were so grateful that they hugged me and thanked me profusely.

I don’t really remember, but apparently, I said something like, “I’ll protect Kotone and her friends!”

As I got used to living with my new family, two years passed, and today was my mother’s birthday. Every year on this day, we would have a meal with Aunt Junka.

“Kenichi, I’m sorry we’re just at a family restaurant again… And I’m sorry my husband and Sumie couldn’t join us because of work and tennis.”

Originally, we had planned to come with the entire Fudo family, but her husband and daughter couldn’t make it due to their schedules.

“Don’t worry, Junka-san. I actually love family restaurants!” 

I replied with a smile, and she looked at me fondly, resting her chin on her hand.

“Kenichi, now that you’re in middle school, you’re looking more and more like your mother. I bet you’re quite the heartthrob at school!”

“No way! I’ve got Shizuku, so that’s all I need.”

“Oh, how sweet!”

[Ring-ring] Junka-san’s phone rang.

“Maybe it’s my husband, saying he finished work early… Ugh, no!”

I quickly noticed the name displayed on Junka-san’s phone: Renji Kanamori. I remembered that name. Carefully, I asked her,

“Junka-san, shouldn’t you answer? It might be urgent.”

She picked up the phone with an annoyed expression, letting it dangle in her hand as it kept ringing.

“Ugh, it’s just my creepy boss from work. He’s so persistent! Kenichi, don’t ever grow up to be like that!”

After finishing my meal with Junka-san, I returned home and pulled out my diary from my desk. Flipping through the pages, I opened to the one where I had written down all of my mother’s call history from her phone. Among the records, I noticed several calls from someone named Renji Kanamori.

This name appeared on the Wednesday when my mother had marked the circle in her notebook. My mother wasn’t good with technology and struggled to type messages on her phone, so she never used messaging apps. This call history was the only clue I had.

From that day on, I stopped playing with Shizuku and began checking every locker at the nearest station. I researched online to find lockers with a four-digit number matching “1244” and visited those locations diligently for a week.

Finally, I found it—the key from my mother’s belongings fit into the lock of a locker labeled 1244. When I turned the key to the left, I heard a metallic click as the locker opened.




…And there, I began to uncover the truth behind my mother’s death.