Once upon a time, before the secrets, before the betrayal, before Tokyo became a place Ray Shigeyoshi wanted to forget, there was simply a family.
A father
A mother.
And their son.
They lived together in Tokyo, in a beautiful home filled with warmth, laughter, and the ordinary chaos of family life.
His father, Daiki Shigeyoshi, was a quiet and dependable man. He wasn't the kind of father who demanded perfection from his son. Instead, he encouraged Ray to explore the world, ask questions, and make his own decisions.
His mother, RisaRourke, was different.
She was energetic, affectionate, and fiercely protective of her only son. To Ray, his mother seemed larger than life.
She could make him laugh when he was upset, turn ordinary evenings into adventures, and somehow make even the smallest accomplishments feel important.
And Ray adored both of them. Their home was rarely silent.
There were mornings when Daiki would complain about Ray leaving his schoolbooks on the dining table.
"Ray, how many times do I have to tell you? Books belong in your room."
Ray would glance up from his breakfast.
"But I was studying."
"You were studying at six in the morning?"
"Yes."
Daiki would sigh.
Risa would laugh from across the table.
"Leave him alone. At least our son actually likes studying."
Daiki would shake his head.
"I'm not complaining about the studying."
"You're complaining about the books."
"Exactly."
Ray would smile.
Those moments seemed insignificant.
At the time, none of them knew they were precious.
Ray was an unusually intelligent child. He wasn't simply good at school. He was naturally curious. He wanted to understand how things worked. He asked questions that sometimes left his teachers surprised. He read beyond his assigned lessons, researched subjects that interested him, and possessed a remarkable ability to remember information. But his intelligence wasn't limited to academics.
Ray was observant. He noticed when someone was upset. He noticed when adults were lying. He noticed when one of his classmates was being bullied. And he hated injustice.
One afternoon, Ray came home unusually quiet.
Daiki noticed immediately.
"Something happened?"
Ray put his schoolbag down.
"There was a fight at school."
Daiki looked concerned.
"Were you involved?"
"No."
"Then what happened?"
Ray explained that one of his classmates had been repeatedly bullied by several older students.
Daiki listened patiently.
When Ray finished, his father asked:
"What do you think should happen?"
Ray thought about it.
"The bullies should be punished."
"That's true."
"But that's not enough."
Daiki raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because they can just do it again."
Risa, who had been listening from nearby, smiled.
"So what would you do?"
Ray looked between his parents.
"I'd protect the person they're hurting."
Daiki smiled faintly.
"You're still a child, Ray."
"I know."
"Then what can a child do?"
Ray thought for several seconds. Then he answered with complete seriousness.
"I'll become a lawyer."
Risa blinked.
"A lawyer?"
Ray nodded.
"I'll fight people who hurt innocent people. I'll protect people who can't protect themselves."
Daiki stared at his son.
There was no hesitation in Ray's voice.
No childish uncertainty. He genuinely believed it.
Risa crouched beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then become the best lawyer you can be."
Ray smiled.
"I will."
Daiki chuckled.
"Just remember, being a lawyer isn't only about winning."
Ray looked at him.
"Then what's it about?"
His father thought for a moment.
"Justice."
Ray nodded.
"Then that's what I'll fight for."
Risa smiled.
Daiki smiled.
And for a brief moment, everything was perfect. Ray had loving parents. He had a bright future. He had dreams.
And he believed the world could be made better. He believed good people would protect one another. He believed families stayed together. He believed parents loved their children enough to never abandon them. He believed his father and mother would always be there. He believed his life would continue exactly as it had begun.
Like a fairy tale.
But fairy tales have endings.
And sometimes, the happiest chapters are written immediately before everything falls apart.
At first, they were occasional. A raised voice from downstairs. A door slamming. His father's footsteps storming through the hallway. His mother's voice answering sharply. Ray would stop studying for a moment and listen.
Then silence would return. He never understood what they were arguing about.
Whenever he asked, both of his parents dismissed it.
"It's nothing, Ray."
"Your mother and I just had a disagreement."
"Don't worry about us."
So Ray tried not to.
He had more important things to worry about.
His future.
He had decided years ago that he wanted to become a lawyer, and now that dream was becoming serious. He was studying relentlessly for a scholarship that could eventually allow him to attend one of the best universities available to him. Every evening, his desk was covered with books, notes, practice examinations, and handwritten summaries. He barely had time to think about anything else. His future was ahead of him. A future where he could become someone capable of protecting people. Someone who could fight injustice through the law. Someone his parents could be proud of.
But then came the third night.
Ray sat at his desk, reading beneath the warm light of his lamp. His eyes were tired. His handwriting had become messier after hours of studying. He rubbed his eyes and turned another page.
Then...
BANG!
His bedroom door flew open. Ray nearly jumped out of his chair. His father stood in the doorway. Daiki looked furious. Not annoyed. Not frustrated.
Furious.
His breathing was heavy, and his hands were trembling.
"Dad?"
Daiki stared at him.
Then he cursed under his breath.
"Damn her."
Ray slowly stood.
"What happened?"
"Your mother."
His father's voice cracked with rage.
"Your mother has been lying to us this entire time."
Ray froze.
"What are you talking about?"
Daiki stepped into the room.
He was holding a phone.
Risa's phone.
"Dad?"
Daiki placed it on Ray's desk.
"Look."
Ray stared at the screen.
There was a photograph.
His mother.
Risa.
Standing beside another Japanese man.
And between them was a teenage boy.
The boy looked around Ray's age.
Ray stared.
His brain refused to process what his eyes were seeing.
His mother's arm was around the teenager.
The man stood beside her.
They looked like a family.
A family Ray had never known existed.
His lips parted.
"Wha..."
He swallowed.
"What the fuck is this?"
The words came out barely above a whisper.
Daiki didn't answer immediately.
Ray looked at him.
"Dad."
Daiki's face hardened.
"I hired a private investigator."
Ray's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"I needed to know if I was imagining things."
Daiki's voice shook.
"I wasn't."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out several documents.
"The investigator checked everything. Legal records. Public documents. Family records. Financial information. Everything he could legally obtain."
Ray's eyes moved toward the papers.
"Dad..."
Daiki looked directly at him.
"Your mother has another family."
Ray stopped breathing.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
No sound.
No thought.
Nothing.
Then Daiki said the words that destroyed the world Ray thought he knew.
"She has another son."
Ray stared at him.
"How old?"
"Fifteen."
Ray's face went pale.
"Fifteen?"
Daiki nodded.
"He was born fifteen years ago."
Ray looked back at the photograph.
The teenager.
The other man.
His mother.
His family.
Except...
It wasn't his family.
It was something else.
Something that had existed behind his back for fifteen years.
Daiki slowly said the name.
"His name is Ryuji Takahashi."
Ray's fingers began trembling.
"No."
He shook his head.
"No..."
"Ray—"
"No."
He backed away from the desk.
"No, Dad."
His breathing became faster.
"This isn't real."
"It is."
"No!"
Ray grabbed his hair.
His heart was pounding violently.
The scholarship.
University.
His career.
His parents.
His childhood.
Every memory he had of his mother suddenly felt contaminated. Every birthday. Every hug.
Every "I love you."
Every time Risa had told him he was her precious son. Every memory came crashing down at once.
His mother had another son.
For fifteen years.
Fifteen years.
And Ray had never known.
His eyes filled with tears, but he didn't cry. He simply stared at the photograph. His mind had gone somewhere else. Somewhere far away. He could hear his father's voice, but it sounded distant.
Almost underwater.
Then the bedroom door opened again.
Risa appeared.
"Daiki, I—"
She stopped.
Her eyes immediately fell on the phone.
Then on Ray.
Her face drained of color.
"Ray..."
Ray looked at her.
Risa's expression collapsed.
"Oh God."
She understood.
He knew.
"Ray, please..."
She rushed toward him.
"Please listen to me."
Ray didn't move.
Risa grabbed his hands.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice broke.
"I'm so sorry."
Ray stared blankly at her.
"Please forgive me."
Nothing.
"I didn't want you to find out like this."
Still nothing.
"I love you."
Ray's eyes twitched.
"I swear I love you."
Risa was crying now.
"I love you, Ray."
She desperately held onto him.
"I chose you."
Ray finally reacted.
His eyes slowly moved toward her.
"You... chose me?"
Risa nodded frantically.
"Yes."
"Over him?"
She hesitated.
"Yes."
Ray's expression changed.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Something worse.
Disbelief.
His mother was crying in front of him.
Begging him to forgive her.
And somehow, that made everything more unbearable.
"You chose me..."
His voice was hollow.
"After fifteen years?"
Risa couldn't answer.
Daiki stepped between them.
"Get away from my son."
"Daiki, please!"
"GET OUT!"
Risa flinched.
Daiki pointed toward the door.
"You lied to me for fifteen years!"
"I never stopped loving Ray!"
"That doesn't excuse what you did!"
"I chose him!"
"And you think that makes this better?!"
Ray stood between them, motionless.
His parents were screaming again. But this time, he didn't feel like he was listening to his parents. He felt like he was listening to strangers. The people he had loved his entire life suddenly seemed unfamiliar. His mother's tears didn't comfort him. His father's anger didn't calm him. His own thoughts didn't make sense anymore.
Something inside Ray had shattered. Not loudly. Quietly. Like glass breaking beneath deep water.
The following weeks were a nightmare. Risa refused to accept that Ray wanted nothing to do with her. Every morning, she waited for him. Every afternoon, she tried to speak with him.
Every evening, she begged him to listen.
"Ray, please."
"Just five minutes."
"Please forgive me."
"I never meant to hurt you."
"I love you."
But Ray stopped answering. He stopped looking at her. He stopped acknowledging her presence. Sometimes she followed him. Sometimes she waited outside. Sometimes she tried to force a conversation. Ray simply walked past her. He had entered a strange emotional state. He wasn't screaming. He wasn't fighting. He wasn't even crying anymore.
He was simply...
empty.
Risa's desperation only intensified. She pleaded. She cried. She promised. She tried to convince him that her choice had been Ray. That she had chosen him over the other man. That she still loved him more than anything. But Ray couldn't understand how someone could claim to love him while hiding another family for fifteen years. So he stopped listening.
And while Ray withdrew from everyone, Daiki began falling apart in his own way. The bottles appeared gradually. One became two. Two became several. His father, once calm and dependable, began drinking heavily.
Ray noticed. He didn't judge him. He understood. Perhaps more than anyone else could. His father had lost his wife.
His family.
His trust.
And now, he was watching his son disappear emotionally in front of him.
Risa eventually became silent. She stopped pleading. Stopped arguing. Stopped trying to force Ray to forgive her. But she never stopped loving him. And she never accepted that he could disappear from her life forever.
One evening, Ray found his father sitting alone. A half-empty bottle sat on the table.
Daiki looked exhausted.
"Ray."
Ray sat beside him.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Daiki finally said:
"You don't have to stay here."
Ray looked at him.
"You should leave Tokyo."
Ray lowered his eyes.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Daiki nodded.
"Go somewhere far away."
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
His father looked at him.
"Somewhere you can build your own life."
Ray remained silent.
Then he spoke quietly.
"I want you to come with me."
Daiki looked surprised.
"You're still thinking about me?"
"Of course."
Ray's voice cracked slightly.
"You're my father."
Daiki looked down.
Ray continued.
"We can start over."
"Ray..."
"Somewhere else."
Ray wiped his eyes.
"No Risa. No secrets. No lies. No Tokyo."
His father stared at him.
Ray extended his hand.
"We'll leave together."
Daiki took it.
And for the first time in weeks, father and son held onto each other.
They had lost almost everything.
But they still had each other.
Ray didn't know where life would take him.
He didn't know what would happen to his dream of becoming a lawyer.
He didn't know what would become of Risa.
He didn't know the name Ryuji Takahashi would eventually become one of the most painful names in his life.
He only knew one thing.
He wanted to leave.
He wanted his father to leave with him.
And he wanted to forget Tokyo.
So, at seventeen years old, Ray Shigeyoshi made a promise.
He would get his father out.
He would build a new life.
And he would never forgive his mother.
At least, that was what he believed.
Seven years later, Ray would return to Tokyo.
But the boy who left would never come back.
Only the man remained.