Raising the Canon Fodder Child as a Villainous Character

When they arrived, Taiki looked up at the large house, looking larger and more imposing than ever. He’d never seen it entirely dark, with no single light on. Knowing that Father, Mother, and Eri were gone made it feel cold and lonely.

Taiki flinched when light hit him from the Takeuchi residence. He turned to see Mr. Takeuchi smiling at him and gesturing him over. 

“Come on, Kuroda-kun. It’s late. We have a room for you.”

Taiki nodded solemnly, following him into the house. 

Taiki stayed with the Takeuchi’s for practically the next month. He was old enough to take care of himself and stay alone, but Father and Mother fretted over him and Taiki himself often found himself too anxious to stay still. There was always the chance that if he was allowed to stay alone, he’d work himself into a nervous wreck. It was a miracle he’d gotten through finals during that time.

His parents started coming back interchangeably, one always at home while the other was with Eri. It allowed Taiki to return home, though it felt empty and filled with anxious energy. 

When Eri returned home, she looked so small.

The doctors said she was weak, and under no circumstances was she allowed to overexert herself. That meant that she was not allowed to run, and even walking was dangerous if she started showing signs of difficulty breathing or fainting.

They’d set up an appointment for further testing a week or so after she’d finally been released, but that had only begun the long, complicated process of constant tests and doctors visits and lengthy hospital stays.

It only came to a head when she was five years old.

Despite the restrictions on Eri that prevented her from running around like other children, even with all that childish energy in her on good days, she’d become a sweet, precious little thing, just as attached to Taiki as he was to her, often wanting to sleep in his bed instead of in with their parents or her own bed. She cried whenever he left for school, even harder when he’d started university and had longer hours than before. 

Still, he spent as many hours with her as he could, playing with her and reading to her and watching over her as she played with Makoto Takeuchi. 

He supposed he liked Makoto well enough. He was Eri’s companion, a friend her own age and an easy way to distract her when Taiki had to leave. But Makoto didn’t slow down. He apparently didn’t know the meaning of the word, and didn’t understand why he couldn’t play rough with Eri like he did with the other kids.

It was quickly turning him into a pain in the ass that Taiki wanted to keep far away from his little sister. But he wouldn’t do that to Eri, because then she’d cry and probably hate him. At least for a little while, but any length of time of her disliking him felt cruel.

So Taiki left him alone.

For now.

But then on what was supposed to be a regular checkup while Taiki was in classes, Eri’s doctor told them that she had a rare heart condition. Her heart was small and weak, prone to bursting if she didn’t take care. 

“It’s unnamed,” Taiki said in frustration, sitting at his desk in his parents’ house. He twirled his pen around his fingers, finished coursework set to the side of the desk. With all those points put into medicine and his Studious character trait, he was able to fly right through it, despite how difficult it should be due to no prior knowledge in the field. “And vague symptoms at that. And such a specific death date…”

“Novel worlds are really strange,” Patch agreed. 

It would be almost impossible to diagnose Eri’s condition and find a cure for her, without discovering more. Taiki needed to grow up faster. He needed to learn more.

A sudden thought struck him, making a pit form in his stomach. It made him uneasy, just thinking about it. 

“…I think I have to leave,” Taiki said finally, closing his eyes and heaving a heavy sigh. Patch understood without him having said a word. It was for Eri, because everything was for Eri. But if he stuck around, he’d put all his attention on her and her current wellbeing. 

It was just like what Patch kept telling him; their parents would love and care for her as much as she needed, up until that fateful day. And if Taiki could prevent that, that would be one obstacle jumped over. But just one. After that, she’d still be on the track to die by fourteen. If a cure wasn’t found…

Taiki needed to be able to focus on his studies to be able to look for that cure. And in order to focus better…

He looked over at his phone, abandoned on the bed. “Akimitsu said university housing is nice.”

Akimitsu had joined a close by university to work through a business degree, so he could join his parents afterwards. He’d immediately moved into one of the dorm rooms, ready to savor his first taste of freedom after years of harsh restrictions due to his family’s social position.

Yuzuki was also getting a degree, in a farther school, meaning they didn’t keep in as close contact anymore. That wasn’t to say they didn’t keep in contact at all, because Yuzuki was still his closest confidant. Despite having been different from the Taiki she’d always known, she’d learned to read him quickly.

Haichirou had gone overseas to England, looking for inspiration for himself. As the youngest son in a whole family of boys, well, there weren’t a lot of prospects for him at home and he had no plans to fight for his family’s company.

Megumi had immediately started interning at a fashion company a month after graduation. They’d barely had their final celebration when she was heading off and acting all adult already. In just the few years that had passed, she’d been hired as a full employee and was rising in the ranks faster than anyone had ever thought. She’d complained over drinks just a few days before that her coworkers were shit talking her, saying she was either sleeping with people to rise as quickly as she was or it was entirely because of her family’s fortune, never mind that Megumi was the only one to get a job after three generations of lazy rich people.

Taiki was, admittedly, proud of how far they’d all come. And surprised, too, when they all admitted to remembering the night Yuzuki had spilled his secret while drunk. Yuzuki had, understandably, been horrified and embarrassed at herself, but they’d all waited as long as they could for him to tell them himself. The night had been a mess as it was, with everything that happened with Eri.

He hadn’t ever decided to, instead resigned to avoiding it for the rest of his time in the world, but then Haichirou had told him, in a quiet whisper on the school roof just weeks before graduation, that they knew, and could see how clearly it was beating him up to keep it secret.

They all supported him, and respected his silence from then on. 

But now, they were all scattered to the four corners. 

And what a turn it was coming to be.

A light outside caught Taiki’s attention. He stood from his chair to look out the window towards the Takeuchi residence. It was dark outside, already late into the night, but the light in the front room had turned on. Through the sheer curtains, Taiki could see Mrs. Takeuchi moving about with a suitcase.

He started heading towards the door, Patch on his heels. “Master, where’re we going?”

“Just outside,” Taiki said. “I have to… I don’t know.”

The street was empty when Taiki exited the house, but the light was still on. He took a seat on the curb, Patch sitting beside him, tail lightly thumping against the ground. 

They didn’t have to wait long before Mrs. Takeuchi exited her residence, wearing a thick jacket and carrying a suitcase. Taiki jumped to his feet, though tried to seem casual as he walked over to her.

“Takeuchi-san…”

She let out a yelp, whirling around to face him, her face pale. “Oh, Kuroda-kun… You scared me.”

He looked down at her suitcase, a frown forming on his lips. “…You’re leaving.”

Mrs. Takeuchi seemed to stop breathing, a faraway look forming in her eyes. “Yes,” she said decisively, her tone trying to be bitter but only coming out weak. “I don’t love them. Either of them. I should be gone before they realize that and we all become cruel in our hate of each other.”

Taiki’s hands clenched in his pockets. “You care enough to leave,” he said. 

A sad, fond smile overtook whatever look she’d had before. She reached out and touched Taiki’s cheek. “I wasn’t supposed to be a mother. Makoto is a child, so I cared for him as an adult is supposed to care for a child. Takuya was my husband, so I cared for him as a wife would. That caring allowed me to see that I was not good for them. It could not replace love and affection. One day, you might understand, but for your sake, I hope you never do.” She shook her head mournfully. "I've been turning into a person... who's not good for any of us. I do not love them, but I don't want to hurt them."

Mrs. Takeuchi pulled away and took a step back. Taiki forced a small smile. “So… this is goodbye.”

She hummed sadly. “Better than what I’d done to the other two…”

Taiki turned his gaze to the ground. “I hope you find something that does make you happy,” he said. “And… for what it’s worth, you made a great kid.”

She didn’t say a word to him, only scrunching up her gaze just a bit, before walking away from the dark house towards the curb as a taxi arrived to pick her up. Taiki watched her go solemnly, right up until the taxi turned a corner and drove far out of sight.

He headed back home, Patch keeping in step. “That happened in the original, too,” Patch chimed. “Not with you being there, but Nemuri Takeuchi still left in the middle of the night. In a couple weeks, Sensei will be sent divorce papers.”

Taiki hummed as he reached the door to the house, looking back to the Takeuchi residence. “And so the first flag to make a protagonist appears…”