My name is Satoko Houjou.

But "Houjou" is my current father's family name.

I was also Satoko Hatake, Satoko Yoshizawa, and also Satoko Matsuura, because of my previous fathers.

I'm still not used to being called "Houjou-san".

If someone calls me Satoko, then I know that person is talking to me.

Because Satoko is the name I've been using since I was born.

I don't understand why my mother keeps getting married and divorced.

If she's going to get a divorce, why does she get married?

If she's married, why does she get a divorce?

I've asked her before, but depending on the situation, her answers were different.

When I asked her when she was married, she got angry.

When I asked her after she got divorced, she cried.

I don't understand the meaning of marriage.

So I have no interest in drawing pictures of a bride in a wedding dress.

I don't think I'll ever get married.

I don't want to keep changing my child's last name.

My teacher once asked if I liked my mother.

I think it was when I was in kindergarten in Okinomiya.

That was a very difficult question.

Because sometimes I loved her very much and sometimes I hated her very much. I couldn't decide.

When my mother was nice, she smiled all the time.

She made us happy.

She thanked me for being her daughter.

When my mother wasn't nice, she frowned all the time.

She treated my brother and me very poorly.

She told me I should have never been born.

My teacher asked me if I liked my father.

That was a very easy question.

Because I always hated him very much. No matter who he was.

The new fathers always treated me nicely at first. As if I was their real daughter.

They always told me I could think of them as my real father.

But they couldn't be my real father.

Besides, I didn't even know my real father's face.

How could I call them my father? I couldn't.

That was disgusting.

Right before divorce, my fathers always became very irritated with me.

They treated me like a cockroach.

They told me they didn't have money to feed me, they threw things at me, and they locked me out on the veranda.

I was told I could forget about them because that was all in the past.

I think that was a different teacher from a different school.

Maybe that's true.

Because ever since Houjou became my father, my mother has been smiling.

I haven't seen them get into a fight as I have seen happen just before a divorce.

They have little arguments here and there, but those don't lead to a divorce, and they always make up.

But I'm sure they'll get a divorce sooner or later.

Then it'll be the same old stuff with the family court, divorce settlements, a night flight, and child support.

So who knows how long this Houjou will be my father? That's why I don't even feel like calling him that.

He also treated me well at first.

But when I didn't call him father even after he asked me repeatedly, he became irritated.

They'll get a divorce soon.

When my father gets into this mood, a divorce is on the way.

After a divorce, it's my mother's turn to be irritated with me.

Then she'll tell me she shouldn't have had me or she can't be happy because of me.

Why is my existence causing problems for my mother?

I asked my brother and he told me.

If you have children, it's not easy to find someone to get married with.

To my mother, remarriage is a very important job, so I can understand having children around will cause problems.

I think I finally understand the reason why I'm a nuisance to her.

I asked my brother something else.

Why are children hated by new fathers?

Well, that's simple.

That's because family members all have different roles.

A mother's job is to love her children.

A father's job is to love the mother.

That means I'm a nuisance to both my mother and my father.

My brother is more mature than me, so they don't look down on him as a nuisance.

But maybe I am... no, I am definitely a nuisance.

So now I know.

Both my mother and father want me dead.

But if they kill me, they'll be caught.

But that doesn't mean they won't kill me.

If I were to look down the cliff,

and if no one was around,

my mother and father would push me off for sure.

My father has become abnormally nice to me recently.

He started to act that way ever since I made the fake call.

I know for sure that it's just part of a plot to kill me.

So I won't let them trick me.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

Lately when I listen very carefully, I can hear a voice apologizing.

The voice sounds similar to mine. Her mother must be telling her that she shouldn't have been born.

...I'm sorry,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry...

But I won't apologize like that.

I'll live.

I am going to strike back.

I'll kill before I get killed.

...I'm sorry,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry,

I'm sorry...