They grew tired of my needs. My medicine was "too expensive." Food became sparse. I was locked in a storage room when I was too weak to clean or move fast enough.
Ron, older, cruel, and fascinated by killers in movies and anime.. mocked my pain, beat me when no one looked, laughed when I cried.
"Haha! Kill everyone, Johan! No one should be spared!" he'd shout, eyes glued to the TV, laughing maniacally as blood splattered across the screen. He always pretended to be one of his favorite anime villains, twirling around with a kitchen knife, mimicking their voices, lost in his twisted fantasies.
To him, it was a game.
To me, it was a glimpse into the monster I was living with.
I hated him. But more than that, I hated myself for being powerless.
Then one night, I woke up thirsty and heard whispers behind their door. I got closer.
And I heard everything.
They planned it.
The accident.
They killed my parents. For money. For property. They knew I wouldn't live long. They thought they'd get away with it.
That night, something inside me snapped.
Rage. Cold, focused, and pure.
I couldn't fight them, not with my body. But my mind… that was still sharp.
I remembered Ron's favorite character. Johan. The monster who destroyed with manipulation, not brute strength.
And I thought…
Thank you, Ron.
You gave me the weapon I needed to destroy you.
I began planting seeds.
I acted obedient. Polite. Submissive. I made them trust me, let them believe I had given up, that I was just a sick, broken thing waiting for death.
But in truth, I was sharpening my mind like a blade.
I stole small amounts of money and hid it in Ron's room. He'd done it before, so they believed it instantly.
Then, I began moving things around the house, misplacing keys, breaking dishes, unplugging appliances. Always making it seem like Ron was getting careless. That he was sabotaging them. They started yelling more often.
At night, I'd whisper to Ron while he was half-asleep. Quiet enough to feel like thoughts instead of words.
"They don't love you."
"They only adopted me because they're tired of you."
"They said you were a failure… that you'd never amount to anything."
"They're planning to send you away."
He started acting out. Screaming. Lashing back. He stopped trusting them. He stopped eating at their table. The cracks widened.
Then I gave him gifts. A broken toy I pretended to fix. A manga I claimed was from them but altered with twisted messages in the margins, things like "You were a mistake." and "We should've let you rot."
He started believing it.
Arguments turned violent. Doors slammed. Furniture broke. His father began drinking and hitting him. His mother started crying more often.
And all the while… I was there. Quiet. Helpless. Innocent.
Then came the final blow.
I feigned sicker than ever. I collapsed, was hospitalized. And while I lay there, weak but waiting, I got the call.
Ron had snapped.
He killed them. Brutally. Screaming nonsense about betrayal and lies.
He got arrested after that...
The cycle completed.
I sat in my hospital bed, alone, staring out the window. Tears rolled down my cheeks, not of sorrow, but of release.
"I did it," I whispered. "I've avenged you… Dad… Mom… Ken."
After that, I stopped waiting for recovery.
I just waited to die.
I watched anime alone in my hospital room, losing weight, waiting for time to take me.
Then… I met Him.
A divine being, serene yet unknowable. A god, perhaps.
He offered me wishes.
I knew I would never see my family again.
No matter how many times I prayed… no matter how tightly I shut my eyes and begged for it all to be a dream, it wasn't. They were gone. And I was alone.
Maybe it was the weight of that pain. Maybe it was the way I clung to my memories like lifelines.
Or maybe… just maybe… God heard me.
Where do you wish to be reborn?
And who do you wish to become?
My answer came without hesitation...
I didn't want peace. I didn't want justice.
I wanted power.
The kind that could make the world feel what I felt. The kind that could never be hurt again.
I chose the world of shinobi.
And I chose to become Johan.
Because he showed me the path… and I would walk it without looking back.