It was 8 p.m., and Masaru, the older brother, had just returned from work, walking nervously down the hallway of their home. Having left their parents behind after graduating high school, Masaru had worked hard and rented a spacious apartment that looked to be at least a quarter of a century old. Suddenly, he heard the floorboards creak. He gingerly and quietly placed a convenience store bento lunch in front of the closed shoji screen. His younger brother, Minoru, would be turning 33 this year. It had been about 15 years ago. Ever since he was 18, he had been living a reclusive life. Growing at his wits' end, living in constant fear of his brother's violence, the older brother turned to Kondo Ikumi, a charismatic mature counselor who was the talk of the town.