Suspicious Secrets

Suspicious Secrets

Suspicious Secrets (Japanese: きずな Kizuna) is a manga series by the Japanese artist Reiko Momochi, which was published in Japan between 2004 and 2005. It tells the story of high school student Kanami Ikaruga, who accidentally discovers that her family has been blackmailed for 14 years and harbors a dark secret.

Plot

Volume 1

The Ikaruga family has been terrorized by an unknown person for several days. It starts with threatening phone calls, followed by dead animals being left at their doorstep. Siblings Kanami and Toma contemplate who could be behind these acts. The next day, as Toma is on his way to school, a masked man stabs him in the leg artery with a knife while passing by. Toma faints and ends up in the hospital, requiring a blood transfusion due to severe blood loss. This reveals to Kanami that no one in the family has the same blood type as Toma. While Toma is being operated on, Kanami discovers a note at home addressed to her grandmother, Mitsuko. The note states that someone knows about a mysterious family secret and takes credit for attacking Toma. Kanami confronts Mitsuko, who admits to being blackmailed for years but refuses to provide more information. Mitsuko asks Kanami to keep quiet about it to the rest of the family, and although reluctant, Kanami agrees.

The matter of Toma's blood type continues to trouble Kanami. After a few days, her grandmother receives another call from the blackmailer, demanding 5 million yen. During the money exchange, the blackmailer runs over Mitsuko. Before Mitsuko dies, she mentions a paulownia tree, but Kanami doesn't understand its significance. In the following days, the blackmailer tries to break into the family's house but flees when surprised by Kanami. Toma is also nearly attacked by a man posing as a doctor at the hospital, who also escapes. Kanami becomes increasingly worried but confides in Kyuta, her only confidant. Together, they begin their own investigation.

Volume 2

Kanami's investigation reveals that her parents used to live in the city of Nagoya, and her father, Taisei, worked as a potter, a fact that the children were unaware of. Alongside her friend Kyuta, Kanami travels to Nagoya and discovers the specific address where her family lived. By chance, Kanami also finds the pottery shop where her father used to work. The owner tells her that her father was his apprentice and even built a kiln. While examining the kiln, Kanami discovers a small bone inside it. Kyuta's brother, who studies forensic medicine, assists them and determines that the bone belonged to a toddler. Back in Tokyo, Kanami overhears her father being blackmailed by the unknown person. She follows her father to the meeting point for the money exchange and eavesdrops on their conversation. It becomes clear from the conversation that Toma is not the biological child of the Ikaruga family, and the "true" Toma died in an accident. The unknown person reveals himself as Dr. Suzuki, who confirmed the death of the biological Toma at the time and later tried to attack the adopted Toma in the hospital. He knows that shortly after, Taisei found an abandoned child and raised him as the "new" Toma. Due to the doctor's high debts, he has been blackmailing Taisei and Mitsuko for years, threatening to inform the police about the "kidnapping" of Toma. Shortly after the money exchange, Suzuki is found dead.

Kanami later discovers the meaning behind the Paulownia tree. One is located in front of their family house. Mitsuko had buried a box underneath it, containing a letter, a blood-stained baby rattle, and information about Toma's biological parents. The letter confirms everything Kanami had already found out on her own. Taisei and Kanami have a conversation. Taisei reveals that the death of the real Toma deeply affected Kanami's mother, Sachiko, and she couldn't accept his death. When Taisei brought home a foundling, Sachiko, in her fragile state at the time, mistook the child as Toma and completely suppressed the memory of the previous child's accident. Afterwards, Taisei and Kanami decide not to tell either Toma or Sachiko about Toma's true origin, hoping to continue a normal family life now that Dr. Suzuki is dead.

Volume 3

Some time has passed since Dr. Suzuki's death. Kanami and her father receive threatening letters and calls from another blackmailer. It appears that Dr. Suzuki had been blackmailing the Ikaruga family together with another person. This blackmailer reveals himself as the attacker who stabbed Toma in the leg and initially intimidated the family with stones and dead animals. He is also responsible for the deaths of Mitsuko and Dr. Suzuki. He reveals his supposedly true identity as Tetsuo Abe and demands 3 million yen. He also knows about Toma's true identity and his path into the Ikaruga family. He confesses to being the murderer of Toma's biological parents and threatens to frame Taisei for the murder and portray him as Toma's kidnapper, just like Suzuki did before. Due to the previous blackmail, the family is now in debt. It is also shown how the blackmailer is threatened and pressured by mafia members. Taisei is desperate and contemplates suicide as everything becomes overwhelming for him. When he tells Kanami about it, she also breaks down in despair. Kanami is determined to protect her family and decides to kill the blackmailer herself. She manages to lure him into a trap by telling him about the bloodstained rattle, which contains his fingerprints. He left it behind when he murdered Toma's biological parents. Abe panics and agrees to leave the family alone if Kanami hands over the rattle. Kanami and Abe arrange a meeting, and after a brief struggle, she succeeds in stabbing the blackmailer to death. The next day, his death is reported in the news. The blackmailer turns out to be a colleague of Kanami's father named Saeki, and Tetsuo Abe was just a pseudonym.

While Kanami hopes that the terror has come to an end, the police suddenly show up at the door and arrest her. Her father, Taisei, turned himself in and informed the detectives about Kanami's intentions to kill. Kanami is now in custody. Toma and his mother, Sachiko, learn from Taisei that Toma's real name is Itsuki and that Taisei found him as a foundling in front of a church, where Saeki abandoned him after the murder. Toma then runs away from home, and Sachiko suffers a severe breakdown. She leaves Taisei. Kanami is sentenced to three years in a juvenile facility. During this time, only her father and her best friend, Kyuta, maintain contact with her. Towards the end of her sentence, Kanami's parents reconcile and visit her. Two more years pass. Kanami is now free and lives with her parents again. In the meantime, Toma has been living with his maternal grandparents and is now about to start his studies. He decides to reestablish contact with his adoptive family.

Characters

Kanami Ikaruga

A 16-year-old student from Tokyo. She has a close relationship with her family, especially her younger brother, Toma. Her best friends are her classmates Megumi and Kyuta. Kanami is hot-tempered, emotional, curious, but also stubborn and determined. When she is at a loss, she quickly bursts into tears. She is often said by other characters to not understand fun and take things too seriously. She is very protective of Toma and values her family greatly. She decides to kill the blackmailer to protect her family, using the societal perception of women and children as victims to her advantage, believing she could justify it as self-defense.

Taisei Ikaruga

Taisei Ikaruga is the father of Kanami and Toma. He works at the company owned by his neighbor, Kuhara, and they are also friends outside of work. In Nagoya, he worked as a pottery artist. Shortly after the death of his biological son, he found an abandoned child in front of a church and took him in as a substitute for Toma. Along with his mother-in-law, he was spied on and blackmailed for years by Saeki (later by Dr. Suzuki) because they witnessed Taisei taking Itsuki/Toma with him. Taisei presents himself as a strict father to his family but occasionally shows his softer side. He is very concerned about his wife's mental state and shields her from problems. However, he takes advantage of her vulnerability by sometimes convincing her that she is imagining things in order to maintain his lies. When Toma is injured in the leg, he immediately suspects the blackmailer, along with Mitsuko. He is initially angered by Kanami's interference and continuously tries to keep her away from all the secrets. Nevertheless, he eventually gives in and tells Kanami everything when he realizes that she won't stop her investigations.

Toma Ikaruga

Toma Ikaruga, whose original name is Itsuki Ueno, is the 14-year-old brother of Kanami. The two are not actually related, as Toma is the biological son of the murdered couple Kazumi and Koichi Ueno. He has a very close relationship with Kanami and is very popular among his classmates. He also seems to be friends with Kyuta. During the story, he spends most of his time in the hospital due to his leg injury. When Toma learns that he is adopted and that his biological parents were murdered, his world shatters. He independently sets out to search for his biological family and lives with them until the beginning of his studies. During this time, he cut off contact with his adoptive family and particularly blamed Kanami for her actions. In the end, he admits to himself that he longs for Kanami and his adoptive parents and visits them.

Mitsuko Ikaruga

Mitsuko Ikaruga is the grandmother of Kanami and Toma. She is perceived by her grandchildren as tough but caring. She often argues with her son-in-law. When the real Toma dies, she tries unsuccessfully to support her daughter Sachiko and explain to her that her child is dead. After Taisei brings home an abandoned child, they both decide to pass off the "new" child as Toma to Sachiko, as Sachiko was mentally unstable and denied his death.

Sachiko Ikaruga

Sachiko Ikaruga is the wife of Taisei and mother of Kanami and Toma. Since Toma's death, she has been mentally unstable and prone to severe breakdowns that result in weeks-long hospital stays. Taisei and the children keep her uninformed about serious matters as she wouldn't be able to handle them. Despite multiple treatments, her condition has not improved. She has completely repressed the memory of Toma's accident and death and has not realized over the years that she is raising a child who is not her own. In general, she seems very confused, dependent, but also naive. It is only shortly before the end of the manga series that she begins to suspect that something is amiss within the family and accuses Taisei of having an affair. When everything is revealed, she falls back into a hysterical state. She rejects Kanami because of her actions and does not visit her during her pretrial detention. She also refers to Toma as an "unreal son". In a heated argument, she leaves her husband and moves in with her aunt. After some time, she regains her senses and returns to Taisei. In the end, she visits Kanami in the juvenile facility with him and apologizes for her behavior.

Saeki alias Tetsuo Abe

Saeki is a coworker of Kanami's father, Taisei Ikaruga. Throughout the story, it becomes clear that he has debts with a mafia group. Because the group had threatened to kill him if he failed to repay his debts, he breaks into the affluent Ueno family's home to steal from them. However, the break-in escalates, and in a frenzy, Saeki fatally stabs the Ueno couple. Initially, he attempts to kill the young Itsuki as well but fails to do so. Instead, he kidnaps the child and leaves him in front of a church. Realizing that he left his fingerprints on the baby rattle, he plans to go back and dispose of it. In the meantime, Taisei has already put the young boy in his car. Saeki observes this and decides to follow Taisei and blackmail him. At a certain point, he joins forces with Dr. Suzuki to blackmail the family. As a rivalry develops between the two, he decides to kill Suzuki and take his share of the blackmail for himself.

Dr. Shigezu Suzuki

Dr. Suzuki was the doctor who treated the 10-month-old Toma after his accident in Nagoya and ultimately couldn't save him. After that, he was transferred to another hospital, which had to be sold shortly after. After his wife and children left him, he starts blackmailing the Ikaruga family together with Saeki to repay his debts. The manga does not explain how the two of them met.

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