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Juni'chīro Tanizaki was born on July 24th to a kind woman and her even kinder husband. They both took great care of him, making sure he developed this same sense of kindness young. At the age of four, Juni'chīro's father was murdered while walking home from his job as a construction worker. Despite his young age, his mother told him exactly why his father would no longer be coming home to them. His eyes began to water, the tears quickly spilling over, while he sniffled and broke down. Juni'chīro cried so much that night he made himself sick twice. He mourned alongside his mother for six months, or so he thought they were both mourning the loss of such a compassionate man. A few weeks before his 5th birthday, his mom introduced him to a man that she had met while preparing for her husband's funeral. Right at the start, Jun'ichirō hated this man. How could he just expect to come into their lives and try to replace his father?!
Juni'chīro spoke out strongly against his mother letting this strange man into their family, but his cries fell on deaf ears. She claimed that she had fallen in love with this man at first sight, much in the way his father told him he fell in love with his mother. The thought of love made him feel sick because he felt like this new love his mother had would leave his father's soul restless. As it would turn out, this man that Juni'chīro hated so much had a daughter. Juni’chīro met Naomi when he was almost six years old, nearly a year after his mother had brought this pest into his life. When the man yanked Naomi out of the car, Juni’chīro felt only anger for the way he was handling his daughter. Juni’chīro’s father had always told him that women and girls are to be respected and treasured.
Naomi’s eyes were dimmed darker than coal, as if she was absolutely done with living at only four years old. She looked at his mother with the same hatred he looked at her father. As it would turn out, Naomi and her father were officially moving in with Juni’chīro and his mother. Both of the children got their own rooms. That night Naomi had walked into Juni’chīro’s room with her arms wrapped tightly around a faded brown teddy bear. "I don't like you or your mommy. Daddy already didn't like me." She had spoken the words softly with tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't like getting hurt."
Juni'chīro had gotten up from his bed, walked over to Naomi, and wrapped her in his arms. "I'm so sorry he hurt you." His words of comfort brought Naomi to tears because for the first time since her mother passed away, she had someone who genuinely cared for her. That night they bonded over the loss of their caring parents and Juni'chīro swore to protect Naomi with his life.
It was a week after Juni'chīro and Naomi started to get along and the boy was at the store with his mother. He was growing tired of following her around, but accidentally bumped into a lady. She turned to face him, but was met with green snow-like particles and an empty aisle. Juni'chīro didn't understand what had just happened, but was thankful she couldn't see him. When the lady turned down another aisle, the snow particles fell away and his mother looked at him with angry eyes. Her face was drawn into a scowl as if she was suddenly full of hatred for her son. He hated his mother looking at him like that. She grabbed his wrist harshly and pulled him to the side. When she spoke to him, her words were laced with venom. "You are to never do that while we are out in public. I will explain why later, but just promise me you won't."
Juni'chīro promised and, in turn, when they got home his mother told him about Light Snow, his ability. He was fascinated by it and at night, when they're parents were fast asleep, he would take Naomi outside and practice using it. She fell in love with the illusions it could create and often asked him to make ponies, unicorns, and a giant version of her teddy bear. He had a hard time saying no to her, so he did whatever she asked because the smile on her face was always worth it.
However, good things had never lasted long for Naomi or Juni'chīro. Naomi's father began to drink more often and one night, he barged into Naomi's room and grabbed her by the hair. Juni'chīro and his mother heard the commotion and went to investigate. He had immediately used Light Snow to grab Naomi and hide. His new stepfather, though he refused to acknowledge the man as such, lashed out and punched a hole in the wall. Juni'chīro's mother managed to calm him, but told him to pack both Naomi and him a bag and leave. They had nowhere to go, no money, and only their small amount of belongings. The only good thing about their situation was that it was springtime and they wouldn't have to worry about freezing.
Juni'chīro would do anything to keep Naomi safe and fed, so he did. While she went off and attended school, Juni'chīro took up odd jobs, at almost 8 years old. They had found an extremely run-down, abandoned house near the edge of the woods of Yokohama and used it as their home. There was an old, slightly decaying futon in the main room that Naomi slept on. Truthfully, almost everything about the house was in a state of decay, but still it was better than nothing. Juni'chīro had worked to make it as livable as possible over the years. The jobs he took on were never easy. He delivered what was probably drugs, had taken hitman jobs that were only successful because of Light Snow, and when they didn't have enough money he stole for what they needed. Naomi would scold him for putting himself in danger, but at the end of the day she was able to go to school, eventually sleep in a somewhat decent futon (that he had stolen), and was fed.
When Naomi's thirteenth birthday was coming up, Juni'chīro wanted to get her something special. She had been looking at a pretty dress that reminded her of ones her mother used to wear. The dress was a beautiful lilac color with lace ribbons decorating the bottom. It was truly one of the most beautiful dresses Juni'chīro had ever seen. However, It was far too expensive to get from just the normal jobs he did, so Juni'chīro sold his body to strangers at night while Naomi slept peacefully. It was awful and made him feel absolutely disgusting, but it paid so much. After weeks of this mild torture, he had enough to get it for her. When he gave her the dress on her birthday, tears of happiness sprang into her eyes and she hugged him tightly. Juni'chīro was the only person to truly care for her since her mother's passing and she was so happy she had him as her brother. The dress was far nicer than the used clothes they had been used to wearing and he thought his sister looked beautiful in it. She deserved to be able to wear nice things like this. He didn't mind the life he had grown to tolerate, but thought his little sister deserved more.
They had grown to be able to thrive with their lifestyle. Juni'chīro went out and got the things they needed to survive, (and he totally didn't panic when Naomi started her first period. He had been fortunate enough to run into a kind, elderly lady who helped them both during that time. She explained everything to Naomi and had bought her the feminine products, explaining them to the girl. Juni'chīro always made sure to pick them up for Naomi when she ran out.) While Naomi made dinner in the evening.
Juni'chīro had run into Fukuzawa with Yosano when he was out on a delivery. He had no idea who they were, but when they noticed him use Light Snow they kept an eye on him. Juni'chīro and Naomi were sixteen and fourteen when Fukuzawa knocked on the door to their run-down place. No one had ever found out about them living there, other than the kind lady who had been there for Naomi. Juni'chīro immediately went on defense when he went to open the door. Fukuzawa looked down at him with Ranpo and Yosano at his side. (Kunikida had stayed at the Agency.)
"Who are you?" The ginger boy refused to let anyone take Naomi away from him, because he didn't think they could keep her safe.
"My name is Fukuzawa Yukichi. I am the President of the Armed Detective Agency, which has many talented ability users. We would like to invite you to join us." His voice seemed monotone, but Ranpo jumped in front of him.
"We've noticed you doing all of these odd jobs, so I deduced why, with my amazing ability! You have a younger sister you take care of. If you join us, we will provide housing for you both and your sister can join as a secretary!" His wide smile made Juni'chīro feel uneasy, but if he accepted Naomi would have an easier life.
Naomi had overheard and looked at her brother. She would follow him anywhere because he was her savior. He had done the most for her and she wanted nothing more than to one day repay his kindness. "It sounds like a good deal to me." She looked at Juni'chīro expectedly and he knew that he would be accepting. Life with the Agency was much easier and it took the both of them time to adapt to such an easy life. They were both afraid of the other leaving, so they flirted playfully and pretended to be romantically interested into each other. At night, Juni'chīro would read her stories like he did when they were kids and she would fall asleep peacefully.