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Secrets

Welcome to the website's secrets section. Anyone who knows about Oniisama E... is aware that almost every main character has a back story and some sort of secret to keep. Here you will find what secrets Kaoru has as well as keeps.

Kaoru's Friendship

Oniisama E... is full of characters that have their own stories and secrets. Kaoru's friendship with Rei is perhaps a sort of secret on its own...

As Kaoru has her own secrets, she knows others as well and is able to keep them concealed. Rei is one of the people she shares her secrets with as well as keeps Rei's own. Their connection was deeper than almost any of the other ones in Oniisama E... They were not separated by any hidden knowledge and were bare to each other completely. They were each other's support and in some cases all that each other had to share their grief with. If anything happened to one of them, the other would know where to look.

Rei knew well of Kaoru's past, her reason for claiming she forgot something important in her past and her ailment. In turn, Kaoru knew well of Rei's past, Fukiko's cruel ways towards her, the bracelet, the scar and why she takes many painkillers.

It is not through Kaoru such is revealed clearly, however. To know about the secrets, this would have to be a page on Rei Asaka or Nanako Misanoo. However, Kaoru will lightly reveal small things about Rei, but none of them are deep secrets and are usually known to everyone else but Nanako or any other new person to Seiran.

The only time Kaoru ever really revealed a secret in terms of Rei Asaka was in regards to her relationship with Fukiko and deals with the bracelet Rei wears. When Rei is sick, Kaoru removes the bracelet the woman wears. A scar is revealed. The loss of the bracelet leads to a fight. Kaoru says the bracelet keeps Rei under Miya-sama's curse! One soon finds out just how intensely Rei cares for the bracelet and Fukiko when she throws a knife at Kaoru!

Another time, Kaoru had inadvertently told Nanako that Rei was Fukiko's sister, but is not elaborated. Fukiko is quite surprised that Kaoru would know such and Kaoru responds that she knows many things Fukiko does not know. This happened when Nanako overheard Kaoru and Fukiko talking by the elm tree. Nanako, however, knows to keep it a secret.

Without Rei, Kaoru was alone in it all. Her courage falters. Her fears become intense. Rei is perhaps a pillar for Kaoru more so than the other way around. Rei's pillar was someone Kaoru would never be, and Kaoru likely knew that. Kaoru always kept Rei's secrets and Rei always kept Kaoru's.

Kaoru's Illness

No one had ever leaked out Kaoru's main secret. Rei even knew of the great importance of not allowing anyone know of it and would be very protective whenever there was a chance someone found out. The only people who knew of the secret certainly were Takehiko, Rei and Kaoru's family. There is a likely chance that Takashi knew as well, but it is not completely certain.

Kaoru had been held back a school year due to an ailment that she does not specify to others. She seems the picture of perfect health but she has a deep awareness of her own mortality, which causes one to wonder what it could be. Whatever the illness is, it has strengthened her intense love for living and she strives to live to the fullest. What is the affliction that affects Kaoru's life so strongly?

From when she attends the first year of senior high, age sixteen, she has had breast cancer. Breast cancer is an ailment that is a different disease in different age groups and has different cell populations within the tumor itself. As stated in the anime, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. In Kaoru's case, it was unusually bad.

The disease has forced her to lose an academic year. Doctors had to do a mastectomy on one of her breasts in order to remove the tumor, which would be efficient enough for a while. For Kaoru an uncertain future is shown. Metastasis could occur, thus she would have recurrent cancer. That means the disease has come back in spite of the first treatment. The disease sometimes returns, despite it seems to have been completely destroyed, because unnoticed cancer cells were still there after the remedy.

If there is not a secondary metastasis growth of a terrible tumor in five years, the chances for survival would remain good, if not, considering the time she was in she would likely die.The reason for the five years time limit is likely because recurrences usually appear within the first couple of years after treatment, but breast cancer can recur many years later.

It is only in recent years has there been an explosion of life-saving treatment advances against breast cancer. Kaoru did not have such hope. During the period she lived in there were only one or two options.

For a long time, a procedure called a radical mastectomy was the only remedy available for those with cancer of the breast. It was the only option no matter how far along your ailment was. Even catching it early did not make a difference in how drastic the treatment would be.

Today there is surgery, then perhaps radiation, anti-estrogen therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Those are the changes of the recent years. In her time, breast removal likely was not as refined or as less drastic as now.

Kaoru's Relationship

Due to the nature of Kaoru's affliction she is well aware of her condition and that she probably only has a short time left to live. Not only does Takehiko Henmi love her, she loves him in return! Their love was automatic and abiding. Only few seem to know of their secret past.

Before the cancer was found, they were engaged and ready to live their lives together in happiness. When tragedy befell her, however, she felt it was best to let her love go because she would not be able to stay by his side as they had dreamt. They broke it off, or perhaps more like she broke it off due to reason she found to be justified.

Despite that, they never ended up disliking each other, much less hating each other. Truthfully, they still loved each other deeply despite perhaps more than a year had passed since their relationship was put to a halt. Because she loved him, she felt she had to leave him and forget everything that they had shared together. It was a tragic romance.

She did not want him to trouble himself over her and thus decided to live alone. She decided this after she underwent surgery. She showed him what was happening to her, what had happened and hoped he would understand what was going to happen. If he understood that, then he would realize she would not give him much of a future. Even if he could love her despite all of that, she still did not want him to waste his future on her. It would only lead to him to pain when she was dying and grief when she died. If she forgot him and what they had... then she would be able to go through with it.

That is why she did it. She left the man she loved because of the cancer, because she did not know if she would have a very long life before her anymore. She did not wish to be a burden to him. Therefore, she wished him to find someone else he could share his dreams with. They would live separate lives.

Sadly, she did not realize that by doing that, she was making him suffer.

The only people who knew the reasons behind the buried relationship were Rei and Kaoru's family. There is a likely chance that Takashi knew as well, but it is not completely certain. Fukiko likely did not know, but she was aware that Kaoru and Takehiko were a couple once.

Secrets Kaoru knew about Takehiko were that his father was Professor Misanoo, he had a sister, and he knew of Rei's relationship with the Ichinomiya family.

The only time she ever really revealed a secret in terms of Takehiko Henmi was in regards to his sister. She had inadvertently told Nanako that she was his sister. It was not by blood, but she was indeed his stepsister. Their relationship was because Takehiko is the son of Professor Misanoo from his first wife. Nanako is Professor Misanoo's adoptive daughter from his second wife. It was revealed after Nanako found out the illness Kaoru suffered from and why her relationship ended with Takehiko.




Sources:
BreastCancer.Org: Treatments



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