Beep...beep...beep...

"I'm fine... No, they haven't come back yet."

Beep...beep...beep...

"I haven't seen them since this morning! I received the urgent call, so it's just me over here... I don't know! Some nurse said she relapsed."

Beep...beep...beep...

"Not only that, but she's still in critical condition. She could barely hear my voice... What?! Are you serious?"

Beep...beep...beep...

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Besides, I still have-"

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!

"Great. Thanks for calling. I really appreciate it. Why don't you come here for once? I'm sure she'd like to see you for once before she ends up in another coma." The boy fixed his jet-black hair and put his phone away as a group of doctors rushed inside the patient room.

"Blood pressure's plummeting!" screamed a nurse.

A doctor put on his stethoscope and placed the diaphragm onto the woman's chest. "I feel no pulse. Seems like cardiac arrest."

"She's not breathing either!"

"Somebody get me the defibrillators! Start EKG tracing!"

"Heart rate is at 250! No, at 300!"

Overwhelmed by the yelling and crowdedness in the room, the boy ran out into the hallway to calm down, only to bump into another doctor. "Shun, are you okay? You seem frightened."

"Dr. Suhara! The staff said that my mom went into cardiac arrest, and I'm really worried that she might-"

"Shun, calm down." The doctor put his hand on Shun's shoulder. "We know what your mother has, but we diagnosed her too late. We'll use treatment to hold it off for now, but I don't guarantee a happy conclusion. I suggest you call your father and grandfather over just in case."

But I just called my dad, and he won't do anything. Shun pounded his fist onto the wall as Dr. Suhara entered the patient room. Later, the doors propped open, and the staff transported Shiori's bed down the hall to the operating room. Mom's condition wasn't this bad last week.

After many hours, Shun's father and grandfather came by. Shun, who had been waiting since a long time ago, didn't even bother looking at them. "Shun, how's your mother doing?" his father asked. Shun didn't respond and continued to stare at the light above the operating room. "Shun, how is she?"

"Shun! Your father is speaking to you! Answer him!" his grandfather added.

Shun turned around only slightly and glared at them. "If you had been in her room with me, Dad, she might be a lot better by now. Maybe this is the last time she'll ever see you two again."

"But Shun, I-"

"How dare you say that?!" Shun's grandfather slapped his grandson in the face, and Shun held his hand over his face to relieve the pain. "Your father is very busy and can't always visit your mother. You should understand that."

"Well, I don't understand how spending time with other women leisurely while his legal spouse is in critical condition all the time is considered busy."

"I'm sorry, Shun, but they're my business clients. I-"

The OR light switched off, and Dr. Suhara emerged from the double doors. "I see that all of the Kazami family is here." he said with a neutral tone.

"Doctor, how's my wife doing?"

"What's my daughter-in-law's condition?"

Shun was too upset to ask anything, but it was implied in his facial expression.

"Shiori-san...didn't make it. The moment when we predicted she was supposed to enter a coma was the moment her heart stopped. I'm sorry."

Shun's father and grandfather stared at each other in shock, and Shun mumbled, "I told you so."

Later, Shun was aware that his father would spend even less time away from the "family" now that his mother was gone. He was also aware that with both of his parents absent, his grandfather would make plans of what do to with Shun in the future. However, Shun never expected what his grandfather planned to do with him. "I'm sending you back to Kochouha Town to your relatives' place."

Shun stared at his grandfather, unconvinced. "Are you serious? You're telling me this now? What happened to Dad?"

"Your father hasn't come back for a week already and most likely won't. I certainly don't want you here because you're wasting the rest of my short life." He grabbed a suitcase and handed it to Shun. "Start packing. You're leaving in one hour."

Shun sighed as he took the suitcase upstairs to his room. Taking whatever necessary, he thought, Dad must be waiting for this moment to come for ages. Considering that he chose to leave only when Mom passed away, I guess he really does feels guilty.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"Alice, I'm back!"

A redhead stood up from stoking the fire of the stove to face the girl at the door. "Bring it in, Runo. The fire's starting to die out."

"Aren't you glad that I came back in time? After that slight rain yesterday, the firewood was easier to chop, but might be too moist to burn." Runo ran over and squat down next to Alice. "Did you hear about a guest we're having over?"

"No problem. And what guest?"

"Actually, he's not a guest. He'll be staying here for a long time. That's all I know. I also heard that he's coming from the main city, so he might be a little cocky."

Alice continued to stoke the fire. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Two reasons. One, the town headman assigned you to oversee him. You're the only one here who's not as busy as everyone else. Two, you're kind of lonely yourself here. Having him under your study could make you feel better."

Alice stood up to wipe her dirty hands. "Do I look like a lonely person? What am I supposed to do with him? And what's 'under my study' supposed to mean?"

"Of course you're lonely! Aside from us, no one really visits you much, other than your grandfather. You just need teach him how to be productive here. That shouldn't be too difficult, is it?" Runo elbowed Alice with a suspicious gleam in her eyes.

"If the town headman instigated this, then I can't say no. What's his name?"

"Shun Kazami. He should be here soon. You should go meet him down by the resting gazebo down the lake trail. I'll tend the fire for you."

"Whatever." Alice handed the fire poker to Runo and grabbed her coat. She laid her fingers on the face of a portrait hanging on the wall. Grandfather, could this be the special omen you've been talking about? I wish it was, yet I wish it wasn't. Alice zipped up her coat and went outside.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Half an hour later, Shun walked up the trail to the gazebo and took a break. His legs were sore from walking uphill on a slippery and potentially fatal trail. Why aren't this roads fixed? Doesn't anyone know that this is a hazard? He took out a bottle of water and drank as much as he could but choked halfway. "Seriously! What else could go wrong?!"

Shun shook his head and continued walking. He thought back of what his father and grandfather would be doing right now. Only his mother truly cared for Shun. His father was just another source of income that needed food and a place to sleep every day, and his grandfather was only there to give Shun ninjutsu lessons. Only Shiori took care of Shun for at least a year's worth of time.

Who needs them when I only need myself? Mom's death didn't change them at all. They bothwished she was dead so they can live their own lives. I'mnevergoing back to them for anything. Shun was busy yelling in his mind that he didn't notice a pothole in the ground. "I hate myself!"

"Watch out!"

Preventing him from falling into a puddle were two hands that propped his shoulders. Shun got up with some help and looked at the person who saved him. It was a redhead girl wearing a furry brown trench coat. "You must be Shun, right?"

"That's me, but how-"

"There's no time to waste. I was told that you'd be coming and that I'd oversee you, so I personally came down."

Even my other relatives here have this all rigged up. Why can't I have any freedom here either? Shun brushed her hands off and scoffed. "No thanks, but-"

"Let me take that. You must've had a tiring walk."

Alice reached for Shun's suitcase and grabbed it, much to Shun's surprise. He didn't know whether she was doing this out of politeness or respect for him and his situation. "Thanks..."

"No problem. Come on. We should get going."

Maybe I still have some hope left. Knowing nowhere else to go, Shun followed Alice uphill to the place where he would stay in.