'Tadaima!' called Tsunan from the genkan.
Just as he was about to reach home from work at his clinic, it had begun to rain heavily without any warning.
He closed his umbrella and put it away, before he sat down on the small step and set his bag down to take off his shoes.
Getting back to his feet, he felt a bit intrigued as he didn't hear Shun's reply nor had she come to get him at the door like she usually did.
Entering the kitchen, he didn't find her there and neither was she in the living room. He was about to go look for her upstairs when he wondered if she could be outside. Even if it was implausible in this rain, he decided to check anyway.
And indeed, he found the red-haired girl outdoors, lying in the grass by the pond, her eyes tightly shut against the world.
'Shun!' he exclaimed, rushing up to her. Picking the sleeping girl up in his arms, he carried her back inside, watching her anxiously.
She was completely drenched and looked agitated in her sleep, seeming to be having a nightmare.
***
I woke up in a jolt and the first thing that I saw was Tsunan's face.
'Tsunan!' I gasped, my mind dancing with confusion. We were in the living room and he was holding me up in his arms. 'Why am I drenched?'
'You fell asleep in the garden and it started raining,' he replied, putting me down onto my feet.
'I was feeding the fishes in the pond,' I said, as I remembered what I had been doing. I noticed that he was soaking too, water dripping from his hair. 'I'm sorry,' I told him, guiltily. 'You got drenched because of me.'
'It's nothing. Go change your clothes! You're going to catch a cold.'
'Yes! Go get changed too!'
On these words, I went to change myself in my bedroom, before I came down into the living room again.
On his side, Tsunan had taken a quick shower, and was now wearing fresh clothes too.
'Say, Shun,' he said when we took seat at the table to eat dinner. 'Were you having a nightmare earlier?'
My eyes widened at him, my throat tightening.
'I've noticed several times that you have nightmares.'
I looked down at the table, humping my back. 'Yes,' I admitted, in a mumble. 'I dream about what happened six years ago all the time...'
***
The following day, I felt unwell.
Ever since I woke up in the morning, I didn't feel right and with every hour that passed by, I felt worse.
Tsunan came back home from work earlier but I decided not to tell him anything, in order not to worry him.
'Are you feeling alright, Shun?' he called at me, his voice filled with concern. 'You look pale to me.'
Just as I began to turn away from the kitchen counter to face him, abruptly, my head swirled, and even before I could understand what was happening, I felt myself fall the small distance to the ground and I blacked out.
***
'Shun!'
The doctor reached out for the red-haired girl as he saw her start to fall and he caught her before she could hit her head against the floor.
Dead worried, he put his hand over her forehead to check her temperature and just as he feared, she had high fever!
Picking her up in his arms, he carried her upstairs to her bedroom.
***
It took me a whole minute to recover consciousness and when I did, I realized that I was lying on my bed.
I wasn't feeling well at all.
'Tsunan...' I croaked out.
The latter was sitting by my side, facing me.
'I've given you an injection,' he told me, putting away the syringe he had in hand. 'Your fever should drop down very quickly. You've caught a cold when you got drenched in the rain yesterday.'
***
It was past noon when I opened my eyes the day that followed.
I was still feeling unwell, but not as bad as on the previous day.
My body was aching and I had a sore throat, not to forget that my head seemed to weigh a ton.
Taking a look at the calendar on my bedside table, I realized that it was my birthday today!
At that very moment, a knock came on the open door of my bedroom.
I looked around instantly and was surprised to see Tsunan standing in the doorway.
'You're awake, Shun? I'm coming in!'
'Tsunan...' I murmured, pulling myself up into a half-sitting position. 'You didn't go to work today?'
'Not when I have a patient at home,' he replied, as he rounded my bed- I slept on the side furthest to the door- and came to sit beside me on the edge of the mattress, putting his medical bag down on the floor.
'I'm sorry for worrying you so much,' I told him, filled with guilt.
'Don't worry about that!'
He took my temperature and checked my pulse and breathing.
'You have barely any fever,' he informed me when he was done with the check-up. 'You'll recover in a week time. You need bed rest.'
I gave him a slight nod.
Putting away his stethoscope and other medical instruments back into his bag, he looked at me again, telling me with a gentle smile, 'It's the date of your birthday today. Happy birthday!'
I blushed at him.
'Thank you,' I whispered, lowering my eyes shyly. 'It touches me a lot that you remember.'
'I've prepared you a soup with vegetables in it. I'll bring you that!' he told me after a minute, and I gave him a grateful smile for the care.
While he heated the soup, I freshened up a bit before I collapsed onto my bed again. I rested the back of my hand on top of my forehead, having a mild headache.
It wasn't funny to have a cold, especially on one's birthday.
Tsunan came in carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it after a minute, saying, 'Eat it while it's still hot!'
'I'm embarrassed! You're pampering me!'
He placed the tray on my lap and I thanked him for having prepared me the soup. Tasting it, I told him, cheerily, 'It's excellent!'
He sat with me the whole while that I ate and when I was done, he took the tray from me and was about to put it away when, we heard some noise in the corridor.
'They're here!' he said to himself, looking towards the door.
Intrigued, I took a glance at the door too and to my utter surprise, Hatsu, Heihachi, Master Kagami, Yama-san and Gakkuri made irruption in the room, exclaiming, 'SURPRISE!'
My heart skipped a beat.
Hatsu was carrying a chocolate cake in his hands.
Together with Tsunan, they all began singing me a happy birthday song and placing the cake on my bed, they made me cut it.
It was Yama-san who had baked it.
Tears gathered in my eyes and began to flow down my cheeks so much I was moved by the attention. 'Thank you! Thank you so much!'
'Oh no! Don't cry!' Yama-san cooed at me. 'It's your birthday! It's a happy day!'
'Yes, you're right,' I murmured, brushing my wet eyes and my cheeks dry, smiling cheerfully.
'Time to open your gifts!' declared Hatsu and exchanging a grin with Heihachi, he handed to me a gift-wrapped present, exclaiming, 'Ours first!'
'You shouldn't have!' I told them, sheepishly.
Removing the gift-wrap, I saw that it was a beautiful photo frame and there was a picture in it.
'It's the picture I have taken with Tsunan during Hanami!'
Hatsu had clicked pictures of everyone during the picnic and he had asked Tsunan and I if he could take a picture of the two of us together.
I was half-hiding behind Tsunan on the photo, making a V-sign with my hand and smiling goofily.
I looked at Tsunan, chuckling, before I thanked Heihachi and Hatsu, extremely pleased.
'Now, it's our turn!' exclaimed Master Kagami, and Yama-san held out to me a Kanzashi with both hands. I loved it!
'It's absolutely magnificent!'
'We didn't put it in gift-wrap in order not to hide its beauty,' said Yama-san, and I thanked the master and her from the bottom of my heart.
'I've made this for you, Ane-ue!' Gakkuri told me, timidly, showing me the Origami she has made in the model of a flower. She placed it in my palm and I cooed at her, 'Oh! Thank you! It's lovely!'
She smiled, blushing a little.
'This is my present for you,' Tsunan told me then, holding out to me a small plant in a pot.
I couldn't believe my eyes!
'It's a peach tree!'
'During the school festival, I noticed that you were interested in buying this tree.'
'Thank you,' I whispered, more than happy, gazing at him. 'I'll plant it by the pond.'
'There's more to come!' Master Kagami told me. 'We have two announcements to make to you.'
I held my breath in anticipation.
'We wanted you to be the first one to know it, Shun!' said Hatsu, and the master declared, 'Heihachi Myōjin is now officially a member of the organization!'
The news took my breath away.
'I'm so happy for you, Heihachi!' I said to the latter with delight. Looking embarrassed, he mumbled, 'I'm not sure that I deserve my place in the organization. I don't possess any anti-monster weapon!'
'We've already talked about it!' argued Master Kagami. 'We all know it's not what brings the member of the organization together! Also, it has never stopped you from going on missions till now!'
'He's right,' I seconded, and Heihachi smiled.
'Also...'
I looked back at the master, holding my breath again.
'Yama and I have the pleasure to announce you that we are now the legal guardians of Gakkuri! She is now our daughter!' he exclaimed, flamboyantly.
I was speechless.
Getting down on his knees, he pulled the kid against him and began rubbing his cheek against hers affectionately, causing the latter to giggle. Then, he stood up again and sent his arms around his spouse's waist, giving her a gentle kiss on her lips, followed by several others all over her face.
I chuckled. I was feeling so happy that I thought my heart was going to explode with joy.
Subaru… I hope that, wherever you are, you're having an agreeable day too, just like me.
Happy birthday!
***
A week later…
Gakkuri, Natsuhiko and I were taking a stroll by the river in Kuribayashi when, out of the blue, three young men cut our way. I recognized the three males instantly
'You!' I gasped, alarm bells going off in my head. 'Natsuhiko, go away with Gakkuri immediately!' I told the young spirit, urgently.
'Calm down!' exclaimed Shūsaku Myōjin, putting his hands up pacifically. 'We're not here to fight!'
The latter was accompanied by Suguru and Kotetsu Myōjin.
Natsuhiko looked at me, then back at the three cousins, hesitating.
'We've learnt from our uncle that Heihachi has officially joined Gushiken Paranormal Organization and we're here to felicitate him,' asserted Suguru Myōjin.
Heihachi hadn't had any contact whatsoever with his family ever since he had run away from home, but after his father had been wounded recently, Heihachi had patched up a few ties with his parents; he phoned them from time to time to ask them about their health and to give them some news about him.
But that was about all of the bond that he shared with his clan.
'What happened between my father and our uncle has made us think a lot,' declared the eldest cousin, his tone filled with remorse. 'We were jealous of Heihachi because he was destined to be the future head of clan and so, we have rejected him. We have systematically treated him like a good-for-nothing, just like the adults have done.'
'Today,' stated Suguru, 'There's a huge gap between Heihachi and us and we know that it's not going to be easy to renew the bond; we know that he's already happy here with all of you; but, we really wish to get closer to him.'
'If we came to talk to you first, it's because we're afraid that Heihachi will refuse to see us,' said Kotetsu. 'We need your help.'
I stared at them for a minute, wondering if they were truly sincere; unsure about what to do.
'Please!'
'Okay,' I murmured. 'I... I'm going to give Heihachi a call and tell him that you're here and you want to see him. But it'll be up to him to decide whether he wants to meet you or not.'
***
A small while later...
Sitting on the grass, I watched the three animal-transformed cousins play tag with Natsuhiko and Gakkuri to make time pass while they waited for Heihachi to arrive.
Shūsaku, Suguru and Kotetsu appeared to be different from the last time I had seen them; they looked more jovial.
I couldn't help but chuckle when Kotetsu Myōjin rolled his snake self around Natsuhiko's leg, causing the latter to fall and thus, making him the "it".
'Ane-ue! Play with us!' exclaimed Gakkuri, but I refused politely.
After a few minutes, Kotetsu- having taken back human form- came up to me.
'Heihachi will here at any minutes now,' I told him.
Giving me a nod, he sat down beside me on the grass.
'We have been odious towards him since forever but, despite that, he has accepted to give us a chance. He has qualities that we should have learnt to appreciate. I hope that it's not too late,' he mumbled. 'But he's accepted to talk to us, I take that as a good sign.'
Maybe, everything wasn't completely lost between Heihachi's family and him.
'Say, there's something that I wanted to ask you. Last time when we had seen each other, you said that you don't like snakes; is there a particular reason for that? Is it because I bit you? I was just... wondering if you hate me.'
My eyes widened at him in puzzlement.
'N-no,' I stuttered, a lump forming in my throat. 'It's just that- in fact, my parents have both died from a snake bite.'
He stared at me in stupefaction. 'I'm sorry. I didn't know.'
'I don't hate you,' I assured him. 'I see you as you are, regardless of your animal-form choice, not that I mind it.'
At this, he smiled creakily at the ground.
'Well, I understand better now what makes Heihachi happy to be here,' he said, then, looking back at me again, he added, 'I find it hard to believe that you're a psychotic killer.'
Feeling uneasy, I averted my eyes.
'Your name sounded familiar to Shūsaku, Suguru and I, but it was only after you left with Heihachi that we remembered.'
So, I was right; they hadn't recognized me. Not until later.
'We're grateful towards Tsunan Hitachiin for having saved our uncle's life and we can see very well how the doctor and everyone behave around you. I don't think that if you were a criminal, they'd have this protective demeanor towards you. So, we've decided not to tell anything to the other members of the clan.' He winked at me. 'It's our little secret.'
'Thank you,' I murmured. 'I don't want anyone to think badly of Heihachi because of me. For me, Heihachi is like a brother.'
'Yo! Shun!' came Hatsu's voice at that moment and we looked around at the latter who was coming into our direction, Heihachi by his side.
Kotetsu Myōjin jerked to his feet at their arrival, while Shūsaku and Suguru stopped running about to look at Heihachi.
At first, the atmosphere between the four cousins was a bit awkward, but slowly, Heihachi seemed to grow comfortable in their presences.
Shūsaku, Suguru and Kotetsu believed that Heihachi has his place within the Myōjin clan and to show him their good will, the elder cousin decided that Heihachi was the true head of their family; that he'd only replace him in his absence.
Thank you for reading!