Her tall stature, exhausted form, and terrified visage were exposed as she dashed in the darkness and set foot in a beam of light illumanted by a lamp post. On one hand she dragged along a hard-covered luggage, and the other held a phone on call.

[Run.]

A sudden breathing sensation on her nape had caused Valerie to stop her own, filling her mind with red flags. The girl's reflex was outdone, everything that had followed happening in an instant. A strike on the arm caused her to be thrown on the street wall with tremendous force, her back side hitting the concrete. Her mind, blank.

With the nasty sound of bones breaking came along Valerie's pained scream. The tears she previosuly held back with so much force finally fell from her heavily blue-pigmented eyes.

[You never wanted this.]

With the air knocked out of her, she fell to the ground in stupefaction. Strands of her midnight hair blocked her sight, and even worse her vision went blurry from tears.

Lying on cold pavement, a gush of hot liquid warmed her, spreading like a puddle beneath her. Despite her clothes absorbing the blood, the puddle still spreads in great speed.

Valerie inhaled sharply and pushes herself up from the ground with her hands, her back causing continuous pain. A bone had been misplaced, stabbing her inner body parts.

She was baffled to how the woman can use such force as if she weighed like paper. The stranger didn't have a form that's of a bodybuilder to throw her that easily.

As her foggy vision fades, the girl looked for two things: The maniac, and her phone that was thrown away along with her luggage.

The cloaked and hooded woman was within her peripherals, approaching closer and closer. While her phone is not too far away, her luggage close to it.

[You were desperate.]

Though it's very faint, the raven can hear her parents' voice from her now cracked phone.

A strong wave of resolve rushed within Valerie. Her mind now fortified, and her will evermore stronger.

More hot tears strolled down her face as she stood up from the ground difficultly, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.

For her well-being, she will rise.

For her life, she will survive.

For her family, she will conquer.

Valerie stammers as she runs to her phone. Every part of her ached so much more with all the movement she does. But all those pain are secondary to the rising pain in her chest as she thinks of not being able to see her parents again.

[And you were hopeful.]

At the moment she bended her knees and was about to reach down for her phone, the hooded woman pulls Valerie's wrist away from it and drags her farther. Utter despair befell on the girl's face. And the weight on her chest had disappeared. It's as if her heart had stopped existing.

"No!" Valerie let out a long earsplitting cry, stretching out her limbs for her phone. She clawed at the pavement with her free hand and thrashed her legs around, her wails full of denial.

"Dad! Papa!"

She was so, so desperate.

[But it was your fate,]

Despite the woman's looks and slim body size, she was able to lift Valerie from the ground with a single hand.

Now up and about, Valerie sends a jab to the woman's nose. It was a weaker version of what she can do at maximum strength but it should still cause pain. She kept on punching, kicking, and inflicting pain on the stranger but she just stood there as if unaffected.

Not a single groan of pain was let out from the hooded person's mouth that stayed shut the whole time.

Valerie struggled more.

No tears, no injuries, no broken bones, and no pain will keep her from fighting.

Making a move, the hooded woman wrapped both hands around the girl's neck, strangling her. Choking, Valerie tries to get out from the woman's grasp but to no avail the psycho's hand won't loosen. Feeling her oxygen supply starting to run out, the raven felt even more danger.

Much to her surprise, the other spoke.

"I'm sorry," The woman tightened her grasp, hurting Valerie even more. "I really am."

Without warning she had snapped Valerie's neck, the sickly sound of breaking bones loud and clear. The girl hanged lifelessly in her hands, no more breathing.

[To die at the hands of a monster.]

》》》αrcαnє《《《

The sobs of a boy reverberated within the empty hallway, his cries sounding so heartbroken, and his eyes full of wishful thinking. Beside the crying child is his father, both his arms wrapped around the boy's thin waist to comfort him. He tries to hush his child, his trembling voice failing him.

"It's alright Kai. Everything is going to be alright."

Stay strong. The man said to himself. He can't let himself crumble in front of his child, he musn't. For the boy's sake he must keep up a front.

But how long can he last? His voice is already shaking whenever he talks. The desperation in his gray eyes very evident. Now, his stable reasoning and thoughts are on the verge of fading.

The man received a hug from his side, feeling how Kai tightens his wrap on him. He looked at his child in surprise, realizing that the boy can feel his restlessness and despair.

Kai is now 8, his mind already far capable to understand any situation. Ever since he was a toddler, he's been the understanding type.

He certainly felt his father's suffering.

I'm so pathetic.

Eiichirou pulled his child to a hug, making Kai use his shoulders as pillows to drown out his cries. Now out of sight, the man silently releases the tears he has been trying so hard to keep inside.

They're family. They needed to comfort each other.

Time ticks away further into the night, the kid already exhausted from bawling for the past couple of hours. Kai sleeps comfortably on the bench with his head atop of Eiichirou's lap.

The man strokes the boy's purple-tinted hair and back with his gentle hands. The simple motion served as comfort for both the kid and to the father himself. It's assurance.

For hours he had patiently waited for any news, staring at the double-door at the end of the hallway. Beyond that door lies his wife, fatally injured and currently in Intensive Care Unit.

Constantly reminding the amount of blood she lost only pushes the man further down to the dark pits of dread. Still, he held onto hope. He hoped that everything will be alright. Happy thoughts. He thought of happy thoughts.

When his peripheral vision caught the doors opening, the man carefully left his seat and aided his son's head down slowly to the bench. After doing so, he rushed to the doctor who is still in his surgical outfit.

"How-" The man didn't fail to notice how the doctor kept a poker face. He felt something churn in his stomach and his heart weighed heavily. There would be no reason for the doctor to be straight-faced if things went well. So, the man only stood in horror.

"Eiichirou-san, we really did try our best." The doctor says it as delicate as he can, but the words only left more dread.

He knew even without the doctor saying it. His wife is dead.

"Your wife stayed strong until her final moments. Her life force amazed us as we continued the operation, but then in the next moment she's already weakening at a fast rate. She fought, she really did."

Crestfallen, the man couldn't help but fall on his knees. He weeps in lament of the death of his wife, controlling his pained cries to not wake Kai.

Lifting his head up, once again his eyes lit with burning hope. His chest tightens when the thought materialized in his head. Standing on his own, he looked at the doctor with a strong expression despite the tears not stopping.

This time, please.

"Sensei, what of the child? How about the baby?" He spoke in desparation, hoping that at least the pre-mature baby made it albeit the odds.

This time, the doctor looked at him with a relieved smile. "Honestly, it was a miracle. As the mother weakened abruptly, the frail baby came through. It was as if Aurora-san gave her remaining life to save her child."

So in the end, Aurora... you decided to give your life to save our child.

For what reason does Eiichirou's tears fall? What emotions lie inside those droplets of water? Most likely a mixture of the sadness for the loss of his wife and the joy of having a new member to the family. Or perhaps rage and the desire for vengeance.

"That baby is really a miracle. He's a pre-mature baby, only seven months in his mother's womb. And he has avoided any complications and injuries. Aurora-san really gave her life to protect him." The doctor smiled in sorrow. Reality hits hard on the fact that the mother and child can't be here together.

If Aurora was alive, she would embrace her son in gratifying tears, blessed with a second child. Then the affectionate mother will carry him in her arms, telling her son how much she loves him endlessly. Later on Eiichirou will enter the delivery room, his hands linked with their first child. In excitement and blissfulness of having a younger sibling, Kai will run towards their mother and gaze at the tiny human being wrapped in a soft white cloth. The day will go on happily, with the family being finally complete.

Though that is not the case.

Aurora is dead. Eiichirou will have to see her cold and lifeless body when he enters the room. The firstborn will have to hear and bare the dreadful news that their mother has passed on. Kai will deny this fact, insisting that it can't be true and will demand to see it with his own eyes. When everything is layed harshly bare in front of everyone's eyes, they would turn to the fruit and only light in this circumstance.

The baby is still alive. Their new family member came through! He lives!

Born with raven black hair of his father, and the beautiful blue eyes of his mother with an addition of a beauty mark placed under his left eye. Truly, a symbol of their love.

And the day will go on both in mourning... and in celebration.

Before seeing his second child, Eiichirou asked if he could borrow a spare room for Kai to rest comfortobly with a dry laugh. He's rather quite close with the doctor, thus having the capability to ask such a thing.

Favor granted, the man walked to his son and carried him gently onto his arms, his body and head leaning on Eiichirou's chest. He had taken Kai to the spare room, making sure not to accidentally wake him up from too much movement.

The room he was given to use is actually a room used by the busy doctors or nurses who're in residency training. He's really lucky to have a friend who allowed him to use this place.

Laying Kai down on the bed, Eiichirou tucked his child in with a blanket. He then looked at him with a tired smile. Oh how will he ever tell the tragic news.

Leaning his head towards Kai's, Eiichirou planted a kiss on the sleeping boy's forehead. "Rest well, Kai."

But never did he imagine a reply.

"How are we related to the mafia?"