It’s been two weeks since Ren Carter last saw his sister and his aide. These weeks have passed in a blur. He was barely functional, except for the occasional visits to the academy where he was queried time and time again about what transpired in the biotech lab. He stopped going to the hospital, neglected his duties as director without any care in the world. The calls poured in day by day, the emails too. The calls from home were ignored and declined. Hana let him grief in peace, despite having her own concerns about her story. His life was equal parts grey and fucked. He had never felt any more useless. The only thing worth looking forward to was the routine visits to the medical wards where his team of Ninjas had been mandated to maximum bedrest. Their soft banters always managed to lift his moods. On his fifth visit, he powered down the hallways cradling two bouquets of flowers under one arm, and a bag of chocolates and fruits in the other. “Welcome, Headmaster,” Ninjas greet

“Uncle Hiro, what are you doing here?” Ren demanded as soon as he pressed the call icon on the biometric. On the screen, Hiro Carter stopped struggling with the guards mounted at the gates, and his head shot up in surprise. “What is this, Ren? Ask them to let me through!”“Why are you here?” Ren repeated in a colder voice, and Hiro seemed to catch the undertone this time. “I'm here to understand what has come over you, Ren.” Ren threw his head back and chuckled quietly. He could not believe that his uncle would come all the way here just for his wellbeing. Now that he had a different idea of Mizuki Carter painted by Rei, he could envision the woman commanding her husband to find his nephew and berate him. “Its been two weeks since the tragic death of your cousin, two weeks!” Hiro’s voice broke over the speaker. “My son is gone. And you, whom I thought like a son to me, have not visited for a single day.” He shook his head. “This is not you, Ren. Mizuki has been saying it, but I'm

“My sister might have told me a thing or two about how you used to treat her back when she lived with you and uncle Hiro.”Mizuki Carter stared at Ren for a long moment, expression unreadable. If she was guilty, she didn't give anything away. If she was innocent, still nothing.“Don't you mean, your late sister?” she demanded in a cold voice. The reminder stung Ren, but not as much as the hint of triumph and satisfaction he found in her voice. Before Ren could help himself, he crossed over and snatched her wrist in a death grip that had Mizuki crying out in pain. “Tell me everything you did to her, down to the last truth. And I might just try to forgive you.” Mizuki threw her head back and laughed hard, drawing attention from nearby. “Look at you insolent rat,” she spat. “Have you lost your mind?!”Ren held on tighter as she struggled to break free. “I'm giving you a chance to forgive you, Aunt Mizuki. You don't know what it's like when I'm unforgiving.”She scoffed, eyes rimming ov

“What do you mean? She's Yoshi's fiancée?” Ren jumped away from Amaya as quickly as he could, unable to believe his ears. How could it be? He wanted to ask. The last time he checked, Yoshi and Amaya weren't even on speaking terms. “You want to pretend you didn't know that before putting your hands on her?!” Mizuki yelled. “Enough,” Hiro chided quietly, his eyes taking in Amaya’s form on the bed. “He seems to have stopped the bleeding.” Mizuki blinked in surprise. “She was bleeding?” She hurried to the bed and examined Amaya closely. “Are you okay?” The young woman smiled awkwardly as she could not understand the sudden change in behavior, nor could she understand how it had slipped out that she was engaged to Yoshi Carter. Hiro walked up to his nephew, his eyes hard and jaw ticking. “Did someone really shoot into my house or that was something else?” Ren looked around the room and started towards the window. “I think it was a sniper.” Hiro followed. “What? Why wou

“And who might you be, sir?” Ren asked the question in the most innocent voice. But it did not fail to rile up the general more than he already was. “Are you testing my patience on purpose?” he snarled. “First, you don't tell me if it's you who has my daughter or not. Second, you're pretending to not know who I am.” He scoffed and stopped a few inches away from Ren, towering like a giant. “You might want to stop pulling your little games now, boy.”“I'm not pulling any games. I don't know who you are.” Ren could hear the whispers behind him about the man's status, but it did not mean he knew who the man was. “How am I supposed to know who your daughter is?” The man straightened and lifted his shoulders with the pride he was used to. “I’m Takayoshi Miura, Four-star general of the Tokyo Defense Command. My sources tell me my daughter was last seen in these premises yesterday.”“And who is your daughter, sir?” As soon as the question left his mouth, a possible answer popped into his he