After several failed attempts to re-enter the cathedral after first getting thrown out, the team and Haruko retreated to the real world and into Jumin's house where his mother helped tend to their injuries. Kimi hissed as Grey placed a cold piece of steak to her cheek. "Ow...!" She whispered, gripping the couch cushion.

"It's okay, hon. You just got a little burn." Grey said, moving the cold cut of meat up and down her face.

"Easy for you to say. You weren't almost turned into a roasted chicken!" The brunette exclaimed.

Yu looked up from Isas' cheek as he applied burn cream to the entire left side of the young man's face. "Remind me again how you all managed to not only sneak out from under your parents' noses but get 1st degree burns all over your bodies?"

Jumin sighed, painfully lifting himself off the recliner. "Isas told them that the school called us back for some kind of clean up detention or some shit like that-ow-and they didn't say another word."

"We didn't exactly take into account that Saburo would have such fire power." Isas mumbled.

Kimi groaned, "That was a terrible pun, Isas, and you fucking know it."

Haruko chuckled. "Wow, your kids are real masterminds, huh, Eko-Chan?"

Grey shot the nineteen-year-old a look. "And just what the hell is she doing here?!"

Suki sighed. "She wanted to tag along and wasn't really going away without a fight."

Grey sighed. "Of course she didn't."

"Oh lighten up, Eko-Chan! I was just helping the kitties out! They needed me!" She cooed, dramatically posing on the kitchen counter.

Jumin leaned back, catching Haruko's eye. She mouthed for him to 'ask her the question.'

"What?" Jumin inaudibly whispered.

Haruko nodded towards his mother, mouthing again, "Ask her."

He looked over to his mother, anxiously bouncing his leg. "H-hey, mom?"

"Yeah, hon?" Grey called, pulling out a first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet.

"Did you...uh...did you...have like, uh, a-a dungeon or palace or something like that...?" He stammered.

Grey tensed up, almost dropping the bag of frozen peas onto the ground. "Who told-?"

"Haruko did," Isas admitted, "She said that Saburo's was almost exactly like yours. We didn't really know what she meant by-"

"You fucking told them?!" She exclaimed.

"I thought you already had." Haruko said, so nonchalant.

"I was going to, but it wasn't the time." She replied through gritted teeth.

"Wait, so it's true?" Jumin asked.

Grey sighed. "Yes, yes I had dungeon, but I would rather not discuss any of this right now."

"Mom, please. I just need to know a few things. Anything that can help Saburo-"

"Sorry kid, but having the same color scheme isn't going to work," Haruko said, "different things for different people, kid."

"I don't want to discuss this anymore, alright? We can talk about this later-and you! I want you out of my house! Now!" She ordered.

Haruko shrugged, standing up from the chair and made her way to the door. "You can't keep hiding things, G. They have to know at some point-"

Grey had had it. She was just gilled with this sudden burst of rage that she hadn't felt since she was a teen. She picked up an old vase and chucked it towards the door, narrowly missing Haruko as she shut the door.

The lamp shattered against the wall, and fell into tiny pieces on the floor. Grey couldn't help but feel utterly ashamed as everyone just stared at her-as if she were insane.

"Grey-"

"No! No, I...I'm sorry. I...took it too far." She said, "I...I gotta calm down for a bit."

"Mom, wait-"

She looked over at her anxious son. The poor boy seemed like he was going to cry because he felt so guilty. She smiled, hoping that it was enough for him to calm down. "It's fine, Juju. I just...need some time to myself, okay? You guys can have anything in the fridge, and you can stay as long as you all want, okay?"

Jumin wanted to protest further. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but they never left his mouth. What had he done?

Why did he have to listen to Haruko? Why did he have to push for an answer? He didn't have to do it.

He chose to do it. He chose to get his mother mad at him. He chose to ruin their relationship and embarrass her in front of his friends, he-

"Hey," Jumin turned to his father, his hand resting gently on his shoulder. "It's okay. Your mom just needs time to herself. You didn't know, and that's fine. But...don't listen to Haruko. She lives off of pushing people's buttons and she especially lives off of pushing your mother's buttons. So, be careful with her."

Jumin nodded, hugging his dad tightly. He couldn't help but feel utterly guilty for putting his mother through such embarrassment.

"W-we should probably get going ourselves," Anzu said, jumping off the kitchen counter.

"Are you sure? You guys get stay a little longer..." Yu said.

"Too awkward. Plus if I'm gone too long, my parents will get suspicious. I'll see you later, Mr. Narukami." Kimi said, walking out with the others following shortly behind her.

When they all exited the house, Haruko was still waiting, leaning against her bright yellow vespa, humming to herself.

Suki frowned, angrily walking over to her.

"Finally you decide to show up!" The strawberry haired woman exclaimed.

Suki folded her arms. "Was that really necessary?"

"What?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it was outing some very personal information!"

"Don't get all pissy with me. I was trying to help you!"

"That was completely out of line," Suki stated.

"It was also unnecessary for you to shout at your friend Isas the other night, but here we are." Haruko replied, a devilish smirk on her face.

Suki hugged herself, avoiding eye contact. "H-how do you know about that...?"

"I heard you. I was there about to head out when I saw your little squabble."

Her face flushed from embarrassment and shame. "I...I didn't mean to-"

"I know you didn't. But it happened, and now, your bonds are all messed up. You don't know what to do and you're scared because you're afraid of losing your friends. You're afraid of losing the people you care about..."

"Man, you're really hitting the nail on the head, huh?"

Haruko shrugged. "It's normal teenager stuff. Friends grow apart, they leave, they get angry at each other and fight. It happens all the time."

"So, what do I do? How can I stop being...this?"

"Tell you what. If you help me with this errand I have to run, I'll try and help you with your problem. Deal?"

Was she serious? Was she really going to try and get her to do some sort of dirty work for help?

'Well, I do want to repair my bond with Isas. And Igor even said that I wouldn't be able to progress unless I solve this...'

She sighed. "Okay. I'll help you. But you have to promise to help me straight after! Got it?"

Haruko laughed. "Don't be so serious, Suki-San! Come on. We got work to do."

"Oh no, there's not chance in hell that I'm getting on that death trap with you!" She exclaimed.

Haruko pulled her forward and onto the vespa, "Come on! We don't have a second to waste!"

She revved up the old yellow vespa as Suki held onto her middle for dear life as they sped off into town.

-------------

Anzu returned home, pulling tightly on the drawstrings of her hoodie to hide her injuries.

"Annie, that you?" Deviant called.

"Y-yeah dad. It's me." She replied, throwing her backpack onto the couch.

Her father came out into the main room, a warm smile on his face.

"W-what? Something on my face?" She questioned, her hand going to her cheek.

"No. I'm just...really happy to see you." He replied.

A light pink blush dusted across her cheeks as she turned her head away from him. "You're such a sap, old man."

He chuckled. "What? Can't I be happy to see my daughter when she comes home from school?"

"I thought you would be a lot angrier because I got suspended."

"I know you, Annie. I know you can be standoffish but you are in no way a fighter."

' You would totally eat those words if you found out what I was doing these past few hours.'

"Thanks for believing in me, I guess. But you shouldn't be so quick to trust me. I could turn around and rob the liquor store if I wanted to."

"Annie-"

"It's true. You don't know what I can do. I could steal 50 cars in 5 hours tops. And you wouldn't know."

Deviant snickered, but his smile quickly fell as he peered up at his daughter, a somewhat serious look in his eyes.

"What?"

"...how's Saburo?"

Anzu hugged herself tightly, running her hands up and down her arms. "He's...not that great. He came into school late today...says he's sick or something."

Deviant sighed. "God I hope he doesn't have that flu-"

"Don't. Just--he doesn't have it. And even if he did, I don't want to talk about it."

"Annie-"

"Dad, please," she begged, beginning to get teary eyed.

"Annie...you know that day is coming up. Saburo's gonna need a lot of help-"

Anzu hissed, balling her fists and squeezing them tightly until her knuckles were almost white. She had hoped that this day didn't come-she tried to put it out of her mind and pretend that the whole thing never existed--that what happened all of those years ago never happened at all.

She tried to convince herself that it was all just a bad dream. But the emptiness that she felt, the pain that came from unresolved and unexpressed fear that came from that day.

The day of Saburo's 'accident.'

When he was twelve, he was on his way home from school when he was hit by a car backing out of a gas station. He was rushed to the hospital with a fractured skull and a lot of broken ribs.

The doctors said it was a goddamn miracle that he got away with the injuries he had and not something much worse like severe brain hemorrhaging.

But the incident came when they found out who the driver of the other car was.

It was Saburo's biological father.

The father that left when Saburo was five because he just hated him for no reason. The father who slowly became an alcoholic way before his son was even born because of the real estate market crash that happened that year. The father that forced Saburo to be the man of the house and grow up way sooner than he had to because he had to support his mother.

The same father who came into that hospital and didn't give a damn when he found out that the kid he hit was his son.

No one knew what was said after he forced them all out of the hospital room. They couldn't hear what words were exchanged that day in that room, but when the door opened and Saburo and his mother were in tears, they could pretty much piece together their own explanation.

After that, Saburo's mother was engaged in both a divorce and a lawsuit against her now ex-husband, which she lost due to her lack of money.

The man got off scott free, leaving town to live life in the city without consequence or having to pay child support.

Saburo was never the same after that.

The boy at the summer festival didn't exist anymore, and if he did, he was lost and was just done trying to get out.

He began to actively avoid them and starting getting into trouble more often. He got into fights almost everyday with other students. At fifteen, he was caught underage drinking and smoking behind the liquor store. At age sixteen, he was almost arrested for attempted assault.

Once his reputation changed, everyone in town saw him as a public enemy. They didn't want anything to do with him and were just sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for him to slip up.

But meanwhile, Anzu was waiting for him to show up.

He had been so good at avoiding them, he seemed like a ghost.

Eventually, she and her friends got tired of waiting for things to be 'normal' again, and they seperated onto their own destructive paths.

And now, here she was, just days away from the anniversary of the accident, and they were miles from being anything but friends.

And she didn't know if she had any strength to carry on any further.

"Annie? You okay?" Her father asked after a long time of standing in silence.

Anzu tried to hold back her tears. She had done it a million times before but this time...this time was different. She was different.

Her eyes stung as she collapsed into her father's embrace, sobbing harder than she ever had in her entire life. She couldn't get any words out.

All she could do was sob.

Deviant sighed, gently running his fingers through her little pixie cut as he allowed her to cry into his shoulder, not saying a word.

-----------

Jumin paced his room, throwing things in anger and mumbling to himself.

It was very late now and he had still not spoken to his mother.

He just felt so ashamed after what happened earlier that day.

He shouldn't have listened to Haruko.

He knew how much she lived off of antagonizing people-especially his mom.

He shouldn't have listened to her.

He should have stayed quiet.

He gripped the top of his head, nearly pulling his hair out. "UGGGGH! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!" He shouted, picking up his game controller and throwing it at the wall just as his mother entered the room.

His face flushed in embarrassment. "I-I didn't mean to--I'll pay for that, I'll-"

Grey held her hand up. "Relax. I'm not angry at you."

"You should be...." He murmured.

"Well, I'm not. Now, sit down. We need to talk."

Jumin nodded, sitting down on his bed beside his mother, who was cleaning off the snack wrappers on his bed.

"You seriously need to clean your room. It is disgusting." She said.

"I know, I will." Jumin said.

She smiled, reaching out and pinching his cheek. "So squishy."

"Ow, mom."

"What? I'm trying to lighten the mood before I get into the serious shit."

"What serious shit?"

Grey sighed, pulling her hand away from his face. "Jumin, there's...something I haven't told you. It's something I should have told you a long time ago..."

"Are you still sick?" He questioned, his hands shaking.

She shook her head, "No, but that ties into the story."

She took a deep breath, grabbing Jumin's hand tightly. "Jumin...I have Bipolar Disorder."

Jumin's mouth flew open in surprise, his eyes becoming as big as saucers. "What?!"

"I have Bipolar Disorder. I've had it for a very long time and I take medication to help me regulate my moods."

"B-but...you always seemed so...normal."

Grey rose her brow. "Really? I keep a crap ton of weapons up in our attic and I'm tied with a mythical being that shoots balls of magic. That's not exactly one's definition of normal."

"But, still. You just...always seemed so...I dunno, happy?"

"It was a lot of work, Juju. A lot of medication, therapy, and a lot of support from you and your father and your uncles and aunts. Even now, I still have bad days, I've just gotten better at hiding them."

"Mom..."

"There's a lot of things that you still don't know about me, Jumin. I wasn't always this eccentric or happy all the damn time. I was actually really fucking miserable when I was around your age." She explained.

"Really? Dad always made it seemed like you were all happy. At least, in spite of all the T.V. World and boyfriend stuff."

"That's because he didn't want you to freak the hell out. The truth was...I hated myself. When I met your dad, I was at the lowest point in my life. I had just broken up with that dick, I was sicker than I had ever been, and I was just...losing myself. I was stuck at a crossroads, trying to find balance in my life. Trying to find a way to keep everyone happy but be happy myself...if it weren't for your dad and Yosuke and all those other dumbasses, I would've ended up in a hole with no way out."

Jumin gripped his mom's hand, his eyes stinging as he held back his tears.

"I only hid it from you because I didn't want you to see me as some weak old lady who didn't have the mind to keep going. I'm supposed to be your mom. I'm supposed to be strong. I'm supposed to be the one that you come to for help and relationship advice and all that crap. I was afraid...you'd think I was insane."

"Mom, I don't think you're insane. I would never think that! Even if you were senile, I'd still think you were the coolest mom ever."

She chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Thank you, Juju. And I'm sorry for what happened earlier today. Haruko is just...one of those things in my life that just-"

"I know. You don't have to explain it to me. I...I'm sorry that I listened to her. I'm sorry that I let her out you in front of everyone."

"It's okay, baby. I've gotten used to Haruko's crap by now," She pressed their foreheads together, smiling. "But right now, you need to focus on helping your friend Saburo."

"Are you gonna be okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'll be fine. I'm like, 40. I can deal with dumbasses like Haruko."

Jumin nodded, smiling.

Grey stood, pressing a kiss to Jumin's forehead as she walked out of the room. "You better start cleaning this room before dinner."

"I will." Jumin replied as she walked out, shutting the door behind her.

A newfound determination resonated within Jumin.

'I promise you, Saburo, that I am going to save you. I promise that no matter what happens, I'm going to save you.'

------------

It was nearing the end of the day. The shops were beginning to close and the streets would soon be empty.

Good.

Akito watched from the bushes as Saburo returned home with his mother from the hospital and into their apartment above the market.

A devilish smirk appeared on his face as he held his newest toy in his hands.

"I'll make you pay for snitching on me, Saburo Etsuko. That's a promise."