Mion was home, upstairs. She did all the housework: made the beds, swept the floors, prepared lunch and dinner, and watered the plants.
Maria returned from college and lay down on her bed, which smelled somewhat nice. "Maybe Mion did everything."
Maria was strictly forbidden from visiting the kids or meeting Leon at the hospital. "I wonder if he can pay the expenses. I wonder if he's already returned home. It was two weeks ago when I last saw him. I wonder what he's doing. He hasn't made a phone call." She had visited him only once with Noor. "He was lying on his left side and couldn't move properly."
The doctor said his condition was critical: "He has twelve fractured bones, including right-side thoracic ribs, with a perforation of the small intestine near the umbilicus. This has caused a hemothorax and impaired gastrointestinal function, preventing normal oral intake. He experienced severe hemorrhage, losing approximately two liters of blood, leading to hypovolemic shock—a life-threatening state. His survival is a miracle. Recovery is ongoing, but due to the extent of skeletal and visceral trauma, it will be protracted. He will have to stay at the hospital for a long while."
It was April 14, and since then, she hadn't learned anything about his condition. She wasn't permitted to speak with him. Today is April 27, it's been almost two weeks.
"I want to see him so badly, hold him in my arms, console him. Tell him what I feel about him."
For a moment, she considered peeking upstairs, as everything was so quiet. She didn't want to hate Mion but couldn't forget what she did, what she said to Leon: "I vow to kill you."
Maria was frightened of her. "She truly meant it; she will kill him."
Upstairs, Mion was painting a woman. The woman's curly hair was soaked in a bloody river, her face indistinct yet faintly visible, pale white. Maria pushed the door a little to get a better look. The door creaked, and Mion stopped, placing her brush and palette on the table.
Maria glanced around and went downstairs, leaving her be.
Two days later, On April 29, the higher math teacher was almost hated by every student in the class, and Manabu realized that soon enough. Jackson was the teacher's name, the younger brother of Jade, and for no reason at all, Mr. Jackson was bullied and hated by students who often made fun of him. Arian, one of the students, tore a few pages from his notebook, made a paper ball, and dipped it into his water flask. Manabu watched and laughed slightly as Arian threw the paper ball at Jackson. His shirt got wet, and he couldn't tolerate the disrespect anymore. He slammed his higher math book on the ground.
Everyone went silent. Jackson seemed anguished. He called Arian to the front three times, but Arian talked back, saying, "It wasn't me! I told you it wasn't me, you blind bitch!"
"For the last time, Arian, come to the front! Come to the front, damn it!"
Arian acted tough and went to the front of the class. Jackson placed his hands on his table and asked, "What's your problem?"
"I did nothing. You're making an issue for no reason, bitch," Arian replied.
Jackson gritted his teeth. "For the last time, if you use that word, Arian!"
Julie stood up and warned Arian to shut up. "That's enough, Arian! Shut up already. Sir, I threw the paper ball," she said.
"Julie, I know you didn't do it. I saw him do it, so sit down," Jackson said.
Arian crossed his arms, and Jackson pointed, saying, "That's disrespectful. Stand straight."
Arian refused. "I don't have to listen to a damn Ivann, you asshole."
Jackson couldn't hold back any longer and threw a wooden duster at Arian's face, hitting him in the nose, which began bleeding.
Everyone screamed, "What did you do, you mother fucker!" "Bastard!" "Are you out of your mind?!"
Kate stood up and rushed to the staff room. Arian jumped on Jackson and punched him in the face, yelling, "You fucker!"
Jackson fell to the ground. Arian kept punching his nose, breaking it. Jackson pushed him aside, grabbed his umbrella, and hit Arian in the head several times. Kate returned with Jade, and they saw the situation getting out of control. Jade restrained Jackson.
Jackson began whimpering, "I don't want a student like him! I don't want to teach any of you! Die, die, die, die, you sons of bitches!"
Jade locked his arms and pulled him to the ground. Manabu, Kate, and Julie stopped Arian, but Arian slipped free and kicked Jackson in the chest.
Kate slapped him twice. "Stop it! Are you mad?"
"Let me see you outside, you son of a bitch! You'll pay for this," Arian said to Jackson.
Everyone was stunned and tried to stop the fight. Many teachers and students from other sections, including Taiju and Mai, arrived.
But suddenly, a blast sound reached their ears. "What the—" Everyone covered their ears. The building began shaking, and windows started shattering. Students rushed under desks. A few ran outside. Suddenly, everything fell silent. What happened? everyone thought.
Everyone, including the principal, went outside. They saw people heading east for some reason. Police cars were heading west. Taiju, Mai, Julie, and Maria found Manabu. They asked rushing people what happened.
"A bomb blast!" "Terrorist attack!" they yelled and ran away.
A policeman came and requested them all to head east. Manabu and the others could see a big fire and smoke. "It's coming from the market!"
Kate screamed, "My home is west! My mother and brother are there! I have to go!" She started crying and begged the policeman to let her go. The policeman said he would find them but wouldn't allow her to go. Kate screamed at the top of her lungs. Arian pushed the policeman and headed west. "I have to save Ms. Georgia. Kate, don't worry, I'll bring your mother back."
Manabu followed him. The policeman tried to stop them, but the crowd pushed him back.
Arian followed the smoke and reached the market. The place was burning, people were dead, and policemen were rushing frantically. Firefighters reached the place soon after. Arian covered his mouth to avoid breathing smoke, but his nose hurt and made breathing difficult. He quickly reached Kate's home area, which seemed safe. He climbed to the sixth floor by stairs and knocked on the door. Kate's mother opened it. She was safe; the fire hadn't reached the place.
Kate's mother asked what happened. "Where is Kate?!"
Arian replied, "She's heading to the safe side."
Kate's mother felt relieved, but just then, policemen arrived and requested them to leave the place as soon as possible since things could go wrong any minute. Then Ms. Georgia realized her little son was still outside. Arian rushed out as soon as he heard it.
Meanwhile, Manabu, who hadn't gone to Kate's place, got lost in the alley. There, he found a middle-aged man carrying a kid. The kid was bleeding, and the man seemed worried. Manabu asked if the kid was alive. The middle-aged man replied, "He's fine; he won't die, but we have to take him to the hospital." Manabu said he'd help, and they made their way to the policemen. Ambulances were there to save people. The middle-aged man took the child to them. "This kid has a minor head injury. Take him to the hospital, and he'll make it."
Arian found Manabu and quickly ran toward him. "Manabu!" he panted. "What happened to him?"
The middle-aged man replied instead, "He had a minor head injury; don't worry, he'll be alright. You're his brother?"
"He's my friend's little brother," Arian said. Manabu didn't know it was Kate's brother. Suddenly, Taiju arrived, carrying a man who had crushed his leg and lost too much blood. The ambulance was out of space, with four people inside. Only one more could be taken. The man needed emergency treatment, or he wouldn't make it. The ambulance worker told them to decide as quickly as possible. The middle-aged man told them to take the man first. But Arian opposed. "Who the hell are you to decide who'd go?"
The middle-aged man ignored Arian, carried the man, and laid him on the bed, bringing the kid out. "The kid can be saved easily, but the man needs treatment. So don't panic; you're just too nervous, kid," he told Arian.
Manabu asked Taiju why he came. Taiju was just worried about Manabu. He said, "Both of you always keep getting your dumb asses in trouble. That's why I came to save both your asses."
Just then, the policeman Arian had pushed earlier arrived. The middle-aged man showed the kid to him, carrying him on his back. The policeman immediately took the kid and told them to follow him. "The road is blocked by building stones. Ambulances from the east will barely reach here. We have to walk a little, and it will be alright. Don't worry; it's totally alright."
Though the policeman had to have a brief conversation with Manabu, Arian, and Taiju.
They met Kate and the others at a nearby hospital. Kate's brother was already conscious. He needed twelve stitches and a bandage to be discharged.
The policeman warned them not to get involved in such chaos. They sincerely apologized.
The middle-aged man also told them to stay alert and left. Before that, he let them know his name. "Dr. Dyvuk," he said and left.
The sudden blast captured the front page of every newspaper. The blast occurred in three places: Martyr's Valley local market, the National Bank, and a mall's lowest floor, about which Manabu learned later.
At night, Manabu planned for everyone to watch a movie, including Mion and Maria. He wanted to smooth things over. Mion declined at first, but Manabu convinced her and made them sit beside each other. Taiju sat on the floor, and Mai sat on the couch behind him. They spent the whole night in the TV room.
During the ad break, Taiju decided to grab chips and drinks from a nearby store. Manabu glanced at Mion and Maria; they weren't smiling. Mion looked sleepy instead. Manabu wrapped his left arm around her, resting her head on his shoulder.
He took the remote and changed the channel to skip the ad, then recent terrorism news popped up. ("—even at the National Bank. The blast was fearsome. One of the terrorists was recorded being captured in the act by a local cop. He claimed himself as a rebel. He says Ivanns should be a free nation.")
Everyone listened to the news closely.
("They say it's just the beginning of the rebellion. A rebellion against the Lafian government for the sake of Ivann independence.")
Mion took the remote and changed the channel. "Let's watch the movie," she said.
Maria seemed worried. Mion, addressing her concern, said, "Don't worry, Leon won't get caught easily."
"What do you mean?" Maria asked.
"I bet you think Leon could be involved. In fact, he's the type, so it's plausible. But he's too smart to get caught."
Maria stood up. "What's your problem!" she exclaimed, then calmed down.
Mion stood up as well. "Maria, I apologize and promise that I won't hurt Leon."
Maria couldn't trust her words since Mion seemed serious when talking about killing Leon. Why would someone who hated him so immensely forgive him so easily, especially if he had killed someone precious to her?
"Why should I trust you?"
Mion said, "Because he's not at fault, and I realized it." She looked at Manabu. Manabu had talked to her about it personally, and this was her conclusion after much thought. "But he is in trouble, and I bet he's already at work. Manabu and I talked to Kami about him. Leon is after freedom, and his past comrades are after him. Leon betrayed them, after all. Kami never shared the information with the CPUS-Units, so he doesn't have any risk of being killed by the agents of the Units."
Maria didn't understand why they were even discussing such things. "I don't know what to say. Is there any chance of Leon being killed by his own community?"
"Certainly," Mion said, "but it's really low. Tomorrow we will visit Leon and discuss it together. I'm trying to forget everything that happened between him and me. I realized that trying to kill him was shocking for me too. I couldn't get it out of my mind, and I know it would haunt me if I made the same mistake again. Though I want him to die."
"I will meet him and try to make things up," Mion said, gripping her left elbow.
Manabu sighed. "Things went smoothly."
Taiju arrived after a while and found Mion and Maria hugging, reconciled.
Taiju was shocked, glad, and dumbfounded at the same time. "Ahh, how? How? Shit! I might've missed the episode."