Do good omens truly give us good luck or do they merely give us the confidence to give ourselves good fortune?

Chapter 34

Choosing Fate

The cold had taken a stronger turn in the past few days. Ryuto watched the window eagerly, waiting for any sign of the embodiment of winter wonder…And school closings. He was very disappointed when their trip to the ski place was cut short a couple days ago, but maybe he would still be able to try out his first snowboard. Resting his head on his hands his attention drifted to the heavy light consuming clouds. They were so thick and bloated he couldn't even play a game of cloud shape identification. It was just a mass, a very full and cold mass.

*Meanwhile*

"Why does it have to be so cold?" The doctor grumbled as he turned up the car heat. "Why do we have to do this now?"

"We need this."

"Yeah, It'll be nice catching up. You've been working so much lately…" Hiyo flipped on the windshield wiper as small flakes melted on the glass. "Cigar Sucker has been working you to death before you quit."

"It'll be nice seeing Mom again."

"She was really excited when I told her you were going to be a teacher again. She's proud of you."

"It'll be nice to start talking to her again…"

*Meanwhile*

"Mama?" Ryouko turned to the child running up to breakfast table. She was in the middle of switching on the lights as the sky grew as dark as night. "It's snowing." He stated the words as if it was a magical password.

"Yes, it looks beautiful, doesn't it?" She looked out the window as the small spots fell gently and say Matsu look up at them in the middle of throwing all the branches out of the yard. She always felt a small twinge when it snowed and she was sure Matsu felt the same. It brought them back to that day.

"Um, yeah, but can we go out and try my snow board now that it's snowing? Please?"

"And build a snow man too." Kane squealed with delight. "Can we go now please?"

"There's not enough snow yet." She responded with her childish giggle as she set the final bowl down. "Don't worry, it looks like it's picking up. Maybe we can go out once we're done eating." Then she quickly added a- "If you don't rush".

*Meanwhile*

"I'm pacing myself." Hiyo glared at his brother from over his warm tea as they sat in the stationary car in front of a road side restaurant. "You're such a nag sometimes. It's not like its Sake or anything." A mumble crawled from his lips. He never did like it when Hiya criticized his beverage consumption. Being twins never mattered, only that he was younger and Hiya had to be a good big brother, a protector.

"Mm." The other responded by sipping his coffee silently. He had spoken his piece and even if Hiyo complained he was reducing in his drinking speed regardless. A moment passed before he looked up at the sky.

"I don't think it's slowing down. We should find a place to stay tonight and-."

"I know, I know; drive carefully. I'm not that irresponsible." A couldn't help but smile as he started up the car.

"The master of nature is surely on your side, isn't he? You're in no rush to see mom again so he's giving you an excuse."

"You read too many fantasy books…" The dark haired brother shook his head as he examined the map for a decent hotel. "I…I'd like to see Mom again. She was the one who didn't want to see me…"

"I don't understand why you never told her what really happened. There was no reason for her to disown you like that if she knew."

"Hiyo, she did know…"

"What are you talking about? There's no way she-."

"The reason she wouldn't speak to me was…She thought there was…There was a misunderstanding…" The freckled brother let a moment pass. He figured by his face he was thinking of a way to explain something complicated.

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"I don't know why, but she didn't believe me…She thought…" He paused. He felt sickened by the very thought of it. "She thought there was another reason I was fired…Involving Iris…" He felt a headache coming on. "Something that could not be forgiven. I guess getting my job back was a way of proving to her it was a lie after all."

"Well why the He77 would she think that!? She knows you're not kind of person!"

"I don't know maybe-."

"Bull! You know why and who and so do I!"

"…Calm down, everything's OK now. It's over." The unwillingness to deny it gave him away.

"Why did you let her get away with it, Huh? She took your job, she took Mom's trust, you have move away from everyone because of her, and she would've had me too if she hadn't-."

"What was I supposed to do?" He maintained his calm demeanor but his tone was strong enough to catch his attention. "Obviously she wanted the job more than me and she was willing to do anything to get it. The best thing to do is move to another city out of her way."

"It's not right." Calm overcame him again as he forced himself to pay attention on the increasingly slippery road. "She shouldn't get away with this…This isn't just about a job. It can't be."

"Can we please just stop talking about it?"

*Meanwhile*

"OK, I will." Kane picked up her scarf and threw it around her neck.

"And then can you show me how to snow board Mama?" Ryuto spoke impatiently.

"Gacha, I already told you this isn't a good area for that. There are too many trees and the ground is too flat. I'm sorry."

"But we can still build a snow man." Kane tried to cheer Ryuto up with that little fact. It wasn't working but smiled so she wouldn't feel bad.

"Ryouko-Chan?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"There's a bit of a problem in the city. I think I better check on Kuji-Chan and Harmony-Chan since their phones down. Ka-Chan hasn't even gotten a hold of them and well, you know how she is." He seemed a bit worried too as he put his coat on.

"Can I come with you? Please?" Ryuto looked up hopefully at him not wanting to waste his day off.

"Are you sure you don't need help? Maybe you should call back Rye-San I think his car is better suited for the snow."

"Well…Yes, but you know how Kuji-Chan feels about Rye…Besides I can handle the cold better than him anyway."

"…Good point…I hope they're alright…Who am I kidding? This is Kuji we're talking about."

*Meanwhile*

"What are you talking about?" Hiya looked out the window. "I don't see any bird out there. Maybe I should start driving. You're seeing things that aren't there."

"You missed it bro. You're just so slow and inattentive today." His brother insisted quite strongly. "It was a huge crane, a white one with a red crown, very quick too."

"You're certain?"

"Yeah, I almost didn't see him because of the snow."

"Hm. Nothing should be out here in this weather…" He looked up to see the hotel was just ahead of them. "That must be it."

*Meanwhile*

"Is that it Papa?" Ryuto pointed at a figure wandering in the park between and around some trees.

"It…It is!" Matsu's eyes widened as he looked at the creature. "I can't believe it's here. He's beautiful."

"He?" The boy looked up at him perplexed.

"The throat is black, not grey. You can kind of see it if you look hard enough."

The boy pressed his hands against the glass as he looked at the male bird. "I can see! Um…Why does he have a red spot on his head?"

"That's his crown Gacha. You know those cranes are very special. They are a sign of good fortune and very rare. I so glad I could see one in person."

"I saw a bird like that before."

"Yes, in a picture at the house."

"Mm yeah, but I saw one before that too when we were visiting grandpa."

"Visiting grandpa?" He looked at the child as the light flashed red.

"Yeah, I don't remember it much because I was little, but I remember the bird. I think he was a boy too."

Matsu could only smile at that point as he took one last look at the bird before it disappeared into the curtain of dark snowfall for good. He didn't worry so much about his sister and Harmony now, but while he was near he should check on them just in case.

*Meanwhile*

"It doesn't hurt to check." Hiyo shrugged as another, much darker and desolate inn seemed near. They were just getting back into the car after they tinkered over the unresponsive engine.

"We wouldn't have to look for another hotel if you hadn't tried to interject yourself in a private matter." His tone was so displeased and flat it made his brother shoot a worried glance at him.

"Hiya…What was I supposed to do? That loser was practically bullying her." He spoke softly still taken back by his brother's sudden disapproval.

"She didn't want your help. You should have let her reap what she sewed herself."

"Are you listening to yourself? You love helping kids. Just because she's an adult doesn't mean she couldn't use any aid."

"She was allowing it to happen. She doesn't even want to help herself." He explained calmly. "Didn't you see how ungrateful she was? She pushes any help away and drives herself back into danger like a self-righteous sacrificial lamb. Just be glad there aren't children involved."

"Maybe she doesn't know any better. Maybe she just needed someone to-."

"Enough Hiyo! You can't just run around trying to fix everything! You're not God! Sometimes you just have to leave things how they are."

"I was just trying to help."

"It's not just about that woman. You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't." He went to start the car up to test their repairs when something ahead of him caught his eye. "It's that bird again…" He watched as the animal moved awkwardly on the road. It would hop up only for just one of its wings to cooperate causing it to fall to earth. "I think its wing is hurt." He went to open the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if I can help the poor thing."

"Please, let's just keep moving. It's a wild animal."

"The bird could die if I don't-." He felt a tug on his sleeve.

"You can't save everyone! When will you learn that?" They met each other eye to eye and it was Hiya turn to hold a deep-rooted fire that had never shown it's self before.

"I can Da^^n well try." He snatched back his sleeve and walked over toward the bird. His mind was focused on the bird until his ears picked up a terrible screech coming from behind. He turned a moment too late to see a large eighteen wheeler slid on the frozen road. It collided harshly with the small car in a terrible mass resembling a rhino crashing into a small child and rammed it into a power line post.

"H-HIYAAAAAA!" He ran to what was left of the vehicle. He could see barley see him behind the all-consuming cracks on the windshield. The only visible portion of his face was completely red. He knew he had to hurry. His brother's mind was most likely severely damaged and losing precious fluid.

"Hang on! I-I'll." He struggled to find a way in. All of the doors were warped beyond use. His only option was breaking the windshield completely. In a fit of desperation he searched for something heavy noticing the bird at the corner of his eye. The bird took a moment to stare at him with what felt like sympathy then spread both its wings and flew silently into oblivion.

It won't be the same, not for him...