Successor.

Chapter One. Awaken.

My eye feels weird. I don't see anything out of it as I wake up. Since when did I lose it? Did I lose it? In that case, how? I'm also laying on the floor so that's weird. But why does it feel so clean? In fact, why is it so clean?

My mind is swirling with questions with some vague flashes of what happened before…What was I thinking about? But the itching on my face is bothering me. It feels really itchy and prickly and it hurts a little.

There's a blanket on me and a pillow behind my head. My eye looks at the door. It looks like a normal door. I hear things on the other side. Footsteps. The door slides open and the first thing I see is a massive man. Muscles on muscles. Familiar blue eyes stare down at me

They're like… dad's eyes. But was he always a redhead? Why is his face on fire? The man who I think is my dad kneels and looks me in the eyes.

"Are you well, son?" he asks. His voice is deep and rumbling. I look up and blurt out.

"Why are you on fire?" he just moves on. His eyes were more focused on me than anything else. I sit still. Watching him. He brought something with him. It almost looks like noodles. He slides the bowl over and I stare at them.

"Eat." his rumbling voice growls. It sounds scary. I reach out with my tiny hands grabbing the bowl and sticks. I guess my dad doesn't like being hands on. I grab a few and slowly lift them to my mouth. They're cold.

Once it goes in the whole bowl is gone. One question rises in my mind. If I have a dad, then where's my mom? I'm watching my dad like a hawk as he takes the bowl from me. My hands folded into my lap. Sometimes I feel like I need to sit a different way with my legs off to the side leaning against my arm.

"Dad." I say as he gets up to handle the bowl. He looks over his shoulder at me. Serious face not changing for a second.

"Yes?" he asks. "What is it?"

"Where's Mom?"

He turns to face me with his voice lowering a little. "Your mother got very sick and had to go to the hospital. She might be gone for a while.." He says before turning back around and leaving without another word. So far my dad is scary and my mom is sick.

It's strange. I don't even know my name yet and my face hurts a little. I get to my feet and try to find a mirror to get a look at myself. Scurrying over to what I think is a bathroom. I see it. A mirror. I boost myself up by a stool and I look into the single gray eye of a little boy.

My hair is red on one side and white on the other with it split evenly down the middle. The left side of my face is covered by a big bandage.I try for a smile to see how it looks, but the pain that flares up upon the expression immediately stops me. I stop smiling after that. I get off the stool and scoot off to my room.

I get a better look at it. There's some comic books and toys. All of them were made to look like or have Dad in them. Maybe he's some big shot?. He looks awfully familiar but from where? My brain still feels fuzzy. Maybe I should take a nap, just to get all of this out of my head.

I huddle back up beneath my covers, resting my face on the cool fabric of the pillow as the prickling and throbbing sensation flares back up. I'm barely able to hold in a whimper from the pain.

I'm used to being alone. Even though the feeling is odd, out of place, like I shouldn't be alone, I can't help but feel comforted by my solitude. A feeling of peace begins to settle over me just from the thought. I feel... oddly at home here. My eyes slowly drift closed as I begin to fall asleep.

"Shh! Natsu!" I hear. It sounds like a girl's voice. "Dad's gonna kill us if he finds out we're over here!"

"Will you hush for a minute Fuyumi? I'm worried about Shoto." Another voice hisses back. It sounds like a guy. Well. A boy. I guess I'm Shoto. So answer to that name. My door slides aside and I sit up.

There's two people here. One is a boy with spiky white hair who looks a lot like Dad. Well more like him than me. Then there's a girl with red and white hair with the red streaked through it rather than my half and half on each side of my head.

They smile warmly at me, but I can't bring myself to smile back. Mostly because of the throbbing and itching that consumes what feels like half my face.

"How are you feeling, Shoto?" Fuyumi asks with her eyes full of concern. Their eyes are gray, like mine. Fuyumi wears glasses and Natsuo doesn't.

"I… I feel okay." My voice sounds young. Well it makes sense because I'm still a kid. My siblings both seem really sad about something. Their shoulders slumped and it almost looks like they've been crying. Red eyes and puffy faces, maybe some snot from Natsuo.

"What's wrong?" I ask. Natsuo perks up and his eyebrows raise with shock coming to

"Wait. You don't remember?" Natsuo asks. "Well- yow!" Fuyumi rams his stomach with her elbow. He winces and hugs his stomach with a groan.

"Take it easy, Natsuo! He's still recovering!" she interrupts with her eyes shifting back to me. I just look down at my hands. This is all just so confusing. I don't even know what happened to me before just waking up.

Like… who is my mom? Why can't I remember her? If she's really important then why don't I feel like they do about her? My eye stings and everything blurs. Big tears rain down my cheeks and my shoulders jolt violently with my voice coming out with a long gut-wrenching wail.

Just the thought of forgetting Mom like this is wrong! I should remember! It's not fair! I curl back into a ball and cry my heart out. Feeling the arms of my siblings around me. Crying into the blanket.

Just the thought of forgetting someone so important makes me cry. The confusion I also feel from all the sudden waking up in this situation makes it worse. All it makes me feel is not warm or cold or anything like that…

Just stuck in between. Fuyumi and Natsuo let me go but I didn't want that. All I want at this moment is to feel like I'm okay. That this is truly home and I'm not just dreaming. Still… it can't be so bad right

As long as I adapt and figure out how I fit into all this I'll be good. I just need time. I watch my siblings leave my room and I roll back over to look up at the ceiling. Maybe once I get some shuteye it'll be better.

I'll save adapting for tomorrow. So to sum up. My name is Shoto and I have an injury on my eye and my siblings are named Fuyumi and Natsuo. My father is a big shot that's famous enough to have comics and toys modeled after him. I have no memory of my mother or how I got hurt and as far as I know I just woke up here without any memory of what happened before.

All I know is that I'm alive and haven't died yet.