The haze that had taken her over had left her when she roused the next morning to her eldest son shaking her awake.

She was dizzy and disoriented as he led her to the bathroom, feeling the sticky flakes of something crimson (red) cracking and peeling from her skin. She was confused as she felt gentle, lukewarm water dripping off of her face, stained crimson (red) as it colored the sink bowl.

It wasn't until Touya was looking her in her eyes (red, red, red), his turquoise irises alight with something strange (could it be hope?) that she came back to herself.

On instinct, her hand rose to her face. She could feel nothing out of the ordinary there, though she could still feel something off about her body.

She looked in the mirror and wanted to scream.

Dark marks (RED RED RED) stretched across her neck, as if someone had grabbed and sought to strangle her. They were already cracking painfully, bubbling blisters decorating her marred skin.

All at once she knew what she'd done.

Her knees gave way, and she collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap. Her son was there, holding her, shushing her, as the first sob painfully escaped her.

Rei couldn't tell whether her tears were those of joy or those of sorrow.

In the weeks and months following Enji's death, Rei had been tried for the crime. Her children came to her defense, however - disregarding how young they still were - and her own testimony, along with that of the nannies and tutors, helped ease some of the guilt surrounding the murder.

Instead of prison, she was forced to seek psychological help. Her children were to receive mandatory therapy for all they'd endured (a small miracle), and were placed in the care of their aunt until she could be declared mentally stable enough to take care of them.

For the next several years, she went through therapy to cope with her abuse. She learnt to better manage her PTSD and anxiety, as well as the media firestorm that surrounded the death of Japan's Number 2 Hero.

At first, the media persecuted her for the murder - Envious Spouse, they branded her - until the finer details were leaked. Like a switch, they turned from vitriol to sympathy, calling her a Brave Woman and Traumatized Wife. Most of the time, she tried to ignore the names they gave her, but it would be a long time before she could face a reporter with anything resembling genuine politeness.

The world was quick to forget - but Rei remembered. The children remembered.

As soon as she was legally able, she gained custody of her children again (and wept when she hugged them all for the first time). She changed her name (her parents had virtually disowned her the moment they refused to help, she'd decided) and moved away, far away from the house of horrors, and tried to start over.

Now the Aimoto family, Rei smiled to herself as she kissed her youngest's forehead, handing him his lunch and wishing him a good first day at school. He'd picked UA, just like she'd known he would; though this time, it wouldn't be of someone else's will, but of his own volition.

Touya and Fuyumi had gotten into a good university; while Fuyumi was studying to become a teacher, Touya was aiming to become a doctor of psychology so that he could one day become a therapist. Whether his decision was because of the trauma he'd gone through growing up or because of her mental break, she hadn't been sure, but she was so, so proud of him nonetheless.

Natsuo was beginning university, unsure of what he wanted to be yet. He was only just making his way into his burgeoning adulthood, but he knew he wanted to help support their family in any way he could. Currently he had a part-time job to help pay the bills.

And as for her... Rei had gotten the qualifications to become a daycare worker. She loved children even with her past, and she wanted to help shape the next generation into one that would stand against the world's evils.

She would do it in the name of her family.

Her children had grown up finely, and while she regretted all the time she spent away from them, she would not regret the actions she took to get them here. Her world was at peace for the first time in twenty-two years, and she intended to heal the scars of the hellfire she'd carried them away from.