Kuwabara's mother hugged him an extra time before the first day of school. "Be careful on your way there, and come straight home when school is over," she said.
"Mom, I'll be fine," Kuwabara said. "It's the same walk I always make."
"But you'll be alone," she said.
"I'll be with him half the way, Mom," Shizuru said, adjusting the skirt of her new middle school uniform. "He'll be fine. Besides, I was in third grade when I started walking to school by myself, and nothing bad happened to me."
Their mother sighed. "I know; I can't help worrying."
"Bye Mom," Kuwabara said. "I'll see you after school!"
She waved from the door as Kuwabara and Shizuru walked away. "I love you!" she called.
Kuwabara waved back with a grin. "Love you too, Mom!"
Shizuru just rolled her eyes. "Let's go."
The first day of school was fun. Kuwabara loved meeting up with his friends again, and finding out who his new teachers were. When the school day was over, he rushed home, eager to tell his mother everything that had happened that day. Oddly enough, when he got home, his mother wasn't there. As far as Kuwabara could remember, that had never happened before.
"She's probably out getting groceries or something," Shizuru said. "I'll make us a snack if you're hungry."
"Okay," Kuwabara said. Kuwabara ate his food and then went to sit on the front porch to wait for his mother. Surely she'd be home soon.
Time ticked by, but she didn't come. Finally, Kuwabara saw their car come down the road and pull in their driveway. Kuwabara hopped to his feet as his dad climbed out the car. "Dad!"
Kuwabara started towards him, but froze when he saw the look on his father's face. "…Dad?"
Words: 298
AN- And so begins the Arc of Sadness.