Yumiko is worried. She founds Syusuke's room to be neat except for the bed that aren't made and also empty of her blue-eyes brother. She founds his uniform hang neatly; his schoolbag and even his sports bag are lying on the usual corner behind the door. His not in his adjoined bathroom, and Yumiko's frown only grew. She checks Yuuta's room, their parent's room, the attic, laundry room, everywhere, even her own closet, but no sign of Syusuke. Yumiko thinks that she is hyperventilating, and perhaps she is. Syusuke's shoes are not in the shoes' closet, but his coat is, but the gates have been unlocked. Yumiko starts to panic. Where is Syusuke? She dials Syusuke's phone and found that the tensai's phone is still in his bedside table, but his wallet are not there. She then dials Yuuta's numbers.

"Hello? Yuuta's here," the sound of her youngest brother's voice at the other line was far and small behind the poundings in her own head. 'Syusuke, you better be alright,'

"Yuuta?"

"What is it, onee-san?"

"It's Syusuke. I can't find him. He's not around, but all of his stuff is still here. Except for his shoes, and the gates have been unlocked. Yuuta, I'm worry. And scared. I have a very bad feeling about this, Yuuta. A very bad feeling. Where could he possibly go?"

"…oneesan, that day was yesterday, right?" Yuuta's silent reply confused Yumiko. "What day, Yuuta? This is not funny," Yumiko half yelling into the phone. And suddenly, she remembered. Her mouth form an 'o' but no sound escape.

"Yuuta, I don't think Syusuke would go all far there without his coat. You know how cold it is out there,"

"I hope so too, nee-san. But, we don't have any more clues. We better check there,"

Yuuta voice crumbled a bit.

"Okay, Yuuta. You pack your stuff and told your school you are leaving for a week. Maybe longer. And come back home, I'll call Syusuke's school and when you arrive, we'll go there. Hurry, Yuuta. I don't know how long have he been out there,"

"I will go there as soon as possible. Don't worry, nee-san. Call papa too," and the phone call is disconnected.

Yumiko sighs weakly. "I don't know, Syusuke. I don't know whether I should be hoping that you'll be there or not. Why now, Syusuke? What bring this on again?" she whispers to nobody before calling Syusuke's school and her workplace. She then proceeds to call her father but she is told that her father is on a work trip, and probably hasn't arrived yet to the destination. 'Of all times he go in a work trip,' Yumiko grumbles and starts packing her stuff. She also packs some of Syusuke's stuff. When Yuuta arrives, not an hour longs, the two starts heading out into the driveway. Both have a very troubled expression in their face.

Syusuke stands in a children playground. He looks around, as if searching for something and after a while, he took a seat at a swing and started swinging himself. At first, it was a slow swing, but later, it became faster and faster that Syusuke thought he's going to be sick. He stopped and starts wandering around the neighborhood, it was around 5 am, and luckily, somehow, that not many people already awake and walking like the tensai did. And the fact that he's in his pajama with a coat that do not covered him fully, doesn't render him. He walked slowly, as savoring his memory in the street, and arrived at a park. He stopped for a while, looking at the entrance and proceeds to the end of the park. He walked more further into the park, and he was within the forest before stopped in a clearing.


"Ne, aniki. I have a move I want to show you," Snow told him when all 6 of them arrived at the clearing. "A move?" Syusuke asked back. Curious. Snow is a tennis prodigy like him but she chooses martial arts more than tennis. So, when she learns a new move, she usually showed them to Syusuke, and vice versa. "Yup, I made it myself. I called it Higuma otoshi. Cute name isn't it?" she told him. Syusuke remembered he asked her once why she teached him a move that she called brown bear, 'because my Mr. Bear is brown?' she asked reprimanding Syusuke about her brown bear which she called Mr. Higuma. Syusuke smiled and watched the girl delivered her new move. Not asking the reason behind the name, because he already knew anyway. Like the swallow move when they went to Ireland once and saw many swallows flying.

"Think you can learn it?" Snow asked Syusuke after she finished. Syusuke silently watched and think. The other 4 was staring gapping after watching her and only Syusuke have his normal expression. "I try," he replied and just about to deliver his attempt when a flake of snow fell on his grip. He looked up and saw lots of flakes falling. "Yay, first fall of snow for the year and we out here, playing with them," Snow happily jumping around, trying to catch the snow. Higuma otoshi lay forgotten as the kids happily running and playing in the snow.

"An expedition? You mean we need to trek a mountain in winter?" Snow said disbelievingly at her aniki. Syusuke laughed at her reaction, "not a dangerous one, Snow. We have our teachers and besides, the trek already been cleared. It be fun," "I don't know, aniki. I think there will be a storm going to happened soon. And the expedition is this weekend, that is soon," "I'm sure when the storm arrived; we are happily tucked in by mama in our comfy bed. Come on, besides, how can you be so sure about the storm? You are not the weather girl," "instinct, aniki. I trust my instinct better than the weather report. Besides, my instinct never been wrong before," Syusuke just laughed at his sister stubbornness. Sometimes, Snow and Yuuta have the same stubbornness level, which made it hard to make them change their mind once it settled. And Syusuke an expert in making them changed their mind. By being insistent. Lots and lots of pleading and debate, Snow finally caved in. who wouldn't when you see his sweet, innocent, cute blablabla smile that Syusuke have. Snow always mumbles about it was supposed to be a girl to have that smile, not knowing that her smile are also like that.

They were walking in a line, two by two, and Snow walked holding hand with Miaka. Syusuke was behind her with Taka-san and they sometimes hear the girls quarreling over small stuffs. Another breeze of strong wind stopping everyone and they are already high up the trek. Syusuke saw Snow glanced back at him and understand what she is trying to say that time. 'snow storm,' Syusuke smiled guitily and with the other kids, they are being lead to climb further up since they cant climb back down as it would be more dangerous. They arrived at a clearing, for resting but the teachers decided they should just camped there until the storm cool down and they all will head back.

"Sorry for not believing you, Snow," Syusuke whispered to the girl next to him. "Not necessary, instincts aren't that believable any way. Though, nee-san did told us about her reading," Snow replied, hugging her knees tighter. Puffs of air come out in front of her face each time she exhales. She even rubbed her palms together as if to gather more heat.

"But nee-san said something terrible will happened after the trip, Snow. Not during," Syusuke confusingly replied. He sifted a little more towards Snow. Bumping their shoulder together. "Mou, why is it so cold," she mumbled grumpily. "Because we're in a snow storm, and on a mountain?" Miaka replied smilingly from her other side. The four of them already formed a circle to keep heat going. "That's a rhetorical question and you not supposed to answered it," Snow grunt in her direction. Miaka laughed. "But I don't answered it, I delivered another question," "no, it's not a question. You just put a tinge of question note at the end," and the quarrel continue. Syusuke smiled softly and they waited for the storm to end.

"Thank goodness, it didn't last long. If I stay up there anymore longer, I'll be a human cube," Snow grumbled. "No, if you stay up there anymore longer, you will really be snow queen," Miaka laughed. Snow sighed. "if I really became a snow queen, I will kidnapped your brother and make him put back the peaces of my broken huge mirror that I smashed, rolled, blended burnt and more for years," they continue to fight even on their way back. "I really wonder where those two found their energy to continue quarreling," Taka-san asked Syusuke, quietly. Syusuke just shrugged his shoulders. "Tell me when you know," they ride back the bus that would bring them to school and from there; their parent would bring them home. Arrived at school, they can see lots of parents already waiting. Worried on their face for their children safety.

"I guess mama not here yet," Snow said to Syusuke after she couldn't find their mother from her window seat. "Well, my mama is here, and so does my handsome older brother. So, see you all tomorrow," Miaka said happily jumping off the bus once it stopped. The other three waved their hands to her getting off the bus slowly. "taka-san's mother is not here too," Snow silently observed their surrounding. "Well, she probably took a while to arrive here," Taka-san reply.

"Let's play at the playground then. They can see us when they arrive," Syusuke calmly suggested and all three of them played in the snow-covered sandbox. Instead of making themselves a sand castle, they made a snow fort and playing war with Suzuki-sensei. Snow were with Suzuki-sensei while the boys on the other side. They can't go home until their parent arrived so; Suzuki-sensei was left to take care of her students. They were chasing each other to throw snow ball when it happened.


Taka-san is staring at the sky during tennis practice, remembering how the white carpet turns into…red. He shudders and shook his head for a few times before realizing someone was calling his name. "Taka-san? Is there something that you want to object about this arrangement?" Oishi asks him. "Eh? Err, no. I don't have anything to object," he sheepishly answers. Taken of guard like that, he suddenly remembers that time when he were took off guard like that, Syusuke was…he shook his head again and look up at his teammates who are staring at him weirdly and worriedly. "Err, gomen. Just thinking about something," Tezuka grunts his disapprove and continues with the new regulars arrangement.

"Ne, Taka-san. Is there something about Fuji that you didn't tell us? Like why he suddenly disappeared? You two are long best friend, surely you know," Eiji asks taka-san once the meeting was over. "I don't know, Eiji. I don't think I really should tell you," "tell us, Taka-san. Oishi suddenly asks him on the behave of other regulars who were waiting for him.

"Fuji, he… four years ago…he…finally woke up from his dream, in a very hard way,"

Saeki received a phone call from a frantic Yuuta that morning, telling him to find his aniki. Glancing at a photo frame on his bedside, then at the calendar, Saeki nods his head understanding.