The winter air that afternoon felt more piercing than usual, freezing Tomoya's lungs every time he took a breath. The dark blue-haired young man ran down the sidewalk of Kuoh City as fast as he could, ignoring the strange looks from pedestrians and the cold that pierced his thin coat.
His chest was tight.
Not just because of the exhaustion of running, but because of the fear that now gripped his heart.
Since morning, a premonition had been nesting in his heart.
Tomoya recalling the moment when he was about to leave for work. His little Ushio looked very listless. The little girl would usually smile brightly and wave at the door, but this morning, Ushio only leaned weakly in her grandmother's arms with a pale face and hot breath.
"No need to worry, Tomoya-san. I'll take Ushio to the clinic this afternoon," Sanae Furukawa said that morning, giving a gentle smile that was always calming.
Even though Sanae said that, Tomoya couldn't shake the black lump in his chest. Before stepping out, he held his daughter's small hand which felt too warm.
"Ushio... if you get better, Papa promises we'll go on an adventure together. To the zoo, or to any place Ushio wants, okay?"
Ushio, who was usually cheerful, only nodded slightly. She smile weakly.
All day, Tomoya couldn't focus. Even when he was checking the cable installations at Gremory Electric Company—the giant electric company that oversees almost the entire city's infrastructure—his mind kept drifting home.
Anxious, he even dared to see his superior to ask for a few days off. He kept praying in his heart, hoping that his instincts were wrong. Hoping that he was just an overly anxious father. Hoping that the tragedy five years ago that took Nagisa, his wife, would not happen again.
However, the world seemed to laugh at him.
At exactly four in the afternoon, the cell phone in his pocket rang. Akio's name was on the screen. And when Tomoya answered it, his father-in-law's voice, which was usually loud and full of enthusiasm, sounded shaky, hoarse, and broken.
"Tomoya... please come home. Ushio... she collapsed. Her body temperature rose drastically, and she kept calling your name."
Those words shattered Tomoya's world in an instant. He didn't even remember how he left his workplace. All he knew was that he had to run through the increasingly darkening twilight.
However, there was something strange. The closer he got to his residential area, the heavier and more suffocating the air around him felt. The streetlights in Kuoh flickered unstably. The sound of wild dogs howling echoed from the distance, creating a symphony of death that made his hair stand on end.
Please... don't take her from me, Tomoya screamed inwardly.
Nagisa... please protect our daughter.
The night sky was completely dark when Tomoya finally arrived in front of the Furukawa family house. His already shattered feelings were now even more messy when his eyes caught a strange sight: dozens of crows perched silently on the roof, fence, and tree branches around the house.
The black eyes of the animals stared sharply at the house, as if waiting for the arrival of death.
While uttering frantic prayers, each one a desperate plea for his daughter's survival, Tomoya hammered on the front door. His hand trembled so violently it was barely a knock, more like a series of desperate taps against the unyielding wood.
Soon, Akio opened the door. The face of the middle-aged man, now looked extraordinarily tired and dark. However, before his father-in-law could say a word, Tomoya had already burst inside. He half-ran down the wooden hallway of the house, intending to go straight to his daughter's room.
His steps stopped forcibly when Sanae's soft voice called him from the living room.
"Tomoya-san... we're here."
With hurried breaths, Tomoya turned into the living room. His heart seemed to stop beating that instant. On the sofa, wrapped in a thick blanket, lay his little daughter. Ushio's face was as pale as paper, her lips were blue, and cold sweat dripped down her forehead and short hair. The child's breathing was very shallow and intermittent.
Sanae, who was kneeling beside the sofa, sobbed softly, continuing to wipe her granddaughter's forehead with a warm towel. With a trembling voice, the woman began to explain the situation.
Earlier that afternoon, she had rushed Ushio to the clinic. However, Doctor Matsuda, who treated her, was confused. Medically, the doctor stated that there was absolutely no abnormality or damage to Ushio's organs. He only diagnosed it as a mild fever due to overexertion.
After returning from the clinic and taking the antipyretic medicine given, Ushio did seem to improve. She could even smile a little. But the disaster came without warning. Just as dusk fell—coinciding with the sky of Kuoh City suddenly feeling heavy and cloudy—Ushio suddenly screamed softly, holding her chest
Tomoya's world collapsed upon hearing it. The medicine didn't work. The doctor's diagnosis was useless. He felt pulled back to the tragedy of five years ago, trapped in the same despair, watching the person he loved most slowly die, snatched away by something he couldn't fight.
Seeing Tomoya dropped on the floor, breaking apart, Sanae could no longer hold back her composure.
Her body trembled violently, and her tears flowed freely, unable to be contained. The gentle woman covered her mouth tightly with both hands, trying to suppress her sobbing so as not to waking up her granddaughter who was lying weakly.
Seeing the heartbreaking scene, Akio—who had just returned from the front door—walked slowly and squatted next to Tomoya. He patted his son-in-law's shoulder firmly.
"Be strong, Tomoya. Everything is still uncertain," Akio said quickly. "Let's take her to a big hospital right now. Or... let's see Matsuda-sensei again. No, I mean Father Rafaello Matsuda. Isn't it rumored that the priest has some kind of miracle that can cure rheumatism and chronic back pain? Maybe he can do something!"
Even though Akio tried hard to force a strong smile and a soothing tone, he could not hide his fear. The middle-aged man's voice sounded broken and trembled violently, just like his hands that were now shaking as he squeezed Tomoya's shoulder.
Even the pillar of the family was on the verge of despair.
"That's right... we can still do something."
Tomoya slowly got up. A glimmer of hope finally appeared on the face that was previously drowned in absolute despair.
"I'll pick up Matsuda-sensei right now. I'll borrow your motorbike, Akio-san."
Akio nodded firmly. "The key is on top of the shoe cabinet. Hurry, Tomoya."
Tomoya burst outside, snatched the motorbike key, and yanked open the front door. But he froze. A silent, black wave had engulfed his home. The crows, now a suffocating mass, clung to every branch and wire, their dark eyes glinting with an unholy light.
The ominous sight instantly made Tomoya's vision darken. Filled with anger and overflowing frustration, he picked up a handful of pebbles from the yard and threw them at the flock of crows.
"Go away, you! You damn birds, go away!!" Tomoya shouted desperately.
Seeing the crows scattering into the air, Tomoya hurried to the garage, started the motorbike, and sped through the night streets of Kuoh City towards the clinic. Along the way he kept chanting prayers, hoping Doctor Matsuda was still there.
A sigh of relief finally escaped Tomoya's lips as he parked his motorbike in front of the clinic. There, he saw the man. A giant man nearly two meters tall with the muscular body of a bodybuilder wrapped in clergyman attire (priest)—a posture that perfectly matched the name 'Matsuda' which means pine tree, plus his face was very reminiscent of the actor who played Rambo.
Currently, Father Matsuda was standing in the outer courtyard of the clinic, talking seriously with another man. The man had short black hair, very thick eyebrows, and most strikingly, his left hand was completely covered by a black glove.
Tomoya immediately ran towards them. Faintly, his ears caught their conversation.
"Sorry to take up your time, Nueno-sensei. Don't worry, dinner on me tonight," Matsuda said.
"I'm not helping you for a free dinner, you know. But well... if you insist—"
"Matsuda-sensei!" Tomoya called out half-shouting, cutting off the thick-eyebrowed man's words.
Seeing Tomoya running towards him with a gasp and a pale face, Matsuda widened his eyes. He then turned to the man next to him with a serious look.
"What a coincidence, Nueno-sensei," Matsuda said in a heavy tone. "This man is the father of the child I just told you about."