I looked up at the sanatorium and held in a deep breath. Here we go.

We walked in with stoic faces. The desk accountant from yesterday was here but when she saw that Shoren was present, she wasted no time looking through the list.

"Are you Shoren Arrighetti?" She asked in a seemingly rushed manner.

Shoren nodded.

"Yes I am."

At that response, she signed. "You three need to report to Jemma's room at once. She wishes to speak with you."

"Thank you." Shoren said, taking his sister's hand. I also followed, patting Laiechen's right hand to let her know everything was going to be alright.

Laiechen understood the gesture, mouthing a thanks. I merely gave her an encouraging smile.

Shoren, on the other hand, was unresponsive to my gestures. He was more focused on his thoughts and leading the way. I would have been lying to myself if I said I wasn't worried. So without a second thought, I took his hand.

"Shoren." I quietly whispered, grazing his tense hands gently. Shoren flinched at my straightforwardness and then looked me directly in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

For a second, he gave a pleasant smile that made my heart skip a beat and feel warm from the insides... but it completely disappeared and instead turned to that same sharp, glacial gaze I was used to.

"I'm fine." He stated, squatting my arm away.

I averted my gaze, now feeling ashamed of myself.

What have I done wrong? I kept asking myself, again and again and again, forgetting the fact that Laiechen was here.

"Should we stop by Dr. Varren's office first?" Laiechen asked us when we happened to come across Dr. Varren's office.

Shoren's face fell into exasperation at the suggestion. It was clear to me that he wanted nothing more then to see his grandmother yet I agreed with Laiechen, which put me in the scenario that I hated most of all. Conflict.

Shoren signed and then nodded. "Go right on ahead Helmine, be my guest." He sarcastically said.

Laiechen glared daggers crossly at her brother. "What's your problem?"

"You know damn well how I feel about her yet you still insist that I associate myself with her more then I need to."

I had enough. I couldn't just stand by and let him treat her like that because that made me no better. As soon as he raised his tone, I sprung into action, pulling him by the arm.

"Don't speak to her like that. Your acting like she just asked you to murder somebody with a knife and dump their body into the sea afterwards." I chided.

He gave my words no heed and intentionally pulled away, instead choosing to turn right back to his sister in annoyance.

"Fine, have your way."

The look in Laiechen's eyes softened as she gave him an apologetic look. I followed the siblings in from behind, gulping.

"Greetings, what can I do for you?" Dr. Varren asked.

Before Laiechen could even open her mouth, Shoren raced right up to her desk and banged his fist with such intensity on the surface.

"Cut the pleasantries, is this truly another case of her lung problems?" Shoren demanded more than asked. The tension between the both of them was so obvious to the point where my own movements were either too mechanical or too jittery.

"Now, now, now... whom could you possibly be talking about Shoren?" Dr. Varren mused. She was calm and unbothered in contrast to Shoren, who was starting to lose himself.

He confirmed it by his agitated expression.

"Bullshit, you know whom I'm talking about. All the lies you have told people, your exploitation of people's faith, lives and money aren't a secret at all. So don't think for a second that it's your little hidden secret." Shoren chafed with a blunt, curt tone.

My eyes widened out of pure shock. What was he talking about? And more importantly, what did he mean?

I looked over at Laiechen for her reaction only to see she said nothing. In fact, she looked almost indifferent to the rage of Shoren. It only made my yearning to find out the truth much more intense because clearly she wouldn't tell me the whole truth herself.

Yet still, Dr. Varren was nonchalant while Shoren was now seeming in rage.

"Are you kidding me? My grandmother has been your patient for 31 years now!"

Before I knew it, the remaining crumbs of patience and composure disappeared. The composed, taciturn, and courteous Shoren that once prevailed in front of me had been whisked away and long gone from his mind. His eyes were now practically engorged in flames, showing just how enraged he was.

"Yes, Shoren it is lung problems... regrettably." Dr. Varren hesitantly told him, resuming whatever work she was doing.

He glared callously down at Dr. Varren and growled, "Regrettably my ass. I won't waste another second in here to just let you feed on her and countless other patients miseries. You're nothing but a coward."

He took Laiechen's arm roughly and turned towards the door, at this point being about ready to break it by the hinges. But unexpectedly, I heard a crisp, inexorable laugh come from Dr. Varren.

"Like father, like son I see."

Shoren stopped short yet remained silent, expressing nothing. But he didn't need to. The bitterness in his gaze was enough.

"A solitary man with few words and a short stick of a temper."

"Don't you dare compare me to him." He said, his tone turning defensive.

He stalked out Dr. Varren's office, slamming the door with such severity that I swore the whole floor could have heard it. He distanced himself from us, leaning his forehead against the wall.

"Shoren I-" Laiechen reached out to him but Shoren viciously cut her off.

"Just shut up. This is your damn fault." He barked, rushing out angrily.

I stood there and felt a lot of things. But mostly appalled from Shoren and disheartened for Laiechen. I saw a hint of that when he defended me from Nicholas but compared to what I just witnessed, he was far more passive.

"Shoren wait!" I tried to run after him but Laiechen grabbed my arm before I had the chance.

I turned around to meet Laiechen's serious gaze.

"Laiechen you don't understand, he could do something impulsive if I don't intervene." She nodded as I communicated my concerns, looking equally worried.

"Your concerns are understandable but running after him will not help the situation. Trust me, I know how he is."

"But I have a plan so listen closely."

I knew I had no choice in the matter. She has Shoren on a more familial bond then myself and I could tell she knew what she was talking about so I listened.

"Since someone has to visit my grandmother, I will. Give him a hour or two to cool down. Then, you can go ahead and find him." Laiechen offered her palm out for me to shake in agreement. But I wasn't 100% content with my role.

"Why give me the responsibility to comfort him?" I asked. I was more than just confident that Laiechen knew Shoren better then I'd ever will.

Laiechen gazed me deeply in the eyes, "Because he brushes me off consistently and on top of that, he seems to tolerate you much better then me."

Those words made my heart plummet down to the bottom of my chest. Why would Shoren just brush her off like that? His own sister?

I watched her walk away without a word.

"W-wait!" I called.

She steadily turned around.

"What is it?" I took that time to observe her face better. Her normally mischief filled eyes were interchanged with sadness, the equivalent to sad puppy eyes.

Seeing that, I no longer had that yearning in me to batter her with more heart wrenching questions.

"Oh, never mind."

She had a weak, waning smile on her face.

"Alright." She simply said and went on her way, her ponytail flying behind her.