Midnight...

"Ichimatsu! Ichimatsu!" the boy's aunt wailed in pain, her cries echoing throughout their empty, lonely home. "Oh, Ichimatsu! Come quick!"

The young boy awoke from his slumber, startled by the desperate cries of his mother. With only moonlight to guide his way through his house, Ichimatsu didn't even take the time to put on his slippers and house coat.

Sprinting down the hallway, wide awake, Ichimatsu stumbled into his aunt's bedroom, fearing for the worst.

"My boy," her voice grew softer as she thumped her hand on the side of her bed. "Come closer tonight. I need to tell you the most important thing you will ever know."

Ichimatsu rubbed his heavy eyes a little, cautiously entering his mother's bedroom. Everything about this felt wrong.

"Is everything alright?" Ichimatsu asked as he crawled up next to his mother in her bed. Pulling his knees to his chest, the boy rested his head on them, keeping his ears alert. He wanted to take in every moment of this. Though anxiety seemed to roll around inside of him, he felt his nerves calm whenever he was close to his mother.

"I love you so much, my boy, but you are not my son," Ichimatsu's aunt spoke softly, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm so sorry for lying to you all these years...it was only to protect you from the dangers of this world."

Though shocked with such news, Ichimatsu simply replied, "It's alright..."

"Are you willing to continue on like this?" she asked worriedly. "Your truth mother, the 'aunt' you remained with for most of your childhood...she passed away last year in a terrible car crash. She was overly depressed and suicidal at the time, though, so it was almost a comfort to know...she's happier now."

"Dead...?" Ichimatsu repeated, a single tear escaping from his eyes. "I wish I could have spent more time with her...but I suppose I've come to know you as my true mother, really."

"Oh, Ichimatsu..." the boy's aunt's voice filled with an unidentifiable sorrow. "Will you ever forgive me for all this pain I have put you through..."

"Of course I will," Ichimatsu looked his aunt in the eyes. "Mother or not, you're still my family, and I will love you no matter what."

At these words, tears began to stream down the woman's face as she broke down sobbing. There was little attempt for her to wipe away her tears, though she knew she was most likely hurting the young boy.

"I'm sorry..." her voice cracked a little as she hunched over, breaking down into heavier, sorrowful sobs. "I'm so sorry..."

Ichimatsu hopped out of his aunt's bed as he ran into the bathroom, grabbing a spare box of tissues for her. But as he handed them over to her, the boy noticed something strange. His aunt's skin seemed purple, though, perhaps it was just the moonlight shining through the open window.

"Your mother would have been so proud of you..." Ichimatsu's aunt sobbed softly. "Hah...maybe I'll ask her about that tomorrow...."

Puzzled, Ichimatsu remained standing at his aunt's bedside. Her words were spiraling out of control, not making any sense whatsoever. Though, in reality, they made perfect sense to one who understood the pain of knowing they were to soon pass on from such a world as this.

"Open my nightstand drawer, Ichimatsu," his aunt ordered the boy, her hands trembling as she pointed to the bottom drawer. "There is something in there that you need to see."

Anxiety growing within, Ichimatsu's own hands began to tremble as he opened the drawer. It wasn't a surprise to him when he found a birth certificate, but there were a few other things that did surprise the boy. In fact, it surprised him so much, that for a moment, he felt as if he, too, was on the verge of sobbing.

The birth certificate listed his mother's name, but the name of the father had been covered with some sort of ink eraser. All that remained of the father's name, was a little, barely visible outline of a cursive 'M'.

But at the very bottom of the drawer, there was a single photo, which was far too easy to understand. In the photo, Ichimatsu's mother was holding a little newborn baby, smiling brightly, visible tears in the corners of her eyes. And next to her, hands rested lovingly on her shoulders, was the familiar face of Karamatsu, the priest.

"Father....Karamatsu...?" Ichimatsu's voice trembled as a tear really did escape from his eyes. "But...but..."

"Ichimatsu Matsuno, the forbidden child, which caused two families great grief," Ichimatsu's aunt sighed. "When you were born, Karamatsu kept you a secret from his church. His wife, your mother, didn't attend that church for his sake. She began going to other places, just to keep Karamatsu's life flowing steadily. But the moment his church found out about his marriage and other relations with his wife....they tracked him down, stealing his wife and you away from him. During those times, they threatened to burn you both, just so Karamatsu would lose hope in ever seeing you again. They didn't want the priest back, and Karamatsu couldn't live with the gaping hole now in his life. Thus, they parted ways, though they never had a divorce. You are still legally his son."

"Father..." Ichimatsu repeated, choking a little. "Does Father Karamatsu know I am alive?"

"Oh yes, he does," Ichimatsu's aunt smiled a little. "But he does not know it is you. I simply told him, that I met his son long ago, and that he is doing well."

Suddenly, Ichimatsu's aunt began to cough and cough, unable to catch her breath. Within seconds, she was gasping for air.

Hurriedly, Ichimatsu fetched her a cup of water from the bathroom. But by the time he returned, things were taking a turn for the worse.

"I'm so sorry..." his aunt choked out. She took the cup of water from the boy, drinking it slowly. Chest rising and falling steadily, both thought everything was fine again.

"Thank you for your love, my boy," she spoke quietly. "But it's getting late now, you must go to bed."

"Are you sure it's alright?" Ichimatsu asked.

"Of course," his aunt smiled in return. "I'll always be here for you. I promise."

And with that, Ichimatsu gave his aunt a final hug, greatly having cherished the hour he had spent with her in such a mysterious hour of the night.

By the time the sun had risen again, Ichimatsu found that his aunt had broken her promise. She passed away in her sleep.