My mom is selfish.

My mom is so selfish that she hid when I shouted the name Hiro and Bonanza.

"WHO ARE HIRO AND BONANZA??!!" I shouted right after I reached home.

After that, I didn't see her coming outside of her bedroom. Then, her health deteriorated because she didn't seem to eat well.

My selfish mom knows that she will get worse if she doesn't eat, but she still won't eat. Everything is just too poorly designed by my selfish mom.

The next thing I know is my mom is hospitalized due to her worsening health. She's so weak that she even doesn't have that enough energy to open her eyelids. My dad isn't leaving her side since she's staying.

Until one day, the Pummel offers to watch for my mom. Mrs. Pummel seems to catch on to something that happens to my family after I tell the Hiro and Bonanza story to Kenna. And not only the Pummel. I guess all of her friends like the Aikawa and the others are shifting to watch for my mom. Mrs. Pummel said that I and Rei need to talk to my dad about the mysterious names.

The road to home isn't pleasant at all. No talking, no teasing, and not lively. We reach home after 3 days of staying in the hospital with our mom. Rei instantly does the laundry since our dirty clothes are piling up, Dad's still in his statue phase, cooking our dinner and I vacuum the house and tidy some things up.

"Let's eat together, Rei, Zero."

My dad never shouts but it doesn't mean that we're having a hard time hearing his voice from the kitchen. We join him right after I store the vacuum in the storage room and Rei hangs the cleaned clothes.

"It's already night, you don't need to hang the clothes, Rei..." Dad suggests to him.

"It's okay, Dad. I finished the laundry," Rei smiles.

The dinner my dad cooks is nothing extraordinary. It's just rice with soup and some ramen, and also some fried chicken. Nothing fancy but I do admit that his cooking is way better than my mom's and I enjoy eating both cooking.

For the first 5 minutes, we spend eating silently. Only the voice of clinking metal spoons and forks vague echoes around the room. I used to know my dad's saying 'If one of us is sick, the others need to eat and drink a lot to remain healthy so the others can care for the sick', and I and Rei agree with that saying.

Plus, we are starving.

"Alright..." my dad clears his throat with some water. "Since I wasn't home at that time, I would like to know what's the reason behind the shouting 3 days ago, please."

Rei doesn't seem to be bothered by my dad's request because he clearly knows who's the suspect behind this case.

"I'm sorry, Dad... It was me..." I try to explain.

"If you do apologize, please tell me everything."

I sigh as I begin to tell the story.

3 days ago was the day I found out about Hiro and Bonanza from an intern at my school. Unfortunately, that day was also the last day of school before the summer holiday, which meant that I couldn't reach her for more information. I was so desperate that instead of saying 'I'm home' when I reached home, I shouted "WHO ARE HIRO AND BONANZA??"

I didn't know that those two names brought something severe that my mom immediately buried herself in her bedroom.

"Okay... Please tell me what do you gain from the intern..." my dad asks while casually picking the fricken up with his bamboo chopsticks.

I have nothing to hide, so I tell him everything. Like, I HAVE to tell him everything.

After the intern apologized, she tried to switch the topic.

"Uhm... Do you know a Reanne or a Ludwig?" she asked cautiously.

I tilted my head in the opposite direction. "I do know a Reanne and a Ludwig, and the couple Reanne and Ludwig..."

"YOU DOOO?? AAAHHH!! I love them so much!"

The intern screamed joyfully as if she hadn't ever mentioned the Hiro and Bonanza names.

"How about... how about Kyo? Is he still stiff? Or... or... Elise?" she asks further. "Uh, Ixora... is she still with Koko?"

Okay. It was so weird that she mentioned all of those names so nonchalantly and not using any last names.

"Do we know you? Please tell me, do we know you?" I began investigating.

"No, no, you're not!" she smiled brightly. "A lot of people know those names but I guess not a lot of people know about Rei and Zero..."

"Does it apply to Hiro and Bonanza too?" I sharply questioned.

Her smile turned into a pang of guilt again.

"Yes... not all of the people who know those names know Hiro, Bonanza, Rei, and Zero..." she explained.

"Then why do you know Hiro and Bonanza?" I couldn't take her reasoning.

"It's because I pass the hidden story," she smiled faintly.

My dad chokes on his chicken upon hearing the answer.

"That's... one all-ending hunter right there..." my dad responds with his cracked chicken voice.

Rei puts his spoon and fork down, surprised. And there's me, completely clueless.

"What?" I'm getting confused.

"Who made that?" Rei laughs. "It's so unpredictable."

"What made what?"

"All of us made it," my dad smiles. "It's such a good memory."

"What good memory??"

"Is it hard to date Mom?" Rei giggles teasingly. "I want to try to date her if it's possible."

"YOU DATE MOM??!"

"I'm not even sure which one is harder..." my dad taps on his upper nose; just his habit when he thinks hard. "Her timing is so bad and it's messed up with our farming schedule... so it's hard for both versions."

"WHO TIME THE FARM AND WHY REI DATES MOM??!!!"

Rei laughs even harder as if he doesn't want to miss a chance to tease me. I feel so betrayed by his actions.

"Alright, don't fill me in. I'm okay," I munch my rice fiercely. "Just laugh all the way you guys want and I will just ask strangers around about my own family."

My dad rubs my hair but I push his hand instead, so annoying. He smiles so kindly, but still, it's annoying in my eyes. Freaking annoying.

"Well..." my dad sits neatly, to do serious talking. "I and your mom hide this but actually we made a game about our journey when we were younger."

"What kind of game?" I ask.

"It's not the genre you like, sadly," my dad answers. "It's a farming RPG game."

I divert my sight to Rei, who casually nods as if he wants to tell me 'I already told you to play RPG games'.

"What about it?" I ask again. This time, I admit I let my guard down because I could see my dad smiling again.

"When we were younger, we were staying at the island named Cowie Island with Kenna and Keith's mom and dad, and our other friends that you 100% know..." my dad begins the story. "Since the days in Cowie Island were so short and valuable, we decided to make a game to compile everything we experienced before."

I twitch my lips, I don't think I can believe in that story, but again. My dad's always serious about his and my mom's past.

"So, the characters are us and we have rival moments and love moments such..." my dad nods. "It was lovely."

"What about the hidden story that the intern told me?" I investigate.

My question turns my dad's face into his bitter face.

"So, if the player reaches a certain stage in the game with this character named Olivier and Jin –who take after your mother and me, the player will see a hidden story..."

"What kind of hidden story is that?" I can't hold my curiosity.

"It's the hidden story of me and your mom discussing about our children's names..." my dad smiles faintly. "It's probably the best ending for Olivier and Jin, though."

This past... my dad never reveals it to us until now. He looks so proud of it and happy when he talks about it. Dad even mentions the setting when they discuss it. On the corner of the Two Pines Inn, while having some chicken soups and both of them were full of love as if the teenagers just experienced a puppy love.

"Dad... does it mean that you and mom thought of us even before you had us?" Rei sharply asks.

"Yes," my dad nods again.

"Does it mean that 'Keiji' name is calculated?" I follow the question.

"Oh, no..." my dad shakes his head. "It was Rei and Zero. The Keiji and Reiji are the new names we give to you because of the unpredicted change."

My dad takes a big gulp of milk before he continues talking.

"Your mother's so good at names so the discussion was fun..." he grins. "One thing that I ever asked about the name was I need only two oriental names to ... show Burningshield originality."

I and Rei look at each other. There's something amiss from his sentence.

"Dad... but 'Zero' isn't an oriental name..." Rei carefully utters his comment.

My dad nods softly, with a brief smile.

"That's because Zero isn't an oriental name..."

"Then, who..."

"It's Rei and Hiro."

My selfish mom, why do you hide about them from us?

From the fourth child,

Keiji Zero Burningshield.