Re:life with Karmic Gacha (Modern Family)-Chapter 341 - : Packing.

[General POV]

Mrs. Henderson lay alone in the VIP ward, feeling a mix of loneliness and anxiety. After the transmutation, she looked like she had rewound her appearance to her mid-twenties, which made several doctors nearly fall for her as they came to check on her.

Suddenly, Gong Shin appeared beside her, and she jumped up, her eyes wide. "Are you here to take me back?" she asked, worry etched on her face.

Gong Shin smiled, shaking his head. "No, I'm just here to check on my friend."

"Friend? We aren't friends," Mrs. Henderson shot back, narrowing her eyes.

"That's cold," he replied, shrugging. "We've known each other for centuries. Where's the trust?"

"It's hard to trust someone who put me through a nightmare," she snapped.

Gong Shin settled into the chair next to her bed. "Just so you know, I had nothing to do with what happened."

"Really? You know I can't stay here. Why would you let him save me?"

Gong Shin shrugged again. "I didn't let him do anything. You made that choice."

"Me?" she asked, puzzled.

"You can't save those who don't want to be saved," he teased. "Because of your ordeal, I applied for sick leave on your behalf. You can take up to a year off if you want. Oh, and I've removed the restrictions on your powers."

Dazed, Mrs. Henderson blinked. "Why did you say that? I... wanted to be saved?"

Gong Shin smirked. "Yesterday, when Edward came to save you, the only thing that could have stopped him was... 'I wanted this.' Yet, you never told him that."

Her eyes widened, and her heart began to race. "He noticed it too. You blamed fate, saying this was supposed to happen, but you never told him it was a way for you to go back."

"I... was injured," she said defensively, her chin quivering. Gong Shin just smiled and let her process her thoughts.

"Was it... because of that?" she mumbled, mystified by her own subconscious actions.

Gong Shin peeled an apple from the fruit basket beside her as he waited. Finally, she noticed and shot him a death glare. "That's mine."

Startled, Gong Shin said, "Sorry." He handed her the peeled apple apologetically.

After she grabbed the apple back, she asked carefully, "Why are you helping me?"

Gong Shin slightly pointed at her heart. "Because I've already gotten what I wanted."

Her heart had warmed enough that she was now eligible for a promotion in the afterlife corporation. He wanted her to experience what it felt like to be powerless, to be human, and to rely on others.

"My breast?" Mrs Henderson looked down at where he was pointing and guessed.

"No. That's not–" Gong Shin was flabbergasted, but Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "That's a joke."

After the incident, she had changed. Her face was more expressive, and she no longer shied away from socializing. Experiencing a true human connection made her wanted to stay longer in this world.

"Rest up. When you return, you can take my job, and I'll finally get a vacation," he said longingly.

"Ah, by the way, if Edward realizes it, he will say that you've had your Robin moment," Gong Shin chuckled teasingly. Henderson pouted and glared at him, making him flinch and slowly disappear as he wanted to escape.

"I want to live~~ like that," he teased, but Mrs. Henderson had already regained her powers. She threw the apple at his face, hitting him even though he was already traveling between dimensions.

...

[Edward POV]

Last night, I had a strange dream. I was with my friends from the orphanage, laughing as we watched a TV show together. It never really happened; we didn't have a TV, but it felt real, and I missed those moments.

I woke up to find my cheek wet. "Tears?" I muttered, confused, as I sat up in bed.

Mickey, my bodyguard, stood at the door, keeping watch.

It had been a while since I'd had a quiet morning. Usually, I'd be making breakfast for the girls and chatting with them. It wasn't visiting hours yet, so they couldn't come into the ward.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was Enid, sending me a link. I picked it up with my left hand since my right was in a cast.

"'Burning Love: Edward Newgate's Bravery in the Blaze Captivates the People's Hearts!' Huh? What's this?"

The picture of me carrying Mrs. Henderson out of the fire, topless, had gone viral. News outlets covered the incident in detail, and everyone already knew about it.

Enid had sent me a headline from my fansite. The girls there had swooned and spent a restless night because of the picture.

Many wondered how I'd survived without burns, but since my hand was injured, no one accused me of being an alien this time.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Enid sent link after link, startling me.

"Edward: The Flame-Wielding Heartthrob Who Defies Danger!" "Heroic Hunk: Edward Emerges from Flames, Saving Teacher in Daring Rescue!" The headlines kept coming, including some about my injury and my upcoming world tour.

Enid: Edward! You're really handsome yesterday! 🤩

Edward: I'm handsome everyday.

I ignored the media noise and lay sideways on the bed. Enid texted me again even though she was in class right now.

Enid: They caught him at a train station.

The assailant yesterday was already arrested. Because Mrs Henderson saw clearly what he looked like, they put out APBs and the citizens– mostly my fans who heard the news, all were on the lookout for the suspect.

I didn't even have to do anything to bring him in. He even surrendered and confessed everything after he heard that Mrs. Henderson was still alive. The police would come out with the official statement in the afternoon about the entire case.

Less than ten minutes later, an elderly doctor walked in.

He examined my hand. "You have hairline fractures in your thumb, middle finger, and index finger. You'll need to wear this cast for at least six weeks."

Randall, my manager, was concerned and he asked the doctor, "Are you sure, doctor? 6 weeks?"

"I wouldn't use your right hand for a while. It might be better to postpone your tour," he added.

I shrugged it off, remembering my deal with Sage—she'd treat me if I hired her for the tour.

Randall placed his finger on his chin and said, "We should tell the fans. I think we can still refund the tickets."

I waved him off, saying, "I can just sing. I don't need my hand for that. The concert will proceed as usual."

The doctor sighed, knowing I wouldn't listen, and handed me a prescription for pain meds. I asked Randall to start the discharge paperwork and decided to visit Mrs. Henderson before leaving.

For VIPs, the rules were flexible. When I found her, she was ready to go home, but she had lost her house in the fire.

"It's fine. I'm staying with a friend," she said casually when I asked where she'd go.

"Wait, you have... friends?" I was surprised.

"Is that so hard to believe?" she replied, scowling slightly.

"Is it Mrs. Johnson?" I guessed. Startled, she nodded, confirming my hunch. "Am I being too easy to read?" She mumbled.

The muscular "muscle mommy" was waiting for her in the lobby. I chuckled and said, "Great! But if you need a place, let me know. I'll make Max bunk with Caroline so you can have her room."

"Don't just throw Max under the bus," she scolded. "With everything going on, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go there anyway."

"Huh?" I was confused, but she didn't elaborate. She stepped closer and placed her hand on my cast. "Hold on for a second."

"Uh, okay," I replied, surprised by her sudden move. My right hand felt itchy, like a deep itch I couldn't scratch.

Fifteen seconds later, she removed her hand. I flexed my fingers in amazement. "It doesn't hurt anymore!" My innocent excited face made her chuckle in satisfaction.

"You're healed now." She patted my head, even though I was taller than her. "I'll repay you for using those abilities on me. You have my word." Her gaze told me of her sincerity, which put me at ease.

I laughed. "I didn't do it for that. Just hang out for a while. That's my only request." I meant every word of that. I could always gain new abilities from the gacha, but if she went back, then I couldn't see her anymore. It's a fair trade from my standard.

She looked taken aback, then smiled softly. "Okay, I will. Still, I wanted to do something for you."

She touched my forehead with her slender finger, and suddenly a flood of information crashed into my mind. It was knowledge on how to use the sharingan and some genjutsu knowledge.

"Oh fuck–" I immediately became nauseous from the knowledge bestowment and had to grab a trash can to puke in.

She became apologetic and said, "Sorry. I forgot to tell you that it might feel weird for first timers."

"It– It's fine. It passed very quickly." I said as I wiped the puke from my chin.

"Edward! You're sick! DOCTOR!" Randall opened the ward door and was alarmed when he saw my state. I had to cover his mouth and drag him inside the ward to stop him from turning this into a big deal.

Pepper called as I got into the car, "Edward? Where are you? I'm at your ward right now."

"Oh, I'm already going home." I replied casually. Pepper was dumbfounded, "Already? Did the doctor approve of this?"

"Yup. My hand is already fine." I met with the doctor and used the knowledge I had to hypnotize him. I did it on Randall too for them to forget about the fracture. That took 20% of my chakra reserve, putting me on the 60% line for my genin level chakra.

When I got home with Mickey, the atmosphere felt strange. My dad looked exhausted and surprised to see me back. He was standing by the door, crossing his arms as he was thinking deeply before he noticed me.

"Edward? I was going to check on you at the hospital!" he said, worry evident on his face.

"Turns out I'm fine now." I took off my cast in front of him and moved my hand smoothly. His eyes widened in disbelief. "But how? I saw fractures on your X-ray!"

"Oh, that? I had a... device in my pocket that messed up the scan. We checked again this morning, and everything disappeared. It's still painful though. I hit it hard yesterday. It'll heal in a couple of days."

He sighed in relief and grabbed my shoulders. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Uh, thanks," I said awkwardly, taken aback by his sincerity. Although I felt bad for lying, it was the simplest way for me to explain the whole thing.

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"Anyway, what's for breakfast? I'm starving." I asked, changing the subject as I calmly brushed his hand away.

Frankie walked downstairs, also shocked by my early return. "Edward, did you run away from the hospital?" she accused me with an angry face.

I laughed dryly and said, "I signed the discharge paper properly."

I prepared myself to answer their questions, but it didn't come. Instead, Frankie turned to my dad and asked him worriedly, "Did you tell him?"

"No. I haven't." He replied.

"What's going on?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

My dad looked me in the eyes, sighed and said, "It's not like we can avoid this. Edward, calm down and listen to me till the end first."

"I'm listening." My heart beats quicker and my lips curled up as I looked at them with anticipation.

"Your... Mother is here." My dad said.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, I didn't hear that properly. You're saying something about I'm going to have a little brother, right?"

Frankie realized what I was thinking, blushed slightly and then gave me a glare. She said after exhaling, "Not that. Your mother. She's back."

My face went blank and my heart sunk. My chest hurts slightly and I felt quite nauseous.

"Did she–"

"No. I didn't let her get inside the house." My dad interjected quickly, trying to reassure me. Relieved, I nodded slightly and said, "Good."

"She is next door though, and she wants to meet with you." Frankie added.

My mood soured and I said, "I don't have anything to talk about with her. Just tell her to go away."

"About that..." My dad hesitated a bit before finally telling me the whole story.

...

My heart beat rapidly as I entered the house next door. There she was, sipping tea while sitting on the couch. Wearing a strapless, tight-fitting dress, her eyes glittered as she saw me.

"We'll make this quick," I said in a cold tone as I sat down in front of her. My aunt gulped nervously at the sight of me, but I wasn't paying any attention to her.

My gaze was complicated as I took in my mother. Her eye bags were prominent, and her face looked thinner. Small scars dotted her hands and legs.

Miranda Newgate, my mother—a woman who resembled Eva Mendes, right down to the mole on her cheek. She stared intently at my face and placed her teacup down with elegance.

"Is that how you're speaking to your own mother?" she scolded, raising her eyebrows. If this were the past, I would've become nervous and changed my tone immediately, but right now, she had no power over me.

I sat silently, waiting for her to state her intention.

"It's understandable, I left you all alone after all. You deserve to be angry at me," she added, crossing her legs.

"What. Do. You. Want?" I enunciated each word. "You even resorted to blackmail to force me to sit down with you. I'm sure you didn't come here for chit-chat."

"And what if I do?" she replied suddenly. "What if I came here for chit-chat? Can't you spare some time for your poor mother? The way you're acting... you're really hurting my heart."

She acted pathetically, as if trying to gain sympathy from everyone around. However, aside from my aunt, no one was really buying her act.

I laughed derisively. "Don't kid around. You don't have a heart."

Stopping her sad act, she became stern. "That's not a nice thing to say to your mother."

"Can you stop with the 'mother this,' 'mother that' and get to the point? I have things to do today."

I rolled my eyes and turned to my dad. "Are you seeing this?"

Dad sighed. "Bear with it for a minute."

If she hadn't said she was going to complicate things, I wouldn't even be here.

Even though she had signed away her parental rights, as long as a judge heard her out—cultivating some sob story about her fight for independence in Cuba—it was highly likely she'd return to our lives. And I didn't want that.

I had to sit in this meeting with her today to keep that from happening. That's what she promised my father.

Her eyes turned cold again as she scolded me. "I see that you've stopped practicing classical music."

"What did you expect? I never loved it in the first place."

"Hmm..." she hummed for a moment before sighing. I was taken aback by her sudden change, as was my dad. Then she said something that tightened my heart.

"I'm sorry for forcing you to only practice classical music."

My eyes widened at her words, and before I could begin to feel hope, she continued.

"I shouldn't have limited you to just one path. It messed with your potential."

The air felt stagnant again, just like when I lived with her.

She muttered coldly, "If I had been more observant, the world... might have already changed. Science, technology, politics, business... You excel in all of those. Even martial arts. I was short-sighted, so I'm sorry for that. You could've become so much more..."

Her disappointed tone triggered memories of my past. All I did was never enough for her.

"Miranda!" My aunt Camila was baffled by my mother's words.

Speechless, I lowered my head and clenched my fists tightly. Then I sighed, giving up on trying to hear an actual apology from her.

I stood up from the couch, my expression flat. "Now that you've said your piece, I'm going to go."

"Wait, Edward," she called, raising her voice slightly. "I'm not done speaking."

"But I'm done." I turned to look her straight in the eyes. "I'm already done with you. Go back to Canada. Don't come into my life again."

"Well, if that's your wish, I have a wish too," she said, her face turning crestfallen. It seemed that she had given up trying to get close to me again.

"Hmm?" I was confused by her change in tone and stopped walking away. I turned to her, waiting for her to continue.

"You fulfill my wish, and I'll fulfill yours. Then... we won't have anything to do with each other anymore," she said with a determined expression.

"If doing so can get rid of you permanently, then tell me."

My dad tried to interject. "Edward, don't be rash."

Frankie also urged me, "Don't come to an agreement so easily. It might be an impossible wish, so you have to investigate it first."

My mom suddenly spoke to Frankie in a cold tone. "I don't think a stranger should interfere with someone's family business, don't you think?"

Frankie turned to my mother, and they exchanged deadly gazes. I ignored everything happening on the side and turned back to my mother. "What is your wish?"

She paused for a moment, her eyes turning melancholic. "Help me... free my country..."

...

Back at my house, my dad admonished me as I sipped on a cup of coffee. "What are you even thinking, Edward? You're a kid. What can you actually do to help her?"

I ignored him and said, "Well, I told her I can't do it right now. But soon. In the meantime, she'll get out of my hair, so it's a win-win."

"But—" My dad was momentarily speechless. I sighed and looked out the window.

"You know what? I can't do this. I need to get out of here. If you want to find me, I'll be at Haley's." I stood up and walked out of the house.

Although I expected her to be at school, Haley played hooky today with Tara to visit me at the hospital, so she was home when I arrived.

"Edward—" Before she could greet me cheerfully, I rushed in and hugged her as soon as she opened the door.

...

Time passed and it's nighttime. Inside my bedroom, I opened up an empty suitcase as Haley laid down on my bed, watching me pack my stuff.

"What are you bringing to Japan? It's winter there, right?" Haley said, sadness hidden in her eyes.

"I don't really have to carry much stuff as my company is handling it all." I said as I checked the dimension of the suitcase.

"So you're going to bring your laptop and such?" Haley guessed. I stood up and picked her up from the bed in a princess carry, which made her blush.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm packing you up." I said as I placed her down inside the suitcase. She laughed out loud as we played around.

As soon as we got tired, we laid down on the bed sideways, looking intently at each other.

"One more day huh." Haley muttered as she touched my cheek, studying my face diligently.

...

[General POV]

Miranda and Camila were left alone in the house after Edward and the others had gone.

Camila looked at Miranda questioningly and asked, "Why did you do that?"

Miranda was silent for a moment. Suddenly, she smiled derangedly and said, "Did you see him?"

"Edward?" Camila was confused.

"He's so big now," Miranda breathed heavily, clutching her heart as she obsessed over her son. "He's even taller than me."

"Of course. You two haven't met in years," Camila replied, concerned about Miranda's change.

Placing her hand on her cheek, Miranda smirked and said, "Ah. My son. My lovable Mijo."

"He's going to become the ruler of the world," she added, her breathing heavy.

Camila felt goosebumps rise and widened her eyes, shuddering at a glimpse of Miranda's true nature.

"But it seems he's been lagging behind recently. He's not trying hard enough," Miranda continued, a cold glint appearing in her eyes.

"It must be because of the people around him. Those... flies... parasites... All of them are holding him back. He needs someone to give him direction."

"Miranda—" Camila called worriedly, concerned for her sister's sanity, wondering if the recent loss had affected her mind.

"I think Edward is doing really well nowadays."

"You don't know anything!" Miranda snapped. "I'm his mother. I know what's best for him. He needs to get rid of all the distractions around him if he wants to succeed."

Miranda thought of the girls that had been hanging around her son and her expression soured.

"Distractions? Do you really think that his friends are a distraction?" Camila shot back, angered by her sister's careless accusation. "The only reason he's doing so well is because of them. So whatever your opinion is, just keep it to yourself. Because Edward will not take it lightly if you mess with what he has now."

Camila continued, "Honestly, I only agreed to help you get back because you said you won't bother him. But the first thing you asked of him, is to help you topple a regime. There's a reason why we lost–"

"We lost because we didn't have him. If we have him, then it'll all work out." Miranda interjected, a fanatical look on her face.

"Miranda!" Camila snapped at her. Miranda giggled and said, "Camila. You don't get it, don't you?"

"What don't I get?"

"My mijo... He's special. He's been blessed by the heavens. He'll be able to do things that no human on earth could ever do."

"You crazy bitch!" Camila cursed her sister.