Estrangement Syndrome (Estrangement Syndrome 1) ✅

Chapter Four

The kamidana was located in the rear garden, because that was his favorite place in the house. Shuei probably wasn't even aware that it was back there. Renjiro spent a considerable amount of money to get a kamidana made entirely of obsidian so that it would survive the different weather conditions of Kyoto. It would need to be replaced in a year, but Renjiro had felt that was the best way to honor Hogo.

San sat cross-legged on the ground, staring up at the kamidana that was positioned on a large, high rock. It was beautiful, but it was a painful reminder that Hogo wasn't there, and would never be there again.

I wish you were here, Hogo-sama.

"Have ANY of you seen the water damage in this damned bathroom?!"

The shout came from inside the house, but it echoed across the backyard from the open bathroom window on the second floor. San let out his breath sharply. "Your grandson...is something else, Hogo-sama," he said quietly. "He doesn't like us, and the feeling is mutual." San slowly closed his eyes and swallowed thickly. "I—"

"How am I supposed to repair the pipeline to a sink?!" Shuei's angry shout interrupted him, and San swiftly turned around and stared at the house with wide eyes. The pipeline?!

They had spent so much time caring for Hogo, trying everything they could to keep him alive to no avail, that admittedly they didn't pay much attention to sections of the house that were largely unoccupied. Renjiro had once told him that the Monbon family used to be so large that every bedroom was occupied by a member of the family. By the time they had...arrived, the only Monbon left in Kōsaten was Hogo. Now it was Shuei. But with almost all of them working, and Hogo's health fading away, they hadn't paid much attention to the areas that no one lived in.

But San didn't realize how badly they had neglected the house until that moment.

He quickly stood up and bowed to the shrine. "I will see you later, Hogo-sama." Your grandson needs help, he added silently.

They had all helped Hogo as much as they could with maintaining the house, but none of them had exactly had a positive opinion of Shuei before his arrival thanks to his father. And Shuei further didn't endear himself to them with his insulting behavior regarding Hogo and blatant disrespect towards Renjiro. No one was willing to really help him when he insulted their prince to his face.

"I miss you, Dad. I wish you were here."

San faltered in his steps. Shuei had a bad attitude, but ever since he heard Shuei crying inside his bedroom he felt...uncomfortable about everything. No matter the type of person Keibi was, and how he had abandoned his own father, Shuei clearly loved his father and even five years after his death Shuei was deeply impacted by his loss.

"What do I owe to some old loser who abandoned my dad when he died?! Who didn't come to my dad's funeral and didn't send ANY messages to either my mom or I?! What the hell do I owe to a bitter old man who didn't give a damn about me?!"

San snapped his teeth. Shuei may have been hurting and he may have held a grudge against Hogo, but San had loved Hogo like the grandfather he never had and it was VERY difficult for him to hear anyone insult the man so viciously.

He re-entered the house and headed up to the second floor. He found the bathroom that Shuei had undoubtedly complained about and his stomach dropped when he saw the state of the sink,  the water damage on the floor, and the black mold on the ceiling. I'll definitely need to talk to Otou-san about this, he thought. But where is that whiner?