That effusive hug lasted for more than a minute, the sound of the evening breeze that swayed the treetops captivated all the senses as the old man's hands clung tightly to Yukino's back, causing tears that flowed from his eyes ended up infecting that feeling in a certain way within the beating heart of the incredulous woman.
"Is this the iron man with great mettle that I saw in my dreams?" -Thinking to herself, a sea of doubts surrounded her thoughts, trying to reconcile those images with the heat of the moment.
When he saw that the man's hands began to tremble, one of the escorts approached him and whispered in his ear some words that could not be fully heard by Yukino. The hands that had previously been held firmly on the young woman's back came loose like two heavy pieces of lead. Chief Hayate's gaze changed to a more somber and empty look, very similar to what Yukino could evoke from the memories of that dream he had while he was unconscious.
"! Anzu !, take these two annoyances to the room in the north wing of the mansion" - A woman of mature age and the bearing of a governess, made herself present walking from among the guards of the mansion upon hearing the shout that the man had given. imposing patriarch of the Yamaguchi. With short but quick steps that made her heels click on the cobblestones of the floor, she, that woman, observed both young ladies from head to toe, while she raised an eyebrow, frowning as she adjusted her glasses.
She with a wave of her right hand gave directions to the driver of the van to proceed to take the luggage to the room. She snapping her fingers at the same time that she indicated to Yukino and Lucero that she should follow him, she fixing her gaze on them, implying that they should go in complete silence.
At all times heeding Anzu's instructions, the young women took off their shoes and took their sandals to walk on the stave of the mansion. The corridors of this one were barely gloomy in the rays of light from the evening sun streaming through the windows.
Contemplating each room brought fragments of the past that were arranged like pieces of a battered puzzle with use, where the sounds of the members of the Tojo clan training were echoed through the walls of the house. Suddenly Yukino felt his legs start to shake and his steps became hesitant as he passed a door.
In it you could see seals with inscriptions typical of a curse for anyone who dared even break one of them. That room was where all the evil that she dragged like ballast had started: Yoshino's old room. The memory of a bleeding face and pale skin bathed in crimson red made her heart beat faster.
"I didn't think I'd see you niece again" - His blood froze, sweat ran from the nape of his neck to the base of his back. Her heart almost freezes and her body would not stop shaking. A furtive lips near her ear whispered those words, her body told him that she should run, but her mind did not control any of her senses. As if the claw of a shinigami were her, some cold fingers of her tangled in Yukino's long black hair playing, while she carried them very close to her face to smell the fragrance that he gave off her.
"Aren't you going to say hello to your uncle, little rabbit?" - The glances met, without giving any respite to the play of wills that raised the tension in the environment. She knew it by looking into those cold eyes devoid of empathy or compassion; It was him, there was no room for doubt.
The memory of the hotel room was more present than ever, the sound of the barrel of the gun that blinded Yoshino's life echoing in her head like a drill. Black suit and blood red tie, hairdo tied back with a ponytail and a sinister smile. If the devil had a living image, that man was the embodiment of that being.
Hiroki pulled Yukino's hair forcefully making his head close to her chest, while his left hand ran from her torso to her waist. Taking a light bite on her ear that she finally managed to collapse her mind to the point of fainting.
"Yuki, Yuki wake up please" - A gentle voice with a tone of concern spoke to Yukino to regain consciousness of her. When he opened her eyes, he could see that he was already in the room of the north wing and next to her, Lucero, who was squeezing her right hand, thanking her for waking up.
She told him that right after losing consciousness of her, that man introduced himself to her as Hiroki, Yukino's uncle. That due to the illness of the old chief Hayate, he took control of the Yamaguchi clan and with it the responsibility to protect all members of the family.
Yukino knew that all this was a vile lie, that man, far from being a protector, was a ruthless and manipulative being. With that cheap speech he finally came to mind regarding Hiro's visit to the hospital; It was not Grandfather who had given the order for him to return, but one of Hiroki's tricks.
Coming out of her confusion, Yukino began to contemplate that room. It was different from all the other rooms in the mansion, western furniture and decoration that contrasted with the eastern aspect of the house, gave him to understand that this place was conditioned to fit the type of life that had arrived until a few days ago.
"Lucero, give me the phone and the computer briefcase" - With a calm tone still thinking about the sensation that I experience with the encounter of him before Hiroki, Yukino needed to organize all the remaining thoughts of that body. Until recently both Adam and Yukino were completely alien, lives separated by an ocean and cultures colliding. If he wanted things to work with that new identity, he had to prepare not only mentally, but gather all the necessary information so as not to arouse suspicion.
Checking the Smartphone, the gallery of images showed photos of those who at some point were friends of the now-defunct Yukino. Karaoke, cultural festivals, the school cafeteria, each photo was essential to record faces and recover fragments of the remaining memory.
Names that she couldn't remember, she searched in the address book of the messaging app and in some school yearbook albums.
That diligent study took her a few hours into the night, making her head ache by memorizing and remembering every part of the new life she had to lead. Almost on the verge of being overcome by sleep, she Yukino took into consideration something very important that she had overlooked: Lucero did not have an identity in the human world.
Until recently it was an astral entity with thousands of years of existence, which was now trapped in the body of a simple human of which there were no records or any element that would reveal it in the world.
"We need to create an identity for you so as not to give suspicions" - That imperative tone surprised Lucero, who even with all the years that she had existed had not even considered the idea that Yukino was now proposing to her. Which explained that thanks to the channel that Freyja had granted her, it was possible for her to alter people's memories and perception to a certain extent, but there was a considerable limit to the scope of those powers.
Taking the laptop from her, Yukino began browsing the web looking for the Tokyo city hall page in order to find a vulnerability and modify the citizens' birth records. The knowledge that Adan had regarding computer security would be useful, but she realized that there was no way to access the systems or databases remotely, putting her hands to her head somewhat frustrated.
She had realized that she needed to do the work from the town hall offices, but this was largely dangerous. Not only because he himself would have to commit a crime against the government, but also being a relative of a prominent Yakuza leader, it could cost him his life if Hiroki found out.
The night dragged on as Yukino programmed a malicious script on a flash drive that he kept. The plan in theory was simple, they had to have access to a city council computer and connect the pendrive so that it could collect data like a keyloger.
With the information he collected, he would have access to the url of the intranet applications of the city hall as well as a username and password to access. They would only need to connect the laptop to a node on the government building network and they would have a short period of time before they were discovered.
It was a simple plan, but the execution of each of the steps was complex and risky. By the time she finished writing the script routines and storing them on the flash drive, Lucero was already fast asleep in bed.
That image caused lethargy to take hold of Yukino who was already exhausted due to everything that happened on the day. Having turned off the laptop and prepared two school uniforms she was preparing for a sound sleep. It was then that a punch to the level of her kidneys made him collapse to his knees on the floor, causing some of her urine to escape from her.
"Sorry I didn't welcome you when you got home Onee-san" - One of her hands held her hair tightly while the other covered her mouth, preventing her from even letting out a moan.
Hiro rejoiced at her little manhood as he exhaled stale breath smelling of cheap sake on Yukino's neck. Hearing the sound of the murmurs, Lucero woke up only to contemplate being subdued by two of the servants of that despicable subject.
One blow after another on the poor girl's bruised abdomen was sinking like razors, tears of pain flowed from Yukino's eyes, while Lucero's eyes reflected that cruel scene in her pupil.
"No more please" - It was the only thought that was repeated in Yukino's mind, that beating lasted about twenty minutes, but for her it seemed an eternity. The blows were only focused on spots that the clothes could cover, since Hiro didn't want to be reprimanded by his father for acting behind his back.
The long wait came to an end, while those men left the room a weakened and fragile woman fell to the floor with all her insides hurt. Those brutes had been merciless and the pain was intense, so much so that the only way to cope for her was to get into a fetal position.
Lucero ran to Yukino and laid him on her legs, fighting to heal him with the help of the channel. Yukino's blue eyes were overflowing with tears, while her lips left between seeing light streaks of blood.
"I must have been pathetic in my previous life to deserve this treatment, right Lucero?" - Aware as Adam, she reflected on the repetitive situation of abuse that she had suffered since reincarnation. Like Loa, he was an extremely powerful being; but due to that very nature, he was subject to Freyja's orders.
Without her permission, he was nothing more than a mere human. A woman who had experienced a series of abuse from her childhood until the moment of her death. Adam felt frustrated and helpless, vulnerable to the situation.
The pain made him lose consciousness once more, his vision was completely blurred and with much effort he could make out Lucero's face in that dark room, where the reflection of the pale moon enveloped the two women.
"You're not pathetic" - Was what he managed to understand from Lucero's lips just before he completely succumbed to the pain.
It was a silent night in the Yamaguchi mansion, but Lucero's heart screamed with rage inside him. While that same feeling that overwhelmed her in the hospital was manifested once again when she contemplated Yukino's face of agony.
The night was still long, the fatigue ended up defeating Lucero who collapsed next to Yukino, dropping her arm on the back of her. As if two lovers shared a backwater in her bed.
In a few more hours it would be time to go to school, but that moment was a break in the middle of the storm.