A discreet-looking woman rests on a chair in a hospital room, the alarm sound of a wristwatch causing her to come out of her rest as she tries to stretch to untwist her joints. The weight of her fatigue is reflected in her face, being more than evident when she tries to pass her hands over her eyes, exhibiting a somewhat parched skin from the hospital climate.
That middle-aged woman finally gets up from her chair even with dizziness due to her sudden change in posture. "Wow, how long has it been since I felt like this" - Outlining a smile as he gazes at the clear sky on the horizon of the busy city, he makes some final stretches to turn his face in the direction of a woman lying asleep in bed .
The sound of the heart monitor has become the echo of that woman's silent communication; that after three months, she has not opened her eyes since that fateful night. She lowering her gaze from hers, she firmly holds her only remaining hand while she tells him the same phrase every morning: "Everything will be fine, I'll be back for you"
Walking through the corridors of the hospital, Hanabi puts her hands in her pockets as she discreetly walks to the main entrance. Her designer suits changed to austere jeans and a white sale blouse, the fine coats turned into modest woolen jackets that she sewed at intervals of the night while she kept awake.
A more sober make-up left the geisha glamor behind, while the jewelry was replaced by small fancy rose-shaped earrings, whose necklace set remained on the chest of the sleeping beauty from room 402.
Buying a coffee from the vending machine, she keeps walking down the street until she reaches the bus stop in order to go to the apartment to pick up her uniform, bumping into a man causing the coffee to spill on her clothes.
The bus ride takes her thirty minutes a day, taking advantage of the time as she solves sudoku puzzles in a mental challenge magazine. Upon arriving at her apartment, an old stray cat that she rescued receives her from her, frolicking along her legs, bending over her to caress him while she serves him some croquettes on a plate along with some milk.
As a routine, he turns on the television to play the nightly news replay and a couple of dramas that he leaves recording while he is away. She does not pay attention to the image, she only listens to the voices while she undresses while she turns on the water heater to shower. Beating up the old hulk that the landlord has promised to fix when he has time.
The feeling generated by the sensation of warm water on her pale skin, makes him deprive himself at times in the shower while she holds on to the soap dish so as not to slip. It has already been three months of deprivation due to hospital expenses.
The luxury apartment and car changed to a cheap apartment and a subway card; The money she obtained from the sale of these and her settlement, was directly deposited into her savings account with which Yukino's hospitalization expenses were paid.
Although the reason for the assembly did not come to light, the parents' league took it upon itself to destroy her reputation on many levels. Making it virtually impossible for you to start a school from scratch or get a high-income job. Having to settle for part-time jobs to meet the expenses of rent, food and transportation.
Although he in a way he appreciated that they were low-key jobs, since that allowed him to take care of Yukino at night. "She only has me" - she said to herself in the mirror as she watched her face trying to make a grimace, trying to get ready to go to her first turn.
Shinny Grass, a family-friendly restaurant a few feet from Gaienmae Station, was one of the few places that allowed him to even enter her summary for a job interview. Even though her pay was no more than $ 8 an hour, she compensated a bit with tips that some customers left discreetly under plates.
At the point of 3 p.m. she ran out of the restaurant to get to a mini market that was twenty minutes from the hospital. Chiyoko, an elderly woman, was the owner of that establishment, who held Hanabi in high esteem since she found out that she looked out for Yukino's care. Every week she let him take some consumables with the expiration date and some vegetables; Hanabi knew that the old woman was not doing it with bad intentions, but certainly even part of her pride made him feel miserable whenever she had a chance.
It was a cold January 4 past 8:00 p.m., when Hanabi went out to dump the trash as she regularly did. It was an hour until she finished her shift when she felt the cold barrel of a pistol on the back of her neck and her hand covered his mouth, while the thief threatened not to make any false move.
A feeling of panic seized her when she saw grandmother Chiyoko come out of the door of the premises, who ignorant of the situation approached danger like a moth that flies straight into the fire.
"Please, I beg you, do not hurt the old woman" - Even with her life at risk, Hanabi put the safety of the owner of the premises first. Managing to appeal a little to the humanity of that assailant, who entered the premises by threatening Hanabi while Grandma Chiyoko opened the cash register to give him the cash.
The assailant fled that establishment taking the day's earnings, leaving behind the two women who were still in shock from that event. Upon arrival, the police detained Hanabi while they interrogated him to have enough information in order to capture the thief, giving him 9:30 p.m. causing him anxiety to go to room 402 of the hospital at once.
"I just want to see her" - she repeated to herself waiting for Chiyoko outside the premises while she smoked a cigarette to calm her nerves. The retired officers looked at Hanabi's face, muttering among themselves that it was a waste for a beauty like her to look so haggard.
That heated deep into the feelings of Hanabi, who she squatted down putting out her cigarette while she lowered her head covering herself with her hands letting out a cry of frustration.
"Ignore my girl, rarely those men can properly appreciate the beauty of a woman" - Placing her hand on Hanabi's head, Chiyoko comforted him as she asked him to come into the room to warm up a bit.
While they were having a cup of coffee, the clock on the wall struck 10:00 p.m. surprising Hanabi who took her bag to go to the bus stop that would take her to the hospital. Just as he crossed the threshold of the business, Chiyoko's voice made him turn around.
"I had this gift for you because of how much you have helped me during all this time with the store, but with so much fuss I had not found the right time to give it to you" - She put in his hands a golden wrapping box with a crimson red ribbon . That beautiful gesture made Hanabi smile, who put her hand to her lips expressing her gratitude to the old woman.
"Come on, go now and don't make your girlfriend wait" - That made Hanabi blush completely, who replied nervously that Yukino was just a friend she was very fond of. To which the old woman replied, that so much care in protecting her was not something of a simple friendship.
Those words filled Hanabi's thoughts on their way to the hospital, as she tried to rub her hands together to warm herself against the fine snow that was beginning to fall. Upon entering Yukino's room, she put her things on the chair while she went to wash her face in the bathroom to refresh her puffy eyes from crying a bit.
Sitting in the chair to spend the night awake, she took her yarn from her purse to begin knitting a scarf and gloves. Most of those clothes were for Yukino when she managed to wake up and they went to Hokadio together, that thought of her helped him give him hope as time passed.
When putting his bag on the backrest, it fell by accident, letting out the gift box. Which she let see through the torn wrapper that it was a cosmetic box. Opening the packaging completely, she saw that it was a moderately expensive line and attached to the box was a discreetly folded note:
"The first time you came to my store looking for work, I saw in your eyes a deep sadness and loneliness. Something very similar to what I see in the mirror every time I get up to go to the place. But this old woman is very grateful to you for your noble feelings and dedication not only to work, but to the love that you put in the care that you give to that lady you tell me so much about.
I know that these cosmetics are not the brands that you used to use, but someone as beautiful as you should not be neglected. More for when she wakes up and sees you, be radiant with a smile that restores her peace. "- The tears did not stop falling, running the ink of the kanjis in the letter. Hanabi felt happy in the depths of her heart for those words of Grandma Chiyoko.
Hope, it was that feeling and renewed longing inside her that she had felt diminished during those three long months of hard waiting between the cold walls of the hospital room. Letting her head go back, she lets out a deep sigh from her lips like someone who has lifted a heavy burden from their soul. Sometimes I even think that what she was doing was crazy and after reflecting she felt completely miserable just thinking about it. But like a magic touch, that letter turned out to be the incentive she needed to keep looking forward.
"I'm going to try on this gift and I hope you open your eyes for when I leave the dressing table" - With a radiant smile and full of joy Hanabi went directly to the bathroom of the room to apply some of that set of cosmetics.
While she was putting on her makeup, the door to room 402 opened, revealing a silhouette in the threshold, barely distinguishable by the brightness of the hallway lamps that obscured the shadow. By the time she came out of the dresser, Hanabi saw Yukino directly, who remained with that semblance of imperturbable peace from the coma.
A little disappointed, she approached the bed until she was supported and face to face before Yukino. Lowering her gaze a little, she carefully contemplated the lips of the sleeping maiden, passing through her mind that those lips of hers at some point knew the fragrance of a pure kiss.
"Lucero was really lucky that you loved her" - Just for an instant the brain function monitor had a slight spike, causing Hanabi to jump completely as she was on her knees on the bed almost on the verge of falling to the floor.
For three months Yukino's mind had been unchanged while she was in a coma; that was a breakthrough, a light at the end of that long, dark tunnel that separated her from life.
"Tsh! Even in her pathetic state, she continues to sigh for that piece of trash" - The surprise completely shook the senses of Hanabi, who had not noticed until that moment of the presence of someone else in the room.
As he turned his face in the direction of the source of that voice, the pupil of his eyes contracted and the brow of his eyebrows furrowed completely, changing his facial expression to that of a person completely in possession of his lowest murderous instincts. .
Standing in a corner in the shadows, the figure that had entered the room was approaching the bed menacingly and proudly. A pair of crimson red lips and brown hair a little grown out from last time, but in essence it was her: Akane.
After the night that Yukino's body was shattered and Adam's soul was sent practically into the darkness of oblivion, Akane felt suspicious when Hiro knew that she was still alive. Although Hanabi was careful to arrange the entrance papers in such a way that she was considered an unknown person, Akane's obsession led her to move her influences on the different levels that her father carried great weight.
The fruit of her tenacity was in front of her, hers first love hers, her first disappointment and now the object of her darkest desire for revenge. Yukino had supposed a before and after in her life in many ways, blaming her for what she had now become.
"I never thought of you Miss Hanabi, sorry, I mean Hanabi. I forgot that you are no longer anyone to refer to with honorifics. You are so desperate to have someone to fill the void in your heart that you are content to eat the waste that you leave behind. fall off my table. Maybe I should change your name to Meinu "- Leaning the tips of her fingers on her face with a satisfied smile, she looked defiantly at the furious Hanabi, who did not move away from Yukino not even giving an inch.
The tension in the room rose with every second to have in it two women with such strong but opposite personalities at the same time. Hanabi knew that nothing good could come from this unexpected visitor and her pulse quickened just thinking that she could do to Yukino when she was not around her.
"You've already hurt her enough, look at her as she is. Isn't it enough for you to have left her dead inside that now you want to finish what you started? The more you need her to suffer to fill your hollow heart" - A slap echoed in the The silence of the room, the force with which he received that blow made Hanabi stagger to the floor. Was this brat always this strong? It was what she was thinking as she tried to soothe the throbbing pain in her cheek with her hand.
Akane was very clear about what she wanted and she would not tolerate an insult from anyone, least of a person whom she considered inferior. Just as Hanabi was trying to prop herself up on the ground, a kick hit him in the ribs of her taking the air out of him completely. She was lying on her back as she struggled to catch her breath, while in a cruel and ruthless way she nailed a letter opener into the palm of her right hand, while she sat on Hanabi's chest. dropping all the weight of it.
"I'll be brief damn bitch. That broken toy that you have fun playing Florence Nightingale with is still breathing and rest assured that I have enough power to finish it. And no one will lay a finger on me because no one will cry for a piece of meat like her But I can have some compassion if you agree to work for me "- Reaching into her purse, Akane took out a business card with her number, offering Hanabi the option of working in her mansion as one of her maids.
Leaving the room, Akane made it clear that she had twenty-four hours to answer in the affirmative. Otherwise, she must be sure that the moment she let her guard down, Yukino's life would definitely end in this world.
Hanabi got up from the floor as the wounds on her body healed thanks to her active powers, thanking fate for not attracting the attention of that maniac. She was aware that with her strength she could stand up to anyone, but Yukino at some point would be completely exposed and could not save him.
That thought of her kept him from sleeping through the night while she was awake. Working for Akane was not only exposing herself to a highly influential enemy in the world of high society, but there was no guarantee that she would keep her word about sparing her friend's life.
By the time morning came for Hanabi, many things had changed in her immediate future. Her priority was always preserving Yukino's life, everything else was secondary. Even with a low calorie intake, her body could perfectly cope with one meal a day. So she decided to make two calls before answering Akane on the phone.
The first one went to the family restaurant, in that call she felt the disappointed face of her boss who felt insulted for receiving that resignation by phone instead of in person. Thinking seriously about what happened, Hanabi considered that she could not do the same with Grandmother Chiyoko. That woman had not only given her hand but had also opened her heart, leaving herself fully exposed to her.
That trust that she had placed in her did not want to betray her with a simple phone call, no matter how cautious she wanted to place about the current situation, she had to act corresponding to Chiyoko's good intentions. So she patiently waited for it to be time for her to start her day at the mini market to formally end her working relationship.
Walking under the warm sensation that the sun gave on that cold day, a brief moment passed through her mind, a sensation escaping long forgotten. When thinking of Grandma Chiyoko, old memories of her past life were mixed and overlapped with the experiences shared with the owner of the premises. The image of whoever her mother was little by little covered her own figure in the memories of Chiyoko.
When he realized it, a few tears had rolled down his face; trying to dry them with his hands, he contemplated those beautiful gems against the sun. Appreciating the colors that once made sense of the memories she held in her heart.
"I feel a strong tightness in my chest and I can't stop crying, but why then do I feel so happy?" - As if it were a miracle, the ties that Iblis had destroyed in the past were beginning to unite once more . Returning to Hanabi the original essence of her soul, what he believed he had lost forever returned to her.
Forgetting to take the bus, she began to run with all her might as if a spark had turned into a fire inside her. "I am not a monster, I am a human being!" She - she She screamed with joy at the astonished gaze of passersby who considered him a person who had lost his sanity. Although it was the opposite.
"Obaasan! I'm ... I'm here" - Hanabi's spirits were gradually extinguished like the flame of a candle that the wind has snatched away until it was consumed. An ambulance was in the parking lot of the mini market and a patrol cordoned off the place. With each step she took, she felt that time was slowing down, the faces of the onlookers seemed those of simple mannequins while the voices became more and more like murmurs, to the point that she could hear more and more intense. the beating of her heart.
Two paramedics were stationed on the floor of the premises, eagerly checking a body that was lying inert. The clothes she wore were unmistakable, and the light fragrance of her aged skin left no room for doubt.
"Chi-yoko? Grandma it can't be ... Nooo" - A heartrending scream rose from deep within Hanabi, who suddenly collapsed on the floor crying inconsolably with her face turned to the sky. Grandma Chiyoko for a couple of years had heart problems since she had lost her only daughter in a car accident.
She had gone out with a friend from a party and they came back drunk late at night when the mishap occurred. Ayumi, the daughter of the owner of the premises, had graduated from university a few months ago and started working in a law firm. That night it had been her celebration for having obtained her first job, but due to her being in a coma, those dreams were cut short when her last hope was extinguished with the artificial respirator.
From that day on the years turned gloomy for her, with no desire to live by just clinging to work to keep sane in the face of pain. Until one cold morning she met a woman who by her appearance and her countenance reminded him of her late daughter.
For Chiyoko, meeting Hanabi was a balm that made her last days in this world happy. And that letter that she left in her gift was her last gesture of eternal gratitude to the woman who smiled back. That smile that was engraved on hers, her body that was covered by the paramedics, who escorted him to the ambulance to take her to the morgue.
The policemen approached Hanabi trying to reassure her, waiting for her to be more clear to ask her some questions about it. She was completely devastated, answering as if it were a robot.
After a few minutes, she did not see any more sense to remain there and walked towards a small park that was near the mini market. Lying on a bench completely exhausted from crying, she began to think again about that previous sensation she had experienced. Meditating deeply on it, he came to the conclusion that somehow the remnant of Chiyoko's spirit had helped him recover from her old trauma.
As she looked at her hands, she saw that her wristwatch read 5:00 p.m. and she remembered that she still had a call to make. Taking a deep breath, she dialed the phone number on that business card.
The voice on the other end of the receiver sounded exhilarating over that call, not caring about keeping up appearances at all. "I've already thought about it and I think I'll give you the answer you deserve young mistress ... Fuck you!" - A silence was heard on the other end of the phone, followed by the symphony of objects breaking in the room. "So be it Meinu" - The sound of the call ended was heard in the earpiece, making it clear that time was valuable from now on for Hanabi. Who rushed to the hospital like a devil carried soul fearing for Yukino's integrity.
"Hey, running is not allowed in the hallways" - One of the social workers called the attention of Hanabi who was desperately seeking to get to room 402.
When she finally reached the fourth floor, from the other end of the hall she saw a nurse with a cart of medical supplies coming out of Yukino's room, reassuring her a bit when she saw that someone from the hospital was with her until recently.
"Excuse me, are you responsible for the 402 patient? I need you to sign this responsive to provide this treatment that the doctor ordered" - Hanabi's blood froze completely when she turned to see the nurse and contemplated that she was carrying an order treatment with it. Who had then been the person who came out of Yukino's room?
When I open the door, I see that the heart rate monitor was with the flat line and in the line of the IV was a hypodermic needle that the fake nurse had left forgotten in her escape.
"Please someone help me!" - Hanabi screamed hysterically as she waited for the nurses who would attend to Yukino. As soon as they arrived, she began to run to the service elevator looking to locate the floor to which that person was going. The elevator light stopped in the basement of the parking lot, it was only a matter of time before she escaped.
Hanabi ran once more to the first floor, slamming open a service door that led directly to the parking area. Looking like she was possessed in all directions, she spotted the supposed nurse trying to open a car door.
"You won't escape my damn thing" - Using her powers indiscriminately, Hanabi took steps with impulse, shortening the distance between the two of them in seconds. Surprising that curly blonde haired woman who took a gun out of her purse and shot Hanabi in the abdomen.
Watching in horror as her wounds closed almost instantly. "What kind of monster are you !?" - Those words ignited fury in Hanabi's eyes, making a turn of the wrist she pronounced the following words: "Strip kristala cietums"
The walls of a glass sphere began to surround both women until they were completely enclosed, Hanabi turning around, came out as if nothing else while the other woman hit the glass walls. As it compacted in size with her until it was reduced to an orb like her pocket dimension.
"You will stay there until I decide what to do with you" - With a somber tone devoid of empathy or mercy, without listening to the pleas of that woman, Hanabi put the orb in her jacket pocket and went once more to the room 402.
At the threshold of the door, the sound of the heart rate monitor was continuous, there was no variation whatsoever despite the efforts that the doctor applied to compress the patient's chest while she was practicing CPR. Since Hanabi chased after the woman, more than seven minutes had passed on the doctor's assistant's wristwatch.
"There is nothing else we can do for her. Let the record show that the patient passed away at 7:10 p.m. due to heart failure. Prepare the paperwork for the body at the morgue." - There was no reverent act before Yukino's death, the words of the medical team were too dark. Although it is true that a health professional should not create any bond with his patients beyond work, the cold accent in the doctor's statements and the promptness in his opinion without having done an autopsy were overwhelming: Isas's hand was stuck in that moment.
Her eyes were already dry after the shock of Grandma Chiyoko's sudden death, but the whites of her eyes were completely red with fury. In front of her the nurses began to disconnect the devices that monitored Yukino, while covering her face with a white veil.
The doctor touched Hanabi's shoulder telling her that it was necessary for her to accompany him to complete the necessary paperwork in order to send her body to the funeral service. To which Hanabi asked him to allow her to be alone with her friend for a while after completing her paperwork.
Hanabi's footsteps seemed to echo as she left Yukino's limp body behind in that room. Her clenching her fist against her chest as her pain consumed her inside like corrosion destroying metal.
"Is this how this all ends? Are we just mere puppets that you use and abandon when we have broken up? If you are listening to me right now, Freyja I curse you with all my soul" - The bitterness in Hanabi's words they carried all their anger and frustration, with them a rift had been drawn on the spiritual battlefield.