By the morning of the next day, the conversation between the two women had remained a past event, just as if it were a dream. At the edge of the kitchen table, Hanabi was heating some coffee while she stood staring at the steaming pot.
"I don't know what to tell you" - When Hanabi revealed the intention of her heart, Yukino stood up and walked to her room, closing the door until the next day. The night passed in the midst of a tension that had not existed between the two of them for a long time. From the moment she was left alone in the living room, Hanabi was only able to sit up after a couple of hours while she wiped away her tears.
Alerted by the sound of the kitchen timer, Hanabi shook thoughts from her and decided to regain her composure a bit by taking the first sip of her coffee cup.
"Mmmm, it's very bitter" - Making a face of displeasure, she put her cup on the table and looked in the cupboard for the jar with the sugar to sweeten her drink a little. But rummaging through the containers on the shelf, all she found was a completely empty jar.
It had been a few days that due to her work, she had not had time to go to the convenience store and stock some of the supplies that had run out. Thinking of this as an opportunity to clear her mind with a walk, Hanabi took her purse and apartment keys leaving a note for Yukino along with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast.
As they left the apartment, the young woman spread her arms, letting a deep sigh from her chest, as if she was trying to lighten the burden of her tumultuous heart a bit. It was 6:40 in the morning and the air was a little cooler than usual, when I exhaled a little of her breath on her bare hands, the steam revealed a light mist between her fingers.
As usual in her routine, she walks around in her skinny jeans and a light jacket, always covering her eyes with sunglasses and her billowing red hair. She was still someone who attracted attention in a positive way among the people who saw her as she passed.
"Wow, it's your young lady. How have you been?" - A shaky little voice that could barely be heard having him close to her, Mrs. Matsumoto was a widow who was already around 80 years old. With whom Hanabi had established a friendly relationship since her arrival in Hokkaido, more for the memory of Grandmother Chiyoko.
"Oh my, what happened to your eyes, my girl?" - Extending her hand to the level of Hanabi's right cheek, Mrs. Matsumoto caressed her skin under the edge of her sunglasses with some concern . With the experience of her pain, the old woman felt compassion for her and looked in her bag for a small tangerine that she placed in the palm of Hanabi's hand.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but whenever you need an ear to listen to your problems, you can count on this old woman my sweet creature" - Responding to the gentle gesture, Hanabi took the old woman's hand and smiled sincerely in response to her noble feelings .
After shopping at the convenience store, Hanabi headed to her apartment to get ready and go to her job like she did every day to maintain their finances. As we passed through a narrow street where there was only room for one vehicle, she suddenly heard the sound of a rattle vibrating approaching her.
As he turned to his feet, a small temari who had been rolling down the street hit the heel of his shoe. Trying to locate the person who had thrown that toy, Hanabi reached down to pick it up when suddenly a hand that sprouted from the ball gripped his hand tightly as he laughed maliciously.
"But look what brought the cat the ball, a red-haired rat for a little snack?" - Hanabi had realized that she had been very careless, the weapon that Vargas had prepared for her was still on the sofa in the living room in the apartment and without her powers as her guardian, feeling spiritual presences was an impossible matter.
Little by little from the ball she was forming a feminine silhouette with blue-black hair, her eyes with a sharp expression in an amber tone and the skin of her face evident scars of burns.
Nabim, Freyja's astral assistant was in front of Hanabi holding her tightly preventing her from escaping from the situation. Desperate as she clenched her teeth, she dropped the supply bag and landed a direct punch in the face of her enemy. Who, giving a frivolous smile, answered that punch with another in the delicate belly of Hanabi, who she ended up spitting blood when she fell to the ground on her knees.
Her breathing was agitated due to her spasm from receiving that blow without warning, trying to press her hands against her abdomen in order to mitigate the stabbing pain that ran through her entire body. Her heartbeat could be heard so loud due to her sudden fear that overwhelmed her, that she Nabim began to laugh out loud in an uncontrollable way to the point of shedding a few tears.
"If I wanted to kill you, rest assured that we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I have a message from our dear boss, well, ex-boss for you. Even as a pathetic human being, your duties as a guardian are not extinct and if you want cute little friend stay alive, you will follow all her orders to the letter "- Holding Hanabi's chin with his index fingers and thumb, Nabim smiled as he contemplated the expression of helplessness and despair in the redhead's eyes.
Meanwhile at the gates of the university campus, Yukino arrived descending from his bicycle in a torpid way almost falling. Just having one hand available, he was torture to control the handlebars without hitting objects in his path.
"It seems very complicated to handle that bicycle as you are" - Standing on one side of the entrance, Detective Takeda was holding a coffee can while with the other he put out a cigarette that was about to be extinguished. To Yukino, the fact that the detective was following her seemed too suspicious even under the circumstances of the event that occurred.
"What is it that brings you here Takeda-san?" - Tightening the strap of his backpack, Yukino gets off his bike to support it on a hatch and chain it, trying to look away from the detective hurrying to enter the campus.
"Don't worry Miss Worthington, I'm not here on official business. But it seems like it wasn't all that inconvenient to wait at the entrance for a bit longer." - Continuing on his way to the car parked in the parking lots, the detective withdrew without further provocation to the young woman, who was still on alert in case she was a trap.
Walking through the hallways of the campus, Yukino thought about the statement that Hanabi had made the night before. It had been two years since Kaoru's death, when he felt that her heart had completely stopped. The very idea of falling in love with her was something that she had already completely forgotten and the side effects of the dream eater made that conviction easier.
To her, Hanabi was just a friend, nothing more than that. Unable to reciprocate, Yukino felt in a predicament. Well, even if he did not intend to see her as a couple, the possibility that her emotional relationship would continue as before was almost impossible.
"You know, I've always wondered how you manage to break your prosthetics? Do you do parkour or extreme sports?" - Coming out of his lab holding a cup and a toothbrush, Kang ran into Yukino who barely stopped before crashing into him.
Distracted as she lost herself in thought, she turned to see Kang giving him a grin, keeping silent to continue on her way to the classroom. Perhaps getting lost in the books would serve as a bit of a change of scene, but even though the written concepts were partly new, her past life memories overlapped, making engineering classes tedious at times.
"I want her reports on my desk before the end of the period, you can retire young" - As if the hours had become seconds, for Yukino the classes went unnoticed as a mere illusion. She could not focus on her studies and she could not resolve the issue that she had at home, it was like a dead end that led her to explode at any moment.
"If you don't have anything to do Yukino, please come to the lab in a few minutes" - Leaving a can of black coffee on the desk, Kang said goodbye, returning Yukino's smile in a sincere way. Holding the wet can of cold coffee between her fingers, she bit her lips, lowering her gaze as she cursed at her thoughts.
After a few minutes of calming her frustration, the young woman took her backpack and walked through the corridors until she reached the laboratory. Inside it, Kang was in front of the computer, typing a series of commands to a USB interface that had a left hand prosthesis connected to it.
Finely finished, the carbon fiber of the cuirass was detailed as if it were a real hand, within it, a titanium alloy skeleton and platinum wiring. That prosthesis was designed to connect through a coupling of neurotransmitters that attached to the skin like electrodes. The servo controllers allowed force to be placed on the phalanges as a hand would naturally. Seeing that piece of engineering working perfectly surprised Yukino that he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"It is interesting right?" - Disconnecting the cable from the computer, Kang stood up making a gesture inviting him to sit down. With a smiling expression behind his glasses, Kang's eyes radiated expectation about how that prototype would work with young Yukino.
Gently taking his left arm, the young student felt with his fingertips on the scar that Hiro had left that long night on the beach, where there should have been a delicate hand, the skin coming together leaving a sensation of painful memories.
"Could you stop playing so much Mr. Kang" - Swallowing in surprise, Kang looked at Yukino's lips perceiving a sensation that he had not had before towards her. It was like a wish, something that was present but that a few months ago she had not noticed.
Almost a semester as classmates had passed, more like a superior-apprentice relationship, but it all fell apart in that moment when he became aware of the truth as he contemplated the pained expression in Yukino's eyes.
"Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, I was just looking for the points where I am going to connect the terminals of the prosthesis." - With his face a little flushed and adjusting his glasses, Kang continued his work configuring the interface points on Yukino's arm. The sound of the computer running on the simulator was the only sound that lessened the awkward silence between the two.
"It's ready, try moving your fingers" - Trying to focus on where his left hand should be, he initially felt a slight pain similar to when it was cut. The uncommon phantom limb syndrome that post-trauma patients experience had manifested itself by causing a slight moan to come from Yukino's lips. Causing Kang to fall flat on his desk in surprise, throwing some things on the floor.
"Sorry, it's been a long time since this has happened to me" - Gasping a little from the sensation of pain, Yukino began to move the phalanxes of the robotic piece one by one to do the control tests.
Holding the can of coffee that she had previously given Kang, the young woman widened her eyes at the sensation of cold that ran through her nerves from the tips of the fingers of the prosthesis. Among the functionalities that Kang had incorporated, the polycarbonate surface had a thin film of sensors that connected to a decoder inside the palm of the robotic piece.
Trying to achieve a prosthesis that resembles as much as possible to a human part, Kang had developed in his thesis topic the possibility of providing the patient with sensitivity controlled by the base algorithm of nervous response.
"Don't worry, you will be able to feel anything as if it were your real hand. But the module that interprets the pain signals is calibrated to the minimum so as not to affect your daily life" - Rubbing his hand on the nape of his neck, Kang smiled awkwardly at Yukino, who couldn't help finding his expression comical, laughed along with him for a while.
Around noon, the sun's rays bathed the golden ginko leaves that fell from the treetops. The sound of a pair of getas tapping the stoneware in the street sounded like a pair of castanets that gave the impression of the second hand of a watch, with a firm and delicate step tapping the vicinity with a cane, a blind girl dressed in priestly garb It was visible around a commercial point.
Touching her to check her purse, she counted the coins as she visited food stalls to stock up on groceries during the week. Vargas used to have the same routine every day since she became Hokkaido's guardian; from the temple to the market, without visiting other places.
Almost as anachronistic as the temple where she dwelt, the priestess radiated an aura that she used to attract the attention of the offerers the first time they saw her. Ostracized, the Loas faced the reality of being erased from the memory of ordinary people, so that the gazes of people no longer bothered him in the least.
After finishing her work, the priestess always returned along the same path that she led to the temple. Except for that day, the turning point that would make him change her circumstances in an unexpected way.
Alerted by the sound of wheels rolling over concrete, Vargas turned back to locate her presence moving toward her.
"Wow, I thought there were no moles in this city but I seem to be wrong. Don't you guys think?" - Completely surrounding her, four young people on skates blocked the way for Vargas, who, keeping calm despite her temperament, asked them to let him go without any consequence for them.
One of them put her hand to her mouth as she laughed ominously, her hair was black with blonde highlights, she wore a baggy T-shirt and shorts ripped at the edges. Long nails and tanned skin that contrasted with the pale skin of the priestess. In cultural terms, this group was gyarus, young people focused on their image and tending towards fashion. But that particular group denoted their hostile behavior.
Armed by bats and chains, the young women smiled with their gazes fixed on Vargas, who using his abilities could know in what positions they were given his hostile spirit.
Trying not to fall into provocations, the young maiden kept walking and soon one of the girls put her foot to make him stumble.
"Is something as childish as this not a problem for me?" - Smiling at the thought that they were only children's games, Vargas continued passing her without noticing that that young woman quickly changed her position, making her fall, hitting her face against the ground.
"But what the fuck just happened? WHO ARE YOU!" - Getting into attack formation, the four girls began to emanate a flow of energy causing the surrounding air to become completely stale. Laughing frantically as they moved at breakneck speed around him.
It was already close to night, Hanabi had spent the whole day under the anxiety that Nabim's words left in her heart. The boss of her work had caught her attention more than 3 times while she kept thinking about that threat. If she rejected Freyja's orders, Yukino's life would be in danger not only from the Loa guardians who considered them rebels, but also the latent threat of that strange enemy in the shadows was something that she could not ignore.
Despite the latent threat, Hanabi decided to face the situation with the same resolve with which she had in the past. Even if his body was deadly, the combat ability was something that he hadn't completely discarded by being degraded and with the help of the weapon that Vargas handed him, he could do something about it.
Driving home in his car, he would tune in to a radio station to distract himself from his worries. The music on the radio station was mostly of the enka genre, something Hanabi had gotten used to taking a certain liking thanks to the time he spent with Grandma Chiyoko.
The sound of the shamisen to the touch of the strings, emitted asynchronous frequencies that to the beat of the letter of the chords, made him feel a certain air of emotion.
Already a few streets away from the apartments, the engine began to make some strange noises causing the car to suddenly turn off. Trying to get it started unsuccessfully, Hanabi hit the steering wheel lightly with her head and palms, exhaling a weary groan.
"Definitely this day has been a shit" - Getting out of the car to continue on foot, the young woman tried to contact a tow truck by phone in order to tow her car. When she tried to link the call, the dial tone sound on the phone began to ring with static, as if she were out of coverage area.
For her that was strange since she was in the city, she was not in the middle of the forest, much less circulating under a tunnel. Exasperated by the situation, Hanabi put her phone in her purse and locked the car doors. Angrily slamming the pilot door, a small creature slipped in a kind of drool down the door frame.
"That was too cruel, you just crushed one of my children. But I am not spiteful, I promise I will give you a death just as fast as the one you gave him" - Without warning, a blast of high pressure fluid cut violently in its trajectory the air to impact against the vehicle, splitting it in two. With great difficulty, Hanabi had managed to dodge that attack, receiving light cuts on her face due to the splinters of the metal that had been sent flying by the force of the impact.
"Are you a tarot member?" - Thanks to the information resulting from Nabim's unwanted visit, Hanabi knew the identity of her deadly enemy in front of her. Without saying a word, Vanesa continued launching her attacks indiscriminately against the fragile humanity of her victim, who, using her abilities, dodged them with great effort.
Taking advantage of a moment of carelessness from her opponent, Hanabi ran with all her might towards her apartment, taking out of her bag a personal alarm that she activated in order to attract the attention of the neighbors in the area.
Clicking her tongue angrily, Vanessa vanished into thin air, avoiding detection by any witnesses. The orders of the organization were to act with extreme secrecy and she had already been admonished by Diablo, so making a mistake this time would be counterproductive for her.
Tired physically and mentally, Hanabi collapsed in her frenzy as he broke one of the heels of her sneakers. Making her take them off on the impulse of the moment, she following her run completely barefoot of her.
When she arrived at her apartment, her feet were already bleeding due to the conditions of the ground through which she ran. Leaving no time to lose, the frightened woman closed the doors and windows of the apartment and looked for the box where the weapon was.
With trembling fingers, she was inserting the bullets into the barrel of the weapon and readying the trigger to be ready at the moment to have her target in her sights.
The minutes passed and her sense of fear was diminishing when she saw that her pursuer had not found clues that would lead her to her. When her mind finally settled with the adrenaline of the chase, Hanabi tried to warn Yukino about the enemy sighting over the phone.
"Please, answer. Don't come to the apartment, go with Vargas." - Trying to leave a message on her voicemail, the phone was taken from Hanabi's hands by a familiar figure to her. Her pupils were fully dilated, her heart rate was on the verge of tachycardia as a cold sweat like the harbinger of her death ran down his back.
"I thought that the more people the party would be more fun, but I see that you want me all to yourself! That flatters me." floor. That scene ignited the murderous instinct of Vanesa, who like a hunter who plays with her prey, raised the body of the old guardian, holding it by her wrists.
Trying to free herself from his grip, Hanabi kicked with her foot looking for Vanesa's crotch, who quickly caught him with her other hand, breaking his ankle as if it were a branch.
He spitting a solid drool into Hanabi's mouth seeking to silence her when she tried to scream out of her pain.
"Shhhh, I don't want anyone to interrupt our special moment." - With a Machiavellian expression, Vanessa smiled at the poor woman who was completely at her mercy.
Dragging her by the hair all over the apartment floor, he led her directly to the kitchen table where he slapped her down as he reached out with her beast for a knife that stabbed into Hanabi's hands with a single blow.
The tears did not stop flowing while the screams drowned behind her gag, the despair in her eyes was something that Vanesa began to enjoy with great sadism, playing a little with the knife inside the wounds of the unfortunate woman. woman.
Slashing all over her skin in a superficial way, her blood spurted out and allowed a few seconds to pass for clots to form. To later continue with the punishment of her until after a few minutes, as if it were her cat, he stopped having interest in her, leaving her exhausted on the table.
Hanabi's mind was on the edge, her body could no longer bear the pain, trembling at the punishment inflicted and barely maintaining consciousness. The only thing that gripped her at that moment was the fear of Yukino's arrival at the apartment.
If she received a surprise attack, it would be impossible for him to activate her armor and she would die the instant Vanessa struck the first blow. While her victimizer was stationed in front of the apartment door, Hanabi tried with the little strength she had left to withdraw the knife that she had stuck in the palms of her hands.
Pushing it little by little trying not to make a noise, the edge of that razor cut even more the lacerated tendons of her. The pain was unbearable, while her sweat mixed with her blood, that sensation kept her senses alert until she finally managed to get rid of it.
With clouded vision and considerable blood loss, Hanabi's body was weakened to the point of her death. Searching with her gaze around her, she observed that her gun was lying a few steps from the table where she was prostrate.
There was only one chance to reach her in one move, if she hesitated it would be the end for her and Yukino. There was no room for error and pain was something that took a backseat. Gathering her little strength, the woman pulled herself up with her weight projecting against the floor just above the weapon. Trying to take it with her injured hands without activating the firing pin on her trigger.
"Yes, you are a nuisance, I was thinking of killing you after having fun playing with her. But I don't like interruptions" - Taking her hair violently, Vanesa lifted Hanabi once more until she was ready to cut off her head with a blast of her can. It was then that the sound of the hammer sounded in the silence of the room and she noticed the cold barrel of the weapon that was point-blank against her abdomen.
"How cute. Didn't they tell you that guns don't hurt us?" - Hanabi's eyes lit up with a sparkle of bright blue, drawing Vanesa's attention, who later realized that this weapon was not ordinary.
A strong impact with the thunder of cracking metal shook the silence of the night, as Vanesa's belly was lacerated by a blast of energy from one side to the other. Her spitting blood as she was projected with colossal force against the wall.
"Damn what did you do to me?" - The blood bubbled from the mouth of Vanessa, who tried to get up without success. The blast of energy had destroyed part of her spine, cutting off her lower body.
"My legs! Damn I can't move my legs!" - Pounding her fists on the floor of the apartment to the point of cracking it, La Carrosa screamed and shouted as Hanabi watched her with a look of contempt from the other end.
"You must know when to retreat, you idiot" - A deep hoarse voice boomed from the walls of the room. A wheel of fire was drawn in the air, letting out a man with the appearance of a tramp. His unkempt beard and sharp gaze caused anyone who saw him to panic.
Vanesa could not stop shaking, when she saw him she gave the impression that she was contemplating the depth of her abyss. While Hanabi, already on the verge of falling faint, she only saw the blurred silhouettes of that man carrying Vanesa's body on his shoulders. Who desperately struggled to get rid of him. Disappearing through the same portal through which the man had come.
The sound of the sirens was heard distant to the ears of the redhead, who, completely dejected, collapsed on the ground.