Revealing the Truth
Kazuki followed Yano to a quiet, dimly lit room where she finally sat down, her hands clasped together as if holding onto something invisible. She took a deep breath before speaking, her voice quieter than usual.
"I wasn't always the person you know now," she began, staring at the floor. "Before I joined Emjay's team, before I even knew about my powers… I was someone else."
Kazuki leaned forward slightly, listening carefully. "Go on."
Yano hesitated, then spoke again, this time with a bitter edge to her voice. "I was born into a family that didn't want me. My father… he was the worst of them. He treated me like a failure before I even had the chance to prove myself. He controlled everything—where I went, who I spoke to, what I thought. My mother never did anything to stop him. My siblings? They followed his lead. I was nothing more than a burden to them."
She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening into fists. "I tried to endure it. I told myself it would get better. But it didn't. It only got worse. And then… I broke."
Kazuki's expression remained neutral, though his eyes darkened with understanding. "What did you do?"
Yano's voice was steady but laced with something heavy—regret, anger, something deeper. "I left. But before I did… I made sure they couldn't hurt me anymore."
Kazuki's breath hitched slightly, but he remained silent, letting her continue.
"I packed up a bag with what little I had. I waited until they were all asleep. Then, I poured gasoline around the house." She exhaled sharply, as if trying to force out the memories. "I lit a match, watched the flames catch, and then… I walked away. I didn't look back."
Silence filled the room for a long moment before Kazuki finally spoke. "And you never went back?"
"I never intended to." Yano looked away. "I got myself a room in a cheap hotel, used whatever money I had saved. I was free, Kazuki. For the first time in my life, I was free."
Discovering Her Power
Kazuki let the silence stretch for a moment before asking, "When did you discover your powers?"
Yano let out a humorless chuckle. "By accident. A few weeks after I left, I saw a stray dog that had been hit by a car. It was barely breathing. I don't know why, but I knelt beside it and placed my hands over its wounds."
She rubbed her hands together as if remembering the sensation. "And then… something happened. A warmth spread from my hands into its body, and the wounds started closing faster than anything I'd ever seen. It was terrifying at first. But then I realized… I could fix things. I could heal. I could undo pain."
Kazuki gave her a small nod. "And that's when you knew you were different."
"Yeah," Yano said, a far-off look in her eyes. "But I didn't know what to do with it. Until I met Emjay."
Joining the Team
"He found me when I was at my lowest," Yano admitted. "I was lost. I had no purpose, no direction. Emjay saw something in me, though. He offered me a place in the team, a role to play. A distraction."
Kazuki narrowed his eyes slightly. "A distraction?"
Yano nodded. "From what I'd done. From the guilt, from the nightmares. I thought that if I stayed busy, if I dedicated myself to healing others, I wouldn't have to think about the past."
Kazuki exhaled, taking it all in. "But now the past is here."
Yano's face darkened. "The soldier. He is my father, He survived."
Kazuki shocked but steady. "That explains the horror in your eyes."
Yano nodded. "Yes, And now we will face him."
The Truth About the Soldier
Kazuki and Yano made their way back to the medical wing. The enemy soldier sat where they had left him, though now he looked more amused than anything.
Yano stepped forward, her voice steady but cold. "How did you survive?"
He chuckled dryly. "I crawled out of the wreckage, barely alive. I should've died that night. Maybe I would've, if someone hadn't found me."
Kazuki narrowed his eyes. "Who found you?"
The soldier leaned back, his gaze flickering between them. "The enemy. They saw value in me. A man with nothing left to lose is a powerful weapon." He tilted his head at Yano. "I should thank you, in a way. You gave me a reason to fight. To destroy everything you built for yourself.""
Her jaw tightened. "Who else survived?"
He grinned. "Just me. The rest? They burned, just like you wanted."
Kazuki could feel the tension radiating off Yano. "Why are you with the enemy?"
He leaned back, stretching as much as his bindings would allow. "Because they gave me a reason to live after you took everything away."
Yano's fists trembled. "You don't get to act like a victim."
The soldier's smirk faded slightly. "And you don't get to pretend you're innocent."
The Attack
The next morning, the team gathered to interrogate the soldier further. They asked about the enemy's plans, their leaders, their next move. But in the middle of the questioning, he acted.
With unexpected strength, he broke free from his restraints and lunged at Yano, his eyes wild with rage. "You should have died with them!"
Time seemed to slow. Yano froze as the man closed in, but before he could reach her—
Kazuki stepped in front of her.
With a swift movement, Kazuki blocked the soldier's attack, then drove a blade deep into his chest. The soldier gasped, his eyes widening in shock. He staggered back, blood seeping from the wound.
Kazuki's voice was steady, cold. "You're too dangerous to keep alive."
The soldier coughed, struggling to breathe. "You… think you're… better than us?"
Kazuki didn't answer. The soldier collapsed moments later, lifeless.
Aftermath
The team stood in stunned silence. Emjay was the first to speak. "We need to go over everything he told us. If there's even a chance he was lying about their plans, we need to be prepared."
Everyone slowly nodded, though Yano remained still, staring at the dead body.
Later that evening, Yano finally gathered the courage to tell the rest of the team about her past. She told them everything—the abuse, the fire, the reason she had joined them in the first place. And then, she waited.
But no one looked at her differently. No one recoiled in horror. Instead, Nami stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're still Yano."
Leon nodded. "Nothing changes that."
Even Kai, usually blunt, simply said, "We all have pasts. We move forward."
A Night of Laughter
That night, the team sat together, unwinding from everything that had happened. Crimson nudged Yano, grinning. "So, how does it feel knowing we're all a mess in our own way?"
Yano let out a genuine laugh. "Honestly? It makes me feel normal."
Kai smirked. "Normal? In this group? That's a stretch."
Leon leaned back. "Well, we might be dysfunctional, but we're family."
Emjay nodded. "And family sticks together."
The jokes, stories, and teasing lasted for hours. They shared memories, poked fun at each other's quirks, and found solace in their bonds. Laughter echoed in the room, breaking through the tension of the past days. For the first time in a long while, Yano felt at peace.
She wasn't alone.
And she never would be again.