Heroes and Villains

24 - Decision

Yumi

I have been spending these past few days in isolation. After the talk with Itsuki and managing to calm down with the help of Daniel-san, I secluded myself in my quarters.

Of course, that didn’t last very long and soon, I found myself gathering supplies to take to my Foreseer hideout.

No one can find me here. No one can upset me with their lies and mischievousness. In here, I don’t have to think about the past. I don’t have to think about my father, my grandmother, or whoever my grandfather is.

So, I just train.

I train and train until there is nothing left in my mind but the next move I need to make to take down the last dummy.

However, thoughts of what happened days ago do torment my mind and I find myself unable to breathe again.

I still find it hard to believe this is really happening. My grandfather is Itsuki? Obaasan is really a robot? Is Mia really gone?

Before I secluded myself, I did hear news going around the facilities about what happened downtown. Obaasan is blaming the mutants for everything as if they are the criminals here and not the victims.

Such injustice makes my blood boil but there is nothing I can do. I have no proof of Obaasan’s wrongdoing. I have no way to show how the mutants have been marginalized for decades.

And I have no way to know for sure if the rumors are true. Everyone is talking about it. How they saw the explosions from uptown. How they saw Kitty Girl try to escape downtown with Monkey Paw only to get pulled to the flames.

I want to believe she is alright, that she made it out, but I don’t know how anyone could survive that. It is all too much to deal with.

She was my only friend, the only I could confide in with all this that is distressing me. Unless…

There is another person I can talk to about what is tormenting me. Someone who has all the answers to my questions. I know he said he would not tell me everything right away but I can make him tell me. Yes, I can persuade him to tell me the whole truth.

Kicking the dummy with the full strength of my leg, I make my decision as it hits the ground.

I am going to talk to Itsuki and force him to tell me everything. Who is my grandmother? What is really going on at the Hamato Industries? I need to know all of it.

With my mind clearer, I stomp my way out of my hideout and confidently walk through the mansion’s corridors in order to get to the facilities and inquire Itsuki in his private office.

However, I am interrupted by a little girl joyfully giggling her way through the corridors wearing nothing but her underwear. She collides with my legs as she was looking back to check if anyone was following her and nearly falls back.

I manage to grab her by her little arms and she curiously looks at me, her blue eyes peering into me.

“Pearls!” He shouts pointing at my eyes and proceeds to giggle again.

“Hikari!” I hear a man’s voice and as I look up from the little girl, I see who must be her father. I recognize him to be Daniel’s older brother, Ricardo.

He looks distressed when he sees me with his daughter and rushes to retrieve her, picking her up in his arms.

“I am sorry, Lady Yuna” He says, his tone nothing but proper. “My daughter is not very fond of her bath time”

“I see” I say, still a little taken aback by this abrupt interruption.

“I am surprised to see you out here, Lady Yumi” He tells, trying to keep his hyperactive daughter in check. “My brother has been quite preoccupied over you”

“Daniel-san?” I question, a tug of guiltiness pulling at my stomach. I completely shut him out after our last meeting. I didn’t even send him a text saying I was alright.

“Yes” Ricardo confirms. “He knows you got very shaken after what happened downtown”

I nod, trying not to look as guilty as I feel.

“I was on my way to talk with your father” I change the subject. “Do you know if he is in his office?”

“Oh” Ricardo looks surprised at me while he holds his daughter, now hanging from his arms, trying to escape. “Father Itsuki has left”

“Left?” I question, utterly surprised by this. “Left where?”

“He went to Japan with Lady Yuna” Ricardo explains. “Aside from what has happened downtown, there is much to organize regarding the 100th anniversary of the Hamato Industries”

I had completely forgotten about that. Of course, Obaasan isn’t here. This date is of extreme importance and she would want to celebrate it accordingly, even if that means ignoring what just happened.

“Did she do anything regarding the destruction of the Downtown part of the city?” I ask as I have no idea what has been happening in the company since I isolated myself.

Ricardo grows glum at this question and his innocent daughter looks up at him curiously as he stopped trying to keep her in his arms.

“Any access towards that part of the city has been sealed” He says. “The culprits are suspected to have been caught in the explosions. There were no survivors”

I keep my expression stern as I hear this. I knew this was a possibility but I had hoped someone, anyone, would have managed to escape my grandmother’s devious actions.

At least, the mutants are safe. Or so Daniel-san assured me.

Daniel-san…

“Where is Daniel-san?” I ask.

“He is in his lab” Ricardo tells me. “I’m sorry, Lady Yumi, but I really need to get my daughter to her bath”

“Yes, of course” I say, smiling at his daughter. “It was nice to meet you, Hikari”

She smiles back at me. “Bye, bye, pearls!”

I glimpse Ricardo’s loving smile towards his daughter as he walks away with her still in his arms. It’s heartwarming to see such a father-daughter relationship. It reminds me of how I and father used to be…

Not wanting to dwell in painful memories, I rush to get to the facilities, avoiding security as best I can. I do notice all of the security guards have been replaced by those robots.

Anyone else would miss the changes as the uniforms are all the same, but I can tell. Even if I did not memorize the faces of the old guards, there is something about these robots that makes me sense they are not human. I don’t know how I never noticed with Obaasan before. It seems so obvious now.

An idea crosses my mind, but I store it in the confines of my brain for now. I can indulge in it after I apologize to Daniel.

I finally reach the main elevator and reach out to press the button that would take me to the lowest level of the facilities, where Daniel’s lab is.

I am surprised when the requirement of a passcode and a retina assessment pops up from the screen. I was not expecting Daniel’s lab to have such security. What is he doing down there?

Fortunately, I know just how to bypass this security. Ever since my father passed away, Obaasan has been too protective of me and barely allowed me to go out, getting to the point of locking me in.

Now that I think about it, what Itsuki said does make sense… She always wanted to keep me confined… With no friends and no social life, really, it was easy to manipulate me and get me to share her beliefs no matter how wrong they may be.

Unfortunately for her, I never fell for her schemes. Any time I could, I would sneak away to train with the Yoshiro family and got to learn how to go through this kind of security.

Picking a clipper from my hair, I press the little button on the side that gives me access to the mainboard. If one does not know where to look, this button is quite invisible.

After accessing the mainboard, overwriting the security program is quite easy and the elevator starts moving, going down to the lower level, usually inaccessible.

I flinch when the bell of the elevator sounds loud. I am very much aware I am not allowed in here. Have my presence announced in such a loud way is not something I was looking forward to.

“Ricardo?” I hear Daniel’s voice from within the lab. “Is that you?”

I do not dare say a word as I step out of the elevator before the door closes again. I fear what his reaction will be if he sees me sneaking in like this. Curse my compulsive nature. I should have called him first. I should have-

“Ric?” Daniel’s voice reaches me again, this time from close by and I freeze in my place, wishing I could be invisible.

Trying to hide is useless as the lab is so sterile, there is nothing for me to hide in. But it is not his surprised expression that stuns me the most when he shows up in front of me.

It is the very look of his face that surprises me.

He has scales covering his entire body and the brown hair usually present is gone. What captivates me the most is the way his eyes watch me. I could never discern colors very well, even with my powers, but the way his eyes sparkle with his unusual iris captivates me.

“Y-Yumi?” He stutters, obviously shocked to see me here.

He is quite embarrassed to be in this form too but as he thinks I cannot see him, he does not realize I already know he is a mutant.

“How did you get here?” He asks me, buttoning the front of his lab coat. I blush as only now did I realize he is not wearing anything else.

“I-I wanted to see you” I tell him, my voice failing me.

He looks at me, his differently beautiful eyes trying to understand what I want. I can’t help but get closer to him.

He immediately steps back, knowing that if I touch him, I will realize what he truly is.

“N-no” He mumbles and I am surprised to realize he is scared.

“It is alright, Daniel-san” I try to appease him.

“No, I…” He stutters. “I am not proper…”

“I see you” I tell him and he looks shocked at me. “I have always seen you”

I don’t know why I am admitting this now, but I no longer want to keep any secrets from him. I want him to see me as I see him.

I approach him and he looks scared at me, his back already against the wall. He looks like a scared animal.

Reaching out, I slowly touch his hand. He flinches, afraid of my reaction and I try to appease him by taking his hand in mine, entangling my fingers with his.

Our eyes lock and I can see he understands I am not afraid of him or even disgusted.

“You…” He starts, not so scared anymore. “You really can see me?”

I nod, smiling at him, our hands still intertwined.

“How?” He asks me.

“It’s… Complicated” I start and try to think of the best way to explain this to him. “I can see glimpses of the future in front of me. It allows me to perceive what happens as if I can see with my own eyes”

“But you are still blind?” He asks and I nod. He crosses his arms thoughtfully, accessing what I just told him.

“How did you gain such powers?” He asks.

“I was born like this” I tell him. “I don’t know why. I just… It is just the way I am”

“Is it hereditary?” He asks and the thought of Obaasan being able to see the future as I do strangely terrifies me.

“I don’t think so” I say. “At least father didn’t seem to have such power”

I remember what Itsuki said about us not being human, but if that is so, then my father should have had powers too right? What was it he said about my diluted blood?...

“Yumi” Daniel-san’s voice calls me back. As I look at him, I can tell he is conflicted about something. “You have told me your secret and I feel like I should tell you mine but…”

“Your father would not allow it” I conclude. “It is alright, Daniel-san”

“Dad doesn’t have to know” He says. “And neither do my brothers. You have to know what we are really working on. I can’t keep this secret from you any further”

I understand his conflict and his resolve to tell me everything just makes me want to fall in love with him even move. I reach out to touch his hand again.

“Thank you” I tell him and he smiles gently at me.

“Don’t thank me yet” He says. “You still haven’t seen the machine I have been building”

“Show me” I say and he takes my hand to lead me through his lab.

The large machine he shows me does not really tell me much about what it does, but once Daniel-san starts explaining, shock courses through my whole body.

Why would Itsuki want to do something like this? Force his sons to take on such responsibility is insane.

Then, as Daniel continues explaining, I finally understand. This is necessary. It has to be done.

For the sake of the future.