Heroes and Villains

21 - Lies and Deceit

Yumi

I storm my way into Obaasan’s office, looking as determined as I have ever been. The fact that I still have ash and dust all over me only adds to the eerie aura.

I am pissed and I am about to show my grandmother just how pissed I am. I overpass the robot soldiers and angrily open the door to her office while the robots stand on the entry.

“How dare you?!” I shout in absolute outrage.

She doesn’t immediately look at me. She just sits there in her large chair, looking down at the papers in front of her. When she does look at me, though, her uninterested expression only makes me get even angrier.

“You are responsible for this!” I shout, pointing a finger at her. “You killed all those innocent people!”

“It was necessary” Is all she says as she looks back to the papers in front of her.

Clenching my fists, I roar in anger and punch her desk down with as much strength as I can muster.

“Necessary?!” I shout. “How can you justify the m******e you just committed?! There’s no justification for what you did!”

“The mutants had to be annihilated” She calmly states, now standing up and looking at me.

“Why?!” I ask, tears forming in my eyes due to all the anger and outrage I am feeling. “Why do you hate the mutants so much?!”

“It is not hate that drives me, Yumi” She simply says, coming to stand in front of me.

“What is it, then?!” I continue shouting. “What drives you to kill innocents?!”

“What drives you to help them?” She asks me in response, taking me by surprise. Her dead serious look forces me to take a step back. “They are not innocent… And neither are you”

“What are you-?” I start but she grabs my arm forcefully with a strength I didn’t know she had.

She pulls me closer to her, her grip on my arm starting to bruise me.

“You are just like your father” She says and my eyes grow wide at the mention of my late father.

“What does father have to do with any of this?” I ask her, trying to remain calm in this strange situation.

“You do not understand the power you hold, just like him” She says, confusing me even more. “Itsuki cannot control the meteor but you can. All you have to do is cooperate”

“I don’t understand” I mumble, now trying to free myself from her grasp.

“You can control it. You can use its enormous power to our advantage” She says, her voice starting to change. All I can do is look at her in terror as she continues holding my arm. “Mercurians shall control the core’s power and no one will dare challenge us again”

Calm goes straight out the window as I watch Obaasan’s face shift into something unhuman.

Her eyes start glowing a shady red, her face no longer looks wrinkly and her grasp on my arm is sure to break my bones any time now. I scream both in pain and in fear at what I am seeing.

I try to break free from this creature that is definitely not Obaasan but it is no use. Absentmindedly, I hear sounds of a struggle just outside the office’s door but I don’t pay much attention to it as the creature stares at me with those glowing red eyes as if it wants to hypnotize me.

Suddenly, the door behind us barges open and I gasp when a ninja star lands straight at the creature’s forehead. There is no blood, just jolts of electricity. I scream at the horror of the scene and try to get my arm loose.

She lets go of my arm and I fall back only to get caught by the one who threw the ninja star: Itsuki.

The creature also falls to the ground, her image glitching as she turns back to look like Obaasan again.

I find that I can’t breathe. This is too much to take. What just happened? What was that? Where’s Obaasan?

I gasp for air, unable to get any oxygen into my lungs and Itsuki grabs both my arms steadily and looks seriously at me.

“That wasn’t your grandmother” He tells me, but I can barely hear him in my panicked state. “Hasn’t been for a long time”

“B-But- But she…” I try to speak but end up gasping for air again, tears flooding my eyes. “You killed her”

“Your real grandmother died a long time ago, Yumi” He quietly says. “Come, we mustn’t stay here. Others will be coming soon”

Without any other explanation, he drags me out of the office, passing by the remains of the robots who were standing just outside.

I can’t say anything else. Every effort I make now is to keep my legs working and concentrate on breathing. I feel as if I am going to die any time now.

Itsuki sits me on a chair as soon as we get to his own office and he locks the door behind him. He leans over me and seems to access my overall condition.

“There is no need to worry” He tells me, moving back and sitting at his chair. “I only severed her memory cortex. She will wake up soon and will not remember what happened in the previous hours”

I look at him, thinking he is crazy, now a little calmer.

“You hit her head with a shruiken!” I shout hysterically. “How can you say she will be alright?!”

“She is not human, Yumi” He calmly tells me, relating word for word, wanting me to listen carefully. “She is a Mercurian, a species similar to parasites who can infiltrate any sort of electric device and control it at whim”

When I don’t say anything and just sit there looking incredulously at him, he continues.

“They have infiltrated Hamato Industries many years ago, without anyone noticing” He says. “They wish to control the power originated from the meteor but are incapable of doing so without a catalyst”

“A-a catalyst?” I manage to ask.

“You” He says, shocking me. “I suppose me and your father would function too but your diluted blood works far better for their agenda”

“Obaas- that thing… She said something similar too” I say, managing to get back in control of myself. “What does that mean?”

“It means you are not human, Yumi. Neither am I and neither was your father” He says, dropping a figurative bomb in our midst.

“W-what?” I mumble, unable to believe this is true.

“I am your grandfather, Yumi” He reveals, shocking me even further. “And I am also an ancient creature long thought to be extinct. But I survived, along with the meteor that is our own life force”

I grip the ends of my chair, my nails sinking into the wood. I can’t imagine what my expression is transpiring but my whole being feels shaken.

The world just disappeared under my feet and I can’t breathe again.

“I understand this is too much to take in” He tells me, approaching me again, more carefully this time.

“I promise I will explain everything to you soon, but right now you should tend to your arm” He continues. “I shall send you to Daniel. He will take care of you”

I nod, not really thinking I have any other choice. He helps me stand up and I find out my legs can barely hold my weight anymore. They feel like jelly. He holds my good arm for support while the other is starting to form a nasty bruise.

“I am going to request something of you, however” He tells me as he leads us to the door.

I look at him questioningly.

“You cannot speak of this to anyone, not even my son, Daniel” He says, surprising me. This request means neither of his sons know who he truly is. “Also, I need you to continue your life as if none of this happened”

“But Obaasan-” I start but he interrupts me.

“As I said, she will be alright and won’t remember a thing” He says. “You don’t have to worry about that”

I am not so sure about that, but can’t really say anything against his reasoning right now. He takes me all the way to the mansion next door and calls for Daniel-san through his smartwatch.

Daniel-san’s worried voice when he hears my name lifts my heart and the world doesn’t look so grim anymore.

Itsuki helps sit me down on a chair at the entrance of the Mansion and pats my hand in an obvious attempt to comfort me.

“You will be alright, Lady Yumi” He tells me and leaves without another word.

Not too long afterwards, Daniel comes running into the Mansion and his expression transpires both worry and relief when he sees me.

“Yumi!” He shouts, kneeling next to me. “Are you alright? I was so worried”

“I am alright, Daniel-san” I tell him, managing to smile. “Are the mutants safe?”

“Yes, they are at the safe haven located under my brother’s bar” He tells me and starts accessing the bruise in my arm. “How did this happen?”

I don’t answer. It’s not like I have any plausible answer to give him anyway.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you go off alone” He says, looking upset.

“Do not blame yourself, Daniel-san” I tell him. “I was the one who chose to do what I did”

He looks at me, searching for my eyes and probably notices I have been crying.

“Are you alright?” He asks me, his voice gentle.

I search his face, my vision powers not working very well now that my mind is a mess. His hand finds mine and I hold it as if my life depends on it.

“I am now”