Seri sat back, stunned. The boy who had just faced a Paragon with a smile was now looking small and broken. She realized she had stepped onto a landmine she didn't know existed.
Seeing Yuki curl away from her, the light in his eyes extinguished by a memory, Seri felt a sharp pain in her chest. She reached out, her hand hovering just an inch from his shoulder before she slowly withdrew it.
"I... I'm sorry, Yuki," she whispered, her voice genuine and soft. "I shouldn't have pried. Please, forgive me for being so insensitive."
Yuki didn't answer. The exhaustion finally won. His breathing slowed and became heavy, his grip on his shirt loosened, and he slipped into a deep, fitful sleep.
As soon as his vitals stabilized, a small click sounded from the bedside table. The black box Yuki always carried—the one Seri had been holding—vibrated. A small holographic lens flickered to life.
"You really stepped in it, didn't you, Princess?" Kira's voice was no longer sarcastic. It was cold and protective.
Seri didn't flinch. She looked at the black box. "Tell me, AI. What did they do to him? Those aren't battle scars. They're systematic."
"Systematic is one word for it. After their parents died when Yuki was five, his Uncle Giyu took control. He's a man who views Kizo as the only measure of a human's worth. He saw Yuki's low output as a defect that needed to be 'beaten' out of him. Ten years, Kyorin-san. Ten years in a room where the only person he saw was a man telling him he was a mistake while carving it into his skin."
Seri's eyes darkened, a flicker of green lightning dancing in her pupils. "Where is this Giyu now?"
"He fled. Yuki's older brother, Satoshi, eventually grew strong enough to take the Headship by force. He's the one who burned the basement down and sent Yuki here to live a 'normal' life. But Giyu is still out there, obsessed with the idea that Yuki is a 'failed experiment' that needs to be erased."
Seri looked back at Yuki's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful now, a far cry from the boy who had been tortured for a decade. A fierce, quiet resolve settled over her.
"He won't touch him," Seri said, her voice like sharpened glass. "Giyu might be a Kinatarou, but this is Kyorin territory. If that man shows his face, I'll show him what a real 'mistake' looks like."
She leaned over the sleeping Yuki, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead. Even in sleep, he looked like he was waiting for a blow that wouldn't come.
"Sleep, Yuki," she murmured, her bold, flirtatious mask returning for a brief moment as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "When you wake up, the Queen is on your side." Her last statement sounded rather haughty to Kira.
Kira's holographic eye flickered. "The Queen, huh? I'll be sure to update your ego-protocol in my database," the AI hummed dryly.
Yuki woke up a few hours later. The room was empty, but he felt strangely refreshed.
He headed home, his mind racing with questions, he was also shocked about that black ice. He'd never seen it before, the ice cubes he created were always blue.
He took the long way back home, cutting through the industrial district to avoid the main roads.
The industrial district gave him an eerie feeling.
That's when he heard it—the sound of a struggle in a dead-end alley.
Two men, looking disheveled and cruel, were cornering a small girl. She looked to be about ten, her hair matted and her clothes torn.
She had black long hair that reached her knees. Her face bloody and bruised.
Yuki felt like walking past and minding his own business but before he knew it he was already walking towards them.
"I think you should step away from the girl." Yuki spoke in a sharp tone.
The men turned, laughing. "Beat it, kid. This isn't your business." They were huge men with large bodies, they both wore all black outfits.
Yuki took one glance at them and realized they weren't kizo users, just ordinary humans.
He slowly put his bag on the ground and raised both his fists, he stood in a fighting stance.
"What the heck is your problem?!" One man yelled. "This isn't your business."
"Step away from her. She's clearly scared of you. And I assume you're the ones who hurt her." Yuki's tone was threatening, The air in the alley seemed to drop several degrees. Yuki's playful slouch vanished, replaced by a predatory stillness that made the brick walls feel like they were closing in on the two men. "Even if you're her relatives I'm going to break both your legs. I hate men who physically abuse children."
It was obvious that Yuki was angered, these men were doing to this girl what was done to him.
One of the men suddenly lunged at Yuki with a knife. Yuki reacted quickly and kicked. The kick hit his solar plexus, he was sent sliding across the alley. He was clearly knocked out.
The second man froze, his jaw hitting his chest as he watched his partner slide ten feet. He charged in a panic, but Yuki didn't even blink. A simple, short-range palm strike to the chin sent the man's head snapping back, his consciousness flickering out before he even hit the pavement.
Yuki picked up his bag and walked towards the child who stood there motionless. Her eyes were black and empty, Yuki crouched in front of her and looked into the void of her eyes.
There wasn't an expression on her face, no fear, no joy, nothing. It was just blank. The white night gown she wore was drenched in her own blood, numerous injuries covered her body. Her small limbs were trembling.
"Are they your relatives? Or guardians? Or do you even know them?"
The girl shook her head slowly.
"Do you live around here?"
She shook her head again
"Where are your parents?"
She shook her head again. Yuki realized she must've been an orphan.
"Do you have a name?"
She shook her head again.
Yuki sighed, he wasn't making any progress. He couldn't just leave her here, her wounds needed tending.
He didn't want to take her to a hospital either.
Yuki looked at the two unconscious men in the corner. "These guys are obviously goons, they're working for someone. Whoever it is might find you if I take you to the hospital." The girl looked at Yuki, curious as to what he was saying.
"You'll come with me to where I live." Yuki spoke and flashed a brilliant smile. "I'll take care of you until we find out who you are and why these guys are after you."
Yuki patted her head. "Let's go."
He stood up and turned. The girl took a step forward to follow Yuki but her small legs gave out. She was falling when Yuki caught her. She was too weak to walk.
He picked her up and carried her like a tiny princess. She tightly gripped his shirt not letting go, it has been soo long since another human had been warm towards her.