24 Chapter 24

Morning

So, Misaki decided to visit her father, ready to hear all the answers from him. While his bodyguard went to wake him up, she took her time walking around the house, checking the condition of what used to be her bedroom when she lived there. It was well maintained and organized, the bedsheets covering the bed being different from what she previously saw when she visited. Her mega-sized fluffy teddy bear sat beside the bed, where she always kept it. It felt nice for her to be there once in a while.

The doorknob got twisted and the door fell open, followed by Akeshi walking inside in his sleeping robe, looking glad to see his daughter despite the sleepy expression on his face.

"Good morning", Akeshi approached the bed, the only spot which looked comfy for him,

Misaki remained standing next to the study table, no look of joy detected on her neutral face,

"Good morning dad", she finally responded, drily

She watched as Akeshi took a seat on her bed after a sharp body stretch,

"What are you doing here so early? You could've called", he proceeded,

"This is my home too, I can come here whenever I want, I don't need an appointment, I'm your daughter",

"Ri _ right, you're right, I'm sorry", he sensed an edge of grimace from his daughter's tone, "You said you wanted to talk to me?",

"I do!", she sat, "I heard you went to apologize to Kro, is it true?", she asked

"Yes, I did. We made up, we decided to leave the past behind",

"Was it a sincere apology _ or was it a distraction?",

"What are you talking about? Of course, it was sincere, I was sincere, everything I told her came from my heart",

"Maybe you're right, but I'm having a very hard time believing this. I know Kro isn't your first victim, you might've thought I was in the dark, but the truth is I was aware of everything you did all these years!",

Akeshi's smile started to fade. He could feel his face muscles shrinking. If he was holding something, then he probably would've dropped it. Looking at Misaki's face, seeing all the frustrations that were finally released from her chest felt like a spear pierced straight to his flesh,

"Misaki _",

"It all started when I was 15, you killed one of my friend's aunts! I didn't know back then, I thought she just had an accident. I was a fool! I witnessed a total of 26 deaths in my life, and Kro was going to be the 27th!",

"Why didn't you say_",

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but what the fuck is wrong with you? I've been silent all this time but I'm afraid I can't do it anymore! Mom secretly took me to therapy for 3 years straight because whenever I looked at myself in the mirror I saw a daughter of a monster, I _", she couldn't finish her sentence from how heavy her heart felt,

She dug her face in her palms, trying to calm herself down, but that cure was far from healing.

The day turned out to be Akeshi's worst day in his life, seeing his daughter like that gave him nothing but pain. He couldn't move closer to comfort her, he was too insecure to do anything at that moment,

"Misaki, look at me_",

"Dad, you know Karina, right?",

"I've never heard of her, who is she?", Akeshi shook his head,

Misaki stared at her father,

"You don't know Karina? Okay dad, if you won't tell me, I'll go ask her myself",

"I swear to God_",

"God of what? Death?",

"My apology was sincere, and I don't know any Karina, please believe me Misaki, I'm really here trying to change for you",

"Yeah, damn right you are", she said sarcastically,

She got up, the room being too tense for both of them, she just had to leave. She walked straight to the door, but no word came out her dad's mouth all that time. Misaki paused,

"It's not too late to come clean, I managed to smile and laugh in front of you even after knowing your dark secrets. I'm reaching my limit, I'm this close to calling myself fatherless!",

Akeshi wished to have covered his ears instead, wishing to not have heard her last statement. Misaki left the room. Akeshi stared at nothingness for a long time, commotions taking place in his brain, wondering what drove his daughter into the fierce version of herself.

....

SSOTA

Ukraine had been staring at the photo for a while now in his bed, the 1944 photo of Kro. It was overwhelming for him that he had a chance to hang out with the same lady, had dinner together and even holding her hand on top of that. It was still unreal that the lady from 7 decades ago shared a conversation with him for weeks now, and they even argued once. It was extreme how the same lady who gave him goosebumps was starting to grow on him.

Some of Kro's sentences that remained with him began repeating themselves in his head as he stared at the picture

> Ukraine, somethings aren't what they seem <

> What if what she said is true? What if I'm dead? <

> I don't know what you heard about me, but I'm not that strong and I'm not that weak either! The only thing you can do for me is to care, even a little <

With every sentence he recalled, he felt a tiny pinchy sensation, making him uncomfortable enough. Luckily, it was something he could ignore, but he chose not to.

...

Far-bridge

Afternoon

Kro was back home, and after such a nerve-racking mission, every single muscle and bone in her body needed a long rest. She had been sleeping for 3 hours straight, still wearing what she wore on the mission. Her bed never felt heavenly, the blanket never felt softer. She could sleep for the whole day if she wanted to, that is unless she got disturbed by anything.

She was all snuggled into the bed when her phone started ringing, at the worst exact time. She was not ready to wake up, she left it ringing and ringing each time the person called.

It was the fifth time that she decided to answer, already wishing for a technology where she could punch someone hard on the face through the phone. She checked who called first, and a long-exhausted sigh was released when she saw the name 'Ukraine'. Still, she answered

"What Ukraine?", she asked, sounding sleepy and annoyed,

"You sound sleepy, are you at your house?",

"Why do I feel like I'm supposed to lie to you for me to go back to sleep in peace?",

"You're home, right?", he laughed,

"Yeah",

"Great, I'm outside, come open the door for me",

"I knew it! Go home Ukraine, go play with someone else, I'm very exhausted",

"I'll just cook for you and leave",

"I have food, boy",

"Then I'll just quietly watch you sleep",

"Are you a creep?",

"I won't do anything then, I'll just stay in the sitting room",

Kro couldn't say anything else. She hung up the phone and returned it under the pillow. He was never going to leave. She got off the bed and headed downstairs. She opened the door for him and started heading back to her room. When Ukraine walked inside, she was already climbing the first stair up, leaving him in disbelief,

"Are you really leaving me here alone?", he asked as he closed the door behind him,

"Yes",

"What if I steal something?",

"I'll know and I'll kick the shit out of you",

"Jesus Christ! Why're you so violent?", he chuckled, "Anyway, I'll be fine down here, don't worry about me and have a nice sleep",

Without even nodding she proceeded upstairs.

He tried to hide it, but he was hurt to be left alone, feeling so stupid. He had to settle though, at least she let him in. He placed his butt on the sofa,

"She knows how bad being lonely is more than anyone, and yet that's how she left me", his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by footsteps coming from the stairs. He quickly faced the direction.

Every movement of his soul paused after he saw Kro walking down the stairs, with a pillow and a blanket in her hands. Kro placed the pillow on the sofa, threw herself on it and covered herself with the blanket.

"I thought you're going to sleep in your room", said Ukraine under his heavy beating heart.,

"Aren't you here to see me?", she turned on the sofa's enclosed side, "By the way, I know how bad feeling lonely is, I'm not evil enough to make you feel that way. Goodnight now",

His cheeks almost turned tomato red from the blushing situation. She just made him feel like the most special person in the world.

…..

REEB

Sue didn't want to believe the text message, not until she saw it for herself. She was driving in a very high speed, not worrying about getting a ticket. Her eyes were all wet in tears, and that was before she even saw her. She arrived at her destination in the shortest time, quickly jumping off the car and rushing inside.

When Leo heard a knock at his door, he surely knew it was her, a little surprised to see how fast she got there. Sue looked anxious; her eyes spoke for themselves. Her gaze flickered around the room,

"Where is she?", asked Sue as she entered, nervously rubbing her shaky hands,

"She's in the washroom, she'll be out in no time", said Leo, closing the door,

Sue went to stand outside the washroom, and she could hear her. The sound made her tummy feel some type of way, everything feeling unbelievably real. She knocked once on the door,

"Z-Zoe? Is that you baby?", her heart raced as she waited to get the reply from inside, but in return, total silence followed, she couldn't even hear any movements.

With eyes filled with worry, she looked back at Leo, finding him admiring the scenario, impatiently waiting to see the emotional reunion.

Slow, unsure footsteps started approaching the door from the inside of the washroom, pulling Sue closer to the knob, she was now all ears, ready to hear what she'll say.

"Is that you? Mom?", a tiny, cute voice asked, stammering with uncertainty,

"YES! Yes, it's me my love, it's mommy!",

The door quickly fell open.

Before Sue's eyes now stood a little girl with thick, ebony curly hair. She wore a dress which seemed to be the school's night uniform. With no shoes on, she just had white loose socks.

Her eyes widened with disbelief when she saw her mother, remembering each and every single detail about her. Despite the young age of hers, she still felt her heart exploding with joy, making her jump all over Sue, hugging her very, very tight, not wanting to let go.

With her arms now wrapped around her daughter, Sue's tears wetted Zoe's collar. It wasn't a dream. She could hold her daughter, she could comfort her. The chest-burning but easing feeling had never felt more satisfying,

"I will never-never let anyone take you away from me, EVER!", she sobbed,

*****