-Vol 3: Enemies in The dark-

-Their Past(4)-

That evening, to appease her mood, Kenshin took her to a high-end restaurant as they both indulged in some high-class food. Although it cost Kenshin half of his day’s income, he was okay with it. Throughout the evening, Yuki acted depressed and remained a bit absentminded. Kenshin tried his hardest, but some things were not easy to forget.

Promising each other to meet again, they parted their way for the night.

After that, their meetings continued as per the usual. During this time, both of them felt extremely close to each other. They were only a confession away from becoming an official couple.

Then one day, suddenly Yuki revealed something to him.

“Kenshin, guess what, I am selected to work as an intern under a very famous administrator in DCB main branch of our country!”

“What!? Seriously! Congratulations are in order then!” Kenshin was also very happy for her.

He knew it was her long-time dream to work as an administrator in DCB, and now that she got a chance, how can she not be happy?

“That’s why, can you please come to my grandma’s home tomorrow night? I want to celebrate it with you and her on this happy occasion!” Yuki was very happy when she said this.

“Your grandma’s house? What about your parents?” Kenshin knew her sour relation with her mother, so he asked, just to be sure nothing was troubling her.

“They are in my hometown right now. I am returning there before my departure to the capital.” Then suddenly her voice lowered “I am probably staying here for at most two to three days max.”

“Is that so! I see!” Kenshin’s voice had also become low. Her sudden implication of departure gave him a sense of urgency. His heart beat faster and faster as he thought about it.

Hearing Kenshin’s unsure answer, Yuki’s eyes also dimmed somewhat. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she was disappointed at Kenshin’s lack of reaction.

XXX

That night, Kenshin’s heart couldn’t calm down no matter what, as if he was going to lose something. He couldn’t sleep the whole night, tossing an turning. He only slept towards the morning.

Unknown to him, he was in for a huge surprise the next day.

XXX

Next day, after his dungeon raid was over, Kenshin ran as fast as he could to his some. Today was the day Yuki invited him to a dinner at her grandmother's place. He was going to get cleaned first and ready for the dinner.

At his home, he immediately jumped into his bathroom and took a refreshing bath, washing away all the filthy smell of the dungeon. Dressing in an exceptionally well dress, he was ready for the party.

Leaving Akari, his sister in the care of Mrs. Yui, he left for Yuki’s grandma’s home.

Just as he was leaving his home, a high-end car parked near him. The back window of the car downed and an elderly lady was revealed wearing a sunglass.

Who the hell wears a sunglass in the evening!? Just as he was about to mock her choice of fashion, he suddenly recognizes her. Wasn’t she the mother of Yuki?

Kenshin’s face colored surprise at this.

“Get in!” the lady commanded.

Feeling weird about being commanded, he hesitatingly opened the back door opposite to him and got inside.

“Hello Aunty!” out of courtesy as she was his friend-girlfriend(?)’s mother.

“Please don’t be that casual with me, you don’t have the capability or status.” Her voice was cold and distant.

“Oh! Okay!” feeling weird about the lady’s behavior, he could only agree with her. He felt very aggrieved inside his heart though! Who the hell was she to talk about him like that?

“You know, I have worked hard, very hard for Yuki since she was a child. I gave her the best education, the best toys, the best clothes. I always gave her the best, never ever letting her polluted by subpar things. She was such a good child!

But one day, her father returned. I can’t tell you the reason why he was away in the first place, but you can be sure that he had never abandoned us. We had a fight, and she left her house in anger.

I understand that suddenly accepting a man, whom she never knew before as her father might be hard for her, but she will understand it later. I knew where she went and never bothered her for a few days, allowing her to cool her head.

But you know, when I got the letter of acceptance about her internship, I just couldn’t handle myself and came here hastily. And what I find here! She was mixing with lower class peoples like you!”

“What?” Kenshin was a little angry for being called as a lower class people, that too to the face. But he restrained himself from blowing out.

“Please keep your voice down, Muto Kenshin. Just look at you! You have dropped school, and instead, choose to become a low-class hunter with no future prospects! Even in school, you are not a bright student.

Why must someone like you be around my little girl? Is it for money? Status! What do you desire?” the lady asked with a cold and calm tone, worthy of being a high-class lady.

Kenshin was stupefied for a few minutes. Money! Status! When did he ask for such things? Yuki and he were friends, and maybe potential lovers. How can he desire something like that from her? Besides, before a few days, he didn’t even know her real background.

This lady was clearly slandering him!

Taking a deep breath, Kenshin spoke “It seems you have made a deep background check on me. Good! But, your accusations are baseless. Yuki and I are friends, good friends. She had never told me about her background, nor her status. Those things that you have listed, although I desired them, but not from her or from anyone else for that matter. I will gain them all with my own strength. As such you should mind your language.” Towards the end, his anger leaked a little along with that bloodthirsty aura he gained after killing many monsters.

The intense aura released from him made the lady spook. She was so frightened that she began heaving for breath.

Realizing his slip up, Kenshin reigned in his aura. Then he looked at her in the eye and asked her directly, “What do you want?”

Regaining her bearings, the lady avoided eye contact with him. Labeling him as a barbarian in her heart, she spoke “I want you to get away from my daughter. Money, how much you want just speak, I will give it to you. Just don’t approach my daughter again. She was not someone people of your status should even think about.”

“Hmm..haha. I see. So that’s how it is! Haha…really!” Kenshin continued to laugh like that for a few seconds. In his heart, he felt like the whole world had become bitter suddenly. It was his first time developing romantic feelings for someone, and it was going to end up in disaster! Really, fate is such a…!

If it was someone else spoke him such thing, he would have given them a slap or kick before showing them a middle finger. But the one who spoke was the mother of the girl he likes, and mothers never think bad of their child, right?

“*Sigh* okay lady. You win. I will never approach her from now on! But be sure that it was not because of your warning or money. You can keep it and shove it in your a**, sorry my language. Yuki’s going to pursue her carrier, in that condition if she had relations with someone like me, it will bring very bad light to her. I don’t want that. Stop the car!” hearing Kenshin’s shout, the car driver stops the car. Opening the door, he steps out of it. Then looking at the lady that had her eyes widened, he smiled and said: “Have a good day, and I hope you manage to mend your relationship with your daughter.”

After saying his mind, he walked in a random direction. For the first time in his life, he felt like crying.

Seeing the lonely back of Kenshin, the lady had a sudden epiphany that she was going to regret this decision.

XXX

That night, seeing that Kenshin was absent for the dinner, Yuki was worried and called him. After many tries, he finally picked up his phone.

“Hello!” the speaker’s voice sound slurred.

“Kenshin, where are you? Look at the time, it's already half an hour late the appointed time.”

“Huh! Who is it? Who are you talking to?”

“You are Kenshin Muto, right!?”

“No, I am not. You have dialed a wrong number.” The phone was then cut off.

After that, Yuki tried a few more times, but the result was the same. In the end, the phone came switched off.

At that time, Yuki who was a smart girl understood that something bad had happened. The voice definitely belonged to Kenshin, she was not an idiot to be deceived by that. But for him to act like that! Although she felt very hurt due to it, she still remained calm and assessed the situation.

Kenshin wouldn’t do something like this without a reason. For him to do such a bad acting, something serious must have happened.

That night she tried to call back to that number, but it was switched off every time. In the end, she cried herself to sleep.

A love story, ended before it can even begin.

But neither Kenshin or Yuki had ever forgotten about their short but lovely time together. And as the time passed, that small yearning turned into love, that nested itself deep inside their hearts.

Chapter 87

-Vol 3: Enemies in The dark-

-Yuki’s Revenge Plan!-

“So, what happened that day?” Yuki asked again, seeing that Kenshin was absentminded for a long time.

“Nothing, I don’t remember at all!” Kenshin feigned ignorance.

“Do I look like an idiot to you? It's my mother right?” she asked inquisitively.

“Wha-at…I don’t understand what are you talking about!” Kenshin avoided eye contact.

“Really! Well, if you are not going to tell me, then I am going nowhere from here, and neither are you.”

“What?”

“Yes.”

“Common Yuki, you can’t be that unreasonable!”

“Why can’t If you can then why can’t I? Kenshin, you know why I am confronting you directly instead of doing it like what usually happens in soap operas?”

“Because you forgot in excitement!?” Kenshin tried to crack a joke. A glare from Yuki was enough to make him understand that he didn’t succeed.

“Because I don’t like useless dramas.” Her answer was so revolutionary that Kenshin felt the whole world had stopped for a second.

“Really?”

“….”[Yuki]

“Okay sorry!” [Kenshin]

“So, what happened that day?”

“Is it really necessary for you to know?”

“Yes of course. I must know who it was that was so against my happiness.” Yuki seemed very determined about the culprit’s whereabouts. Although she had her suspicions, she still wanted to conform to it.

“Like I said, I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t remember well that day’s events.”

“So be it then!” Yuki didn’t seem to be angry at his refusal, its as if she had expected this to happen.

XXX

Several hours later, in the same spot, Yuki was sitting with her legs crossed and her closed fist under her chin. Her sharp eyes were trying to make a hole inside Kenshin’s back. The situation was so awkward that it didn’t gave Kenshin to asked about her life during all these years.

Sweating profusely, he could only wait patiently. He knew how smart Yuki was, even a little slip from him would be enough for her to deduce the culprit. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to become a barrier in the mother-daughter relationship, assuming they still were on good terms.

XXX

A few hours later, the situation was still the same. On the other hand, Kenshin could see the morning was approaching very fast. Within half an hour the sun would rise, spreading its holy light all over the world.

*Sigh* “Okay fine!” Kenshin could no longer hold it in. He wasn’t worried about himself, rather about her. She was attending a party till late at night and now she was awake the whole night. Unlike him, she was not a hunter, so her body couldn’t handle the pressure.

Kenshin explained everything regarding that day to her. Well, he excluded her mother’s condensing tone and sugarcoated it heavily. But, how could Yuki not understand her own mother!? She was able to perfectly deduce what happened that day.

*Sigh* “I should have known.” Yuki frowned after listening to everything.

“Please, Yuki, you shouldn’t harm your relationship with your mother. You…” before Kenshin could continue his sentence, Yuki interrupted. “I no longer have any relations with her.”

“Eh! What?”

“Yes, I don’t have any relation with her for last three years.”

“But Why?? She was your mother wasn’t she?”

“That man, in the end, I couldn’t accept him as my father no matter how much I tried. I told that to her, but she was adamant about the fact that he’s my father and I should accept him. We had a huge fight, in anger I broke all relation with her and left home. I haven’t returned since then.”

By now, Kenshin was impersonating a fish out of the water. That day the words he had said to her, he didn’t expect it to happen just a year after. Heck, he didn’t even tell them with malicious intentions, he was just angry hence blurted out some nonsense.

‘That lady, she really went and did it!’

“So, how’s Akari? She’s fine right?” after getting what she wanted, Yuki returned to normal and started talking to him as if nothing had happened.

‘Are you really going to pretend as if nothing’s happened just now?’ Kenshin screamed inside his heart but didn’t dare to speak out loud.

“Well, she is fine. She got a scholarship from the government, now studying in Hunter’s Academy.” Kenshin proudly bragged about his sister’s achievements. Seeing this, Yuki couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Kenshin hadn’t changed even a little in this past four years. He still had that siscon tendency. She was used to getting jealous whenever Kenshin talked about his sister in past, mocking him a few times.

“You haven’t changed at all.” Yuki blurted out unconsciously.

“Huh! You said something?” since her voice was very low, Kenshin couldn’t hear her clearly.

“Nope. Well Kenshin, we must retire for the time being. I will come and meet you at this spot, tomorrow at 7 pm, be sure to be here with a gift.” After that Yuki left the place, leaving behind a mesmerized Kenshin who was staring at her backless dress.

“Ye-es!” he stammered as he was still engrossed in feasting her milky white back with his eyes.

Yuki smiled secretly at this. She had managed to achieve the result she wanted with the man she loves.

Four years ago, she was young and naive in the ways of the world. But now, after continuous dealing with old foxes for so many years, it had made her mature and knowledgeable to all kind of stuff. Seducing a man who she loves and vice versa was as easy as pie for her.

But she didn’t want to jump the gun yet. She had planned a perfect way for Kenshin to experience the pain she experienced. After that only she will accept him as her man. It's not like she was betraying him! It's just a harmless revenge.

In her heart, Kenshin was only one to whom she will give her everything. But he must learn to cherish that love.

Unaware of Yuki’s insidious plan that would give him quite a huge headache, Kenshin was still enjoying the magnificent back view. What can he say; that introvert shy girl had turned into a mature seductress!

The change was simply too huge, making him unable to adapt quickly.

‘The springtime of my youth, is it finally coming?’ Kenshin wondered as he saw Yuki leaving in a car. A few minutes later he also left to his home.

XXX

Somewhere in the north, where not a single human or animal could exist, a group of three cloaked people was walking as if the cold was nothing to them. Their cloak had a golden skull pattern on it, giving off quite an exotic vibe.

Their destination seemed to be somewhere within this place.

BOOM!!!

Suddenly the icy ground in front of them burst opened as a huge white snake-like animal came out of it, looking at this cloaked people with malice. It looked ready to swallow them whole.

But contrary to its expectations, these people weren’t afraid of it, rather they were treating it as if it didn’t exist.