-Vol 6: Dusk of An Era-

-Ena’s Past(2)-

“Okay, can you remember anything specific like the place or name or anything? Can you remember who you were?”

Ena shook her head, looking troubled while biting her lower lips. She fidgeted around, playing with the helm of her skirt top. Seeing this, Kenshin sighed and rubbed her head, “alright, don’t think much. In the future, if you remember something, tell me immediately, okay?”

“Yes, master.” Ena smiled, and Kenshin could tell it was forced. Showing emotions were still hard for a zombie like her. But at least she was trying, and Kenshin could commend her for that. Kenshin then returned to his room to get himself a few Zs.

He woke up late into the morning due to his resident hyena, Ellie. Her shout nearly made him deaf, his sensitive hearing only made the matter worse. After waking up and got himself clean, he grabbed Ellie and hung her upside down like a sack of potato and walked downstairs. The little witch enjoyed so much that her laughter resounded all the way to Mrs. Yui’s home next door.

“Me!! Me!!” Axel also arrived out of nowhere and raised his head, showing that he also wanted to be carried like her. With a sigh, Kenshin put him on his other shoulder, carrying like a sack of potato.

“What are you guys doing?” Mrs. Yui asked angrily when she saw her both children hanging off Kenshin like that. She came forward and started pulling them from him, but those brats stuck to him like two koalas.

“Let it be, Mrs. Yui.” Kenshin smilingly shook her off and let them just hang and have fun. Kenshin turned around but couldn’t find Ena anywhere. Normally she would be in the kitchen, helping Mrs. Yui. Not finding her anywhere worried Kenshin a little since he heard her confession about remembering past last night.

“Where’s Ellie?” Kenshin asked Mrs. Yui, who was about to serve him breakfast.

“Huh? I don’t know, you didn’t send her to do something?” Mrs. Yui looked surprised. She thought Kenshin sent her to do something when she wasn’t able to find her this morning.

“Eh, alright.” Frowning, Kenshin opened the map to pinpoint her location. He found her almost instantly, moving erratically at one of the streets of Mito. It's quite far from their house but still close enough.

‘Z1, go and check on Ena. Tell me what she is doing.’ Kenshin ordered one of his zombies who was closer to her. Kenshin was worried about Ena doing something weird, Tar’el did warn him last night. This period when her memories were returning gradually, it was the most dangerous moment. She will be moody and susceptible to impulses. Kenshin felt a headache coming miles away.

…

While Kenshin was going through this new ordeal, Yuki had her own suffering. Last night she wasn’t able to get a wink of sleep. She was thinking all night about how she was going to face these people, the very source of her tormenting past. When the sunlight hit her on the face, through the veil of the window, she knew her time’s up. Now she had to face them, whether she liked it or not.

Thus she had a long warm bath and took a better part of the morning standing before her dressing mirror looking at her own face and practicing the kind of face she was gonna make today. She practiced smiling until her cheeks hurt and then nodded to herself. Feeling confident in herself to not screw up in front of them, she left the hotel room, preparing to face her past… after two whole years.

‘I should have listened to Kenshin and have her accompany me. Ugh…’ not once did she not regret her choice of sending back Kenshin to Mito in the past few hours. She thought she along could handle them, but now that the zero hour’s here, she was feeling her nerve all over the place. Her confidence had long since disappeared. Perhaps the moment she stepped out of the room her confidence vaporized.

On the ground floor of the hotel, a professional man in suits and black sunglass was waiting for her. He nodded to her as their eyes met and led the way towards the car in the parking lot.

‘Kenshin, I hope you were here with me. I don’t know if I can handle it anymore…’ letting out a sigh filled with remorse and grief, her thoughts slowly drifted to those days when she sold her soul to the devil.

…

In a very luxurious room, which was the head office of DCB located in Tokyo, Elder Mountain and Elder Doe sat comfortably, listening to the DCB staff narrating about the damage caused by the monsters. Their face had a grave expression, at least the face of Elder Mountain was grave. As for Elder Doe, she looked as uninterested as they come.

She was even sneaking a few yawns while the middle-aged man reported everything.

“That’s all about the collateral damage, sir and madam.” The man finished with a respectful bow. Although he maintained a professional stance, only he knew how nervous he was. The two people before him stood at the apex of the food chain of the current world. One word from their mouth was enough to ruin him and his whole generation. He might be a powerful hunter in his own right, but before these two, he was no better than some ants.

Might as well behave like one and not push his luck.

“Mm, I see. What about casualty? How many hunters and civilians are killed and wounded?” Elder Mountain asked with a frown. Although their leader told them to appear publically, he couldn’t just blindly do so without knowing anything. What if some media guy ask him some questions and he wasn’t able to answer it?

The man quickly fumbled around with his HandPad and pulled out another file then forwarded it to the pad held by Elder Mountain. Then he started explaining the number of casualties, both civilians and hunters. Nonetheless, Tokyo has suffered a lot, and there was no hiding it.

Just before he finished with the report, there was a knock on the door. It was opened slightly as a beautiful young woman entered. This woman was none other than Yuki. After enquiring about the mood of these elders with the officials below, she decided to enter.

“Hello, Miss Doe, Mr. Mountain.” Yuki greeted them with a smile as she practiced in her dressing mirror. Nonetheless, she was a little relaxed as the two people here were the ones whom she had a relatively good relationship with. Especially one who was the father of her adopted sister.

“Ah, if it isn’t Yuki, how are you?” Elder Doe jumped up from her seat and came towards Yuki, smiling all the way. Seeing her approach, Yuki subconsciously tensed his shoulders. Elder Doe frowned, flicking the tip of Yuki’s nose, she admonished, “how many times I have to tell you to call me elder sister? And don’t call me Doe, call me by my real name. you already know it, right?”

Yuki was so overwhelmed by her that she lost cognitive control over her body, causing her to back away a little. Suddenly an awkward atmosphere formed in the room with Yuki in the center and Elder Doe standing close to her.