Vol. 1: Chapter 2 - Part 2

Volume 1: Chapter 2 – Part 2Author: Geraint

After changing into fresh clothes, I stepped out of my room—just in time to hear a loud bang from next door. Shiina, dressed in her maid uniform, was knocking frantically on Yuuka's door.

"Yuuka-sama!"

I walked up to her. "Shiina, what's wrong? Isn't today her acting gig?"

"Umm... Seir—Yuki-sama, she..."

"Just call me by my name. I'm supposed to be your friend, not your master. You're only helping with your mom's job."

"Okay then… Yuki-kun. But shouldn't you start calling me by my first name too? 'Shiina' is my family name, not my first."

"Shiina?"

"I told you already—it's Ayaka! I bet you're just making fun of me!" she pouted.

"Hm... Let's shorten it. How about 'Aya'?"

"Eh—!?"

Shiina froze. Her face flushed completely red.

"Never mind, 'Shiina' is easier to remember."

I walked past her, heading downstairs.

"Eeeeh!?"

Since Mia-san had come out with her daughter earlier, I figured I should check on her. I knocked three times at her door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Seir."

"Who?"

I sighed. I knew where this was going.

"It's me… your son. Yuki." I said reluctantly.

"Yuki-kun? I won't let you in unless you call me 'Mommy.'"

"Hey!"

...

The silence said it all. She wasn't going to budge.

"I just want to ask something… Mom." I gritted my teeth.

"Good. From now on, I won't answer unless you call me that."

Tch. She sure enjoys this.

"The door's unlocked. Come in."

I opened the door to find Mia buried under a mountain of paperwork. Her desk and the floor around it were stacked high.

"Do you need help, Mom?"

"No, I'm fine. Most of this is done already."

"Alright… I wanted to ask about Yuuka. Did something happen with her work?"

She paused, lowered her pen, and sighed. Taking off her glasses, she leaned back in her chair.

"She's been replaced. Someone else has taken over her roles. She's not qualified to act anymore and was forced into retirement. After that accident… well, it's not surprising, but she still hasn't accepted it."

My expression tightened. Poor Yuuka.

"I'm such a terrible mother," Mia whispered. "I couldn't do anything to help. And yet… I understand why the agencies made that decision."

"You don't have to blame yourself. The accident wasn't your fault."

"But what do I do now? She's been locking herself in her room since we came home from the hospital. If this keeps up, she's going to become a shut-in… What do they call it here? 'Hikikomori'?"

"Don't worry, Mom. Since she doesn't need to appear in public anymore, I can heal her left eye completely—without raising suspicion."

I turned to leave.

"See you later, Mom."

"Wait."

I stopped and glanced back.

"Thank you for helping us, Yuki-kun. You've already done so much."

"Don't feel indebted. You and Yuuka can pay me back later—when I ask for a favor. I am a half-demon, after all."

I left the room and gently closed the door behind me.

When I got upstairs, Shiina was still waiting in front of Yuuka's door, clearly anxious.

"Yuuka! Come out and talk to me!" I shouted.

"Go away!" came the response.

"If you don't come out, I'm kicking this door down!"

"I'll call the police and have you arrested!"

"I don't care! Step back, Shiina."

Shiina quickly moved out of the way. I counted down.

"One... two—"

"Wait!"

The door creaked open, and Yuuka stepped out in her dress. Her eyes were red from crying.

"What's wrong with you?! Trying to destroy someone's door—"

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her with me.

"Let's talk downstairs."

"Hey! Stop that! Put me down or I'm calling my mom!"

"You mean our mom."

When we reached the living room, I dropped her onto the couch and sat beside her. She was panting, exhausted from all her yelling.

"Calmed down now?"

"Hmph!" she sulked and turned away.

"Take off your eye patch."

"What? Why?!"

"Just do it. Don't waste my time."

She shrank back slightly but obeyed, pulling off the patch to reveal her empty left socket, scarred and stitched.

Tears welled up in her remaining eye, and she began to tremble.

"Are you happy now?" she asked bitterly.

"No. Without the eye, I can't restore it completely. It's still an empty socket."

"So... even you can't fix it?"

I shook my head. "I never said that. I just have to use a different method."

I opened a dimensional void in the air—a storage space where I kept important items safe. I searched briefly.

"Ah, found it."

I pulled out a small rainbow-colored crystal sphere.

Yuuka's eyes widened. "What's that? It's beautiful…"

"It might look fancy, but it's actually an eye. I'm going to replace your missing one with this—so stay still."

I gently opened her eyelids and inserted the crystal into the socket. It glowed, releasing a blinding light. The scars around her eye vanished as fresh skin healed over the area. Her beauty returned—completely unblemished.

"Huh…?"

When she slowly opened her left eye, a vibrant rainbow-colored iris looked back at me. She now had heterochromia—one normal eye and one mystical.

"What do you think? Can you see clearly with your left eye again?" I smiled.

Tears spilled from both of her eyes as she looked at me.

"Why are you still crying? Aren't you happy to see again?"

"No… I'm just… happy. And speechless…"

I took a mirror from my storage and held it up for her.

"Here. Take a look."

She gasped. Her scars were gone, and the rainbow eye sparkled brilliantly.

"My new eye... it's so beautiful…"

She suddenly jumped on me and hugged me tightly, sobbing.

"Thank you… Seir—no… Onii-sama."

She trembled with joy, and I smiled gently, patting her head.

(To be continued.)