[First Mission]: Part Three

"You should really be nice to your mama more."

Yui was startled by the strange voice and spun her head towards the unknown intruder. She saw a beautiful woman leaned up against the wall with crossed arms.

Yui couldn't see her whole face that was hidden under an oni mask. However, her crimson eyes were incredibly eye catching under the dim light.

"W-who are you?" Yui asked fearfully. "How did you get into my room?"

"Your window was left open," Yu Mei replied, pushing herself off from the wall.

"Mom-" Yui tried to call out to her mother, but Yu Mei managed to beat her to the punch by covering her mouth. Yui tried to cry out but only muffled screams echoed from her mouth.

"Sshh..." Yu Mei gestured her to be quiet. "Calm down; I just wanna talk, Yui."

Yui furrowed her brows in thought, but after a long moment, she slowly nodded her head in acknowledgment. Yu Mei pulled her hand away; her cresent-shaped eyes indicated a smile.

"Mom, hel-" Yui tried calling out for help again but was unfortunately shut down for the second time.

"Yui, trust me. I'm not gonna hurt you," Yu Mei firmly said. "I just wanna talk. Are you going to let me talk or not?"

Yui nodded her head again. Then, Yu Mei gradually pulled her hand away from Yui's mouth.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Yui asked.

"My name's not that important, but I just so happen to overhear your little fight with your mama," She answered, leaning against the metal rails of Yui's bed. "I gotta say- you're one selfish bitch."

"Excuse me?" Yui angrily asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You break into my home just to tell me that I'm selfish? Who the hell gave you the right to say that, you damn home burglar?"

"I admit that I'm not the one to judge a person's character, but even I wouldn't say something like that to my mama if she ever poured her heart out like that to take care of me - just like yours."

"You don't even know me," Yui's anger nearly reached a boiling point. Why the hell was an intruder suddenly lecturing her?

"You're right; I don't, but I still think it was a shitty thing for you to say to your mama; she wouldn't want you to die."

Yui's anger finally spilled over.

"Do you think I ask for this? To be stuck like this for the rest of my life and lose my dad to some freak accident?" Soon, tears began to fall from Yui's eyes. "In case you didn't know: I don't.

Everyday, my mom would spend the majority of her time and effort to take care of me. Everyday, I could see the pain that she always try to hide from me. She acts like everything's all fine and dandy, but it isn't.

Do you even know what it feels like to see someone suffer every single second because of you? Well, here's a hint: it fucking hurts."

Yui's eyes were red, and her face was stained with tears. Unfortunately, she didn't have the ability to wipe them away, "Fuck... now my eyes are itchy. Hey, do you think you can help me out here? The napkins are on the table just by the bed."

Yu Mei reached over to table and grabbed a couple of napkins. She then knelt down and gently wiped Yui's tear-stained face.

"Honestly, I don't even know why I'm even giving some random burglar my life's sob story," Yui said. She suddenly winced her eyes in pain, "Ow, hey! Watch the eyes!"

"Sorry," Yu Mei crumpled up the wet napkins and threw it in the trash bin by the wall. "Your mama really loves you. Why else would she suffer through all the hardship and pain to take care of you?"

"It's not like I don't know that; it's just..."

Yui turned her attention back to the happy family on TV. She was jealous. They had something that she wanted; something that was taken from her.

"Is it wrong that I just want a normal life again?" Her voice was hoarse.

Yu Mei looked at Yui for a moment then at the TV. It was the ideal life of a normal family. However, seeing them just made Yu Mei feel empty inside.

"No. No it's not," Yu Mei finally answered in a soft voice. "We all have something we want; life can be a total bitch, but I think we should try to live as best we can with the people close to us, y'know?

And to be honest, you're a strong kid. Stronger than anyone I know, that's for sure. I can't honestly see myself if in your shoes."

"Thanks, I guess I can feel less shitty about myself," Yui grew a small smile. 'Maybe this weird intruder is actually not that bad of a person.' She thought to herself.

Yu Mei suddenly noticed a photo frame sitting above a small drawer. Out of curiosity, she walked towards the photo and picked it up for a closer look.

The picture showed a happy young girl being lifted up into the air by a handsome man with black hair. It was of happier times now long gone.

"That's my dad and I in case you're wondering," Yui said. "That was the last picture we took before he died nine years ago."

"Oh," Yu Mei set the old photo down. She couldn't but feel pity for the poor girl. "How did he die, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Car accident," Yui responded. "Him and I were on our way to watch the fireworks. It was at the intersection when a truck lost control and went straight for us.

My dad couldn't react in time; he tried to swerve out of the way, but it was too late. The bastard slammed straight into us. Before I knew it, I suddenly black out, and my dad..." She suddenly stop talking as painful memories began to resurface. Yui quickly calmed herself down, casting away those unwanted memories.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Yu Mei offered her condolences.

"It's fine. It's been long time since," said Yui.

"Anyways, keep your head up, kid. Life might give you a second chance when you least expect it," Yu Mei walked towards the window. "I should be going now. Got some important business I still need to take care of."

"Wait," Yui said, stopping Yu Mei in her tracks. "Can I at least know your name?"

She paused for a moment before she finally answered, "It's Yu Mei."

Yu Mei climbed over the window and jumped out, leaving Yui all alone. Yui gazed at the window as Yu Mei's shadow disappeared from her vision.

Meanwhile, Batu stood outside with an unreadable expression on his face as Yu Mei landed softly on her feet.

"I thought you wanted to check up on Ms.Tanaka; make sure she arrived safe," He said, walking up to her. "Didn't think ya offered counseling as well."

"I felt like I needed to say something," Yu Mei brushed past him towards Emiko's car. "C'mon, we still got work to do."

Batu simply smiled at her, nodding his head in understanding.

* * * * *

Late at night, Ms.Tanaka stood in front of a bathroom mirror. Her hands were shaking in fear as she stared at herself into the mirror. It won't be long until she would meet up with Zhou Yu. She didn't want to do it, but she have to.

"This is for Yui; don't be scared," She said to herself.

That's right. With the bionic transplant, Yui would be able to walk again. Ms.Tanaka had placed all her hopes onto this. Zhou Yu said that he would help if she had sex with him. She just needed to get it over with.

She took in deep breaths to calm herself down, however, it barely helped at all. She turned on the water faucet and splashed water on her face to see if that would help. Nothing.

With no other options left, Ms.Tanaka quickly opened a cabinet by the wall and grabbed a plastic container filled with pills. It was Xanax.

"Just this once," She hastily popped the lid and shook the bottle until a single pill fell out.

Ms.Tanaka suddenly bit her lips in hesitation as she looked at pill in her hand. Then, she shook the bottle again and another pill fell out.

"To hell with it," She threw both pills into her mouth and gulped down a glass of water. Ms.Tanaka then checked the time on her phone. It was almost time to meet him.

Ms.Tanaka left the bathroom and walked towards Yui's room. She took in one final deep breath and slowly opened the door. The room was stark quiet while bright lights flickered from the TV.

Yui slept soundly as her mother knelt by her side. Ms.Tanaka gently brushed the bangs away from Yui's face as her lips grew a sad smile. Her beautiful daughter resembled a lot like her father.

She wondered how life would turn out to be if it wasn't for that accident. Maybe, they wouldn't be living in this shithole, Yui would still be happy, and their life wouldn't be the way it was now.

"Yui," Ms.Takana whispered out. "I hope you can forgive your mom just this once." She leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead and said, "I love you."

Then, she quietly left.