Chapter 81 : The weight of scars

Dry barking bursts somewhere in the garage. Two stray dogs fight over a torn bag of chips, while a dismantled engine lies like a metallic corpse.

Grafay (nervous, arms crossed, pacing around):

– Damn it… It's already two o'clock and that idiot still isn't here…

Yuki (leaning against a crate, calm expression):

– Oh come on, it's only exactly two o'clock. You're already that tense?

Grafay:

– Tss, he dares to make me wait like this?

Yuki (with a sly smile):

– Come on, admit it, you're just impatient to see him again. It's been a while, huh?

Grafay (turning around abruptly):

– And how do you know that?

Yuki (mocking):

– Let's just say your excited childlike smile betrayed you, Mr. Impassive…

Grafay freezes for a moment. He was indeed smiling like a kid. He shakes his head, embarrassed, and turns back to Yuki.

Grafay (grimacing):

– Nonsense… I wasn't even smiling.

A little further away, Nairo, leaning against a rusty carcass, watches the scene silently while nibbling on a cake, looking perfectly uninterested.

Suddenly, footsteps echo on the concrete. A brief silence settles. Yuki straightens up.

Yuki (smiling):

– Well, here you go, Grafay. Look who's coming.

Grafay looks up. And his smile returns uncontrollably.

Sakolomé, Sally, and Salomé pass through the garage gate.

Grafay steps forward slowly. He extends his hand to Sakolomé, with a mocking smile:

Grafay:

– My little Killer Man, how's it going?

Sakolomé (also extending his hand, sincere smile):

– Good to see you…

BAM.

Before he finishes his sentence, Grafay suddenly snaps his arm back like a rubber band. The blow lands in Sakolomé's stomach, who flies backward, skids on the ground, and crashes against an old car.

Salomé (panicked):

– Sa… Sakolomé!!

She runs to him. Sally, furious, turns to Grafay.

Sally:

– No way! You don't hit people like that, are you crazy or what?!

Grafay (laughing hard):

– Hahahaha! My little Killer Man, you didn't see it coming, huh? Admit it!

Sally (getting angry):

– You could have hurt him, you lunatic! What's your problem?

Grafay:

– So what? He should have dodged!

Sally:

– What a shitty excuse.

Grafay (gritting his teeth, raising his voice):

– Look, I don't give a damn about you, okay? Shut up a bit! Who do you think you are to talk to me like that, huh?

Sally (shouting):

– And you, who do you think you are that I should hold back? I look at you and all I see is a badly dressed teenager in a prison outfit!

Grafay:

– Fuck off, you!!!

While the shouting flies, Salomé helps Sakolomé to stand up, worried.

Salomé (softly):

– Are you okay? You're not hurt?

Sakolomé (coughing, then smiling):

– What an asshole, this Grafay… Always full throttle.

He puts his hand on Salomé's head to calm her a bit:

Sakolomé:

– It's okay, don't worry…

He slowly gets up, casting an amused glance at the scene before him. Grafay and Sally are still in the middle of their clash.

Grafay:

– You girls, you don't have to open your mouths when men settle their scores, okay?

Sally:

– And who said that crap? And you first, are you sure you're a man?

Grafay (stunned):

– You don't think I'm a man?!

Sally (looking him up and down):

– Honestly? I just see an albino cactus talking.

Grafay (eyes wide):

– A what?!

Sally:

– And even then, a cactus would be less prickly with comebacks.

Grafay:

– And you then? You look like a pink bramble, with your ridiculous hair!

Sally (bored):

– Oh wow. In the comeback department, you're still in kindergarten.

Grafay (shaking his arms like a windmill):

– What did you say?!

He turns to Sakolomé.

Grafay:

– Hey, Sako! Is that your girl? Teach her some manners before I send her on a one-way trip to see the good Lord!

Sally (shocked):

– What did you just say?!

Grafay (provocative smile):

– Don't worry. You'll thank me later.

Sally (crossing her arms, exasperated):

– Pff. An albino cactus can't do any harm. Just noise.

Grafay (exploding):

– SHUT UP!!!

Sakolomé (laughing heartily):

– Looks like these two already get along great…

While Sally and Grafay continued to bicker, the atmosphere in the old garage oscillated between laughter and chaos.

Yuki watched them with a small amused smile. Their exchange, as noisy as it was childish, almost gave the impression they got along well despite the colorful insults. But right next to them, the mood was quite different.

Leaning against a dented car, Nairo fixed his gaze on Sakolomé. His look was cold, analytical, almost piercing. He said nothing, but his mind was racing.

Nairo, internally:

So this is him, Sakolomé… The one who put Grafay down when the latter had transcended his own limits. The one who beat him at a moment when no one else could bring him down.

It's strange. He doesn't look strong or intimidating. But appearances are deceiving, especially when it comes to a Killer Man…

Sally, still fiery:

— When I watch you, I understand why cactuses never had a voice. If all cactuses were like you… Wow, what a mess!

Grafay, stung:

— You're as annoying as a bramble stuck in my boot laces!

Sally, chuckling:

— Shut up, albino cactus!

Grafay (shouting):

— Pink bramble!

Sally:

— Cactus!

Grafay:

— BRAMBLE!!

Yuki, exasperated, intervenes with an annoyed sigh.

Yuki:

— Okay, that's enough! We didn't come here to watch your couple's quarrels!

Sally (indignant):

— Me? In a relationship with this albino cactus idiot?!

Grafay, replying immediately:

— The albino cactus can have a hundred girls hotter than you!

Sally:

— Yeah, yeah… probably prostitutes!

Grafay:

— What did you say?!!!

The sun filtered through holes in the roof, casting patches of light on the rusty sheets. It was exactly 3:34:12 PM. The argument slowly died down, giving way to a calmer tension. You could feel the moment for laughter was over. It was time to talk seriously.

Yuki approached Sakolomé, his gaze now more serious.

Yuki:

— Sakolomé, I want to introduce you to someone… A friend of mine and Grafay's. He arrived two days after you left Monor Prison.

He turned his head toward the young man who, until then, had remained in the background, almost invisible.

Yuki:

— This is Nairo Yui. He's nice, although a bit… reserved.

Sakolomé approached slowly. His Killer Man instinct told him this man was not ordinary.

Sakolomé, extending his hand:

— Hi Nairo. I'm Sakolomé. Nice to meet you.

Nairo shook his hand, his gaze locked on Sakolomé's.

Nairo (calm, almost cold):

— Nice to meet you… Sakolomé.

Meanwhile, Sally and Salomé were watching too.

Salomé (whispering to her Sally):

— Why is he so cold? It's weird…

Grafay, arms crossed, listened. He glanced at Salomé. He had heard. And, rare for him, he took a serious tone.

Grafay:

— Nairo Yui… he's not an ordinary guy. He was born in Gu-Hoit City, in one of the most dangerous mafia families in the north.

Gu-Hoit City.

Economic capital of the country of Gu-Hoit, a technological jewel sparkling with neon lights and futuristic architecture. At first glance, it's an exemplary city, a global showcase of progress. But behind its glass and steel facades… in forgotten alleys and silent sewers, the city hides its scars.

The underworld of Gu-Hoit is ruled by the Black Clans, ancient mafias that survived decades of political purges. Where the law does not penetrate, blood and deals draw the borders of power. Cybernetic weapons trafficking, augmented humans, cloned organs. Elite assassins, technological slavery, illegal implant laboratories. All the most vile aspects of modernity… Gu-Hoit hides them in its shadows.

It is in this hidden hell that Nairo Yui grew up, son of the powerful mafioso Kagan Yui, leader of the Yui clan, one of the oldest and cruelest mafia lineages in the city.

A stark room, gray walls, cold light. A scream echoes.

BAM!

A loud slap cracks in the air.

Young Nairo, 11 years old, collapses to the ground, cheek red, tears in his eyes.

— Stop crying, you weakling! shouts his father.

— You're my son, a Yui, do you hear me?! You have no right to be weak. Get up, right now!!

Legs trembling, the boy stands up, covered in bruises. His gaze fixes on his father's black boots, symbol of daily terror. Barely standing, he receives another blow to the stomach. He coughs. He hurts. But he does not scream. He understood: screams feed the beast.

His father then throws him to his guards:

— Make him redo the exercises. One hundred push-ups on his fists. Then, fight against the elders. Make him bleed! I want a monster, not a cheap artist!

That night, in his small dimly lit room, Nairo cries silently, lying on his stomach, unable to turn over. His back burns, his eye is swollen, his fingers scraped.

The doorknob turns.

He freezes. Heart pounding. Fear.

But it's her.

His mother, Lina Yui, enters, arms full of bags. As soon as she sees her son in this state, her eyes fill with tears.

— Nairo... she whispers, voice broken.

The boy runs into her arms, seeking refuge like an island after the storm.

— Mom, I want to leave… he sobs.

— Dad is too cruel… I can't take it anymore…

She holds her son close, resting her chin on his tangled hair. She wants to stay strong.

— I know… I know, my heart… But it's not that simple.

— Your father is the king of this underground world. He has eyes everywhere.

She sits with him on the bed, gently pulls something from her bag.

— Look what I found… she says, smiling, eyes still wet.

She pulls out a pouch: new colored pencils, blank page notebooks.

— Ta-da!

Nairo's face lights up. He almost jumps for joy.

— Thanks, Mom! This is awesome… I'm going to draw the moon… But it's a surprise, I'll show you later.

She kisses his forehead.

— You're an amazing little artist. Keep dreaming, okay?

But dreams have no place among the Yui.

The following Saturday, while Nairo sketches a celestial landscape, his father enters.

— Still doodling?! It's past noon!

Kagan approaches, furious. He grabs the notebooks and pencils.

— No! Dad, stop! I beg you…!

The father doesn't listen. He tears the drawings, breaks the pencils, throws them in the trash as if destroying heresy. Nairo falls to his knees, devastated, crying like never before.

— Look at this! Do you think a future clan leader should waste time drawing such nonsense?!

Then, without a word, he hits him so violently the child is thrown against the wall.

That night, voices rise between the parents.

The father shouts. The mother slaps.

— You've become a monster, Kagan! He's your son, not your weapon of war!

— He's a Yui, he must bear the clan's weight. There's no room for the weak!

— You're breaking him! He just wanted… to live.

Lina slams the door. That night, she leaves with Nairo.

They sit on a bench by the underground canal.

— Nairo… Don't hate your father.

— Why? He took everything from me… even my dreams…

— I know. But you have to understand…

— What he does to you is his twisted way of preparing you for a ruthless world.

— You have a future bigger than you imagine. You must survive. And one day… you'll be able to choose what you want to become.

Nairo looks at her, eyes red.

— But I don't want to become a mafia boss… I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want… to draw.

She hugs him one last time.

— You're an angel, my son. An angel fallen in a city of demons.