Affection

Affection.

Perhaps this was the most valuable currency, the most coveted treasure that Yuno had relentlessly sought throughout her life. From the moment of her birth, marked by abandonment, this was the emotion that was most cruelly denied to her.

Her biological parents left her in just any orphanage, like an unwanted package, shortly after birth. A cold and definitive act that cast her into a world of uncertainty and loneliness.

Yuno had never been a naturally sociable child. Her shyness, her difficulty in forming bonds, isolated her from the other children in the orphanage. She spent long hours in her own world, absorbed in melancholic thoughts, questioning the reason for her abandonment.

Like every human being in their early years of life, she yearned for company, for a gaze that lingered in her direction, for affection… Loneliness, like an implacable shadow, was her constant companion, the silent pain that tormented her day after day.

Years dragged on like heavy chains, until luck – or was it destiny? – decided to intervene in her life. A young couple, their hearts heavy with the impossibility of bearing their own children, adopted her.

In that fleeting instant, a spark of hope shone in Yuno's chest. "Finally!" she thought, "I will be loved". She believed that all those dark feelings, like heavy clouds, would be dispelled by the light of family love.

Naive illusion. Just as it had been since her birth, life seemed to conspire to make nothing easy for her.

Within a few months, the sandcastle of her happy fantasy began to crumble, collapsing under the weight of reality. Her adoptive father's unexpected dismissal plunged the family into a downward spiral. Financial stability vanished like smoke, forcing her father to accept precarious jobs, the famous "odd jobs," to try to keep the house afloat.

Yuno, with her childlike and grateful soul, would never dare to complain. She finally had a family. Even if the price to pay was enduring endless nights with her stomach rumbling with emptiness, with the piercing pain of hunger gnawing at her from within, her heart would cling to hope. The affection, even if scarce, from her family, should be enough.

But her adoptive parents did not seem to share the same idealism. As time passed, her father became increasingly absent, consumed by exhausting work and the bitterness of the situation. Her mother, in turn, began to harbor a silent resentment, a corrosive regret for having adopted her.

Over time, guilt, like a slow poison, seeped into the woman's heart, and she began to blame Yuno for everything that went wrong in their lives. The reason her husband didn't come home, the reason for that sudden misery, was her.

Eventually, the verbal torments, the cruel words like razors, escalated to physical aggression. The girl, once so full of hope, was thrown into her dark cell, a cold and damp cubicle where sunlight never dared to penetrate. Her mother, with a glacial and distant gaze, only fed her the bare minimum necessary so that the flame of life in Yuno would not be completely extinguished.

Those scraps of food, tasteless, without nutrition, could hardly be considered food. Of course, her father, in his rare visits, eventually noticed the degrading situation in which Yuno found herself. But the blind love he felt for his wife, a morbid and possessive passion, was infinitely greater than any trace of empathy or compassion for a mere adopted child.

And so, even if he did not torture her in the same cruel and methodical way as her mother, neither mentally nor physically, he remained silent, cowardly inert, without lifting a finger to prevent the girl's suffering.

The overwhelming hunger was a constant torture, a daily torment. The piercing pangs in her stomach stole her sleep night after night, turning rest into an unattainable luxury. Depression, like a poisonous vine, spread through her fragile mind, suffocating any trace of hope.

The childish fantasies that her parents would one day regret, would free her from that dark prison, would apologize for the cruelties inflicted, that they would return to being the happy family she had so dreamed of, vanished, turning into cold and bitter ashes.

Negative feelings, like hungry demons, completely dominated her. What had she done to deserve such cruelty? Was it really all her fault, as her mother incessantly repeated?

Until one day, the thin thread of sanity in Yuno snapped. In a lapse of her mother's carelessness, a brief moment of fatal distraction, she managed to reach the cell key, which the woman had accidentally dropped on the dusty floor.

That same day, Yuno escaped from her prison. And driven by an obscure and unknown force, with surprising effort for her withered and fragile body, she managed to incapacitate her adoptive parents. With a glacial smile on her lips, she locked them in the same dark and cold cell where she had spent her last months of hell.

The cycle of pain and suffering, at that dark moment, seemed to have been completed.

Faithful to the cruelty she had witnessed in her parents, Yuno fed them at regular intervals, the minimum so that the flame of life would not be extinguished in their inert bodies. In her confused mind, a distorted desire for justice echoed: that they finally experience the abyss of suffering that she had been forced to face, that they understand the depth of her pain.

Deep down, a spark of hope still flickered in her childish chest; she did not crave their death, only the long-desired apologies, the words of regret that could, in some way, alleviate the open wound in her soul. In her naive plan, she would eventually free them, call the police, and return to the gloomy orphanage, the place she should never have left.

Or that was how it should have been. In one of her bitter monologues, venting to those she had once called parents, something her mother murmured, amidst weakness and despair, invaded her with a blind fury. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, Yuno delivered a violent kick, with all the strength of her frail body, against the woman's face.

In the next instant, the awareness of the brutal act hit her like a glacial shock. A sudden impulse of regret invaded her, and she prepared to apologize.

But when the dense mists of madness that clouded her emotions dissipated, revealing the harshness of reality, Yuno realized, with paralyzing horror, that in front of her lay two inert corpses.

Her parents… were dead. Dead for days, victims of relentless hunger. Without the income previously provided by her father, the scarce provisions had inevitably run out. Yuno, in her disturbed unconsciousness, survived on scraps, while her parents slowly withered away, without receiving any food for days on end.

Now, their decomposing bodies exuded a putrid and nauseating odor, a smell of death that permeated the dense air of the cell. The fetid aroma was so intense, so repulsive, that Yuno could not contain her body's violent reflex. Her stomach contracted in painful spasms, and she vomited right there, on the filthy floor, expelling everything that was inside her.

The brutal realization of what had happened was burned into her shocked mind.

She had killed her parents.

Yuno's mind, already so fragile and exhausted, could not bear the overwhelming weight of those conflicting emotions and feelings. Overwhelmed by a whirlwind of horror and guilt, Yuno lost consciousness, collapsing on her own vomit, inert, fallen next to the corpses of her parents.

The events of the following days faded like smoke from the memory of her shattered mind. Blurred fragments persisted: she vaguely remembered neighbors, bothered by the putrid and unbearable odor emanating from the house, calling the police. The authorities, upon breaking down the door, found Yuno passed out on the cold floor, her prominent ribs marking her pale skin, her slender body revealing alarming signs of severe malnutrition.

Yuno was rescued, snatched from that macabre house, and the dark truth of her actions came to light. They considered interning her in a rehabilitation clinic for juvenile offenders, but after lengthy deliberations, they opted to send her to a special school, under constant observation. A desperate attempt to reform her wounded soul, to reintegrate her into a society she barely knew.

And it was in that cold and impersonal environment, in that place destined for "rehabilitation," that Yuno met the one who would become her new beacon, her tenuous hope amidst the darkness.

In a gesture so simple, so commonplace to the outside world, but of a dazzling beauty to her eyes already so opaque and lifeless, she glimpsed in banal words, in a gentle smile, something she had never dared to dream of feeling again: love.

Yukiteru Amano.

The unassuming promise he had uttered, in a gesture of childish sympathy, to please that taciturn and elusive girl who sat next to him in the classroom, would transform, without him even suspecting, into the words of salvation to which Yuno would cling tooth and nail, the fragile anchor that would prevent her from sinking completely into the abyss of madness and despair, but it was exactly these words that led her to it.

The city throbbed with life. The lights of Tokyo reflected on the wet asphalt, creating a mosaic of vibrant colors. Cars rushed by, their horns occasionally cutting through the night air, while indistinct voices filled the streets.

But to her, everything seemed... monotonous.

"When was it that... everything became... so empty?"

She wondered, her thoughts wandering amidst the chaos of the metropolis.

The piercing sound of a horn cut through the air, a metallic cry of impatience, but it didn't even scratch the surface of her contemplation. Her thoughts, like a mighty river, continued to flow, carrying with them the melancholy of the night.

"I think... in fact, it's always been like this... Always." The realization was a cold sigh, as glacial as the night wind that swept through the streets, making her exposed skin shiver.

Yuno stopped on the sidewalk, raising her eyes to the night sky. Above, the celestial vault stretched out in a deceptive serenity. Although some sparse clouds hung in the air, like brushstrokes of gray paint on a dark canvas, it was still possible to glimpse the faint glow of some distant stars.

And it was precisely in the solitary twinkling of one of them, a point of light lost in the cosmic vastness, that Yuno felt her chest constrict, tightened by yet another wave of painful memories.

Her lips curved into a moue of resigned sadness, the corner of her mouth pulled down in a bitter expression. In silence, her thoughts began to flow, like a mighty river of melancholy.

"In the end... was it really all... my fault?"

The doubt hung in the air, laden with self-recrimination and suffering.

In her mind, a nebulous whirlwind formed, a vortex of conflicting emotions. The piercing despair of wanting to feel something genuine, of breaking through the barrier of apathy, mingled with the piercing discomfort that consumed her from within, a dull and constant anguish. And in the center of that emotional storm, the memory insisted on returning, like a wound that refuses to heal.

She could hear, with disturbing clarity, the ghostly echo of the desperate cry. She could see, in her mind, the clear image of the silent plea, the hand raised in her direction, calling her name in a mute appeal-

"YUNOOOOO!"

Rika's voice, like a ray of sunshine breaking through the dense clouds, abruptly pulled her from the darkness of her thoughts. Back in reality, Yuno saw Rika beside her, shaking her arm in an insistent wave, desperately trying to get her attention.

"Mii~... You were making such a weird face looking up!" Rika exclaimed, her voice laden with childish concern and a touch of curiosity.

Yuno fixed her gaze on Rika's face, her eyes still trapped in a world of reverie, her mind so distant that she didn't even realize she had babbled a name aloud. "Yuu...Ki..." The sound escaped her lips like a fragile sigh, almost inaudible.

Rika frowned, her brow furrowed in a confused expression. She repeated the name slowly, as if savoring each syllable, while tilting her head to the side, in an adorably childish gesture. "Yuuki? Is that your kitty? Mii~" The question, innocent and direct, cut through the air like a thread of hope.

Yuno sighed deeply, the air escaping her lungs in a silent lament. In a monotonous tone of voice, devoid of any vibrant emotion, and a melancholic gaze fixed on the distant horizon, she replied: "Let's go home, Rika..." The sentence sounded like a silent plea, a yearning for refuge and solitude.

Rika, with a delicate index finger resting on her chin, pondered for a moment. "Only Rika?" She questioned, her voice slightly accusatory, "Didn't we agree that you were going to call me 'Rika Nee-san'?" A mischievous smile played on her lips, a subtle attempt to break the palpable tension emanating from Yuno.

Despite Rika's insistence on cheering her up, something seemed deeply wrong with Yuno. She wasn't the usual sister, the stoic and reserved figure Rika had come to know. There was a dense shadow hovering over her, an aura of deep sadness that enveloped her like an invisible cloak.

Rika continued to observe Yuno attentively, her concern growing with each passing moment, while her thoughts stirred. "Yuno is strange today... more than usual... Could something be weighing on her heart?"

Moved by an impulse of fraternal care, Rika gently slid her hand down Yuno's arm, a caring and comforting gesture. Her voice, sweet and genuinely concerned, flowed like a gentle stream. "Yuno... are you okay? You can open up to me... you know that, don't you?"

Yuno averted her gaze, fleeing Rika's eye contact, while distractedly running her hand through one of her pink ponytails, her thin and pale fingers caressing the dark ribbon. "It's nothing, Rika... I just..." Her voice faltered at the end of the sentence, losing strength, the words dying on her lips before materializing. The invisible weight she carried in her chest seemed to have drained all her energy, robbing her of her voice and the will to move forward.

The cold night wind strummed the long hair of both sisters, creating a soft and melancholic ballet. Despite not sharing blood ties, and having become sisters so recently, a special, strong and invisible bond had already formed between them, a deep connection that had blossomed without either of them even noticing.

Rika gently pulled Yuno's arm again, her voice now even sweeter and gentler, like a comforting whisper. "Come on, Yuno... let's sit over there!" She insisted, indicating with her eyes the wooden bench by the lake.

Rika led Yuno to the bench, strategically positioned facing the lake that shimmered under the city lights.

Yuno, still absorbed in her dark thoughts, seemed hesitant, being gently towed by little Rika. "Seriously, Rika, you don't need to worry..." She murmured, her voice dragging and tired. "I just... want to go home..."

Her voice trembled slightly at the end of the sentence, betraying the superhuman effort she was making to contain the large wave of turbulent feelings that threatened to overflow from her chest at any moment.

Rika stopped abruptly in front of Yuno, turning to face her seriously. She placed her hands behind her body, adopting an adorably determined posture. Her long indigo-blue hair, tied in a mesmerizing hime cut, swayed gently in the night breeze, framing her angelic face.

"Yuno... I already told you that I'm the older sister," Rika said, her voice sweet and firm at the same time, "I'm the one who should worry about you... Mii~" Despite the inherent cuteness in her voice and mannerisms, Rika's tone was surprisingly serious, denoting an unwavering determination to take care of Yuno.

Yuno made a slight, discreet pout, her lips projecting into a childish pout. "I still haven't accepted that..." She grumbled, her voice muffled by a slight tone of pique. "You're much smaller than me, and you look about three years younger..." The complaint, although it sounded a bit childish, was devoid of any real aggression, more a remnant of her melancholy than a genuine objection to Rika's concern.

Rika, ignoring Yuno's little provocation, took her hand again, intertwining her delicate fingers with hers. With a gentle and reassuring smile, she replied: "Yeah, but mentally I'm over a hundred years old!" The phrase, said with a playful glint in her eyes, was a clear attempt to disarm Yuno's sadness with a dose of light and affectionate humor.

Yuno, finally, could not resist Rika's charm and insistence. She yielded to the silent invitation, sitting down on the wooden bench. For a long moment, she remained silent, watching the calm surface of the lake, her mind still populated by ghosts of the past, but now with Rika's comforting presence beside her.

Rika, with an attentive and perceptive gaze, observed the surroundings. Her eyes lit up when she spotted a small ice cream stand, miraculously still open at that hour of the night. A gentle smile illuminated her angelic face, and with a quick and lively gesture, she raised her index finger. "Wait a little bit," she said, her voice vibrant with enthusiasm, "I'm going to buy us both an ice cream!"

Without waiting for a response from Yuno, Rika spun lightly on her heels, her elbows open in a graceful movement, and adorably walked towards the stand. Her long indigo-blue hair swayed gently in the rhythm of her quick and cheerful steps, like waves in a calm sea.

Yuno followed with her eyes the diminutive figure of her sister moving away, watching the mesmerizing ballet of her hair in the night breeze.

She brought a hand to her chest, feeling a strange tightness, a shapeless emotion, difficult to decipher. It wasn't exactly sadness, nor joy, but something new, unknown and... warm.

She averted her eyes from Rika's trail, trying to compose her thoughts, to organize the internal chaos that consumed her. But as she gazed at the other side of the lake, her gaze was captured by an unexpected scene.

There, in the distance, she noticed a man kneeling before a young woman. The girl's expression was of pure astonishment and emotion, her face bathed in tears of joy. The scene, in its touching simplicity, struck Yuno like lightning. In that instant, memories of her previous life invaded her with overwhelming force.

Her eyes welled up, clouded by a sudden wave of melancholy and longing. In an almost inaudible whisper, a painful question escaped her lips.

"Yuuki... weren't we going to get married one day?"

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