Chapter 21: Reunification  

"How did you know the building was going to explode?"

Yuriko didn't answer him. She was sitting silently in an interrogation room, walls, chairs, table, and door all metal. Staring down at her lap, her hands were covered in ash and soot as she was picking at her fingernails. Her heart felt swollen and bruised, like someone took it from her ribcage and stomped it into a million pieces, then tried to shove it back inside. The light above her made her squint, her eyes already tired from crying so much – the only reason she stopped was because she couldn't muster any more.

The man in front of her sighed before the door opened and shut. She didn't even look up as a plastic cup was placed in front of her, full of water. Her throat was parched, but she didn't drink, afraid it would reawaken the tears for… him. Her grandfather. Her jiichan. She grit her teeth, feeling a dry sob want to escape from her throat, but she swallowed it back down silently.

"Yuriko Romanov?" The new individual said, but she didn't look up. "We have yet to search the wreckage. The fire is out, but… not much seems to have survived." She remained silent. "Do you know who was in that building, Romanov?" Nothing. "We need to know who to look for, miss."

He was right. The body… They had to retrieve it. Slowly, she spoke, her voice hoarse from the previous heart wrenching cry she had let out. "His name is…" She paused. "Was… Xiu Romanov."

They seemed to murmur to each other, then one of them wrote something down. "Can you tell me how you knew the building was about to blow?"

She struggled with her next words. "I…"

Nothing else came out, mostly because a distant voice joined in with her thoughts. Something familiar, yet faint. Then a shouting filled the halls, a woman screaming in a fit of rage. She raised her head, looking at the door. Both of the police officers turned to look as the yelling grew louder.

"Where is she?!" The woman shouted, doors opening and slamming closed. "Where is my daughter?! I demand to see her! You cannot hold her here! You have no right-!"

The door opened to their room, and Yuriko flinched. One of the police officers stood up fully, the other pushing back his chair. What beheld her was quite a sight to see, though. A once rampaging woman, dark flowing hair to the middle of her back, deep, bloodshot brown eyes fluttering around in search. A white coat covered her shoulders, but it was dirty, and she was holding a floppy hat in her hand. When Jun Lei's eyes rested on her daughter, her expression showed one of relief.

"Yuriko," She panted, rushing forward and kneeling down next to her. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Mother…" She said quietly, looking at her in shock. "Jiichan… he's…"

"I know, darling, I know," Jun Lei answered, pulling her into a hug.

The warm embrace was surprising enough on its own, but the whole ordeal was extraordinary. Yuriko leaned into her shoulder, eyes wide like a fawn, before she felt it all come back. The pain, the fear, the loss. Tears escaped her in quiet sobs, wrapping her arms around the woman she called mother. Alas, Jun Lei pulled back, and Yuriko ended up hugging herself as she cried. Her mother took off her coat, splaying it out over Yuriko's shoulders and setting the hat on her head. Then, the angry woman turned to the officers.

"How dare you," She seethed. "This young girl just lost her grandfather, and you keep her from her mother? I had to learn about my father's death from a television! I was scared for her life! Not one single person in this gods forsaken building thought to call her biological parent?!"

"Ma'am," One of the officers said, holding out his hands. "Please understand, we had to ask questions, and-"

"Enough!" She shouted, stamping her foot down. "I am taking her home. You can ask your questions when it isn't one in the morning!" She took Yuriko's hand. "Come on, we are leaving."

Yuriko was pulled to her feet, which were still bare. Jun Lei wrapped her arm back behind her shoulders, pulling her through the door and out into the hall. Yuriko kept her head down, walking along as she sniffled. People stared, but she felt protected under her mother's wing, led out into the open room.

That was when she heard his thoughts – Jayce. She lifted her head, seeing him getting scolded by his mother, yelling at him for taking her motorcycle on a high-speed chase. He kept apologising, trying to explain, but she was too busy crying and enraged that he endangered his life and another's. His eyes raised to meet hers, and he froze for a moment, seeing Yuriko being led away by her mother.

"Mama?" She said quietly, and the older woman looked down at her. "Can you give me a second?"

She looked over to what she was seeing, gritting her teeth. For a moment, she hesitated, her thoughts whirling in a spiral. Then, she nodded, letting her slip away. Yuriko still hugged the coat around her as she walked up to the yelling mother and worried son. She had to do something very important.

"Miss Miller," She said softly.

The mother turned around, almost ready to yell at her too for interrupting, but freezing when she saw her. "Y-Yuriko…" She said, then quickly spoke. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened today, my son can be very-"

Yuriko didn't let her finish. She took off her mother's hat, then knelt on the floor, putting her forehead against the ground in a formal apology. "Please forgive me, Miss Miller, for putting your son in danger."

"Oh my gods…" She gasped, quickly falling to her knees and putting her hands on Yuriko's shoulders. "Please get up, it was not your fault."

"It was all my fault," She said, trying not to cry. "If I hadn't told him… If I just…" She couldn't help but start spilling tears again.

"Oh, honey, no," Jayce's mother said soothingly. "It's not… please raise your head, please…"

"Don't get mad at him, Miss Miller, please," Yuriko slowly looked up, sniffing as she tried to smile. "If it wasn't for your son, I would be gone… He stopped me from running into the fire… To try to save…" She couldn't even say the words, simply bursting into a sob instead.

Jayce's mother sniffled, then pulled her into a hug. Yuriko cried into her shoulder, mumbling "I'm sorry" over and over again. She kept trying to comfort her and say it was alright, but she couldn't stop. Feeling her mother's eyes on her back, hearing her sorrowful thoughts, she knew she was crying too. Then, she felt another hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Jayce trying to soothe her as well. She sat up a little further, stifling her sobs, and reached forward to touch his face.

"I'm so glad…" She whispered. "You're okay."

He touched her hand to his face, eyes watering as he felt her pain. Slowly, Jayce pulled her into an embrace, and she leaned into him. Closing her eyes, Yuriko tried to take deep breaths and calm down, holding on to his yukata. For once, she didn't have to be the strong one, and it felt okay to fall apart in his arms – because she knew he would put her back together again.