The tale of Fubuki Dakota

"So guess we just train until it's safe to return to Japan," Madoka shrugged.

"No. I don't want to," Emeri groaned.

"Come on, Sis, you need to get more muscle on you, so you can give me more of a workout," Eriza smiled as she did push-ups with an exhausted Emeri slumped over on her back.

"I heard that leaping through the sky is apparently a technique that assassins use. And you claim you mastered said technique years ago, Madoka?" Nika asked.

"Yup, though I just thought my kick was so strong I could kick the sky. Then again, Rika did mention that she could sky jump, and she's an ex-assassin," Madoka stated.

"Rika? Wait! Like the one from Ryokoma?" Kumi asked.

"Yes. You two go there?"

"We went all the time with Yuni, and Kasumi... Though I haven't set foot in there ever since the family split," Nika sighed.

"Took me a few years to head back there. When I did, nobody recognized me," Kumi sighed.

"More likely because YOU changed so much. You look nothing like you did before. Your attitude change likely also threw everyone off."

"Never knew you could leap through the sky," Serika mused.

"Ugh *huff* No matter how much I train *huff* I always get exhausted, but don't *huff* seem to get much stronger," Yuni panted.

"I suppose that is ultimately my fault. I'm sorry Yuni," Fubuki sighed as she walked up to the group.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your physical strength likely took a hit because of me. This happened because my body was not in the greatest shape when I became pregnent with you."

"Oh."

"It was honestly a miracle I was even able to become pregnent with you in the first place after what was done to me."

"W- was it my shitty grandfather?" Serika trembled.

"Yes, though you are at no fault Serika. I even heard you vanquished him. Thank you."

"Oka-san, c- could you tell me about my father?" Yuni asked.

"*Sigh* I knew this day would come. Very well, you are mature enough to handle the details. Back when I graduated High school, I met your father. He was just an ordinary, but paranoid guy obsessed with conspiracy theories. However, we ended up teaming up and quickly became close. Though a few years later, we were captured by Ookuma."

Serika's heart began to thump as Fubuki continued.

"We had dug too deep into Ruchi Ookuma's misdeeds, however, Akuma Ookuma was the one that ended up catching us. Worst of all, I was pregnant with what would have been Yuni's older sister. That demon didn't hold back on his cruelty," Fubuki glared as she clutched her womb.

"I- was going to have a sister?" Yuni trembled.

"Yes. Though sadly both her and your father were executed in a gruesome manner. Your sister was killed just before she would have been born at 9:37 A.M. on what I assume was August 31st, 2001."

"W- was it really? I was born in the evening on that very day," Serika trembled.

"I have no idea if that was truly the correct time. We had been held for nearly 9 months. After Yuni's sister was killed, her father was next. That demon sliced him to bits and force fed them to me daily. It was inhumane and hellish. I honestly came close to breaking, however, thanks to that demon's greed, I managed to escape."

"H- How?" Yuni asked.

"He was so dead set on slowly torturing me to death daily, that I managed to find a window of escape. Since I was no longer pregnant, I could make use of my training to break free."

"Training?"

"I'll explain more once I'm finished. As I said before, my body was not in great shape. Neither was my mind. Despite being reluctant to have a child, I had decided to, and had now lost both her and my husband."

"B- But if he was dead, then how did I come to exist?" Yuni trembled.

"Luckily, your father was paranoid and left me a freezer chalk full of his sperm. The private doctors I had seen didn't think I'd ever be able to have children again, however, I decided to take a chance. It took nearly the whole fridge, but finally, I was pregnant once again two years later. Though that wasn't the end of it. I had to go into hiding and seclude myself away since Illumous was after me. Hitomi was the only one I could trust, and she quickly became my- no, our lifeline. I was lucky she had met a man like Howard."

"Uncle?"

"Yes. You know he is a skilled architect. It was thanks to him that our first bunker home was built."

"Bunker?" Madoka asked.

"Back when I first lived with my mother, we lived in an underground bunker under an ordinary home. We even had a garden and well down there too," Yuni explained.

"Howard was a good man, and eventually married Hitomi. As for me, I was paranoid up until Yuni's birth. Since I was unable to leave the bunker, I had no way of knowing how Yuni was doing inside of me. All I could do was make sure she was growing healthily. I was able to make use of my twin link with Hitomi to learn some things about what was going on outside. Then after a long hell, a miracle befell me on February 1st, 2004 at 9:38 A.M. You were born, Yuni," Fubuki tearfully smiled.

                                                                             ...

Fubuki laid on a bed in her bunker as she took deep breaths.

"I can feel her kicking around. It must be time. Please be alright, please be alright," Fubuki pleaded.

She then squinted as she forced herself to keep her eyes open, before letting out a scream as she gave birth. As she stared at the motionless infant before her, she began to go pale until the baby began to cry.

"Y- YOU'RE ALIVE! Ah, don't worry. Mommy's here. Ugh, l- let me just cut the cord," Fubuki tearfully smiled as she mustered her strength to grab the scissors and cut the umbilical cord.

She then set them down before swaddling the newborn baby girl in a blanket. As the baby opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her mother's face.

"So this is what he meant about wanting something more to protect. Yuji, thank you for leaving all that you left behind. She has your eyes," Fubuki thought as newfound strength and determination surged into her eyes.

The baby stopped crying and begun to smile as she gazed up at her mother's face.

"Yuni. Your name is Yuni," Fubuki smiled.

The baby responded with happy babbles as Fubuki cradled her in her arms.

                                                                              ...

"I don't remember much about my early life, but I do remember seeing your face for the first time. I felt strong and safe seeing it," Yuni smiled as she wiped her tears away.

"You became my main reason for living and seeking to make the world a better place. I then took a few years off to raise you to where you could at least stand on your feet on your own. You became so smart and now look at you. You've grown up wonderfully," Fubuki smiled.

Serika immediately fell to the ground in tears.

"I'm sorry. My family did all those horrible things to you! Even when I first met Yuni, we didn't get along, and even got in a fight," Serika trembled.

"Oh, the one where you nearly ripped my hair off?" Yuni glared.

"You dared me to do it!"

"I didn't think you were THAT dumb."

"I CAN rip out your twintails, but I held back because you would have gotten hurt or worse!"

"Maybe, but you were the reason we had to clean the bathrooms at Ryokoma."

"Because YOU slapped me!"

"Your slap hurt like hell!"

"So did yours!"

*Bonk* *Bonk*

"EEEEYOOOWWW!!" Serika and Yuni cried in pain as lumps appeared on their heads.

"*Sigh* Girls, stop bickering. You two should get along better with each other. Then again, I guess bickering is normal for siblings," Fubuki sighed as she massaged the lumps she gave the girls.

"Siblings!? B- But you can't possibly-"

"Serika, Reika informed me of how much of a positive impact I had on your life, and how I saved you. A sweet girl like you deserves to have a family. I would happily adopt you as my daughter," Fubuki smiled.

"B- but the blood within me-"

"If we trace back our roots, I'm sure nearly everyone on the planet is descended from someone horrible. You never had the pleasure of growing up with a loving family, but now I want to change that. I assume Reika attempted to fill that role, did she not?"

"Yeah, though the same day she took on Yuni, she began involving me less and less in cases. Tried to pair me up with Bianka instead."

"I apologize. That's entirely on me. Had I been more alert on that night, I wouldn't have gotten captured."

"*Sigh* Aunt Fuka, I truly despise you for the friction you put in our family, though perhaps I'm just as likely to blame for failing to see the darkness within Kasumi. Or perhaps, I just denied it was there,"Nika sighed.

"I- I don't blame you. I was just as distraught when you vanished. Even Sensei was," Serika cried.

"Sorry I worried you. Now, do you want to be my daughter?" Fubuki smiled as she stroked Serika's head.

"R- Really. C- Could I really call you, mother?" Serika trembled.

"Yes. Serika was the name I was originally going to call my first child. Perhaps her spirit found it's way over to you. Now be a good older sister to Yuni," Fubuki smiled as she embraced Serika and Yuni in a hug.

"Guess I'll be calling you Nee-san," Yuni smiled.

"Nee-san? I guess I don't mind," Serika blushed.